DAP's Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa, Johor DAP Youth leader Tan Hong Pin and four others were arrested and were brought to Taman Pelangi police station, Johor, in another episode of police action against any hint of ‘Bersih’ activity.

johor dap arrested by police bersih 030711 01 When contacted, however, Er denied their presence and actions in the Taman Pelangi market this morning had anything to do with the Bersih 2.0 rally planned for July 9.

Er said he and Tan were only carrying out a ‘gotong royong’ cleanliness campaign with the theme "Negara Bersih, Rakyat bertuah" (‘A clean nation, a fortunate people’).

The six were eventually released on bail at 10.25pm, with their Berish T-shirts confiscated, and are required to report back to the station on July 7. No charge has been made against them as yet.

Bernama meanwhile reported the flyers being distributed as contained the disclaimer 'this activity is not connected to the illegal street demonstrations planned to be held at 2pm on July 9 in Kuala Lumpur', besides inviting the public to clean up their homes and the word "bersih" (clean) in bold and block letters all over the flyers.

"I think the police are (being) too sensitive. Our theme is Negara Bersih, Rakyat Bertuah , but they didn't accept the explanation,” said the DAP leader.

johor dap arrested by police bersih 030711 02 It didn’t help that the yellow shirts they were wearing were designed differently from the Bersih T-shirts that had landed more than 100 political and social activists under arrest the past week nation-wide.

"We also mentioned that the campaign is not related to Bersih gathering in Kuala Lumpur on 9 July," said Er, but the 20 police officers who arrived at the market soon after they got wind of the group’s activity were not convinced.

The others arrested were Johor DAP's youth vice-chief Jason Josob, state committee member Chen Kah Eng, Taman Bukit Indah branch secretary Yan Boon Meng, and political education assistant-director Tang Chee Kia.

NONE When contacted, Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau said the six DAP members are being investigated Section 4(1) of Sediton Act.

Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act relates to those persons suspected of being involved in acts of sedition, or having uttered seditious words, printed, published, sold, offered for sale, distributed or reproduced or imported any seditious publication.

Boo ( left ), who is also Skudai assemblyperson, said Tan was brought by the police to the the former's service center in Skudai where campaign leaflets had been printed.

"The police came to my service center to check our photocopy machine, because Tan had told them the leaflet were printed from the machine there."

Johor Baharu South police chief ACP Zainuddin Yaacob confirmed their arrests and said that in addition to the Sedition Act, the case was being investigated under the Societies Act and Printing Presses and Publications Act and Sedition Act.

"We will be applying for a remand order on them," he told Bernama   when contacted.

7 nabbed in Kuala Terengganu

In Kuala Terengganu, meanwhile, police arrested seven people including Dungun PAS Youth chief Syeikh Mohamad Hanafi Abdul Aziz in connection with July 9.

According to Terengganu police chief Jamshah Mustafa, 38-year-old

Hanafi was detained in Jalan Alor Tembesu, Dungun, at about 6pm on Thursday after he stopped police from taking down rally banners he had put up.

"Five others were arrested for distributing flyers on a ceramah planned at a mosque in Dungun after Friday prayers, and police also detained a varsity student in Bukit Payong for possession of flyers and T-shirts for the rally to be held in Kuala Lumpur," he told a news conference in Kuala Terengganu today.

Following the arrests, police confiscated banners, flyers, T-shirts and other paraphernalia used to promote the demonstrations.