Hishammuddin
KOTA KINABALU: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said he will personally and as the Minister of Defence hold Bersih organizers responsible if anything untoward happens during their rally today or if the demonstration leads to something that could jeopardize peace and security in Sabah.
“People have to be responsible for their own action. All I can say is that it’s too late to stop them tomorrow. But I, as a private citizen, will hold them responsible for Sabah if something happens that shows that they have been irresponsible in their action tomorrow,” he said in an interview with The Borneo Post and its sister papers here last night.
The one and half hour interview discussed mostly security issues concerning Sabah and the measures being taken by the ministry in addressing them. The articles on the interview will only be published on Monday on request from the Ministry.
Hishammuddin urged all quarters involved to be always mindful of their action throughout the event and not cause any unwanted incident or sentiment that could threaten public security.
He warned that failure to do so would be met with full force of the law.
“If what they do jeopardizes the security of Sabah or the country, then I will speak to them and, as the Minister of Defence, do whatever I have to do under the law. That is my responsibility and there is nothing political in that manner. It is just my responsibility, and don’t worry, you have a very responsible Minister of Defence,” he said.
Expressing hope that good sense will prevail among the demonstrators in today’s rally, he urged all those participating to ensure that whatever they do will not put Sabah in a situation that can not be controlled.
He cautioned that the tendency of going out of control and snowballing into something bigger and dangerous is what was so concerning when it comes to street demonstrations and innocent people often get caught up in the middle when thing go wrong.
Hishamuddin who was asked for his view on claims that the people in general wanted Bersih as a show of no confidence towards the current government leadership, said Malaysians must be careful not to adopt the culture of street demonstration without thinking of the consequences it could have on the country.
He said while demonstration is a norm in some places, not all countries could handle such a potentially dangerous way of expressing views and opinions.
“If you have lost confidence in the government, there is a process in the general elections. Don’t get carried away by this culture of street demonstration. Indeed, there are countries who can manage it, such as France where they have demonstrations on a daily basis.
“But before we try to do what they do, we have to understand that before they reached that level, how many French people have died before they reached where they are. It’s a process, a maturing process.
“In the UK, when you talk about civil movement, women can’t even vote in the UK forty, fifty years ago. We have just 58 years since we gained independence, so if you want to compare our democracy with the democracy in the UK or US, you have to be careful. Civil riots in the US are rampant now.
“So, I’m just giving caution to people who want to let themselves get carried away. Ask yourself, are we ready or not. I don’t think they (Bersih) are ready because if you look at the recent development, when the state government offered them the stadium, they refused. Why?
“If you want your voice to be heard, just go for the stadium (offer). Why do you want to do it in crowded area. What if something happens and it goes out of control, and then you mix it with racial sentiment if people who died are from certain race or religion,” he said.
Bersih insisted to continue with the rally, which they planned to hold for two days at Likas Bay, despite the police not giving approval to organize the event there.
The movement, which has repeatedly assured that it will be a peaceful gathering of concerned citizens, argued thatparticipants of the rally were simply practising their rights to voice legitimate concerns and that the event is within the law.