Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Patriot pledges to continue protecting national sovereignty
- Anwar warns Najib of popular revolt
- Bersih wants Suhakam probe into police conduct
- Rapper Atama ready for arrest
- Bersih 2.0, Malaysia 0.0
- PKR accuses police of intentionally hurting Bersih, Pakatan leaders
- DAP never asked Chinese to avoid Bersih, says Guan Eng
- Cops not responsible for Bersih man’s death, says Najib
- Family say police responsible for Bersih death
- EO detainee Dr Michael Jeyakumar in IJN
- Pictures: 1,667 arrested for taking part in M'sia rallies
- Hadi warns of larger protests - and not necessarily before election
- Activists gather in Bangkok to support Bersih
- Najib blames Anwar for Bersih rally aftermath
- Najib ridicules Bersih, says Umno not afraid of fair elections
- Malaysia gov't fights criticism after rally chaos
- Bersih rally revealed lots of truth
- Protest crackdown taints Malaysia's image
- In Bersih, an elusive Malaysian unity appears
- Malays being used thanks to PAS, says Utusan
- Hisham: King's advice not heeded
- IGP: Police Had No Choice But To Fire Tear Gas, Water Cannons
- Najib: Let illegal rally be a lesson to the people
- IGP: We counted only 6k; Hisham flays Bersih
- After Bersih, Umno flexes Najib’s muscles
- Bersih rally lost direction, says Hishammuddin
| Patriot pledges to continue protecting national sovereignty Posted: 10 Jul 2011 05:51 AM PDT
(The Malay Mail) - The Patriot group will always be firm and uncompromising in facing any attempt by traitors to threaten national sovereignty, said one of its senior leaders, Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim today. Abdul Azeez, who was among those detained with Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin when the Patriot group opposed the street demonstration at Bukit Bintang yesterday, said the aim of the Patriot group was not merely to participate in the street demonstration but as a protest to any group trying to create chaos in the country. "Our struggle is to defend the Istana Negara and Merdeka Stadium from being tainted, and most importantly, we want to face those who are going against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and our beloved country. "Patriot is always firm, if there are any group wanting to challenge the national sovereignty, we will be in the front line and we will assemble hundreds of thousands of youths if necessary," said Abdul Azeez. Besides Abdul Azeez and Khairy, others who were detained yesterday included Umno Youth assistant secretary Datuk Megat Firdaus Megat Junid and Umno Youth Exco member Lokman Adam.
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| Anwar warns Najib of popular revolt Posted: 09 Jul 2011 10:31 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, July 10 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told his rival Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to carefully consider the tension on the ground in the aftermath of the chaotic Bersih rally yesterday instead of covering up the situation with lies.
After a bruising clash between police and demonstrators yesterday which saw 1,700 arrested, one dead and scores including himself injured, the opposition leader accused the government of lying over the number of protestors and making the false claim that no one was hurt. Speaking at a dialogue with young professionals today, the opposition leader was asked if Malaysia was about to experience a "Hibiscus Revolution", a reference to the national flower. "We have no confidence left in (the government), so it is important for Najib to consider seriously, we are close (to a revolution)," Anwar said, adding that racial tension was also simmering. The PKR de facto leader told reporters later that it was time that Najib "listen and not be so arrogant with the use of brute force. The people have become impatient. They have submitted memorandums, they have even gone to see the king. What else can they do now?" Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said yesterday evening that only 6,000 attended the rally for free and fair elections and no one was hurt but Bersih claimed an attendance of 50,000 and several Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders were hospitalised after yesterday afternoon's events. Bersih has also blamed the police for the death of Baharudin Ahmad, the husband of Setiawangsa PKR division chief Rosni Malan, who was said to have died because the police had withheld medical aid from Baharudin after he collapsed while running away from tear gas and water cannon fire.
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| Bersih wants Suhakam probe into police conduct Posted: 09 Jul 2011 10:26 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has urged the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to investigate the alleged use of excessive force by police against Bersih protesters yesterday. "What took place yesterday should not have happened," she said after visiting the family of Baharudin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the rally. "I have already spoken to Suhakam and they will take further action." PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said he too is considering taking legal action against the police for allegedly knocking him over while riding pillion on a motorcycle headed towards Masjid Negara yesterday. He reportedly sustained injuries to a ligament in his right knee during the incident and was seen sitting on a wheelchair at Baharudin's home here earlier. "The police acted brutally by hitting, kicking (protesters) to the point where one was suffocated to death from the tear gas. This shows the Third World standard of our police," he said in reference to Baharudin's death. Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said the chaos seen yesterday could have been avoided if the police had given protesters "two or three hours" to disperse. "This... shows that the Najib administration is primitive and uncivilised," he said.
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| Posted: 09 Jul 2011 07:08 PM PDT
By Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Sabah musician-turned-activist, rapper Atama Katama, is prepared for detention, if the police chose to arrest him under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Atama, who is chairman of Bersih 2.0 Sabah ad hoc committee, is believed to be on the police wanted list for his unspoken support of the coalition's call for free and fair elections. "I have reason to believe that I am a target for arrest. I am prepared for it as I know there's a price to pay in fighting for what I believe in – that is democracy and civil liberties of this country. "I also believe there are many like-minded Malaysians who support me and that is what inspired me and keeps me going despite all the challenges I'm facing," he said yesterday. The controversial Sabah hip-hop singer said this while leading a group of more than 100 Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) leaders and supporters to the launching of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) online radio and TV, Sabahtv.net, at its headquarters in Bornion Centre, Luyang here, today. He was responding to a question from reporters on talk that his name was on the police's "arrest list" alongside the Bersih 2.0 organisers. Police in peninsular Malaysia had issued issued a restrictive order on 91 individuals in relation to the Bersih 2.0 rally yesterday. Sixty of them were direct Bersih members. Blatantly deceitful Asked about his relationship with SAPP, Atama said MCLM and SAPP shared the same struggle for autonomy for Sabah besides good governance and civil liberties. He said he has no intention of joining any political party for now and will remain a MCLM member and a social activist. "We in MCLM will be there whenever required, to help protect and exercise the civil liberty of Malaysians, especially those in Sabah," he said. He also proclaimed that despite being prevented from holding the Bersih 2.0 gathering here, MCLM had succeeded in driving home its campaign to push for "clean and fair elections" in this country.
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| Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:41 PM PDT By Asia Sentinel The crackdown lowered rally numbers but made Malaysian government look bad. Although Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak appears to have won the battle by closing down Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and arresting 1,667 mostly peaceful marchers and would-be marchers, the consensus seems to be that Malaysia has suffered a blow to its international reputation as a moderate, democratic country. Bersih 2.0, as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections is known, appears to have won on points. a wan-lookng Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the head of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat, was photographed in his hospital bed where he was kept for observation, a neat coup de theatre whether intended or not. While it didn't draw anywhere close to the 100,000 people Bersih's leaders forecast, they can claim that the police intimidation kept marchers away. Crowd estimates ranged from 10,000 by the government to 50,000 by Bersih. Pictures of marchers being chased by baton-wielding police and hosed down by water cannon have made most of the world's major newspapers and the story was given prominent on-line coverage by Al Jazeera. Despite the fact that Bersih is an umbrella group of 62 non-government organizations, with a great many Chinese and Indian faces rather than Muslim ones, the march has been tied internationally to the Jasmine Revolutions of the Middle East, with at least one blog -- Time Magazine's Hannah Beech -- even alluding to opposition leaders hoping for the smell of jasmine. The crackdown, which included razor wire strung at strategic entry points to the city, legions of police, tear gas, water cannon and truncheons, is especially embarrassing given Malaysia's membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council. To prove it is supported by the electorate, however, the government has promised a massive counter-rally that will draw hundreds of thousands of supporters, which probably will not be accompanied by water cannons, truncheons, tear gas, razor wire and legions of police intended to keep marchers away. The Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition, characterized the Bersih 2.0 march as a tool of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, and indeed top Pakatan leaders did show up and were duly arrested. It also alleged that the US was behind a plot to destabilize the country through the National Endowment for Democracy, which gives money to Bersih. The NED is a private, non-profit foundation funded by the US Congress whose ostensible aim is to support democratic goals. Often the government's tactics seemed a puzzling throwback to previous arguments. In the run-up to the march itself, police arrested 30 members of the Malaysian Socialist Party on June 26 and charged them with seeking to overthrow the country's monarchy and make a hero of Chin Peng, the elderly one-time leader of the Communist insurgency against British Malaya who remains in exile. Last week, police held a press conference to announce they had found caches of machetes and Molotov cocktails secreted around Kuala Lumpur along with yellow Bersih tee-shirts, leaving the question open why Bersih members would leave the shirts with the weapons to identify them as violent when they professed to be peaceful marchers. The caches of weapons were mostly dismissed as a dirty trick. "I think it has tarnished Malaysia's image and its membership in the UN Human Rights Council," political analyst Khoo Kay Peng told Agence-France Press. Describing the police action as "completely overdone," Khoo said, "It is a killer to our image as a progressive democratic country." Beyond the question of who won or lost, the massive police crackdown raises the question why the ruling coalition reacted so strongly. The answer goes back to 2007, when the first Bersih rally drew 40,000 protesters, one of the biggest in modern Malaysian history, and engendered the same kind of crackdown by the government of then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. That rally was widely regarded as the spur that ultimately drove the Anwar-led coalition to victory in five Malaysian states and broke the Barisan?s 50-year-old two-thirds parliamentary majority. Although opinion polls show Najib himself as popular with the electorate, the three political parties that make up the bulk of the ruling coalition -- the United Malays National Organization, the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress -- all are regarded as corrupt by segments of the electorate. The Chinese in particular have abandoned the Barisan. With an election expected to be called sometime before the middle of 2012, Najib and the Barisan believe Pakatan Rakyat would be able to gain traction out of the protest, as it did in 2008. |
| PKR accuses police of intentionally hurting Bersih, Pakatan leaders Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:24 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Police officers deliberately ignored attempts at negotiation by Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders before firing tear gas canisters into the Kuala Lumpur Sentral pedestrian underpass yesterday, PKR has charged. N Surendran, the party's vice-president said that no warning or dispersal order was given by the police before firing the tear gas, and that Bersih supporters and PR leaders were trapped in the underpass. He claimed that tear gas was fired horizontally towards the group, and that the actions of the police were in breach of local and international laws relating to police conduct. "It was calculated to kill, maim and injure the peaceful marchers. "In particular, the firing of tear gas into the confined space of the underpass was a criminal act, which can cause serious injury or death and is punishable under Section 326 of the Penal Code," he said in a statement today. Those trapped in the underpass included PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreevanesan, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PAS MP Khalid Samad and National Laureate A Samad Said. The tear gas attacks injured Anwar, his bodyguard Fayadh and Khalid. Both Fayadh and Khalid sustained direct hits from tear gas canisters and were seriously injured. All three were hospitalised and warded later. Surendran called for the investigation and prosecution of all senior officers, including Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, for "giving orders" to the police to carry out such an act.
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| DAP never asked Chinese to avoid Bersih, says Guan Eng Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:15 PM PDT
By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The DAP did not send out any text messages asking the Chinese not to attend yesterday's Bersih rally, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today.. He stressed that the only messages sent out by the party were those encouraging people to turn up at the rally for free and fair elections. "This is a lie. No DAP leader sent out (messages) asking the Chinese not to go out and to let Malays fight each other," said Lim. "Anti-Bersih elements are trying to sabotage the relationship (between component parties) in PR but this will not work." The Penang chief minister pointed out that almost 5,000 mainly DAP supporters had gathered in Pudu to show support for the election watchdog and its eight reform demands yesterday. Lim was speaking to reporters after paying his respects to the family of Baharudin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the rally. Baharudin, 56, had fallen down after running away from police firing tear gas and water cannon before being taken to Kuala Lumpur Hospital, where he died.
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| Cops not responsible for Bersih man’s death, says Najib Posted: 09 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The police are not to blame for the death of Bersih supporter Baharuddin Ahmad, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today. The prime minister said that Baharuddin's death was caused by health issues, as he moved to defend the police's handling of yesterday's rally. "(His death) was not because of the rally, it was health (reasons). There was no actual physical contact with demonstrators whatsoever," Najib told reporters here. Live reports and eyewitness account, however, have said that police had engaged in physical contact with Bersih supporters in efforts to quell the rally. "I am proud of what the police did yesterday … (They acted) with professionalism. "They took such good care of those who were arrested that they got free food," added Najib. The Malaysian Insider understands that Baharuddin, who was marching with the thousands who turned up yesterday in support of Bersih 2.0, died when he fell during a scuffle with police at KLCC yesterday afternoon. Police have confirmed that 1,401 of the estimated 6,000 protestors were detained during the gathering, which lasted for over four hours. Scuffles reportedly broke out between protestors and the armed riot police when the march, which was originally intended to be peaceful, descended into chaos. Tear gas canisters and water cannons were also fired at various points across the city as the police attempted to force protestors to disperse.
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| Family say police responsible for Bersih death Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:55 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The brother of Baharuddin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the Bersih rally, has blamed the death on a "deliberate act of cruelty" by the police. Kassim Ahmad, 72, told The Malaysian Insider his brother had died because he alledged that the police had withheld medical aid from Baharudin after he collapsed while running away from tear gas and water cannon bombardment. "[They] asked the police to help send him to hospital but they refused, so we waited for one-and-a-half hours before the van came," he said. "A lot of people tried to revive him ... Had he been given oxygen, he would be alive today." Baharuddin was laid to rest at 12.55pm today in Lembah Keramat Muslim Burial Ground, surrounded by the same yellow T-shirts he had marched alongside just a day before. He leaves behind a wife, two sons and one daughter. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had earlier absolved police of the death, saying there was no contact with the demonstrators and that Baharuddin had died due to ill health. |
| EO detainee Dr Michael Jeyakumar in IJN Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:49 PM PDT By K Pragalath, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: PSM's Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, presently detained without trial under the Emergency Ordinance 1969, has been admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) here for heartbeat abnormality. He is said to be in a stable condition but his family members are complaining that they are not being allowed to visit him. Only Jeyakumar's wife has been allowed to visit him so far. His admission to the IJN was confirmed by his niece Sangeetha Jayakumar, and her father Selangor exco member Dr Xavier Jayakumar. Earlier today she tweeted: "Dr Kumar admitted in IJN. Admitted for palpitations. Police refusing to allow family to visit." PKR's Xavier Jayakumar, when contacted, said Jeyakumar was admitted to the IJN on Friday. "He was admitted to the hospital day before yesterday in the afternoon. "No one apart from his wife has been allowed to visit him," said Jayakumar, who is also the parliamentarian's brother-in-law.
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| Pictures: 1,667 arrested for taking part in M'sia rallies Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:47 PM PDT By The Straits Times, Singapore KUALA LUMPUR - A TOTAL of 1,667 people were arrested for taking part in various rallies in the city, said Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar. He said all those arrested, including 151 women and 16 children, were taken to the police training centre (Pulapol) in Jalan Semarak where they were fed and given medical treatment. 'I was told that there are allegations of high-handedness and police brutality by certain people. I urge those making such allegations to lodge reports and we will act against any policeman if these were found to be true,' he said. By 11pm, all those detained were released. Besides Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, those picked up included PKR's Gombak MP Azmin Ali, Subang MP R. Sivarasa and Batu MP Tian Chua, and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, his deputy Mohamad Sabu and vice-presidents Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub.
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| Hadi warns of larger protests - and not necessarily before election Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:39 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 10: PAS president Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang warned Barisan Nasional that the massive Bersih protests in the capital yesterday was only the beginning of the people's uprising. "This is just a preamble to the people's uprising and if they are not prepared to make any reforms to the election system and democracy, bigger uprising will happen anytime, and it is not necessarily before election, but can be also after election. Hadi was arrested around 2.30pm yesterday at KL Sentral station, alongside Salahuddin Ayub and Mahfuz Omar. While his deputy Mohamad Sabu who was a passenger behind a motorcycle, was rammed by a police vehicle, injuring him. Mat Sabu has since been unable to walk. "I am unable to walk. I have to be carried or place on a wheelchair, after the police hit me," Mat Sabu replied over SMS this morning when asked how felt. The PAS leaders were among other Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih leaders, including Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreevenasan, who joined more than 1,600 others hauled up by the police. They were among some 50,000 people who defied weeks of warnings by the authorities to stay away from the rally for electoral reform, following the government's refusal for Bersih to have its rally in a stadium as advised by the Agong. Many at the rally yesterday had spoken of excessive force by the police on female members of the public, and Youtube videos posted hours after the protests yesterday showed how police personnel were acting with brute force on unarmed protesters. Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar, visibly shocked at the presence of the huge crowd, quickly downplayed the rally, claiming only 5,000 to 6,000 people had attended. Based on such a claim, it would mean, albeit incredulously, that for any group of four people, one was arrested. |
| Activists gather in Bangkok to support Bersih Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:35 PM PDT By Aneesa Alphonsus, FMT BANGKOK: A small group of people, largely made up of Malaysians, gathered outside the Malaysian embassy here yesterday to call for electoral reforms in Malaysia. The protest was held to coincide with the Bersih 2.0 rally which took place in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The group of about 20 people was led by Yap Swee Seng who is the executive director of Bangkok-based Asian Forum for Human Rights & Democracy. The gathering started at 2pm Malaysian time yesterday. In a letter submitted to the Malaysian ambassador Nazirah Hussain, Yap said the group had gathered to express their solidarity support for the struggle of their Malaysian friends for human rights and democracy in Malaysia. Yap incidentally was one of the 91 people barred by the Malaysian police from attending the gathering in KL. "As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, your government should respect and protect the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assemble as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. "Instead, your government has shamelessly and arbitrarily arrested people and raided the Bersih office in an attempt to stop the rally," Yap read from the letter addressed to the ambassador. He also expressed concern about the physical and mental status of the six PSM leaders who have been detained detained without trial under the Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance since July 2, 2011. These detainees are Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, M Sarasvathy, Letchumanan Aseer Patham, Choo Chon Kai, Sukumaran Munisamy and Sarat Babu Raman.
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| Najib blames Anwar for Bersih rally aftermath Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:15 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak blamed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for yesterday's rally in the city, and accused the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) of orchestrating it in a calculated move to ensure the opposition leader becomes prime minister. In a no-holds barred speech today, the prime minister did not mince his words, and launched verbal attacks against his political foe as well as electoral reform group Bersih. Although Anwar's name was not directly mentioned, analogies and innuendos by Najib suggested that he was referring to the one-time deputy prime minister. "This is the person who is the cause of why we are faced with this problem (Bersih), because he wants to fulfil his lust of becoming prime minister. "This is his last chance. He knows if he does not do something, we will win the next GE ... he will do anything, the end justifies the means," Najib told a 6,000-strong delegation of Umno leaders, members and Malay NGOs here. The Umno president mocked reports of injuries sustained by Anwar during yesterday's rally and called the PKR leader a "great actor." "He should get the Oscar award for the best actor. He only got a little bit of tear gas, and there's a neck brace and his face is all contorted, as though he got beaten up," said Najib, laughing while imitating Anwar's facial expressions. The PM pointed out that Anwar had yet to answer allegations of fraud and corruption within his own party's internal elections, as well as the sex video case and his on-going sodomy trial. "Every time the government is made to look bad, while he is the best human being, a gift from God," mocked Najib. "Who is (Datuk) Ambiga (Sreevanesan)? Supposedly leading a body that wants fair and free elections … how clean are those who are pointing the finger at us?" he added. Bersih had claimed a turnout of 50,000 for their street demonstration which went ahead without police permission.
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| Najib ridicules Bersih, says Umno not afraid of fair elections Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:05 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak ridiculed and dismissed the impact of yesterday's Bersih rally, declaring today that Umno was not afraid of fair elections. In a fiery speech in front of 6,000 Umno members, NGOs and martial arts (silat) groups, the prime minister mocked the turnout of yesterday's rally, claiming that Umno would have outnumbered Bersih if they had wanted to protest on the streets. "Don't doubt our strength. Umno has three million members. If we gather one million members, it is more than enough. We can conquer Kuala Lumpur. "If we want to create chaos, we can. But we uphold the laws of Malaysia, we like peace," Najib said to a roaring crowd of Umno members and supporters. The Umno president pointed out that despite Bersih's promises of a 500,000 turnout, "not even 10,000" people took part in the rally. He congratulated Malaysians who did not attend the rally, and dubbed them the "silent majority." Police estimates put the number of people who attended at around 6,000 while Bersih claimed some 50,000 turned up despite a city-wide lockdown by the authorities. "This is just a part of Umno's strength. We gathered 6,000 members here today in a short amount of time ... they are waiting for a signal, they're willing to do anything," Najib told reporters later. During his speech, Najib thanked everyone who attended the "Majlis Penerangan Perdana" event, saying that the NGOs present, including silat organisations, were waiting to defend the country at a drop of a hat. "If you mention or question Islam, they will rise up," he said. "Don't (make us) start street demonstrations. Yesterday, we only sent our Umno Youth wing, led by Khairy Jamaluddin, to represent us," Najib said, amid deafening shouts of support for the Umno Youth chief, who was also present. |
| Malaysia gov't fights criticism after rally chaos Posted: 09 Jul 2011 02:55 PM PDT (AP) - KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian authorities have denied suppressing dissent despite making mass arrests and unleashing tear gas against at least 20,000 demonstrators who marched for electoral reforms. The political fallout from rare scenes of mayhem in Kuala Lumpur is certain to complicate efforts by Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition to bolster its support ahead of general elections that many expect to be held within a year. International rights groups and Malaysian opposition parties denounced the crackdown on Saturday's rally. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein insisted in a statement received Sunday that the demonstrators sought to "create chaos in this country and hoped to be arrested in order to portray the government as cruel." |
| Bersih rally revealed lots of truth Posted: 09 Jul 2011 02:34 PM PDT By Jeswant Kaur, FMT The rakyat who turned up for the Bersih 2.0 rally yesterday were no criminals. Yet, the police and the Federal Reserve Unit officers treated them as such, kicking and punching some of the supporters of the rally. An eyewitness shared an incident where a young man in his 20s was pounced upon by no less than 10 policemen who wrestled him down, twisting his arm. The ambience that day was one of fright and intimidation with the police going berserk in preventing the huge crowd from walking up to the rally venue, the historical Stadium Merdeka. Everywhere, the environment was polluted with tear gas and water cannon which the cops splashed with gay abandon at the crowd to force them to disperse. But all these failed to scare the people. Indeed, conundrum would best describe the July 9 scenario in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The palpable chaotic situation was certainly not the people's doing. The rakyat had turned up in good faith to support the Bersih 2.0 'Walk for Democracy'. The event was messed up by none other than the police. Bersih 2.0 in respecting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin's call to maintain peace and harmony agreed to keep away from the streets and take the rally indoor, to Stadium Merdeka. But no thanks to the lies and manipulation by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the Bersih 2.0 organisers were refused all access to the stadium. The police meanwhile at the 11th hour offered to issue Bersih 2.0 a permit for the rally provided it was held outside Kuala Lumpur. Why did Najib and his 'boys' stab Bersih 2.0 in the back, an act typically reserved for the cowards? It is not the Bersih 2.0 coalition but the Barisan Nasional government under Najib and the police who are to be blamed for the chaos that shrouded Kuala Lumpur for over eight hours on July 9. From the streets to a closed environment – Bersih 2.0 was cooperating with the call to stay away from the roads. In fact, Ambiga even asked the police to map out the routes for it to walk on July 9 but the thuggie-styled police refused to cooperate. Was Bersih 2.0 asking for much by requesting that the police cooperate with it? Why did Najib turn the entire rally into a topsy-turvy affair and get the Bersih 2.0 key players including chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan arrested? Had Ambiga harboured malicious intentions, she could have ambushed the government and sprung a surprise by bringing her supporters to the streets to rally. However, for all intent and purposes, the 'Walk for Democracy' was paved with good intentions, that of wanting to raise public awareness and call for a reform of the electoral system. Stop blaming Bersih 2.0
The mainstream media went to town reporting how businesses in the city centre were paralysed because of the rally. Motorists stuck in traffic jams were quick to blame Bersih 2.0 for the endless hours of delay they had to endure. The truth is Bersih 2.0 is not to blame. The truth also is that the entire scenario was scarred by the police, when it blocked all entry points to Kuala Lumpur. How could Najib forget that all Bersih 2.0 wanted was to walk in solidarity and hand over their memorandum for reforms to the electoral system Yang di-Pertuan Agong?
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| Protest crackdown taints Malaysia's image Posted: 09 Jul 2011 02:24 PM PDT By Channelnewsasia.com KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police may have crushed a weekend protest, but analysts say the crackdown has tainted the country's democratic credentials and could embolden the opposition ahead of elections. A massive security lockdown on Saturday in the capital Kuala Lumpur crippled a plan by Bersih, a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, to muster 100,000 people for a rally demanding electoral reforms.Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds in the biggest anti-government protests to hit the nation since 2007, when similar demands for reform also ended in chaos on the streets.
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| In Bersih, an elusive Malaysian unity appears Posted: 09 Jul 2011 12:21 PM PDT By Sheridan Mahavera, The Malaysian Insider A brief commotion at an LRT station showed off the Bersih 2.0 rally's young, multi-racial face. National laureate and Bersih icon Datuk A Samad Said was mobbed by Indian and Chinese Malaysian youths as he appeared to board the train home. "Please take a picture with us Pak Samad, you are our hero," said a young Indian Malaysia youth who came to KL to watch the rally. His place was then taken by two other Chinese youths who wanted their own pictures with the national poet. Bersih or the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections may have declared that the rally attracted a multi-ethnic crowd of all ages but the movement still has a huge obstacle to overcome — the stigma that has been painted by the federal government and the Barisan Nasional (BN)-aligned media. Of particular worry are the people in non-urban areas whom Pakatan Rakyat parties, such as PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat, are courting ahead of the next general elections. Bersih is a civil society-led movement but it has solid backing from PR parties who have historically complained that the BN games elections. Though Bersih has been hugely successful in deepening and expanding support among urbane professionals of all races, it is still viewed suspiciously by those in the rural areas. Such sentiments would spread from the movement itself to the political parties that support it. PAS grassroots activists, for instance, were pumped up and made it to the rally in thousands. But they privately worry about how the electoral reform movement has been demonised. "Even my husband didn't want to come because he watched the news and thought it would be dangerous," said a Pahang PAS activist who requested anonymity. In the end, the matronly retiree attended the rally with her 18-year-old daughter. "People who watch the nightly news will definitely think negatively of Bersih. They aren't as exposed," says the activist. According to a Johor PAS activist who wanted to be known as Faizul, the news reports of weapon caches found with Bersih T-shirts have been particularly damaging. "Village folk tend to believe what is being shown without really thinking whether it makes sense. Who would put weapons caches and advertise their identity at the same time? It's illogical," says Faizul from Batu Pahat. There were a string of news reports in the days leading up to the rally about police finding caches of parangs, knives and Molotov cocktails in several areas of the city. The bundles were hidden with piles of Bersih T-shirts. Though the police have yet to determine whom the bundles belonged to, the discoveries implied that there were disruptive elements out to hijack the rally. Merdeka Centre head Ibrahim Suffian believes Bersih and the ensuing government reponse have polarised Malaysians of all stripes. "For Pakatan Rakyat supporters, it has just increased their scepticism of the (BN-ruled) government. For those who are pro-government, it has hardened their belief that the PR is out to cause trouble."
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| Malays being used thanks to PAS, says Utusan Posted: 09 Jul 2011 12:18 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — As Umno attempts to limit the damage from yesterday's rally which threw the city into chaos, its newspaper Utusan Malaysia blamed PAS today for encouraging Malays to be the political tools of Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, DAP and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The senior partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) has also scrambled to organise a show of support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who addressed his party faithful this morning in a briefing that hopes to boost morale after tens of thousands poured into the streets yesterday calling for electoral reform. Utusan Malaysia courted Malay voters by trying to drive a wedge between PAS supporters who attended yesterday's Bersih rally and those who didn't, praising those who stayed home for refusing to be used by "anti-Islam" elements. "Congratulations for taking the wise decision not to be used by anti-Islam elements," Awang Selamat — the pseudonym for the newspaper's editors — told PAS supporters who did not join the electoral reform movement's street rally yesterday. The Malay daily also said that most of those who protested yesterday were Malay, showing that the Chinese-dominated DAP "were smarter in planning and it is clear that PAS was used." News editor Zulkiflee Bakar also mocked PAS's welfare state agenda by "congratulating" PAS for proving that it is no longer an Islamic party. "The party is now ready to do welfare by offering its headquarters as a meeting point, ordering its Unit Amal to be the main force of the rally and ordering its members to come to Kuala Lumpur," he wrote. He added that PAS was the biggest loser after yesterday's events, as "Malays will now evaluate the inconsistency of PAS" whose supporters attended the march in Islamic garb but "their behaviour while demonstrating was shameful."
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| Hisham: King's advice not heeded Posted: 09 Jul 2011 12:17 PM PDT (NST) - KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has criticised the Bersih 2.0 organisers for carrying out their street rally despite the concerns voiced by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. "It is clear that the group responsible for organising the rally did not respect the advice of Tuanku Mizan, which is to hold it in a contained area rather than in the streets." The prompt action by the police, he said, had prevented bloodshed and the loss of lives. "Those involved in the rally were clearly intent on causing chaos in the country. They were also hoping to be detained by authorities so that the government would be portrayed in a bad light."
"The cries of 'Reformasi' also showed the involvement of opposition leaders in the rally." |
| IGP: Police Had No Choice But To Fire Tear Gas, Water Cannons Posted: 09 Jul 2011 12:13 PM PDT (Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR -- Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar said the situation in the federal capital became peaceful again about 5pm yesterday after the group participating in the illegal rally dubbed 'Bersih 2.0' had dispersed. He said that in the incident, police had detained 1,401 people including 13 children and 115 women. However, he said police were still monitoring the situation around the federal capital before reopening the roadblocks to ensure that those who had joined the rally did not regroup. "I have directed the Kuala Lumpur Acting Police Chief (Amar Singh) to carry out a surveillance to ensure that the crowd do not return. We will only remove the barricades after the surveillance reveals that the situation is satisfactory. "If possible, I want to remove the roadblocks now but we have to monitor until everything have truly ended," he told reporters at a media conference at Bukit Aman, here. Ismail said about 6,000 people had participated in the illegal rally which had assembled at two locations namely Puduraya and outside the Merdeka Stadium. "They had started to assemble before 2pm at Puduraya before moving towards Dataran Merdeka although they had been advised by police to disperse earlier," he said. However, he said the advice was ignored which left the police with no choice but to fire the tear gas and water cannons. On those who were detained, Ismail said police had provided a detention area at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) and they were well treated and given food and medical care for those who were injured. He said for those who were detained, an investigation would be carried out as soon as possible and they would be released immediately upon the conclusion of investigation depending on the case. However, police had yet to determine the number of those who were injured during the incident, he said. Ismail said most of those who had participated in the rally had come from outside Kuala Lumpur, including from the East Coast. Meanwhile, Ismail said he regretted that the rally, which aimed to demand for a clean election had been inserted with elements propagated by the 'reformasi' group (started by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim). "In the police observation, we find that there were people shouting 'reformasi'. Why shout 'reformasi' as though (they) wanted a repeat of the rally held in the year 2000, whereas they say they are demanding for a clean election?", he said. On the report that Anwar was said to have been injured after being hit by tear gas, Ismail said he was not certain because Anwar was not present at both the locations of the rally. However, he confirmed that Anwar was not detained. In another development, the organiser of the illegal rally, S. Ambiga, who was detained at the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters, had been released at about 6.30 yesterdayevening. Ambiga was seen leaving the police headquarters after her statement had been recorded. Meanwhile, PAS assistant secretary-general Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad confirmed that six other leaders from PAS and Bersih who were also detained at the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters were to be released before 9pm. He said the leaders concerned included PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Maria Chin Abdullah, Nurul Iman Anwar and Jun Labis, whose statements were being taken. The Royal Malaysia Police facebook also listed several other leaders including Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin, Beruas Member of Parliament Ngeh Kor Ham and Subang MP Subang R.Sivarasah as those who were detained. (Bernama) |
| Najib: Let illegal rally be a lesson to the people Posted: 09 Jul 2011 12:02 PM PDT (The Star) - KUALA TERENGGANU: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is grateful that the illegal rally did not cause serious harm to people and property. The Prime Minister also said he was glad that the majority of Malaysians, especially those living in Klang Valley, did not take part in it. "I hope the incident today (yesterday) will serve as a lesson for everyone that street demonstration not only brings hardship to the people, it could also lead to possessions being destroyed," he said after presenting prizes to the winners of the Bakti sports competition here yesterday. Najib also said the so-called demand by Bersih protesters for a clean and fair election was merely to serve their ulterior motive. "Had the event turned serious, they would fully exploit it by giving an impression that Malaysia had no political stability with instances of police brutality. "Bersih supporters even changed their slogan to reformasi during the illegal rally, which is not at all related to their initial demand," he said. "It is proof that this illegal rally is politically-motivated and the demands for electoral reform are just an excuse for them to organise such rallies." The Government, he stressed, was always open to any discussion including a clean and fair election, as it had always practised such a system. "If there are other issues, the rally organisers can discuss with the Election Commission and the Government. "But illegal rallies and street demonstrations are out of the question," he said. If everyone were to go to the street to express their views, then chaos would reign, he added. "What will happen to our country if there are daily street demonstrations?" He said the Government had always wanted the rakyat to choose a government through a fair process. Najib also quashed talk that the rally was a success, saying that the number of people who turned up was small compared with the organiser's initial estimates. "However, we know there are certain media outlets, not the mainstream media, which love to exaggerate the event. "If it was 5,000, they would say there were 10,000 or 20,000." On the arrests of several key leaders including Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, Najib said it was up to the police to take action on them whether they were pro or against the government. |
| IGP: We counted only 6k; Hisham flays Bersih Posted: 09 Jul 2011 11:58 AM PDT By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: The police claim that only 6,000 people took part in the Bersih 2.0 rally, a figure that was 44,000 less than the coalition's estimate. Media reports however placed the figure at somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000. Speaking at a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters here, Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar denied reports that the protesters had gathered at various locations in the city. According to him, the protesters had converged at only two places, opposite the Puduraya bus terminal and Stadium Merdeka. He also said that the police had acted in a professional manner in handling the protest despite accusations that excessive force was used. "In our attempts to disperse the crowds, the protesters pulled back and started moving towards Stadium Merdeka. However, we managed to foil all attempts to go through our barricades, which were very well managed," he said. Ismail said the protesters had tried to plough through police barricades, forcing his personnel to fire tear gas and their water cannons. However, he stressed that these were done "minimally." Total arrests: 1,667 As at 5pm, the police had arrested 1,667 people, of which 151 were women and 16 below the age of 18. "They are all being investigated for disturbing the peace and participating in an illegal gathering," he said, adding that the detainees who were being held at the police training centre in Cheras would be released once investigations were completed. He assured that those detained were in good health, given food and proper medical attention. "They will be released on bail as soon as their statements are taken and those required for further investigations will be remanded," he said. Ismail said among the key figures arrested were Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, PAS leaders Abdul Hadi Awang, Mohamed Sabu, Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub, and PKR leaders Tian Chua and Fuziah Salleh. Asked about allegations of highhandedness in the arrests, Ismail said there were groups who had provoked the police. "If anyone is unhappy, then please lodge a report," he said. The police chief also revealed that most roadblocks in the city had been removed, saying that the inconvenience was unavoidable. On reports of tear gas being fired into Hospital Tung Shin, Ismail said that was not the police standard operating procedure. "We don't fire into hospitals," he said, adding that there were no reported injuries or deaths during the rally. Hishammuddin flays Bersih, praises cops
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| After Bersih, Umno flexes Najib’s muscles Posted: 09 Jul 2011 11:45 AM PDT By G Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Anticipating the fallout from yesterday's Bersih rally, which threw the capital into chaos, Umno has planned a show of support for Datuk Seri Najib Razak with today's briefing for the party faithful by the prime minister. Held less than 24 hours after tens of thousands of supporters of the electoral reform movement poured into the city, the half-day event will hope to "establish a referendum of support" from the party for Najib's leadership as head of the party and government. A division chief told The Malaysian Insider that the "Majlis Penerangan Perdana" event organised by information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan is a "last-minute programme announced just a few days ago." "It's a programme to show support and loyalty to Najib as the nation faces this new test," said another division leader referring to the Bersih march yesterday. Bersih had claimed a turnout of 50,000 for their street demonstration which went ahead without police permission. The coalition of 62 NGOs decided to take to the streets despite previously accepting Najib's offer to move the street rally to a stadium after the government refused to allow the gathering to take place in Stadium Merdeka. Critics of the prime minister believe that the government's heavy-handed intervention, including hundreds of arrests since July 1, which led to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's call for negotiations between Putrajaya and Bersih, is a blow to his credibility. Restoring it before a general election, which must be called by early 2013, is seen as a test to Najib who took over the reigns in April 2009.
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| Bersih rally lost direction, says Hishammuddin Posted: 09 Jul 2011 01:09 AM PDT  By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein thanked the police tonight for keeping the Bersih 2.0 rally under control and claimed the group's electoral reform agenda has been outshined by Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) political propaganda. In a statement, the home minister said this afternoon's events clearly showed that the group's criticisms against the Election Commission (EC) had failed to emerge as the primary purpose of today's rally. "The question of the EC no longer arises. Instead, it is the involvement of opposition party leaders that became more pronounced than the agenda they claimed to have before this. "They (protestors) shouted 'Reformasi' and wreaked havoc. This gathering clearly lost its direction and its organisers must be held responsible for the events that occurred," he said. Hishammuddin also said the group had defied the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's advice by insisting on staging its rally in Stadium Merdeka, pointing out that the government had already agreed that the event could be held in any stadium outside the capital. "To the very end, this group clearly did not take the initiative to assemble peacefully at a specific location although the government repeatedly gave its assurance they could meet anywhere, any stadium outside of Kuala Lumpur," he said. The Umno vice-president claimed that opposition leaders today were "hoping" to be arrested by the police in order to cast the authorities in a bad light. "The opposition only wants Malaysia to be seen as unstable and at the end, this will only bring negative effects to our economy and topple a democratically-elected government," he said. Of the thousands that turned up at today's rally, a total of 1,401 were arrested, including prominent leaders like Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. Hishammuddin thanked the thousands of riot police deployed across the city centre today, saying they had acted within their jurisdiction when they clamped down hard on protestors. He expressed relief that none of the untoward incidences he had feared had occurred, and credited the police for this, saying they were "brave, fair and prudent".
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