Shouldn't the other 249,997 people be charged too?

YOURSAY 'So the other 249,997 people who showed up did not violate the PAA, but these opposition politicians did?'

Anwar claims trial to Bersih 3.0 charge

MrM: Why charge just three people for violating the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA)?

You mean the other 249,997 people who showed up, including myself, did not violate the PAA, but PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, deputy president Azmin Ali and former supreme council member CheguBard (Badrul Hisham Shahari) did?

How so? Because they are opposition politicians?

Lim Chong Leong: The charging of the three politicians for participating in the Bersih 3.0 rally is selective prosecution, unless they too charge all the other 250,000 who participated.

The charge of violating a court order that prohibits the occupation of Dataran Merdeka is misplaced, because they did not at any time occupy Dataran. To me, it is clear that these charges are an abuse of process.

Anonymous #11028691: I think BN just wants to court to fine them RM10,000. This will bar them from coming election.

Fairnessforall: Umno ‘sexploits' did not work, so now they have to try another way to make Anwar and Azmin ineligible to stand for election.

They are trying to so hard to get Anwar out of the way. The only thing this whole incident shows is that PM Najib Razak is afraid of Anwar.

What Najib fails to realise is that if ever Anwar is charged and not allowed to stand for elections, that will be the death of Umno and BN as the people will even get angrier and they will be finished.

Mushiro: It always Anwar Ibrahim that they are after. It is only Anwar Ibrahim that they can think of.

This is the man that they love to hate, but they just do not know how to handle him. The more they misuse the law to trap him, the more popular Anwar gets, the more sympathisers he gets and the more votes he gets.

MY Kee: I am all for a fair and clean election. Based on the video, Azmin did instigate the party members to break the barrier. To me, that is simply wrong.

That was the excuse the government used to fire tear gas at the peaceful Bersih participants. Azmin ought to be punished.

Likewise, some police officers who abused their power to beat up the rakyat also need to be charged.

Absolom: The law cannot do anything about people defacing property, causing commotions and intimidating a lady at her house in a private residential area.

But it can bring others to book for gathering in a public area for a worthy cause for which people getting chased around, battered, gassed and arrested.

It seems justice in Malaysia has not touched rock-bottom yet.

Hang Babeuf: Nobody in Umno-BN could be so stupid as to believe that taking this course of action was either in the national interest or (far more to the point here) in Umno-BN's narrower interests, especially insofar as its prospects of waging a successful electoral campaign over the coming months are concerned.

So one must begin to ask whether this is part, the beginning, of a larger, ‘extra-electoral' political ‘game-plan' to create the grounds/circumstances for claiming that going to an election (because of the "regrettable" consequences of "opposition excesses") will not be possible or advisable "any time soon" - not in June/July, not in August/October, and perhaps not even in early/first-half 2013.

That is, is the nation now moving towards ‘Mageran/NOC (National Operations Council) Mark 2'? Is an ‘override' by ‘extra-democratic' force majeure now in imminent prospect?

Headhunter: Just when you thought that they have made a really stupid move, they come out with yet another.

It is as if they have this great desire to get kicked out. This will only benefit Anwar and the opposition. Just how dumb can they be?

The opposition is no longer just about Anwar. Getting rid of Anwar will no longer save the BN from defeat.

The only way they can win is to cheat their way through. And cheat they will because they have no shame and no conscience as can be seen by their recent conduct.

FairMind: Umno is not that stupid. The court case is to distract the opposition for these few months while they surge ahead with preparations for the general elections.

Quigonbond: Rais claimed only 22,270 or so people turned up for Bersih 3.0. If there is any doubt about his lack of honesty, this puts to rest that doubt.

Along with his implied message that Bersih 3.0 is just a pitiful band of protestors, we now know that BN must be so desperate to go back to their tried and tested ways - prosecute all opposition leaders and keep them away from the Parliament, where they might just win and take over Putrajaya.

Expect to see a speedy trial, and an equally speedy judgment and sentence. By the way, this shreds to pieces Najib's so-called best democracy and expansion of civil liberties.

Brickbats on the Peaceful Assembly Act being equally draconian (as the Police Act) have been vindicated. - Malaysiakini