Ex-PAS man slapped in ruckus during DAP talk

Serious matter: Liow (left) and Syed Othman speaking at a press conference in front of the Seri Alam police district headquarters in Johor.

JOHOR BARU: After serving the public for over 20 years, it was the first time former Johor PAS committee member Syed Othman Abdullah was slapped in the face.

He was among those attacked by a group of men who barged into a coffeeshop in the midst of the talk attended by DAP leaders on Sunday, including party adviser Lim Kit Siang and Johor chairman Liew Chin Tong.

Syed Othman was slapped on his way out as he was escorting Lim to his vehicle when the commotion broke out in Taman Megah Ria, Seri Alam.

“I have been pushed and spat at before but have never been slapped like that,” Syed Othman, better known as Arab, said after lodging a report at the Seri Alam police district headquarters yesterday.

Syed Othman, who renounced his PAS membership last month, said he went there on his own accord to show his support for DAP.

The talk’s organising committee member and Johor Jaya assemblyman Liow Cai Tung demanded a public apology from the group responsible for the chaos.

She also urged police to look into the case seriously as it was not the first time DAP leaders had been attacked in Johor, citing an example where Liew was blocked by some men during a visit to a night market last year.

Seri Alam acting OCPD Deputy Supt Norazam Saari had earlier confirmed that police were probing the matter to identify those responsible for the ruckus.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has condemned such thuggish acts, claiming that it was a stunt to divert the people’s attention from the 1MDB issue.

However, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the Opposition should have known what they were getting into when they entered an area with strong Umno support.

They had been heavily promoting the event on social media sites such as Facebook, he said, adding that the Opposition should have anticipated such a reaction if they made provocative comments.

He urged all parties to let the matter be handled by the authorities.