Anwar: 1Malaysia but two laws

The opposition leader said Najib's administration has two laws when responding to violent acts by the ruling party and the opposition.

PETALING JAYA: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim accused the Najib administration of double standard when it came to political violence.

Anwar said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has so far failed to respond to rising concerns of political violence aimed at the opposition while at the same time acted efficiently at prosecuting opposition supporters accused of misbehaviour.

Anwar’s statement was a reference to the authorities’ prosecution of a teen caught mooning on a picture of Najib on the eve of National Day and another who waved a pre-independence Malayan flag.

The police said they may even charge them under the Sedition Act, a law that Najib had promised to repeal as part of his political reform.

Anwar said the government has failed to act on “blatant” violent acts perpetrated by supporters of Umno and its right wing sympathisers Perkasa despite all the available evidence.

“Until now we have not heard anything by the home minister or Najib on this… this is what I call 1Malaysia, two laws: one law for the ruling elite and a separate one for the rest,” he told reporters here.

Anwar said political violence have been on the rise now as temperatures rises because of the polls. He said he had personally experienced harassment numerous times during his ceramahs.

Gangsterism since the 60s

His daughter, Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah, had also been the victim of disturbances recently when she was pelted with rocks at a public event in May.

Another was the incident involving an attack on a bus, in which Anwar was travelling for PKR’s Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat programme. The bus was attacked by a group he believed to be Umno Youth members.

This led to his bodyguard to draw out his firearm. The controversy is now making headlines in government-linked media in what opposition leaders say is an apparent attempt to discredit Anwar.

PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said political gangsterism perpetrated by the ruling party is not new. The Islamist ally in Pakatan Rakyat had been victims of harassment since the 60s he claimed.

“We detest it. It is not only an attack on Anwar. I take it as an attack on Pakatan as a whole,” he told the same press conference.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang speaking at the same press event said political violence is “very un-Malaysian” and renders Najib’s aim to make the country the best democracy hollow.

PKR said it is seeking to meet the Inspector General of Police to discuss on the matter and hope the authorities will respond soon.