YOURSAY | ‘Brian Gomez, we salute your father and your family for being so courageous.’

I, too, remember 1992 crisis, late coach's son responds to prince

Kee Thuan Chye: Good on you, Brian Gomez, for reminding us and setting the record straight.

Sometimes the royals behave as if they own everything and everybody, and that they are above the law. Such arrogant beliefs and behaviour must be curbed.

In 1992, then PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad should have gone all the way to curb their powers but unfortunately, he didn't have the courage to do it.

The Johor crown prince recalls what was done to his (royal) family, but he should view the whole episode in its proper context.

Who slapped the Perak goalkeeper in the first place? And who gave Brian's father, Douglas, a black eye? If the crown prince fails to see this, he can tell his remembrances to the Spartans.

Ks: Well said, Brian. Your first-hand accounts of the 1992 incident serves as reminder for those gullible, easily taken in by sweet and righteous words and a few rather superficial gestures possibly meant to camouflage age-old deep-rooted symbiotic relationship between the regime and royalties.

Anonymous 29051438068738: Brian, your father has an honourable place in history because it was his unforgivable assault that was leveraged by Umno to rain insults on the monarchy, all their transgressions listed out in mouthpiece publications such as New Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia .

And regardless of anyone's memory, selective or otherwise, everything that was then said is preserved for posterity on the Internet and readily served up by Google .

The point everyone seems to forget is that none of those who spoke so passionately and factually against the rulers, both inside and outside of Parliament, was assaulted by any royal.

I Wonder?: No one is immortal or above the law, except God. Whether one is "born to power" or elected to power, he has to respect, behave and abide by all rules and laws set down by the people of this country.

Any mortal who breaches the law shall be brought to justice and punished accordingly and justly, with no exception.

Jbsuara: You are right, Brian. Real power belongs to the people and every citizen has the right to question the status quo and change the government of the day when the 'powers that be' is corrupt and intimidate its critics instead of responding to them.

Anonymous_4171: Well said, Brian. I doubt that incident is forgotten. It is always in people’s memory. The only thing is that you have rekindled it.

Doc: Very inspiring story, Brian. One man stood against injustice and for his beliefs. One nation stood behind him when he was persecuted for standing up for what is right against the powers-that-be.

Anonymous 122461436161429: The rakyat ought to wake up and consider the effect of the royalty on our system of government being a constitutional monarchy.

Is it working? If not, why not? Is it financially draining our country? Are the royalty and the government abusing their positions? If so, what should be done about it?

The country, its riches and its assets belong to the rakyat. It does not belong to the government or to the royalty. They are merely custodians and should behave as such. Dr M was in this case absolutely right in what he did.

Chouseefatt: Well done, Brian. I had no idea your dad was the illustrious Douglas Gomez, a man who will forever be remembered for his courage and principles in the face of long outdated tyranny.

StrainingGnats, SwallowCamels: "She (mother) was told to step out of the car because they wanted to inspect everything in the car. I still remember everything and I still remember the individuals responsible for it,” said the Johor crown prince about his mother.

If I may be allowed to re-imagine the situation, it was likely that the customs officers or those who inspected the vehicle, followed the ' adat ' or protocol with regards to the addressing and making of a request directed to royalty, using terms like ‘ ampun ’ and the like.

I imagine that even the chauffeur was also accorded courtesy befitting a staff of the royal house. It was extremely unlikely that a royalty was "told” “to step out".

And after the inspection, the royalty would likely have used palace-mandated protocol to inform and invite the royal party to carry on with their journey with a polite apology offered.

It is understandable that a royalty might be miffed. But it's the duty of the customs officers to at least make a cursory inspection. No one is above the law.

Kleeo: The way I see it, Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim doesn't have to pay for the misdeeds and mischief of those that came before him. He is his own man.

But he shouldn't take us as fools. We will stand behind a person who is decent and who speaks up for ordinary honest hardworking Malaysians.

But if that person starts misbehaving, sorry... that's the way democracy works.

Plo: Brian, thank you for sharing your family story. We salute your father and your family for being so courageous, and standing up to justice and truth.

Anonymous 759201436321741: The truth is this - the wound has healed, but the scar remains.

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