IN THIS ISSUE
 Thousands
run riot in Kuala Lumpur
US
criticises police crackdown on demos
Police
recover lethal weapon from Reformasi supporter
Opticians
donate glasses to NUJ
Human
Rights Commission not an April Fool joke
Mahahtir's
call to restore democracy not an April Fool joke
Malaysia
in danger of losing world record
Melaka
Wall to prevent entry of 'bad influences'
Singapore
apology media reports
Philippines
rejects hostage rescue plan
Foreign
Ministry denies G77 rumour
UMNO
sends fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe
 ARCHIVES
Back
to
Reformasi
Diary
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Police recover lethal
weapon from Reformasi supporter
| Police prevented what could have been dozens
of tragic deaths during the April 14th demonstrations when they recovered
a plastic toy gun from a Reformasi supporter. A Police spokesman who refused
to be named described the weapon as a "0.22 calibre made-in-Taiwan
Magnum water pistol", adding that the suspect also carried ammunition
in the form of half a bottle of mineral water.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had earlier warned that
Reformasi demonstrators would "bring sharp weapons, sticks and make
Molotov cocktails to attack the police". The Police spokesman conceded
that no such sharp weapons, sticks or petrol bombs were recovered. "However,
as you can see, this water pistol is by far more lethal," he warned
as he fired a thin squirt of water more than three feet into the air. "You
can catch a terrible cold if it hits you at the right spot. It might even
stain your uniform."
"How can the police force stand up against this kind
of firepower when we are just lightly-armed with water cannons, revolvers,
automatic pistols, high-velocity automatic rifles and sub-machine guns?"
he lamented.
Following this highly successful haul, police raided kindergartens,
primary schools and playgrounds all across the capital, seizing a veritable
arsenal of deadly weapons. Among the seizures were three baby rattles,
a bag of rubber bands, a dozen marbles and a plastic battery-powered Darth
Vader sword that glows. Police suspect the arms are being illegally smuggled
into the country by a shadowy US-based CIA-controlled company called Toys-R-Us.
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Police search women for
hidden toy pistols
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Opticians donate RM5 million worth of glasses to NUJ
A normal weekend in KL |
The National Association Opticians in Malaysia this month
donated over RM5 million worth of spectacles, contact lenses and eye-care
products to the National Union of Journalists.
This generous donation follows widespread local news reports
that violent demonstrations did not occur in Kuala Lumpur on April 14 and
that the situation was "just like any other normal weekend".
"Even a blind, deaf and dumb man walking in KL that
day would have known that hundreds of people were being chased all over
town by thousands of policemen," said an optician who refused to be
named.
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"The National Mosque was cloaked in tear gas. Water
cannons were spraying the length of Jalan TAR. The rest of the city looked
like a police barracks. And the local press couldn't see all of this?!
They must all have major eye problems."
The optician added that local journalists also exhibited
many other symptoms of chronic eye disease. "They seem to turn a blind
eye to injustice, frequently have wool pulled over their eyes on corruption
and do not seem to see anything wrong with government."
He lamented that most Malaysians were generally suffering
from deteriorating eyesight. "Maybe it's because of all the reading
between the lines that we have to do," he noted.
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