Yoursay: Is there ever a right time and place to protest?

YOURSAY | ‘What about elected MPs who often disrupt proceedings and make unrefined noises in Parliament?”

Pick the right time and place to protest, Dr M tells students

6th Generation Immigrant: Surely, the protester had already thought through his intentions about the right time and place, despite the dangers of him not graduating for doing so, and that was a major sacrifice he had made on behalf of the nation (his belief, and it does not matter whether or not he is right).

He did so, solo, because he wanted to draw national attention to his cause, and what a brave and well-thought-out plan it was, in that he protested against the very people he intended to draw attention towards - they were present.

So this is not like the Hong Kong protest of hit and hide, where no one knows who the backers are.

This is indeed a correct action to counter fake news or paid cyber bloggers - sacrificing oneself upfront and publicly on an occasion that could kill his future. An ultimate sacrifice.

What was truly wrong was that he had no support from people who agree with his fight; others are not willing to make that sacrifice.

He had only that one resource left; he kicked the targeted people, they were also the people who are already occupying the seats of power and they had already thwarted many of his actions before or long before they were even conceived.

Surely this is the very person entitled to our nation's whistleblower protection laws, as opposed to abuse.

Anonymous 2475091498015598: The whole matter should be looked at as one brave student saying something that the authorities must pay attention to.

He protested and walked away and didn't do something damaging.

A university is a place where the rebellious students should be listened to. It's a university, not a school. At university, you are supposed to express your opinions.

Universiti Malaya (UM) student Wong Yan Ke worked hard to get the scroll, and the university has no right to hold onto his scroll.

We all look up to a teenager who started a campaign to look into climate change and she was accorded a chance to speak at the United Nations. Similarly, one student brought up an issue and it is the duty of the authorities to consider it.

Anonymous_3b6c1f0c: Is there ever a right time to confront racism, racists and bigots? There is no such thing as the right time and place to oppose such morally defunct people.

People who advise anyone to pick a proper time or pick the right channel are usually the reason that these racists and bigots have become bolder in pursuit of their racist agenda.

Zoe: In retrospect, the timing of the student was brilliant, only thanks to UM.

If the university had not overreacted to one student holding a placard and shouting from the stage, this whole issue would have died down after a day or two of doing the usual social media rounds.

But thanks to UM's very smart move with one wayward student, the whole nation is now up in arms and the bulk of the criticism is against UM.

You must be a dinosaur if you think you can get away with your bullying tactics in this day and age.

Get rid of the vice-chancellor before you tarnish your good name any further and foreigners start taking notes.

Gerard Lourdesamy: This protest would not have taken place if Mahathir had not allowed Education Minister Maszlee Malik to advise the four public universities concerned to organise the deeply sectarian and divisive Malay Dignity Congress, where the UM vice-chancellor allegedly gave an incendiary and seditious speech attacking the non-Malays.

The congress was nothing but a political tool using academia and students to prop up declining Malay/Muslim support for Mahathir and Bersatu in the face of the onslaught by Umno and PAS to capture the Malay/Muslim voter base in the country.

A convocation ceremony is not akin to a congregation for worship, there is nothing divine or extraordinary about it that students cannot be allowed to protest at the event, provided they do not cause physical harm or property damage.

In 1968, student demonstrations at the University of Dundee in Scotland saw the Chancellor's procession headed by her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, pelted with toilet rolls by the students.

This caused an amused Queen Mother to pick up these rolls and hand them back to the students with a quip as to whether they had misplaced the toilet paper. No action was taken by the university or the police against the students.

Sherlock: Mahathir must understand that the small guys do not have the liberty and privilege to wait; the convocation is a very suitable time for such a display.

If many people at the convocation also protest, that means something has gone wrong. The authorities (university, government) must go and find out and solve the problem.

The easy way out is to catch and punish them. However, a wise government would find out and solve the problem; in this case, you have a useless vice-chancellor sitting at the top of the university.

Anonymous_1540780680: There is no so-called "right place" or "right moment" to protest. In this case, clearly protesting at the convocation ceremony is the most effective way for Wong to deliver his message.

Politicians have never given rakyat a damn if we didn't do something that can attract people's attention.

Come on Malaysians, is time to understand your rights and think outside the box. Please break away from the "our leader is always right" thinking.

Real Truth: The elected MPs who are paid with taxpayers’ money very often disrupt the proceedings and make all kinds of unrefined and vociferous noises in the august Parliament.

Meanwhile, we have to find a suitable space and time to protest. Very funny, Malaysia Baru.

Yoursay: Who is ‘kurang ajar’? The vice-chancellor or student?

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