State police chief officer Ayub Yaacob has described the organisers of the solidarity gathering Himpunan Hijau 2.0 in Penang as 'arrogant' for not informing the police about the event, which ended up with two journalists hurt.
Ayub said as the organisers did not notify the police of the event held at 6pm at the Penang Esplanade yesterday, the force did not send a team to monitor the situation.
He added that if the organisers had notified the police or discussed the matter with the force, a team would have been on standy at the scene.
"The organisers only contacted us at the last minute, when the situation was becoming tense, so we sent a group," he told Malaysiakini, sounding rather upset.
The fracas involved two male journalists - Adam Chew (photo at bottom) and Lee Hong Chun - from Chinese daily Kwong Wah Jit Poh, who were hit with helmets by unidentified individuals while covering the event.
Ayub said as the organisers did not notify the police of the event held at 6pm at the Penang Esplanade yesterday, the force did not send a team to monitor the situation.
He added that if the organisers had notified the police or discussed the matter with the force, a team would have been on standy at the scene."The organisers only contacted us at the last minute, when the situation was becoming tense, so we sent a group," he told Malaysiakini, sounding rather upset.
The fracas involved two male journalists - Adam Chew (photo at bottom) and Lee Hong Chun - from Chinese daily Kwong Wah Jit Poh, who were hit with helmets by unidentified individuals while covering the event.
CM's speech nearly disrupted
This was the only anti-Lynas rally in a concurrent nationwide series that was disrupted, while others in Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan went smoothly.
A hostile group of 50 men of chanting slogans, “Hidup BN, Hidup Umno,” disrupted the rally, which was attended by more than 500 participants, mostly wearing green T-shirts.
The pro-Lynas posse tried to disrupt Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's speech, bombarding him with vulgarities, accusing him of lying to Penangites.
This group, which included several Umno and Perkasa members, who have also been seen attending other anti-Lim rallies in Penang, said they opposed the rally as the Lynas plant was not a Penang issue.
Meanwhile, Ayub said in situations such as these, the organisers should be responsible for the safety of the participants at the rally.
He reminded them that since they did not want to get the police involved in their event, they should be fully aware of their duties and responsibilities of ensuring that the event carried on peacefully.
"They should know that anything can happen during such a protest. Everyone wants freedom of speech. They want to express themselves in public places. Anything can happen," he warned.
Freedom ‘at your own risk’
He reiterated that if the organisers do not want the police to be involved, they must be prepared to face such situations.
Ayub said that when a group expresses its support for an issue, others may oppose it.
"We want freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, are we prepared for it?" he queried.
When asked why the police did not take any action when the situation turned chaotic when they were there, he said his staff "must look and see first what is happening".
"We can't simply take action," he quipped.
Police only finally intervened in the fracas during the event at about 7pm, where they later sounded their siren and warned the crowd to disperse.
This was the only anti-Lynas rally in a concurrent nationwide series that was disrupted, while others in Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan went smoothly.
A hostile group of 50 men of chanting slogans, “Hidup BN, Hidup Umno,” disrupted the rally, which was attended by more than 500 participants, mostly wearing green T-shirts.The pro-Lynas posse tried to disrupt Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's speech, bombarding him with vulgarities, accusing him of lying to Penangites.
This group, which included several Umno and Perkasa members, who have also been seen attending other anti-Lim rallies in Penang, said they opposed the rally as the Lynas plant was not a Penang issue.
Meanwhile, Ayub said in situations such as these, the organisers should be responsible for the safety of the participants at the rally.
He reminded them that since they did not want to get the police involved in their event, they should be fully aware of their duties and responsibilities of ensuring that the event carried on peacefully.
"They should know that anything can happen during such a protest. Everyone wants freedom of speech. They want to express themselves in public places. Anything can happen," he warned.
Freedom ‘at your own risk’
He reiterated that if the organisers do not want the police to be involved, they must be prepared to face such situations.
Ayub said that when a group expresses its support for an issue, others may oppose it."We want freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, are we prepared for it?" he queried.
When asked why the police did not take any action when the situation turned chaotic when they were there, he said his staff "must look and see first what is happening".
"We can't simply take action," he quipped.
Police only finally intervened in the fracas during the event at about 7pm, where they later sounded their siren and warned the crowd to disperse.
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