He insisted it was MCA’s Gan Ping Sieu, then Mengkibol assemblyman, who had led a protest against the town bazaar and made representations to the District Officer back them
KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — DAP’s Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong today said it was Barisan Nasional component MCA that tried to close down Kluang’s Ramadan bazaar in 2007, after Umno leaders accused his party of the deed.
Johor state executive councillor Jais Sardy and Muar MP Datuk Razali Ibrahim, both from Umno, had made the claim when suggesting that the purported incident contributed to an attack on the Kluang MP and his entourage at the bazaar last week.
“These are lies. Such an attitude also reflects Umno’s tendency towards violent behaviour,” Liew said in a statement today.
He insisted it was MCA’s Gan Ping Sieu, then Mengkibol assemblyman, who had led a protest against the town bazaar and made representations to the District Officer back them.
“I am stunned that Jais and Razali can confuse MCA with DAP. Just in case they have forgotten, let me remind them that MCA is a component party of Barisan Nasional, and it is Umno’s close partner. Whereas DAP is a member of Pakatan Harapan. I hope they don’t make the same mistake again,” Liew added.
Liew also refuted claims that he was “warned” about going to the bazaar before.
“There was no warning to me prior to the incident, and even if there was such threat of violence, it should be denounced by all peace loving Malaysians,” he added.
Liew also urged the Umno leaders to stop “insulting the intelligence of Malaysians” and said that their response indicate that they condone violent acts.
“I was blocked by the same person in July 2014 at the same bazaar when he asked me for ‘letter of permission’ (“mana surat”) to enter the bazaar. I am told that he is a keen supporter of Jais. Had Jais taken a principled stand in 2014, the 2017 incident would have been avoided. In 2014, Jais refused to condemn the incident,” he said.
“The DAP and myself strongly believe in engaging with all communities and we will not cowed by a violent acts of a small group of thugs,” he added.
Police detained two men in Johor over the incident on Saturday, and are seeking four more suspects for their investigation under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing harm.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
