The 154 Penang volunteer patrol unit (PPS) members arrested this morning could be locked up for the night as police are refusing to release them yet, said lawyers appointed by the state government to represent the detainees.
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo and Seri Delima state assemblyman RSN Rayer, who are leading a team of lawyers to represent the PPS members, said the members have been told that police may be remanding them to assist in the probe against the unit.
“We’ve been informed that they might be kept here overnight pending investigations and we are waiting to talk to the police to represent all of them,” Ramkarpal told reporters outside the police headquarters today.
He said they will be insisting on representing all of the PPS members and to fight for their release.
“There is no necessity to keep them overnight. It is ridiculous, they have no basis to keep them overnight,” he said.
Ramkarpal added that they will contest any application to remand the group should the police attempt to do so tomorrow.
“There is no reason to remand them at all. They were merely participating in a peaceful march in front of the Penang governor and the Penang chief minister in an orderly peaceful manner,” he said.
Ramkarpal pointed out that there were no signs of disturbances from the PPS members this morning and that they had cooperated with the police when suddenly arrested.
“We will all stay with them here and be behind them all the way until they are released,” he said.
The lawyers were waiting to be allowed to speak to those arrested and also to secure their release.
The PPS members, consisting of members of all ages including senior citizens and seven women, were unexpectedly arrested at 10am this morning after they participated in the Merdeka celebration parade at Esplanade.
They were first led to the Beach Street police station before they were taken in a bus to the district headquarters at around noon.
The PPS became the centre of controversy after a 51-year-old man alleged that its members had attacked him.
This had led to an uproar with Barisan Nasional leaders urging for the unit to be disbanded while Malay rights group Perkasa also lodged police reports urging the police to investigate the unit’s activities.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar responded by saying the group is illegal and that the police is investigating it under Section 41 of the Societies Act as it is not registered with the Registrar of Societies (RoS).
He then warned PPS members of arrest if they continued to participate in the unit’s activities.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng responded by pledging legal assistance to any PPS members “wrongly arrested” while serving with the unit.
The PPS was formed by the state government in May 2011 to assist the public in all situations including directing traffic, in times of disaster and to patrol the streets as a preventive measure against crime.
Currently, there are more than 9,000 PPS members in the state and the members have all undergone various courses that include first aid and disaster management.
The Malay Mail
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