Wee causes stir at Dong Zong rally
Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong's surprise appearance at a Chinese education rally in Kajang today drew heckles from participants.
Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong's surprise appearance at a Chinese education rally in Kajang today drew heckles from participants.
A scuffle also broke out between a middle aged man and Wee's police escort, when the former tried to approach Wee upon his arrival at 11am.
The rally, dubbed the "325 assembly", is organised by Chinese education group Dong Zong, in protest against acute shortage of Chinese-educated teachers.
Wee, who appeared at the rally at New Era College with heavy police escort, has been blamed for failing to resolve the matter. [Watch video here ]
According to eye witnesses, the would-be assailant tried to punch Wee, but was stopped by Wee’s police escort.
Wee later confirmed the incident, saying that the man almost touched his left cheek.
“I could not identify him, I only know he was wearing a T-shirt,” he said.
Wee: My heart is bleeding
At a press conference later, Wee lamented that the rally has been hijacked by the opposition to attack the government, but did not elaborate further.
On his thoughts about the rally, Wee said he expected the crowd to react negatively to him, but did not expect that someone would try to assault him.
"I could have taken the pain from the punch. But my heart is bleeding (because of the incident)," he said.
He explained that he had attended the rally in order to show sincerity as well as hear from the grassroots.
Wee added that he had received the endorsement of Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to attend the rally.
Wee attacked, Pakatan blamed
Earlier, Wee was met with a chorus of boos and jeering by rally participants, many of which showed him the thumbs down.
However, We
e, who was proudly clad in Education Ministry garb, smiled and continued walking towards the stage.
He was later seated next to Dong Zong president Yap Sin Tian.
Upon his departure at around 1pm, protesters again surrounded him and chanted “Quit! Quit!”
Wee managed to leave the venue unscathed with the help of ushers dispatched by the rally organisers and some 20 police personnel.
In contrast, Pakatan Rakyat representatives were greeted with much appreciation by rally-goers.
On Twitter and Facebook , MCA supporters have blamed DAP supporters for "hijacking" the Dong Zong rally.
Some have also accused Pakatan for failing to speak out on the action of the alleged Pakatan supporters involved in Wee's near-miss.
