My take on the Low Yat incidents and what the authorities must do to be fair to all

About the Low Yat incident:

1) Stealing is wrong. 

Police have said that the accused have admitted to the stealing and there is CCTV footage of the theft. Police also said the accused was on drugs.

Anyone who has been to Low Yat would know there are many CCTV cameras there and with the current cheap price of such systems, it is highly unlikely that no CCTV system was active there.

CCTV recording of the alleged theft.

I do not belief there was cheating using a clone set because I have never seen any clone of a RM800 Lenovo phone or any low-range phones. Most counterfeit phones are of the top models - the iPhone 6 or the Samsung Galaxy or Galaxy Tab range.

Having said that, Low Yat management and the Domestic Trade Ministry must clamp-down hard on any cheating activities or fake goods in Low Yat and ensure their reputation is not tarnished due to a few bad apples. You can't blame people for suspecting cheating had occurred if your reputation is already bad!

In any case, police have reconfirmed several times there was no cheating in this particular case. There was also no police report made by the suspect of such alleged cheating.

“According to the accomplice, he had a receipt of purchase but when we checked, it was not true,” said IGP Tan Sri Khalid. 

“He also claimed that he had filed a report with us (of being sold a fake phone) but when we checked our system, there was none. 

“He is a cheat! So, please stop spreading false news,” said Khalid.

The police also said that “Investigations revealed that the man had stolen a phone, which led to him being arrested by members of the public. Police have also acquired CCTV recordings, which showed him talking with a sales representative before taking the phone and walking away when the sales representative was looking the other way.”

He should be arrested and he was arrested.

2) Asking several friends to revenge attack is wrong. 

Just because someone helped catch your friend is no reason for 7 persons to attack one sales-person.

Revenge Attacks: Seven people beating up one sales-person.

These 7 persons have been justifiably arrested. 

3) Inciting the situation further by uploading videos like this is wrong

As the crowd downstairs at Low Yat grew, certain workers of Low Yat upstairs were arming themselves with iron bars. 

While there is nothing wrong with defending yourselves but uploading such videos on social media at the height of the incident and saying you are ready for trouble is just inciting and asking for a confrontation.

This should be avoided.

4) Citizens' arrest is acceptable but Mob violence is wrong!

Dozens of people attacking 7 persons is also wrong  - even if the excuse is that you are defending your fellow salesperson.

You can make a citizen arrest but a mob attack on 7 persons - including one person caught on camera using a stick is very wrong.

The shocking video of scenes of dozens of people descending on a few persons appears to be the main trigger point for racial emotions.

The Trigger-point for uncontrolled anger: Mob attack and not citizens arrest - Dozens descending on the 7 persons.

You cannot justify mob violence with sticks on ANY individual - whether or not he deserves it is based on the law. Not on mob mentality.

What happens if the person was killed when the stick hit him?

A citizen's arrest does not equal to almost a mob lynching.

Nothing can justify the actions of so many people hitting on 7 persons!

After the video of this mob attack against 7 persons started circulating, most no longer cared whether the dang handphone was stolen or counterfeit or fake. - Most just got angered by the injustice and unfairness of 7 persons being attacked by large numbers of people.

Let this be a warning for people to no longer take the law into their own hands and try to administer mob justice. No more shall this happen!

Every single person involved in this mob violence on the 7 persons must be arrested immediately. So far, there seems to be some arrests of this group but PDRM must act on this immediately to identify and act on each person caught on video who participated in this unjust attacks. 

The person using the stick captured in the video must also face heavier charges and be charged separately for using a weapon to cause harm. 

Zero tolerance.

5) Beating up a young unmarried couple unrelated to the incident and destroying their car is wrong!

In my opinion, this is the low-point of this case. A young unmarried couple was set-upon by a group of thugs who beat up to a pulp both the defenseless man and the woman whose only crime is that they just happened to be near Low Yat.

Their car was also totally destroyed by people jumping on the car, kicking it and attacking it using crash helmets.

Man and girlfriend badly beaten up

Car destroyed by mob

In the widely-circulated video of the attack taken by someone on a motorcycle, some police personnel was seen to be helpless in controlling the situation and the attacks continued in their presence. 

Perhaps this would be a situation where the Police should have pulled-out their guns and fire warning shots to immediately put a stop to the continuing attacks.

It appears that the Police finally made some arrests but it was too late as it seems the mob was already content with the harm and hurt they have done..

Police must investigate the apparent failure of their personnel on the scene to control the situation and stop the attacks. Police must also use video evidence to identify and make more arrests.

There is no absolutely no excuse or reason for the mob to attack this young couple and justice must be served for the two persons.

6) Those who fanned and incited racial anger and created or spread outright lies. using social media and WhatsApp. Those who incited the mob mentality on the ground. They are all wrong!

There are too many people here to mention but some groups or individuals stand out. Here are some:

(from left to right) The blogger PapaGomo who spread false pictures of an alleged victim, FaceBook user Jaccky Poh who spread false pictures of victims from Sunday night to further inflame sentiments. FaceBook pages Kelab CheDet and BBCD who keeps spreading news of alleged cheating by the Oppo dealers. 

FaceBook user NG David who stupidly implied Malays are stupid and calling for May 13 again. FaceBook User Ojay Khoo who has made multiple posts accusing PM Najib of conspiracy of creating this racial commotion and Twitter user Preyana of spreading and defaming DAP's Nga Kor Ming of falsely saying "Bangsat punya Melayu"

City police chief Datuk Tajuddin Md Isa had said rumours and false information on social media played a huge part in the escalation of violence at the plaza.

Other than the examples above, I am sure PDRM and MCMC have a long list of others who have committed similar transgressions.

BERANI TULIS DAN SHARE, BERANI TANGGUNG.

The authorities must also take action on those spreading the lies and incitement via WhatsApp and WeChat no matter what language they are in.

Catch and charge a few of the more active ones to act as a deterrent and an example to the rest of Malaysians not to simply share and pass on such lies and incitement.

MCMC and PDRM must bring these people in for questioning and determine if they have committed any crime in accordance with our law.

At the very least, these people's social media properties should be put on a monitoring list that MCMC must diligently monitor.

If MCMC does not have a "To Monitor" list, it is now time to do create one.

There was also a video of the self-proclaimed President of the  Persatuan Veteran Tentera Melayu 1Malaysia, Ali Tinju making a racist speech on Sunday night at Low Yat that incited the crowd.

Caught inciting the crowd with a speech at the scene on Sunday evening.

Police head Comm Tajuddin have said he has been identified and would now be investigated. At the time of writing, he appears to be on the way to the Police Station to surrender himself.

The Malay rights group Pekida have denied the commotion at Low Yat on Sunday Evening is an official and sanctioned Pekida event and have said they will not hesitate to act if its members were involved in the brawl.

7) Always listen to the official Police statements of the situation.  Being misled by rumours or lies on Social Media is wrong.

Don't jump to conclusions. Stay calm and listen to the official news and the official version of the events. 

There are just too many lies and fake news being spread on social media or WhatsApp - learn from this unfortunate incident.

Here is what IGP officially clarified on the Low Yat incident.

8) Some curbs on Social Media would not be wrong.

This incident shows how uncontrolled social media can cause great harm to Malaysia. It appears that the mentality of most Malaysians suggest we are not ready for full freedom of speech.

Malaysians have lived harmoniously before without Social Media or WhatsApp/WeChat and I am sure some stricter controls on this would not make a big difference to our lives if we use them responsibly.

Personally, I would give up some of my internet freedom if it means peace is preserved and the hatred levels in society go down.

Many countries in our region have done this so I don't see why Malaysia should be any different.

PM Najib has suggested stricter Internet controls following the brawl at Low Yat Plaza, claiming the incident was made into a racial issue because social media was “too free”. 

As such, the prime minister said it was now necessary to look into existing Internet laws to better regulate its content in the future. 

“We have freedom on social media so there’s a problem because it’s too free in this instance, so this is something that should be thoroughly researched,” he said during a press conference after giving out goods to the homeless in Kuala Lumpur today. 

He also urged the public not to easily believe information spread on social media without first verifying its validity.

It is time for the authorities to act tough and lay down the law without favour. We must practise zero tolerance on people who threatens our racial harmony and peace.

At the time of writing, PDRM says they have arrested 19 persons and it is anticipated that more arrests will come.

Our future is in their hands and we depend on them maintaining a peaceful and harmonious multi-cultural society.

MCMC, It is Time to Wake-Up !