KUALA LUMPUR: The nation's top cop yesterday assured the public that they had no reason to be alarmed about the joint exercise conducted by the police and armed forces.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said the exercise was a normal one, held in accordance with the public order manual.

"This joint exercise should not be misconstrued as a threat," Musa said in a statement issued yesterday.

"This is to test our preparedness and readiness to overcome any shortcomings if both forces need to be deployed should public order deteriorate.

"It is the responsibility of the police and the armed forces to protect and safeguard the rights of the citizens and country from any threats."
Earlier yesterday, several representatives of a group of non-governmental organisations and members of parliament handed over a memorandum of protest to the IGP at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

The group was protesting statements by Musa published in newspapers which they said meant that the armed forces would be called in to counter peaceful rallies and demonstrations.

They demanded that Musa issue a statement retracting the suggestion and apologise for it.

Among the 10 members of the group were Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran, Hindraf co-ordinator S. Jayathas, Lawyers for Freedom of Assembly representative Roger Chan Weng Keng and Police Watch and Human Rights Committee representative N. Surendran.