Activists claim threatened with arrest during 'search for PM' in KKB

 

KKB BY-ELECTION | A group of activists from the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) have claimed that they were stopped by the police in Kuala Kubu Baharu and threatened with arrest.

The group was at the site of the by-election campaign as part of its “search for missing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim” and according to activist Wong Yan Ke, the police allegedly warned them that they would be forcibly arrested if they refused to cooperate.

After being stopped for about 20 minutes and answering some brief questions, they were permitted to leave safely and proceeded to the Kedai Makanan Basikal Stopover where they had intended to call a press conference.

TBH-ADA chairperson Ng Yap Hwa and Teoh Lee Lan, the younger sister of the deceased Beng Hock, were also present during the incident.

TBH-ADA and the Teoh family have been requesting to meet Anwar to discuss the death of Beng Hock. They said they have been unable to secure a meeting since he took office in 2022.

Wong later told reporters that the police prevented the group from distributing leaflets and putting up posters.

“The police considered this illegal and demanded that we remove the posters. Election Commission enforcement officers also said that this was illegal.

“We emphasised that we are not candidates, nor do we belong to any political party. We are just ordinary people, not bound by election laws,” he said.

He added that the public has constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression, which means they can promote the initiatives they want to undertake.

“As for why we came here, it’s because this is the best way to communicate with the voters. At the same time, politicians will come here, so we are here to find politicians,” said Wong, who is also Bersih deputy chairperson.

Group may still get arrested

The activist said the police did not rule out arresting the group later.

“A police personnel said we would be forcibly arrested if we were unwilling to cooperate. After that, he communicated with his superiors for about 10 minutes.

“Finally, his superior said they would see how it goes later, we might still be arrested.”

According to Wong, the police also checked their MyKads. - Mkini