Photo courtesy of the Fisherman’s Wharf
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I had said I would light a candle in Dataran last night and I was determined that I would, even if mine was the only one.
Jaya, who joined me, albeit without a candle, has sent in his account of what took place, leading up to my arrest / harrass. Let me give you his take first.
_____________________________
I was at Dataran Merdeka at 8.05 pm to attend the Candle Light Vigil for Raja Petra. My friend Haris Ibrahim arrived carrying a lit candle at about 8.10pm and we sat down to chat.
At about 8.25 pm, five Police officers approached us. The ‘exchange of words’ to the best of my recollection is as follows:
Officer [O]: In a rude and arrogant manner asks Haris, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Haris: [HI]: “I am a citizen. I am just holding a candle.”
O: “Why? You are not supposed to be here. This is a ‘safe’ [sic] place. Put of the candle and go away.”
HI: In a polite tone says, “Sir, what is wrong? I am just holding a candle.”
O: “No. Cannot! Put of the candle and move away.”
HI: “Sir, May I ask what is the offence?”
O: “No. You go away, otherwise I will take action.”
HI: “Why? I am just holding a candle.”
O: “You cannot be here!”
HI: “Sir, can you please explain why I cannot be here?”
O: “Cannot!”
O: The Officer then abruptly instructs his subordinates, “Ambil dia pergi ke Balai.”
[Observation]: Throughout this ‘bizarre conversation’ Haris was polite and surprisingly deferential. The Officer was rude and arrogant in his demeanour.
The police personnel then escort Haris, still holding his lit candle, to the main road.
I, the witness was left standing, pondering the future of this nation where the authorities deem it wrong for citizens to assemble in peace at ‘Independence Square’ for a cause!
________________________________
The officer that Jaya speaks of is ACP Zulkarnain.
After I was escorted off Dataran Merdeka onto Jalan Raja, another officer who I was later told was one Sidney Jeremy ( assume the spelling is correct ) approached me and blew out my candle. I enquired if I was under arrest. He replied ‘Yes’ and directed me to enter a patrol car. I inquired as to where I would be taken and he informed me that I would be taken to the Tun H.S. Lee station.
Given the confirmation that I was under arrest, I complied with his direction, first passing the car keys and information as to my intended destination to Wilson Yew, who was the man behind the MyBlog-TV camera last night.
Managed to get one call to my sister to say I had been arrested before my phone was taken away from me on the orders of Sidney.
When we reached the police station, whilst awaiting their ‘processing’ me, I informed the officer who had accompanied me in the patrol car that I suffered a medical condition, ‘nicotinitis’, and that if I did not have my regular medication, I might become difficult. Turned out he, too, suffered the same debilitating condition so we both stepped outside the station to take our ‘medication’.
Back inside soon after, the same officer sat me down to get some background info. Name address, occupation, blah, blah, blah.
Until we got to this question, at which time, Edmond Bon had walked in.
O : Tempat mana Encik pergi untuk relaks?
H : Rumah
O : Maksud saya tempat pergi kalau nak lepas tension atau stress?
H : Rumah
O : Maksud saya tempat encik pergi untuk meluangkan masa untuk hobi yang paling di gemari encik. Contoh macam kalau nak pergi pancing ikan ke…
H : Kalau nak pancing ikan, saya pancing kat rumah
O : Jadi saya tulis pancing ikan hobi paling kegemaran encik?
H : Pancing bukan hobi paling kegemaran saya. Macam2 kegemaran saya. Baca, musik
At this juncture, I think Edmund figured he wasn’t about to waste his precious evening on this mindless exchange.
Was I under arrest, Edmund asked.
‘Belum lagi’, was the reply.
I then alerted the officer that Sidney said I was under arrest and that otherwise I would not have got into the patrol car. i then said if I was not I was going to leave the station.
Seemingly confused, he attempted to contact his boss by phone.
Edmund and I stepped out for a nicotinitis fix. The officer joined us, still trying to contact the boss.
Finally, ACP Zulkarnain arrived at the station. As he passed us, he turned and acknowledged me and proceeded to complain about the behaviour of someone at the Dataran Merdeka.
I asked him if he was referring to me.
‘No, you were okay’, he said.
I then told him that I thought he had been unnecessarily rude whilst addressing me at Dataran, and that whilst he may have had a job to do in asking me to disperse, I had every right to inquire as to the basis or the reason that I was not permitted to be in that public place.
You can well imagine that both Zulkarnain and I were unable to arrive at any consensus on this point.
Meanwhile, lawyer Visva also arrived on the scene.
I then inquired if I was under arrest, and informed him that Sidney had earlier said that I was.
The reply.
‘He does not know. I am in charge. No arrest, just harrass’.
Edmund, Visva and I headed off to the Press Club.
By then, it was about 9.30pm.
For another account of last night at Dataran, go HERE
To Edmund, Visva, and everyone who sms’ed alerts of my arrest / harrass as well as those who sms’ed me to check if I was ok, thank you so much for caring.
The People's Parliament 
svllee
May 9, 2008
Hi Haris, thank goodness you are safe. Just wondering..is police harrassment and intimidation legal? I mean, is there a complaint procedure by the aggrieved? Sorry we didn’t get to meet longer, we spoke briefly at the KLAB Central market last weekend, and the Tues mee rebus session was cancelled. Perhaps next time.
svlee,
Something for the criminal practitioners to look into.
Yes, unfortunate that we could meet up last Tuesday. Look forward to the opportunity for a longer chat.
Patrick Oh
May 9, 2008
Haris,
No doubt RPK is a true hero. But I would like to praise you as the other unsung hero. You got my total respect for going against the power, the unjustice. I was at the session court on the day RPK got charged and the 1st night of candle night vigil outside the jail. However, i missed last night event. I do not wished to be a hero, but i do hope that i can have the courage like you to walk you you.
Haris, you are the man….
Patrick,
We are all capable of the courage that you speak of.
All of us.
svsingam
May 9, 2008
So they were quit willing to admit that they were instructed to harass and not arrest. Interesting.
I suspect that these are confusing times for the men in blue. Creative new ways to confuse them further can only contribute to the cause.
mei1
May 9, 2008
a conclusion that can be drawn from this incident is that the quality of the police officers has changed from bad to worse (if not worst).
See what happened at Bandar Mahkota Cheras? Police officers have turned to be the useful tool to the Grand Saga. Sigh…
Anti-Najis
May 9, 2008
Holding candles is a crime? Since when? Has our Polis raja di Malaysia gone coo coo?
tamade
May 9, 2008
Haris, what a wonderful real time story. They must have mistaken you as a 70s hippies-styled singer who walked along the street, looking for some inspirations, in order to compose great songs like the Beetles. Thanks a lot for the nice piece of entertainment.Musa is definitely not amused, I am pretty sure.
peisheah
May 9, 2008
I was at Bandar Mahkota Cheras last night. There was no provocation & we were not asked repeated to “bersuarai” when they decide we need a bath & a “smoke”. My mum & daddy was there too. What an experience.
Lim Lip Eng was assaulted! A lawmaker was assualted by lawless law enforcers!!!!
BaronV
May 9, 2008
Haris, I hope you are willing to take legal action against this ACP Zulkarnain and Sidney. The gestapo needs to be put in their place. Police in this country are really getting too much. Instead of serving and protecting the rakyat against criminals, they have become the enemy of the people, harrasing, and even robbing(so many cases of missing possesions during arrests)
Even if the “corecctcorrectcorrect!” court throws it out, a point must be made. We must make a stand.
BaronV,
Am consulting legal experts
K P VARAN
May 9, 2008
The earlier that the kataks cross over and the BR takes control of the Government and first sends the fellows who were famous for sending people to Kamunting to be sent there instead and, then, implementing in toto the Recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Police Force, this Nation will continue to be dealt with by the scums and dregs who have been dragged into the uniformed service which they serve with utter disgrace and with no regard to civility and intelligent common sense. Most of them look like simians too and so their craniums must be containing that level of intellect too.
AK
May 9, 2008
Dear Haris, I am so proud of you that you had stood firm in exercising your democratic right (ours too !) .
This harassment gives us one more reason to kick out BN comes 13th GE.
Power to the people !!!
Discrimination69,
May 9, 2008
Is it a crime to light a candle alone and sit quietly at Dataran Merdeka and reflect on the Merdeka that we had?
To reminisce on the good times we had as Malaysians and the childhood stuff we did with our frens Ahmed, Arumugam,Ah Singh, Ah Sai and Alfonso is wrong?
Seems like out of this world thing to do but why not, its good to be alone sometimes to reflect back on fond memories or get some “flashbacks ” on our past life.
Ladies dont dream doing this alone ok, the men in blue was looking for Harris not doing their regular rounds to prevent crime. They had prior knowledge Harris was coming and they had five men disposed to such a job when crime is so prevalent.
If only Haris can be at crime scenes more often im sure there will be more polis patrols there. Some food for thought how to prevent crime, use Harris!!
Discrimination69,
If I’m found at every crime scene, I’ll probably be suspect No.1 for all those crimes!
tselau
May 9, 2008
Haris, I was there and saw you taken away in the police car. Luckily you are ok. I brought along my candles, walk a long distance through the eerie dataran merdeka, and yer kena halau by the police officer sampai ke Medan Pasar.
Looks like we lost freedom in everything we do these days. Soon we will even lose the freedom to think. One day, we may even have to pay toll immediately at our own house entrance gate.
retard
May 10, 2008
i’m glad the “harass” was only brief and that you are ok.
the bloggers defence fund is a great idea.
never in my wildest dream did i ever think i will actually witness how the blogosphere can be such a force and make the msm seem so trivial. in my country too! what a hoot.
patiently waiting for the tsunami waves of 8/3 to reach our shores across the south china seas.
farida
May 10, 2008
‘THE HARRASSING OF HARIS’
A Made-In-Malaysia Play on Ploys of The Perverted
Poleidocodeisadiloquiladanauseumunorium
Cast In Order Of Appearance:
1. The Witness : Jaya
2. The Victim : Haris
3. The Perverted : As Is
5. Communicators : Tony, Wilson, Bernard and
Valuable Others
4. Lawyers : Edmond and Visva on stage;
Malik behind the scenes
5. Other Players : Many bloggers, supporters
Language Medium : English, bahasa, blarney
Atmosphere intended: Fear
Stage Props: FRU trucks, police cars, walkie talkies,
barricades, candles used and
unused, cigarettes
CYBERSPACE Review Of Play: Fame for Victim;
Shame for the Perverted
lucia
May 10, 2008
it’s incredible to think that the police admitted they were just out to harass you. thank god you are are a firm and strong person who won’t be intimidated by the police. i guess for timid person (like me!), i will feel very intimidated indeed.
glad everything’s turned out fine in the end… but this episode only serve to further erode our confidence in the police.
artchan
May 10, 2008
Good to hear that no harm came to you. Maybe someday..in the not too distant future, we will see a better Malaysia, where the Police will go after the real crooks..and not candle holding citizens.
I was thinking what will they do next? Maybe pass a law banning the sale of candles or make it a crime to keep candles.
iamgian
May 10, 2008
Wow…you sir are a rebel. I was just surfing when I came upon this post off a “hot post” link. I think I will have to keep on checking on you!
iamgian,
One with a worthy cause, I hope.
barry
May 10, 2008
Dear Haris,
What about the case of assaulting our Segambut MP by the police? Can we do something about this, at least to ensure that our brave lawmakers are spared from physical harm?
Bigjoe
May 10, 2008
I thought the title of your article should have been ‘why should Malaysian respect their police??’ Its quite common excuse to say that most of our police officer are dedicated and want to do a good job i.e. there are only some bad apples. But incidents like these and Mahkota Cheras says to me, why should I care even if its true? Why should I not be overwhelmingly MORE worried about those bad apples than those who are not? Their decisions and actions dominates.
I do think most police officer want to make a decent living and do a good job. But the fact is why should I care about that if they don’t care about those that dominate the behaviour of the force. Its why I support the IPCMC.
walski69
May 10, 2008
Bro – glad u r okay… Just got back to where I can get connected to the ‘Net, although I was informed by our mutual friend #101 about your encounter with The Force that very night…
Reading about it now simply makes me sick… when the protectors of The People are instead mobilized to protect only CERTAIN people… and harass anyone who gets in the way…
In any case, I’m relieved you’re okay…
PEACE!
Peace be with you, too, bro
Mr Smith
May 10, 2008
Haris,
I am angry and disgusted with the way you were treated. This is blatant abuse of power. They think the uniform gives them the right to do what they wish.
They treat loyal citizens of the country like criminals.
The Chinese refer to the police as dogs (kau). I think the term is too polite for them. They are worse.
God Bless You.
God bless you, too
Tan Aik Keong
May 10, 2008
Hi Mr Haris Sir,
I am glad that you were not done any harm besides the harassment.
Just wonder could you sue them if only just to harass them back ( we will be more than happy to raise fund for your suit ).
Cheers.
giko
May 10, 2008
When people say that the only gangsters in Bolehland are the police, well they are CORRECT, CORRECT, CORRECT!
Am very sad that the police are acting like legalised hooligans!
Are they suppose to protect and serve the RAKYAT or the powers that be? A joke that said that it’s POLICE RAJA DI MALAYSIA instead of POLICE DI-RAJA MALAYSIA is coming true… over and over again!
aiyomanaboleh
May 10, 2008
Good to hear you are OK.
Good intention will always prevail.
dave avran
May 10, 2008
Haris,
I checked the Police handbook on holding peaceful candle light vigils under the flagpole at dataran merdeka. It’s quite obvious that:
1. You did not use a regulation 10 inch white candle.
2. You did not use a locally produced candle and thus
failed to support “made in Malaysia” products.
Therefore leaving the poor Police officers with no choice but to caress err… I mean harass you.
dave avran,
Drats, should have checked that handbook first.
Lucky you alerted me to this. Otherwise, might have embarassed myself further and gone ahead and filed the suit against PDRM.
drsaravananr
May 10, 2008
If i may opine…
knowing you Haris, you would’ve definitely known that they (the K9s) were gonna come for you long before you were even there actually. Thus, i salute you for standing your ground and practicing your rights as a peace loving Malaysian.
Oh yes! and i’m still looking up on nicotinitis…:)
cheers
Doc,
Assure you that I have no crystal ball
giko
May 10, 2008
Haris, what’s that colourful icon at the top right hand corner? A right click says it’s an “identicon” but from this comment page, no 2 are alike. Were they generated by the software or picked by you?
Sorry for the digression but my curiousity pricks me…
From reading other blogs about your “arrest”, it looks like the police are indeed “all & powerful”… Sad indeed.
It’s the software
Cyclop
May 10, 2008
Malaysia is truly a Police State now. No doubt about that.
Lau Pai Sing
May 10, 2008
I wonder if protest organisers are going about it the wrong way…
why choose a specific time and place where the police can specifically target protesters?
instead, why not choose an event or celebration, where everyone whether protester or reveller, would have a reason to be there? in such an event, a sudden unfurling of a large banner, or some other display of protest, would be less likely to meet with police brutality, simply because they have a harder time harassing protesters, since identifying them would be more difficult.
Free
May 10, 2008
Mr Haris,
After this harassment (intimidation ?),the people , Pakatan Rakyat and influential personalities like your good-self should pressure the government even more to set up the original proposed ICPMC.
With a truly independent commission,the police will be more accountable for their action and act in a professional and impartial manner.
Zubli Zainordin
May 12, 2008
Haris, when we shall be there, we shall remember this, a man with a lighted candle at Dataran Merdeka. LOL!!! Haris being harass(ed). Rhyme, brother! Merdeka!!!
ghostline
May 19, 2008
Hi Haris,
Glad to hear you came out of that harassment session none the worse for wear.
Did anyone take a photo or video of the offensive ACP Zulkarnain and his henchmen? It would be instructive to place the stupid and thuggish behaviour of the PDRM up on the web for all to see, not that we have any doubts regarding the mostly inferior quality of the Malaysian ‘police’ force.
Ghostline,
Check out My-blog TV linked to this blog.