Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has indirectly condoned the series of violent acts against Pakatan Rakyat ceramahs by failling to condemn these actions.
“My car (when it was attacked in Sembrong in February), were there any statements to say stop this or we will not tolerate this sort of violence? No. This means that they are actually condoning it.
“Is this being tolerated by Umno? Yes. Which means Najib as prime minister has abdicated his responsibility,” he said when asked by Malaysiakiniafter a Pakatan programme to register red IC holders in Klang this afternoon.
Since then, a series of violent acts targeting Pakatan ceramahs have followed, namely Gambang (Pahang), Merlimau (Malacca) and most recently in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur where two Pakatan supporters and an Umno supporter were allegedly injured.
Asked to comment about Umno’s accusation that he had provoked the fracas in Lembah Pantai during a dual ceramah on Thursday, Anwar quipped: “When my car (windscreen) was broken, I broke it myself, it could be that the elderly man who was injured knocked his own head, too.”
“My car (when it was attacked in Sembrong in February), were there any statements to say stop this or we will not tolerate this sort of violence? No. This means that they are actually condoning it.“Is this being tolerated by Umno? Yes. Which means Najib as prime minister has abdicated his responsibility,” he said when asked by Malaysiakiniafter a Pakatan programme to register red IC holders in Klang this afternoon.
Since then, a series of violent acts targeting Pakatan ceramahs have followed, namely Gambang (Pahang), Merlimau (Malacca) and most recently in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur where two Pakatan supporters and an Umno supporter were allegedly injured.
Asked to comment about Umno’s accusation that he had provoked the fracas in Lembah Pantai during a dual ceramah on Thursday, Anwar quipped: “When my car (windscreen) was broken, I broke it myself, it could be that the elderly man who was injured knocked his own head, too.”
Yesterday, Lembah Pantai Umno Youth chief Mohamad Sazali Kamilan accused Anwar of causing the fracas when he described Umno as sial (damned) and celaka (cursed) despite an observation by Malaysiakini that he had only made the remarks after spotting Raja Ismail Raja Din bleeding from his head after being hit by a projectile.
‘Bottles already flying when I arrived’
“When I entered the ceramah, bottles were already being thrown (from the other side), it was already flying when (Lembah Pantai MP) Nurul Izzah was speaking, you could hear the sound (of the bottles) landing on the roof (of the stage).
“So when I saw what had happened to the pakcik, of course I was angry, and a little girl was crying at the back after that after she was injured in her arm... I was very angry, celaka (cursed) politics,” said Anwar, who is also PKR supremo.
The situation was reportedly tense as the two rival ceramahs were set up within metres of each other.
Anwar added that the incident was regrettable because despite the heavy police presence that night they did not move in quickly to stop the throwing of projectiles when it first began.
“If they see 10 to 15 police officers, they would not dare do that. So what’s wrong? Why aren’t they being professional when it comes to Umno hooligans?,” he said.
‘Police should investigate violence’
Asked to comment on Umno’s claim that one of its supporters, too, was injured, Anwar called on the police to investigate.
“If Pakatan supporters hurt others, we will not defend... Police should investigate, I will not defend, it depends on the outcome of the police investigation,” he said.
He added that Pakatan had submitted a notice to the police for the ceramah to be held.
“Who gave the notice to the police? We gave. I was in Pengerang (on Friday) and it was the same thing, we got the permit and they allowed another session just 50 metres away without a permit,” he said.
Despite Anwar’s Friday trip in Johor being dogged by harassment, the PKR adviser insisted that the party will continue with the party’s political activities in the state.
“This is the culture that they are breeding. I am still committed. I will go to Johor again in the next fortnight,” he said.
‘Bottles already flying when I arrived’
“When I entered the ceramah, bottles were already being thrown (from the other side), it was already flying when (Lembah Pantai MP) Nurul Izzah was speaking, you could hear the sound (of the bottles) landing on the roof (of the stage).
“So when I saw what had happened to the pakcik, of course I was angry, and a little girl was crying at the back after that after she was injured in her arm... I was very angry, celaka (cursed) politics,” said Anwar, who is also PKR supremo.The situation was reportedly tense as the two rival ceramahs were set up within metres of each other.
Anwar added that the incident was regrettable because despite the heavy police presence that night they did not move in quickly to stop the throwing of projectiles when it first began.
“If they see 10 to 15 police officers, they would not dare do that. So what’s wrong? Why aren’t they being professional when it comes to Umno hooligans?,” he said.
‘Police should investigate violence’
Asked to comment on Umno’s claim that one of its supporters, too, was injured, Anwar called on the police to investigate.
“If Pakatan supporters hurt others, we will not defend... Police should investigate, I will not defend, it depends on the outcome of the police investigation,” he said.
He added that Pakatan had submitted a notice to the police for the ceramah to be held.
“Who gave the notice to the police? We gave. I was in Pengerang (on Friday) and it was the same thing, we got the permit and they allowed another session just 50 metres away without a permit,” he said.
Despite Anwar’s Friday trip in Johor being dogged by harassment, the PKR adviser insisted that the party will continue with the party’s political activities in the state.
“This is the culture that they are breeding. I am still committed. I will go to Johor again in the next fortnight,” he said.
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