Police ready for GE14 — IGP
KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) is ready for the coming 14th General Election.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said all his men were ready and preparations for the election were moving smoothly.
“I will sit down with my men for a meeting to go through the process, and I can assure you that we are fully ready and prepared,” he said during his working visit at the state police headquarters in Kepayan yesterday.
Also present were Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din and Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Razarudin Husain.
Meanwhile, Khalid said the police had detained 13 people in connection with the “Nothing to Hide 2” forum ruckus held in Shah Alam on Sunday.
“We have detained 13 people for rioting and we are currently looking for others involved in the incident.
“The police have also opened investigation papers and if offence was committed, we will refer it to the Attorney General for legal action,” he said.
Khalid added that the police were also investigating claims that certain parties had paid the people to start the riot.
“As I mentioned last night, the organisers have to be fully responsible for what happened because under the Peaceful Assembly Act, it clearly states that the organisers have to make sure of the safety of the event and those attending the event, so don’t blame Umno or the police.
“Yes, the police were present but our personnel were outside the hall. We took care of security outside the hall and not inside the hall as we were not invited to provide security within the venue,” said Khalid.
The Nothing To Hide 2.0 forum where former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was supposed to give a talk, was suspended after chaos broke out.
Objects were thrown towards the stage where Dr Mahathir and other opposition politicians were attending the forum, forcing them to leave the hall escorted.
Police have detained three suspects believed to be involved in the fracas.