Barisan Alternative will dissociate and repudiate activists if Mahathir can prove that there is a “secret cell” planning to violently overthrow the government with explosives, grenade-launchers and petrol bombs.
However, as the government has not been able to produce any evidence whatsoever to convince the people and the world about the existence of the “secret cell” planning the violent overthrow of the government with explosives, grenade-launchers and petrol bombs, although such a “secret cell” was alleged to have been around for two-and-a-half years, the police should immediately and unconditionally release the seven reformasi activists under the ISA.
The Prime Minister has been going round the country claiming that “groups out to topple the government” have tried to enlist help from Indonesia to create public riots and violence in the country.
This is a most irresponsible statement for the top government leader to make unless he can produce evidence to show that he is not making wild and baseless allegations just to create the atmosphere of uncertainty, fear and turmoil to justify the use of the draconian detention-without-trial ISA against the Opposition.
Mahathir can be assured of full Barisan Alternative support if he can produce evidence that Indonesians are being enlisted to Malaysia to foment riots and violence, as Malaysia is not Indonesia. DAP and the Barisan Alternative do not want Indonesians to interfere with our domestic politics by taking part in gatherings and demonstrations in the country and no one in the Barisan Alternative want political changes to come ala-Indonesia.
However, Mahathir should stop his politics of desperation and bankruptcy and withdraw all such allegations if he cannot produce any evidence to back them up, as it would reflect badly not only on him and the Barisan Nasional government, but also on Malaysia’s international standing and reputation.
Without hard evidence, the plethora of wild allegations from the government and the police in the past few days to justify the ISA crackdown must stop. This is why I had called on the Inspector-General of Police to give an immediate briefing to Barisan Alternative leaders to produce proof that the Reformasi Seven were involved in a militant conspiracy for the violent overthrow of the government.
If the police has such evidence, the Inspector-General of Police would have jumped at the opportunity to brief Barisan Alternative leaders to prove the professionalism of the police in the operation. The silence and refusal of the IGP to give such a briefing to Barisan Alternative leaders can only mean that the police is quite empty-handed as far as proof of allegations of a “secret cell” for the violent overthrow of the government with explosives, bombs and grenade-launchers - which is another “black eye” for the Malaysian police.
(15/4/2001)