PM Najib: Government Allows Gatherings If They Are Peaceful, At Appropriate Venues

KUCHING (Sarawak), April 28 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government does not prevent any parties, including those from the opposition, from holding gatherings so long as they are peaceful and held at appropriate venues said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. He said he did not want any gatherings which could lead to tension in the country. "We tell them, if you want to gather, we give you the Bukit Jalil Stadium, we are even willing to give Stadium Merdeka (as the location for the gathering," he said when when launching the "Promises Fulfilled" roadshow at Wisma Bapa Malaysia in Petra Jaya on Saturday. He was referring to the gathering in Kuala Lumpur organised by various non-governmental organisations and opposition parties purportedly to call for electoral reform. According to Najib, the organisers were barred from holding it at Dataran Merdeka, their preferred venue, because of the square's national significance which made it unsuitable for holding demonstrations. He said the opposition should not continue tarnishing the image of the country by holding street demonstrations because Malaysia's success all this while was the result of the hard work of the people. "We have built this country. We have made sacrifices to bring Malaysia where it is today. We must defend the country while at the same time, allow them their basic right to assemble," he said. He also questioned the opposition's claim that the Election Commission was not fair, saying if this was the case, they would not have won five states in the last general election and several by-elections thereafter. "When they won the five states, they did not question the EC. When they won the Sibu by-election, they did not fault the EC. Suddenly now the EC is condemned. As though elections in Malaysia are dirty, unfair, if they are not clean, not fair, show the evidence," he said. He said past victories by Barisan Nasional (BN) was not because of any cheating but were obtained due to people's faith that the coalition could govern the nation well. "We do not want to be elected through cheating. We are a government chosen by the people. The majority of the people chose us because they know Barisan is better than them. That is why they chose us," he said. He said Barisan had set the agenda to make Malaysia a developed nation with the people having high incomes by putting the people first and fostering greater unity among the people based on upholding the 1Malaysia concept. "We have an agenda that is very clear for the nation. They (opposition) do not. They only act destructively whereas we are constructive and creative," he added. -- BERNAMA