Najib S Gangsters A Symbol Of Deeper Rot In Society

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“Kenapa semua Cina”? These three words caricature the sad state of race relations in our country
Over and above that, manhandling a group of students who were protesting silently against Najib Razak’s presence in University Malaya, is a violation of their freedom of speech, expression and assembly
As if that was not enough, the thugs also harassed two Malaysiakini interns for reporting the truth about one of the protesters being held in a headlock
This takes a whack at the freedom of the media
So we, as a nation, have failed on all counts
We have become a society that doesn’t give two hoots about democracy and its inherent principles
Mix that with utter disrespect for the different races, and we have an explosive combo
The provocateurs were nothing but hooligans. They were bully boys and possibly thugs who turned up to flex their muscles against a group of students, who were merely exercising their rights well within a democracy
It’s also disturbing to see that the people who gathered around these bullies did nothing to stop the verbal and physical abuse
Right to freedom of expression needs to be protected by all and this must be drummed into the thick skulls of Najib’s gangsters
And they should also be warned to keep their hands off the media
Such thuggery sends the wrong message, especially after the Christchurch terrorist attack
If anything, it should have taught us to look at ourselves as one people as opposed to along racial or religious lines
We need to respect our differences but it seems some of us prefer a culture of intimidation and fear for political survival and in this case, a political comeback
Najib has been styling himself as the people’s leader following Pakatan Harapan’s thundering victory at the polls last year
He has expressed regret over the incident but this is not enough
Najib needs to send a strong warning to his supporters to stop the thuggery once and for all
The writer, Charles Santiago is member of Parliament for Klang

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