Man in Bersih 2.0 picture fiasco reveals himself

July 16, 2011: The man that was allegedly brandishing a knife during the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011 revealed himself to the public at a PAS forum yesterday.

Protestor: 'I did not bring knife to demo'

The man behind the image of an alleged 'violent protestor' that splashed on the frontpage of the country's major newspapers after the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 has stepped forward with details behind it.

Speaking at a PAS ceramah on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, Abdul Razak Endut said that the alleged knife he was holding was a Malaysian flag and he was not throwing rocks at police.

"When the FRU fired tear gas, I saw the wind blowing towards the demonstrators... I picked up the canister and tossed it to a grass field with the hope that the demonstrators would be safe" said Abdul Razak Endut.

Previously referred to by his nickname Ajak in the media, he was part of PAS's Unit Amal volunteer corp responsible for crowd control near Maybank on that day.

Malay daily Berita Minggu had on July 10 frontpaged the picture of a heavily built man in white T-shirt and black cloth wrapped around his face.

The man, shrouded in smoke, was depicted hurling an object with his left hand while in his right was what appears to be a knife handle.

The description read: "Seorang perusuh membawa pisau dalam perhimpunan haram" (A rioter brings a knife to illegal rally) and another bullet read: "Perusuh guna senjata, batu, lawan polis" (Rioters use weapons, rocks to fight police).

The same image was also featued on New Sunday Times' frontpage with the title: "Peaceful?".

Sporting the exact outfit in the picture, Abdul Razak unwrapped the black cloth, revealing his face to the cheers of those in attendance.

Abdul Razak explained that earlier, he had joined others in forming a human shield to prevent police advances on demonstrators.

"However, that did not happen. Instead, the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) brought in water cannons and fired on us. What should I do to stop the FRU truck? I asked for a (Malaysian) flag from a fellow demonstrator, he gave it to me and I held it against the FRU's water cannon,

"I had hoped... these people behind are Malaysians, your people, why are you doing this?" he said in an emotional voice.

The image of Abdul Razak resisting water cannon spray with the national flag was captured by Reuters and has been used to dimiss claims that it was a knife.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/inpictures/2011/07/201179124249763194.html

"At that moment (when I tossed the tear gass away), my picture was manipulated, showing I brought knife. How can it be logic for me to bring a knife from Temerloh? I had to go through three road blocks (getting into the city)," he said.

On July 12, Penang PKR Youth had claimed the image was doctored.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/169727

New Straits Times Press (NSTP) which is responsible Berita Harian and New Straits Times publications (Sunday versions are Berita Minggu and New Sunday Times) has denied such claims.

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/IT__8217_SNOTDOCTORED/Article

Abdul Razak Endut was part of a Unit Amal group from Temerloh, Pahang to accompany PAS VP and Pokok Sena MP, Mahfuz Omar.