Muda volunteers were helping a family in dire need, says Syed Saddiq

JOHOR BARU: Volunteers from the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) went to the aid of a family in serious need of flood aid, says its president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

In a tweeted response to the Johor executive councillor who called him out for making the police a scapegoat in the incident, the Muar MP said a family had asked for the party's help as they had been waiting a long time for aid which had yet to arrive.

“We went to their assistance and when the police reprimanded us, it was the villagers who came to our defence and argued that the standard operating procedure (SOP) was making things difficult.

“It is not the fault of the police, but the SOP of two classes (dua darjat) that is causing difficulties for the people and flood victims.

“When people ask for help, we do not give them 1,001 reasons to make them wait for the help to arrive,” he said in the tweet on Sunday (Jan 9).

His tweet included an article in The Star that quoted Johor tourism, youth and sports committee chairman Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi as saying that the police have a responsibility to investigate reports against anyone who does not follow proper procedure.

The back-and-forth started after Onn Hafiz said on Sunday morning that nobody was above the law, including Syed Saddiq and Muda.

He was referring to an incident in which six Muda volunteers were called up by police on Saturday (Jan 8) for providing aid to flood victims directly without going through official channels.

Onn Hafiz added that many parties had come to the aid of flood victims from the Johor royal family to the state government, government agencies to non-governmental organisations and volunteers; and they did not face any problems as they followed proper procedure and coordinated with the respective district offices.