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Bersih rally 'an attempt to topple KL government'
Straits Times - May 5, 2012
In the latest salvo from the government, Datuk Seri Najib accused the protesters of wanting to take over the capital's independence square not "for two or three hours but for two or three days or even longer, to show that the government cannot control the situation."
"They wanted to make (Merdeka Square) like the Tahrir Square in Egypt," he was quoted as saying by Bernama at a community event yesterday.
A few hundred thousand Egyptians occupied Tahrir Square for 18 days last year, forcing president Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power.
Last Saturday's protest in Malaysia was one of the country's biggest in years, as more than 25,000 Malaysians of all ages and ethnicities joined a street rally organized by Bersih, a coalition of non-governmental organizations. Bersih, which means "clean" in Malay, is pushing for electoral reforms ahead of Malaysia's general election, expected to be called within months.
But the rally, which proceeded peacefully for hours, plunged into chaos when a group of protesters breached the security barricades put up at the perimeter of Merdeka Square, prompting riot police to fire tear gas and spray water cannon. The square had earlier been sealed off, with a court order barring protesters from entering it.
Public opinion has been divided, with the authorities and protest organizers locked in a war of words the past week. Each side has blamed the other for the violence, while giving its own version of what the rally represented.
No one was killed but more than 100 people were sent to hospital here, according to human rights groups here.
Mr Najib, who said that the groups involved did not respect the democratically elected government, challenged them to compete in the upcoming election. And while he acknowledged that there "may have been some police brutality," he said it could have been avoided if rally participants obeyed the law.
Najib's views were echoed yesterday by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who accused the opposition of contemplating "violent demonstrations as a way of seizing power" if it loses at the upcoming general election.
"The average Malaysian always thinks what happens in other countries will not happen here," he wrote on his blog. "But the Bersih 3 demonstration shows it can happen here... when (the opposition) is in power we can kiss goodbye to peace, stability and economic growth in this beloved country."
Police have so far released mugshots of 91 people they said were connected with offences at the rally. They urged those involved to come forward to help with investigations.
But many Malaysians are also angry over police violence, with videos and pictures online of police roughly handling and assaulting journalists and protesters.
The Home Ministry agreed on Wednesday to set up an independent panel to look into these allegations.
"The independent panel which the police have promised comes at a crucial time with World Press Freedom Day yesterday but the question that has surfaced is, who will be on the panel? And how independent will it be?" The Star newspaper wrote in a commentary yesterday.
"Only a truly independent and professional probe would satisfy the young people, who feel their protest was for a legitimate cause – fraud-free elections."
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