Pelajar berkemah di luar penjara sokong rakan aktivis...

Aktivis pelajar berkumpul di luar penjara Kajang malam tadi sebagai tanda sokongan mereka kepada rakan aktivis, Umar Mohd Azmi yang dipenjara di situ.

Umar (di bawah) adalah salah seorang peserta protes 'Occupy

Dataran' April lalu yang dijatuhkan hukuman penjara sebulan dan denda RM1, 000 semalam, kerana menghalang pegawai awam menjalankan tugas.

Rayuannya terhadap sabitan dan hukuman penjara itu akan didengar pada hari Isnin di mahkamah Kuala Lumpur.

Tapak perkemahan pelajar di pintu masuk utama ke penjara tersebut diawasi anggota unit keselamatan penjara (UKP).

Kira-kira 50 aktivis pelajar tersebut, terutamanya dari Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) berkumpul di luar pintu pagar utama Penjara Kajang pada pukul 8 malam tadi di mana pemimpin SAM dan wakil PSM menyampaikan ucapan.

Aktres Drama Gerak Khas, Abby Abadi juga tampil menyokong protes tersebut.

Peserta protes itu kemudian memasang empat kemah mereka di sepanjang jalan menuju ke penjara di mana kira-kira 15 daripada mereka bermalam di situ.   

 

Muzik iringi protes

Malaysiakini meninjau kemah protes itu pagi ini dan mendapati kira-kira sepuluh orang daripada mereka masih berada di situ, sambil menyanyikan lagu protes, diiringinya dengan mainan gitar.

Seorang jurucakap kumpulan itu berkata, mereka berada di situ untuk jangka panjang, walaupun keputusan belum lagi dibuat melalui konsensus sama ada mereka akan mengadakan protes sepanjang sebulan  tempoh Umar dipenjara.

Menurutnya lagi, pada kira-kira jam 8.45 pagi tadi, mereka telah didatangi dua pegawai Cawangan Khas yang mengambil butir-butir mengenai dua di kalangan mereka, tetapi tidak mengambil apa-apa tindakan lain.

Seseorang pegawai penguatkuasaan Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKj) juga datang pada kira-kira jam 9.30 pagi bertanya sama ada mereka mendapatkan sebarang kebenaran untuk berkhemah di luar penjara.  

Bagaimanapun, selepas campurtangan wakil PSM, anggota penguatkuasa itu berkata mereka tidak akan mengganggu selagi sebagai pelajar terbabit tidak menghalang lalulintas dan orang ramai yang lalu di situ.

Anggota itu berkata, mereka menyerahkannya kepada pihak polis untuk memantau keadaan di situ.
Malaysiakini mendapati beberapa anggota polis berpakaian preman memantau pelajar manakala pegawai penjara memantau mereka dari tempat pemeriksaan keselamatan di tepi jalan dan di pintu masuk utama. 

Pada kira-kira jam 11.10 pagi ahli majlis MPKj Lee Kee Hiong datang memberi sokongan moral. Turut datang ialah kartunis politik Zunar dan beberapa pemimpin DAP tempatan.

Pada sekitar tengah hari, keluarga Umar yang melawatnya pagi ini datang menyampai mesej dari Umur untuk rakan aktivis di kemah tersebut.

"Dunia belum kiamat, Berjuang sampai tamat," kata bapanya, yang berkata semangat juang Umar tidak patah oleh apa yang dilaluinya sekarang.

Beliau berkata, anaknya berada dalam kesihatan yang baik, bersemangat dan Umarnya secara berjenaka berkata hukuman penjara sebulan itu adalah satu latihan baginya untuk berhenti merokok.

Pelajar mahu duduk Dataran sekali lagi

Umar, pelajar tahun akhir diploma dalam keselamatan industri di sebuah kolej swasta di Klang,  sedang menjalani latihan praktikal di Johor Bahru, yang dia sepatutnya selesai bulan depan.

Bapanya memberitahu para aktivis pelajar tersebut bahawa Umar diletakkan secara berasingan dari banduan lain, dan seorang diri bilik kurungannya, tetapi anaknya terharu dengan berita kehadiran rakan-rakannya di luar bangunan penjara.

Dalam sidang akhbar pada pukul 2 petang, Pengerusi SMM, Safwan Anang memberitahu pemberita bahawa mereka berada di situ untuk berkongsi kesusahan Umar.

"Kerana kami semua berada di Occupy Dataran untuk memperjuang pendidikan percuma tetapi hanya dia yang ditangkap dan dipenjarakan. Kami mahu berada di sini untuk bersama dengannya."
Safwan berkata mereka akan bergerak dari Penjara Kajang ke Dataran Merdeka di Kuala Lumpur pagi esok.

Di sana mereka akan berkhemah di dataran tersebut, walaupun jika DBKL akan melarang perkhemahan di situ, mereka akan tetap berkumpul di ruang awam, kata Safwan.

Tambahnya, dengan bergerak ke Kuala Lumpur, ia juga untuk memudahkan mereka untuk menghadiri prosiding rayuan Umar pada hari Isnin.-malaysiakini

'Umar jailing reminder of judicial reform failures'

The harsh jail sentence imposed on student Umar Mohd Azmi is a reminder of the justice system's failings and the government's inability to reform it, charges DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.

"It is utterly outrageous as well as a devastating reminder just before the 13th General Election, that despite all the sloganeering about government, economic, educational, social and political transformation programmes, the criminal justice system in Malaysia still sucks even under the four-year premiership of Najib Abdul Razak.

"The stark failure, whether under Najib or his predecessor Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) to reform, let alone transform the criminal justice system after the ravages... caused by the 22-year premiership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has been vividly highlighted by the Umar case, Lim (below) said in a statement today.

This, he said, was in addition to several other unresolved mega scandals of injustice such as the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock and other death in custody such as that of V Kugan.

Umar was sentenced to a month's jail and a fine of RM1,000 on being found guilty by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court of obstructing Kuala Lumpur City Hall officers from discharging their duties during a raid on student protesters occupying Dataran Merdeka.

Describing the sentence as a gross injustice , Lim who is overseas voiced support for students who are now holding a  'occupy protest' outside Kajang Prison where Umar is serving sentence.

Lim likened the protest camp to the 1998 protest action against the 18-month jailing of DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng for spreading false information after he took up the case of the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by a chief minister

Lim said DAP leaders and supporters had then staged an 18-day Free Guan Eng protest fast to express nationwide dismay, shock, grief and outrage at a great injustice at Kajang Prison, the same place where Guan Eng was held.

"I support the protest camp outside Kajang Prison set up by student activists and it should be visited by all justice-loving Malaysians like during the 18-day Free Guan Eng Marathon Fast 14 years ago in Kajang,"he added.

He also said that the case is strong for the protest camp to last as long as Umar is unjustly imprisoned.-malaysiakini

 Students camp outside prison in show of support...

Student activists have set up a protest camp right at the eaves of Kajang prison, in support of jailed compatriot Umar Mohd Azmi who received his sentence yesterday.

Umar (below), a participant of the 'Occupy Dataran' protest camp last April, received a month's jail and RM1,000 fine for obstructing  a public official from performing his duty by the court.

His appeal against conviction and imprisonment will be heard on Monday at the Kuala Lumpur court.

The student's campsite at the main entrance to the detention facility is under the watchful eyes of prison security unit (UKP) personnel though they made no overt moves to interfere.

The students, about 50 of them, mainly from Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) started gathering outside the main gates of Kalang Prison at 8pm yesterday.

Last night, students leaders from activist group Solidarity Anak Muda (Sam) and representative from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) addressed the protestors and popular Gerak Khas actress Abby Abadi also made an appearance.
They were joined by about 50 locals who came to show support swelling their numbers.

The protestors then set up their four tents along the road leading to the prison with around 15 of them spending the night there.

 Music to accompany protest

Malaysiakini visited the protest camp this morning to find about ten of them still at the site as some of had gone home to freshen up for the morning.
The students sat around singing protest songs to the strumming of a guitar that someone had brought along.

A spokesperson for the group said that they are there for the long haul, though a decision has not yet been made via consensus whether they will mount their protest for the entire month that Umar is in prison.

He also said that they were approached at about 8.45 this morning by two Special Branch officers who took down the particulars of two among them, but did not take any other action.

An MPKJ enforcement officer also dropped by at about 9.30am asking them if they had any permission to camp outside the prison.

However, after intervention from PSM representatives the enforcement officer said that they will not interfere as long as the students do not block traffic and obstruct passers-by.

The officer said that they leave it to cops to monitor and does not see any issues with the protest camp as yet.

Malaysiakini observed several plainclothes police officers monitoring the students while the prison officers watch from their roadside security checkpoint and at the main entrance.

At about 11.10am MPKJ councillor Lee Kee Hiong stopped by to show moral support.

Political cartoonist Zunar and several local DAP leaders also stopped by to show moral support.

The cartoonist then contributed his talent to the protest by drawing a banner depicting Umar in a cell for use by the protestors.

Others who came also brought along food as well as cans and bottles of isotonic drinks as the students maintained their protest camp under the burning Kajang sun.


A short spate of light rain failed to dampen their spirits.

At about noon, Umar's family who visited him this morning stopped by to pass on Umar's message to the students at the protest camp.

"Dunia belum kiamat, berjuang sampai tamat. (The world has not ended yet, fight till the end," said his father, who said Umar's fighting spirit is untouched by his ordeal.

He described his son to be in good health and good spirits who joked that his one-month imprisonment is training for him to quit smoking.

Students to occupy Dataran again

A final-year diploma student in industrial safety at a private college in Klang, Umar was undergoing practical training in Johor Bahru, which he was supposed to complete next month.

His father described to the students protestors that Umar is in isolation away from the general prison population, kept alone in his cell, but was heartened by the news that his friends are out there for him.


At a press conference at 2pm, SMM chairperson Safwan Anang told reporters that they are here to share at least some of Umar's hardship.

"As we all were at Occupy Dataran to fight for free education but only he was arrested and imprisoned. We want to be here with him."

Safwan said that they will move from their vigil in front of the Kajang Prison to Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning.

There they will camp out at the iconic square, though if DBKL were to forbid an encampment they will still gather at the public space, Safwan stressed.

He added that their move to Kuala Lumpur was also to make it easier for them to attend Umar's appeal on Monday.-malaysiakini

 

 

 cheers.