‘Rally and riot, which part did you misunderstand?’
(Harakah Daily) – PAS today took to task deputy Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar for attempting to liken the riots in British cities to the massive Bersih rally in Malaysia on July 9.
The party’s deputy information chief Nizar Jamaluddin questioned whether Khalid had problem understanding the difference between a ‘riot’ and a ‘rally’, which was something planned and accompanied by the organiser’s request for cooperation from the police.
WORLDS APART … (Top): Bersih participants on July 9 queueing up at a store in the city centre to buy refreshments. (Bottom): Looters at a store during the riots which engulfed several British cities.
“That statement (by Khalid) is utterly wrong because we did not riot, but participated in a peaceful rally that took the NGOs months of planning, ” the Bukit Gantang member of parliament and former Perak Menteri Besar told Harakahdaily.
Khalid had earlier remarked on his Facebook that the riots in London and surrounding cities were proof that street protests could lead to “nightmares”.
Nizar however stressed that the riots there, the worst social unrest in Britain in recent times, were also attributed to widespread unemployment and rising prices of goods.
On the other hand, Bersih, he said, was solely to seek electoral reform.
“In London, the riots erupted suddenly …there was no planning and there was no one to take responsibility.
“In Malaysia, we have responsible NGOs, we have a leader and the rally was discussed with authorities over a long period before it finally took place,” added Nizar.
‘Our police more cruel than Britain’s’
