If the government continues to curb freedom of expression, they will be guaranteeing an Arab Spring situation in the country, said Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty.

"The reason why there was an Arab Spring, that kind of protest in the Arab world, is because they didn't have freedom of expression.

"So if you're going to curb freedom of expression and protesting, you're pretty much guar

The Bersih 4 rally, which he was referring to, had remained peaceful throughout all 34 hours last weekend.

"The Malaysian government needs to be less worried about imaginary problems.

"We're always being told, 'oh you don't know the intelligence of the Special Branch and what they know, which you don't know'.

"And I say, okay, if nobody knows, then we can't have a conversation. So let's be more transparent and open and have a dialogue," Salil said.

anteeing an Arab Spring to happen in the long run," he said in a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

He was referring to a remark Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Paul Low ( photo ) made yesterday, where he compared the Bersih 4 rally to the Arab Spring in 2010 and resulted in protests, riots and civil wars in that region.

He also met Low for one and a half hours yesterday.

He revealed he jokingly told the minister that there could not really be an Arab Spring here, as Malaysians are not Arabs, and there’s no spring in this country.

'Agree to disagree'

In the meeting with Low, he said the minister seemed amenable to certain suggestions from Amnesty International such as ratifying the UN Convention Against Torture and re-examining mandatory sentencing for drug-related offences.

However, on issues of freedom of expression, Salil said they would have to just "agree to disagree".

"The perspective they (the government) have in my view, is just not in line with current reality.

"We can't approach public protest the way we did 20 years ago. I think people are just going to express themselves publicly. That's just the reality of the world now," he added.

For Amnesty International, he said, they believe that freedom of expression will lead to a stable country.

On the other hand, he noted, the government seems to believe that it will lead to anarchy and chaos, especially in a multiracial country.

"I think we have to have more confidence in the country, in the maturity of the democracy and also more confidence in the maturity of the people.

"And we saw a massive protest without any incidents the last few days."

The Bersih 4 rally, which he was referring to, had remained peaceful throughout all 34 hours last weekend.

"The Malaysian government needs to be less worried about imaginary problems.

"We're always being told, 'oh, you don't know the intelligence of the Special Branch and what they know, which you don't know'.

"And I say, okay, if nobody knows, then we can't have a conversation. So let's be more transparent and open and have a dialogue," Salil said.

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