KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Police will interview a deputy minister from the MIC over the alleged assault of two senior journalists with Tamil vernacular daily, Tamil Malar.

According to The Star, the police were also investigating other individuals involved in the attack of Tamil Malar's owner, OMS Thiagaran, and chief executive editor Saraswathy Kandasamy

"We have recorded statements from several people already and will continue to call in those involved, including him," Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Sukri Kaman was quoted as saying in the report.

The deputy minister has denied involvement in the attack, claiming he had in fact attempted to "break (up) the scuffle" between the paper's staff and MIC Youth members.

Yesterday, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran issued a statement accusing the deputy minister and MIC Youth members of the alleged attack, claiming it was motivated by the paper’s report alleging theft of rentals from an MIC-owned building.

Earlier today, the Tamil newspaper uploaded surveillance footage showing the alleged attack on their Facebook page.

The nearly 10 minutes-long video starts with an office interior slowly filling with a crowd, and an argument begins at the four-minute mark, with a woman seen remonstrating.

A man then puts his arms around her and pins her to a wall. The situation then quickly devolves into a brawl.

Media groups have condemned the alleged attack, saying that violence against the media was unacceptable.

Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) said in a statement that unhappiness with a press report was not reason to be violent, adding that there were adequate channels for redress.

"The media is not the enemy of any political party. But at the same time, the media is also not a partner that can be bought or bullied," the statement said.

Separately, the Institute of Journalists Malaysia (IoJ) said that a culture of physical intimidation and violence towards journalists must not be allowed to manifest in Malaysia.

"The IoJ condemns any form of harassment on media practitioners, let alone physical assault.

The IoJ reiterates that any form of dissatisfaction with news reports should be raised by writing to the organisation or by taking legal action if necessary,” it said.