Guan Eng: Police abuse at rally bad image for M'sia

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has expressed great disappointment over the police's action on citizens attending yesterday's Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur, which turned chaotic after the latter intervened.

Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, said it appears that citizens cannot gather peacefully without being exposed to abusive actions by the police.

He added that it was different, however, if the protestors were rallying against the Pakatan Rakyat government or its leaders.

He cited the case of a recent demonstration held in Penang by pro-Umno, Malays rights pressure groups like Perkasa and Suara Anak Anak Malaysia, where journalists were allegedly assaulted.

guan eng on bersih 090711 press conference"There are no actions taken by the police in these incidents. There was no action even though the protestors attempted to hijack the Penang bridge and halt the traffic," he told reporters in Komtar today.

"This is a blatant show of double standards because it involves a protest against Pakatan Rakyat. However, if it involves Barisan Nasional, anything can happen," he added.

During the conference, Lim also announced that there would be a state-sponsored information ceramah in Tapak Expo Seberang Jaya tomorrow at 8.30pm, to "explain our policies to the people in view of our limited coverage in the media".

Lim then expressed deep sympathy over the death of a PKR supporter who died after suffering from breathing problems after being exposed to tear gas by police at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

Baharuddin Ahmad, 58, was the husband of PKR Wanita's Setiawangsa division leader, Rusni Melan..

Lim will be visiting Rusni and her family today.

Lim also condemned the police for shooting chemical-laced water at protesters taking refuge at the Tung Shin hospital in Puduraya.

Police have been accused by protesters of having fired tear gas directly at them, even while they were dispersing.

He said the police's actions yesterday resulted in scores of Pakatan leaders being injured, including, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham and PAS deputy president Mohammed Sabu.

NONE"The police abuse is a big blow to the image of Malaysia. We hope we are not likened to the situations in Yemen and Eygpt, where citizens are not allowed freedom to assemble," he said.

"I am afraid if this continues, the police would soon become the tool of BN," he added.

Last night, Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar said 1,401 people were arrested for taking part in illegal rallies and defying police orders to disperse.

He estimated the crowd at between 5,000 and 6,000. As at 5pm, 1,273 men, 115 women and 13 minors had been detained.

Independent reports estimated as many as 50,000 people had turned up for the rally calling for clean and fair elections.

On a question whether Bersih 2.0 has achieved it's objectives despite the purportedly low turnout, Lim refuted the official figures stated by the police.

"Do you mean to say the police was so efficient that it could arrest close to 30 percent of the protesters? Usually they can only manage to nab about 5 percent," Lim said.

Lim was also asked to comment on Ismail's statement on NTV7 prime time news yesterday that the protesters were shouting 'reformasi' - a PKR slogan, instead of the word 'Bersih' for electoral reforms.

"This is because the word Bersih has been banned. It shows the federal government is not clean, which is why it fears the word," Lim quipped.

"The IGP should understand this because he banned the word. Sometimes I think they forget what they did and that is why they make mistakes," he added.

guan eng on bersih 090711 showing sms"Are the police encouraging people to use the word Bersih now? It seems it is wrong to follow the law (ban), and it is also wrong if we do not follow the law," he quipped.

Lim also lamented that he had received SMSes yesterday alleging he had sent out the messages to ban members from attending the rally.

He was upset that the message had insinuated that he was 'racist' as it stated that Lim had told his members not to join the rally as "let the Malays fight among themselves".

He added that certain quarters have always been trying, but failed, to create animosity between Pakatan leaders.

"They want us to fight but this would not jeorpadise our relationship," he said.

Malaysiakini

No comments: