KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan was arrested at 6pm today at the Dang Wangi police headquarters over a protest outside Parliament last week.
PSM secretary-general M. Sivaranjani said Arutchelvan surrendered himself after being ordered to report to the police.
“This arrest is unlawful and constitutes an abuse of police power,” she told FTM.
The protest on Wednesday involved more than 100 plantation workers from Perak, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kedah and Johor, who marched from Taman Tugu to Parliament to submit a memorandum and draft bill seeking to make it compulsory for estates to provide housing for local plantation workers.
It was reported that police initially blocked the group from assembling outside the Parliament gates but later allowed them to hand the documents to Deputy Law and Institutional Reform Minister M. Kulasegaran and Opposition Chief Whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
A scuffle broke out at the gates, which Arutchelvan later said was a ‘misunderstanding’.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus later said an investigation had been opened into a scuffle during the handover, which allegedly left a police officer injured.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 353 of the Penal Code for using criminal force to deter a public servant from carrying out his duties, and Section 427 for mischief.
Fadil had also referred to a video uploaded on TikTok showing participants of the gathering “provoking and forcefully breaching” police officers on duty at Jalan Parlimen. Police had summoned Arutchelvan the following day to record his statement.
Arutchelvan was reported saying that he and several rally participants had a ‘misunderstanding’ outside the Parliament.
During the scuffle, he was also reported to have fallen but did not sustain any serious injuries.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
