SHAH ALAM, 5th DEC : Pakatan Rakyat leaders urge the police to be fair and take immediate action against the individuals responsible for attacking the PR talk at Batu 8, Gombak yesterday leaving five people injured.
PAS and PKR leaders commented on the failure of the police to act immediately and seriously against the suspect and feel that this behaviour will impact the reputation of the police.
To make matters worse, their failure to take action gives of an impression that the police is somehow involved with the suspects.
Gombak Setia State Assembly Coordinator, Salehuddin Nasir said that the police will only take action once the attacks become rampant, frequent and cause injury to the masses even though they were aware well aware about the talk days before the attack.
He accuses the attack of being led by Pemuda UMNO Gombak and that it involves members of the Gombak divisions of UMNO, Wanita UMNO and NGOs.
According to him, following the incident, it is estimated that more than five individuals experienced injury to the head, shoulders and arms due to contact with a hard object. The tent that was to provide shelter also suffered heavy damage.
“We had informed the police a day before the talk took place. There was even one district polis officer who came by to visit that night, indicating that they (the police) were aware of the event.”
“I, myself submitted the letter via email to the District Head of Police to provide information regarding the talk,” Salehuddin added when contacted by TV Selangor.
The environment at Dataran Sharuddin, Batu 8 where the talk took place became chaotic after a scuffle between a group of UMNO members and PR supporters.
Salehuddin claimed that one PR supporter was stabbed with a Kerambit (a small curved blade) while small rocks were thrown towards the participants of a talk that is part of a series of political talks titled ‘Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat’.
The talk was to feature Selangor Economic Advisor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Bukit Antarabangsa State Assemblyman, Azmin Ali, former Ayer Molek State Assemblyman of Melaka, Datuk Tamrin Ghafar and Batu Caves State Assemblyman, Amirudin Shari.
Selangor PKR Explanations Chief, Shuhaimi Shafie said that should the police fail to take action, it could provoke others to resort to similar measures.
“It is not impossible that their courage stems from the attitude of the police that treats them as if they are immune to legal action.”
“This act of provocation and violence also seem to signal that there is more to come and that it may be even violent beyond reason,” Shuhaimi adds.
This attack at a PR talk is not the first of its kind. Before, stones were thrown randomly during a talk by Anwar at Pantain Valley, causing one lay-man injury to the head.
Bas Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat yang membawa pemimpin PR berceramah ke seluruh negara juga telah diserang beberapa kali di Kota Baru dan Melaka dengan disimbah dengan cat dan dibaling batu.
The bus carrying PR leaders for talks all over the country in line with their ‘Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat’ theme, has also been attacked several times at Kota Bharu and Melaka. Most times, the attackers throw stones although there was one time when an attacker threw paint at the bus.