Why the double standards on protests, asks Terengganu Amanah

 

Police set up roadblocks leading to the Ladang Tok Pelam intersection in Kuala Terengganu, where Amanah was given only 15 minutes to hold its protest.

PETALING JAYA: Amanah has accused the authorities in Terengganu of practising double standards when imposing restrictions against demonstrators, depending on which side of the political divide they stood.

Terengganu Amanah chief Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah said that when the party held a peaceful demonstration over the increase in the prices of goods at the Ladang Tok Pelam intersection in Kuala Terengganu a few weeks ago, it faced stringent restrictions.

Meanwhile, he said, demonstrations held by PAS and Umno were allowed to proceed with no repercussions.

Raja Kamarul said that at the request of the police, Amanah agreed to hold the demonstration for only 15 minutes, but four roads leading to the location were then blocked by the police.

Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah.

“What’s the point of being given 15 minutes for a demonstration and then closing all the roads?” he said in a statement.

Following a demonstration at the same location yesterday, he said he and Terengganu Amanah Youth chief Zamir Ghazali were summoned by the police to give their statements.

“Umno held a demonstration in front of their office, Amanah held a demonstration in front of our office, while PAS held a demonstration in front of the Kuala Terengganu police headquarters.

“Why is it that only Amanah was subject to action and restrictions?”

He said the government had acted “cowardly” in stopping the group of 15 protesters, including eight women, from assembling and voicing their concerns over the issue of rising prices. - FMT