Pakatan Harapan leaders expressed their support for Perikatan Nasional's right to hold its Malaysia Day gathering today, although they couldn't resist questioning the opposition's own credentials when it came to upholding freedoms and reforms.
"We respect their rights to assemble. However, those who chanted ‘reformati’ are unfortunately also shallow in reform credentials.
“To outbid us in reforms, please show us your reform agenda in (the PN-governed states of) Perlis, Terengganu, Kedah and Kelantan.
"Apart from appointing former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as an adviser, share what you have done in the past 10 to 30 years of governing your states," said Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung.
Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson Abdul Aziz Bari said the gathering was just opportunism on PN's part.
"These guys are obviously racist and right-wingers and we have seen their true colours when they formed government after the Sheraton move.
"Though they may claim rights under the Constitution, they don’t have a clear direction for reforms to the system. PN didn’t do anything when they were in office, and this calls into question the legitimacy of their protests," he told Malaysiakini.
The PN-led Malaysia Day rally today saw nearly 1,000 supporters convene for over an hour on the streets near Sogo shopping complex, Kuala Lumpur - a site of many past protests against former administrations and leaders.
Police estimate crowd numbers to be around 850 people while organisers claimed a 10,000-strong crowd.
There was no presence of riot police on the streets but two rows of uniformed personnel stood in line and prevented the crowd from turning into the road leading to Dang Wangi police headquarters.
The gathering earlier started with afternoon prayers held at Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru, where their initial numbers were estimated to be about half of the crowd.
Although the organisers branded the gathering as a Malaysia Day celebration, its main focus was to protest the granting of a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Meanwhile, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim merely remarked that allowing the gathering to proceed was the right thing to do.
"The PN rally this afternoon is legal under the law, according to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which protects freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.
“The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 was formulated to facilitate citizens to assemble anywhere, anytime.
"Malaysia is a democratic country and we should broaden the space for its citizen to express their opinion and right to hold peaceful rallies and gatherings," he told Malaysiakini. - Mkini
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