DNA of hooliganism, thuggery and samseng-ism

More than 10 years ago, in 1996, there was an international conference in Kuala Lumpur called Apcet II, the second ‘Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timur’ which was convened to propose a peaceful solution to the Indonesian militant oppression of East Timorese in Dili. The conference was held at Asia Hotel.

On 20 July 2007, a person by the name of Joe Gombak wrote a letter to Malaysiakini asking whether our mainstream media knows exactly which aspects of Malaysia's political culture could possibly benefit other countries.

Joe Gombak was of course being sarcastic in sneering at one of our mainstream press’ gratuitous article about how Malaysia was a wonderful example of unity and diversity.

Like FA Abdul yesterday (on hearing the 'profound', pompous and philosophical multi-racialism bull from Syed Saddiq of the ketuanan Pribumi Party, Joe Gombak confessed he nearly vomited after reading that nonsense, and indicated his displeasure, distress and disgust at the rotten state of affair, to wit, our failed state.

What attracted me to his letter was his statement:

Our dominant ethnic political party organizes mob violence at venues (such as the Apcet II meeting) whenever the occasion suits itself, and unashamedly threatens violence against the ethnic minorities at its AGM (Kerishamudin's ‘keris’-waving and ‘bathe it in blood’ antics courtesy of national television) and not to mention mobilizing its youth wing mobs to threaten to burn down a public building belonging to an ethnic minority - the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

Indeed, but I wonder whether Joe Gombak was aware of who was the acting PM when the UMNO thugs went to Asia Hotel to wreck violence on Apcet II in 1996?

Hint – this was in the mid-1996 and Mahathir was away in Ghana, hence there had to be an acting PM back at home. The then acting PM actually praised the mob violence which disrupted the Apcet II meeting and forced its abandonment.

He declared after UMNO Youth’s successful disruption of Apcet II:

“Our mission was to stop the conference and we did just that.”

Have you guess his identity yet, wakakaka. Let me pose that question to Nurul Izzah: Have you yet, Nurul?

Ironically, one victim involved was at that time the president of PRM (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) but who later was to become PKR's Deputy President in 2003, Dr Syed Husin Ali.

Poor bloke was physically abused in the UMNO-perpetrated violence.

OK, let’s revisit what Dr Syed Husin Ali, victim of that incident said during the subsequent court case in which the victims successfully filed a RM83 million suit over their wrongful detention by police on the opening day of Apcet II, which as mentioned, was stormed by the UMNO mob.Dr Syed Husin said he recognised 3 UMNO blokes who were among the rioters. They were, wakakaka, Saifuddin Nasution, Ruslan Khamis and Mustapha Yaakub. He knew them because Saifuddin Nasution and Ruslan Khamis joined PKR subsequently [though the latter returned to UMNO].

es, 

Yes, Saifuddin Nasution left UMNO in 1999 together with his idol, wakakaka, joined PKR when it was KeADILan, and is still with PKR (after KeADILan merged with Dr Syed Husin's PRM to form PKR) becoming its sec-gen but has been seconded early this year to the DAP in Penang to serve as strategic adviser the Lim Guan Eng.

But it's said a leopard never changes its spots, wakakaka, and Saifuddin showed his leopard spots in 1996 at UMNO's show of vile hooliganism at the Apcet II forum.

Anyway, this was what the mob did to Dr Syed Husin and Apcet II participants from all around the world, according to Dr Syed Husin’s statement to the court

Journalist Catherine McGrath was arrested in Kuala Lumpur in 1996 while working as South East Asia Correspondent for ABC TV and Radio.

… the 300-strong BN angry mob broke down the doors and invaded the conference hall carrying sticks and chairs in their hands.

Dr Syed further revealed: “One of them who had in his hand a food-container half-filled with water, emptied the contents all over me. He shouted at me saying, ‘Get out! Get out!’. It was mayhem.”

“I was personally assaulted by three persons. They used force and pulled my hands and body. They kept insisting that I should leave the hall.”

I just wonder whether they were the same 3 persons he recognized, wakakaka?

But Dr Syed Husin, by then PKR's Deputy President, actually grinned when he mentioned Saifuddin’s name – a sort of ‘hmmm, what a very very small world!’ or perhaps 'goodness gracious me, I'm now in the same party with a thug at Apcet II' wakakaka.

Dr Syed Husin would no doubt have been terrified and also fuming when Saifuddin and gang wrecked Apcet II in 1999 but subsequently could afford to grin when he found that both the victim (himself) and the aggressor (Saifuddin Nasution) were both PKR members a la 'member kita'.

Now, didn't and doesn't that make 'hooliganism' a strange and very relative description?

You know Saifuddin Nasution as the PKR party sec-gen who dismissed angry complaints about the earlier PKR party polling process involving Zaid Ibrahim, Chegubard, etc, don't you?

While party president Wan Azizah acted dunno and kept her mouth sealed, party sec-gen Saifuddin Nasution dismissed all and any complaints. What a team, wakakaka.

Saifuddin, one of those wreckers turned reformed (pun intended) apologist, who was then No 3 in the UMNO Youth leadership hierarchy but now the PKR sec-gen, admitted it was indeed an UMNO orchestrated attack on the conference. 

As PKR's sec-gen, he would, wouldn't he, wakakaka. 

But naturally, of course as PKR's sec-gen, he placed the blame on (1) Megat Junid, at that time deputy Home minister, (2) Zahid Hamidi, UMNO Youth Chief, and of course (3) the bete noire of PKR at that time, Mahathir, wakakaka.

But when Mahathir arrived home from Ghana, Megat Junid and Saifuddin met him, where Saifuddin related Megat told Mahathir that "It was all orchestrated."

Now, wasn’t it just strange that, according to Saifuddin (just a reminder, then the sec-gen of PKR), Mahathir who gave the approval for the disruption of Aptet was informed by Megat Junid that “It was all orchestrated.”

Tell me, would it have been logical that Mahathir who, according to Saifuddin, allegedly gave his approval in the first place had to be so informed by Megat Junid that “It was all orchestrated.”?

Wouldn’t it be more logical that Megat Junid have said “Semua kowtim Datuk” instead of "It was all orchestrated."

And I ask again: Who was in charge at home when Mahathir was away in Ghana? Was it possible for this person not to be aware of affairs that his sidekick Zahid Hamidi (the man he used in a failed attempt to drive Mahathir into expeditious retirement) and Saifuddin were up to?

Isn't it amazing, that according to Saifuddin Nasution, those that PKR coincidentally then-hated, namely, Mahathir and Zahid Hamidi (both in Ghana), and Hishamuddin (in Singapore) were asked for directions and approval to disrupt Apcet II, while someone at home, yes, in Malaysia as the acting PM, was not even mentioned at all and thus portrayed as clean as a whistle? The bullshit was just too f* rich, wakakaka.

Recall this, who boasted of the UMNO disruption of Aptet II:

“Our mission was to stop the conference and we did just that.”

Sure as hell wasn't Mahathir, Hishamuddin, Zahid Hamidi or Megat Junid (mind you, not that they're angels, au contraire).

Strange [or should it be] that Saifuddin Nasution didn’t even once mention his idol's name once, despite that person's very vocal boast: “Our mission was to stop the conference and we did just that” wakakaka.

As I mentioned just now: Didn't and doesn't that make 'hooliganism' a strange and very relative description?

But they are all wearing the same leopard spots, regardless of which party they now belong to.

I wonder what those who have been condemning the Nothing2Hide forum or the UMNO-Perkasa thugs in Penang's Himpun Hijau rally would say of the by-far-worse 'orchestrated' mob violence at Apcet II?

Please bear in mind the thuggery displayed at Apcet II involved international participants, thus shamefully demonstrating to the world the vile Malaysian thuggery, hooliganism and samseng-ism was a disgraceful part of our politics. 10 years later, it's still the same. 

I know what I would say, the DNA of hooliganism, thuggery and samseng-ism seems to lie with the same group of people whose parties may now be called by different names but who all come from the same source.

As the saying goes, the buah langsat does not fall far from the bangsat langsat tree.

wakakaka