More Bersih-related arrests
By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: The number of arrests in connection with the Bersih 2.0 rally has mounted with 14 more people being hauled up by the police in Sungai Siput this morning. Among them were DAP-Jalong assemblywoman Leong Mee Meng and PKR-Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang.
The group had just started distributing miniatures of the national flag in the Sungai Siput market at 9am today when police entered the area 15 minutes later. Eight members of the group were clad in the yellow Bersih T-shirts while the rest wore DAP’s red Ubah T-shirts.
“The police ordered us to stop distributing the flags because we were supporting Bersih which isn’t allowed,” Leong told FMT when contacted.
“We asked them what was wrong in demonstrating our love for the country by handing out the flags.”
“They repeated that support for Bersih isn’t allowed, to which we asked if we were then expected to support “kotor”. That was when they arrested us.”
Leong claimed that 20 policemen were present and shuttled the group out of the area to angry shouts from the public. The police attempted to handcuff one member of the group but relented after protests from the others.
“We’re now waiting in the Sungai Siput police station for our statements to be recorded,” she said. “The police have already confiscated all our flags. But this is really too much. We were not doing anything that was disrupting the peace.”
