Bernard Cheah and Wong Wooi KeanGEORGE TOWN (Feb 5, 2010): Some 300 people held a noisy protest today against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s state administration, causing an afternoon traffic jam around Komtar, where Lim's office is located.
Despite the fiery speeches that demanded the state do more for the Malays, the organisers at the end refused to hand over a memorandum to Lim’s officers, insisting he come down himself to collect it.
They instead burned Lim’s effigy; and Lim’s political secretary, Ng Wei Aik, who came down to collect the memorandum was turned away and heckled by the crowd.
The gathering, organised by the Peninsular Malay Students Alliance (GPMS) and the Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce, began at about noon, at the compound of the Simpang Enam Mosque at Macalister Road, about 150m away from the government office in Komtar, with fewer than a hundred people showing up.
Calling themselves ‘Sedaq’ (a slang of the Malay word ‘sedar’ or "aware"), they alleged the state government was victimising Malays by unduly demolishing unlicensed premises operated by Malay traders.
Chamber president Rizal Faris Mohideen also dismissed state government statistics that showed the Malays had not been marginalised. He said the chamber would come up with its statistical findings to clarify the matter soon.
According to state figures, of the unlicensed hawkers the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) had acted against in 2008 and 2009, only 1,600 were Malays compared to 2,809 Chinese and 443 Indians. It also said some 88% of the Penang government’s contracts though open tender in the same period were awarded to Bumiputra companies, while 76% were given to Bumiputras through call for quotations.
The event was also characterised by banners condemning Lim, warning him, among other things, not to challenge the "patience of the Malays", as they are the rightful lords of the land. There were also banners telling Lim to "go back to Malacca", his hometown. Pasir Mas MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali, who is also the president of Malay NGO Perkasa, arrived at about 1pm.
Police officers were deployed near the mosque to ensure there were no untoward incidents and to control traffic flow.
The event became slightly chaotic after prayers, at about 2.20pm, when the crowd swelled to about 300 and marched to Komtar following a brief speech by Ibrahim. Curious passers-by and tourists made the congestion worse.
Upon reaching Komtar, the group turned away Lim’s officers who had come down to collect the memorandum.
Police then warned everyone, including passers-by, to clear out; and the crowd dispersed without any untoward incident by 3.45pm.
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