Armed men halt PKR ceramah

The leader of the pack, claiming to be Kuala Sawah’s village chief, made racist remarks, says party coordinator S Karupaya.

SEREMBAN: A large group of armed men forced the cancellation of a PKR ceramah at Kuala Sawah, Rantau, last weekend with a threat of violence.

According to Rantau PKR coordinator S Karupaya, he and seven others were preparing the tents and public address system on Sunday evening when the intruders, numbering more than 20, appeared on the scene. Some were armed with parangs, iron bars and clubs.

“They claimed to be locals and told us to cancel the ceramah or suffer the consequences,” Karupaya told FMT.

He said one of them told him he was the village chief of Kuala Sawah. “He hurled racial abuse at me, calling me ‘keling’ and saying I belonged to a despicable race.”

He said he decided to cancel the ceramah “to avoid any untoward incident” and lodged a report with the Kuala Sawah police station.

PKR had secured a police permit for the ceramah.

Rembau PKR secretary Norazizi Abdul Aziz told FMT he suspected that the reason for the threat was Pakatan Rakyat’s “noticeable political progress” in the area.

PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub, Negeri Sembilan PAS commisioner Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani and Rembau PKR chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin were among the opposition leaders scheduled to speak at the ceramah.