Hishammuddin: No safety guarantee for PKR

There will be no guarantee of security for PKR’s nationwide Merdeka Rakyat tour, says Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

"No need for guarantees. It is decided by the people of Johor themselves.

"I think PKR knows this and can judge for itself from what is happening there," he told Malaysiakini when asked about this on the sidelines of the Home Ministry’s open house in Putrajaya today.

PKR's campaign tour bus was splashed with red paint while on its Johor leg today, the third such incident in the two weeks since it started the tour on Aug 31.

Asked whether he thought so because PKR went into Johor mindful of the risks of being in a state widely considered to be an Umno fortress, Hishammuddin replied that politics was all about taking risks.

"If even the calculated risks are a no-go, that means it is not their place to be there. The people of Johor will decide," he said.

At a press conference earlier, Hishammuddin was also asked to comment on criticism that he had not issued strong statements against political violence.

He replied that he had been consistently making strong statements rejecting the politics of hate, but more important than that was the action taken.

"This is better than empty rhetoric. So what can we see here (at the open house) we are flying the flag, show that we want peace, and we mobilised the Home Ministry Youth Club... all that are towards ensuring peace while rejecting the practice of politics of hate," he said.

Hishammuddin was also asked to comment on International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed’s statement that foreign investors are concerned about crime, particularly cargo theft and personal security.

He agreed that the issue needs to be tackled, but stressed that the areas that Miti is concerned about are where there is intense development to draw foreign investors, and not Malaysia as a whole.

He cited Pengerang and Iskandar Malaysia in southern Johor as an example, which are being developed under the Economic Transformation Program (ETP).

Expansion of the NKRA

He said he had spoken to the Johor police contingent on the matter, and hopes that the National Key Results Area (NKRA) would be expanded to address the issue.

“God willing after the soon-to-be-tabled budget, the second phase of the NKRA would be expanded to give attention to the aforementioned considerations (security of investments especially foreign investments) in context of the ETP,” he said.

When asked about the 30 Internal Security Act detainees who are still in detention almost a year after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced its abolition in his eve of Malaysia Day address, Hishammuddin said they were detained before the abolition, so it does not apply to them.

However, he said several detainees have been released prior to the Hari Raya celebrations as they are no longer deemed to be a security threat.

“For me, it (the release of the detainees) depends on the current situation and the threat they pose to national security interests,” he said.

This, he said, would depend on feedback and intelligence from the police and prison authorities.

He added that the government is also in talks with the governments of foreign nationals who are detained under the now-abolished law to work out a deal, so that “the responsibility of ensuring regional stability is shared together.”