CITY dwellers who have flights to catch this afternoon/evening better plan their journey hours ahead considering that there could be transport/traffic disruptions stemming from protest in the vicinity of the Swedish Embassy which is located along the Jalan Tun Razak stretch in Kuala Lumpur.
This is considering that authorities will almost certainly deploy increased security at the protest sites and nearby areas as a precaution, according to the Crisis24 actionable risk management portal.
“Localised traffic and business disruptions are possible. Security forces may arrest participants if they consider any demonstration to be disruptive or if any rally lacks a public gathering permit,” it cautioned.
“While the gathering will most likely pass off peacefully, clashes between police and demonstrators cannot be ruled out.”
Malay Mail reported that some 80 people from a local hardline Muslim group calling itself Hizbut Tahrir have gathered in front of the Swedish Embassy in a show of protest against the burning of the Quran in Stockholm last week.
About 15 young children were spotted among the protesters who began assembling here at about 8.30am.
“The group held up an assortment of flags, banners and posters – some which read “Does your religion teach you to insult others?” and “Our Prophet, Our Honour” – while chanting anti-Western sentiments in Malay like hancur Sweden, hancur Barat (destroy Sweden, destroy the West),” reported the English news portal.
Some 40 policemen stood watch nearby. The pro-caliphate group leader Mu’adz Abu Thalhah who was equipped with a cordless microphone said three representatives from Hizbut Tahrir will hand over a memorandum of their objections to the Quran burning to the Swedish Embassy officials.
The group could be linked to one march that was scheduled to take place at 8.30am this morning from the Tabung Haji Mosque to the Swedish Embassy. Another was scheduled for about 2pm after the compulsory Muslim Friday prayers with the protestors expected to march from the As-Syakirin KLCC Mosque to the Swedish Embassy.
In a somehow related incident, Edwin Wagensveld, Dutch leader of the far-right Pegida movement in the Netherlands, had on Jan 22 tore pages out of a copy of the Quran near the Dutch parliament and stomped on the pages. Police looked on but did not intervene.
Meanwhile, the Swedish Embassy has posted a notification on its website to state that it closed today (Jan 27) in view of “announced demonstrations outside the embassy”. The Swedish Embassy is located at 57, Jalan Mayang Sari, Hampshire Park, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Last Saturday (Jan 21), Swedish-Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan who leads a Danish party called Stram Kurs (which means Hard Line) burnt a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, sparking outrage across the Muslim world. However, Swedish authorities have said Paludan’s act did not violate its laws.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had on Sunday (Jan 22) described the act a hate crime and a “grave provocation” to the more than two billion Muslims across the world. On the same day, the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations put out a statement saying that Rasmus’ act was “an expression of hatred towards Muslims”.
Anwar had also said that PAS is free to hold a protest against the burning of the Quran in Sweden but should not create chaos within the country. – Jan 27, 2023
Main pic credit: Malay Mail
