Ibrahim Ali slips up on Blair ‘slipper’ protest
By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider
PETALING, April 24 — Datuk Ibrahim Ali boasted that thousands of slippers would greet Tony Blair if he set foot in Malaysia, but he only mustered less than 100 protesters at the “slipper protest” today.
His Malay rights group Perkasa joined a few other groups who did not want the former British prime minister to speak at a success seminar in Bandar Sunway here over his alleged war crimes.
The dismal showing did not seem to faze those gathered at an entrance to the Sunway Pyramid Mall. Chanting “Allahu akbar” and “Blair! Blair! B*****d!”, the protesters stepped on and burned flyers printed with Blair’s face.
They also threw slippers at a banner featuring the crossed-out faces of Blair, George W. Bush and the Star of David.
The group was mainly made up of young Malays, although a dozen or so Iraqi nationals were also present.
Mohamed Assadi, a protester, said Blair’s sponsors and even those who paid to listen to him share his guilt.
“Those who invited him, to listen to him, are criminals [who] are sharing with him… his crimes,” said the 40-year-old doctoral student.
“Anybody inviting him is sharing with him in his crimes against humanity, against Islam, against this Earth, against human beings. This man should be punished.”
Ibrahim, together with four other NGO representatives, were later allowed into the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa Convention Centre by the police to submit an “indictment” to the former British prime minister. The press were not allowed in with them.
The five emerged half-an-hour later only to inform the press that they were not able to meet with Blair.
“I am disappointed that I could not meet with Blair because security was very tight,” the independent Pasir Mas MP said.
“We did not know where in the building Blair is. Maybe in the toilet or the nooks of a cloth shop or hiding in some lift. We couldn’t find him.”
But he said they did meet with Blair’s representative and handed him with the document issued by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal.
“When I met the representative, he said we cannot see Blair personally to submit this for security reasons.
“And I told the representative, Blair never thought of Iraqi people’s security. They just invade and bomb Iraq according to their wish, and now he’s talking about his personal security. So I said, ‘Go to b*****d with your Blair!’ That’s what I told them just now,” Ibrahim added.
