Moorthy goes into damage control and now praises the police

(FMT) – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator P Waytha Moorthy today lauded the police for exhibiting the highest level of professionalism in handling the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple issue.

He said this was appreciated by the Malaysian Indian community and Malaysians.

He congratulated Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun over the quick action by police in bringing normalcy at the vicinity of the temple.

“I also welcome the assurance by the IGP that a thorough investigation would be conducted and that perpetrators of the affray would be brought to justice for the sake of Malaysians at large,” he said in a statement here today.

He said the Malaysian Indian community appreciated the presence of the police at the temple vicinity as this would ensure law and order.

“Once again, my sincere gratitude to the police and the IGP for the quick action in curbing any form of violence arising from the matter.”

Waytha had been among four Cabinet members who had denounced the statement by the Subang Jaya police, on the early morning scuffle on Monday, as “false and irresponsible”.

The others were M Kulasegaran, Xavier Jayakumar, Gobind Singh Deo and deputy minister R Sivarasa.

They said it was regrettable that the Subang Jaya police had described the incident as a fight between two Indian groups.

They also noted questions over why only a single patrol car from the police force arrived at the scene at 4.15am while the Federal Reserve Unit only arrived at 6am.

“This statement is false and irresponsible. It has created much tension among the Indian community, especially in light of the late and ineffective response by the Subang Jaya police.

“We call upon the IGP to ensure that a corrective statement is immediately issued to set the facts straight,” they said, adding that the Subang Jaya police should be investigated and disciplinary action should be taken.

The MPs were referring to a press conference later by Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor who stated that about 50 Malay men had clashed with a group of Indians at the temple, based on initial investigations.

However, a screenshot of a statement made by the Subang Jaya district police on Facebook, posted around 5.40am, stated that two Indian groups were involved in the scuffle.

Checks showed that the word “Indian” was later removed from the post, which then stated that two groups were involved in the scuffle.

The MPs also called for a full and independent inquiry by the police to determine the mastermind and motive for the incident.

“Those responsible for this violence must be caught and punished. This investigation should be conducted by Bukit Aman and not left to the Subang Jaya police to handle,” the ministers said.

Police later rounded up more than 20 people for investigations regarding two nights of violence at the temple which resulted in several people being badly injured and more than 20 vehicles torched.

Federal Reserve Unit troops arrived at the temple to control the situation.

The temple is involved in a land dispute with a developer, One City Development, which owns the land. It had offered the temple an alternative site nearby with RM2.5 million in compensation to rebuild the temple.

A faction opposing the relocation and a consent judgement reached in the courts in 2014 have taken the matter to court again.