By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar has cited the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto to justify a ban on street demonstrations in his country.
Bhutto’s killing showed why Malaysia was against street demonstrations, Albar said Sunday, three days after Bhutto was killed following an election rally in Pakistan’s garrison town of Rawalpindi.
He said demonstrations could lead to violence and Malaysia rejected all forms of violence.
“We have to make many political compromises if we want to maintain the peace and harmony enjoyed by all the races in the country,” The Star daily quoted him as saying Monday.
“We don’t want a democracy that can cause havoc and deaths,” he said after opening a forum on Malay culture.
He said total democratic freedom demanded by certain parties in Malaysia would have a negative effect if people were free to demonstrate and create havoc.
Albar, who is also Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group chairperson, said he planned to visit Pakistan soon as the group needs to make an assessment after the country holds its general election.