Police: Azmin lying about 10 conditions

(Bernama) – City police chief Mohmad Salleh has asked Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Azmin Ali to ensure the party abides by the 10 conditions set to hold an assembly tomorrow, including ensuring only 5,000 people were allowed to gather in the car park of the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

He denied Azmin’s statement which alleged the police did not impose such conditions for the assembly, describing him as being dishonest and untrustworthy for issuing the statement.     

“I am disappointed with his ungentlemanly behaviour and lies,” he said when referring to Azmin’s statement published in a news portal yesterday.     

Mohmad told a news conference at the city police headquarters here today, that Azmin, PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin and three others from PKR had agreed with the 10 conditions in their discussion at the headquarters on Friday.  

In fact, the letter on the 10 conditions was signed by Shamsul Iskandar in the presence of Sentul police chief ACP Zakaria Pagan at the Sentul police headquarters yesterday, he said.     

“We took a picture during the discussion and we have a signed copy of the conditions with PKR’s agreement,” he added. 

On participation in the assembly, Mohmad stressed that PKR should ensure only 5,000 people could assemble at the car park.       

“If there were more than 5,000 people, spilling out of the location, then it is a violation of the agreed condition.       

“Anyone can participate but there must not be more than 5,000, those who come later would have to leave.              

“They could do anything in the specified area during the assembly but participants must not spill over the place,” he said, adding that the police would act if the agreement was violated.     

Tomorrow’s assembly will be held by supporters of Anwar Ibrahim, in view of the Kuala Lumpur High Court announcement of its decision in the sodomy trial involving the opposition leader and his former assistant, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.    

Meanwhile Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Azmin Ali could not demand that no conditions be imposed for the demonstration planned to be held outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court tomorrow by supporters of Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.      

He said the people could judge for themselves Azmin’s demand, which he described as not “walking the talk”.      

“Obviously, the police would not have held a joint press conference with him (Azmin) without having agreed on the conditions under which the assembly could be held so as not to disrupt peace and order,” he told reporters after launching Semberong Wanita Umno’s election machinery in Kluang today.    

Hishammuddin, who is also Umno vice president, said the police and all the relevant ministries were prepared to face any eventuality tomorrow.    

According to him, the police had gained invaluable experience from the Bersih 2.0 rally held in the federal capital last year. 

In Kuala Lumpur, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Koh Tsu Koon said the rally planned by the opposition outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court tomorrow showed the opposition’s “talk about the independence of the judiciary” was just mere talk as they were not defending the institution.    

He said the ultimate objective of the rally was to put pressure on the judiciary so as to try and get a verdict that would favour them.     

“They the opposition are contradicting themselves. If they were convinced the accused (Anwar) is not guilty, why the need to hold a demonstration and besides, there are avenues to appeal (should the verdict be guilty),” he told reporters after opening the Malaysian Indian Youth Council’s 18th Annual General Meeting at Wisma Belia MAYC today.     

Speaking on the same matter, Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Maglin D’Cruz urged Malaysians not to join the demonstration tomorrow as it did not augur well for the country.    

Maglin, who is also People’s Progressive Party vice-president, added that the judiciary should be allowed to do its job without any interference from any quarter, whether local or international.