KUALA LUMPUR, May 8th- The Barisan Nasional government today hit out at Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim for fomenting division among the people with his continued allegations on electoral misconduct and his planned rally later tonight.
“Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has called for unity, but Anwar is fomenting division. Anwar should put politics aside and place the nation’s interests first,” said a government spokesperson in a statement today.
“The election was free and fair, and passed off peacefully without major incident. Yet the opposition has spent three days hunting for instances of alleged malpractice to tie together to support their preconceived theory that the election was unfair,” added the spokesperson.
The government spokesperson said Anwar’s strategy fitted a familiar patten, adding that during the election campaign period, the PKR de facto leader had “knowingly misled the voters, claiming 40,000 foreigners were flown in to vote, and that he had won the election two hours after polls closed”.
No doubt his latest claims will also evaporate on close inspection, added the spokesperson.
“Anwar has deliberately refused to apply for permission for his protest, and deliberately chosen a small stadium to ensure it will spill onto the streets. His protest is calculated to create unrest,” said the government statement.
The rally planned by Anwar at the Kelana Jaya stadium tonight is to highlight the alleged fraud and irregularities of the Election Commission and Prime Minister Najib during the 13th general election.
Anwar has claimed that Najib, with the help of the EC, had stolen the election victory from Pakatan Rakyat.
Thousands of Pakatan supporters are expected to take part in the rally tonight, which PKR leaders were quick to add was a peacefull assembly.
Rally with proceed
Earlier today, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli dismissed a warning by the Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar that participants faced arrest for taking part in an illegal rally.
Rafizi said the rally will go on as the police have been formally informed.
The newly-elected Pandan MP said PKR through its communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad had already informed the related police station formally of tonight’s rally.
“This is in accordance with the Peaceful Assembly Act that does not require for a permit to be applied for, rather, the police just needs to be informed.
“I have faith in the police force’s sincerity under the command of Ismail to appreciate the people’s right to assemble, as what that has been shown in previous rallies.
“Therefore I urge as many Malaysians as possible who are demanding for a fair election and who are against electoral fraudulence to come together and wear black tonight at the Kelana Jaya stadium,” he said
Najib, who was sworn in Monday as the prime minister, has insisted the polls were totally free and fair.
GE observers note serious flaws
But a joint report released today by two independent election watchdogs disputed that claim, saying the elections were marred by bias and irregularities that added up to “serious flaws” in the electoral system.
The report by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) cited continued questions over the integrity of the electoral roll.
It also said issues including partisan use of government machinery, pro-government media bias, and indelible ink — meant to mark voters to prevent multiple-voting — that washed off easily left a blot on the election.
The election was “only partially free and not fair,” it said.
New agency AFP meanwhile quoted analysts as saying that Najib was not likely to crack down on the rally due to widespread bitterness over the election result and his own post-polls promise to seek national “reconciliation”.
“I think it is not in the interest of Najib to come down hard on the protesters. People are already aggrieved,” said James Gomez, a politics lecturer at UUM.
