The Protest

The Protest

News of the impending name-change

Came down hard without warning – strange!

Tanjong Lobang College was going to be renamed!

The news spread like wild fire.

And a rain of spears all over.



There was uneasiness and unusual quietness.

‘Twas a calm before the storm.

Electrifying atmosphere.

Silence you could almost hear.

Angers reached boiling point.

All against the name-change.



Why O why must you change?

What was your rationale

that you dared to ignore

the students’ emotional attachment

to the College salvation.



They couldn’t accept reality

that political leaders had the final authority.

Blinded by their blinding emotions,

they couldn’t see the alleged reasons.



The students protested.

No classes were declared.

Absolute chaos were seen.

And the Police were called in to intervene.



State and Federal Authorities came.

To pacify and determine who to blame.

Amazingly, the students stood as one voice.

They remained united and gave no choice

to the authority but to treat the incident as a bad dream

Despite sacrifice extreme.



The name-change was carried out anyway.

Who could fight the power of the day?



The incident is now history.

To students of the College bygone.

The magic of Tanjong Lobang may had gone

but the memory in us lives on.