Police yesterday dismantled the stage meant for a Selangor government function at the Batu Caves scheduled to start at 4pm today.

khalid ibrahim 301009 However Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, today, at 4.15pm, informed Selangor exco Xavier Jayakumar that the function could proceed - but no stage was allowed.

"This shows the level of disrespect that (the police) have for the MB," Jayakumar said.

He added that the disruption has cost them at least RM120,000 in losses, but the event will go on.

At  the function, Selangor menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim ( right ) will hand out RM1 million to Tamil schools and Hindu temples.

“The Gombak OCPD (Abdul Rahim Abdullah) and other top  police officers came at 6.30pm and told us it was for safety reasons,” said program coordinator and Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) councilor, George Gunaraj.

However, he claimed that Abdul Rahim had given verbal approval during meetings organising the function, to be attended by Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim.

Selangor exco Xavier Jayakumar said that they also received approval from the MPS.

He added that the police said the event could be a “security threat” as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is making a visit to Batu Caves in commemoration of the festival.

The Prime Minister’s arrival is scheduled at 9pm and will coincide with Khalid’s event.

“What do the police mean by security threat? When was there ever a security threat in Batu Caves? So what if Najib is coming?” he said, adding that the police act was politically motivated.

Gunaraj said that the police did not relent, even after they offered to postpone the MB’s event until after Najib had left.

“The police didn’t leave room for negotiation, and told us to move to Kampung Melayu Amaniah, which is unfair. Why should we move so far from the event?” he said.

Written rejection

Jayakumar added that Abdul Rahim never indicated that Najib was also scheduled to come.

According to Abdul Rahim, the police had sent a written rejection of permit for the stage on Jan 26, and did not get a response from MPS.

NONE “They could have appealed but chose not to. I have even discussed this with the MPS president (Zainal Abidin Azim)” he said, referring to the application that was lodged two weeks ago.

He also refuted claims that he had agreed to the stage during meetings and said that “there is no such thing as a verbal approval” and that permits must be in writing.  

Abdul Rahim added that the stage which is located approximately 500 metres away from the temple, will obstruct the chariots, and has displaced stalls run by the disabled.

The Selangor state event was meant to be a “glamourous affair”, with pop stars from India flown in, Jayakumar added.  

State assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong has called the act as move to “sabotage an international tourism event”.

"The actions of the police yesterday have created an international embarrassment to the nation, while also smacking of sabotage for

political reasons.

"The organisers and the state government have been very cooperative with the police, and to be given such treatment in

return is highly unprofessional of them."

Slight scuffle

There was a slight scuffle between police and organisers at 9.40pm last night.

Gunaraj said the minor scuffle was actually between one of the contractors and the police, who had told the workers to take everything down.

The sound system was also removed, along with the stage. At 11pm, police parked their truck in front of the area where the stage and insisted the event be canceled. 

MPS put up their banners regardless, and Khalid Ibrahim has confirmed that he would still come at 11pm. "The event will go ahead regardless. We're thinking of putting the MB on a sky lift," he said.

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar visited the site at 12.30pm today and was in talks with the IGP Musa Hassan and state secretary Ramli Mahmud.