Parties move to defuse tension over rallies

By Azril Annuar, Pauline Wong and Hemananthani Sivanandam, The Sun

In a positive response to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s call for compromise and moderation to avoid trouble arising from protest marches planned for Saturday, the government and the organisers of the rallies today moved to defuse the tension which had built up in past weeks.

 

The prime minister said a venue would be offered to the rally organisers if they wanted to present a memorandum to the King. And the leader of Bersih 2.0 said the organisers would seek an audience with His Majesty and abide by the King’s advice.

Umno Youth, which planned to hold a rally to counter Bersih, announced that it had called off its plans.

Warning that street demonstrations may bring more bad than good, although the original intention is good, the King had on Sunday counselled the government and the organisers of the three protest marches, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), Umno Youth and Malay rights group Perkasa, to resolve the issue through consultation rather than acting on their emotions.

Making the first move to defuse the situation, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the government was willing to allow the Bersih rally, provided it is not a street demonstration.

“If they want to present a memorandum, request it nicely from the authorities. We are willing to give them a stadium for them to gather,” he said, at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly in Putrajaya this morning.

“The government will not stop them from having a demonstration in a stadium from morning till night. They can shout all they want but don’t hold a street demonstration as it has the risk of endangering the nation,” said Najib, adding that a street demonstration meant they had different intentions.

Najib’s compromise offer was vastly softer than the no-compromise positions taken by the Home Ministry and the police earlier.

Last week, the police announced they were no longer willing to negotiate or compromise with Bersih 2.0 organisers, and began a crackdown which has so far seen over 150 people detained for questioning.

On Saturday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had declared that Bersih 2.0 is illegal and justified the crackdown.

Najib said there was no guarantee the proposed demonstration will be peaceful, as irresponsible parties might take advantage of the rally.

“There may be those who like to incite riots and cause disturbances that will take advantage of the situation and join the rally, leading to undesirable incidents. We must think of this, the worse that can happen, before it’s too late.

“We must avoid making emotional decisions, taking emotional actions.There are other avenues available,” he said, adding that the Election Commission (EC) is willing to review any legislation regarding the electoral process and to improve it where possible.

“We are willing to make improvements. The EC had said it is willing to implement a biometric system to dispel the perception that there are phantom voters, he added.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan told a press conference that following an emergency meeting of the coalition’s steering committee, the coalition had sought an audience with the King towards resolving issues surrounding the Bersih 2.0 rally.

“The coalition will abide by the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, even if it means calling off the rally. As a matter of respect (to the King), we want to communicate with His Majesty our decision first before making an announcement,” said Ambiga, urging the media not to speculate as to what the outcome of the meeting will be.

“We want to resolve this in the best interest of all concerned,” she said.

Umno Youth today announced it had cancelled its plans to have a rally to coincide with the Bersih rally on Saturday.

Its deputy chief Datuk Razali Ibrahim said the decision was made to abide by the King’s advice.

“We take the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s advice seriously. Thus, I have urged Patriot not to continue with the rally to heed Tuanku’s advice that all parties should adhere to the rule of law to defend the country’s Constitution,” he said.

Umno Youth had last month launched “Himpunan Patriot” (Patriots Rally), to support the current electoral system.

Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hussin Syed Ali hinted that Perkasa may be willing to call off its counter-rally, but will announce its final decision tomorrow.

“If Bersih continues with the rally, so will we. This is our decision for now,” he said in a text message.