Street demos not sustainable, says Cabinet minister

Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar speaks during the Perdana Discourse Series 18 on 'How Malaysian Youth Can Best Prepare for the Future' at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, Putrajaya, today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Faisal Salehhuddin, May 26, 2014.Street protests demanding for a change of government are not sustainable because the successful proponents can be brought down the same way in the future, said a Cabinet minister today.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said the rule of law must be observed and that one should not resort to going to the streets and demonstrating to effect change, be it in the government or laws.

"Opting for street demonstrations to bring down the government is not sustainable because others will adopt the same tactics to bring the new government down, we have seen this happening around the world.

"Freedom of expression is highly respected but do it in a proper context," he said in his keynote address on "How Malaysian Youth Can Best Prepare for the Future" at the Perdana Leadership Foundation today.

Malaysia has seen several street rallies in recent years, from the Bersih rally on free and fair elections to the Turun rally on New Year's eve and the most recent on Putrajaya's move to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April next year.

The anti-GST rally on Labour Day earlier this month saw more than 20,000 people coming out to protest against the broad-based consumption tax as well as the rising cost of living which saw a spike in prices of goods and services.

The authorities had previously said the Turun rally was a plot to overthrow the government although this had been denied by its organisers.

May 1 saw thousands of demonstrators gather at Dataran Merdeka during a May Day rally against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and rising cost of living. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, May 26, 2014.Abdul Wahid said while people have a right of expression, it should be done in a matured, civilised manner.

"If you want your views to be heard, hold your gatherings in a controlled environment, such as in a stadium where all the facilities are available. Why do you need to march?" he said, adding that taking to the streets resulted in disruption of businesses and traffic.

He also called on all Malaysians not to run down the country or bad mouth the country's leaders when abroad.

He said despite their unhappiness and differences of views, other citizens did not ridicule their countries or their leaders when they were overseas.

"We can have political differences but we can debate them in a mature democratic manner, we should not run down the country," he said.