A PKR assemblyperson has questioned the police if there were any mala fide intention on their part when sending him an official letter requiring him to provide his statement at the North Seberang Perai district police headquarters yesterday.

NONE Bukit Tengah rep Ong Chin Wen (left) was asked to give his statement related to a ceramah (political talk) on June 30 at a PAS operation centre in Pongsu Seribu.

The letter, he claimed, contained several mistakes and was posted in Kedah. Ong was required to be present at the police HQ last Tuesday, but only received it two days after the date.

He questioned why the letter was posted in Kedah, a neighbouring state, when it could have been done in Kepala Batas, Penang to reach him earlier.

“If we fail to attend this session, police can secure our attendance. If the letter had been purposely delayed, this can be seen as a mala fide way to secure a warrant to require me to go to police,” he said.

The event was a last-minute affair to launch the Bersih 2.0 campaign in the north as Penang police had secured a court order to halt two state government events in Sri Nibong and Seberang Jaya.

NONE Bersih 2.0, which calls for electoral reforms, organised a big rally in Kuala Lumpur on July 9, where 1,667 protestors were arrested, and all were released on the same night.

In Penang, the two supposedly state government events expected to hear Pakatan Rakyat leaders provide information on the latest policies and programmes.

During the ceramah in Pongsu Seribu, police arrived at the site at about 10pm, causing a massive traffic jam.

There was a two-hour stand-off between PAS supporters and the 100-odd police personnel, who included Federal Reserve Unit and Light Strike Force personnel, but no untoward incident occured.

The event that night where Ong and several others including PAS leaders spoke, ended peacefully.

Speakers accused of making 'seditious' statements

But a report was lodged by the Kepala Batas officer-in-charge chief Inspector Subki Ahmad at 1.20am the next day, accusing the speakers of making ‘seditious’ statements.

NONE “The report lodged against me contained allegations that it was related to the Bersih 2.0 rally; I felt the police asked me questions to which they already knew the answers,” said Ong.

“Police asked if the ceramah had a permit; I was also asked about the content of my speech but all I told them was that I would answer these questions in court,” he added.

Ong then criticised the police for several mistakes in the letter issued to him and Kuala Lumpur-based NGO Lim Lian Geok Cultural Development Centre president Toh Kin Woon.

Toh, who was former Gerakan Machang Bubuk assemblyperson and an ex-state exco member during Barisan Nasional’s leadership in Penang, had also attended the questioning session but decined to comment on the matter.

Ong said that the letter issued to him was dated July 3 and posted in Kedah a week later, on July 10.

It had required Ong to provide his statement on July 12 but the former could not make it as he had only received the letter on July 14.

“July 12 was a Tuesday, but the letter said it was a Wednesday. They had also spelt my name wrongly,” he said.

“As for Toh, the letter addressed him as the former Bukit Mertajam MP. In my letter, they also mentioned my assistant Amizuddin Ahmat as a youth leader in PKR when he is no longer one,” he added.

Meanwhile, Penang Suaram coordinator Ong Jing Cheng said the police has caused disruption in the lives of citizens when they are questioned over their basic rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

Ong said he totally disapproves of the government using the police as a tool to achieve its aim.

“These basic rights apply to every citizen... it is also very wrong for the government to use the police as a tool,” he added.