‘PSM activists threat to national security’

Penang police says that the detained PSM members, including Sungai Siput MP, were trying to rekindle communist ideology. Ridiculous charge, hits back PSM.

UPDATED

KEPALA BATAS: The group of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists detained at Sungai Dua toll plaza here yesterday are using the July 9 illegal rally to rekindle the communist ideology.

Penang deputy police chief Abdul Rahim Jaafar said the 30 activists led by Sungai Siput Member of Parliament Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (pix) had distributed flyers deemed a threat to national security.

“They were carrrying items inciting the people to hate the government. This is serious and can threaten national security,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama today.

Police also seized various items associated with the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) ideology from the activists travelling from Sungai Petani, Kedah to Penang, added the Bernama report.

“They include flyers and t-shirts with Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin and Suriani Abdullah, all connnected with MCP, written on them.”

Rahim said the 30 people aged 18 to 64 years were remanded until July 2 to facilitate investigation into the case.

The remand order was issued pursuant to Section 122 of Penal Code for waging war on Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Initially 31 people were arrested by the police but a 16-year-old teenager, S Ragu, was released unconditionally.

Ridiculous charge based on T-shirts

PSM supporters outside Butterworth Magistrate's Court

This national threat accusation however was dismissed by PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan who said the police were using the party as a pawn to discourage people from participating in the Bersih rally on July 9.

“We are being used by the police as a pawn to give a psychological fear to the participants of the Bersih rally,” he told FMT.

“The police are giving vague reasons of some imaginary threats to the country and it is ridiculous for them to build up (a vague theory) that our country is facing a big problem,” he said.

“It is a ridiculous charge based on three T-shirts (bearing images of former communist fighters Chin Peng and Rashid Mydin) found among the belongings of the 43 PSM supporters,” he pointed out.

“Anyone can buy such T-shirts at any pasar malam and it is absurd to bring such wild charges against our party members and supporters,” he said.

Instilling fear

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang also called for the immediate release of the detained PSM members and bring an end to the “ridiculous police charade that they are trying to revive communism”.

DAP’s national legal bureau head Gobind Singh Deo also condemned the detention of the 30, saying that it was “preposterous to charge that they had ulterior objectives merely because items were found on them containing photos of communist leaders”.

“One would be more inclined to believe that these arrests and detentions are motivated by the desire on part of the police to instill fear amongst the public to stay away from the Bersih rally,” he said today.

He expected more arrests to be made in the days to come ahead of Bersih.