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Hold your own ceramah, don't harass others
Published:  Dec 7, 2012 9:34 AM
Updated: 7:30 AM

YOURSAY 'Do you see any Umno ceramah disrupted by Pakatan supporters? If Umno wants to be listened to, please organise your own rallies.'

PKR, BN supporters injured at Anwar ceramah

your say Wira: Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, what do you mean by who started the provocation. Umno's mat rempits and gangsters have no reason to be at a ceramah organised by the opposition unless they are there looking for trouble.

Do you see any Umno ceramah or rally being disrupted by Pakatan Rakyat supporters? If Umno wants to be listened to, please organise your own rallies. This is a democracy.

You have your right to be heard. But don't harass others.

Peacemaker: I was at the Pakatan ceramah in Gombak with three of my friends. We witnessed the unwarranted incident which happened during PKR deputy president Azmin Ali's speech.

The BN members were making noise, using foul language and intimidating Pakatan supporters. Obviously, the stones were coming from their side.

My question to KJ: What were the BN members doing at Pakatan's ceramah? Why they had to aim their loudspeakers at Pakatan's side where the people had gathered to listen to the speakers? What was their intention?

There is no reason to mention DSAI (Anwar Ibrahim) since he only spoke after Tamrin Ghaffar (son of former DPM Ghaffar Baba). And throughout his speech, he reminded the Pakatan supporters not to entertain the hecklers and remain calm.

Slumdog: This incident is another example where law and order in the country has broken down. Nobody in authority has demanded that this sort of behaviour must cease and will no longer be tolerated.

Instead in all the ceramahs where there has been thuggish behaviour or violence, not a single person has been arrested and charged. Even to the politically naïve, they would have to conclude that Umno must condone such behaviour.

After so many PKR ceramahs, you would expect the police, based on previous experiences, to have a presence at such gatherings to ensure they are incident free and peaceful. Is this too much to ask?

Yes, on reflection I think so, because the police are more interested in killing people in custody, intimidating and harassing the rakyat on fabricated charges and raping women in their stations.

Not Confused: Gombak Umno Youth chief Megat Zulkarnain Omardin claimed that they "had no issues with the ceramah if Anwar had spoken on the future direction of the country, but that they had to defend slander against their leaders".

What blatant and ignorant hypocrisy. The BN annual meet last week did virtually nothing else but slander and insult the opposition leaders and absolutely zero comment on future direction, policy or anything substantive about how they will handle rampant corruption and other ills in the country.

Get over it - this unfortunately is the democratic process here in Malaysia.

Asli Sarawak: The Gombak police chief knows very well what's going to happen and should have kept the Umno boys away from the ceramah.

The fact that he and his men didn't means that he's either incompetent or partial to Umno. Either way he should be removed from office. DSAI is right in demanding action from the police chief.

Forget about Khairy, it's his job to protect his members even when they are wrong, morally or otherwise.

Mirror On The Wall: These attacks on opposition rallies seem to be carrying on with almost arbitary ease and increasing frequency. And the perpetrators get away with it with equal ease, despite police reports.

It's becoming now a vicious cycle of repeated attacks on anything that is not BN. This is sheer intimidation and there is subtle approval of these attacks.

Will someone with some sense of fair play and common sense put a stop to this? I guess that's a rhetorical question.

Ferdtan: In the Pakatan ceramah, as pointed by most, it is easy to determine who the provokers were in the scuffle that left some supporters from Umno and Pakatan injured.

We don't need rocket scientists or Oxford-trained Umno Youth chief Khairy to scratch their heads to solve the mystery.

Why were the Umno members, (gangsters, judging by their behaviour) were at the PKR's ceramah when they have no business being there?

This is not the first time such ‘Umno-supported' provocations happened in many of the earlier Pakatan ceramahs.

As usual, the police did not act (or afraid or told not to do so). We hold the home minister and the IGP responsible as they had been warned before - to stop such intimidation and harassment against opposition ceramahs.

Do we see any Umno/MCA/MIC ceramahs been disrupted by rowdy gangsters? The answer is no.

This is the first time that Anwar Ibrahim got angry enough (which is not his nature) to give a direct warning to the Gombak police chief that he would personally look for him if no actions are taken.

Yes, we agree. It is time to strike fear into these enforcement officers to ensure that they act impartially; that they personally have to bear the consequences of their bad conduct. We want no more excuses that they are merely following orders from above.

Jiminy Qrikert: The sad thing about this incident is not the fact that Umno-BN uses thugs. That is a given as Umno-BN is desperate. The really sad thing is the Pakatan supporter's T-shirt. It has only the PKR and the PAS logos on it. What does this say?

For one, which I prefer to believe, these are not really true Pakatan supporters who understand the Pakatan cause.

They are just simple minded, racially-motivated opportunists who put the fight for Malay privileges (whatever this means) above that of the interests of saving the nation from another disastrous 55 years of Umno-BN rule.

For these simpletons, so long as they hear 'ketuanan Melayu' is still championed by Malay parties, they will support whichever party will serve their narrow interests better.

Pakatan leaders had better beware and take heed that the future of Malaysia is not about which race dominates but about the rakyat progressing together. And having just PKR and PAS logos does not equate to Pakatan.

Mahashitla: Khairy, the question of who started the provocation does not arise. Which group of people gatecrashed into Pakatan's ceramah carrying BN flags, accompanied by supposedly silat practitioners making noises, using vulgar language and some throwing stones?

The police must be firm and investigate this group of 'samseng' - who is their silat master and who was the Umno 'warlord' who instigated them. We know without money and backing, these group of people will not act so insensibly.

Can Zulkarnain justify their attack just because the group did not like what Anwar was talking. Anwar was not there to please Umno.

The Special Branch was there to record Anwar's speech and if there were slanders and untruths Umno should respond in a more civilised manner. Another thumbs down for Umno.

Chris: Youths from Umno are now given Nazi-like training to disrupt ceramahs and create fear and disorder. It's a standard operating procedure for a dying regime.

Artchan: I don't wish to see anybody die, but if the government of the day does not provide a safe environment and close an eye to the thuggery, the blood will be on Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's and PM Najib Razak's hands.

Maplesyrup: Is this what Najib has in store for Malaysians? Malaysians are not given any choice, are they? If we vote Pakatan, we can expect violence.

Now, just attending ceramah is no longer safe? Malaysians who have year after year voted for BN to rule over us, have been short-changed, as in, we do not get the peace and stability that is our basic human right.

PM Najib, touch your heart and think - if you are not able to transform BN, do the honourable thing. At least ensure a peaceful transition of power if Pakatan wins federal power, and for now, let Malaysians attend ceramah safely and peacefully.

Hmmmmmmmm: BN supporters going to Pakatan ceramah and the Umno Youth chief asked who started the provocation. How much dumber can one get?


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