SHAH ALAM, Sept 27 — Around 10 people gathered outside the Shah Alam court complex here at 9am for a protest before the inquest of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s December 2018 death delivers its findings today.

Islamic group Ummah was noticeably absent despite an earlier poster saying it would hold a rally today at 9am, while PAS members were also not seen at the protest area despite reported plans to hold a press conference immediately after the inquest decision.

PAS and its new partner Umno have been critical of the government and Attorney General Tommy Thomas in this matter, accusing them of meddling in the inquest and a cover-up.

Abu Bakar Mohamed, president of a group called Gagasan Rakyat Malaysia (Geras 7), led the small group of protesters who held up two banners with several demands, including “justice” for Adib while also calling for the AG to step down for allegedly causing a delay to proceedings.

“He has misused his powers by holding the inquest, actually this inquest did not need to have happen, as we have forensic experts that know the cause of death. So why do we need an inquest?” he said.

Abu Bakar, who claimed he was a former Bukit Raja Klang Utara police station chief, insisted that the authorities should have proceeded with criminal trials but stressed that his group would respect the inquest findings by the coroner later.

Abu Bakar also said the group’s past gathering was not done with the intention to disturb the peace.

“We fight for peace, not to create chaos in Malaysia. And our past rally was not done to show that we oppose the government, we only demanded the government to take the necessary actions,” he said.

The media easily outnumbered the group while police kept watch nearby.

Coroner Rofiah Mohamad is scheduled to deliver her findings at 10am here after a 41-day inquest from February 11 to July 24 where 30 witnesses and 137 exhibits were examined.

An inquest is usually held when the cause of death is unknown, which is the case with Adib’s death where conflicting accounts were given of how he became injured.

Adib, 24, died at the National Heart Institute on December 17, 2018, after succumbing to serious injuries.

The Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Station’s Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) unit member was seriously injured three weeks earlier during a November 27 riot at Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam temple in USJ25, Subang Jaya.