Keeping an eye on troublemakers

Police will keep an eye out for troublemakers at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow night, while Janji Demokrasi organisers warned that there is a possibility of saboteurs

UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: The police will keep their eyes peeled for troublemakers during the Bersih-like Janji Demokrasi (Promise of Democracy) gathering at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow night, while the organisers said they will be on the lookout for saboteurs.

Speaking to FMT, Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad said that the policemen deployed would mainly be monitoring the situation unless there were signs of trouble.

“We’ll see. If there is a big crowd and if they bring about any disturbances, or cause trouble, then we’ll act. Otherwise, we’ll just monitor, ” he said.

Zainuddin said that adequate number of policemen will be deployed around the area, though he declined to give an exact figure of the manpower police intended to use.

When asked, he confirmed that there would be no need for anti-riot Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel or water cannon trucks tomorrow night.

On the possibility of plans to obtain a court order to bar people from entering the historic square, he said: “No, there won’t be such an order.”

Meanwhile, one of the 49 NGOs of Gabungan Janji (Coalition of Promises) – the organisers of Janji Demokrasi – said that participants should be on the alert for saboteurs.

S Barathidasan, the secretary-general of Warga Aman, told FMT that he does not expect any problems from genuine supporters of the Janji Demokrasi gathering.

“And for ourselves, our name is WargaAman, we stand for peace. We’ve already told our people to be disciplined. But I know some people might want to cause problems, like what happened in Bersih 3.0, ” he said.

“There is a danger of third party, saboteurs, they will try to tarnish our names. I suspect there will be those people, but anyway we will be there and we must keep a look out for them,” he added.

‘We are all Malaysians’

However, Barathidasan said he hoped everything would turn out fine, saying: “After all, we are all Malaysians. Why don’t the police and City Hall and others just give way and allow us to celebrate this momentous occasion together. Merdeka square, that’s where we’ll count down.”

Janji Demokrasi will see people gathering at Dataran Merdeka, clad in yellow, between 11pm and midnight tomorrow.

Similar simultaneous gatherings are planned in other states, including Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor.

The organisers have disallowed banners, placards, and sound systems.

While many of the members of Gabungan Janji are also key leaders of Bersih, the group has distanced itself from the popular electoral watchdog group.

National laureate A Samad Said, who is also the joint chairman of Bersih, will read a special poem on the evening.

These “pro-democracy” gatherings aim to ask the government to fully implement Bersih’s eight demands, such as cleaning up the electoral roll, using indelible ink, a minimum period of 21 days for campaigning, free access to the media for all parties, strengthening public institutions, stopping corruption and bringing an end to dirty political campaigning.

Also being demanded is for the government to uphold the Federal Constitution and allow for greater reforms, both of which the government has failed to do so far, according to the group.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly said that he expected a low turnout for Janji Demokrasi.

Police have on Monday said that the gathering is illegal as it contravenes Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, for failing to notify police 10 days in advance.

Police urged the organisers to call off the gathering and also advised the public from going, and have not dismissed the possibility of making arrests.

Rais invited too
In another development, Gabungan Janji today invited Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim and all Malaysians to join the Merdeka Day gathering at Dataran Merdeka on Aug 30.

A statement issued late this evening urged participants, including Rais, to wear yellow for the Gabungan Janji gathering. The time for the gathering has also been changed to 11pm from 10pm.

“We will not disturb the countdown and celebration of Merdeka but will join all Malaysians in their celebration of Merdeka,” said the statement.

The movement also stressed its supporters not to bring banners, placards or any slogans. It also said it would refrain from slogan shouting and speeches.

“Wear yellow, be it baju kurung, baju Melayu, scarves or tudung… for the rakyat to remind the government’s unfulfilled promise, and bring food to share.”

“We reiterate that our presence at Dataran Merdeka is our way to show our commitment to democracy in celebrating the nation’s independence,” added the statement.