YOURSAY | ‘Black-shirts or whatever, protest as you will - that’s your democratic right but...’

Now, 1,000 black-shirts rally against Guan Eng

Trueglitter: The general community in Malaysia are unduly alarmed and deeply concerned over the menacing gathering of the 'black-shirts' group which had marched to Komtar in their strength of 1,000 members to demand Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to go on leave or to resign over his graft charges.

Those concerns have been exacerbated by the perception that the participants were not local Umno members but 'paratroopers' recruited from outside Penang.

With Penang under DAP administration, which has garnered much accolades and praises from its populace for capable management, coupled with the impending Bersih 5 rally on Nov 19, it is small wonder Umno-BN is extremely concerned that the support in Penang may well be the catalyst for Chinese voters to vote for the opposition in the forthcoming GE14.

Going the way that Umno members are doing in this regard, it is blatantly obvious the party is wielding a double-edged sword that will inevitably hasten MO1's (Malaysian Official 1’s) political demise.

Odin Tajué: If the protesters have prior been brainwashed through the BTN (Biro Tatanegara) lectures into believing they are of the supreme race and are entitled to most things, they have also been bombarded post-school with propaganda calculated to force them to view the Chinese as usurpers and snatchers of what are rightfully theirs, of insulting their religion, leaders and rulers, and of trampling on their very dignity.

But they are unable to see the truth, for they are not exactly bright sparks (if they were, they would not be what they are, would they?) and are not likely to avail themselves of alternative information that reflects reality.

Would you think they are even aware of such things as the celebrated ‘units’ and never mind the manoeuvres taken to siphon vast sums of money from 1MDB? Highly unlikely.

With the seed of hatred for the Chinese already germinating and sprouting in their feeble minds, they were next enticed to vent their anger on a representation of that race of people - Lim Guan Eng - with some money and, possibly, free food and drinks.

Having the full knowledge that they could let off steam and exhibit their macho-ness, real or imagined, without let or hindrance from the police, they were fair game for those of their own kind with devious minds. And so, you found what you did on Wednesday.

And that isn’t likely to be the last one. There will be more. After all, there are several mountains of rotting, odoriferous things to draw the hoi-polloi’s attention away from. You know what they are.

Flabbergasted Malaysian: Nearer to Bersih's planned rally, we will be seeing more drama unfolding in the political landscape. More unprecedented moves and baseless demands.

If only our youths spend their time investing in something more productive, we need to be very fearful of the future of this nation.

Ferdtan: Like the proverbial tale of a ‘a boy who cried wolf’ too many times, such protests have lost their stings.

Malaysians had got used to such violent demonstrations against Lim. Also, many had not forgotten the Umno thugs demonstrating against him trying to break the glass doors to get into the state government's offices.

This is only a distraction to reflect the criticisms against PM Najib Razak’s 1MDB scandal. Politically, BN loses. MCA and Gerakan will suffer the backlash from the Chinese as they were seen to be associated with the usual unruly Penang Umno members.

The more protest against Lim, the stronger DAP gets.

The Analyser: I'm working on the assumption that all Malaysians want a better tomorrow.

But DAP and its supporters are working on the assumption that only the 'hard working' Chinese deserve a better tomorrow. The Chinese want that it should be their right to profiteer, regardless of the ethics involved.

As for stirring up animosity towards the Malays, I could never hope to compete with the hatred and jealousy that the paranoid parents of the Chinese have instilled in their children.

Responsible Malaysian: Analyser, a smart person with good intention should never pick on particular race to stir up the emotion.

There are irrational people in every race and it does not mean that any particular race is racist or selfish. How many Chinese, Indian and Malay parents do you know? 1,2,3 or perhaps 100? How irrational for you to assume that all their parents are racist.

I do not know which race you belong to. But, I will never conclude that your race is irrational or racist. I only conclude that you (one person) are a stirrer of hatred.

Anticonmen: This is what you get when there is no equality of citizenship under Article 8. The ones who think themselves as 'more equal' try to impose themselves on the ones whom they think are 'less equal' to them and get away with robbery and even murder.

The sense of right and wrong becomes clouded by superiority complex, racism and bigotry.

HaveAGreatDay: Black-shirts or whatever, protest as you will - that is your democratic right.

But why can't you accept it is also the right of Bersih to protest against MO1's allegedly raiding the nation's Treasury via 1MDB?

Liew Lean Kut: Yes, this group of people have the democratic to rally against Lim, but to say Bersih cannot ask Najib to resign over the US Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations related to 1MDB funds is nonsensical reasoning.


The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.