DBKL gangsters rough up MP

Padang Serai MP N Surendran cries assault by thugs during standoff with DBKL this morning.

PETALING JAYA: A PKR MP was assaulted by gangsters when he tried to stop Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers from demolishing the 101-year old Sri Muneswarar Kaliyaman Hindu temple in Jalan P. Ramlee.

Padang Serai MP N Surendran claimed that the plainclothes thugs were hired by DBKL to rough up the protestors, and were directly receiving instructions from uniformed DBKL officers to assault him.

“It’s terrible because I had been aggressively assaulted by gangsters. They were in plainclothes, but were given instructions by DBKL,” he told FMT.

“Four of five men surrounded me and shouted that they’re going to whack me, then they pushed me in the chest. It was aggressively done… they didn’t care if I was an MP.

“There is a video of the incident,” he added.

Surendran disclosed that three people have been arrested so far, and were currently detained at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters for obstructing civil servants from carrying out their duty under Section 186 of the Penal Code.

He named them as PKR deputy human rights chief S Jayathas, temple secretary R Nalini, and temple photographer, Prem.

He added that the demolition of the temple has since been put on hold, but said that the standoff is “still continuing”.

“At 10.30am, the police intervened and asked the workers to move out. Now the standoff continues because they’re waiting outside to receive further instructions,” he said.

“We have asked and have been waiting for somebody to negotiate with us, but they have not sent anybody,” he lamented.

“It’s simple, if there is no court order, then the demolition is illegal,” he added.

Earlier this morning, PKR lawyer Latheefa Koya informed the media that “Jayathas and others” were arrested and brought to IPD Dang Wangi for protesting the demolition of the temple.

She added that N Surendran, who is also PKR vice-president, and Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M Manoharan went to the temple around 8am after receiving a message from the temple committee about DBKL presence there.

In June, it was reported that a planned demolition of the temple by DBKL was halted after it was discovered that a developer company was suing the federal government for the same land.

The temple currently sits on a DBKL reserve land. In July last year, Hap Seng, whose company office is located next to the temple filed a suit against DBKL in a bid to obtain the land for a development project.