Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos got a bloody nose today after he was allegedly punched in the face.

Jamal and his red-shirts posse were pursuing Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin as she and PKR members promoted the Nov 19 Bersih rally at the Ampang Point mall.

A scuffle then ensued during which a blow allegedly landed on his face.

The red-shirts then tussled with police personnel who were blocking the exit way, and at least three of them have been nabbed.

During the scuffle, Jamal can be heard shouting "Polis tumbuk saya (the police punched me)"

However, he later told reporters that "one of Zuraida's boys" had hit him.

He claimed Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin had given them instructions to do so.

"I am not happy. I will chase them harder than I announced. I will cincang (chop) them," he said, while gestulating with a chopping motion.

Conflicting accounts

When contacted, Zuraida said she did not know about Jamal getting hit.

"I was running away from him so I don't know what happened. I will talk to my boys to ask them what went on," she told Malaysiakini.

Ampang PKR elections director Nallan Dhanabalan, who claimed he witnessed the incident, said plainclothes officers hit Jamal.

"Jamal was tugging at a plain clothes officer's necklace, and it snapped. Then other officers came in and started to wallop him," Nallan said.

He said the incident occurred when police were trying to seperate the two groups.

In Jamal's report to the Ampang Jaya police, he said he was punched during a confrontation with individuals wearing Bersih T-shirts. 

"In that confrontation there was a war of words and people were getting pushed around.

"Suddenly I was hit. I was punched right in the nose by someone wearing a Bersih T-shirt from the right," Jamal said in the report.

PKR gives hampers, rice in pro-Bersih convoy

Zuraida, who is also Ampang MP, and her convoy visited several residential areas in her constituency to whip up support for the Bersih 5 rally this Saturday.

At two stops - Tasek Permai and the Tasek Tambahan PKNS flats - Zuraida was seen giving out goodies, including bags of rice, to residents while encouraging them to join the rally.

However, the situation became tense at Tasek Tambahan when Jamal and his red-shirts arrived.

The two groups were separated by the police and a verbal sparring match ensued.

Jamal demanded to see Zuraida, accusing her of having paid about 40 over "volunteers" to be on her entourage.

"Why give them only RM20? Give them RM200, or RM300 then it would be worth it," Jamal said.

The red-shirts also chanted "Zuraida penipu (liar)" among other insults.

Zuraida, however, ignored them, proceeding to hand out goodies before leaving Tasek Tambahan for Dewan Orang Ramai Sri Tanjung.

Jamal makes 'pretty boys' remark

Jamal and the red-shirts followed them there, but was blocked from entering by riot police.

However, he refused to give up. He approached the hall through an adjoining pre-school. Although separated by a wall, Jamal began taunting the yellow-clad PKR group.

Among other insults, Jamal and his men accused Zuraida's followers of not being heterosexuals.

"There are many pretty boys among them," he noted, before leading the red-shirts to chant "LGBT".

The PKR crowd retaliated with selawat (Muslim hymns), to which Jamal retorted that he prayed they would return to the right path.

Things cooled down when both the red-shirt and PKR members took a break for zohor (noon) prayers at the nearby Masjid Jameil Huda.

After prayers, Zuraida approached Jamal, and the two had a polite exchange during which the Umno man said he would follow the convoy for as long as they don Bersih colours.

"If you change clothes (into a PKR shirt), we'll stop," Jamal said.