Match your words with deed, Nurul tells KJ

The PKR vice president tells Umno Youth chief that merely condemning violence by Umno youth at a ceramah last night was insufficient.

PETALING JAYA: PKR today urged Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to match words with deed against his youth members for creating a ruckus during the opposition party’s ceramah yesterday in Pantai Permai, Lembah Pantai.

Speaking at a press conference at the PKR headquarters today, Nurul commended Khairy for condemning the unruly behaviour of some youth at the event yesterday, but insisted that the condemnation must be followed up with action.

“Even this morning, I saw broken eggs on the staircase at my service centre in Lembah Pantai,” said Nurul.

Also present at the press conference was fellow PKR vice president Tian Chua.

Yesterday, a PKR ceramah at Lembah Pantai, featuring its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Nurul, turned ugly after several youth from an Umno ceramah nearby pelted the opposition leaders with eggs and stones.

Also present yesterday were Tian Chua and PKR youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

While Anwar was the star attraction of the PKR ceramah, the Umno talk had his strongest critic Ummi Hafilda Ali taking the rostrum. The two events were barely 50 metres apart from each other.

An elderly man suffered injuries on his head during the fiasco and was rushed to a medical facility on the instruction of Anwar. Also injured was a 12-year old girl, who was suspected to have suffered a fractured hand after being hit with stones.

Khairy earlier today condemned the incident, saying that Umno never issued a directive to disrupt the opposition ceramah. He had also called for a stop to such intimidation and violence.

He was reported to have said that violence had no place in Malaysian politics and that the police should not allow opposing ceramah to be held near to each other.

“The police should also ensure safety of politicians and participants, regardless of their party,” he was quoted as saying.

Lembah Pantai is different
Nurul also called on Umno president Najib Tun Razak and Lembah Pantai Umno liaison chief Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin to condemn the attacks against PKR supporters yesterday.

“Failure to condemn the attacks will tantamount to giving support to such thuggish behaviour to attack the people and democracy as a whole,” she said.

Asked how she confirmed that it was Umno Youth members who pelted them yesterday, Nurul said several of her staff had identified them as Lembah Pantai Umno Youth members.

Training her sights at Nong Chik, she claimed that the Federal Territories Minister was desperate to wrest the parliamentary seat from her in the next general election.

“If he (Nong Chik) is indeed the man for the job, let’s have a debate but don’t do it in this manner,” said Nurul referring to the violence.

Nurul’s special officer, Fahmi Fazil also claimed that he was harassed by a group of youth during the ceramah.

“I was approached and heckled by about 50 youths when I was at the Pantai Permai Apartment,” alleged Fahmi.

Sharing his views, Tian Chua said that PKR had never encountered any violence when they had  programmes in other parts of Kuala Lumpur.

“But Lembah Pantai is different. It shows how desperate Nong Chik is,” said Tian Chua.

Nurul and Fahmi also lodge  police reports on the matter later in the day.

When contacted, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh refused to comment on the fracas in Lembah Pantai.

“I don’t want to comment on it,” said Mohmad before ending the call abruptly.