Nik Aziz promises King no chaos in any government change
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has promised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin in an open letter that there will not be any chaos if there is a change of government through free and fair elections.
The PAS spiritual chief also offered his prayers and congratulations to the King for interceding in Bersih 2.0 rally debacle, saying the ruler had displayed “concern” for the people.
“I would like to offer my view that any change in government through fair elections will not cause chaos like in other countries such as Japan and Thailand,” said Nik Aziz through an open letter published in PAS organ Harakah and on his Facebook fan page today.
The popular Kelantan Mentri Besar, who is presently on a pilgrimage to Mecca, sent the open letter last night.
Nik Aziz was responding to the King’s audience with Bersih 2.0 organisers yesterday afternoon which resulted in the coalition’s agreement to accept the government’s offer to hold its rally in a stadium.
Bersih 2.0 sought audience with the constitutional monarch on Monday after he released a rare statement the day before seeking to diffuse tension ahead of Saturday’s rally by calling on all parties to engage in consultation instead of confrontation.
Shortly after the coalition was granted audience yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the government was willing to meet with Bersih 2.0 to discuss an appropriate rally venue.
There is still no word about a venue although the police said the rally organisers will have to apply for a permit. Police had refused permit earlier for any rallies on July 9 and mounted roadblocks across Kuala Lumpur today in an apparent move to discourage Bersih supporters from entering the city.
More than 200 people have also been arrested for wearing Bersih t-shirts with six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) for up to 60 days. PSM will file a habeas corpus to free the six, which includes Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj.
