KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — One student from the Malaysian Islamic Student Coalition (Gamis) was arrested when the police stopped its demonstration to show solidarity with Universiti Malaya (UM) vice-chancellor Datuk Abdul Rahim Hashim.

Chairman of Gamis’ women wing, Maizatul Afirah Ayub, was seen being taken into a police car in front of UM’s main gates after the police asked for her MyKad at around 2.45pm.

She was the third speaker at the demonstration when a policeman confiscated the microphone and PA system, before telling those gathered since 2.10pm to disperse.

Gamis president Ikhwan Nasyriq Salihin said the police also asked him and another student, Saifullah Baiduri, to give their statements at Pantai police station.

He said they had planned to march peacefully from the main gates to the Chancellery Hall about 800m away and gather at the varsity’s famed Speaker’s Corner.

“We did not engage in any violence or provocation but dispersed to ensure the safety of the Gamis students here.

“If UM had given us the space to enter, I think what the police had an issue with would not have been a problem,” he told reporters afterwards.

Ikhwan also said that they had invited PAS’ Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhi Shaari and former UM student activist and PAS central committee member Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki as guest speakers.

However, they were informed by UM security that the gates would be closed between 2pm to 2.30pm due to the demonstration.

About 30 Gamis students attended carrying banners saying, “We stand with VCUM”, as well as placards and signs condemning Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) and DAP.

The gates’ closure caused traffic to back up for over a kilometre from the Kerinchi flyover to the KL entrance of the university.

The police deputy superintendent who confiscated the microphone declined to speak to the press.

The students also condemned the action of Wong Yan Ke who held up a banner while receiving his scroll on stage during his convocation ceremony earlier this month, accusing Rahim of racism and calling for his resignation for attending the Malay Dignity Congress.

The students also demanded that the university ban University Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) of which Wong had been president.

Some speakers also condemned DAP.

“We saw how Wong Yan Ke is very active and close to DAP, so we feel that his actions have ties with DAP,” Ikhwan alleged.

I run a medical clinic and was visited by a Ministry of Health pharmacy inspection team of three officers, two men and a lady.

The men warmly accepted my offer to shake hands, while the lady stood up, turned her head and immediately put her hand behind her back with her smile disappearing for a few brief seconds, leaving me wondering if I had offended her.

While I understand she does not wish to shake hands for religious reasons, and is perfectly within her rights to do so, I am saddened that my gesture caused us both some embarrassment and discomfort.

Shaking hands is a Western tradition, said to evolve from ancient times when men carried arms and you could never be sure if the person you met would pull up a knife to stab you.

Extending the open hand shows that you have no weapons in the hand, and are coming for a friendly interaction with goodwill.

Similarly, ancient Chinese clasp an open palm over a clenched fist to show that the interaction is friendly and not about exchanging fistfights.
Japanese do not shake hands, but bow; the lower the bow, the more humble the status projected.

Thais clasp the two open palms together in front of their chest, as in a prayer, in an easily understood universal friendly greeting.

I write to request the Protocol Division of the Ministry of Health, and the Public Service Commission to set out what the proper greeting gesture should be to welcome Muslim female officers who choose not to shake hands.

Having the public aware of such a clear set of protocols on friendly greeting gestures makes for harmonious interaction and avoids discomfort, embarrassment or misunderstanding in our multi-religious society.

This will help foster more friendly and closer relations between government civil servants and the public for the betterment of our country.

Dr Ong Hean Teik is a consultant cardiologist.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

SLAVIA PRAGUE: Lionel Messi muncul pemain pertama menjaringkan gol dalam 15 musim Liga Juara-Juara berturut-turut ketika Barcelona meraih kemenangan tipis di sini semalam.

Barcelona mengatasi Slavia Prague 2-1.

Kapten Messi memberi Barca jaringan awal pada minit ketiga setelah bertukar-tukar hantaran dengan Arthur.

Juara Czech berjaya menyamakan kedudukan Jan Boril pada minit ke-50.

Tetapi tendangan bebas Messi disempurnakan oleh Luis Suarez, sekali gus melepasi Peter Olayinka pada minit ke-57.

Barcelona, yang berada di puncak La Liga, kini telah memenangi enam perlawanan berturut-turut dari kesemua pertemuan.

Hasilnya menjadikan pasukan Ernesto Valverde mendahului Kumpulan F dengan tujuh mata dari tiga perlawanan, tiga mata di atas Inter Milan dan Borussia Dortmund.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Hew Kuan Yau has resigned as the chief executive officer of the Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC) chaired by DAP’s Tan Kok Wai effective immediately.

The former DAP member at the centre of a controversy over a pro-China comic banned as communist propaganda yesterday said he was resigning to ensure the council could continue its operations unhindered.

Hew then used the resignation announcement posted on his Facebook page to indirectly defend himself over the Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism comic he commissioned.

“During my tenure as the CEO over the past 8 months, I have devoted myself to strengthen the economy and trade, promoting people-to-people bond and cultural exchanges between Malaysia and China so as to better connect to the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’.

“My intention was to open more resources for the establishment of a modernised Malaysia as the country has been hollowed out by the kleptocracy of the previous government,” he asserted.

MORE TO COME

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Zainah Anwar who co-founded women’s rights group Sisters in Islam received a United Nations (UN) award for her contributions to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Human Rights Fundamental Freedoms category today.

The SIS executive director received the award that honours outstanding contributions of individuals and organisations embodying the underlying principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Zainah was recognised for her decades of hard work and dedication in promoting the rights of women living in Muslim contexts which includes co-finding two ground-breaking women’s groups, Sisters in Islam and Musawah, a group which promotes justice and equality in the Muslim family,” the group said in a statement today.

It added that this UN award adds to her impressive list of accolades and recognitions in the area of human rights.

In 2018, Zainah was honoured by Harvard Law School as one of the 25 “Women Aspiring Change” globally in the areas of law and policy.

She has also been named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of 150 women “who shake the world”, by Women Deliver as one of 100 most inspiring people in championing the rights of women and girls and by the online International Museum of Women as one of the 10 Most Influential Muslim Women at the Global Level.