Pakatan extends olive branch to police once more

SHAH ALAM, June 30 Pakatan Rakyat (PR) again made overtures to the police last night, with PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu assuring Royal Malaysian Police personnel they will keep their jobs if the opposition comes to federal power.

He pointed out that it was dangerous for the police to back the increasingly weak Barisan Nasional (BN) regime but said none of them would lose their jobs if PR forms the government after the next general election.

We want all police personnel to carry out their duties under our rule if BN and Umno lose in the election, he told nearly 2,000 supporters at Stadium Malawati here.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim absolved the police from blame yesterday after an Umno Youth mob gathered at PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday night and allegedly threatened to burn it down.

The PKR de facto leader said the police were more than capable of keeping the peace and would have acted if not for political interference from Umno.

Mohamad (picture), more popularly known as Mat Sabu, reminded the police it was their sworn duty to protect the people as well as the Constitution and not BN.

When elections are fair, the ones who have cause for worry will surely be Umno and Barisan Nasional. Am I right? So why is it the police worried for them? he said.

He further urged the police to ensure Bersih 2.0 is carried out smoothly to prove to the public that they were not being used by the ruling coalition to maintain its grip on power.

The former Bersih deputy chairman stressed that not one flowerpot will be knocked down, not one brick will be thrown if the police helped the election watchdogs supporters march to Istana Negara to deliver a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

He pointed out that in less primitive Indonesia, demonstrations occurred almost on a weekly basis but never go! t out of hand because the police there were on hand to assist the people exercise their right to assemble.

The Jakarta police chief, for instance, will appear on television to inform the public of a protest in the capital the next day and the route it will take, Mohamad said.

I hope they (protestors) will come out early. This is the Jakarta police chief... And us? Those who leave their homes we will arrest earlier, he said to laughter and jeers from the crowd.

PR hopes the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally to demand free and fair elections will generate momentum ahead of snap polls expected within a year.

The police, however, have alleged that the rally is being masterminded by foreign parties who wish to see chaos in the country and have promised to crack down on Bersih supporters if they go ahead with the march.