Media Statement by Liew Chin Tong in Parliament on
Thursday, 3rd July 2008:
Joint exercise between armed
forces and police shocking
The involvement of the armed forces
in police efforts to suppress street demonstrations is a violation of
the principle of separating internal security and defence concerns. It
also creates unnecessary distress to the public and sends the wrong
signal to the international community.
All morning, I have received several SMS from friends and constituents
expressing shock and alarm over the joint exercise between the armed
forces and the police (as reported in the NST, p.8 under the title
"Armed forces, police prepare for demos") and the rationale behind it.
Inspector-General of Police
Tan Sri Musa Hassan said cooperation was crucial because political
parties, non-governmental organisations and individuals were, of
late, organising more illegal assemblies.
"It is crucial, and the right time, for the forces to organise and
plan strategies to carry out duties in maintaining public order as
outlined in the public order manual," he said.
Musa said the joint exercise, whose focus is on the Klang Valley,
especially Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya, was to show
that public order problems could be tackled properly and efficiently
by both forces.
Since Independence, Malaysia has been
distinguished by its separation of police powers and that of the armed
forces. During times when the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and other
South-east Asian countries suffered from military intervention in state
politics, Malaysia's clear separation of jurisdictions was hailed as a
guarantee for permanent civilian rule.
In Malaysia's history, only in an emergency situation does the armed
forces patrol the streets. This latest move by the armed forces and the
police will open up a Pandora's Box, triggering a number of concerns
that could send the country down a slippery slope.
A pertinent question that needs to be asked is this: Is the Government
planning to stage emergency rule in order to stave off a legitimate
political challenges from the Opposition?
The police and the Home Ministry must also explain why its 3,000-odd
Federal Reserve Unit, 6,000-plus Special Branch officers and
15,000-strong Pasukan Gerakan Am forces cannot sufficiently handle any
untoward incidents that may arise.
In any case, the civilised thing for the police and the Government to do
is to acknowledge the basic human rights of Malaysians to assemble, as
provided for in Article 10(1) of the Federal Constitution.
*
Liew Chin Tong, MP for Bukit Bendera
http://dapmalaysia.org