PM on Seafield riots: People must understand democracy's limits
PARLIAMENT | Democracy has its limits and the people need to understand its boundaries, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He urged all parties to cease issuing provocative statements that could cause unhappiness to other parties...
PARLIAMENT | Democracy has its limits and the people need to understand its boundaries, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He urged all parties to cease issuing provocative statements that could cause unhappiness to other parties.
"It is not the intention of the government to penalise blindly but democracy has its limits and all of us need to understand these limits," Mahathir said when explaining the recent riots at a Hindu temple in Seafield, Subang Jaya, in the Dewan Rakyat sitting.
"Nobody can act as they like to break the law, cause uneasiness to others and create riots in the country," he said.
"The right to freedom of speech does not mean that we can provoke the sensitivities of others," he said.
"It is important for us to be aware that the safety and stability of the nation is our responsibility together.
"I urge members of the public to be careful when issuing their remarks or when sharing news on the incident because much false news has been spread," Mahathir said.
Politicians and NGOs should not take advantage of the situation (“menangguk di air keruh”), added the Pakatan Harapan chairperson.
'Satisfied' with police action
The intrusion in the early hours of Monday morning had sparked a riot after devotees who had gathered to protect the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple clashed with the intruders.
Tensions from the initial riot boiled over to the next night, when rioters, who had gathered again on the pretext of defending the temple, attacked and seriously injured a firefighter.
Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday that police had determined that the group of Malay men who accosted devotees in the first riot were hired by lawyers who work for the developer that had purchased the temple land.
Following the first riot, a group of Indian ministers chided the police for mistakenly claiming the fight involved two groups of Indians.
In his speech today, Mahathir said he was 'satisfied' with the police who had taken action to contain the situation from spreading.
He called for action to be taken against any quarter in a fair manner.
Plans to relocate the temple have been ongoing since 2007, after the land it was located on was purchased by One City.
In 2014, a consent judgment was entered in court, where One City and two rival camps vying for control of the temple agreed to relocate it to a plot of land three kilometres away.
One City had also donated RM1.5 million to the temple as part of the settlement agreement.
However, devotees have continued to resist efforts to relocate the temple, which has been a Hindu prayer site since 1891.
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