Former IGP, Tan Sri Rahim Noor alleges Bersih used Marxist tactics. - Picture by Choo Choy May
Rahim called on the government’s panel investigating the violence at
Bersih’s April 28 rally led by Hanif to probe the 84 civil societies
that form the electoral reforms movement and “information” that Pakatan
Rakyat (PR) was inciting bloodshed at the rally for free and fair
elections.
“The panel must investigate the NGOs in the coalition. Check if the
situation will become more severe,” Rahim said in an interview with
Berita Minggu published today, when asked if there was potential for
bloodshed if Bersih was allowed to proceed.
“I received information of incitement, apparently the opposition is not
confident of winning Putrajaya and chose instead a ‘bloodshed’
approach,” added the 68-year-old who was Inspector General of Police
from 1994 until 1999 when he reisgned after confessing to assaulting
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Rahim, who has previously likened the rise of civil society to
communism, added that “while they might not be Marxist,” the Bersih
movement used Marxist tactics, implying that it infiltrated NGOs to
agitate the public.
“The April 28 movement is ala-Marxist. At the peak of the Marxist
movement, in the 40s to the 70s, they used underground groups to
infiltrate associations, unions, schools and religious bodies.
“They collect issues to damage the government and raise anger and
anxiety among the public. I see that the country is not free from this
threat,” he said.
He described Marxist tactics as “Agitprop (agitation propaganda) and
Agitpol (agitation politics)” and explained that “incitement and street
protests are Agitpol” while allegations “that the prime minister will
order the armed forces to do something if Barisan Nasional (BN) loses
(the election)” is Agitprop.
The so-called “Hanif panel” has been criticised as the former IGP “has
already made two public comments... that communist sympathisers who were
active demonstrators in the 1970s were involved.” “He has also agreed
with Najib’s allegation that Bersih 3.0 was an attempted coup d’état
against the government. By so doing, he has shown that he is biased and
has already pre-judged the outcome of the investigation,” Bersih has
said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has also claimed that
there were those at the planned sit-in who “wanted deaths,” a statement
backed by police who have uploaded a clip on video-sharing site YouTube
they claim is proof of the allegation.
The April 28 rally, which saw tens of thousands gather at six different
locations before heading to Dataran Merdeka, was peaceful until about
2.30pm when Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan asked the crown to
disperse.
But the former Bar Council president’s call was not heard by most of the
crowd who persisted around the historic square which the court had
already barred to the public over the weekend.
Just before 3pm, some protestors breached the barricade surrounding the
landmark, leading police to disperse the crowd with tear gas and water
cannons.
Police then continued to pursue the rally-goers down several streets
amid chaotic scenes which saw violence from both sides over the next
four hours.
Several dozen demonstrators have claimed that they were assaulted by
groups of over 10 policemen at a time and visual evidence appears to
back their claim but police also point to violence from rally-goers who
also attacked a police car.
The police car then crashed into a building before some protestors flipped it on its side.
Rahim is also being sued by Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat after the New
Straits Times carried a report quoting him as calling the Pas spiritual
leader the “father of kafir (infidels)” in response to the latter’s
defence of those who participated in the April 28 rally as fulfilling
their Islamic obligation.
But the former Inspector General of Police has since clarified in a
letter to the paper that he had not uttered the words, but had only
questioned PAS’s association with secularist DAP.
No comments:
Post a Comment