Tragic comedy at the Parliament
Dec 13th, 2007 by Tian
Our parliament has been made into a mockery by the PM. There have been a series of over-reactions by the police. I doubt it was the intention of our professional police force. The mess-up was nothing but a very incompetent IGP, eager to lick the boot of his insecure big boss.
The Government’s allergy towards public assembly has reached a state of hysteria. On 11 December (Tuesday), BERSIH attempted to hand in a memorandum at Parliament House. We came to a legitimate place to meet our representatives in Parliament. Is this not a “proper” channel to voice out?
Despite strong public objections, BN insisted on passing the Constitutional Amendment in order to extend the service of a bureaucrat. Tan Sri Rashid, the Chairperson of the EC, must be enjoying great trust from the BN. Our protest was turned a deaf ear despite the PM’s claim that he has “big ears”.
In the end, all the people who had intended to go through the parliamentary channel were rounded up before we could do anything. I was among the first to be arrested just at the entrance of Parliament.
Several photographers have posted pictures of my arrest. I used to think that we had said goodbye to the brutal manner of police arrest. However, it was sad that the PM has reverted to the dark days reminiscent of Mahathir’s era.
Our Suara Keadilan journalist Syafiq managed to capture the sequence of my arrest. I was myself shocked to watch the brutality.
Well, I will comment only based on what I read and see. From the Youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4joFEtOG5nE , I can see that during the period approximately 07:10 to 07:20 you were beaten by a man in blue with white colar shirt. You were also heard shouting, JANGAN PUKUL during the period approximately 07:20 to 07:25.
But I read in the NST, a man in blue with white colar shirt was bitten (kena gigit) by you. The following was what I read in NST: -
From: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/2107349/Article/index_html
29 arrested for taking part in illegal rally
By : Fadhal Ab Ghani, V. Shuman, V. Vasudevan, Eileen Ng and Evangeline Majawat
[PHOTO : SAVE THIS PHOTO TIAN CHUA http://www.nst.com.my/Wednesday/Frontpage/2107349/insidepix1 ]
A plainclothes policeman showing the mark on his arm. He was allegedly bitten by Tian Chua, the information chief of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested 29 members of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) and opposition parties for defying a court order and taking part in an illegal assembly yesterday.
Most of the arrests were made outside and in the compound of the Parliament House. Of the 29, 12 have been released unconditionally and the rest on police bail.
First to be nabbed was Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Tian Chua, who had, less than 24 hours earlier, been charged at the Sessions Court with taking part in an illegal assembly and released on a RM5,000 bail.
Sessions Court judge Rozana Ali Yusoff had also warned him not to take part in yesterday’s rally.
But at 10.35am yesterday, Tian Chua was the passenger in a green Proton Tiara that drove through the first police roadblock but was stopped some 10 metres from the Parliament House gates.
Tian Chua refused to get out of the vehicle and had to be dragged out by policemen. In the melee, he allegedly bit a plainclothes policeman.
By noon, 10 others, including PKR secretary-general Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, were picked up at the same spot.
Khalid was holding an impromptu press conference when police stepped in and ordered him to leave the area. He refused and was arrested.
Minutes later, five others were nabbed on Parliament grounds.
They were former Dungun MP Mustafa Ali, Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng, Wong Chin Huat from Writers Alliance of Media Independence, Mein Lor of Pusat Kommunikasi Masyarakat and Centre for Independent Journalism executive director V. Gayathry.
Earlier, Pas think-tank head Dr Zulkifli Ahmad was picked up outside the gates of Parliament House.
About 200 Bersih members then marched from Dataran Merdeka towards Jalan Parlimen but were stopped by the police, who showed them a court order barring them from gathering.
The group then proceeded to the city police headquarters in Jalan Hang Tuah where those arrested were taken.
They ignored an order to disperse from the city police public order and internal security division head ACP K. Kumaran.
The group dispersed about 2.20pm after Pas Kubang Kerian MP Salahuddin Ayub assured them that he would see to it that the detainees were released.
Why dont you find out that chap in blue who punched you when you were dragged out of the tiara? and who in the world burnt that poor tiara?
i am angry with the situation and I have been sharing to so many people on whats happening to this country.
amazing isnt it when DAMAI can just walk up to the PM and submit to him a memo? all over mainstream media news how old big but deaf ears was “looking” at the memo.
we havent been democratic for a long long time now.
Again, I comment on the video I watch @ Youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4joFEtOG5nE ). During the periods, 3:35 to 4:00 , 4:27 to 4:30, 4:35 to 4:40, 4:43 to 5:00, and 5:15 to 5:20, we can see the person in blue with white collar shirt face. We can also see that his left hand spots a watch. Take a note at his hair, etc.
In the photo which is currently in NST’s website ( i.e. http://www.nst.com.my/Wednesday/Frontpage/2107349/insidepix1 ) which I requested Tian Chua to save, i can see that a guy with a blue with white collar shirt spots a watch in his left hand.
I don’t know if Tian Chua is going to pursue this. I believe there are other matters in his mind right now.
I watched the video a couple of months ago and when I read the news about the cop biting case, it prompted me to dedicate a post which was picked up by Malaysia-Today and Malaysiakini. We can see for ourselves how ridiculous the claim of cop biting is. Bravo, Tian Chua! Thank you for standing up for our rights.