IGP says event cancelled due to two unruly groups

Khalid Abu Bakar explains he did not want the chaos to get out of hand.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar has explained the cancellation of the “Nothing2Hide” dialogue session this morning was due to reports received at the last minute of two unruly and opposing groups set to cause a ruckus outside the venue.

At a press conference today at Bukit Aman, Khalid stated that details regarding the two groups were not available for release to the public but added however that police were closely monitoring them.

Khalid also said the inability of the organiser to control the tense situation, prompted him to order a cancellation of the event altogether when things looked like it could have spiralled out of control when an unidentified man was arrested for ramming through the door of the venue.

“The organiser wasn’t able to control the situation, so I took the opportunity to stop this dialogue,” he said, saying that it was better to be safe than sorry.

“The function of the police is to take preventative steps when we anticipate something is going to happen.

“We are also trying to prevent the potential chaos from spreading to other areas,” Khalid said.

However, when quizzed by reporters whether any weapons were present at the scene, he simply said, “No comment”.

When asked about earlier reports that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who attended the event, was stopped by the police from speaking to crowds that had gathered in the hall once the event was declared cancelled, Khalid replied, “When we cancel an event, the event is cancelled altogether. This includes all other activities that are in the event venue as well.”

The IGP also explained that it was he who insisted that Najib not attend the event.

“The PM was already ready to leave his residence, but I insisted that he not attend due to safety and security concerns,” he said.