AS students of a private university, my
fellow students and I are appalled at the behaviour of a
group who demonstrated outside Dewan Tunku Cancellor, Universiti Malaya,
at an event where
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was delivering a
lecture in
conjunction with UM's 50th anniversary.
While I respect freedom of speech and expression in this country, I am
totally displeased with the
way those students, who claim to represent the two student bodies, acted
while seeking to air
their grouses with the Government.
If the intention was to embarrass Abdullah in front of other leaders and
dignitaries, then they failed
miserably for he had bravely confronted them with a firmness of a leader,
yet retaining his fatherly
nature by hearing out the protesters.
I salute Abdullah for not falling into the trap set by the protesters.
In meeting them face to face he
has proven that the Government is always willing to listen to whatever
complaints students have
and is not high-handed in dealing with their issues.
Abdullah's promise to look into their memoranda reflects his caring and easygoing leadership.
Among the demands contained in the two memoranda are the abolition of the
Internal Security
Act, review of the Universities and University Colleges Act, urging the
Government to continue its
anti-Israel policy, pressing the Anti-Corruption Agency to prosecute a
Cabinet Minister for
corruption and calling for the setting up of a royal commission to investigate
into the alleged
poisoning of former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The demands all seem to be rather noble, justified and well-intended with
the underlying cause of
fighting for justice and upholding the truth, something which is universal
and not peculiar to the
protesters.
What bothers us is that the manner these demands are put forward for the
Government's attention
is similar to that of opposition parties.
The handing over of the memoranda and unruly street protests seem to be
the culture that the
Opposition is trying introduce into our society and, sad to say, those
students who took to the
streets on Friday are acting in tandem with the Opposition's tactics and
strategies to undermine
the peace and stability of this country.
Before they go on any further with their fiery brand of fighting for their
so-called noble causes, I
advise them to ponder on the students' reformasi movement that has brought
so much misery and
suffering to the people in Indonesia.
They succeeded in forcing Indonesian president Suharto to step down but
at the same time the
reformasi group unwittingly sold out their country to the foreigners.
Now we see the foreigners, especially the Americans, practically have a
say in every
decision-making of the Government, in matters concerning the economy and
politics.
Every law passed and regulation made in Indonesia must take into consideration
the interest of
the United States, if not the Bills will not see the light of day.
The once proud bangsa Indonesia has lost its pride and fighting spirit
and has become subservient
to the United States and western interests, all because the students wanted
change. Eventually,
change is what they got - for the worse!
Indonesia can no longer say "No" to the US and we see that the real benefactor
of the reformasi
is America and foreign firms. The Malaysian National Council of Students
and the Peninsular
Malaysia Muslim Students' Association should really look into their hearts
and souls whether
what they did was only for their benefit and vested agenda or were they
truly thinking of the
nation's wellbeing and safety?
The Indonesian students too wanted to uphold justice and truth. In the
end what they got was
mayhem, destruction and chaos.
Are our students willing to be blamed by the present and future generations
for repeating the
same mistake as their counterparts in Indonesia?
It is indeed unfortunate if these student bodies allow themselves to be
used by the Opposition for
their own political agenda.
While it is generally accepted that students represent a unique and important
section of society in
terms of their enthusiasm and burning desire in the fight for justice and
truth, it does not, however,
mean the fighting spirit must always be translated into an anti-Government
or anti-establishment
outlook.
Student bodies hold a heavy responsibility of being the eyes and ears in
a system of governance
where they provide a check and balance mechanism to prevent the occurrence
of abuses and
mismanagement in a government.
This noble duty must be carried out in the full knowledge that the fate
and destiny of a nation rest
on their shoulders.
Should an incident like that at the UM happen, then certainly the students
must reassess their true
role in society.
There should also be paradigm shift in the mindset of our students from
being known to society as
a group that easily falls prey to the Opposition's ploys to that of a pro-active
and progressive
entity that acts as the bastion and guardian of society.
As fellow students, we urge our brothers-in-arm to move away from the Opposition's
sway upon
them and take charge of their minds as a truly responsible and committed
rakyat of Malaysia.
H. Sani
Petaling Jaya