Thesun 2009-09-03 Page01 Probe Completed

œ Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)

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No. 4837 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Thursday September 3, 2009

TELLING IT AS IT IS

» Perak PR reps convene sitting in Ipoh hotel pg2

www.sun2surf.com

» Going international pg16

Glow

PM: LET POLICE AND A-G DECIDE IF COW-HEAD PROTEST SEDITIOUS

by Charles Ramendran, Hemananthani Sivanandam and Husna Yusop [email protected]

PUTRAJAYA: The prime minister said the public should leave it to the police and Attorney-General to decide if demonstrators who displayed a cow’s head while protesting against the relocation of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam had violated the Sedition Act. “However, for most Malaysians, it was a very regretful incident. The police and A-G will decide whether the action of the protesters is an offence under the Sedition Act,” Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday after announcing the winner of the 1Malaysia songwriting contest. Police have completed their investigation into last Friday’s protest by a group of 50 residents of Section 23, Shah Alam. District police chief ACP Noor Azam Jamaluddin told theSun yesterday the investigation papers of the case, classified under sedition and illegal assembly, have been submitted to the A-G. Police received more than 50 reports on the protest outside State Secretariat building and recorded statements from 56 people, including the protesters. Confirming this, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said police have identified those responsible. He said the police took 60 statements over three days to single out the culprits. Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, who was contacted at 10.30pm yesterday, told theSun the AG had directed

the investigating officer of the case to gather more information and record further statements from several witnesses. “We will comply with the AG’s instructions and resubmit the investigation papers,” he said. The protest has been condemned by political leaders from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. Yesterday, Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, Klang MP Charles Santiago and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad met with Noor Azam for about 30 minutes to get an update on the investigation. “The OCPD told us the case is being probed for sedition and illegal assembly and has been completed. He also told us action would be taken against those who tried to exploit and sensationalise the incident,” Jeyakumar said. Khalid Samad said the police should have arrested the protesters instead of turning a blind eye to their despicable action. He also said he had spoken to the residents who had no objections to the construction of the temple in their area and that they had been threatened by the protesters. He also refuted claims there are more than 8,000 Hindu temples and shrines in Shah Alam. The actual number is only 14, he said. “There are six registered temples and eight which are unregistered. As for mosques and surau, there are 70 in Shah Alam. This is a fair ratio considering the number of Muslims and Hindus,” he said. In Putrajaya, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the Section 23

residents will meet Malaysia Hindu Sangam Council officials again to resolve the relocation issue. He said the two parties met on Monday and would meet again tonight to find an amicable solution (see also page 4). “The residents have taken a proactive approach of meeting the council and maybe they will come up with a joint statement together,” said Hishammuddin after a closed-door meeting with the residents in his office. Among those in the meeting was Section 23 Action Committee chairman Ahmad Mahyuddin Abdul Manaf, who opposes the construction of the temple, and Section 23 Residents Committee chairman Zainuddin Md Yusoff. Hishammuddin said those present at the meeting said they had no intention at all to use the “cow’s head” or “incite racial sentiments”. However, he said the protesters would have to face the consequences of their action. “They are not going to get off scot-free, they just felt victimised because they felt there is another valid explanation but they have no intention on their part to cause racial divide,” he said, adding they only wanted “their voices to be heard”. He said the incident was not the first as there were other similar incidents, citing the example in Malacca where a pig’s head was wrapped in an Umno flag and placed in front of the party’s building.

Welcome to KL’s wet land office by Tim Leonard [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: It was literally a wet day inside the ground floor of the Kuala Lumpur/ Federal Territory Land and Mines Office on Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin yesterday. A burst water pipe flooded the premises housing the land registration department, soaking documents. It was discovered when the staff reported for work. Workers used

electric irons to dry the documents. The department is a division in the Land Office where documents of land in the city, valued at billions of ringgit, are stored. The department also stores land auction files and is responsible for safeguarding the documents. theSun found the department closed yesterday and the public were directed to the first floor. Behind a closed door, several workers sat on the floor,ironing the soaked documents while others were sorting dried papers (see picture

on page 4). Land and Mines director Hasim Ismail said there was no reason for land and property owners to worry because “all the soaked documents have been salvaged”. He said damaged documents would be rectified and the public will be attended to on the first floor. “Business is as usual, and those who have documents with us need not worry. Not all documents were damaged. We also have ways to trace whatever information we need,” he said when contacted.

ZULKIFLI ERSAL/THESUN

Probe completed

Salad dressing ... People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) Asia Pacific senior campaigner Ashley Fruno made more than a fashion statement in a lettuce gown in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday. Her head-turning stunt at the entrance to the Pavilion shopping mall was to promote the campaign’s tagline Let Vegetarianism Grow on You. It took 40 lettuce heads to make the mermaid-tailed gown. “Peta always chooses something provocative and eyecatching to promote a message,” she said. “It’s ridiculous, fun and it gets people’s attention.” Fruno stood at the busy area for about 30 minutes before the shopping mall’s security guards dispersed the crowd of reporters and photographers who had gathered around her.