Pak Samad is 78 & the national lauerate: IGP Khalid would do well to SHOW SOME RESPECT!

UPDATE2 KUALA LUMPUR - Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar drew flak with his pompous call to national laureate A Samad Said to surrender so as to facilitate investigations into the flying of the Sang Saka Malaya flag near Dataran Merdeka on Aug 30, the eve of Malaysia's Independence Day.

"It is a shame for the police and the nation when a 78-year-old man has to be persecuted over an incident like flying a pre-Independence Day flag," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Bear in mind, Pak Samad is not just a Malaysian citizen but the country's national laureate. This shows how misplaced the priorities are for the Umno-BN government. They put so much emphasis on racism and religious bigotry and forcing people to kow-tow to them that everyday issues like rising crime, weakening economy are put at the bottom of the list. Instead the duty of the police seems to be to go all out to protect Umno's self-defined position in history."

MP for Padang Serai N Surendran also criticized the bid to publicly 'humiliate' Pak Samad, as the poet is also called.

"A disgraceful and cowardly attack upon a national icon by a discredited and politically-biased IGP. Pak Samad has shown repeatedly his courage and openness in dealing with the police and has always co-operated with police investigations. In any case, this is an unnecessary political investigation against him and we demand it be dropped," Surendran told Malaysia Chronicle.

However, Khalid did not appear to have problems boasting that Pak Samad had gone into "hiding" when police went looking for him last night. Two other activists Hishammuddin Rais and Adham Adli have already been arrested over the same incident.

"If you dare to challenge the law, you have to bear the consequences," Khalid told a press conference.

MORE TO COME

Malaysia Chronicle