KUALA NERUS, Feb 17 — Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman today denied that he deliberately caused provocation by passing through the Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters’ area after the nomination of candidates for the by-election of the Semenyih State Constituency seat, yesterday.

He said it was the perception that tried to be created by certain groups to blame him for the incident whereas the accusation was false.

"My attendance yesterday was as head of the Youth wing of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), not as the Youth and Sports Minister. So I drove my own car. I do not know how (as claimed) I suddenly came down and parked the car there whereas I had parked far away down the hill and the incident occurred after the conclusion of the nomination of candidates.

"There is video proof showing that I was walking out and the people had dispersed at that time. In fact, traffic flow was normal. The distance between me and the BN supporters was also quite far. If I was looking for a fight, I would not have come with only two or three friends,” he said here today.

He disclosed this to reporters when asked to comment on allegations by certain groups that he had deliberately provoked the group by getting down from the car in an area allocated specifically for BN supporters who came to the Dewan Seri Cempaka, Kajang Municipal Council.

Earlier, Syed Saddiq had attended the "town hall” session together with students, associations and state youth motivators at the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). — Bernama