KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 – PAS central working committee member and Kuala Selangor member of parliament Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad dismissed attempts today to paint Saturday’s anti-ISA protest as one where Malays in PAS were selling out their race and were being manipulated by its non-Malay Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners.
He said that such comments were made out of ignorance and desperation.
Dr Hatta Ramli, the Kuala Kerai PAS MP who was physically manhandled by police during the rally, described the attempt by Umno to play the race card as “naughty.”
Remarks left by what appear to be Barisan Nasional sympathisers on certain blogs seem to have taken a racial stance by implying that Malays in PAS were selling out their race and being manipulated into protesting by a Chinese DAP, due to the alleged lack of non-Malay participation in the anti-ISA rally.
The Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia also published a front-page report today with the headline “ISA:Orang Melayu Diperguna (ISA:Malays being used).”
Tens of thousands of demonstrators participated in an anti-ISA rally on Saturday which the police had declared illegal.
Riot police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse the crowd, which included women and children, turning the city into a battle zone for hours.
Participants also claimed that police also subjected participants to beatings.
The scenes of riot police charging at unarmed civilians has sparked outrage among leaders of PR parties which backed the rally.
The demonstrators were largely Malay, but included participation from the Chinese and Indian community as well.
“They are in denial if they think it’s just a PAS crowd, they are clearly wrong,” Dr Dzulkefly told The Malaysian Insider.
“They are belittling through hearsay. I was there and I could see fresh faces – young Chinese and Indians. I could see them protesting despite them having red watery eyes as a result of the tear gas fired that was three times the normal amount.
“They were visible and they were around. There were also many NGOs who were clearly visible and in the front lines protesting. They (they commenters) are desperately trying to spin the situation.”
He pointed out that the top leadership from DAP and PKR had also joined in the protest.
Senior PR leaders Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang were also present at the rally.
Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders have been trying in recent months to drive a wedge between PAS and its PR partners DAP and PKR.
Recently Umno has been courting the conservatives in the Islamist party to engage in Malay unity talks.
The reaction to last Saturday’s ISA protest appear designed to do the same by pointing out that most of the participants were Malays, and suggesting they were being used by the predominantly Chinese DAP.
Hatta told reporters today that it was obvious Umno was attempting to split PR by turning the peaceful rally into a racial issue.
“It is naughty for them to insinuate that PAS is being used by DAP or PKR. They are very much together with us in this issue.
“Today 29 people were charged for various offences and all parties will contribute to the total bail. DAP will contribute RM5,000, PKR will contribute RM 5,000 and PAS will contribute RM5,000,” he said.
The Kuala Kerai MP was in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to become a guarantor to one of the 29 that were released on bail today. A total of 28 were released on bail of RM500 each while one other rally participant was offered bail of just RM300 because he is a minor.
He also criticised the mainstream media for trying to manipulate public perceptions by putting the blame on the protestors.
“I see this as a propaganda, there wasn’t any chaos but only a peaceful gathering. We have informed publicly, it was not a big secret. We tried to organize it in the best way but you can look at the pictures of tear gas, water cannons, and FRU attacking aggressively .
“We did not see anybody fighting the police or breaking police cars but only scared innocent people scattered and running away,” he explained.
He also accused the government of trying to shift public focus from the core issue.
“They try to shift the focus from the real issue which is ISA. I am confident that this issue was felt by everyone so I believe that the aim of the rally has been achieved.
“What are they scared of? We were not going to attack the Istana Negara. The real cause of the chaos is the police,” he said.
Hatta said he believed that public demonstrations was not the sole solution but if it was necessary to “open up the minds of the people, the government and the King” then they would not hesitate to use public rallies as one of the processes allowed in a democratic country.
Hatta also asked the authorities not to deceive the public with their “lies and propaganda.”
“You do not want the shops to be closed, then don’t force the shops to be closed. If you do not want people to run away then do not hunt them. If you do not want people to be injured then do not attack them with tear gas and water cannons,” he said.
Hatta said that PR leaders will now try to get Suhakam to review the conduct of the police force during the rally.
He confirmed that he would not be making any police report because he believes that his own personal affair should not be given much consideration.
“Certainly I won’t be making any police report although I was injured as well as my reputation because somebody commented that my body was too flabby now. This is part and parcel of our struggle,” he said jokingly in reference to his t-shirt being torned by police when they tried to arrest him on Saturday.
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