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.