Sabah Bersih claimed that their event which was supposed to be held in a district library today was stopped by the police arbitrarily.
Bersih had meant to hold a ‘Smart Voter’ seminar at the public district library at Kudat today, having booked the venue succesfully a while ago.
“However, when we got there, the library management suddenly cancelled our booking because they are scared, as according to them, two or three days before our programme, three police officers had warned them.
“The warning given was that they would be arrested if they allowed the event to be carried out," Sabah Bersih vice-president Beverly Joeman said in a statement today.
She condemned the police’s actions, saying they had failed to respect the rakyat’s right to freedom of speech.
They were also asked to take off the Bersih shirts they were wearing if they insisted on holding the event, she said.
“We question these actions of the police, which seems so childish, over our clothes.
“Are the Bersih clothes we wore going against the country’s laws, or do they cause chaos in the country? The police could not answer because they have been given instructions not to allow our programme to continue,” she claimed.
The police, she said, should respect and help the rakyat learn more about their constitutional rights, instead of using intimidation to sow fear in the rakyat.
She also urged the police to act in accordance to the constitution and the law, without being influenced by any politics.
Their ‘Smart Voter’ seminar was eventually moved to Kampung Kelapa restaurant in Kudat, she said.- Mkini
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