Outrage as police brutality unleashed on students

The year 2012 started on a violent note last night as police attacked students who were peacefully protesting the Universities and University Colleges Act at the Sultan Idris Teaching University (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim, Perak.

In the incident which took place just after midnight, two students including deputy president of Pan-Malaysian Coalition of Islamic Undergraduates (GAMIS) Safwan Anang Talib were seriously injured after being brutally beaten by FRU personnel.

Safwan was said to be kicked and stomped by policemen, resulting in a broken rib and several teeth broken.

Another of the injured students, Amar Rasyidi of University of Malaya, needed several stitches on his face following injury after being beaten by the police.

Some seventeen students were arrested and brought to the Tanjung Malim police station. They include student activist Adam Adli, leaders of the Malaysian Undergraduates Solidarity Shazni Munir and Hilman Idham, and deputy president of Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen Khalid Ismath.

The action drew immediate reactions, with PAS Youth leader Nasruddin Hassan condemning the brutality unleashed on the peaceful protesters.

Urging for the detained students' immediate release, Nasruddin held the police responsible "if anything bad were to happen to GAMIS deputy president who is still being treated at the Slim River hospital", he told Harakahdaily.

Nasruddin said the latest high handedness shown by the police would encourage even bigger gatherings to demand academic freedom.

Rights group Lawyers For Liberty, describing the police action as "barbaric and uncivilised", urged Home minister Hishamuddin Hussein and Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar to stop the continued assault on peaceful protests by students. In a statement, the group's spokesperson Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said also urged the immediate release of the detained students and said police officers who used excessive force in the incident must be brought to justice.

PKPIM: Peaceful Assembly Act at work

PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the police's assault contrasted with their response during the protest in Kuala Lumpur by students, which saw a flag at the UMNO headquarters bearing prime minister Najib Razak's portrait being briefly brought down by protesters.

The violence proves that the prime minister's Malaysia Day speech and his transformation agenda are meaningless," said Nik Nazmi, referring to Najib's speech on September 15 promising an end to draconian laws such as the UUCA.

Former Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin also lashed out at the police. Posting an image of one of the injured students on his Facebook page, Asri asked if it was justified for the police to use such violence on the protesters.

"These were only students. The police have crossed their limits. Must they respond in such a way?" asked Asri.

National Association of Malaysian Muslim Students (PKPIM) in a statement reminded that the latest crackdown must be seen against the backdrop of the new Peaceful Assembly Bill which gave vast powers to the police, allowing them to act in the way they did last night.

In his statement, PKPIM president Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Samudin reiterated calls for the new act to be abolished, saying the incident last night was a prelude to more such crackdowns in view of the police's increased power to act against peaceful protesters.

-Harakahdaily