Liow wants cops to take action against attackers
KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai wants Red Shirt attackers to face the full brunt of the law as he urges the police to take swift action.
“I want the police to investigate the issue and quickly take action against them,” he said, referring to the incident where two motorcyclists in Bersih T-shirts were assaulted by a group of Red Shirts in Sabak Bernam on Saturday.
A video of the attack went viral over the weekend, which led to the arrest of three suspects.
Liow said the suspects needed to respect the law, and should not have taken the law into their own hands.
Saying that both the Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts were creating uneasiness, he called on the two groups to cease having “confrontational rallies”.
“We are peace lovers. We want to see Malaysia continue to be in harmony,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing ceremony for the Kuantan Waterfront Resort City yesterday.
Asked about his wish list for the upcoming Budget, Liow, who is also Transport Minister, said he hoped for more funds to improve the rail, port and aviation systems.
“This will connect people and connect growth,” he said, adding that investments into the sector would directly bring returns to the economy.
BN leaders condemn Jamal and Red Shirts over violence and threat
PETALING JAYA: The Red Shirts and their leader Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunus may think that violence is the way forward but not Barisan Nasional leaders.
They demand action taken against the Sungai Besar Umno division chief and his supporters for assaulting two motorcyclists in Bersih T-shirts last Saturday.
“I am very concerned over the violence,” Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said, urging police to probe the incident immediately.
The MCA president condemned Jamal and the Red Shirts action, saying “nobody can take the law into their own hands”.
His deputy Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong concurred, saying MCA did not subscribe to hooliganism and barbaric acts.
Even Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin is angry, saying Jamal and the Red Shirts’ violent acts were “unacceptable”.
Saturday’s incident occurred when a convoy of Bersih supporters passed through Sabak Bernam. The altercation, captured on video, involved two motorcyclists being pelted with eggs.
One was kicked twice by the Red Shirt protesters.
“What the group did was against the law,” said Dr Wee. “We do not believe that violence can solve anything – and we condemn any form of violence against anyone.
“We live in a civilised society and we should carry ourselves that way. You may disagree with someone and their beliefs, but violence is never the solution.”
Khairy also called on the police to take action against the perpetrators.
“I absolutely cannot accept these violent actions,” he told reporters at the Asics Badminton Championship 2016 finals yesterday.
Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong did not mince his words in condemning the incident.
Action, he said, should be taken against anyone who sparked racial and religious tension even if they were supporters of the ruling government.
“There are people who want to become racial heroes,” he said. “They become what some people say oo hood (“manly” in Hokkien slang). But to me its bull****!”
Police confirmed that they were tracking down the suspects in Saturday’s incident.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said “firm and immediate action” would be taken against Jamal over his Facebook posting.
The Red Shirts leader allegedly threatened a repeat of the May 13 tragedy (the violence that erupted in Malaysia in 1969) should Bersih 5’s planned demonstration be allowed to take place.
The post read: “I promise that there will be a repeat of May 13 tragedy, and parangwill fly, if Bersih 5 is allowed to carry out its gathering as planned on Nov 19.”
However, Jamal denied posting the threat on his Facebook page, claiming that the earlier warning was not his but by someone who used a fake Facebook account.
He even went on to accuse the DAP of creating the false account.
Incidently, Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah also filed a suit against Jamal for another accusation – linking Bersih with the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
Maria claimed that Jamal’s accusation was slanderous when he uttered the claim at a Putra World Trade Centre press conference on Sept 28.
