Malaysiakini Your Say | Jun 29, 11

‘Bersih leaders were the first to receive death threats, yet there were no Bersih supporters outside PWTC threatening to burn down Umno’s HQ.’

Umno Youth ‘threatened’ to torch PKR HQ

Swipenter: We are all sick of the threats of violence verbalised by Perkasa and Umno supporters every time when things are disagreeable to them.

This is reminiscent of the threats issued by Umno Youth to burn down the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (SCAH) over the issue of vernacular education.

Umno and its outsourced NGOs have no respect for differences of opinion. They just want to force their views down the throats of others by issuing threats of violence and bloodshed. If they think that what they are doing really works, they are sorely mistaken and deluded.

Anak Bangsa Malaysia: Once again, we ask the tired rhetorical question: “What were the police doing?” Umno Youth mob threatened to burn down the PKR building in front of them.

Oh yes, I forgot, the police were probably reminiscing fondly about how they also stood by contentedly while Umno Youth and Perkasa thugs defiled a severed cow’s head in Shah Alam.

They were also probably busy thinking up new strategies to harass the 70-plus year old national laureate A Samad Said and anything that remotely looks yellow. Well done, Royal Malaysian Police.

Geronimo: This clearly shows Umno’s kind of mentality. Bersih committee members were the first to receive threatening SMS messages and yet there were no Bersih supporters gathered outside PWTC threatening to burn down the Umno HQ.

The SMS received by Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, by all account, could be a ploy, and these boneheads, without waiting for further verification, have started to retaliate on PKR.

Such shallowness is pathetic. At least, Bersih and its supporters took the whole SMS issue in its stride, because the ultimate objective is the march on July 9. They didn’t have time to be involved in such petty issues.

Don’t Leave Name: Funny there was no arrest despite there having been three reasons for the police to have done so:

1. The threat to burn down PKR’s building
2. Wearing red T-shirts (I thought it was a taboo to Umno)
3. Illegal gathering

All the above are not good enough to warrant an arrest?

Alicescat: Do we even have a police force?

Danny LoHH: Is this the lead-up to a massive clampdown and arrest of opposition leaders? The way it played out is chillingly similar to what transpired before the 1987 Ops Lalang, where there was an Umno Youth gathering threatening violence.

But the one that got arrested are the target of their violence rather than the hooligans that called themselves Umno Youth.

This is yet another glaring display of double standards by the police. On the same night, DAP party leaders were arrested for wearing yellow T-shirts and making speeches about the Bersih rally, while the Umno thugs who openly threatened violence and arson walked free.

Pity him: This is Umno’s way of ‘defending’ Putrajaya at all cost. They are apparently on the warpath to destruction while others are on the warpath to reforms. This is perhaps Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s route to remain relevant by unleashing his warriors before the walk. Others walk for reforms while his goons walk to disrupt.

Multi Racial: This cannot be tolerated. These people should be put behind bars. If wearing certain shirts are consider “waging war against the king”, what is this violent threat to torch the PKR headquarters? Love for the king?

The king himself should come out and say something against this violent threat. These people are going overboard and has to be stopped.

Ferdtan: The more Umno Youth make a fool of themselves, the more support Bersih will get. This may persuade the many political fence-sitters to vote against Umno if such rash actions were let loose.

This shows the end of BN after 50 years of rule. “Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.”

Anonymous: Will owners of shophouses at Merchant Square lodge police reports of Umno Youth threatening to torch the PKR building? Who do these Umno Youth think they are? Shophouse owners have a stake in that building, too.

The fire is sure to spread to their properties if PKR HQ is torched. Sue Umno Youth. Teach them a lesson. They are not above the laws.

Nik V: If this were by PAS, PKR or DAP, their leaders would be held accountable and probably hauled up. But strangely when it comes to the uncivilised manner by a supposed seasoned political party like Umno, we don’t hear the ‘independent’ police calling their leaders to be accountable.

Pemerhati: All the nasty actions like the cow-head and pig-head incidents, the pornographic video and now, the threat to burn down PKR’s headquarters have been engineered by the very top Umno people who have almost complete control over the judiciary, the enforcement agencies and the rest of the public service.

They have amassed billions from their corrupt activities and can easily pay a few hundred people to create such mischief and tell the police to stand aside. Sometimes they put up some farcical show trials against their own hired hands to fool the people and the world into thinking that there is rule of law in the country.

At this point in time, PM Najib Razak and his cohorts are just using scare tactics. The big question is how will these people react if they sense that they are going to lose the coming elections? And does the opposition have any contingency plans to counter any extreme behaviour by these crooked people?

Abasir: All of this started with Najib’s win ‘at all costs’ speech. Desperation knows no bounds – for him this is a do-or-die attempt to hold on to power (and avoid answering some ‘sensitive’ questions).

Knowing the amount of skeletons stuffed in, God knows how many closets, he will try anything and everything. Where he is concerned, all options are on the table.

‘Bersih chaos’ will burn PKR, corrects Umno Youth

Ignis Sacra: Arman Azha Abu Hanifah is quite right, of course. His words were clearly taken “out of context” – they were said before the place could be burnt down, not after.

So it cannot have been a threat. It was only a prediction, a scientific prediction. A self-fulfilling prophecy is not a threat, it’s a sure thing. One has to be “context-sensitive” about these subtleties.

DannyLoHH: Arman can deny as much as he wanted, the video has been captured, his speech was recorded and uploaded onto YouTube, where he clearly declared: “Kalau … Julai 9, mereka teruskan Bersih, kita jatuhkan pejabat disini, tidak ada disini lagi. (Crowd roaring)… Setuju tak setuju? (More of crowd roaring)”.

He had threaten to burn down the PKR HQ in public alright. Evidence is there and collected. We’ll see if the police will take action. I won’t hold my breath, though.

KSN: Umno Youth, you said you went to PKR office to exercise your freedom of assembly? How ironic, how hypocritical and how stupid. Is that not what Bersih rally of July 9 all about, freedom of assembly?