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 ©New
Straits Times (Used by permission)
by Syed Nadzri
THE protester had picked up a rock the size of a man's fist and, shouting
obscenities at a cluster of approaching policemen, seemed ready to hurl it at
them any moment.
This young man was with about 30 others at that time. Seconds
later, just as the gang was backing off, he launched his missile.
It landed short since the police party was easily 50 metres away, but enough for
the stone to roll right under the foot of one of the cops who stopped it like a
football.
"Jaga siapa baling batu," someone in the police party hollered in a voice
so loud like the entire Jalan Ampang could hear him. "Kita cam sama lu. Gua
kenal siapa lu." (Watch out, you who threw the stone. We recognise you. I
know who you are.) And the protesting crowd roared back with some unprintable
words as they retreated.
Backing up this police party not far behind was a small army of riot policemen
from the Federal Reserve Unit armed with shields and batons who stamped their
intimidating presence by stomping their boots and clanking their truncheons as
they moved forward.
Such was the scene in front of Wisma Central in Jalan Ampang,
Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday in one of the standoffs between police and Hindraf
demonstrators.
It was tense throughout even though it happened when the whole protest was
already simmering down by the time New Straits Times Press deputy
chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan and I got to the scene.
We were standing barely 40 metres from this pocket of action and could see the
stone-throwing as clearly as we could smell and feel tear-gas residue while
walking past Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) minutes earlier.
Somehow, you could sense a very high-strung atmosphere in what was perhaps the
largest convergence of Indians outside Thaipusam.
There was, for instance, a row of cars and vans with Penang number plates filled
to the brim passing Jalan Pinang.
There were signs that the protesters had been camping in areas around the
Petronas Twin Towers, perhaps overnight. And there were police helicopters
hovering above the area the whole morning.
The stone-throwing episode above was only a snapshot of what happened in the
heart of the city two days ago when several thousand ethnic Indians took to the
streets to support Hindraf, or Hindu Rights Action Force, in championing the
cause of their community which they claimed had been economically and socially
marginalised.
It could have been a lot worse given the strong sentiments that prevailed. But a
glimpse of the unpleasant side of such demonstrations could be seen there and
then.
First, the number of people dragged into police trucks and taken away. We saw
that quite clearly, so many of them, some resisting and some yielding.
Two, it is dreadfully true that street protests (which inevitably will cause
police to act) are bad for business. KLCC, normally thriving with visitors, was
so quiet and some shops even had their shutters down.
Several tourists were spotted in this premier shopping centre but they wore this
uneasy look on their faces.
A florist on the ground floor of Wisma Central had the doors shut, with two
anxious workers peeking out through the glass to watch the madness on the
street.
One of the worst hit must be a nasi kandar restaurant in Jalan Ampang not far
from KLCC. It was full of customers when we first passed it -- presumably of
protesters refreshing themselves.
But not long after the stone-throwing episode, police moved in, causing many to
flee, some taking with them plates full of curry rice, presumably without
paying.
And soon after, the restaurant was deserted and looked like it was closing for
the day.
Yes, though it could have been a lot worse, it was bad enough.
Unnecessary, too, because it was held in direct defiance of an order by the
authorities.
But why, some may ask, must a demonstration (a peaceful one as they assumed it
would be) be denied in a country that practises democracy? The answer is: in the
interest of public order.
Such a discretion must be properly exercised where there is propensity that
there might be trouble arising out of the gathering. And the Constitution gives
police that discretion.
Added to that, given the communal and religious nature of Hindraf's causes,
there were legitimate reasons to disallow it because it was undeniable that all
it needed was a small spark to turn it into a full-blown racial flame.
The signs were all there on Sunday.
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Circular No 297/2008
