Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor has lashed out at civil societies planning street demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur, saying such actions would “spoil” KL and make local residents fear for their safety and livelihoods.
Ku Nan, as he is affectionately known, claimed that KLites are “angry” whenever such protests take place, as they disrupt the flow of traffic and jeopardises local businesses.
“Those from KL also feel angry because vendors are angry, the rakyat is angry, they want to go out also they don’t know if they should because they’re scared and such,” he said today at a press conference after the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) Hari Raya open house.
“Don’t do all this because this will spoil my city,” The Malay Mail Online‘s Mayuri Mei Lin quoted him as saying.
Ku Nan’s remarks come in the wake of last Saturday’s #TangkapNajib protest outside of Sogo KL, which saw the arrest of 29 protesters.
An even bigger demonstration, Bersih 2.0’s #BERSIH4, has been announced for August 29 and 30, an unprecedented overnight protest that is likely to draw a much larger crowd, as public discontent over the 1MDB issue intensifies.
The FT Minister also dismissed street protesters in the city as mostly being “outsiders” who have little regard for KL’s general calm and prosperity. He also called groups organising such demonstrations aggressive in nature.
“… I’ve discussed with authorities like police and DBKL enforcement officers, and we will monitor what will be done by these rakus (aggresive) groups and these groups that have lost their direction,” he said.
He added that rather than take to the streets, Malaysians should instead communicate their grievances directly to the government.
“No point we take to the streets, come forth and tell us what you want and we will try to accommodate as much as we can.”
