YOURSAY | The only weapon M'sians have is the weapon of protest

 

YOURSAY | 'Disrupting the system is the greatest civic duty of all.'

Street protest not best way to fight price hikes - student reps

Proarte: These opportunistic student leaders - from Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia - have no sense of idealism or solidarity with fellow student leaders taking part in the Turun demonstration!

Food prices are a real concern because sustenance is a necessity of life. Soaring prices are worrying for the average student, many of whom come from B40 households.

University students are abreast with the corruption cases currently being heard in court and must be disgusted at the obscene amounts allegedly being stolen by government party leaders and their associates.

Former premier Najib Abdul Razak is already a convicted felon but has many more cases to face. As we all know, he was the head honcho in the RM42 billion 1MDB heist.

Rather than lining their pockets in times of difficulty, the people demand that politicians put an end to the thievery so that resources can benefit the nation.

The logging of hillside forest reserves which are converted into Musang King plantations and the consequent flooding and landslides, the most recent occurring in Kedah affecting the lives of thousands and with three deaths recorded, are the results of corrupt decisions by government leaders.

They are elected to safeguard the lives of the people; instead, they endanger them with this ongoing problem of logging.

The Turun demonstrations are the people putting the government on notice that they will not tolerate inaction over price rises, given that they have stolen billions. All that is required is political will.

Vgeorgemy: We can trust the government to spend our money wisely; defend minorities against more powerful or larger groups; resist undemocratic forces such as oligarchs, the media they control and corporate lobby groups.

We can trust it to ensure everyone’s needs are met; workers are not exploited; our neighbourhoods and quality of life are not sacrificed to corporate profits.

We can trust it not to abuse the political process; not to break the law.

There cannot be many people who have lived in Malaysia – or many other nations – for the past few years and still believe this fairy tale.

We have seen what happens if we leave politics to governments. Fairly elected or not, they will, without effective public pressure, abuse their power.

They will change political rules to favour their party, subordinate public interest to that of corporations and billionaires, beat up vulnerable groups, sacrifice our common future to expediency and impose ever more oppressive laws to bind us.

Almost everything of importance is disintegrating fast: the ecosystems, our health system, standards in public life, equality, human rights and terms of employment.

Business as usual is a threat to life on Earth. Disrupting it is the greatest civic duty of all.

BobbyO: Are these student union leaders and their struggles aware of what is going on in this nation, or are they mere spokespersons for the ruling party?

Perhaps in return, they are well taken care of personally while thousands of other students and their families face the serious consequences of price hikes.

The ruling party have been in power for over 60 years, but the conditions in the nation had been slowly but surely deteriorated. Especially corruption.

Corruption, mismanagement and wastage have left this country in huge debts. Debts that have caused our currency to lose its value. So much so that it has affected the prices of necessities.

The figures lost due to corrupt activities had been slowly rising until we are now considered the world's champion.

Our leaders have not been listening. Instead, they have become braver and more arrogant. So, what are these so-called student leaders talking about using correct channels?

Hmmmmmmmm: Are these so-called student leaders for real? I think this is the result of both our dumbed-down education as well as lots of brainwashing.

If correct channels work, who would bother to go out to protest?

Sure, this time the government may accede to some of your requests if you talk to them. But this is the direct consequence of the Turun protest. If they don't give in to some of your demands, they fear more protests.

Do you think the government will listen to a group of nobodies like you if you do not have any leverage against them? These student leaders are really very wet behind the ears.

Newday: To these pro-government student leaders - remember that the right to peaceful assembly/protest is enshrined in the Constitution and a basic democratic right.

The proper channels as you refer to are full of deceit and cloaked in secrecy where the only message we get is - “don’t you worry about that, we have everything under control”.

When your political masters repeat this many times as they have, you can guarantee that there is much to worry about. Stop being a compliant mouthpiece. - Mkini