KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Street demonstrations are expected to account for a big part of police work this year, Inspector-General of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said today, as the force braces for increasing unhappiness over price hikes being pushed by the government.

Khalid said that various “interested parties” have played up public sentiments against the government over recent years on issues that covered everything from the environment to religion and the economy.

The police chief, however, would not elaborate on who he meant by “interested parties”.

“Street demonstrations are one of the concerns... the police must take all steps to be ready for whatever possibility,” he said at a special press conference at the police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

The country has seen a growing trend of street protests over recent years, with the latest being an anti-price hike rally on New Year’s Eve at the iconic Dataran Merdeka.

The national capital has also been rocked by a series of street demonstrations by electoral reform coalition watchdog, Bersih, between 2008 and 2013 that saw violent confrontations between protestors and police.

Khalid, who became federal police chief last May, was dismissive of claims by rally organisers that their demonstrations were peaceful.

He argued that not one street rally has transpired without a scuffle.

“Many parties say we should allow demonstrations that are peaceful, but have there been peaceful demonstrations?

“At the least there have been incidents of bottle throwing, some people got punched... we have never had a demonstration that is truly peaceful,” he said.

He added that a cache of weapons near the Dayabumi complex here after the December 31 anti-price hike rally proved street demonstrations sparked violence.

The IGP also hit out at rally organisers whom he accused of deliberately disregarding regulations under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA), which prompted the police to act against them.

“What is so difficult to give the police notice and tell us what time is good for you? We will help you manage it.

“But they deliberately don’t want to inform, just so that the police will take action so they can tell the whole world the police are cruel.

“To my perspective, that is what they want. They want the police to come with water cannons, FRU with batons,” he said, referring to riot police squad by their initials.

He added: “That is what they want.”

In reply to questions, Khalid said the police had not acted on its own but in response to online reports that were widely-circulated alleging there were elements out to oust the government during the anti-price hike rally.

“We did not say it... it was propagated on the alternative media. Are we supposed to keep quiet about it?” he asked.

“If no action was taken, no steps to restrict, there will be groups that will say the call is true and they will welcome.

“By then, it would be too late to do anything,” he said, adding that the police want to avoid public uprisings such as those in the Middle East and most recently in neighbouring Singapore.

Last December 24, police arrested a man said to be the leader of an anti-price hike movement who was also suspected of aiming to overthrow the government.

A week prior, police also nabbed a Facebook user whom they believed to have incited Malaysians through his social network page to participate in the December 31 protest and topple the government of the day.

Khalid said he would be more than happy to see the return of Internal Security Act (ISA) as a tool to “make the country safer”.

“I have wished this before. I am enforcement authority. Any law that can help me make the country safer, I will support... knowing the capability of the ISA, of course I wish there was ISA,” he said, reiterating his earlier stand in support of the controversial law.

The colonial British law was criticised for allowing detention-without-trial and repealed in 2011.

It was previously invoked by the Mahathir administration to round up opposition leaders in an operation in the 1980s, known as Ops Lalang, that was wisely seen as a way to silence dissent.

Despite strong opposition, the Najib adminstration had reintroduced preventive detention clauses in several security laws.

However, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has insisted there are safeguards to prevent abuse of the clause, such as restricting its use to criminal acts.