INTERVIEW After being catapulted into the limelight, student KS Bawani says her mother is more concerned about her newfound fame than herself.

“About fear... actually it is my mother who is more afraid. She told me after the issue blew up, ‘Be careful. Maybe someone will gun you down.’

NONE “I think I have done nothing wrong so there is no need to be afraid. Plus there are many who support me. If anything happens, I think I will face it with a smile,” she said in an interview with Malaysiakini last Friday.

The 27-year old Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) law student was asked whether she was scared after virtually going from being an unknown to fame overnight, after a video of her being berated went viral over the Internet.

In a 24-minute video uploaded on Jan 9, Bawani is shown voicing her counterpoints to the forum moderator Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin, only to be cut off and have her microphone taken from her.

Even in her school days, Bawani said she has already been noted for being outspoken.

“(When choosing to further studies after Form Six), many said that I’m very good, outspoken, and have the potential to be a lawyer,” Bawani said, and her mother too encouraged her to read law.

However, she felt that her mastery of the English language was inadequate, and feared that if she would have lifelong regrets if she led to a wrong judgement.

She ended up applying to study psychology at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) as her first choice, believing that she could help people best as a psychologist.

NONE “I have decided to help people, so I studied psychology before to understand the feelings and actions of people to help solve their problems,” she said.

Bawani's second and third choices were to either study law or economics at UKM respectively, but luckily managed to get her first choice.

During her studies, she joined the group, Jawatankuasa Kebajikan Mahasiswa-Mahasiswi (Student’s Welfare Committee), whose activities include visiting, living with, and helping the poor.

Then she began to have second thoughts about not studying law, but she kept telling herself that she is weak in English.

“We often have this program called ‘A Day with the Community’ or ‘Operasi Khidmat Masyarakat’.

‘What is my role as a youth?’

“At the end of the semester, we choose a place that is facing problems, such as estates or urban squatters, to live with them and see their problems for ourselves.

“When I got involved and saw it for myself, I began to ask, ‘There is oppression, there are problems. As a youth, what is my role? What do I need to do?’

“At the time, I decided that if there is good, it should be continued. But if there is anything not right, I must voice out,” she said. She was 21 years old at the time.

Her involvement in activism did not sit well with her mother at first, especially in one semester when her grade point dropped below 3.0.

The mother of five blamed Bawani’s poor performance on her activism, which the latter believed has nothing to do with it.

“The next semester, my grade point went above 3.0 and I told mom, ‘See, this has nothing to do with my activities’.

“Since then, she said ‘okay’. I wanted to prove to her that my activism does not affect my studies,” she said.

Upon graduation in 2008, she worked with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) as aide to its secretary-general, S Arutchelvan, while she made inquiries about furthering her studies.

NONE However, she did not apply to study for a Master’s degree in clinical psychology in UKM later that year, but managed to secure a place at UUM in 2011, where the aspiring human rights lawyer is now studying for her second degree.

Asked if she was interested in a career in politics, her response was non-committal, except for saying that she would not be contesting in the coming general election.

“However, I will continue my struggle. Let the future decide everything. I will always support PSM. I think that is the party that fights for my ideology,” she said, adding that she is merely a PSM supporter at the moment, not a member.

She claims to have taken part in more than 50 rallies and protests since 2005, most of them organised by PSM. Her first was the anti-fuel price hike protest at KLCC.

NONE In a press conference last week, Bawani had mentioned that she idolises Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevera.

When asked for her rationale during the interview, she said she was interested in the revolutionary icon since 2005 because he fought for the people since his youth.

“Everyone knows that he is from Cuba, which is a socialist state. Socialism brings equality - no rich, no poor, just equals - I am interested in that ideology,” she said.

Part 1: Bawani: Students forced to attend controversial forum

 

This interview was jointly conducted by Abdul Rahim Sabri, Kow Gah Chie and Koh Jun Lin.

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