Hisham insists no favouritism despite Bersih ban

Hisammuddin: Things not previously thought of or known by public is being monitored by the authorities.

SHAH ALAM, July 3 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein insisted today that the authorities will act fairly in stopping all gatherings from taking place on July 9 despite only outlawing electoral reforms group Bersih.

Despite hundreds of Bersih supporters arrested in the past week and its secretariat raided on Wednesday, the home minister denied the government was victimising the coalition of 62 NGOs calling for electoral reforms.

“Don’t try to make it appear that we are only acting against one party. From the start we will take action against anyone breaking the law,” he said, citing the arrests on Friday of Perkasa and Umno members in Penang, including Senator Ezam Mohamad Nor, for an anti-Bersih protest as proof.

“Any street demonstrations on July 9, whether Umno Youth, Perkasa or Bersih, are all illegal gatherings. It’s as simple as that, what’s so difficult to understand?” he added.

Asked if any other organisations such as Umno Youth’s Patriot — planning an anti-Bersih on July 9 —would also be banned, Hishammuddin said that was up to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to decide.

However, yesterday’s announcement of the Bersih ban by the RoS said that “the home minister has declared the Bersih 2.0 organisation as going against the law under Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966 effective July 1, 2011.”

Hishammuddin added that the use of the Emergency Ordinance against Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members showed that the authorities were taking the July 9 gatherings seriously. The six PSM members, including Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, were earlier accused of spreading communism and waging war against the King.

“Things not previously thought of or known by public is being monitored by the authorities. Other parties may be taking advantage of Bersih without the knowledge of the organisers,” he said.

He also insisted that the authorities would not base their actions against individuals despite calls for action to be taken against Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

“When you look at it individuals, it gets twisted. We look in terms of threat,” he said.

The mercury has risen over the Bersih march in the past week but the police dragnet has been met by defiance from Ambiga and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders, who have strongly backed the march as it seeks to build momentum ahead of a general election expected within the year.

The first in 2007 saw an estimated 50,000 people take to the streets in the capital city before they were dispersed by riot police armed with water cannons and tear gas.

The event has been partly credited for PR’s record gains in Election 2008 when the opposition pact was swept to power in five states and won 82 parliamentary seats.

But the government has insisted it will not issue permits for July 9, when Bersih will clash with counter rallies planned by both Umno Youth and Perkasa.