Police rehearse anti-riot routine to scare public

Musician-turned activist Attama believes that the police crackdown on Sabah Bersih 2.0 rally organisers is 'a slap' in the face of every Malaysian.

KOTA KINABALU: The show of force by the police and their move to ‘close off’ the Foochow Association Hall to the Sabah Bersih 2.0′s indoor rally on Saturday has riled the organisors here.

The organisers condemned the police for attempting to intimidate and instill fear among the public by holding anti-riot drills in the open at Padang Merdeka here in the heart of the city and at a shopping area about 10 minutes away.

“By gearing up in riot gear, holding batons and rehearsing FRU formations, to us it is a exhibition of a police state,” said popular musician Atama Katama.

“How can the police use this strategy against a group of citizens that only want to uphold their rights and walk in peace and solidarity with one another for a good cause?

“Are we the citizens not allowed to express our voice of the injustice committed to us at all? How can democracy be upheld if elections are rigged?”

Attama, who is in the forefront of the Sabah Bersih 2.0 peacefull rally calling for free and fair elections, described the crackdown on the rally organisers as ‘a slap in the face of every Malaysian’ whose right to assembly which is guaranteed under Article 10 of the federal constitution has now been trashed.

“Does this mean the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration will continue to have 70,000 phantom voters in the Sabah EC roll?

“By depriving Malaysians of their constitutional rights it is obvious that PM Najib and the BN administration are not for free and clean elections.

Najib lacking integrity

Attama said the failure to allow Bersih supporters to assemble in a hall will only result in more splinter groups of supporters marching uncoordinatedly throughout the city.

“We in MCLM (Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement) express our great disappointment with the cancellation of our bookings of the venue caused by the intense pressure from the authorities.

“It is now clear to us the people of Malaysia that the PM Najib administration lacks the integrity especially because PM Najib had earlier assured Bersih leaders that they can proceed if it was held indoors and a permit applied,” he told the press.

Though the rally organisers here have been forced to abort their plan to hold the gathering at the Foochow Hall in Luyang in support of the nationwide campaign, on Saturday, they intend to show their support via radio.

Atama said Sabah Bersih organisers had been invited to participate in the launch of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) RadioSabahTv, an online radio on Saturday, at the party’s headquarters in Bornion Centre, Luyang, at 1pm.