Police stop Opposition's (Pakatan’s March 8) rally

By Adib Zalkapli | malaysianinsider | KUALA LUMPUR, March 2010.

The police moved in tonight to stop a Pakatan Rakyat public rally at the Sultan Sulaiman Club here to mark the second anniversary of the coalition’s landmark victory in Election 2008.

But the crowd stayed on and squeezed into the clubhouse to listen to Pakatan and PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speak and celebrate two years of power in four states.

In his speech, Anwar condemned the country’s Islamic authorities’ move to cane Muslims for syariah offences, describing it as a selective prosecution.

“The son of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad bought over a brewery in the Philippines, but no Umno ustaz dares to speak but they want ordinary people,” said Anwar, referring to Datuk Mirzan Mahathir’s stake in brewer San Miguel Corp.

He also told the largely Malay crowd to be wary of the government’s plan to develop Kampung Baru, the last Malay settlement in the city centre.

“Let me tell you, do not trust them, the Kampung Baru villagers must decide the development plan,” said the former deputy prime minister.

Earlier, PKR vice-president Azmin Ali was stopped by Federal Reserve Unit riot police while delivering his speech to thousands attending the rally.

As the police approached him, Azmin told the crowd that the club belongs to the Selangor state government and was not “Umno property”.

“I call on the policemen to embrace the Pakatan Rakyat struggle,” he said to applause from the crowd.

“If we are given the mandate to take over Putrajaya, we will protect the interest of the policemen,” he added, before police stopped his speech.

Among those at the rally were PKR deputy president Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali, Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar.

Police later sent in two water cannon trucks to the venue, prompting Pakatan supporters to leave the club.

But Batu MP and PKR strategist Chua Tian Chang invited the crowd to get into the club hall to comply with the police ruling forbidding the crowd from gathering on the field.

The decision was announced after 15 minutes of intense negotiations with the police. Hundreds of supporters packed the hall and stayed until the end of the celebration.

“We chose to stay because we did not commit any offence,” said Lim, who took advantage to defend his Penang administration’s policies before the Malay-majority crowd.

Mahfuz said the police’s action has only helped to instil hatred against the ruling party Umno. However, police say they are just sticking by rules that prohibit open-air ceramahs. They took no action when the speakers and crowd were inside the clubhouse.

Three party supporters claimed they were injured in the melee when police ordered them off the field.

The police last night stopped a dinner organised by the DAP in Kepong, just outside the city centre.

The Pakatan Rakyat swept through four more states and captured 82 federal seats in a historic win that denied the ruling Barisan Nasional its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.

However, Pakatan lost Perak when three lawmakers quit to be independents last year and support Barisan as the state government.

Pakatan lynchpin PKR lost three MPs and sacked another over the past month as the leadership anguished over Anwar’s sodomy charge, the second after he was sacked as deputy prime minister in September 1998.

Malaysian Police Stopped Opposition's (Pakatan Rakyat's) 

Anniversary Celebration In Kuala Lumpur