Tuesday November 13, 2007 (The Star)
KUALA LUMPUR: Children involved in the illegal assembly at Dataran Merdeka last Saturday were exploited by their parents.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said action could be taken against these parents, as it is an offence under the Child Protection Act.
Describing the parents as irresponsible, he said they should know the danger of getting their children involved in the rally.
The IGP also said that action would be taken against the 245 people who were detained and later released.
“They have been released after questioning. We will take action later,” he said after witnessing the handing over of duty from retiring Deputy IGP Tan Sri Mohd Najib Abdul Aziz to his successor Datuk Ismail Omar.
Musa suggested the opposition parties have dialogues instead of getting involved in illegal assemblies.
“Illegal assemblies inconvenience the public,” he said, adding that shops and offices in the area had to close on Saturday due to the illegal assembly.
Musa also said the roadblocks had to be set up for security checks to ensure no one was carrying any weapon and to weed out undesirable elements.
Police are bracing for another illegal assembly being planned by opposition parties in Kuala Terengganu in three weeks time.
“Yes, we will strengthen our security and we will see what they have planned,” Musa added.