IGP: Don't turn Low Yat Plaza melee into a racial issue

- Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The fight that happened in Low Yat Plaza Saturday was merely that of two fighting parties and had nothing to do with race, says Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pic).

"Low Yat - @PDRM akan ambil tindakan terhadap kedua dua pihak yg bergaduh. Ini tiada kena mengena dgn kaum. Cuma dua pihak yang bergaduh! (Low Yat - The police will take action against both parties who were fighting. This has nothing to do with race. Only two fighting parties!)," Khalid tweeted via his official account @KBAB51 on Sunday evening.

In a series of three tweets, Khalid said there was no further fighting or rioting and the situation was under control. He also said they had arrested some involved in the fight but did not go into further detail.

"Low Yat - @PDRMsia sahkan bahawa keadaan tenang dan terkawal. Tiada pergaduhan atau rusuhan. Jgn percaya khabar angin. Polis berkawal. (Low Yat - The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) confirms that the situation is calm and under control. There was no fight or riots. Do not believe rumours. The police have things under control," he added.

"Low Yat- @PDRMsia telah tangkap sebhgian mrk yg terlibat bergaduh semalam dan sedang kesan yg lain. Biar Polis ambil tindakan. (Low Yat - The police have apprehended some of those who had been involved in yesterday's brawl and are in the process of identifying the rest. Let the police take action)," he tweeted soon after.

On Saturday, a fight erupted between a group of thugs and sales clerks after a group of youth returned to take revenge against the retailers who allegedly caught them shoplifting earlier on Saturday.

Some commenters on social media claimed that the brawl was due to one of the youths being sold a fake phone, but the claim has not been verified.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad said police arrested a 22-year-old man who was believed to be one of the thugs.

On Sunday evening, a group gathered at the plaza in an apparent continuation of Saturday's fiasco.

The group numbering about 100, believed to have been led by Malay-Muslim group Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Pekida), gathered near the mall by around 6.30pm to protest what they claimed was "biased investigations" by the police.

At around 8.35pm, the group entered the mall but police managed to bring them out again.

The mall was cordoned off by police at about 9pm and the crowd dispersed by 10pm.

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