Screenshot of Sharifah Zohra (right) cutting off Bawani and pulling the mic away from her.PETALING JAYA: A second year law student became an overnight sensation when she stumped a NGO leader with her questions on free education.

KS Bawani took on Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) president, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen at a forum entitled ‘Are University Students in Line with Politics’ last month in UUM.

The video of the forum was uploaded on Facebook and microblogging site, Twitter and it went viral.

“I am happy with the support that I am receiving from the public. Overnight I received 2,000 friend requests on Facebook.

“I also saw people supporting me by creating six to seven Facebook pages. This is aside from 600 to 700 Facebook tags. I have also received numerous calls,” she said after the video showcasing Sharifah’s rebuttal to her arguments made it rounds.

In the video entitled ‘Forum Suara Mahasiswa Part 4′, Sharifah was unable to counter Bawani’s argument in favor of free education and went ballistic against Bawani.

Sharifah insisted that Bawani listen to her explanation. She said ‘listen’ and ‘let me speak’ seven times.

Bawani however noted that she had not faced any restriction from the university administration since the forum last month.

She also credited Parti Sosialis Malaysia for raising her awareness on the issue of free education.

Bawani is a PSM Youth activist and is also active with an NGO called Community Development Centre (CDC).

Patronizing Attitude

Meanwhile, higher education deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah criticized Sharifah Zobra Jabeen’s action as “condescending and patronizing”.

“I am sad with what I saw in the video. Sharifah should have let Bawani complete her speech. Even if you don’t agree with her, you should reply nicely… not condescending and patronizing.

“She should answer her with wisdom, good teachings and debate in the best of ways,” said Saifuddin after speaking to Bawani last night.

He said this after viewing the video.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin meanwhile disassociated his party from SW1M. The 1Malaysia tag is Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s clarion call to unite Malaysians regardless of race.

“Anyone can misuse the 1Malaysia slogan. No one in BN knows who this Sharifah Jabeen is,” he said on Twitter.

Meanwhile SW1M insisted that Sharifah does not need to apologize to Bawani via Facebook.

“There is no need for her to apologize to Bawani as she needs to learn how to respect others.”

In a related development, a parody of what Sharifah said has started to make its rounds.



- K Pragalath / Free Malaysia Today
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/15/law-student-becomes-overnight-sensation/