Afraid of being targeted by the police, residents in the town of Jinjang in the Kepong parliamentary constituency quietly took down their white flags despite still being in need of help.
Speaking to Malaysiakini today, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said he received information that there was a wooden house in Jinjang that raised a white flag yesterday.
When he visited the family and sent some food today, he found that the white flag had been taken down.
According to Lim, the family removed the white flag because they were worried about being fined by the police.
"Someone had told them that the police would issue them a summon, so they took it down in the early morning.
"Yesterday, it was reported that residents in Kuantan, Pahang, were asked to take down their flags, and the news has spread swiftly online," he said.
The DAP lawmaker added that there were three people living in the wooden house who pleaded for assistance.
A middle-aged male breadwinner taking care of two elderly females there, lost his job and income during the Covid-19 pandemic. This prompted them to raise the white flag yesterday.
Lim believes that raising white flags to plead for assistance is definitely not an offence.
He later lamented on Twitter that this is not the time to stick up for the government's "face" when the grassroots are suffering to put food on the table.
"If I had received the info a bit later, this family may not have been able to receive any help. I feel sorry for them. Under the current situation, there are still people out there who do not want to help those in need.
"If we did not manage to help, they will continue to suffer quietly… I'm sure there are people out there who are afraid that actions would be taken if they raised their white flags.
"Please don't intimidate those who are suffering. It is a time for us to help each other, not a time to take care of the government's face!" Lim said.
If anyone faces harassment or punishment by enforcement officers, the parliamentarian urged them to ask for help and to not be afraid.
Pahang police deny making threats
Yesterday, PKR's Teruntum assemblyperson Sim Chon Siang said Kuantan residents complained that police officers ordered them to take down their white flags and threatened them with an RM50,000 fine.
Pahang police chief Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf later denied the force had threatened the residents. He said police had "advised" them to take down the flags because hanging them at an electric pole is not appropriate.
Ramli also clarified that there are no laws or regulations barring people to raise a white flag and he has issued an instruction that no action should be taken if such flags are flown at appropriate places.
However, when contacted today, Sim said that residents affirmed police ordered them to take down their flags, including a flag that was flown at the pergola in front of their houses.
"The residents felt they were wronged because the police, in fact, ordered them to take down the flags. There were five to six people who heard them saying so," he told Malaysiakini.
Sim added that the residents are going to lodge police reports at the Kuantan District police headquarters today in order to put their complaints on record. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.