High security for Malaysian opposition rally today

Teo Cheng Wee
The Straits Times
Publication Date : 06-07-2008

Organisers of a big opposition rally today have moved it from the openness of a field to the confined space of a stadium and have reduced figures for the expected attendance amid concerns over the gathering spinning out of control.

At the suggestion of the police, the rally will now be held at Kelana Jaya Stadium in Selangor.

Both the opposition and the police are stepping up security ahead of the event, fully aware of the turmoil in Kuala Lumpur and the violence that an emotionally charged rally could spark.

Originally meant to be a protest against a recent hike in fuel prices, the 14-hour mass rally is now being held amid tension over allegations of sodomy made against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Mr Anwar, who is eyeing Malaysia’s top post, is making the rally as part of a nationwide tour to clear his name, and his scheduled address to the crowd today has been billed as its climax.

The organisers are expecting more than 80,000 people - the maximum the stadium can hold - to turn up, down from an earlier forecast of 200,000.

Last Tuesday, about 12,000 people had thronged Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam to hear Anwar speak.

Fears over safety at today’s event are not overblown: Pro-Anwar Reformasi protests which erupted in 1998 following similar sodomy charges and in the wake of his sacking by then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, drew thousands of people onto the streets of Kuala Lumpur and sparked violent clashes with the police.

Such concerns have prompted the police to warn supporters to stay away from the original venue of today’s planned rally - a sports field in Padang Timur. They said no permit had been issued for the public gathering.

“I hope the police will stick to their word and allow us to gather peacefully now that we have agreed to move to an enclosed area,” said rally organiser and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Responding, Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told The Sunday Times that the police would “definitely be there to ensure the safety and security of the people”.

“We want to make sure no one is breaking the law. We will be monitoring the speeches to make sure that there is nothing of a seditious nature,” he said. “If everyone abides by the law, everything will be fine.”

Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) protest leader Hatta Ramli played down the impact of the venue change and dismissed suggestions that it might weaken support.

“If the people support our cause, they will turn up. There’s no reason they won’t come just because it’s in a stadium,” he said.

Shamsul was also unfazed. He said pamphlets would be distributed at the rally so that participants can still spread the message to other people.

Despite the compromise reached between the organisers and the police and the lower turnout expected, security remains an issue.

The organisers themselves are deploying about 2,000 youth volunteers from PKR and PAS for crowd control, and to prevent violence from breaking out.

The police will also likely turn up in force, although Datuk Khalid declined to say how many officers would be deployed.

Roadblocks have been set up around the Malaysian capital. Police say they are part of normal crime-prevention measures.

The police chief dismissed rumours that the military would turn up at the rally.

He said it was “just a coincidence” that the police and the military were now holding a joint exercise to prepare for security threats. The six-day inaugural drill in Kuala Lumpur ends tomorrow.

It had sparked fears of possible military involvement in handling street protests, with opposition parties saying that it would send a wrong signal to Malaysians and the world.

These views were echoed in a joint statement released by 27 civil society organisations in Malaysia.

The Star reported yesterday that the organisations expressed dismay at the exercise, saying it showed that some of those in authority did not understand the right of Malaysian citizens to peaceably exercise their fundamental liberties.

The organisations also said that deploying the army to help the police maintain order in any public rally would contradict Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s statement that the situation is under control.

Dengan ihsan Asia News Network

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