i-WITNESS It was 12.30am. The night was eerily silent at the site of a planned protest, except for the occasional New Year’s day fireworks.

Students who converged at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris’ (UPSI) back gate in Tanjung Malim had mysteriously disappeared after police turned up in force - a Black Maria, a van, at least four patrol cars and several motorcycles - and confiscated their placards and flowers.

NONE “We'll regroup at the front gate,” whispered Solidariti Mahasiswa president Ahmad Syukri Ab Razab ( left) as he took off with his companion in their vehicle.

The student leaders decided to ‘leave’ after refusing to go to the police station for “documentation purpose” despite having their identity cards confiscated.

The police also recorded details of the identity cards of several students and sharing them with a group of plainclothes men who claimed to be “university security”.

It was unclear if the men were from the Student Affairs Department (HEP) but a vehicle marked HEP from Upsi was present.

Relocating to the front gate, the atmosphere was just as eerie without a single protester in sight except for university officials peering out from behind the steel gates.

But looking closely, I realised several students were sitting silently in their vehicles across the road with the engines turned off. In fact, they were everywhere.

Tense showdown with the strike force

NONE At around 2am, the student leaders took their place in front of UPSI’s main gate, chanting “bebas bebas! bebas mahasiswa” (freedom! freedom! free the students!) and protesters emerged there as quickly as they faded away earlier.

“Upsi is using the University and University College Act (UUCA) on Adam Adli (left) even though it is going to be amended, kurang ajar (insolent)!” a student shouted as he pointed behind the gates.

As Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen (Kami) president Adam Adli Abdul Halim began to personally address the crowd, sirens blared and the police arrived after 10 minutes.

The first tense moment began when five Light Strike Force (LSF) officers armed with batons and tear gas took up their positions across the UPSI, prompting the students to lie down on the road.

“Even if you shoot us or tear gas us, we will not move!” declared Ahmad Syukri who was then approached by Tanjung Malim OCPD Othman Nayan.

“I'll give you as much time as you need to express yourself. If you have a memorandum then hand it in, you have 15 minutes,” he said before issuing more warnings on the loud-hailer.

“For 40 years we have been suppressed and you are only giving us 15 minutes?” rebutted Ahmad Syukri.

The students later stood up and began chanting slogans in front of the LSF officers, before withdrawing to UPSI’s main gate.

Police drag protest leaders, students resist

The fracas began when police yelled “tangkap!” (arrest) as the students were confined to the space in front of the gate, rattling it and demanding that they be let in.

Following this, several police officers in reflective vests surrounded them and began to drag the protest leaders away from the main group.

The students resisted, and police stumbled on each other in the confined space but was still able to drag their targets out.

At that moment of chaos, I was standing in front of Kami’s Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz who had been dragged by three police officers.

Two more police officers joined the fray and in the ensuing scuffle, Haziq Abdullah fell onto the road and was positioned faced down.

His arms were locked behind him while another police officer pinned him down with his knee and others held on to him.

The police then dragged him to the Black Maria parked on the right side of UPSI’s gate, but his body had gone limp.

An officer pulled him by his shoulder, shouting “bangun, bangun!" (stand up) but he could not move, presumably having passed out.

No help for those in distress

Seconds later, hysterical screams pierced the air followed by the shattering of glass.

The students had broken the glass door of a clinic in an attempt to get treatment for Muhammad Safwan whose limp body was being carried by several students.

The atmosphere was emotionally charged, students appeared panicky and several of them tried to enter the narrow clinic door at the same time, damaging it further.

One student began pointing at the police and yelling: “If he dies you will be responsible.”

In the clinic, there was blood droplets all over the floor. It was unclear if the blood was shed by the students who had broken the door for Safwan.

Inside the doctor’s room, Safwan was laid on the bed, his eyes were white and his body was shaking as several students watched on.

Unable to receive treatment, the students moved Safwan out and rushed him into a white Perodua Viva.

“We can’t treat such a condition,” said a clinic staff when I asked if a doctor was around. The police made no effort to assist the student during his moment of distress.

As the car sped off to Tanjung Malim hospital at slightly after 3am, the dust had almost settled. Only a handful of remaining protestors were being arrested and the female students adamantly stood their ground as police urged them to leave.

Police then immediately cordoned off the road, ordering journalists to vacate the area and demanding that the remaining protesters leave, and they did.

The 14 who were arrested were taken to Tanjung Malim police station, just 300 metres away down the road. Three others were later arrested for chanting outside the police station and attempting to lodge a report over alleged police brutality.

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