WEEKEND VIEW #4: Cops Say Sorry, Promise Action - malaysiakini

The police have apologised for not taking prompt action during the 'cow head' protest that took place in Shah Alam yesterday, said Selangor exco member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar.

He said Shah Alam district police chief Noor Azam Jamaluddin conveyed his apology to several Pakatan Rakyat leaders during a meeting this morning.

The police chief explained that the officer at the scene was a 'junior' (suggesting that he was inexperienced in handling such matters).

"So Noor Azam has given us his word that action will be taken immediately against those responsible (for the protest)," said Jeyakumar, who overseas non-Muslim affairs in the state.

He also revealed that numerous police reports have been filed over the incident.

"Many of the (reports) are by NGOs, councillors, PAS Youth, PKR Youth and some individuals," he said.

30-minute meeting

The half-hour meeting was held at the Shah Alam police district headquarters and was attended by Shah Alam PAS MP Khalid Samad, DAP MP Charles Santiago and state exco Ronnie Liu as well.

Yesterday, some 50 residents enraged with the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple to their area staged a noisy protest with a severed cow's head.

The residents who gathered after the Friday prayers, placed the head outside the gates of the state secretariat building for a short period before removing it.

Santiago said it was "weird" that the dozens of policemen "watched silently" when the protesters were spitting on and kicking the bloodied cow head.

"I also strongly condemn the lack of action on the part of the police, who have subtly been accomplices to the act that is totally disrespectful of Hindus," he said.

'Only five were residents'

Meanwhile, Khalid said he could only recognise five Section 23 residents whereas "the rest were all outsiders."

"And I believe the five residents are Umno members as I have met them before," he claimed.

In a related development, Malaysian Indian Youth Development Foundation (MIYDF) chairperson SA Vigneswaran urged all Hindus in the country to remain calm and not overreact.

"This is an act of a minority Muslims in Malaysia who have no ethics. They are inciting racial and religious hatred," he said in a statement.

On the same note, he also called upon Indian youths to "stop blogging with anger and texting to each other and leave the wrongdoers in the hands of the authorities."

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