KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Utusan Malaysia accused Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Bersih leaders of treason for disobeying both the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Selangor Sultan by going ahead with Saturday’s rally.
The Umno-owned newspaper accused specifically the PKR-led Selangor government, naming executive councillors Elizabeth Wong and Teresa Kok as well as Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali for disrespecting Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
“They still have no idea how to respect the decree of their Sultan.
“Is it wrong to call them treasonous and liars out to damage the institution of the monarchs? This group lied to the Agong when they still brought their supporters to the streets,” the Umno-owned newspaper said today.
In a strongly-worded editorial, it also called Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders hypocrites for telling Malay rulers it would obey them but then do otherwise behind their backs.
“Then they pledge loyalty in the streets to someone who is implicated in the worst moral issues in the country instead,” it added, referring to Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is currently fighting sodomy and sex video allegations.
Selangor’s ruler had on the eve of the July 9 rally called on his subjects not to attend the demonstration which would throw the state into chaos.
“I am informed about the recent calls for a rally in the city, and I am of the view that the rally, which had been declared illegal by the authorities, will bring much suffering to the people if it goes out of control,” the Sultan said when opening a mosque last Friday.
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin (picture) had also intervened six days before the demonstration, asking Putrajaya and the coalition of 62 NGOs to negotiate over electoral reforms to avoid a street rally.
Despite Bersih accepting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s subsequent offer to hold its gathering in a stadium, it was denied its choice of Stadium Merdeka after the authorities told the group to move its rally outside of the capital.
Utusan Malaysia warned that “if not addressed, the trend of not respecting the Agong and Sultan will spread and be hard to control,” adding that there were already legal provisions to punish such wrongdoings to ensure it would not be repeated in the future.
Barisan Nasional (BN) and its media channels have continued to blame the chaotic scenes on Saturday on Bersih and opposition figures and accused PAS of betraying Malays into the hands of Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, a Hindu, and the Chinese-dominated DAP.
The rally for free and fair elections saw tens of thousands pouring into the streets of Kuala Lumpur despite the lack of police permission, resulting in nearly 1,700 arrests, scores injured and the death of a PKR division leader’s husband.
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