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When silence is consent to brute force
Published:  Feb 28, 2012 8:35 AM
Updated: 12:47 AM

V OXPOP 'We, the rakyat, would like to hear what our government leaders have to say. Do they subscribe to these intimidatory tactics?'

Third PKR ceramah disrupted in two weeks

vox populi small thumbnail Armageddon: Let's say that we do the same to Prime Minister Najib Razak when he comes to give speeches in our village. Will the police escort Najib out of our village or will they arrest us?

Dumb question, but we know the answer. It is obvious that the police are with the group that is causing the disturbance.

PKR had the permit at the Felda ceramah, so its representatives should be allowed to speak and the police should arrest those Umno gangsters for causing the disturbance.

I wonder what kind of disturbances they will create when BN loses GE13. We are seeing some example of it already in Penang.

Jimmy Ng: We, the rakyat, would like to hear what our government leaders have to say about this. Do they encourage, support and subscribe to these intimidatory tactics by their local Umno thugs and gangsters?

We shall hold the view that if none of them come out openly to condemn this form of barbarism, then they are actually condoning these acts of gangsterism.

All for what? Just so they have a better chance of remaining in power? Wishful thinking.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: Umno is asking for trouble. Its aim is to provoke a reaction from the Pakatan Rakyat supporters.

Resorting to mat rempit, gangsters, thugs, drug addicts, school dropouts and criminals to attack Pakatan ceramah and gatherings just shows how weak, scared and desperate Umno is at present.

The party has lost all credibility and dignity. It no longer reflects the noble and dignified Malay culture but has become a party that only concerned about holding on to power even by foul means and espousing violence to serve its selfish agenda.

Sadly, the more Umno resorts to these sort of tactics, the faster its ultimate demise. The Malay majority are disgusted and ashamed of Malays/Muslims behaving in such a vile and abusive manner with the tacit support and approval of the Umno leadership.

To date, the Pakatan leadership, especially those from PAS and PKR, has maintained the moral high ground among Malay voters, despite all the slander, calumny and lies thrown at them by Umno and the mainstream media on a daily basis.

Liew Lean Kut: This is a special force of the government. They move around in groups of 30 to 50 on motorcycle, their job is to disrupt the ceramah of the opposition and they go interstate, sometimes you can see them on the road to their destination.

Please do not be afraid as it will get worse before it gets better. Just keep on going, and we will see the light of freedom shining on our people.

Ferdtan: The disruptions of ceramah held by Pakatan or its supportive NGOs are happening once too often. The incidents are not localised as they have spread out to various states.

Thus the excuse of spontaneous response by the local residents angered by the staging of the ceramah in their villages is a lame argument.

The truth is such attacks are organised hooliganism throughout the nation to impede the growing support of Pakatan in Umno's strongholds.

Umno is afraid - very afraid - as their 'fixed deposit' constituencies such as the voters in Felda scheme are warming up to the opposition.

We blame the police for dereliction of duty as they allowed such infractions to happen. There are no serious injuries now, but if the police still don't want to act against such harassment, lives can be lost.

If that happens we hold the police and IGP (inspector-general of police) responsible. We call upon the leaders of Pakatan to come out together to condemn in the strongest terms such violence, and pressure the IGP to act without fear or favour.

NUJ slams attacks, wants police action

Fair and Open: These gangsters are set up principally in Pakatan states to cause violence and threaten the state government.

Penang would be the place where the ‘mamak gang', Perkasa and Umno Youth combine to wreak havoc on LGE (Lim Guan Eng) under the protection of the BN regime.

Do you think Ajib Taikor (big brother Najib) didn't know about this, if at all he did not give the approval in the first place?

Anonymous: NUJ (National Union of Journalists) must meet the Penang CPO (chief police officer) on this matter and seek a public apology from the latter for his failure to maintain peace and order.

Moreover, this is not the first time reporters were assaulted in Penang. In 2011, unruly demonstrators (could be from the same group of Umno/Perkasa supporters) kicked and punched some reporters on the Penang bridge and they even snatched away and damaged their cameras.

NUJ has to be stern and serious this time and press for public apology and decisive action against the culprits from the police.

Anonyxyz: The NUJ angrily demanded an apology from DAP election publicity chief Hew Kuan Yau for his remark that journalists are akin to ‘prostitutes', but there is no apology demand for physical assault on journalists.

Which is more dangerous? As the saying goes - "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

 


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