NIBONG TEBAL: The government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim respects the people's right to speak up, including to be critical of the government, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said the 'Demo Rakyat Lawan Anwar' rally at Kompleks Seri Perdana, Putrajaya yesterday proves this openness as the people were given the opportunity to assemble peacefully.
"This confirms that Malaysia under the Madani government respects the right to assemble, the right to gather peacefully, and the right to criticise the government.
"The government under Anwar's leadership respects the rights of every citizen, even though the Prime Minister is being insulted," he said after attending the 'Xpresi Generasi Kita' Programme yesterday.
Saifuddin said based on the reports he received, the rally, which was attended by about 100 people, only involved a small segment of society.
"When we look at it, out of 30 million Malaysians, they managed to gather 100 people this afternoon. This is an astonishing number... I thought it was 100,000, but it turns out to be 100 people," he said.
Yesterday, the rally participants had demanded for the prime minister to reduce the price of diesel and to not increase the price of petrol.
They also demanded that Anwar's government restore the supply of local white rice and allow withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund.