'No special treatment' for Bersih rally

The authorities will not make an exception to the law for the rally planned by the coalition for free and fair elections, Bersih 2.0.

Speaking to reporters after launching the Dang Wangi station today, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said those involved should expect no special treatment.

The law against public assembly by more than five people will apply.

"Street demonstrations are not something new, we have had the anti-Internal Security Act rally and the anti-PPSMI (teaching of Mathematics and Science in English).

"We will follow the law (because) our priority is peace and safety, and with these as our guiding principle, no one can accuse police or the Home Ministry of abusing their powers.”

He said it is also not surprising that the opposition is backing the rally, as it is trying to "look for issues as the general election could be held this year".

Yesterday, the PAS general assembly had endorsed the party's involvement in the rally and agreed to send its members to join the march on July 9.

‘Don’t evade the issue’

Commenting on the PAS assembly, Hishammuddin said it is unusual for a party general assembly to focus on bashing the government.

"The keynote address and motions (in the delegate's debates should) focus on the direction and struggles of the party, not on attacking the government and BN.

"The motions should be on national issues and not personal politics," he said, referring to the sex video allegedly featuring PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who has denied this.

He added that as an Islamic party, PAS should be interested in finding out the truth about the identity of the person in the video.

"Don't evade the issue. Whether you can charge a person (for an offence based on the video) is a secondary issue.

"It is important to know the truth, as the man accused of being the 'actor' in the video is touted to lead the country. Just look at what happened with the International Monetary Fund (head, who is accused of raping a hotel worker). It's a problem.”

On a separate matter, Hishammuddin said the two Filipinos and one Malaysian who were recently detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for human trafficking also had links to other transnational crimes like money laundering and drug trafficking.

This justified their arrest under the ISA, rather than other existing laws like the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

"It is an issue of national security. If (the detainees believe) they were wrongfully detained they (could have challenged) the habeas corpus of their detention, but they did not.”

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