KUALA LUMPUR: A Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leader has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to apologise for the harsh manner when he responded to a student's question in the 'Temu Anwar' session in Penang.
Bersatu Legal and Constitutional Bureau deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif said Anwar seemed to have spoken to the student in a tone that could leave her feeling humiliated.
The young student is said to have asked Anwar a question regarding the quota in the country's higher education system.
"He (Anwar) seemed to talk to her as if she were a political opponent. Anwar's response would have left her feeling humiliated and probably traumatised.
"Shockingly, Anwar was even bringing in politics when responding to this college student, who is in her teens, and saying in a raised voice, 'You will suffer more under Pas and Bersatu'.
"Is this the way for a prime minister to respond to a young student in a public event?" Sasha Lyna said in a statement today.
"He must apologise and make amends so that it is clear to all that every Malaysian child or student is important, and every one of them must be cherished and treated with respect."
It was reported that Anwar cut the student off several times when she was attempting to explain her questions so that they won't be misinterpreted.
However, Anwar also explained that changing a policy such as quota at higher learning institutes could not be done overnight and it involved many factors.
Sasha said Anwar even hectored the student for not knowing the history or about the social contract.
"He ticked her off for not listening to questions in earlier Temu Anwar sessions, kept cutting her off even before she could finish her question, and scolded her for allegedly not thinking about the plight of disadvantaged students in Kapit.
"He was confrontational and belittling in his tone throughout," she said.
