Muhyiddin: Arrest of PPS members according to law

All legal procedures were followed in the arrest of PPS members, says Muhyiddin.

MUAR: The detention of members of the Voluntary Patrol Unit (PPS) in Penang recently was according to legal procedures and not on the instruction of the government, said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the action taken by the police was not done arbitrarily but based on concrete evidence.

He added that the public would accuse the police for not taking any action if there was a threat to security.

Muhyiddin said this after opening the delegates meeting of the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings of the Pagoh Umno division at the Pagoh Sports Complex near here today.

He said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should respect the action taken and cooperate with the police although the PPS was sponsored by the state government.

Muhyiddin said this when commenting on Lim’s action of defending the PPS which was not registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

The police detained 154 PPS members after Lim challenged the Inspector-General of Police to act against the members.

The PPS members were also said to have caused uneasiness among the community as they were alleged to have acted like gangsters.

In George Town, Lim said he was leaving it to the court to decide on the status of the PPS which was set up with the approval of the state government through a meeting of the state executive council on April 8 2009.

Lim also insisted that the PPS was a valid organisation although it was not registered with the ROS or the Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK).

“We are all prepared to face whatever action. I will personally stand in the frontline. For the past two or three days the police station is like my second home,” Lim said.

He said this to reporters after handing out incentives to the Penang athletes who had won medals at the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to Aug 3.

On Aug 31, police detained 154 PPS members including state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh to assist in investigations under Section 43 of the Societies Act 1966.

Subsequently, Lim had said on Monday that the exco meeting had agreed to postpone all activities of the PPS until the court decides on its validity.

Meanwhile, at the ceremony to handout the incentives to the Penang athletes today, the state government allocated a total of RM140,000 to six of the 16 Penang athletes who had won medals at the Commonwealth Games.

The six athletes were Nicol Ann David (squash), who received RM40,000, diver Ooi Tze Liang (RM60,000), weightlifter Zulhelmi Md Pisol (RM20,000), lawn bowler Azalina Arshad (RM5,000) and badminton doubles pair Chan Peng Soon and Tee Jing Yee who received RM7,500 each. – Bernama