KUALA LUMPUR: The opposition pact has been criticised for being one-sided by refusing to allocate areas as protest rally sites in the states they control while being fond of holding such gatherings.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the opposition was only too eager to hold protest gatherings but when asked to provide areas for such gatherings, they would reject the request.
“They are only good at ‘crowing’ but when it comes to implementation even to serve their own purpose, they would baulk. This means, they are practising double standards.
“For example, the Shah Alam Stadium could be gazetted as a place for them to hold such gatherings, but the state government disagreed.”
He said this after opening the ‘Asean Workshop on Criminal Justice Responses to Trafficking in Persons: Victims in the Criminal Justice Process’, here, yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid said the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 allowed for the gazetting of certain locations to hold mass gatherings and the Pakatan Rakyat state governments should therefore give concrete reasons for such locations not be allowed for such gatherings.
He was responding to claims by certain quarters that the right to assemble was touched on during discussions
between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and US President Barack Obama at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya, on Sunday.
On Obama’s statement that Malaysia needed to practise equality for its people and minority groups in order to boost national development and prosperity, Ahmad Zahid said the government had since a long time ago provided opportunities for all communities to prosper.
“We have given equal chances to non-Muslims and I think the Malaysian government is being fair to all religions and there are no obstacles in practising other religious beliefs.
“I think the prejudices and bias opinions on other religions must be avoided….we should respect other religions so that the followers will respect ours,” he said. — Bernama