Anti-inflation protest: Activists arrested

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (ES) - Nearly sixty anti-inflation activists were arrested by the police near the iconic national oil company Petronas twin towers here today for allegedly participating in an illegal assembly.

The arrest – including of two journalists affiliated to an online newsportal – came before activists even arrived at the towers to make their demands against further fuel hike known.

Among those arrested were Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) vice president Mohamad Sabu, treasurer Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli and women chief Nuridah Salleh. Others include National Justice Party (PKR) information chief Tian Chua and Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) pro-tem chairman Nasir Hashim.

Malaysiakini journalist Syed Jaymal Zahid told the English Section that he was just asking an unidentified policeman on why people were being arrested.

“He said you don’t have any right to ask me questions… Come with me and that was that,” Syed Jaymal said from inside a black Maria that also held several others arrested.

Syed Jaymal said he had forgotten to bring along his press tag but he showed the officer his name card and his Identity Card.

“The name (on those documents) were the same, but they sill wanted to arrest me,” he said.

“I was just doing my job,” he said.

Another freelance journalist arrested is Chou Z Lam, 38. He was spotted wearing a yellow t-shirt, the trade mark for an ongoing campaign for a free and fair election.

Nasir said the police had learnt a “new trick” by obtaining a Court injunction that barred anyone from participating in a protest in a radius of 1km around the Twin Tower.

He said the use of the Court injunction was preventive just like in the case of the abuse of the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).

Abdullah “paranoid”

Nasir condemned the leadership of the country headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi as being “paranoid” of dissenting voices to have the police obtaining Court injunction to prevent peaceful assembly in the run up to the general election.

“We are not going to cause problem, we are saying that the price of good is going up and the poor is suffering. What’s wrong with that?,” he told journalists some half an hour before he was arrested.

“There must be check and balance, otherwise it will be an authoritarian (regime ruling the country),” he said.

Network of the Oppressed People (JERIT) coordinator Y. Kohila was adamant that the protest should go on despite several arrests earlier, when met at a venue some 500metres away from the twin tower.

Asked on whether the arrest of the protest leader S. Arutchelvan would dampen the spirit of some 200 mainly PSM supporters present, Kohila said: “We will go on. We are all leaders”

Kohila was arrested about half an hour afterwards. Those arrested are expected to be released later tonight.

A check by the English Section some three hours after the scheduled protest, found that some 200 uniform policemen including the anti riot Federal Reserve Units (FRU) were still present at the scene.

In the absence of any visible form of protest which dissipated shortly after the series of arrests that lasted for an hour and a half since as early as 2pm, the policemen were seen sitting and chatting idly among themselves.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had previously remarked that Malaysia is heading toward becoming a “Police state”. –Saadon Aksah/ES

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