By Lisa J. Ariffin
KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — The DAP’s Lim Guan Eng questioned today the inaction by the police on suspected assailants who beat up two Indian activists despite knowing their identities, highlighting the recent spate of violence against Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders and supporters.
“Failure by the police to act against such identified assailants will only prove that our country is governed by thugs who have no respect not just for the rule of law but also of democracy,” the DAP secretary-general said in a statement today.
He was referring to the May 30 attack on two Indian Rights Action Force (Indraf) leaders, V. Ganabatirao and his brother V. Raidu, by a group of men said to be Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters.
Both actvisists are also DAP members and were badly injured in the incident, resulting in their hospitalisation.
Lim (picture) censured the police for not taking immediate action against the alleged perpetrators despite having confirmed their identities 36 hours earlier.
He drew attention to “a serial procession of violence against PR leaders in Malacca, Pahang, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak” in the past few weeks as pre-election fever heated up.
“whether politically-motivated or not, there is no place for such violence in our peace-loving country,” Lim who is also Penang chief minister said.
On May 24, a PKR ceramah featuring Anwar and Nurul Izzah Anwar turned ugly when the crowd as well as opposition leaders were pelted with stones and eggs, resulting in one senior citizen being injured in the head.
PR had blamed the ruckus on political foe Umno, after some 100 Lembah Pantai Umno youth members were spotted blocking the main road leading to the PKR ceramah venue earlier.
PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali has also accused Umno Youth members of harassing his family at their Ampang home last night, after anti-graft officials were directed to reopen a RN30 million corruption probe on him.
“The police have arrived at my residence to monitor attacks by more than 20 Umno Youth members on motorcycles here to disturb my family,” the former Umno man posted on his Twitter account @azminali at 11.34pm yesterday.
Similar incidents in Merlimau and Malacca have also been reported earlier this month.