Nine held over house demolition protest
> They were obstructing civil servants from carrying out duties, says cop
PETALING JAYA: Nine people, including activists from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), were arrested yesterday for protesting the demolition of three houses and two shops at Masjid Lapangan Terbang Subang yesterday.
Petaling Jaya district police chief ACP Mohd Zani Che Din said they were arrested because they were obstructing civil servants from carrying out their duties.
“We won’t be seeking a remand order, we will record their statements and release them on bail,” he said, adding that they all were in the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.
A video of the fracas in which enforcement officers from the Shah Alam City Council, the Petaling district land office and protesters were engaged in a tussle had gone viral in just a few hours.
The video shows a commotion where the officers are trying to get a tractor to pass through to start the demolition. The video ends with a few men being handcuffed by the police.
Among them were five PSM members, including its secretary-general A. Sivarajan and Youth chief Khalid Ismath.
The others were four villagers.
The demolition of the houses, which were occupied by former airport mosque committee members, was carried out at 11am yesterday.
Zani said the officials were following a court order to demolish the houses.
“This operation was carried out following numerous delays in the past.”
He said all the residents’ belongings were cleared before the demolition began and there were no injuries sustained by any party.
He added that they would be investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant to discharge his public functions.