‘Trespassers’ were invited, says Harakah

SHAH ALAM: Harakah Daily has denied its three staff members trespassed into the official residence of the Selangor Mentri Besar, claiming they were invited for a meeting.

Following the arrest of its three staff members last Friday (Jan 5), it said the trio had actually been invited for a meeting to discuss the land acquisition in Taman Sungai Sireh for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

“The meeting to discuss the matter with members of the public was conducted at the official residence of the Mentri Besar on Jan 5 after public pressure.

“Among those who have been vocal on the matter is Suffi Kamari, who is a Harakah staff member.

“What happened that day was that Suffi Kamari and two other Harakah staff members had been invited by Kampung Sungai Sireh residents to attend the meeting under the capacity of Gerakan Pertubuhan Ummah which is an NGO that has been strongly championing the rights of the residents,” said Harakah Daily chief operating officer Nadzir Helmi in a statement.

The three men, he said, had attended the meeting until its completion but were then arrested for supposedly trespassing.

The arrests, said Nadzir, had besmirched Harakah’s image and reputation.

“A report was lodged today by the three staff members,” he said.

Shah Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim confirmed that a report had been lodged.

“A report was received and it was more towards a denial. We will complete our investigation papers and forward this to the deputy public prosecutor for further action this afternoon,” he said.

Last Friday, three men, including a journalist, were arrested after allegedly trespassing into the Mentri Besar’s official residence here and taken to the police station in Section 6, Shah Alam.