A fight broke outside the PM's office in Putrajaya, leaving a PKR man injured while a MIC man has been arrested.
FULL REPORT
KUALA LUMPUR: Pandemonium erupted outside the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Putrajaya this morning as MIC Youth and PKR members traded blows.
In the fracas, Puchong PKR division chief S Murali sustained injuries to his face while a MIC Youth member was arrested.
Some 100 PKR members led by party vice-president N Surendran arrived at the PMO this morning to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, urging him to look into the plight of 17-year-old student B Reshina.
Reshina was prevented by the Gombak district education office from attending school last month as she did not have a blue MyKad.
At the same time, a large number of MIC members arrived at the scene to show gratitude to Najib for granting blue MyKads to thousands of Malaysian Indians under the MyDaftar programme.
MIC claimed that Murali had hurled vulgarities at them, sparking off the brawl. But PKR blamed the former for the incident.
It took some 50 policemen to bring the situation under control.
PKR: They tried to attack Reshina
Speaking to reporters later, Surendran said that Murali was attacked when he tried to defend Reshina from being assaulted by the MIC Youth members.
“Umno deliberately hired MIC gangsters to thwart our intention (of submitting the memo)
by provoking us and creating a ruckus,” he said.
Besides Murali, the PKR leader said two other party members were also injured – Gunasegaran from the Kota Rajah division and S Gobikrishnan, who recently joined PKR.
Also present were PKR’s Kapar MP S Manikavasagam, Ampang MP Zuraidah Kamaruddin and PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli.
Surendran also expressed disappointment with the police for failing to bring the situation under control.
“They (MIC) openly attacked our members but only one was arrested but the others were allowed to walk free,” he said.
Surendran said they managed to send the memorandum to the prime minister’s special officer.
“We want an immediate solution (to Reshina’s problem) and not the normal process which would take a couple of months,” he added.
Speaking at a press conference later, Zuraidah said that she was confused over MIC’s aggressive reaction.
“We are only trying to help the Indians, why is MIC reacting so violently?” she asked.
She conveyed her hope that Reshina would be allowed to attend classes while her application was processed.
Reshina, who was also present, said that she felt sorry for those who were injured in the fracas.
“My father has a blue IC. So do my sisters. I have a birth certificate… I just want my IC for my education. As you know, if you don’t have an IC, you can’t get anything done.
“I don’t know why this happens but I hope they process my application soon,” she added.
MIC Youth: They threw the first punch
Meanwhile, MIC Youth chief T Mohan accused PKR members of starting the ruckus.
“The scuffle started when one of them shouted vulgarities at us and punched one of our members,” he said.
He also rubbished Surendran’s claim that MIC Youth members tried to attack Reshina.
“It is utter rubbish. There is no reason for us to attack the girl,” he said, challenging the PKR leader to prove his claim.
During his speech earlier, Mohan said that he would resign as MIC Youth chief if PKR brought the 300,000 Malaysian Indians, which the opposition party claimed had no identification documents.
“We offered to help them, but until today, PKR has not revealed the details,” he said.
In a related development, Subang PKR Youth member V Sivam told FMT that he had video evidence to prove that MIC Youth members started the fracas.
“I will submit the video to MIC disciplinary committee chairperson KS Nijhar and ask him to take action against those responsible,” he said.
