Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has warned of possible interference by major powers should there be chaos in the country resulting from the rallies planned for July 9.

"When there is chaos, it invites interference from major powers... we don't want Malaysia, which we have been building since more than 50 years ago, to be facing such a problem," he said at the meet-the-people session at Taman Kaya in Taiping.

Muhyiddin said chaos would cause instability and destroy the economy and unity among the people.

He cautioned the people not to fall prey to actions said to be organised by non-governmental organisations but were actually backed by opposition parties intent on taking over the government so that their leader can become prime minister.

Muhyiddin stressed that the group's call for a clean and fair election was only an excuse. He said that the people had always been free to choose their government in the past 12 elections.

"In a parliamentary democracy like ours, the people choose the government and the government of the day is chosen by the people. We've held 12 general elections so far and each time, the people made their decisions," he said, adding that losing and winning were normal in an election.

'BN accepted election results'

In fact, he said, in 2008, the BN was defeated in Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Selangor, Perak and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

"BN accepted the results. It didn't question the outcome because we were confident that the people had made their choice in a clean election system," he said.

The opposition parties, however, claimed that the system was not enough and were resorting to street demonstrations to instigate the people, Muhyiddin said.

"The people should avoid these demonstrations and condemn in the strongest terms any attempt to disrupt unity," he added.

Muhyiddin described the July 9 assembly as an attempt to rally supporters of opposition parties whose leader was facing image problems due to various issues.

He called on the people not to take unity for granted.

"When we mention Malaysia, we know that it is peaceful, united, and free from any crisis... it all seems natural but this is not easy to achieve without the cooperation from the various races and through Barisan Nasional's politics of consensus where we work together to develop the country," he said.

Earlier Muhyiddin, accompanied by Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, visited Kampung Baru Pokok Asam and Taman Kaya market.

Can’t guarantee chaos will not happen

Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference in Bagan Serai, Muhyiddin said, there was no guarantee that there would be no untoward incidents at the rally.

One wrong move would be enough to trigger chaos and other unexpected turns of event, he said.

"Who can guarantee? No one. Not Ambiga (Bersih chairperson S Ambiga), not (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim. No one can say that nothing will happen, that it will be very peaceful... not even if you put in a deposit and say nothing will happen," he said, adding that it was better to be safe than sorry.

"This is the rationale for the authorities' warning against getting involved in it," he said.

Muhyiddin said the main issue now was that the rally would create disturbance and tensions.

"Based on the experience in the Middle East, we know that foreign powers are all too eager to send their troops on the pretext of helping to solve the crisis.

“We hope we won't get to that stage. So before anything happens, let's safeguard peace. Let's take stock of what has happened in other countries," he said.

No need to bring out 100,000 people

Asked on the demonstrations in protest of the July 9 rally, Muhyiddin said, it showed that instigation by one side would invite reactions from others. 

"There will be pros and cons... the cons may be bigger," he said, adding that the situation could get out of hand when the two opposing sides collide.

"We can predict what will happen; that's why we should prevent it from happening. If Bersih is adamant on going ahead with the rally, others will also be adamant on going against it.

“What is actually happening in our country? I don't think this is something that we want to see happening," he added.

He said that if Bersih wanted to submit a memorandum, there was no need for it to bring in 100,000 people.

"I'm pessimistic about this. Whatever you do, whether for or against the rally, the end result won't be good for the country," he said, adding that the country would face difficulties achieving a developed nation's status if was besieged by crisis. 

- Bernama