DAP: Najib must apologise for police brutality
The
DAP wants Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to take full responsibility
of the police brutality during the Bersih 3.0 last Saturday, claiming
his decision to deny Bersih’s demand to rally at Dataran Merdeka was an
unmitigated disaster.
In a statement today, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua (left)
also urged Najib and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to issue an
immediate apology for the violence suffered by journalists and members
of public.
“Nothing short of a full apology will be acceptable, especially since it was the prime minister himself who denied the Malaysian public to gather peacefully at Dataran Merdeka, which will have prevented any need for the unnecessary face-off with the police force.
“The decision by the BN government is an unmitigated disaster, and Najib who portrays himself as a reformist premier must take full responsibility for the police fiasco,” said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.
He said the overwhelming evidence from victims, including video footage as well as eyewitness accounts, have proven that the police force was on a ruthless rampage to beat people up, regardless whether the victims were having a meal in restaurants, in an LRT station to return home, or taking pictures of others being beaten up.
Pua cited Mohd Haijan Omar (right), who was assigned by Lawyers for Liberty to monitor the event and was beaten up by the police.
“If even the officers of the court are not immune to police brutality, then what chance does an ordinary member of the public has against a police force out of control?
“The police force was acting like unrestrained mobsters, often with 10 or more police officers beating up an individual or two. It will not be an understatement to say that the police were creating a riot in the city,” he said.
Pua stressed that the police should arrest those who damaged police or public property, such as the single incident of half a dozen people badly damaging a police vehicle, but there is absolutely no justification for them to threaten and beat up every person they found in yellow.
“Do the police have a licence to beat up any person in the street as they like regardless of whether a crime has been committed? Has our police force degenerated to becoming worse than the Gestapo?”
In a related development, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim announced that the state government will provide legal aid for Bersih 3.0 participants who face legal actions.
This is to ensure their constitutional rights are protected, he added.
In a statement today, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua (left)
also urged Najib and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to issue an
immediate apology for the violence suffered by journalists and members
of public.“Nothing short of a full apology will be acceptable, especially since it was the prime minister himself who denied the Malaysian public to gather peacefully at Dataran Merdeka, which will have prevented any need for the unnecessary face-off with the police force.
“The decision by the BN government is an unmitigated disaster, and Najib who portrays himself as a reformist premier must take full responsibility for the police fiasco,” said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.
He said the overwhelming evidence from victims, including video footage as well as eyewitness accounts, have proven that the police force was on a ruthless rampage to beat people up, regardless whether the victims were having a meal in restaurants, in an LRT station to return home, or taking pictures of others being beaten up.
Pua cited Mohd Haijan Omar (right), who was assigned by Lawyers for Liberty to monitor the event and was beaten up by the police.“If even the officers of the court are not immune to police brutality, then what chance does an ordinary member of the public has against a police force out of control?
“The police force was acting like unrestrained mobsters, often with 10 or more police officers beating up an individual or two. It will not be an understatement to say that the police were creating a riot in the city,” he said.
Pua stressed that the police should arrest those who damaged police or public property, such as the single incident of half a dozen people badly damaging a police vehicle, but there is absolutely no justification for them to threaten and beat up every person they found in yellow.
“Do the police have a licence to beat up any person in the street as they like regardless of whether a crime has been committed? Has our police force degenerated to becoming worse than the Gestapo?”
In a related development, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim announced that the state government will provide legal aid for Bersih 3.0 participants who face legal actions.
This is to ensure their constitutional rights are protected, he added.
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