Is There Such A Thing As Doing It At The Right Time And Right Place

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Of late, we hear some people claiming that things like protesting must be done at the right place and at the right time. What is this -  RIGHT PLACE or RIGHT TIME.

A University Malaya (UM) graduating student protested on his Convocation Day last Monday after claiming that VC Abd Rahim had made a allegedly racist speech at the recently concluded Malay Dignity Congress on 6 October.

The graduating student Wong Yan Ke had staged a protest against VC Abd Rahim by unfurling a placard and yelling " Tolak rasis. Undur VC. Ini Tanah Malaysia ("Reject racism. VC should resign. This country belongs to all Malaysians").

The displayed placard listed reasons why VC Abd Rahim should step down after Wong had received his scroll and done on stage at the UM's convocation ceremony.

The next day, another graduate, Edan Kon Hua En, attempted the same stunt but was foiled by the university's security unit.

Wong had also claimed that the university had withheld his academic transcript on some "flimsy" grounds.

Was Wong action's JUSTIFIED?

Is there ever a right time or place to confront racism, racists and bigots?. Rightfully, there is no such thing as the right time and place to oppose such morally defunct individuals.

A university is the right place where the rebellious university students woes should be listened or heard to. The university should have had a meeting with the student concerned and some form of settlement should have been reached prior to the convocation day.

The student Wong Yan Ke had worked hard to secure this scroll and the university has no right to hold onto his scroll or his transcript.

A good number of Malaysians feel that the timing of the student was brilliant. For the university to have overreacted to one student holding a placard and shouting from the stage, the whole event would be forgotten after a day or two, but the university lodged a police report and made the incident a talk of the nation.

The Education Ministry should immediately take steps to sack this vice-chancellor and apologise to the students concerned and to the Malaysian public before this incident become international news.

Its time for Malaysians to understand their rights and to break away from the notion that "our leaders are always right".

Let this be a good lesson to everyone. - Mohd. Kamal Abdullah

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