The rise of political hooliganism must not be condoned — The Malaysian Insider

SEPT 9 —The rise of what can only be described as political hooliganism in Malaysia must not be tolerated.

  And as the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) must take the lead to condemn such behaviour as recent cases show that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians have been at the receiving end of such hooliganism.

A few months ago unidentified thugs threw rocks and eggs at a PKR ceramah in Kuala Lumpur, injuring a few members of the public.

It has become common for opposition politicians to face unruly gangs at rallies around the country.

Yesterday a bodyguard of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim allegedly waved his gun when confronted with a crowd of hooligans trying to block the opposition politician from attending a rally.

BN leaders and the authorities cannot just claim that they are not responsible for the hooliganism.

If BN political parties and leaders are not responsible they must then take the lead to pressure the police to take action, as well as publicly condemn it.

If doing the right thing is not motivation enough they should realise that the public does not condone such behaviour.

And BN will end up taking the blame anyway.

The typical middle class Malaysian in particular is growing into a very angry person.

Why?

Because he or she wants a level playing field, a mature Malaysia, a competition of ideas.

Violence and hooliganism is not the path forward for a mature democracy.