Debated in Parliament on 9 Jul 2013.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) why is a demonstration by Malaysians allowed to happen at Merlion Park on 8 May 2013; (b) whether the Ministry is aware of its impending conduct and the orchestration and logistics involved, such as the placards; (c) why does the Police take so long to act on the crowd; and (d) whether the demonstration will be classified as an illegal demonstration and what actions will be taken.
Mdm Speaker, the protest held at Merlion Park on 8 May 2013 was illegal. The participants had not sought approval from the relevant authorities and no permit was issued for the event.
In dealing with such incidents, Police's primary consideration is to maintain public order and the safety of members of the public. Police will need to ensure that actions taken are appropriate to the situation and do not affect the safety and security of innocent bystanders or result in an unnecessary escalation of the situation.
All the persons investigated for involvement in the protest on 8 May are foreigners. I want to emphasise that while foreigners are welcomed to work or live in Singapore, they have to abide by our laws. They should not import domestic issues from their home countries into Singapore and conduct activities which can disturb public order, especially as there can be groups with opposing views here. Those who break the law will be dealt with firmly. This may include termination of their work passes and visas.
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Madam, I thank the Minister for his reply. Two questions: one, based on my understanding, this was a publicised event, in the sense that this was a well-known event online and on the social media. Did the Ministry know about this event beforehand? And, two, based on newspaper reports, the event was allowed to go on for two to three hours. Why did the Police not stop the event before it happened? Why was it allowed to go on for two to three hours before action was taken?
Madam, I thank the Member for his questions. Madam, at any point in time, there is a whole range of things that are being circulated on the Internet. The Police cannot realistically be expected to respond to every one of these possible events. So, the SOP is usually to respond to specific reports which have a basis in fact in terms of activity on the ground. So, that comes to the second question the Member has posed in terms of the response of the Police. First, the Police uniformed officers were on the ground within 15 minutes or so of receiving the report; second, there were also plainclothes officers deployed to the site.
Why did they allow the event to continue to the end? Well, the answer is because they made a tactical assessment on the ground that they wanted to observe, identify who were the main participants or players, and then to take action against them subsequently, which was what happened, rather than make an intervention. So, I think the assessment of the officers on the ground was that this was the best course of action and we accepted that.
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