Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called on the police to promptly show video footage from the July 9 Bersih rally so as refute the opposition's claims of police brutality.
His comments immediately aroused suspicion that the Najib administration was about to "pull off another stunt", perhaps showing video footage intentionally made to cast the Bersih marchers in a bad and violent light.
"They should understand that when police are faced with a situation involving large crowds, they will have to act wisely. What the opposition and the alternative media have shown through channels such as YouTube and so on, are pictures of alleged brutalities," Bernama reported Muhyiddin as saying.
"But they did not show pictures of how there maybe acts of provocations, stone pelting, and the demonstrators taunting the police. They are human, police are human too. What is important is the fact that the police had exercised sufficient discipline and adopted a defensive approach; it's they (demonstrators) who had acted excessively."
"But they did not show pictures of how there maybe acts of provocations, stone pelting, and the demonstrators taunting the police. They are human, police are human too. What is important is the fact that the police had exercised sufficient discipline and adopted a defensive approach; it's they (demonstrators) who had acted excessively."
BN won't effect change, up to the people themselves
This is not the first time Muhyiddin or a BN leader has made such a call, but it reinforces the view that Malaysians need not expect any reforms to come from the Najib administration and that further democratic changes might well have to come from street protests or people's uprisings.
A day ago, rounding off his 4-day official visit in London, Prime Minister Najib Razak had done the same by declaring he did not wish to cling to power for a moment longer if the people did not want him. Yet in the next breath, Najib denied his administration had mishandled the Bersih 2.0 rally and again blamed it on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The United Nations and the US have issued statements denouncing the police attacks against the civilians who took part in the march for free and fair elections. Even the British Queen snubbed Najib and wife Rosmah by wearing an unmistakably yellow dress - the same shade as the by-now famous Bersih T-shirt.
Thousands of marchers had been injured, and one dead from tear-gas suffocation. The victim also suffered broken ribs and cuts, indicating that he may have been beaten.
"At the end of the day what Malaysia needs are leaders who have the political will to change. They have to lead and not bury their heads in the sand. They need to listen to public opinion and to hear the people," Ramon Navaratnam, past president of Transparency International Malaysia, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Next 'conspiracy' on the way
Nonetheless, Muhyiddin plodded on. He urged the police to move in swiftly and show evidence of what actually happened on July 9, condemning pro-opposition bloggers and alternative media for trying to discredit the government.
"In order to refute the lies and fact-twisting by the opposition, police should show evidence, either in the form of video footage or statements, so that the people can be clear about who is right," the DPM told reporters on Sunday.
Last week, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had also insisted the police had strong evidence they could use to counter the allegations of "execessive" force. Not surprisingly, the DPM's comments coming hot on the heels of Najib's and Hisham's sparked anticipation that a "new conspiracy" was on the way.
In the runup to the July 9 assemby, the BN leaders even accused 6 PSM members including Sungai Siput MP Michael Jeyakumar of trying to 'rekindle' Communism and waging war against the King.
"As the saying goes, whoever eats chilli, he or she will feel the heat. For us, we won't be surprised if they pull off another stunt. We believe they are really desperate now," PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Dzulkefly Ahmad toldMalaysia Chronicle.
"I guess Malaysians just have to remember Sodomy I and II, the Datuk T sex video, their bullet proof vests, Dr Kumar's so-called Commiunist plot and even the outlawing of wearing yellow T-shirts, and they will know who is lying and who is not."
