Protesters beaten up. Parliamentarians gagged. Media blocked?Is
Malaysia headed towards the point of no return?
Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu
(Petaling Jaya ,
Tuesday):
I was arrested by two
policemen "politely" and handcuffed after about five minutes into my
speech at the KLCC peaceful protest demonstration against fuel and
electricity hikes on Sunday, 28 May 2006.
But the rest of protesters were not as
"fortunate" as me -- they were mercilessly bashed with batons and
kicked around by the Red Helmets (Federal Reserved Unit, FRU).
That was exactly what happened to me on 18 September 1995 in Kg Taman
Aman some 11 years ago. I was beaten up by some FRU members for no
less than 4 minutes before being handcuffed and arrested. Nothing has
changed very much, even with with the change in political leadership
(from Dr Mahathir to Abdullah Badawi).
After
the ugly fiasco, 20 of us, 18 men and 2 women (members of the public
and leaders of PAS, Keadilan and NGOs) were detained by the police,
with many others terrorized and seriously injured by the FRU.
Who ordered the FRU to beat up the protesters on Sunday? Was it the
decision of the OCPD of Dang Wangi, Kamal Pasha? Or the higher-ups in
Abdullah's Administration?
Freedom of expressions and freedom of assembly are two important
elements of a democracy. A democracy without these freedoms can only
be termed as a "half past six" or "half-baked" democracy.
In Malaysia today, protesters are beaten up, Parliamentarians are
gagged, and the mainstream media are told to black-out the voices of
the people.
Can we still call Malaysia a democratic country, under such suppressed
and restricted conditions? Is Malaysia headed towards the point of no
return?
The only advice I can offer fellow Malaysians is "keep fighting".
That's the SMS message I received after my arrest on Sunday from
Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang who's currently on a
study mission "for a more open and more democratic Malaysia".
(30/05/2006)
*
Ronnie
Liu Tian Khiew, DAP NGO bureau chief
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