KUALA LUMPUR: A protest walk organised by the People’s Movement Against Oil Manipulation (Geramm) yesterday turned ugly after police used force to disperse the group.
From 3pm, two groups gathered at Putra World Trade Centre and Plaza Bukit Bintang en route to the Sogo shopping complex where they planned to congregate in protest against the fuel price hikes.
Face-off with cops: Keadilan Youth (central) secretary Zulfiqar Ali Ariffin (centre) and Ikatan Kebajikan Rakyat chairman Mustapa Mansor (wearing hat) speaking to the police during the Geramm walk in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Four men, including Zulfiqar and Mustapa, were detained for investigation.Wearing red shirts with the words “Geramm” the groups made stops along major roads in the city, distributing pamphlets and rallying onlookers in the process.
Their intent was to create awareness of a planned gathering at Padang Timur opposite Amcorp Mall in Petaling Jaya, scheduled to take place on July 6 with an ambitious one million attendees.
A small scuffle broke out, however, at 4.30pm when the police tried to confiscate banners and a loudspeaker from the two groups that had then gathered at Pasaraya KK, near Sogo.
They had been barred from going near the shopping complex by a heavy Federal Reserve Unit presence.
Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said the groups had responded with force when the police were carrying out their duties.
He said they had detained four men from the group for unlawful gathering.
He also advised the public not to take part in the gathering on July 6 as it was an illegal event.
The crowd dispersed by late evening and no further incident was reported.
Geramm, a coalition of 10 non-governmental organisations and three political parties, had undertaken various road shows throughout the country to voice discontent over the 78-sen increase in petrol prices.
The movement is also in the process of gathering one million signatures on a petition that is expected to be brought up in Parliament on July 7 by Pakatan Rakyat MPs, one day after the massive gathering in Petaling Jaya.
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