Last night, I joined Kit Siang and few other MPs (Kulasegaran, Kui Lun, Hock Seng, Po Kuan and Perak Assemblyman Thomas Su) at a ceramah organized by PKR at the Batang Berjuntai town.
PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah was making her appeal to the voters to vote Tan Sri Khalid. Suddenly some police personnel moved onto the makeshift stage to stop Datin Seri from speaking.
A Chinese police officer then took over the mike and tried to disperse the crowd. But before he could proceed, the sound system was turned off by a PKR worker.
Kui Lun rushed up the stage and put up a fight (verbal only) with the police.
Kit Siang, Syed Husin Ali and Jeffrey Kitigan then joined in and questioned the police on why they were disrupting the ceramah.
“I have been speaking in election ceramah for 40 years and do not see the need for a permit to speak,” Kit Siang thundered. The crowd responded with boos against the police.
Soon the police relented and the ceramah continued with cilipadi Po Kuan and Khalid taking the stage. Someone released fireworks then to welcome the arrival of the candidate.
Meanwhile many ( around six) FRU trucks arrived and about a hundred FRU personnel, CID and other policemen arrived at the ceramah.
Then it was Kit Slang’s turn to speak. I thought he would have his day (night) addressing the now bigger crowd.
Barely ten minutes later, the police led by OCPD Supt Ibrahim came up the stage to stop Kit Siang from speaking.
The OCPD then requested for the mike for him to go through the routine to get the crowd to disperse.
Kit Siang then told him to get his own loudspeaker if he wanted to disperse the crowd.
The DAP veteran leader lost his cool and bombarded the OCPD.
Then I saw the FRU personnel falling into line as if they were waiting for order to arrest. At that moment, a PKR worker quietly told me the FRU personnel have got handcuffs ready for action.
PKR vice president Azmin Ali then went to negotiate with the OCPD. A few minutes later, Azmin told the crowd to disperse and to proceed to two other locations to hear Opposition leaders speak.
The crowd was angry that the police have to resort to their brute power to oppress the Opposition.
When I reached home at about midnight, I read from China Press night edition newspaper that Selangor recorded the highest crime rate. I thought those hundred of policemen in Ijok should be deployed to fight crime in Selangor instead of being used by the BN to oppress the Opposition during this Ijok by-election.
Is the BN so frightened to lose Ijok?
It is the high handed tactics of the poice force to intimidate those in the opposition. Why was there no such things happening when the Barisan speakers take to the stage? You mean to say that all of the Barisan speakers have instant permits as in Instant Noodles? Come on PDRM. You are not suppose to take side but to give protection to the speakers. The electorates are loyal citizens and have the right to true information either through the opposition or otherwise. If the police are using brute force to clamp down hard on the opposition, then I think the ruling government of the day should step in to find out why this happens.
Comment by Eskay — Wednesday, 25-04-2007 @ 16: 39.29