Don't let Zahid get away with it, Guan Eng told

GEORGE TOWN - The state government should step up and challenge in court the declaration by the Home Ministry that the Penang Voluntary Patrol is illegal, a DAP leader in the state said.

Tanjung MP Ng Wei Aik, who is the unit’s former deputy chairman, said that the arrest of the 158 PPS members during the Merdeka Day celebration should be deemed unlawful and that they should be released unconditionally.

In a Facebook posting, Ng also said that the declaration under Section 5(1) of the Societies Act 1966 that the PPS was illegal starting from Nov 3 should not have a retrospective effect.

“The police have put the cart before the horse,” he said.

The Penang state government had to challenge in court the unlawful arrest by the police and wrongful declaration by the Home Ministry, he added.

He also pointed out that its properties could not be handed over to the Insolvency Department.

“Those are state assets and belong to the state,” he said.

The state government has an allocation for PPS activities in each constituency and also gave each of the arrested members RM400 for the two days they spent in police lock-ups after their arrest immediately after the Merdeka Day parade.

Meanwhile, Penang police chief SDCP Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said he was waiting instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers before deciding when to charge the 158 PPS members.

“The investigation papers on PPS are still with the A-G’s Chambers.

“We will wait for their instructions before taking any further action against PPS members and leaders,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Regarding the declaration that PPS was illegal and the proposed seizure of the organisation’s assets, SDCP Abdul Rahim said that the matter was under the minister’s purview.

“It is under the jurisdiction of the minister,” he said. -ANN