Analysts fear riots from Bersih rally
Riot police prepare to fire tear gas at Bersih demonstrators, November 10, 2007. Reuters pic
Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussain of Universiti Sains Malaysia said it takes just a small section of the crowd, which organisers expect to be in the hundreds of thousands, to spark chaos.
The organisers might say the assembly will be peaceful, but one individual is all it takes to cause mob behaviour, the sociologist was quoted in a Bernama Online report.
Ahmad also voiced concerns that any potential clash may lead to intercommunal unrest.
He did not, however, share his thoughts with regards to the identities of the possible instigators.
Another pundit, UTM political science lecturer Che Hamdan Mohd Razali, expressed doubt that Bersihs motives are as transparent as the group claims, and voiced suspicion that the rally was intended to goad authorities into heavy-handed reaction.
I see the assembly is meant to provoke. It is also to build up anti-government sentiment among voters for the coming general election, he said in the same report.
The first Bersih rally in 2007 saw up to 50,000 people take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur before they were dispersed by police armed with tear gas and water cannons.
The demonstration has been partly credited for Pakatan Rakyats record gains in Election 2008, where the opposition pact swept to power in five states and won 82 parliamentary seats.
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