KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Residents of Taman Medan who took part in a protest against a new church in their area were not arrested or handcuffed as they cooperated fully with a police investigation on the incident, the Home Ministry said.
In a written parliamentary reply to Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said all individuals summoned for questioning had turned up at the police station without fail.
“No arrests were made as all of them who were ordered to go to the police station to facilitate investigations did so and gave full testimonies, so there was no need to arrest, handcuff and detain them to complete the investigation,” Zahid said.
Zahid said some 40 people had taken part in the morning protest and are being probed under Section 448/511 of the Penal Code for attempting to cause damage to a property.
Lim had asked why the protesters were not handcuffed and arrested just like opposition leaders and editors of The Malaysian Insider in separate on-going investigations.
Last month, about 50 Taman Medan Muslim residents staged a protest against the Community of Praise Petaling Jaya Church for putting up a cross on its façade, claiming the act was a challenge to Islam and could influence young Muslims.
The church removed the cross several hours later.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week said the police are investigating the incident and will take action under the Sedition Act and other laws if the protesters are found to have acted unlawfully.
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s brother Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar had acted as the mediator between the protesters and the church representatives during the incident.
Police have since confirmed that that it will soon wrap up its probe on the case, which was investigated for illegal assembly under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and trespass under the Penal Code.
Selangor police said, however, that sedition has not been ruled out.
