PM fears 'rakyat uprising', claims Pejuang leader

A Pejuang leader has questioned the timing and logic behind Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s instruction to law enforcement agencies yesterday to take strong action against those who incite hatred.

In a statement, Rafique Rashid Ali claimed the order was an attempt by the country’s chief executive to suppress the rakyat’s uprising against his government’s incompetence.

“I believe the prime minister is afraid. So he is trying to scare the rakyat.

“The prime minister is scared because the rakyat are rising up. Because the rakyat have started questioning the government and his weaknesses.

“We are witnessing the after-effects of the ‘Turun Anwar’ rally. The rakyat has begun to come forward to speak out their minds.

“Prime minister, you can give as many speeches as you like, but the rakyat today is brave,” said the Pejuang information chief.

During a speech to a civil service gathering in Putrajaya yesterday, Anwar instructed authorities to take strict action against those fanning political and racial sentiments.

He said the order was given not for popularity but was aimed at saving the country from the risk of further public unrest.

The prime minister said these included the issues surrounding the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir, and blunders where the Jalur Gemilang was hung upside down.

‘What did the rakyat do wrong?’

To this, Rafique, who is a lawyer, questioned the reasoning behind the prime minister’s decision.

He pointed out that in Zara’s case, the rakyat started speaking up after they sensed an alleged double standard in how authorities handled the investigation into her death.

“There was no post-mortem. There was an (alleged) attempt to sweep (the case) under the carpet. There was an (alleged) attempt to silence the issue.

“When the rakyat realised this, they started questioning and speaking up. They started questioning everyone in power.

“So what did the rakyat do wrong in the case of Zara?” Rafique said.

In recent flag blunders, he said the rakyat are only condemning those who disrespected the Jalur Gemilang.

According to Rafique, the people are not satisfied because they feel like no action has been taken against those responsible.

“So what did the rakyat do wrong in the Jalur Gemilang issue?”

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