Now PKR's Friends Are Calling For An “Overthrow” of the Government

It has been ten days since the Malaysian people took to the polls and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim refused to accept that they do not trust him enough to run the country.

And in those ten days Anwar has done little but stage a string of noisy mass rallies around the country, rather than presenting petitions for the seats he wishes to challenge and let the courts decide.

While most Malaysians are paying short shrift to his disruptive strategy, there are some groups including several Pakatan-aligned NGOs who have not only heard his call but are championing more sinister means.
Groups ranging from Bersih to Anything But Umno (ABU) are publically condoning a forceful takeover of Putrajaya.

"We will take to the streets and take over Putrajaya. If we really want to overthrow them, there is no other way. Democracy does not work," Haris Ibrahim from ABU said on Monday.

Like the threats to burn Lynas, the fact that Pakatan leaders have chosen not to disassociate themselves with these comments is of concern to all Malaysians.

"The people cannot wait anymore. We don't want to wait another five years. We will take the streets."
Similarly, Bersih steering committee member Hishamuddin Rais has called for an out and out revolt.

"What Najib likes is wrong, and what he doesn't like is what we have to do," he said, effectively admitting that he was not pro peace like the Prime Minister, but backed chaos like Anwar Ibrahim.

"We will mobilise a big group and rally on the streets. This is not a threat, this is a promise."
Talk of overthrowing the Government or of using "force" to overturn the GE13 results seems inflammatory, to say the least.

Pakatan leaders should distance themselves from any such rhetoric, and not tacitly endorse it by not commenting at all.