Nine Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members were arrested this morning in connection with a protest against the demolition of three houses and two shophouses located near the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang.

PSM secretary-general A Sivarajan, who was among those arrested, told Malaysiakini that the demolition ordered by Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) took place around 11am today.

The demolition of the houses, occupied by former airport mosque committee members, was carried out by authorities from the Petaling District and Land Office and the Shah Alam City Council.

“We started gathering at around 7am and tried to negotiate with the authorities. They didn’t listen and the demolition went on anyway,” Sivarajan said.

He said the police eventually proceeded to arrest the protestors, although they were not informed of their exact offence at the time.

According to a media alert, the eight others arrested were PSM Youth chief Khalid Mohd Ismath, PSM Youth members Sharan Raj and Paranjothi KS Joma, Subang PSM member T Mohan, along with mosque quarters residents Ahmad Ridzuan, Ahmad Fauzi, Hafizudin and Mohamad Anaqy.

It is understood that all nine have been taken to the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.

Sivarajan claimed that Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali failed to respond to calls for him to intervene in the demolition order issued by MAHB, which is reportedly being carried out for development purposes.

“The statement (from Azmin) never came (as at this morning),” he added.

PSM central committee member S Arutchelvan added that the Selangor government insisted it was powerless to intervene, despite the issue involving state land. 

Arutchelvan also said today's demolition leaves 17, including workers from the two shophouses levelled, without a home.

In March this year, online portal Berita Daily reported that two former committee members of the Subang Airport mosque had submitted a memorandum to Azmin, urging him not to allow MAHB, as a private company, to use Petaling District and Land Office staff in the demolition process.

At the time, it was also reported that the pair, who had been committee members for two decades, were instructed to vacate their homes without fair compensation from MAHB.

All nine protestors were released this evening on police bail.