MIC thugs attacked us at PM's office, decries PKR veep

PKR claims that its delegation to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) this morning was attacked at the gates by MIC thugs, causing one member to be warded in Putrajaya Hospital for his injuries.

The party’s vice-president N Surendran said he and about 30 PKR leaders and supporters were there for an appointment with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the issue of secondary school student Reshina Batumanathan’s citizenship.

“We found hundreds of MIC gangsters waiting there for us.

“What was even more shocking was that they were led by MIC Youth chief T Mohan himself, and other MIC leaders,” Surendran told a press conference at PKR’s headquarters in Tropicana, Selangor.

In the incident about 11.30am, Surendran said, the MIC men charged at him and Reshina, but they were blocked by PKR supporters. They were then able to enter the PMO.

“However, PKR Puchong division chief S Murali was pulled out and seriously beaten by the MIC gangsters. He was bleeding from his eye and fainted. He was then admitted to the hospital,” he said.

PKR’s Women’s wing chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, who was also with the delegation, expressed disappointment that police officers at the scene did not intervene in the scuffle.

Other PKR leaders in the delegation were its director of strategy Rafizi Ramli, legal bureau head Latheefa Koya, MP for Kapar S Manickavasagam and information bureau committee member K Gunasekaran, all of whom were also present at the press conference.

Latheefa claimed that the attack was pre-mediated and that the group was not there by coincidence, for they carried banners making reference to Surendran.

'MIC Youth leader's wife tweeted, asking for Surendran'

Also, Mohan’s wife had tweeted, “Where are you Surendran, we are waiting for you,” prior to the attack.

To questions from reporters, Latheefa said the mob shouted that the issue of stateless ethnic Indians was an MIC issue, and asked why PKR was getting involved.

Reshina, 17, was expelled by her school last month because she did not have an IC to register for the SPM examination, even though she was born in Malaysia and her father has a blue IC, indicating that he is documented as a citizen.

“Under Article 14 (of the federal constitution), she is automatically a citizen of Malaysia because her father is a citizen,” said Surendran, who also showed the father’s IC to members of the press.

He said Reshina “is living proof” that the government’s MyDaftar programme to register undocumented Malaysians was a failure, and claimed that the programme’s taskforce consultant, Siva Subramaniam, had advised her to register to study as a foreigner.

This was unacceptable, Surendran said, as Reshina is not a foreigner but a Malaysian who does not have the documents to acknowledge her citizenship.

He urged Najib to recognise her citizenship within 24 hours, since the pertinent documents had already been handed to his aide Ghazali Ibrahim.

As for the attack, Surendran said a police report would be lodged on the matter tomorrow afternoon.

As of late this evening, Malaysiakini’s attempts to reach the MIC’s Mohan for his comments have been unsuccessful.