Don’t Be Intimidated: Oppose the Perak Power Grab
Commentary By Dr. Lim Teck Ghee (Centre for Policy Initiatives)
CPI expresses its strong condemnation of the arrest yesterday evening of Wong Chin Huat for alleged sedition by the police authorities. The police action is clearly aimed at intimidating civil society organizations and the public into passivity and acceptance of the power grab in Perak by the Barisan Nasional.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, a coalition of civil society organizations had conducted a press conference to protest the actions of the BN government. The group which included Wong Chin Huat, Sivarasa Rasiah, Tony Pua, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Teo Nie Ching and myself had called for a peaceful public demonstration of opposition to the takeover through the symbolic act of wearing black on 7 May. More than 20 members of the media were at the press conference. Besides the press release which has been made publicly available, there are tape recordings of the impromptu presentations made by the representatives of the organizations taking part in the event.