The student-led protest, Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0, concluded on Sunday afternoon with the burning of protest props, following an overnight sit-in and a rally march the previous day.
Organisers claimed several incidents took place during their more than 12-hour sit-in at Lintasan Deasoka on Saturday night — including one involving a suspected acid or paint remover attack on a vehicle belonging to one of the rally participants.
Suara Mahasiswa UMS leader Fadhil Kasim told reporters that the protest ended with the symbolic burning of a placard bearing a drawn image of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The placard featured the words “Madani Pelindung Rasuah Sabah” (“Madani, protector of Sabah corruption”).
“Our final symbolic act was to burn the banner bearing the face of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. This was a firm and powerful message from us—the students […] it represents our dissatisfaction and frustration, particularly given that the GRS-led Sabah government is part of the Madani government,” Fadhil said.
He added that corrupt and unethical figures continue to go unpunished despite Anwar’s pledge to end corruption — particularly in Sabah.
While Fadhil did not refer to any specific cases, his remarks come amid reports of upcoming corruption charges against several Sabah lawmakers accused of trading mining licences for political funds. The alleged transactions involve a businessman based in Peninsular Malaysia.
The Suara Mahasiswa UMS rally saw students marching through downtown Kota Kinabalu, calling for clean governance, urgent reform of the water supply system, and greater institutional accountability.
Their protest coincided with the official birthday parade of Head of State Tun Musa Aman on Saturday.
The group held an overnight sit-in near the popular Gaya Street Fair, where they organised various programmes throughout the night.
However, their activities were disrupted around 9.30pm when they claimed an unknown individual splashed what was believed to be acid or paint remover on one of the vehicles parked nearby.
No police report had been lodged at the time of writing. Fadhil said they would file a report later, accompanied by legal counsel.
“We intentionally delayed the report because we need to stay focused on defending ourselves here,” he said.
Another confrontation reportedly occurred between the students and police monitoring the overnight protest.
This followed the group’s refusal to comply with a request from officers, who allegedly asked one of the students—believed to be female—to follow them into a secluded area nearby to present her MyKad.
The incident has since gone viral on social media.
According to Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 coordinator Qistana Qaisara, she refused to present her Mykad to the authorities for fear over her own safety that night.
“I was pulled aside alone by a police officer from a public area without any identification. It was allegedly under instructions from DBKK to take down a banner, but no law or reasonable explanation was given.
I asked to see a warrant card — a basic right of any citizen. The officer refused to show it and instead immediately asked for my IC, even though it was in my bag, which I had left with a friend.
“Stranger still, the encounter was to take place without any witnesses, without a female officer, and involved only me — a female student. This situation clearly violates basic principles of safety and professionalism,” she said. – June 22, 2025
