The police have urged journalists covering the opposition Pakatan Rakyat rally this Saturday to wear a special police-issued tag so they can be easily identified.
This unprecedented move appear to be an attempt to avoid a repeat of beatings meted out by police personnel on journalists during the Bersih 3.0 rally last year.
Yesterday, several Malaysiakini journalists received telephone calls from the Kuala Lumpur police contingent requesting for a list of journalists covering the rally.
The list, to be submitted by tomorrow, was to include personal details such as telephone and MyKad numbers.
When contacted, the assistant to the chief of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Secretariat (Public Relations) ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the move was meant to ensure the safety of the journalists.
"We don't want any untoward incident, like last time," he said, in reference to Bersih 3.0.
This new measure suggests that the police are not ruling out the option of cracking down on the rally - dubbed the People's Uprising Rally - should protesters pour into the streets of Kuala Lumpur after organisers failed to obtain a response to their application to gather at the historic Stadium Merdeka.
Not curbing the press
Asked why the police force was taking this unconventional measure as journalists attached to news organisation already possessed government accreditation cards, Ramli said that the police-issued tags would made things easier.
"Sometimes, we may not be familiar with this (the press tag) ... My job is to tell our officers that those with our pass are journalists and ought to be given cooperation."
He also urged journalists to wear vests clearly indicating their respective media organisations during the rally.
Ramli dismissed suggestions that the special identification measure was a subtle attempt to restrain journalists from carrying out their job.
"Not at all. Who are we? Is it possible for us to do that?" he asked.
He said media organisations need to view this positively as the move was meant to protect them.
Protecting the press from whom?
April 28 last year saw one of the biggest demonstrations in Malaysian history in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, with more than 100,000 thousand people taking to the streets to demand for clean and fair elections.
However, the initially peaceful rally resulted in violent clashes between the police and protesters.
Numerous journalists claim they were also targetted by police personnel, who not only assaulted them but also confiscatedcameras and memory cards containing photos and video clips of the event.
Some journalists were warded for their injuries, forcing Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to visit them and apologise in person.
It has been eight months since the incident and not a single police personnel has been convicted of attacking the journalists, despite the abundance of documentary evidence.
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