Lembah Pantai ruckus: Not our fault, says Nurul
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar has invited the Lembah Pantai Umno liaison chief to issue a joint statement condemning all types of political violence.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Don’t blame PKR for the violence that occurred in Lembah Pantai last week, said party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar today.
Responding to Lembah Pantai Umno liaision chief Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin’s statement yesterday, Nurul said the former’s attempt to link PKR to the violence is “feeble and a great disservice” to democracy.
Last week, a PKR ceramah near Pantai Permai Dalam flats in Lembah Pantai turned ugly when participants from a nearby Umno ceramah started throwing stones and eggs at the PKR ceramah attendees.
Both ceramah were held a stone’s throw away from one another and were only separated by several metal barricades.
One elderly man and a 12-year old girl attending the PKR ceramah were injured during the melee. Nurul and PKR de factor leader Anwar Ibrahim were among the speakers that day.
Nurul had blamed Umno for causing the ruckus.
However, Nong Chik, who is also the Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being minister, claimed that the violence was caused by “outsiders” and that locals had nothing to do with it.
He also blamed Pakatan Rakyat for failing to control its supporters during the tense situation.
‘Lets issue joint statement’
Rebutting Nong Chik’s claims in a statement today, Nurul, who is also Lembah Pantai MP, said that Pakatan leaders had always welcomed Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders to the constituency, including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and former minister Daim Zainuddin.
“I never saw their presence as Umno inviting outsiders into local politics, rather as a recognition that PKR is doing something right to deserve such attention,” she said.
