Thursday, March 1, 2012

Is This The End Game?

It seems that there is a growing culture among certain quarters here in Malaysia that if you disagree with someone, it is all right to resort to violence or threats of violence.

At the recent Himpunan Hijau 2.0 gathering at the Speaker's Corner, Padang Kota Lama, Penang, to protest the Lynas Corp rare earth plant, a group of people apparently tried to assault the Chief Minsiter of Penang himself .

They apparently also harangued him with choice curses including "Cina babi" (Chinese pig) among some other colourful imprecations.

As a result, two reporters were said to have been injured although Lim Guan Eng himself managed to  escape unhurt.

Earlier, on 26th Feb, Anwar Ibrahim's own daughter, Nurul Izzah, the MP for Lembah Pantai and a vice-president of Parti Keadlian, was herself apparently almost assaulted by group of people while she was giving a ceramah at a small kampung in Felda Lepur Hilir, Gambang, Kuantan.

In January, a group of youths using sticks and helmets had also disrupted a ceramah by the organisers of ABU and Hindraf.

Who are these people?

Some say that they were thugs sponsored by desperate politicians to try to cause an emergency situation and blame it on the opposition so that Najib's administration could declare emergency rule and obviate the need to call for the 13th general election that is not due till next year but which many hope and expect the PM will call for soon since Najib has been the PM without a mandate of his own since he took over from Abdullah Badawi more than three years ago.

I don't know. But it does appear that certain parties are increasingly getting desperate and afraid of losing were the general election to be called now or next year.

2 comments:

  1. People in power in semi-democratic countires, like Malaysia, don't want to lose power, so naturally will try to intimidate the opposition. Let's hope that the opposition can convince many Malaysians to elect a new government. I don't know enough about Malaysia' politics to know if the opposition is much better in governing the country, but it's good to have parties alternating in power in order to have a democratic country. I thought that the election will be this Spring. Election next year is too far away.
    Maybe you know thsi author from Indonesia
    www.shivanisiva.com
    The wrote about her in Asia Cha.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can't agree more with you, Giora. It is not healthy to have the same Barisan coalition holding the reins of government all these 54 years. Malaysians are ready for change. We want to vote out the Barisan coalition and bring in the opposition coalition Pakatan. My only misgiving about Pakatan is PAS, a member of the coalition. PAS's Islamic agenda may pose a problem, since they are likely to press for the implementation of hudud with syaria laws.

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Kluang's Little Bangsar

Kluang's Little Bangsar
Click To Visit

Kamini's Indian Wedding - Click To Visit

Kamini's Indian Wedding - Click To Visit
I attended my neighbour's daughter's Indian wedding dinner at the Sentul HGH Convention Centre. Click for a peek

Yasmin Ahmad - Click To Visit

Yasmin Ahmad - Click To Visit
Yasmin Ahmad was arguably Malaysia's best story-teller, filmmaker and advertiser. She was well known for her Petronas commercials and had won numerous international awards including the Golden Lion award for the 'Tan Ming Hong In Love' commercial. Her feature film Sepet not only garnered her several international awards including for Best Asian Film but also drew multi-racial audiences that rarely happens for a local film.

Genting Highlands - Click To Visit

Genting Highlands - Click To Visit
Genting Highlands Is A Popular Retreat With A Casino

Batu Caves - Click To Visit

Batu Caves - Click To Visit
Malaysia's Famous Landmark. Note The Statue Of Lord Muruga And The 272 Steps To The Temple Cave In The Background

Petronas Twin Towers And KLCC Park - Click To Visit

Petronas Twin Towers And KLCC Park - Click To Visit
Petronas Twin Towers Are Still The World's Tallest Twin Towers

Some Early Morning Views Of KL City Skyline - Click To Visit

Some Early Morning Views Of KL City Skyline - Click To Visit
Some early morning views of the KL city sykline I took from the 3rd floor of the KL Court with a low-pixel hand-phone camera

Kluang Town - Click To Visit

Kluang Town - Click To Visit
Kluang was a sleepy hollow, but is fast becoming a bustling town. You can't miss the bust-shaped gunung Lambak lording over the place and the town is well known for its tv brand coffee powder

Kluang RailCoffee

Kluang RailCoffee
The Kluang railway station coffee shop, now re-branded Kluang RailCoffee, is well known for its cuppa of coffee and the charcaol grilled piping hot buns oozing with butter and kaya...It used to attract standing-room only crowds. It still does, but the last time I was there it wasn't a good experience for me. The famous coffee had somewhat lost its oomph and even the buns...The shop has a long and noted history being first opened for business in 1938 and the place is now run by the 3rd generation LIm family. I hope the next time I return, the coffee would regain its oomph. Click to read more...