Tian Chua, Rafizi in remand but rally to go on

Rally organisers undeterred by wave of arrests, vow to 'celebrate' wedding of PM's daughter

KUALA LUMPUR: The MP for Batu, Tian Chua of PKR, was arrested this morning and remanded for three days over the KitaLawan street rally planned for this afternoon, hours after PAS deputy president Mohammad Sabu was arrested in Penang while en route.

About a dozen people have been arrested as police warned the public not to take part in the KitaLawan rally. Organisers, however, said the march would go on.

Yesterday PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli was arrested after making a statement calling for a full turnout this afternoon. PKR said today he was being remanded for three days, and so, too, activist Hishammiddin Rais who was arrested near Dataran Merdeka while walking there to attend a protest against the Goods and Services Tax.

Tian Chua’s arrest was his second in a week in connection with KitaLawan. He was freed last week when police were denied a remand order.

This morning he posted on Twitter that 20 policemen came for him after a constituency event at Kampung Batu Muda community hall, where he had held a public dialogue together with the mayor of Kuala Lumpur and Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Tian Chua was to have been among Pakatan Rakyat politicians leading the KitaLawan protest march from Sogo shopping centre to Kuala Lumpur City Centre mall where a reception is being held tonight to mark the marriage of the daughter of the prime minister.

KitaLawan organisers had previously said they planned to “gatecrash” the reception at 8pm.

Fariz Musa, leader of the Jingga 13 activist group said the KitaLawan secretariat had repeatedly stressed that the rally would proceed as planned, Malaysian Insider reported.

“We are not trying to create chaos at the wedding reception. We just want to celebrate the event. As citizens of this country we have every right to celebrate the wedding reception of our prime minister’s daughter since most probably it will be held using the people’s money anyway,” he was quoted as saying.

There was no word this afternoon about PAS deputy president Mat Sabu. It is believed he had been taken to Bukit Aman.

The assemblyman for Permatang Pasir, Mohd Salleh Man, was with Mat Sabu when 20 policemen in balaclavas arrested his colleague as they alighted for a meal in Pekan Sungai Dua on the mainland at about 12.20am.

The KitaLawan rallies have been held in central Kuala Lumpur every Saturday since opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was jailed on a sodomy charge. The protesters are demanding his freedom, while also protesting against government extravagance, the impending GST, and other issues.