Street Demos Not Our Culture - Tun Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Street demonstrations are not part of the Malaysian culture, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As such, the former prime minister reasoned, the opposition which lost its grip of the Perak Government, should not use demonstrations as a show of force against the authorities.
"How are you going to form a government by taking to the streets? If they (the opposition) encourage street demonstrations, how are they (the opposition) going to govern a state?
"If you take to the streets everytime there is a problem, then, if and when you form the government, other people are going to do the same to you.
"Then, you can't do anything else in the government, except deal with such demonstrations," he told reporters after a demonstration of the SmartPool technology at the Mines Waterfront Business Park here.
Dr Mahathir said this when asked to comment on street demonstrations by opposition supporters during the swearing-in ceremony of the new Perak menteri besar, several kilometres from the Kuala Kangsar palace yesterday.
The swearing-in followed the ouster of the Pakatan Rakyat government.
The barely year-old opposition state government crumbled after four of its assemblymen quit their respective parties recently.
Dr Mahathir said the 'defection' of the state assemblymen should have resulted in the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly but since Sultan Azlan Shah had declared that there was no need for such elections, the decision should be respected.
He said, in the failure to dissolve the state assembly, the opposition's menteri besar should have been allowed to convene the state legislative assembly and a vote of no-confidence should have been passed against that government.
"But if the menteri besar did not want to convene a state assembly, then how can we force him to call for one? The law states that a vote of no-confidence should have been passed before there is a change in the government.
"Even if they continue to rule the state, then they would be running it as a minority government. How can a minority government rule a state, when it does not have support?," asked Dr Mahathir.
Reports that Pakatan Rakyat, according to DAP chairman Karpal Singh, was planning to take legal action against the Sultan of Perak over his decision, Dr Mahathir said although the opposition leader's actions were ethically wrong, legal avenues allowed for such a suit.
Dr Mahathir, asked if political parties and leaders were spending too much time politicking rather than ensuring a stable economy in view of the global economic downturn, he said:" I think there is too much politics but then again, without a stable political situation, how can you improve the economy?"
To another question on anti-hopping laws for elected representatives, he said Umno had, at one time, asked all elected representatives to sign undated resignation letters to be used if they left the party, but now this too, was not valid according to the law.