Screenshot of Sharifah Zohra Jabeen (right) berating Bawani at the forum, and at one point telling the university student to ‘Listen’ a total of 11 times, and even taking away the microphone from Bawani to stop the student from speaking further.
The speaker, identified as Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, president of little-known organisation Suara Wanita 1 Malaysia (SW1M) that is seen to be aligned to the ruling BN, was caught on video berating the student — who had stood up to voice her views on the Bersih electoral rally and free education — with remarks such as “when this is our programme, we allow you to speak” and “when I speak, you listen”.
Higher Education Deputy Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah took to Twitter last night and posted his personal mobile phone number with a message urging the student, identified only as Bawani K.S., to contact him after another Twitter user remarked that she had an account on the microblogging site.
A few hours later, he tweeted: “Just spoken to Bawani on d phone. She is in high spirits.”
Bawani’s feelings on the issue remain closed off. Her Twitter account, @Bawani_ks, was inaccessible as she had locked it to only her followers.
Saifuddin tweeted on the matter, and also later spoke to university student Bawani. — File pic
“Patutny benarkn Bawani habis brcakap,lps tu jawab dgn bijaksana [Should have let Bawani finish speaking, then reply wisely],” the media-savvy Saifuddin answered to the Twitter user, @Mr_Nurislam.
His Umno party mate, Khairy Jamaluddin, also took to Twitter to distance the ruling coalition from Sharifah Zohra Jabeen after the video row sparked outrage from Netizens, some who have started several hashtag discussions on the microblogging site, including #SharifahZohra and #listen.
“And on UUM issue. Please #listen to me: this Jabeen lady DOES NOT represent BN. Sekian,” the Umno Youth chief tweeted several hours ago on his account, @Khairykj.
He added, “Siapa2 pun boleh salah guna 1Msia. Takde siapa dlm BN yg kenal Sharipah Jabeen ni [Anyone can misuse 1Malaysia. Nobody in BN knows this Sharipah Jabeen]” in reply to a Twitter user who pointed out that the speaker had worn a button badge with the 1 Malaysia logo commonly identified with the BN coalition.
Khairy’s attempt at damage control, however, was greeeted with disdain by some Netizens, including one Don Iznan who remarked over Twitter: “By saying #SharifahZohra not representing BN, KJ actually means that sharifah is from Umno.See?Hahaha.”
The forum, titled “Seiringkah mahasiswa dan politik?” (Are graduates and politics aligned?), was held at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) in Kedah on December 8, but the storm erupted after the 20-minute clip was posted on YouTube last week and then spread on Facebook and Twitter as well as several online university fora.
And on UUM issue. Please #listen to me: this Jabeen lady DOES NOT represent BN. Sekian. — Tweet by Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin
The video starts with the university students swearing an oath in the national language before cutting to the student, Bawani, who took to a microphone in a packed auditorium to speak on a court ruling on Bersih and ask why Malaysia was unable to offer free education like other countries.
The speaker, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, interrupts her mid-way, telling her to “Listen!” a whopping 11 times and even taking away the microphone from Bawani to stop the student from speaking further.
“Number one, when this is our programme, we allow you to speak,” Sharifah Zohra Jabeen said, and then added, “Number two, when I speak, you listen.”
Sharifah Zohra Jabeen also quelled another student who attempted to speak out, saying insistently, “Let me speak” before asking the rest of the auditorium audience: “Students in the hall, 2,300 students everywhere. Did I give her respect? Did I give her respect? I came up to her, shook hands with her and gave her respect as another woman. Do you think I need to answer her question with this attitude?”
She then labelled Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan an “anarchist”, and criticised the student for highlighting the need for free education in the country, even telling her “if you equate Malaysia to other countries, what are you doing in Malaysia?”
“Go to Cuba, go to Argentina, go to Libya, go everywhere. Because all the students in this hall are happy with whatever the government does for them,” she said, and ticked Bawani off for having “a very least of pendidikan [education]”.
Undergraduates in local universities have in recent years become increasingly more vocal and critical of the government, more so after the Najib administration moved to loosen the law allowing students to participate in politics, in a bid to draw support from the younger generation who are seen to make up a substantial voter demographic group.
Last year, several student groups took part in demonstrations nationwide to demand greater freedom and free university education.
Internet memes of Sharifah Zohra Jabeen have sprouted after the SW1M president publicly berated a university student for voicing her views against the BN government in an open forum last month.
Free University education? Free always equals to lesser quality. If Malaysians want poor free public education, fine.
ReplyDeleteRemember, you get what you pay for. Don't expect much if you're paying nothing!
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DeleteAs a French lecturer in Malaysia, I did my education in a French university, where it's free. The education I received was of high quality. Free doesn't always equal to lesser quality.
ReplyDelete