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Pic for illustration only.
Is the convenience of VVIPs more important than the lives of the layman and children?
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31, 2026: No News Is Bad News does not doubt the predicament of a woman in a car with her two children when ordered by a police VVIP escort to make way for a convoy.
That’s because the police, while carrying out escort duty, behave arrogantly and treat the convenience of VIP as more important than the safety of the layman.
Just take the case of e-hailing driver Ong Ing Keong who was punched by a VVIP security escort outside a hotel here on May 28, 2024.
Was there any valid reason for the policeman to punch Ong?
The mother claimed a police escort had asked her to move aside for a VVIP convoy, but she was unable to do so immediately as a lorry was travelling beside her vehicle.
She said she moved once there was enough space to do so, but the escort officer allegedly later pulled alongside her car and pointed towards her.
The police have yet to issue any clarification on the case.
Malaysia
Mother: ‘The lives of my kids matter more than any VIP’
The mother claimed a police escort had asked her to move aside for a VIP convoy, but she was unable to do so immediately as a lorry was travelling beside her vehicle.
Updated 2 hours ago · Published on 31 Jul 2026 3:24PM
“My kids were in the car,” she wrote. “Their lives matter more than any VIP.” - Picture for illustration only, July 31, 2026
by Alfian Z.M. Tahir
A MOTHER’S account of an encounter with a police escort on the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) has drawn much attention online, with many motorists sharing their own experiences involving VIP convoys.
The woman, who uses the social media name novawhisper88, said the incident happened at about 4.40 pm while she was driving with her children.
She claimed a police escort had asked her to move aside for a VIP convoy, but she was unable to do so immediately as a lorry was travelling beside her vehicle.
She said she moved once there was enough space to do so, but alleged the escort officer later pulled alongside her car and pointed towards her.
The mother shared her account on social media that night, tagging the police traffic unit.
The post was widely circulated, drawing thousands of reactions and comments from users who said they had encountered similar situations on the road.
She said her concern was not about refusing to give way to a convoy.
It was about being put in a position where she felt she had to choose between responding quickly and keeping her children safe.
“My kids were in the car,” she wrote. “Their lives matter more than any VIP.”
The post later prompted her to clarify that she was not against police escorts or the work carried out by officers involved in such duties.
Her concern, she said, was how some escorts are carried out when motorists are caught in situations where moving aside immediately may not be possible.
Police escorts are a normal sight on Malaysian roads, particularly when involving senior government officials and individuals requiring security protection.
But for ordinary motorists, the experience can sometimes be stressful, especially on busy roads where space is limited and heavy vehicles make sudden lane changes difficult.
The MRR2 incident has renewed discussion on how escort officers communicate with motorists and whether enough consideration is given to road conditions before drivers are asked to move.
The issue is not whether VIPs should be protected.
It is whether protection can be carried out without putting other road users in difficult or unsafe situations.
The police have not issued a public statement on the matter. – July 31, 2026 The Vibes
Deaf Grab driver sues police, government over St Regis assault case that sparked public outrage
Ong Ing Keong recalls how he was denied a sign language interpreter and pressured to withdraw his police report.
July 22, 2026 1:19 PM
Grab driver Ong Ing Keong tears up during a press conference by Lawyers for Liberty on Aug 14, 2024 as he recalls how he was assaulted by an officer accompanying a royal entourage.
The deaf e-hailing driver who was punched in the face by a police officer accompanying a royal entourage has filed a suit against his assailant, naming four others, including the inspector-general of police and the Malaysian government, as defendants, more than two years after the incident sparked protests and a debate on the rule of law in the country.
In his suit filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 10, Grab driver Ong Ing Keong named policeman Muhammad Taufik Ismail as the first defendant, and another officer who he said had pressured him into withdrawing his report lodged at the Jalan Travers police station about an hour after the assault on May 28,2024.
Taufik, 34, who was part of Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's (TMJ) royal entourage, was only charged almost six months after the incident. He avoided jail after pleading guilty and was fined RM1,000, a decision criticised by lawyers, disability groups and human rights activists.
Ong said the defendants had committed assault and negligence, misfeasance in public office, and breached the Police Act and the Persons with Disabilities Act.
In addition to damages, Ong is seeking declarations that the police breached their statutory duties, and a mandatory injunction requiring the police to provide access to Malaysian Sign Language interpreters at police stations.
In his statement of claim, Ong recalled how he was punched without warning by Taufik while waiting to pick up four passengers at the lobby of the St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Ong, who has hearing and speech impairments, said he was instructed to move his vehicle even though passengers were still boarding.
He said Taufik, who was in plain clothes, punched him through the driver's side window once the passengers had boarded, causing injuries that required medical treatment and leaving him feeling "very shocked, scared, traumatised, and humiliated".
Ong later lodged a police report at the Travers police station before seeking treatment at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
But upon his return to the police station, officers seized his mobile phone and demanded that he delete the dashcam recording and withdraw his report.
Ong said that throughout his ordeal at the police station, he was not provided with a sign language interpreter as required under Section 30 of the Persons with Disabilities Act.
He said another police officer later pressured him to withdraw his police report and accept RM800 as compensation, failing which his phone would be confiscated.
Ong said he eventually signed documents prepared by the police without being told their contents, before he was warned against circulating the dashcam recording of the incident.
The video, which Ong later revealed to the media through rights group Lawyers for Liberty, showed him waiting for passengers when a man shouted at him to move his car to make way for TMJ's entourage. As he rolled down his window to speak to the man, the man suddenly punched him hard in the face.
Ong had previously rejected a claim by the then city police chief, Rusdi Mohd Isa, that he had withdrawn his police report because it was a "misunderstanding".
Public outrage grew when it was revealed that a "palace representative" had asked Ong to withdraw his complaint.
The delay in taking action was also criticised by the government's Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), which questioned then attorney-general Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh over his silence.
Protesters outside the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya on Sept 5, 2024, after submitting a memorandum calling on Anwar Ibrahim to ensure justice for Ong Ing Keong.
In September 2024, members of disabled communities gathered outside Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's office in Putrajaya to protest the long delay in bringing charges against Ong's assailant, as well as those involved in getting him to withdraw his police report.
Following the RM1,000 fine imposed on Taufik, Ong told MalaysiaNow that he was disappointed.
"I am very disappointed by the court's decision to fine that man a mere RM1,000," he told MalaysiaNow with the help of a friend acting as an interpreter.
The assault also took place in the same month that Ong lost his 14-year-old son, who was killed in a road accident.
"After that, I was very sad. I also felt that it was wrong of me to go out to work and leave my wife alone in the house," said Ong.
"Was it not enough that my son had just died? After that, this happened to me and my crying face became a public spectacle."
Deaf e-hailing driver sues police, govt over assault
July 23, 2026 @ 9:28am
Ong Ing Keong filed the suit at the High Court on July 10, naming Lance Corporal Muhammad Taufik Ismail, Inspector Che W Hashimi Rafsanjani Che W Raksan, the Kuala Lumpur police chief, the Inspector-General of Police, and the government as defendants. NSTP file pic
KUALA LUMPUR: A deaf e-hailing driver who was punched by a VVIP security escort outside a hotel here has filed a civil suit against the officer, the police force, and the government over the assault and the alleged mishandling of his police report.
Ong Ing Keong filed the suit at the High Court on July 10, naming Lance Corporal Muhammad Taufik Ismail, Inspector Che W Hashimi Rafsanjani Che W Raksan, the Kuala Lumpur police chief, the Inspector-General of Police, and the government as defendants.
Ong, who is registered as a person with disabilities, said the incident occurred on May 28, 2024, while he was picking up four passengers outside the St Regis Hotel in KL Sentral.
According to his statement of claim, several individuals ordered him to move his vehicle while his passengers were boarding.
As Ong was preparing to drive off after the passengers were inside, Taufik, who was dressed in plain clothes, allegedly punched him in the face through the open driver's window without warning.
Ong said the assault caused facial pain, soft tissue injuries, and bruising beneath his upper lip, adding that the incident was captured on his dashboard camera.
He further alleged that after lodging a police report and seeking treatment at Kuala Lumpur Hospital, officers at the Travers police station took his mobile phone after viewing the dashcam footage.
Ong claimed officers told him his phone would only be returned if he withdrew his police report and deleted the video recording.
He said he was left without his primary means of communication for several hours and was not provided with a sign language interpreter or translation assistance despite his disability.
Ong also alleged his movements were restricted at the police station, where Hashimi pressured him to settle the matter by accepting RM800 in compensation.
He said he initially agreed because he feared his phone would be permanently confiscated, but informed police the following day that he wished to proceed with the investigation.
Ong is seeking general, aggravated, and exemplary damages for assault, battery, negligence, misfeasance in public office, and alleged breaches of statutory duties under the Police Act and the Persons with Disabilities Act.
On Nov 4, 2024, Taufik was fined RM1,000, or 20 days in jail in default, by the magistrate's court after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to Ong.
He was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code with committing the offense at the hotel lobby at 11.40am on May 28, 2024.
Following the incident, Regent of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said attempts to link the royal institution with the alleged assault were unwarranted.
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