MARIA, 11 OTHERS ARRESTED
CRACKDOWN: Bersih office in PJ raided; cops looking for 10 others
POLICE yesterday detained 12 people from Bersih and the Red Shirts, ahead of the planned rallies in Kuala Lumpur today. They include Bersih
2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah. The cops are also looking for Red Shirts leader Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos.
58 roads in 10 areas to be closed from 7am to prevent violent confrontations
White Shirts and Black Shirts add to the tinderbox
ADAY before two planned rallies deemed illegal by the authorities, police arrested at least 11 people involved in both the Bersih 5 and Red Shirts gatherings.
Sources said orders were received for 22 people to be arrested in total, but as at press time, only those 12 had been picked up.
Most notable among those arrested were Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah, with Red Shirts leader Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos among those whom police were looking for, said a source.
The source told the New Straits Times that Jamal was believed to have gone into hiding for the night.
In fact, Jamal had been slated to meet with Red Shirts supporters at Masjid Negara yesterday afternoon, but did not turn up.
Police also raided the Bersih headquarters in Petaling Jaya yesterday, citing investigations under Section 124(C) of the Penal Code, for allegedly committing activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
Also among those arrested were Bersih secretary Mandeep Singh; DAP’s Anthony Loke, Ronnie Liu, Jimmy Wong and Lee Khai Ming; Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s S. Arutchelvan; activists Luqman Nul Hakim Zul Razali and Muhammad Safwan Anang; Red Shirts vice-president Major Razali Zakaria and another leader, Ariffin Abu Bakar, who goes by the name Ayah Ipin Keramat. Ariffin is also a leading member of the Black Shirts movement.
It was understood that police were in the midst of arresting student activist Anis Syafiqah Mohd Yusof at her home in the city.
In a statement, Bersih 2.0 said the investigation was carried out in relation to Bersih being allegedly funded by Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF).
Maria, Bersih deputy chairman Shahrul Aman and several committee members were in the building during the raid.
“The police were later joined by four officers from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, who assisted in collecting evidence. In total, 10 laptops (including chargers), pen drives, hard disks, payroll files, bank statements and documents pertaining to the May 18 Foundation were seized,” it said, adding that during the twohour raid, police had also taken several pictures of the office.
At the end of the raid, police detained Maria and Mandeep to assist investigations.
Maria was said to have been arrested for allegedly committing activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy, while Mandeep was being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting.
Earlier, police arrested Loke at a hotel in the city centre.
City police chief Datuk Amar Singh confirmed the arrests, but declined to elaborate.
It was rumoured that Loke was detained to assist investigations into a speech he made at the Pakatan Harapan convention last week, in which he allegedly called for the removal of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
It was understood Liu was detained outside the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman for causing provocation with intent to cause riot. Luqman was detained in Genting Sempah under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting.