IPOH, March 19 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin today said it was the right thing to do when police only arrested five men suspected of being involved in a funeral procession in a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) displaying a logo believed to be linked to a secret society after the incident. 

He said not arresting the five men immediately does not mean that police did not carry out their duties, as arresting them during a funeral would not have been appropriate. 

"Why would the police want to take action during a funeral procession? But we did take action immediately after that. 

"If we take action when the funeral procession was going on then the public would say police are cruel,” he told a press conference after attending the Minister’s Malaysia Prihatin programme at the State Secretariat Building here. 

Hamzah was responding to allegations in social media that police did not take action during the funeral procession. 

"There are two sides to the coin. Whatever we do, there are things that some might like and some may dislike. 

"If something good many liked it and those who like what we do, did not say anything in the social media. 

"However, those who post on social media are the ones who oppose the government. And this is a problem for us. That’s why we are cautious about taking action. We have to see the time and location, to check whether it is appropriate before taking any action,” he explained. 

Yesterday, it was reported that five men were arrested following the circulation of a video on social media which showed a funeral procession involving a hearse bearing the logo of a secret society.

The hearse had flower garlands and a logo of the ‘36’ secret society.