KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka hall was not the only place that saw a lot of action tonight. Outside the DBP itself, a crowd of about 60 had gathered to lend their support to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The multi-ethnic crowd — of all ages, and both genders — was happy to just mill about outside the security cordon but once the debate was over, they were stirred up by PKR Youth leaders who were shouting for Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek's resignation.
Shouts of "Reformasi, Reformasi" as well as "Undur, Undur" filled the night but things never got ugly even though they certainly were boisterous.
PKR Youth deputy chief Fariz Musa said he received SMSes from all over the country criticising Shabery's performance. He even claimed that some of the messages were from Umno members who said they were ashamed of him.
Inside the hall, it was less peaceful once the debate was over. There was a fracas involving members of the media and DBP security staff. Many of the reporters and photographers were stopped by security staff as they rushed downstairs where impromptu press conferences with Anwar and Shabery were being held. Some of the photographers and reporters were hit in the commotion.
Even Khairy Jamaluddin was not spared. While he was making his way down, he complained that some of the media were crowding him. When he asked them to back off, they shouted back at him and there was a brief exchange of words on both sides.
One-and-a-half hours after the end of the debate, food stalls outside the DBP were playing repeats of it on their TV sets and crowds were still gathering to eat, drink and watch the two men debate.
"Character assassination. When he (Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek) has nothing else to say, he launches a most personal attack against Anwar instead of debating the topic. He is not fit to be a minister or even a Member of Parliament," said David Wong, one of the customers at a stall across from the DBP.
"It's not that I'm anti-government. If they do a fine job, I support them. But for the past 50 years, they (the BN government) have been sleeping. Things must be corrected. There should be a level-playing field. For the sake of our future generations."
modified from: The Malaysian Insider
The multi-ethnic crowd — of all ages, and both genders — was happy to just mill about outside the security cordon but once the debate was over, they were stirred up by PKR Youth leaders who were shouting for Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek's resignation.
Shouts of "Reformasi, Reformasi" as well as "Undur, Undur" filled the night but things never got ugly even though they certainly were boisterous.
PKR Youth deputy chief Fariz Musa said he received SMSes from all over the country criticising Shabery's performance. He even claimed that some of the messages were from Umno members who said they were ashamed of him.
Inside the hall, it was less peaceful once the debate was over. There was a fracas involving members of the media and DBP security staff. Many of the reporters and photographers were stopped by security staff as they rushed downstairs where impromptu press conferences with Anwar and Shabery were being held. Some of the photographers and reporters were hit in the commotion.
Even Khairy Jamaluddin was not spared. While he was making his way down, he complained that some of the media were crowding him. When he asked them to back off, they shouted back at him and there was a brief exchange of words on both sides.
One-and-a-half hours after the end of the debate, food stalls outside the DBP were playing repeats of it on their TV sets and crowds were still gathering to eat, drink and watch the two men debate.
"Character assassination. When he (Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek) has nothing else to say, he launches a most personal attack against Anwar instead of debating the topic. He is not fit to be a minister or even a Member of Parliament," said David Wong, one of the customers at a stall across from the DBP.
"It's not that I'm anti-government. If they do a fine job, I support them. But for the past 50 years, they (the BN government) have been sleeping. Things must be corrected. There should be a level-playing field. For the sake of our future generations."
modified from: The Malaysian Insider
No comments:
Post a Comment