Hello Tan Sri?! Hasn't your great government been polluting history for decades now?! Very brave of you guys since Malaysia's First PM isn't alive, isn't?! It is your government that has time and time again polluted history, manipulated it & twisted it in favour of Malays! To begin with, was it your race that fought for Malaysia's Independence Alone?!!!
PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Bersih’s persistence to hold its rally at the historic Stadium Merdeka signalled its “dishonesty” in reaching an amicable solution and was intended to “provoke”.
He also said that Bersih had not reciprocated the government’s soft gesture by defying the Cabinet’s decision not to allow the rally to be held anywhere within the capital city. “I see their action as somewhat provocative. They keep wanting to fight. I feel as if there is dishonesty in their action,” he told a press conference here.
Muhyiddin said the decision (not to permit the rally in the old stadium) was reached based on four reasons: the small capacity of Stadium Merdeka which can accommodate 30,000 spectators; the historic nature of the infrastructure; the ownership of the stadium; and the traffic congestion.
Bersih had stated its intention to gather as many as 300,000 participants for the rally, but Muhyiddin said the organisers knew fully well the capacity of the stadium.
“The capacity is low and they know this, so what exactly is their intention to hold the rally there?” he said, adding that the coalition of 62 NGOs probably harboured ulterior motives. The deputy premier said the government won’t allow any form of political desecration of Stadium Merdeka which was the site of the country’s declaration of independence.
“I do not think we would want to pollute history with such gatherings for whatever reason other than official functions”.
There is also the question of ownership of the building itself. Stadium Merdeka is owned by Perbadanan Stadium Merdeka and not the government so it is entirely up to the management to decide if the rally could be held there, said Muhyiddin.
Decision in police handsDismayed by the Najib administration’s flimsy offer on a venue for the July 9 rally, Bersih said it will gather at the historic stadium this Saturday despite Putrajaya’s refusal to allow the poll watchdog to hold its gathering there.
In a hard hitting statement issued late last night, the Bersih steering committee said it was “disappointed in the manner in which the Prime Minister and his cabinet has reneged on their offer to provide a stadium for us to hold our peaceful gathering”.
“We have chosen Stadium Merdeka as the best venue for this event, due to its symbolic nature and central location, and we will not for one moment be swayed from our decision to gather there peacefully,” read the statement further.
The group had agreed to a compromise and hold its planned mammoth rally in a stadium after the Yang Di Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin advised the coalition against street protests.
The King also urged the Barisan Nasional government to sit down and listen out to the group’s concerns on electoral reform.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself had promised to provide the group with a venue but had since then “reneged” his promise when he made a drastic turnabout and said it was up to the police to decide if the coalition would be issued a permit to hold the rally.
Stadium Merdeka’s management has rejected an application made by Bersih while the police said it is yet to receive an application from Bersih to hold the rally.
Muhyiddin said it is now up to the police to make the necessary arrangements pertaining to the permit.
The deputy premier also made it clear that the authorities will not allow Bersih to gather anywhere in the city. He suggested that bersih held its rally at the Shah Alam stadium. “I heard the Selangor Mentri Besar had offered the stadium,” he said.
This entry was posted on July 7, 2011 at 1:31 pm and is filed under Nation, Top News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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