PERMATANG PAUH, May 7 — A press photographer’s head was injured after he was allegedly punched during a fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PKR supporters at a polling station during the Permatang Pauh by-election today.
Photographer Mahathir Mohammad from news portal KL Express was on duty documenting the activities of supporters from BN and PKR outside SK Tanah Liat when both groups clashed.
It is believed that both groups provoked each other that resulted in the clash involving stone-throwing.
The incident occurred at 11:30am but the police managed to get the situation under control shortly after.
It is unclear if there were others who were injured.
This comes amid another clash that took place nearby at SMK Guar Perahu after PKR supporters accused the BN camp of being too close to the polling station, which is against election laws.
Reporters were informed that Mahathir had already been taken for treatment but there has been no word on his condition or the severity of his injury.
Several hours after the morning scuffle, things were back to normal outside SK Tanah Liat as supporters from both sides were nowhere to be seen.
Although traffic remained congested and many motorcyclists were seen revving their engines as they passed the school, the atmosphere remained calm.
The Light Strike Force, however, was still stationed outside the school with as many 30 of them monitoring the situation, outnumbering bystanders here.
