Abdul Karim believes those behind the proposed street protest in Kuching are people without substance and support
POLITICAL HOAX?: The empty Padang Merdeka in Kuching yesterday. The photo was taken around 2.30pm yesterday.
KUCHING: The short messaging service (SMS), which has been circulating since last Wednesday, calling upon the people to stage a street protest against the state leadership is apparently a “hoax”.
The `protestors’ were all supposed to gather in huge numbers at Padang Merdeka but not a single soul turned up yesterday afternoon.
The field was empty but nonetheless police personnel and journalists continued to station themselves at nearby buildings such as Tun Abdul Razak Museum and Yayasan Sarawak since 2pm. The journalists gave up at around 3.30pm, leaving personnel from the Special Branch to monitor the situation.
Following the non-event, the million dollar question now is – Who unleashed this mass SMS to incite the people to protest?
Chief Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah described the person or persons who are behind it as a “nuisance”.
“They are just nuisance. They only know how to make noises, but without substance and support,” he remarked.
The Asajaya assemblyman said he believed Sarawakians would not go down to the street and protest against state leaders simply because they are sensible and reasonable.
He, however, blamed the opposition for the fiasco and non-event.
“The people would not be cowed by this request to assemble. The opposition are empty tins.
“Those people who sent the SMS and created a blog for Sarawakians to congregate and demonstrate, ala people in Tunisia and Egypt, definitely want to see the crowd today,” said Karim.
Last Thursday, the so-called promoters of UMNO’s entry into Sarawak, or JPUNS, said street protest was not their style of politics and, as such, they were not the “organiser”.
Its protem president Affendi Jeman made the remarks when rebutting speculations that UMNO-linked groups were involved in calling for the mass protest.
When contacted yesterday, the Movement for Change Sarawak (MoCS) and Parti Keadilan Sarawak (PKR) also denied any involvement in the matter.
PKR Padungan assemblyman Dominique Ng even laughed off the suggestion.
Ng said: “I think it is a well thought hoax to rile the Barisan Nasional (BN) and poke fun at the Chief Minister.”
PKR state information chief See Chee How remarked: “Not that I know of. PKR is not involved. No NGOs that I know of are involved as well.”
MoCS leader Francis Siah said: “No. MoCS will not take part (in the planned protest).”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the political divide, several BN leaders gave somewhat strange replies. Some of them did not even know the existence of the SMS!
Parti Rakyat Sarawak president Dato Sri James Masing said he was not aware of the plan to protest because he just had a tooth operation two days ago.
“What protesters? At the Padang Merdeka? I don’t know. I am resting at home following a tooth operation two days ago,” said Masing, who is Land Development Minister and Baleh assemblyman.
State BN Youth chief Datuk Fadillah Yusof, who is also Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said he did not know anything about the SMS nor the purported street protest at Padang Merdeka.
Last Wednesday, State Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh advised the people to ignore the SMS and not to be at Padang Merdeka unless they aimed to get arrested for participating in an illegal gathering.
The purported gathering would be illegal because the police had not issue any permit for people to gather at the field yesterday afternoon.