Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) deputy chairman S Arutchelvan and two other men were arrested today for opposing demolition work at Kampung Jalan Papan in Klang.
Arutchelvan told FMT he is being held at the Klang Selatan police headquarters along with residents’ representative M Logeswaran and activist M Mythreyar.
The trio was reportedly arrested under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing civil servants from performing their duties.
However, Arutchelvan said they were only trying to halt demolition work on houses that had not yet been fully vacated, as families were still inside when the demolition took place.
He also claimed that one of the activists was arrested simply for requesting that the police postpone the demolition by two more days.
He said the arrests as unnecessary and an abuse of power, adding they were merely enforcing the Selangor government’s order that only vacant houses should be demolished.
“For me, it’s an open-and-shut case. I think they were just arresting us so they can go ahead and demolish the houses. I don’t see any other reason for holding us,” he said.
PSM secretary-general M Sivaranjini also said the arrests were unnecessary as the matter could have been resolved by the state government.
“We are disappointed with the government. Essentially, they have washed their hands of this issue,” she said..
Meanwhile, former Klang MP Charles Santiago urged the public to gather at the Klang Selatan police headquarters to show solidarity with Arutchelvan and the two others.
In a series of posts on X, Santiago called for their release, saying their only “crime” was defending the homes the state government had promised to protect.
On Nov 8, FMT reported that PSM and Santiago had urged the state government to halt the demolition of vacant houses at the village for a redevelopment project, amid fears that some 100 families would be displaced.
The state government had stated on Oct 23 that only vacant houses and business premises would be demolished. However, on Oct 27, the residents received a fresh notice to vacate their homes.
They have since appealed to menteri besar Amirudin Shari to intervene and halt the demolition.
