SUARA Mahasiswa UMS has defended its decision to burn a caricature of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 rally, with its leader Fadhil Kasim saying the act followed the precedent set by Anwar himself during his student days.
Fadhil pointed to Anwar’s activism in the 1970s, when he led a protest as president of the Malay Language Society of Universiti Malaya (PBMUM), publicly burning the book ‘13 Mei’ written by then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
“They said the book was subversive. So Anwar and his peers held a mock burial and burned it in public. And now they say we’re rude and immature?” Fadhil said in a statement from Kota Kinabalu on Monday.
He accused Anwar’s loyalists — including ABIM, AMK, and other aligned organisations — of hypocrisy for glorifying the Prime Minister’s activist past while condemning today’s student-led protests.
“They’ve failed to reflect on the very aesthetics of student protest. They’re more concerned that we burned a caricature of Anwar than about the corruption bleeding Sabah dry, or the unresolved water crisis at UMS,” he said.
Fadhil said the symbolic act at Lintasan Deasoka was meant to highlight what he described as the government’s failure to address systemic graft and the complicity of local political elites.
“I believe Anwar, if he watched our video, might recall his days at Universiti Malaya. But that’s just sentiment. The reality is, he’s the Prime Minister now — no longer a student activist.”
He also criticised Anwar’s shift in rhetoric since assuming power.
“When he was in the opposition, Anwar would come to Sabah and speak out about Musa Aman, logging, roads, corruption, and state rights. Now, it’s different. Now it’s about preserving GRS in the name of MADANI — even while GRS is drowning in scandals.”
The student group has come under fire following the burning of the caricature — accompanied by the slogan “MADANI: Protector of Sabah’s Corrupt” — during the Gaya Street Fair on Sunday, a site typically crowded with weekend visitors.
Several political parties and an NGO have criticised the act, with some describing it as “excessive” and “disrespectful.”
Sabah MUDA and G57 leader Datuk Zulkarnain Mahdar condemned the protest, while Warisan said the action was clearly initiated by the students themselves.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), through its Corporate Communications Centre, also condemned the incident and filed a police report. The university stressed that it had no involvement — direct or indirect — with the protest.
Meanwhile, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun has not officially addressed the incident at the point of writing. – June 23, 2025
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