Are Street Demonstrations Necessary?
Apparently the President of PAS Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has indirectly encouraged street protests. Whether such a move is beneficial or even necessary is the question. Let's view Pak Lah's opinion.
(Bernama) Staging street protests against the government will not do any good for the people but will instead disrupt business and hurt the country's economy, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Saturday. "This is bad advice," the prime minister said when asked to comment on PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang's statement yesterday that he would not stop party members from demonstrating, including throwing stones at the police. "This should not have come from a party leader who should be advocating peace and security in the country. Why throw stones at the police?," Abdullah told reporters after attending the Royal Malaysia Police Family Day at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa here . Moreover, any public demonstration or assembly must have a permit from the police, Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister said.
Hadi told a news conference after the PAS Muktamar in Alor Setar, Kedah, yesterday that street protests were the best way for the party to show its dissatisfaction with the government. He had said that if the police used batons, the demonstrators could retaliate by throwing stones found by the roadside.
**** I personally think that it was an irresponsible statement on the part of the PAS leader. Demonstrations whether violent or not and throwing stones or anything else at the police is something contrary to the practices we have maintained all these years except for that brief period following Datuk Seri Anwar's sacking and 'black eye'.
If you take the countries in the region; those that are relatively peaceful and 'successful' are the ones that have no such protests. It does not mean there are no issues but they don't resort to violence and demonstrations as a recourse to their problems. As much as Filipinos and Indonesians take pride in the active exercise of their democratic right to protest on the streets, how many of us in Malaysia deep down want that kind of rights institutionalized here? We have remained peaceful specifically because of the remarkable restraint we have shown all these years and just because Hadi says so we should not throw all that we have achieved and cultivated down the drain.
In any case these are my views and you are more than welcome to give yours no matter how different from the one here.
**** Update on the above. View the Information Minister's response.
All television stations and the print media in the country should not promote street protests held by any party, Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin said. Street demonstrations should not be given publicity and news on them should not be published at all, he said. "The television stations and the print media should not give them publicity to boost circulation or purposely sensationalise such news for commercial gains without thinking of the consequences to character building in Malaysia."
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's criticism (of PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang for his statement advocating street protests by PAS members) is timely because there are some television stations that delight in doing so," he told Bernama when contacted in Cape Town, South Africa, where he is on vacation. Abdullah had described Hadi's statement as bad advice, saying that street demonstrations would not do any good for the people but would instead disrupt business and hurt the country's economy. Zainuddin said that not long ago a television station had telecast news on protesters placing a coffin on the road over the issue of road safety.
He said that if the airing of news on street protests continued to be condoned and allowed, it would give the impression that the government encouraged the culture of demonstration. "The people will assume that it is a norm in a democracy but the end result is violence. "We should also not follow the west blindly because we have seen that it's the west that has violated democracy, capturing other countries when the state of colonisation has already ended," he said.
(Bernama) Staging street protests against the government will not do any good for the people but will instead disrupt business and hurt the country's economy, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Saturday. "This is bad advice," the prime minister said when asked to comment on PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang's statement yesterday that he would not stop party members from demonstrating, including throwing stones at the police. "This should not have come from a party leader who should be advocating peace and security in the country. Why throw stones at the police?," Abdullah told reporters after attending the Royal Malaysia Police Family Day at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa here . Moreover, any public demonstration or assembly must have a permit from the police, Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister said.
Hadi told a news conference after the PAS Muktamar in Alor Setar, Kedah, yesterday that street protests were the best way for the party to show its dissatisfaction with the government. He had said that if the police used batons, the demonstrators could retaliate by throwing stones found by the roadside.
**** I personally think that it was an irresponsible statement on the part of the PAS leader. Demonstrations whether violent or not and throwing stones or anything else at the police is something contrary to the practices we have maintained all these years except for that brief period following Datuk Seri Anwar's sacking and 'black eye'.
If you take the countries in the region; those that are relatively peaceful and 'successful' are the ones that have no such protests. It does not mean there are no issues but they don't resort to violence and demonstrations as a recourse to their problems. As much as Filipinos and Indonesians take pride in the active exercise of their democratic right to protest on the streets, how many of us in Malaysia deep down want that kind of rights institutionalized here? We have remained peaceful specifically because of the remarkable restraint we have shown all these years and just because Hadi says so we should not throw all that we have achieved and cultivated down the drain.
In any case these are my views and you are more than welcome to give yours no matter how different from the one here.
**** Update on the above. View the Information Minister's response.
All television stations and the print media in the country should not promote street protests held by any party, Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin said. Street demonstrations should not be given publicity and news on them should not be published at all, he said. "The television stations and the print media should not give them publicity to boost circulation or purposely sensationalise such news for commercial gains without thinking of the consequences to character building in Malaysia."
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's criticism (of PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang for his statement advocating street protests by PAS members) is timely because there are some television stations that delight in doing so," he told Bernama when contacted in Cape Town, South Africa, where he is on vacation. Abdullah had described Hadi's statement as bad advice, saying that street demonstrations would not do any good for the people but would instead disrupt business and hurt the country's economy. Zainuddin said that not long ago a television station had telecast news on protesters placing a coffin on the road over the issue of road safety.
He said that if the airing of news on street protests continued to be condoned and allowed, it would give the impression that the government encouraged the culture of demonstration. "The people will assume that it is a norm in a democracy but the end result is violence. "We should also not follow the west blindly because we have seen that it's the west that has violated democracy, capturing other countries when the state of colonisation has already ended," he said.
posted by The Malaysian. at 6/10/2006 03:58:00 PM
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