Taser gun, assures police
> Weapon will not be used on Bersih rally participants, says deputy IGP
KUALA LUMPUR: The police will not use the Taser gun on participants of the Bersih 4.0 rally planned for the weekend.
This assurance was given by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
He said the police had the weapon and were distributing it to various levels of the security forces.
“The Taser gun can temporarily disrupt voluntary control of muscles or weaken an offender or criminal. However, the guns will not be used during the Bersih rally (this weekend),” he added.
He said they will use the gun more often (for crime prevention).
Noor Rashid was speaking to reporters after attending the launch of the iSelamat.my website here yesterday by Deputy Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique. She was representing the minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.
The Bersih 4.0 rally organisers had expressed concern over rumours that the police intended to use the Taser gun during the rally.
Earlier in a statement, Klang MP Charles Santiago said: “It’s unimaginable that the police is deliberating on stunning protesters with an electric charge if they riot, become violent or resist arrest.”
Meanwhile, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Salleh Said Keruak said the government has no plans to use the mobile signal jammer to thwart the Bersih participants from using data communication and uploading information onto the social media during the rally.
When asked by journalists if it’s possible for Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to initiate the signal jamming against Bersih participants this weekend, he said: “Mana ada (not happening). Ini tidak berbangkit (This does not arise).”
“However, MCMC will always monitor anything which is relevant to national security,” he said, after launching the iMalaysia app and game at Connextion@ Nexus Bangsar South yesterday.
Claims about signal jamming had emerged during the Bersih rallies in the past with many protesters alleged that they could not communicate with each other via the mobile phones especially in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Raja Laut.
Telco experts contacted by theSun said it is not possible for the government to jam up the signal in one particular area at any given time and day, considering the multitude segment of smartphone users.
SEE ALSO