Defiant students wear yellow for Najib visit

Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (TARC) had advised students to wear its official colour - red - to welcome Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to the college today. 

But a handful of students defiantly wore yellow, which has come to be associated with dissent and which is the trademark colour of electoral reform group Bersih. 

The band of 20 first-year students stood on the roadside to catch a glimpse of Najib as his official vehicle passed by them. 

However, Najib did not notice their presence amidst the carnival-like atmosphere of the welcoming ceremony, for which the participants had been waiting since about 2.30pm. 

The excited crowd cheered at almost any person or any car that passed by, waving plastic clappers and even kissing the hand of one of the Malaysiakini reporters present. 

When his official car arrived at about 4.15pm, Najib was waving at the crowd from an open window on the left side of his car, while the yellow-clad group stood on the right. 

When asked about their choice, the group said they wore yellow “for fun and to welcome Najib”. 

They were swamped by red-clad students crowding both sides of the 400 metre road from the campus entrance leading to the main hall of the college. 

Banners were held up to welcome the premier, including two reading ‘Ah Jib Kor, you are our inspiration’ and ‘Ah Jib Kor, We love you!!!’. 

‘Ah Jib Kor’ in Mandarin means ‘brother Najib’. The moniker is used on the prime minister’s Facebook page, aimed at engaging the Chinese Malaysian community. 

When asked, a student who declined to be named said that the college did not ban yellow shirts, but it was discouraged. 

He said that lecturers told him that if they were arrested for wearing yellow, they would be powerless to intervene. 

Malaysiakini also spoke to three students who carried banners, 18-year-old Chan Phei Yong and Ng Hwa Ee, and 19-year old S Nareisha. 

Holding the ‘Ah Jib Kor, We love you!!!’ banner, Chan said he was proud to be chosen by his teachers out of some 6,000 students to carry it. 

When asked whether he really loved Najib, he unhesitantly said, “Of course, that’s why I am holding this banner. I am not doing this blindly.” 

Inspired by Najib’s 1Malaysia initiative

The counselling student said he felt inspired by Najib’s 1Malaysia, People First initiative, and hopes to contribute to society through counselling work after graduation. 

On Najib’s performance, he said he would give 75 points out of 100, adding that he would give full marks if he delivers his promises and be fair in education policy. 

Meanwhile, Ng, who studies multimedia design, said the welcoming ceremony was “a little too grand”, but it is understandable because it is to show respect to a national leader. 

When asked, he denied that the school was trying to flatter Najib, but it was merely a mark of respect. 

He added that in order to participate in the ceremony, his afternoon classes were cancelled. 

When asked about the ‘Ah Jib Kor, you are our inspiration’ he was carrying and how did Najib inspire him, Ng paused for a thought, then replied, “I can’t think of anything... no comment.” 

Ng, who was told to hold the banner out of the blue, was also asked whether he liked Najib, to which he said, “He’s okay, no comment.” 

He said he would give Najib 60 points for his performance, but did not reply when asked what could Najib improve. 

Nareisha, also a multimedia design student, praised Najib as a good leader who governed the country well, which she found inspiring. 

She said under Najib’s administration, the country’s economy had improved, and she was grateful for the book vouchers given by the government. 

She felt that his performance would earn him 80 points, and hopes Najib would abolish the Universities and University Colleges Act. 

When asked about the perception that many youths have turned against the government, she candidly told Malaysiakini that she does not oppose the government, but would still look into issues and voice her views if she begs to differ. 

She said she also opposes calls for the government to provide free education because she was afraid that it would be abused, but she said the relevant authorities should provide free education for the poor. 

‘Welcome made him feel like a rock star’

In his speech, Najib cheerily remarked that he was excited with the welcome, which he said made him feel like a rock star. 

“A rather old rock star, but anyway thank you for your rapturous welcome,” he said. 

Najib (left) was present to witness the signing of an agreement between Agensi Inovasi Malaysia and 26 universities, research institutes and companies to set up the National Technology Commercialisation Office, in an effort to bring local innovations to the marketplace. 

Najib also announced that the college’s over 70 diploma and advanced diploma programes before 2008 would be given government recognition retrospectively, to which the students cheered. 

The diplomas were offered since the mid-1990s but were not given recognition due to technicalities involved in a 2009 policy change by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency. As a result, the qualifications could not be used for job applications in the civil service.