Police to summon Dr M over his remarks at rally
Published on: Thursday, September 03, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Police will call former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over his appearance and remarks at last weekend's Bersih 4 rally, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said.He said the decision to summon the retired statesman was due to the statements he gave at the rally."We will call him, he has made allegations which we need to investigate, to ask him from where he obtained such information," Khalid said.
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Dr Mahathir had shown up on both days of the rally and had spoken to the press each time.The first day of the rally on Saturday saw Dr Mahathir and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali make a lightning visit to the rally, where he said he had come to "see" the rally for himself.The next day, the couple took the light rail transit (LRT) train to the city centre and held a short press conference in an eatery.The former Prime Minister for 22 years said he did not support Bersih 4's demands but only wanted to see Najib resign.
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"The only way to return rule of law is to remove this prime minister, and to remove him the people must show people's power," he had said.Khalid said police have yet to determine which law to investigate Dr Mahathir under but would question him first.
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"We will summon him first, then we will determine which act to use," he said.The focus of the investigations will be on allegations such as Dr Mahathir's claim that Umno division leaders had received bribes."We want to know the meaning (of what he said) and information he obtained for his statement such as the one where he accused Umno division chiefs of being bribed," Khalid added.Police have also summoned leaders of Bersih 2.0 which organised the rally.Khalid added that other leaders will be called to give statements to the police and mentioned Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali.Bersih 4 lasted 34 hours and drew 500,000 people over the two days, according to the organiser's estimates.The massive demonstration saw thousands of Malaysians sleeping on the streets in what was the first overnight rally in Malaysia.Police earlier declared the rally illegal, and on the eve of the rally, the Home Ministry banned any use of the words "Bersih 4" including its symbolic yellow T-shirt.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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