Teen (prevented from meeting Dr M) ends up lodging report
Published on: Sunday, August 20, 2017
BUTTERWORTH: A 17-year-old boy who tried to hug former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad following a ceramah in Kepala Batas here Friday night, has lodged a police report over the aggressive manhandling by PPBM's security detail.The incident took place shortly after midnight, when Dr Mahathir was leaving the Seberang Perai Municipal Council field in Kepala Batas and heading towards his car. It was learnt that the teenager tried to break through the human barricade to get close to the PPBM chairman in an attempt to hug him. However, he was stopped by the security detail, manned by PPBM members, who roughed him up.
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As a result, the boy's father, who only wanted to be known as Faisal, helped his son lodge a police report at the Kepala Batas police station situated near the venue of the ceramah, against the PPBM man concerned. Faisal, who is in his 50s, also claimed to be a "former senior leader in Penang PKR". "My son was just trying to see Dr Mahathir," the man said. In response to the teen's accusation, a PPBM member in charge of security at the venue, said they had no choice but to stop the boy as he looked "suspicious".
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Security at events featuring opposition leaders, especially the Pakatan Harapan Chairman, has been ramped up following a commotion at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum attended by Mahathir in Shah Alam, Selangor on Aug 13.The forum, held at the Dewan Raja Muda Musa, saw various objects, including shoes and chairs hurled towards the stage while Mahathir was speaking. Flares were also lit and thrown, causing chaos as the venue filled with smoke.
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Mahathir also said the agitators at the Nothing To Hide 2.0 Forum were paid and trained to riot. He said the fracas pointed towards an escalation of political violence.The authorities were doing nothing to stop it, added the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) leader.He rubbished claims by Umno leaders that the fracas at the forum last Saturday was planned by PPBM itself. "But of course, telling lies is something that is very common among government leaders now," the portal quoted him as saying.Mahathir said he was unshaken by the incident. "What is there to be afraid of? The chairs didn't hit me, the bottles didn't reach me. They were all to my right. And to my right was the empty chair."Maybe their aim was poor, maybe their eyesight was poor, but the trajectory of their missiles was quite wrong. They were not directed at me. So I will continue with what I have to do," he said. Pandemonium broke out after chairs were thrown and shoes flung on stage as Mahathir was speaking. Two flares were ignited in the hall.The organisers were forced to escort Mahathir and other VIPs out of the Selangor Youth and Culture Complex in Shah Alam, bringing an abrupt end to the forum.Mahathir was answering a question on the Memali tragedy at the forum, a slipper was suddenly hurled at him. The former Prime Minister was not hit by the slipper or injured in the incident."I was standing, answering questions on Memali when they started throwing chairs and bottles," he said."But, strangely, they didn't throw them in my direction. They threw them to the right side of me, which was an empty chair meant for (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak).Meanwhile, Mahathir believes that the 20,000 people who showed up for an event which Prime Minister Najib Razak attended in Permatang Pauh on Thursday, may not have just come for the free meal.Alleging that all the people who joined Najib at the lunch had also received some other form of incentive, the former Prime Minister claimed that it was the only way to guarantee such a large turnout at the event, organised by the Permatang Pauh Umno division."I think no one would eat with him if not for some other incentive," the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said at a rally in Kepala Batas near here last night, adding that some form of payment may have been given as well.Mahathir, who is also PPBM chairman, was referring to the attempt by Permatang Pauh Umno to enter the Malaysia Book of Records as having the "highest number of people gathered to eat a meal while sitting cross-legged on the ground".The event was held at the Politeknik Seberang Perai, in mainlang Penang, with the stop being one of many for Najib during his tour of the country's northern states. He also visited Langkawi, Kedah.Meanwhile, Mahathir promised to "restore Malaysia's glory" if Pakatan Harapan was given the mandate to replace the Barisan Nasional (BN) in governing the country at the next polls.Mahathir said that if a government under PH was set up, it would be managed "with authority" as his own administration had done from 1981 to 2003.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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