The police were forced to intervene last night after goading and jeering between supporters of MIC and PKR threatened to escalate into an all-out fracas.

The incident occurred at about 9pm during a PKR ceramah at Taman Tuanku Haminah in Sungai Petani and the tense situation persisted until 11pm, by which time a Federal Reserve Unit had been placed on standby and the crowd from both sides calmed down.

Tempers flared over on several occasions but the timely intervention of the police - first by convincing the MIC crowd to tone down their shouts, and later by placing a human barrier to separate the two sets of supporters - helped to reduce the tension.

mic pkr near distance ceramah almost fight 040409 02 But both sides refused to be browbeaten - even by the police - and they continued to heckle each other, completely oblivious to the tense situation they were generating.

Only a premature end to the PKR ceramah at about 11pm - a decision made by the party's top leadership - brought an end to the situation.

The setting of PKR's ceramah was a recipe for trouble as the party's operations centre, where the event was held last night, was only two doors away from MIC's operations room.

And when PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim kicked off the ceramah at 9pm, his speech packed too much of a venom for the MIC party workers, most of whom were from the party's Youth wing from around the country.

These MIC Youth members - numbering at about 40, started raising the voices to drown out Anwar's speech, and the PKR leader's remarks that these were paid party workers only brought even angrier responses from the other side.

At this stage, the PKR ceramah had attracted a crowd of about 300, and growing.

It was Samy, MIC bashing time

By the time Anwar had finished his speech and replaced by a string of other PKR speakers, the mercury level among the MIC men did not dissipate, with them continued to jeer, boo and even call names at the opposition leaders.

PKR leaders took pains to urge their supporters to remain calm but soon the abuses from the MIC side was too much to stomach for the PKR supporters.

Strong glares were then exchanged, followed by unruly words and then more taunts hurled by both sides.

mic pkr near distance ceramah almost fight 040409 top sg petani cop surveys scene By this time, the police ( left ) had a quiet word with the MIC crowd, including Kedah Youth leader SK Suresh and national Youth leader T Mohan.

The MIC supporters were told that their gathering was illegal as it did not have a police permit.

As a result, the MIC gang became quiet for awhile but they were soon back to further taunt the PKR supporters. The police repeated their warnings a number of times, and even threatening arrests but to no avail.

As the heckling and jeering continued unabated, and with the threat of an open skirmish escalating, the police brought in a team of FRU personnel and placed them right opposite the MIC operations centre.

This too did not dampen the fighting spirit of the MIC Youth members.

At the same time, speakers at the PKR ceramah, including some well-known critics of MIC president S Samy Vellu, continued to increase the tempo by thrashing the MIC veteran leader for his failures.

bukit selambau ceramah umum sungai lalang 040409 gobala krishnan Among the PKR speakers were Penang Deputy Chief Minister (2) P Ramasamy, PKR MP for Padang Serai N Gobalakrishnan ( left ), writer M Tamilmani and PKR grassroots leader, Thangam.

The crowd by now had swelled to almost 500, including onlookers. The MIC side, now numbering about 50 people, was trying its best to ruin the PKR ceramah.

The police at times appeared to be at a loss but did just enough to stop any potential violence.

Finally, it was the premature end to the PKR ceramah which brought calm and reduced the tension.

‘We were just fighting back'

The crowd took its time to dispersed, while the MIC Youth proudly proclaimed victory over their rivals.

"They have been doing this to us and today we retaliated," said one MIC leader who was actively involved in the verbal jousting.

Most of the MIC Youth members were unapologetic over their behaviour, stating that they were responding to the personal attacks made against their leaders and party.

Two doors away, the PKR local organisers continued to pacify their supporters by asking them to respect the law, remain calm and not to be provoked.

"Remember, we rule this state and we have to provide an example of being a good citizen. Let us disperse now and we will gather again at another time," announced one party worker over the megaphone.

Eyewitnesses said this was the first time such a stand-off had happened here since campaigning started on March 29.

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