(Penang,
Saturday): The
police arrest of DAP MP for Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan and twelve others at the
Bentong wet market yesterday over the DAP’s “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to
1957” People’s Awareness Campaign and the totally
unwarranted rude and rough attitude and conduct of the police is the
latest instance of gross police abuses of power and their harassment and
obstruction of legitimate constitutional and political activities in the country
It is
also the latest international embarrassment for Malaysia, as the Bentong Police
and Fong Po Kuan have become international media news items yesterday -
to the discredit of the Bentong police in particular and
the Malaysian police in general in projecting an image of Malaysia
teetering on the edge of a police state where the police have no qualms and have
full immunity in trampling on fundamental
liberties of citizens but to the great credit
of Fong Po Kuan because of her guts, gumption and conviction in standing up for
her principles.
DAP
calls on Suhakam to establish a
public inquiry into the string of
police abuses of power and human rights violations in
the harassment of “No to 929” campaign, which are legitimate
political activities, and the false,
wrongful and unlawful police arrests of Opposition leaders and activists on
spurious grounds under the Sedition Act 1948.
After
my first arrest in connection with the “No to 929” campaign by the Ipoh
Police on June 5, Perak DAP had lodged an official complaint with Suhakam but to
date, Suhakam had done nothing about it.
The
DAP’s “No to 929” campaign to uphold and defend the 1957 Merdeka
Constitution, the “social contract” and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement that
Islam is the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state is not
seditious, or these three basic nation-building documents would have become
seditious documents.
The
“No to 929” campaign is not
anti-Malay or anti-Islam, or any other race or religion, but pro all races and
religions to defend and uphold their fundamental rights as spelt out in the 1957
Merdeka Constitution with regard to Islam as the official religion but Malaysia
is not an Islamic state.
DAP
is fully committed to the rule of law and eschews all forms of illegal and
unconstitutional practices, which is proven by the DAP’s 36 years of political
record, but we will not condone the unconstitutional acts of the police in
criminalizing legitimate political activities enshrined in the Malaysian
Constitution.
For
this reason, I will visit the
Bentong wet market on Sunday (11th
August 2002) as part of the
nation-wide “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957”
People’s Awareness campaign in discharge
of our legitimate constitutional political activities to make the important
point that the police arrests of Fong and 12 others in Bentong yesterday
were wrongful, unlawful and a gross
abuse of powers.
I do
not want to be arrested a third time over the “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to
1957” campaign, but no political
leader worth his salt can allow any police officer to take the law into his own
hands to criminalize legitimate constitutional political activities, just
because it is carried out by the Opposition.
Deputy
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should exercise leadership and
stop the Bentong police from continuing to harass and obstruct the “No to
929” campaign, to stop making false, wrongful and unlawful arrests and to
start having respect for human rights in Malaysia.
(4/8/2002)