KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang today urged the police to intervene on a planned September 16 rally calling for Malays to unite, saying it would create racial strife.
The Gelang Patah MP said the group organising the rally was pitting Malays against the distorted view that the Bersih 4 demonstrations was a “Chinese Bersih demonstration” and urged for the Home Minister and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to take action.
“If there is a group calling for a 'Chinese rally to counter the Malays', the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi would have swung into action, both by word and deed, and those organising such a 'Chinese rally to counter the Malays' would end up, and rightly so, in police custody,” he said in a statement.
He added that the two-day Bersih 4 rally last weekend was a credit to both the police and protesters for showing the world that demonstrations could be held peacefully, but irresponsible parties were distorting the non-racial Bersih 4 to be viewed as a Chinese rally challenging the political power of the Malays.
“In the first place, there had never been a 'Chinese Bersih demonstration', as the Bersih 4 participants were Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or politics, and although the Malay participation in the first day of Bersih 4 was low, on the second day, Malay participation was easily some 40 per cent of the crowd,” he said.
“Furthermore, the participants were not only from all races, [but] their demands [were] for a good government and free and fair elections transcend race altogether.”
A yet-to-be-known group has made calls via social media for a September 16 rally which in different circles is referred to as either “Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu” or “Himpunan Maruah Melayu” to take place at Bukit Bintang, asking its participants to wear red.
Though not much is known of its organisers, another anti-Bersih group leader Datuk Jamal Md Yunos had reportedly said to expect an announcement by the organising group on Tuesday.
Lim further reiterated that DAP condemned the actions of those who reportedly stomped on images of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at Bersih 4 but questioned why the issue is prioritised by the police more than the planned September 16 rally.
“Those who had stomped on the images of Najib and Hadi were wrong and should apologise for their actions, but why is the police giving higher priority to such wrong and misguided conduct as compared to criminal acts like inciting racial hatred and strife as launching a Malay rally against the Chinese, by falsely accusing that Bersih 4 rally as a Chinese demonstration?” he asked.
“I call on the Home Minister and the IGP to take strong action against anyone trying provoke or foment racial strife in plural Malaysian like the so-called September 16 Incident.”
