KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to accept in good grace the intentions of a girl who dropped yellow balloons behind the latter at a mall, and have the police drop its investigation on her.
The Gelang Patah MP added that any harassment or persecution of Bilqis Hijjas, who was apprehended at the Pavillion shopping mall yesterday for releasing the balloons, would do neither Najib nor Malaysia any good.
“Najib should speak up, tell police to 'hands-off' Bilqis Hijjas and show Malaysia and the world that his government is not obsessed or afraid of yellow colour, T-shirts and balloons,” Lim said in a statement.
“More important[ly], Najib should let it be known that he would not have been ‘provoked’ to break the public peace or to commit any offence by Bilqis’s artistic licence,” the Gelang Patah MP added.
Bilqis, a dancer, is being probed under Section 504 of the penal code for “provoking a breach of peace” by distributing the balloons at the Pavilion shopping mall in Bukit Bintang during the DiverseCity International Art Festival which PM Najib had attended.
It is understood that Bilqis had dropped the balloons from the top floor of the mall which later fell behind the stage where Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah were seated.
The seven balloons were decorated with the words “Free media”, “Democracy” and “Justice”, among others.
Najib and Rosmah were said to have ignored the balloons.
Lim added that Najib should be reminded of the second of the nine strategic challenges to achieve Vision 2020, which is create “a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian Society with faith and confidence in itself.”
“Malaysia has failed miserably to achieve this second ‘strategic challenge’ when the Malaysian government sees an enemy behind every bush and tree, and even worse as demonstrated by recent days, obsessed and even afraid of the yellow colour, T-shirts and now balloons!” he said.
The balloons were also seen being distributed at the 34-hour Bersih 4 rally which took place over the weekend, which saw tens of thousands take to the street calling for a electoral process among others, and for Najib to step down.
