May 13 caused by scheming Umno politicians, not street protesters, PKR slams Nazri

PKR leaders flayed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz for using the May 13 racial riots as a reason to justify the tabling of the BN's oppressive Peaceful Assembly Bill, saying those "dark days" were caused by scheming Umno politicians and not by street protesters wishing to air a grouse.

"May 13 has nothing to to with street protests. It was caused by sheer manipulation and a power struggle in Umno. Certain Umno Youth members stirred up racial sentiments amongst the Malays and they went on rampage in Kuala Lumpur. How is that a street protest? Also, what are we paying the police and armed forces for if not to manage public order?" PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Drowning Umno clutching at straws

Nazri, who is incharge of law and parliamentary affairs, was reported by the mainstream media as saying that the government could not afford to allow anarchy to take control even if it mean less democracy.

However, critics slammed his words as being superficial and lacking in basis.

"I'm not surprised Nazri raised May 13. For the past few decades, this has been Umno's main excuse to arrogate powers to themselves and oppress the people. There are plenty of other criminal laws to deal with riots and affrays," PKR vice president and human rights lawyer N Surendran told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Umno is like a drowning man clutching at straws. Their main contribution to political discourse in modern Malaysia is to periodically raise the racial bogeyman."

It is worth noting that just last week, Prime Minister Najib Razak was among the Umno delegates who also spoke about the May 13 attacks, prompting rebuke that they were trying to scare the Chinese into voting for the BN.

Can May 13 be recollected without mentioning Umno Youth

Indeed, it was obvious from Nazri's use of description narrative and vocabulary that he fully intended to recreate the image of bloodshed, but strangely, he avoided mentioning the role of the protagonists.

And these were the machete-wielding mostly Umno Youth members, whose violence left some 200 dead although the figure is believed to be much higher in the thousands.

"No one who witnessed the tragic scenes of May 13, 1969, will ever forget the terror they felt as a wave of violence tore through Kuala Lumpur. When the cloud of smoke over the capital finally cleared, nearly 200 people lay dead," Nazri said.

"Homes and businesses had been destroyed, and the fabric of our fledgling nation appeared to have been torn beyond repair. RM50 to RM60 may be nothing to a wealthy politician exploiting a street demonstration to promote himself, but it is a great deal of money for the owner of a hawker stall who cannot work for a day because the roads are blocked."

Fraudulent excuses

Nazri also went so far as to say that after the tragedy, Malaysia went on to become a "vibrant 21st century democracy" with disputes settled through elections and not street protests. But nowhere were street protests outlawed in Malaysia's federal constitution after 1969.

The Peaceful Assembly Bill announced and tabled by the unpopular Prime Minister Najib Razak last month is the first law that actually bans street protests and gives unprecedented power to the police, making Malaysia worse off than Myanmar in terms of democratic liberties.

Nazri reiterated his past arguments that developed countries had similar laws but his arguments have been exposed to be fraudulent by the Pakatan, which pointed out that most Western governments are only given certain rights of control and even these are limited to a fixed and short period of time, whereas in Malaysia, it was permanent.

Per-empting mammoth protest

Nazri also appeared to be trying to preempt efforts by several civil society groups, which have threatened to mount a mammoth campaign if the law is not withdrawn.

Nazri urged detractors to take their grouses to the ballot box rather than to the streets. However, he again neglected the factor of dirty and rigged polls for which the BN administration is notorious for.

"If you agree, you should join us in supporting PAB. If you disagree, that's fine. Malaysia is a democracy, and you can hold whatever opinions you choose. But rather than taking your objections onto the streets, take them with you to the ballot box," said Nazri.

"That's what generations of Malaysians have done since the dark days of 1969, and that's why Malaysia has become the strong, united, progressive nation it is today."

Malaysia Chronicle