Abdul Razak Endut, 32, a humble and soft-spoken cobbler who operates in front of his brother’s used-clothing outlet in Temerloh, Pahang, has now been catapulted into fame and infamy - all because of an iconic photo-image of him in the Bersih 2.0 electoral reform rally.
    
NONEOn July 9, the young man,a member of the PAS unit, Amal volunteer corps, was one of those deployed to assist in the rally for clean and fair elections.

While Razak has been hailed as a hero by Bersih and PAS supporters, his image, if not name, has been vilified by the mainstream press.

It was on July 10, a day after the rally, that Berita Minggu carried Razak’s photo on its front page with the caption, ‘A protester carrying a knife at the illegal rally’.

A subheadline below the picture said: ‘Protesters use knife, rocks to battle cops’. The same photo also made the front-page of the New Sunday Times, with the rhetorical title, ‘Peaceful?’

Referred to as the ‘mysterious protester’ in the beginning, Razak revealed himself as the man in the photo on July 17, when he spoke for the first time at a PAS ceramah in Taman Melewar in Gombak.

NONEHe refuted the allegation by Berita Minggu and explained that the object he was carrying in his left hand was a small Malaysian flag, not a knife or weapon of any kind.

Razak explained that the role assigned to him that day was to help clear tear gas canisters from the paths of rally participants.

Asked how he could withstand the thick tear gas in the streets, he said that he had no choice as he had to do his duty.

“When the tear gas was fired, I looked behind and saw many elderly people there. I simply could not abandon them, nor my duty,” explained the young PAS activist, adding that he cared for his friends.

Frequent visits to the gym

He also admitted that clearing tear gas canisters during rallies was something that he was familiar with.

The hardened, masked protester that the dailies had painted him to be was far from it during this interview. Tough-looking, yes, but he was certainly soft-spoken and well-mannered.

“He is different. He doesn’t like to loiter, like the other young people. This is rare among today’s youth,” said his lawyer, Mohamed Nizam Hamid, attesting to Razak’s gentle and congenial nature.

Razak credited his tough physique to regular visits to the gym and involvement in the traditional martial art, silat.

On July 9, he said, he was assigned along with 100 others from the Unit Amal’s Temerloh chapter, which he had joined seven years ago, to serve during the Bersih rally.        

Razak who also known by his nickname ‘Ajak’, added that he had been called to speak at several ceramah of late, to share his experiences in the rally and to counter mainstream media villification.

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