Cops threatened to harm me, says MP

M Manogaran says an officer ordered him to stop his ceramah or face attack by baton-wielding riot police.

TELUK INTAN: Police threatened to harm Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran last night in a bid to stop a ceramah where he was scheduled to speak, the DAP politician alleged today.

He said a police officer rudely told him not to set foot on the field where the ceramah was scheduled and instructed riot police to attack if he were to disobey.

More than a dozen members of the Federal Reserve Unit were at the scene, armed with batons.

Manogaran did not identify the officer.

He said the venue, close to the HSBC office in Teluk Intan, was the alternative the police had suggested after disagreeing with the one the organisers had originally picked, which was the scene of a disrupted ceramah two weeks ago.

In the previous incident, a group of men carrying Barisan Nasional flags moved into the crowd with taunting remarks and threatening gestures. The arrival of police failed to diffuse the situation, forcing the organisers to call off the event, which would have also featured Manogaran.

“Last night, police came up to me and told me to call off the ceramah, saying it was a threat to security and public order,” Manogaran said.

“Umno had a similar function earlier yesterday. Why wasn’t that programme seen as a threat? There was no real evidence to say that we are a security threat.”

The ceramah, originally scheduled for 7.30 pm, was delayed by two hours and was eventually held in front of DAP’s Bandar Baru office.