Tanjung MP Ng Wei Aik (pic) has been arrested for his involvement in Penang's voluntary patrol unit (PPS), which has been pronounced illegal by the inspector-general of police.
Ng was arrested at 1pm today when he went to give a statement, as he had been asked to do earlier, at the George Town district police headquarters.
His arrest is under section 43 of the Societies Act 1966 for operating an unlawful organisation.
Ng is deputy commander of the PPS and also DAP Youth Penang chief.
On Merdeka Day, Penang police arrested 156 PPS members after they completed a march-past in George Town.
Also arrested then was the unit’s chairman, Penang exco Phee Boon Poh. He was released the next day on police bail.
Police said the arrests were made because PPS was not registered with the Registrar of Societies and thus an illegal body.
Phee is expected to arrive at the police headquarters at 3pm today for questioning over a phone interview reported by Malaysiakini while he was under arrest.
Malaysiakini's assistant editor Susan Loone wrote an article, quoting Phee, who claimed that he was interrogated by the police for four hours and was "treated like a criminal”.
Penang police said both Phee and Loone would be investigated under the Sedition Act.
Besides Phee, Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer was also arrested with the PPS members who had participated in the state-level Merdeka Day parade.
George Town district police chief ACP Mior Faridalatrash Wahid confirmed Ng was being investigated under Section 43 and said Phee is scheduled to be questioned tonight.
Loone entered the George Town police headquarters for questioning at 3pm, accompanied by a lawyer who declined to be identified.
Penang DAP Youth (Dapsy) members gathered outside the headquarters this afternoon to express solidarity with Ng and condemn the arrest.
State Dapsy deputy chief Chris Lee Chun Kit said there seems to be a sequence being set in motion in an effort to intimidate the populace into obedience, noting that sedition-related actions have been taken against opposition politicians and an academician.
(Universiti Malaya law professor Azmi Sharom was charged under the Sedition Act on Tuesday over an article he allegedly wrote on the current Selangor Menteri Besar imbroglio, referencing the Perak constitutional crisis of 2009.)
"Lee said DAP Youth believes that the majority of police officers are rational and can differentiate between right and wrong.
"We also believe they are following orders and we understand their predicament," he said. "We hope though that they will go back to their main purpose, which is protecting the people."
State Dapsy committee member David Marshel said Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had in August last year reportedly announced that he would reveal 49 illegal organisations, including secret societies.
David said the PPS was not cited as among the 49 although it had already been operating since 2011. – September 4, 2014.
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