'Ibrahim Ali lies through his bare teeth in saying Bersih 2.0 is bent on violence. Is there a reason for Bersih to be so? How would it benefit the cause?'

Perkasa ready to counter Bersih rally

Anak Bangsa Malaysia: Bersih has always been, and will always be, a peaceful civil rally to demand that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.

The so-called 'clashes' that erupted in 2007 started because the police and Federal Reserve Unit launched an unprovoked, chemical-laced water cannon, tear gas and baton-charge assault against unarmed and peaceful protestors. Even then, there was no violence from the protestors, only people trying to escape from the water cannons and tear gas.

We also remember well the notorious live TV interview of then information minister Zainuddin Maidin on Al-Jazeera , when he blubbered and lied that police were not attacking the Bersih protestors, even as live TV footage showed the extent of the violent police crackdown.

Now Perkasa has openly threatened violence against the Bersih protestors. Will the police take action against Ibrahim Ali and his Perkasa thugs? Or will they play handmaidens, as usual?

20121221Disaster: "I cannot imagine, when they bring a big crowd and start throwing stones, burning cars... Perkasa will go down to make sure we stop (the Bersih rally)," said Ibrahim Ali.

If the above mentioned incident happened, it would Perkasa or Umno creating the incident and making all sorts of claims. Bersih did hold the rally in 2007 and it was peaceful.

Geronimo: Let's recap the seven demands of Bersih:

1. Automatic voter registration at the age of 21;

2. Reforms to the postal voting system for out-of-town voters;

3. Use of indelible ink to avoid repeat voting;

4. Access to the mainstream media for opposition parties;

5. A minimum campaign period of 21 days;

6. Independence of enforcement bodies on election offences; and

7. Stamping out electoral graft.

Do these demands sound violent to you, Ibrahim Ali? It was because of Bersih 1.0 in November 2007 that got you the MP seat in 2008, you ungrateful creature. Now you are biting the hand that fed you.

What the rakyat want is a level-playing field. Under whose authority do you deny us that democratic right? We are going to protest peacefully.

You are the one who declared 'war', first against the Chinese then the Christians. Now Bersih?

Pakman: The Bersih 2.0 rally will be a peaceful rally, but will only turn ugly if people from Perkasa want to sabotage it and make it look like an unruly demonstration. If Perkasa wanted to counter protest, please do so, but in peaceful and civilise manner.

But knowing the numerous illegal rallies and demonstrations held by Perkasa and BN-friendly NGOs, even with police presence, they have proven to be unruly and vented on racial and religious issues without due respect to the country's constitution.

Bersih 2.0 has the right to exercise its desire to have clean and fair elections. What is Umno/BN afraid of? As a Malay proverb puts it, "Berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah".

Quigonbond: Ibrahim Ali lies through his bare teeth in saying Bersih 2.0 is bent on violence. Is there a reason for Bersih to be so? How would it benefit the cause?

Second, in saying Perkasa will go down to make sure they stop the Bersih rally and that he has every right to stop the rally, that amounts to criminal intimidation because he is threatening to stop Malaysians from exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and expression.

Even if the Police Act is breached, it is not for Perkasa to enforce the law - they are not the police. The violence that Perkasa threatens is also not proportionate to a breach of licensing rule under the Police Act.

It seems the police and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is going to take Perkasa's side and argued that there should be no assembly for everyone just to appear to be fair. What the police should really do is to facilitate both the assembly and rally.

If Perkasa intends to crash the party, the police should tell them to compete democratically by holding a rally on separate routes. Malaysians will get to see which rally is more popular.

Sarajun Hoda: Clearly, Ibrahim ‘the Frog' Ali and the Umno-supported Independents are traitors to this country. This counter protest is done to create tension so that police will have reason to stop the Bersih rally by force. How many millions did they get paid to do this?

Note Ibrahim's warning that there will be "throwing (of) stones and burning (of) cars". The police should catch them because he has already mentioned what the frogs are going to do.

4EverMalaysian: Ibrahim said he is acting in the interest of democracy? What a joke! If this is a democracy, then let them do it.

Perkasa has done numerous demonstrations/rallies, and no one stopped or disturbed them, even though the number of the crowd was very small. We could have disturbed them if we wanted, but this is a democracy and we respect their right to hold protest.

Ferdtan: In the last Bersih rally, Pemuda Umno also came to the rally wearing black trying to cause disruptions, but it fails miserably. The reason - there were only a handful of them, less than a hundred. They cannot do anything against the 40,000? So can Perkasa be any different.

I didn't know that ex-PKR defector Zulkifli Nordin is now a member of Perkasa? What is he doing there calling for an end to Bersih rally?

4EverMalaysian: If Umno/BN and the government sincerely and truly believe in democracy, then by all means allow them to rally. In all matured democracy in the world, all public rally, whether by the ruling or opposition party or NGOs, are not only allowed but are well-guarded and protected by police.

No one should be allowed to disturb the peaceful rally or demonstration. No shops are asked to close. They are all indeed very happy since they have more customers.

If Perkasa wants to organise an anti-Bersih rally, let them, but it must be on different day. This is, after all, a democracy.

Tell the Truth: I really fear for ‘katak' Ibrahim's health, because this time when he marches in the anti-Bersih rally, I think the pressure will be too much on him and he will suffer another heart attack and possibly suffer a stroke as a result.

Malaysian Born: I loath the thought of paying any attention to this piece of slime but what he is effectively saying is that he will make sure that he confronts the peaceful rally members and will instigate a riot.

He and his band of morons feel that the exercise of democracy is undemocratic and the desire for free and fair elections is somehow subversive. They want the most undemocratic methods to be used in the form an advanced strike ala ‘Operation Lallang' so that they can have their version of order, ie. suspension of constitutional rights.

What next? Have a guy hold a gun to voters at the ballot box?

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