JUNE 22 BLACK 505: Don't you dare beat up the people - PKR warns police, govt

UPDATED VIDEOS INSERTED PKR youth leaders warned Prime Minister Najib Razak's government and the police to be professional in their conduct and not conspire to beat up participants attending the June 22 Black 505 rally due to be held at the Padang Merbok field nearby to Parliament House and the Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

"Once the police start provoking and beating up the people, then the demonstration become 'teruk' (disastrous). The police must give the fullest cooperation im making sure the rally goes on smoothly and peacefully. If the police start to act like thugs beating up people for no reason, then it will be a shame not only for the image of the country but also of the police," Afif Bahardin, a PKR Youth leader told a press conference on Friday.

"We already have so many agencies whose integrity is in question by the people. First we have SPR (the Malay acronym for the Election Commission or EC), then there is PDRM (police force). For example the SPR, the question now is not what is the next move. The first move should be from the SPR - all its committee members should step, not just its chairman and deputy chairman. The way they are answering the questions from the media and even the people is as though they are representing Umno and BN. They are not representing a free and fair committee which was appointed by the King and they drag the King into the matter. We are not questioning their appointment by the King. We ar questioning their integrity,work ethics and professionalism.The integrity of the SPR is now in question, so don't drag the King into the matter. The question is you. And I think they have admitted that they failed to make sure the indelible ink stayed indelible for 5 days. That's only one point. So that's the first step rather than asking Pakatan Rakyat. We are moving on. We want to move on to the next level of democracy. We want to create a better future for our country, for the democratic process in our country and in order to do that, the SPR must go first," said Afif.

Biased police, biased institutions?

It may appear odd to the outsider but violence towards civilians and subservience to top political masters of the day are among the weaknesses the Malaysian police force has been accused of for decades.

As Shamsul Iskandar Akin, the PKR youth chief who was also at the press conference, pointed out the Bersih 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 rallies all fell victim to brutal police responses.

However, the unprovoked beatings have not stopped the free and fair polls movement from creating immense public awareness for reforms in Malaysia's shady electoral system, often criticized for its murkiness and dubious gerrymandering practices.

"Parliament will start next week. This rally will show, hey this is real. The people are angry with the SPR, they want action to be taken against them," said Shamsul.

"What I have noticed in the pattern of the SPR is that it takes a huge rally to get some progress and reform going. Each time, there is resistance. Bersih 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Then we make a bit of progress after each rally but it is not enough. We have to keep going."

Army?

The PKR youth chief also slammed the police for threatening to bring in the army to suppress the June 22 Black 505 rally organised by the Opposition to protest electoral fraud and due to be

"I think they want to frighten the people in terms of reducing the numbers. In Bersih 2.0, the authorities also cordoned off the entire Ku(ala Lumpur) city area and they ran clips on TV showing the police and army in training sessions. But the crowds still came.So you cannot stop the people's confidence, fury and anger after they voted for Pakatan and we did not get the majority of seats. So I hope the police will play their role as facilitator and not to encroach on the people's right to a peaceful assembly," said Shamsul.

PKR expects a crowd of between 300,000 to 500,000 at tomorrow's event.

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