disgusting action by these rowdy penangites on xmas eve
Post on Dec.27, 2009
This is part 2 to my earlier post ‘what a shame! rowdy penangites on xmas eve again’.
it was already reported in the star on 25 dec, that was why i picked it up to blog on 26 dec but today’s star (27 dec) it was reported again. i can’t fnd the 25 dec report online but today’s report yes i see it online, hence i am posting the link here (but also CnP it here. to read, click on ‘read the rest of this entry’.)
i can’t understand why these people had to hijack christmas to turn it into a shameful season! why need to gather on xmas eve? thought it is only new year’s eve that people gather. did people gather around waiting for the stroke of midnight on deepeavali to welcome deepavali? or on hari raya eve to welcome hari raya? NO! christmas is a religious occasion and shouldn’t be hijacked like this!
well ok if people want to have fun on xmas eve (although their idea of fun has nothing to do with the real meaning of christmas)… i’m not oppose to people having fun… but why become voilent and rowdyat the expense of others in . i also can’t understand why the police never block the gurney drive road to prevent vehicles from entering. well some of the drivers too, should themselves understand that this sort of things might happened and avoid using the road.
it’s not that this have not happened before. as i blog earlier, it happened in 2007 too, so why the police were not prepared eh? if they knew this sort of things will happen, they should station the light strike force unit at gurney drive! why so fast to station FRU at the candle-light anti ISA vigil when the vigiliers were not ever going to get rowdy but cant’ station light strike force at a time when revellers might turn rowdy. if the police do not want such ugly incident to occur again, maybe they can make it an offense for revellers to carry spray can. of course i know this won’t stop the revellers from secretly carrying the cans or the revellers can use other ‘weapons’ (eg sticks, plastic bags and so on) but at least this will lesson the ‘wild’ action the revellers going to take.
i won’t be so angry if this happened on new year’s eve but to happen on christmas eve? christmas and new year are totally different! new year’s eve – you welcome the new year, christmas eve -
what are you welcoming? yes you are welcoming christmas… but for what purpose? nothing but just to have fun! yes understandable for new year – to have fun but christmas is a religious festival, why hijack it to have such disgusting fun! yes if you have fun among yourselves it’s ok but not to the extend of attacking people.
well it seems that now the police said they are ready – the have issued warning to penangites to behave during new year’s eve. good. i hope they will station lots and lots of men from the light strike force at gurney drive and esplanade, and i hope if there are trouble-makers, all of them will be caught and throw into jail!
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The Star
27 Dec. 2009
GEORGE TOWN: The usually rowdy Chris
Christmas eve celebration in Penang turned uglier than ever this year with two Rela members being punched, kicked and attacked with helmets by revellers.
A Bernama TV cameraman was also punched on the lips and pressmen were shoved by unruly revellers who sprayed aerosol foam on motorists and banged passing vehicles at Gurney Drive.
Light Strike Force mem
bers then had to intervene in one of the ugliest “celebrations” in the state in recent years.
A group of about 10 men bashed up the Rela members who had earlier hauled up one of their friends for giving passing vehicles a good “shake”.
They threw punches and kicked the Rela members in their apparent bid to free their friend, in his 20s, from being detained in the 12.30am incident on Friday.
The attacks took place while the Rela members and a plainclothes policeman were on their way to hand over the suspect to a nearby police base.
The attack which lasted several minutes only ended when the Light Strike Force unit, policemen and other Rela members moved in.
George Town acting OCPD Supt Gan Kong Meng said a 17-year-old factory worker was detained after the incident.
He said five police roadblocks were conducted that day to keep the situation in check.
Passers-by were stunned by the brazen attack on Rela members.
Even pressmen on duty were not spared as some were shoved by the revellers. They were later escorted away from the scene by police for safety reasons.
Bernama TV cameraman Gary Yeap, 20, lodged a police report at the Patani Road police station, claiming that he was punched on the lip.
Yeap said the man also threatened to harm him if the footage of the scene was shown on television.
At the stroke of midnight, thousands lined the popular sea front promenade, with many behaving wildly.
Traffic came almost to a standstill as the road was choked with revellers.
Youths holding snow spray cans sprayed foam onto the windscreens and side windows of passing motorists.
Some even lifted the windscreen wipers to prevent drivers from sweeping away the foam.
Supt Gan said more policemen would be deployed in hot spots and would be beefed up during New Year’s eve.
December 28th, 2009 on 9:04 AM
I feel it is unfair in using the label “Penangnites”. The ruckus is caused by a group of miscreants (rather than calling them “teenagers” and of a particular race) who do not represent the rest of us staying in Penang. Not all Penang people including me condone such unruly behaviour. The problem is that these group of youths had no better outlet for their energies and saw fit to give a bad name to th4e island. The police should be around rather than RELA people.
December 29th, 2009 on 1:21 AM
john, i’m a penangite too and i feel there’s nothing wrong with me using ‘penangites’. well maybe some of them were not penangites but majority of them were, and it happened in penang, so what else to label them than penangite. they are penangite after all so i was not wrong to label them thus. it doesn’t mean that by labelling them penangites, i meant all penangites! of course i know many penang people condone this behaviour (many of my own penang friends did so – they mentioned in facebook) and i’m sure they are smart enough to tell i meant those rowdy revellers on that night at gurney when i mentioned ‘penangites’, not all penangites.
actually it is the reason that i am a penangite, i love penang that i feel ashamed of my fellow penangites (or non penangites but in penang that time) acting thus, that i choose to label them as penangites. well they may be miscreants but still they (majority) are penangites.
i do agree that RELA should not be there. we know how the people hate RELA! the light strike force should be there – many of them lined up, like when they were at the anti-ISA vigil!
December 30th, 2009 on 12:01 AM
They came prepared to do battle. That’s what you call “no better OUTLET for their energies?”
Quote–”Youths holding snow spray cans sprayed foam onto the windscreens and side windows of passing motorists.”