Two arrested in Black Democracy 2.0 march
The ‘Black Democracy 2.0' march organised by PKR Youth outside Parliament today to protest the suspension of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and three other parliamentarians, was halted by the police and two protestors were arrested.
The ‘Black Democracy 2.0' march organised by PKR Youth outside Parliament today to protest the suspension of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and three other parliamentarians, was halted by the police and two protestors were arrested.
The detained are former PKR Youth information chief Lee Khai Loon and Padang Serai PKR division information chief G Pravin, who is also the son of local parliamentarian N Gobalakrishnan.
They were brought to Dang Wangi police station for questioning. The two were later released at 6.15pm.
The group of 20 PKR Youth members and supporters, led by its chief Shamsul Iskandar and Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff, had initially planned to march from Parliament building to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) headquarters about 2km away.
The march was in protest of Parliament’s decision to deny Anwar his right of defence in the rights and privileges committee proceedings and the parliamentary motion that suspended his post for six months for claiming the government's '1Malaysia' slogan was derived from '1 Israel'.
Besides Anwar, three other opposition MPs including Azmin Ali (Gombak), R Sivarasa (Subang) and Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor) were suspended for six months for criticising the rights and privileges committee.
Police used 'excessive force'
Around 50 police and light strike force (LSF) members stopped the march about half way to their destination, warning that it was an illegal assembly under the Police Act.
The PKR Youth members maintained their democratic right to march peacefully and continued on their journey, resulting in a minor scuffle with the police and in the arrest of the two.
After negotiations, the police eventually allowed three members from the group - Shamsul, Yusmadi and PKR Youth deputy chief Khairul Annuar Ahmad Zainuddin - to proceed to Suhakam while the others were barred.
Lee (above) complained of the use of excessive force while under detention in one of the police trucks.
"I was pushed to the ground and my leg has injured," said Lee.
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