Nizar: BN govt playing racial card
Barisan Nasional is using Malay sentiments to stop the growing participation of Malays for the Bersih rally, says former Perak MB Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
(Free Malaysia Today) – The Barisan Nasional government has been accused of using the racial card to neutralise Bersih’s “Walk for Democracy” rally on July 9.
Perak Pakatan Rakyat said the BN was using Malay sentiments like religion, waging war against the King and the revival of communism to stem the growing participation of Malays for the Bersih gathering.
“They are also trying to tarnish Bersih’s (chairperson) S Ambiga’s public image by alleging that she is anti-Islam and Malays should not support her in this public gathering,” said Perak PAS leader Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
Nizar who was also the former Perak Pakatan menteri besar cited several factors to back his claim that BN was using Malay sentiments to defuse the community’s participation in the rally.
He said the BN government had initially used Section 122 of the Penal Code to claim that Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members were part of Bersih movement and were allegedly reviving the communist ideology by waging a war against the King.
The government then changed the charges against six PSM members to that of under Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) 1969 (EOPOPC) for subversive activities.
He said allegation was also made that Bersih was being funded by foreign sources with Christian interests to destabilise the nation.
He added this was followed by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who declared Bersih 2.0 as not being a registered organisation as such an illegal organisation effectively July 1,2011.
