In an interview with the little-known Media Putrajaya, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin said she does not know whether Bawani was being “used”.
“I'm really not sure but it seems like she waited for her cue to come in, and then, provocational [sic]. The statement was provocative,” she said without elaborating.
A nine-minute video recording of the interview was uploaded to YouTube yesterday.
Sharifah
Zohra was explaining why she repeated the word 'listen' 11 times to
stop Bawani from speaking during the forum on Dec 8.Referring to herself as 'Kak Shah', Sharifah Zohra conceded that she had been ‘emotional’ when confronting Bawani.
“Even when we are reprimanding our children, maybe Kak Shah can choose a better way or other ways that suit them more ... but that time your emotion, your feeling, does not spare anybody. Everybody has emotion. Probably she is emotional too,” she said.
Sharifah Zohra claimed that Bawani had not followed the programme protocol, as the question-and-answer session had come to an end but she refused to stop talking.
[Her remarks are reproduced here, without editing.]
“Kak Shah gave her chances, not once but about 22 times. The chance to calm her down. That means when I was making my speech, she interrupted but yet, I went down to her because the programme has finished and we were doing lucky draw.
“I shook hands with her and gave her chance to speak. When she is speaking, she does not know when to stop. So when she does not know when to stop (and) time is running out, it is our programme, so she failed to see the protocol.
“During question-and-answer, she was not there. During end of the programme, she came up and asked (a question).”
Sharifah Zohra, who heads an NGO called Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M), then vehemently denied that she stopped Bawani from speaking.
“So when you repeatedly tell her to calm down, and then continue with eight times. I repeated 'listen', she couldn't stop, she continued with the shouting, she was not talking, she was shouting, she was demanding...
“So I continuously tell her 'let me speak', and there is no such thing as stopping her from talking. What I am trying to say is to get her to calm down. So that, to make her understand that there is always a way to send your message.”
‘I’m still smiling ...’
On the criticism that she compared university students with animals in her argument against Bawani, Sharifah clarified that it was merely an analogy to mean that every being created by God has its own problems.
“I'm
trying to say that, if you have a problem, there is always a way to
actually deal with it properly instead of just jumping, shouting. This
is not our way. This is just not our way especially coming from a
student.”Unperturbed by her critics, Sharifah pledged to continue SW1M's struggle to protect the rights of women and children.
“Truth will always prevail. In fact until now I'm still smiling ... I will always smile no matter what, and I will continue doing what I do, and nothing will break the spirit of Kak Shah and Kak Shah's team from continue to fight,” she added.
In another interview, Sharifah Zohra had claimed that the video showing her confrontation with Bawani during the forum has been “creatively spun” to gather support for an opposition party which she did not name.
As at 5pm today, the video had recorded 736,729 views.
'Recognise public outrage'
In a related development, MCA Youth education bureau chief Chong Sin Woon in a statement today said Sharifah Zohra's response clearly showed her failure to understand the public anger against her.
"It is plainly obvious that Sharifah Zohra still misses the point on why the public is put off by her manner and method of leveraging on 'right is might' to patronise and belittle Bawani before an audience of 2,300 undergraduates with rhetoric that lacked substance," Chong said.
"Sharifah's latest reaction will not in any way help the 1Malaysia cause and spirit. We urge Sharifah to reflect and recognise citizen outrage."
Chong also commended Bawani's magnanimity, maturity and generosity for having urged the public not to direct sexual innuendos at Sharifah Zohra.
"Our bureau also reiterates that there is no room for talking-down to students or any human being by any individual who assumes that having a degree mounts him on a higher pedestal than anyone who possesses SPM/O-level qualifications," he added.
"In fact, a person may have earned a PhD which gives one the right to prefix 'Dr' to one's name, but this does not qualify or justify the doctorate holder looking down and demeaning any individual who is illiterate, does not have formal education or is not academically inclined."
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