Perkasa wants Singapore envoys expelled over Bersih rally
The Malaysian Insider
By Ida Lim
KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Malay rights group Perkasa today demanded that Singapore withdraw three of its diplomats accused by local right-wing groups of being involved in the April 28 Bersih rally here despite the republic denying the charge.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali today led 300 supporters to submit a protest note to the Singapore High Commission at Jalan Tun Razak, in a move that appeared to be from an old playbook of using the republic as a bogeyman to unite the Malays.
Umno has previously targeted Singapore to rally Malays against perceived foreign threats, with Perkasa’s focus on Singapore — despite the presence of diplomats from other countries — suggesting a strategic move given the general antipathy here towards the republic.
At this afternoon’s protest, Perkasa members sang patriotic songs and chanted slogans against Singapore and the three envoys.
Kulim Bandar Baru MP Datuk Zulkifli Noordin was also spotted at the protest that took place this afternoon.
Allegations that three Singaporean diplomats had joined the April 28 sit-in protest, seen by several Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders as a bid to topple the ruling coalition, had surfaced on several Malaysian blogs.
But the island republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had last Friday said the diplomats were there as observers and not participants, noting that they had even taken care not to wear the official yellow of the electoral reform movement.
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The Malaysian Insider
By Ida Lim
KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Malay rights group Perkasa today demanded that Singapore withdraw three of its diplomats accused by local right-wing groups of being involved in the April 28 Bersih rally here despite the republic denying the charge.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali today led 300 supporters to submit a protest note to the Singapore High Commission at Jalan Tun Razak, in a move that appeared to be from an old playbook of using the republic as a bogeyman to unite the Malays.
Umno has previously targeted Singapore to rally Malays against perceived foreign threats, with Perkasa’s focus on Singapore — despite the presence of diplomats from other countries — suggesting a strategic move given the general antipathy here towards the republic.
At this afternoon’s protest, Perkasa members sang patriotic songs and chanted slogans against Singapore and the three envoys.
Kulim Bandar Baru MP Datuk Zulkifli Noordin was also spotted at the protest that took place this afternoon.
Allegations that three Singaporean diplomats had joined the April 28 sit-in protest, seen by several Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders as a bid to topple the ruling coalition, had surfaced on several Malaysian blogs.
But the island republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had last Friday said the diplomats were there as observers and not participants, noting that they had even taken care not to wear the official yellow of the electoral reform movement.
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