'Police won't take sides in July 9 rally'

The police will take action against anyone found to flaunt the law and compromise national security during the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Law and security will take priority, he said, and the police will not differentiate between protesters who are for or against the rally.

Hishammuddin however declined to confirm whether or not the police will make a pre-emptive move to stop the rally, saying only that it depends on the police assessment of the situation.

"If I add on (my comments on the issue), people will say there will be political interference...what I've ordered the police to do is to see to this rally professionally and also in the context of national security," he said at a press conference in the Parliament lobby today.

The planned Bersih 2.0 rally has sparked much controversy, with opponents claiming that there is no good reason to justify a mass gathering in Kuala Lumpur - as was done in 2007 - to present a memorandum calling for free and fair elections to the Agong.

Hishammuddin said about 260 police reports have so far been filed against the Bersih 2.0 committee, which includes representatives of civil society groups and opposition parties.

There have also been calls to his ministry to “pre-empt” the rally in the interests of national security.

The event has the potential to turn violent as Malay rights group Perkasa has threatened to organise a counter-protest to “stop” the rally.

Hishammuddin agreed that the Perkasa increases the potential for trouble should the rally take place, but repeated again that it is up to the police to act.

“That will have to be taken into account, but it will have to be decided by the powers that be, that is the police. I can’t speak for them.

“Whatever the police decision, it will be based on professionalism, the law and in the interests of national security.”

‘Race registration may affect constitution’

On a separate subject, Hishammuddin said any move to amend the National Registration Act 1959 to streamline race registration of newborn Malaysians may impact on the federal constitution.

He was asked to comment on the abortive attempt by Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh (left) and her husband to register the ethnicity of their newborn daughter as ‘anak Malaysia’, rather than as Chinese or Indian.

The couple were frustrated over current procedures that require parents to specify one race for their child, despite being of mixed parentage.

Hishammuddin said that, if there is a need for a policy change, it must be done within the confines of the law and “needs to be done rationally”.

“(Any such change requires) you to amend the laws, and that may have consequences to the constitution,” he said.

Hishammuddin noted that there is currently no plan to review registration procedures - which differ between the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak - but assured that his ministry is constantly monitoring the situation.

“Let the experts discuss this. We will always monitor (the situation)... any decision will be based on the wishes of the majority, but the process must be understood by the majority,” he said.

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