SEREMBAN: Three Negri Sembilan MCA leaders including state party chief Siow Koi Voon were called in by the police to have their statements recorded over a peaceful gathering held by a group of flood victims on Tuesday (Aug 3) at Wisma Negri.
Apart from Siow, also called in for questioning at the district police station were the party's coordinator for Rasah Ng Kian Nam and division information chief Dafney Ho.
Siow said the trio gave their full cooperation and told the police that MCA did not organise the event but was merely assisting the residents so that their grouses reached the state authorities.
"The police called us in as they wanted to know why we were present at the peaceful gathering which we told them was initiated by the residents.
"We also told the police that the residents had asked to coordinate the gathering," he said when met outside the district police station in Seremban 2.
He said each one of them spent 30 minutes having their statement recorded. The sessions were held separately.
Siow said the trio also told the police that they decided to assist after the residents told them that the state authorities had yet to start work to deepen Sungai Linggi although Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun had pledged to do so during a visit to their area last week.
The residents who attended the gathering were from areas hit by flash floods several times this year which include Kg Ismail and Block C in Ampangan and Taman Mok Sum, Taman Happy, Kg, Singh and surrounding areas in Mambau.
"But the good thing is that one day after the peaceful gathering, the authorities brought in heavy machinery to the area to start work.
"This shows that the gathering by the residents had actually yielded a positive result," he said.
During the peaceful gathering on Tuesday, the residents also handed over a memorandum to the state government among others asking it to immediately start work to widen and deepen several rivers.
The group also wants the state government to immediately announce short- and long-term measures to prevent another round of flooding.
Siow handed over the eight-point memorandum to state Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government and New Village Committee chairman Teo Kok Seong.
He had said the state government should act quickly as the residents have been suffering in silence for the past two years.
He said the residents also want the authorities to quickly rebuild a retention wall and resolve the erosion problem along Sg Linggi, construct a retention pond in the affected area and pay compensation of RM5,000 to all affected residents whenever it floods.
