NGO rep arrested, rally turns chaos

The NGO representative is arrested for obstructing a policeman from performing his duty.

SUBANG: What was to be a peaceful candlelight vigil at Kampung Bunga Raya Subang last night turned chaotic when a verbal exchange between an NGO leader and a police officer erupted, leading to the arrest of the former.

Vice-president of the NGO Malaysian Tamilan Today K Gunasekaran, who was arrested at 9pm, said he was released at 1.30am and will be charged in court on Oct 29 for obstructing the police officer from performing his duty.

Gunasekaran held a candlelight vigil at the longhouse settlement in protest against the government and developer Sinar Fadzilat for uprooting the residents from their original homes near the settlement for development with the promise that they would be housed temporarily at the longhouse while awaiting the completion of the low-cost flats, which would then be sold to them at a discount.

Alas, the 118 families had since lived in the longhouse at the settlement for 22 years with the low-cost flats nowhere in sight.

About 100 people attended the vigil in a bid to make their pleas heard after countless fruitless visits to the land office, ruling and opposing political parties, and developer.

At the height of the event last night, the police officer appeared and told the crowd to disperse.

“I then proceeded to question the police officer as he did not show his police identification card. A verbal exchange ensued and the police officer -one Insp Halidi Janni – arrested me,” Gunasekaran told FMT.

Since the vigil was held in the premises of the longhouse settlement, it led Gunasekaran to question the motive behind the police turning up and telling the crowd to disperse when they were not a nuisance to the public.

Following Gunasekaran’s arrest, 23 longhouse dwellers lodged a police report against what they claimed were police intimidation and unlawful arrest.

“We are in a dire situation now as we are living in abject poverty and facing eviction. We are further oppressed with the arrest of our representative who is championing our cause,” village head K Ramachandran said, adding that the parties’ refusal to hear them out was an indication that they were not serious in resolving the issue.