Police quiz Ambiga; Nurul Izzah, Sivarasa next

Bersih 2.0 chief S Ambiga and national laureate A Samad Said were today questioned by police for suspected sedition and unlawful assembly, the first in a string of Bersih committee members summoned to make police statements.

Both Ambiga (right) and Samad are being investigated under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act and also Section 27(5) of the Police Act, which covers illegal assembly.

Ambiga, who spent a good two hours under questionning from officers at the Dang Wangi police station, said they were not clear on what exactly was the basis for the investigation.

"They just said it has something to do with the rally," she told journalists after she finished giving her statement to the police around 4pm.

During the time Ambiga and Samad were being questioned, it was learnt that police have also served notices to lawyers N Surendran and Fadiah Nadwa Fitri - members of Lawyers for Liberty who are acting as counsel for Samad - to give their statements, presumably for similar reasons as Ambiga.

Surendran said the officers who served them the notices had insisted that they be questioned immediately, but he argued that they could not oblige as they were present in their capacities as Samad's legal counsel.

"We still have to come back at 3pm tomorrow. I really don't know why we were served the notice... this is a first for me," Surendran said, adding that he was assuming both he and Fadiah were being investigated under the same two laws.

The media was also informed late this evening that two others, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar (left) and another Lawyers for Liberty member, Latheefa Koya, have also been summoned to give their statements tomorrow, around the same time.|

PKR's Subang MP R Sivarasa, who was also present at the Bersih launch, has also been called.

All six people were present at the Bersih 2.0 'launch' held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on June 19.

A small group from the Umno Youth Federal Territory division, led by its chief Rizalman Mokhtar, also turned up briefly at the Dang Wangi police station, to apply for a permit on behalf of the Umno Youth movement's planned 'Patriot' march on the same day.

'Govt stuck in a time warp'

Meanwhile, Ambiga fired another salvo at the government, this time over the detention of 66 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members in Penang and Johor in what is perceived as a police crackdown on protesters and opposition parties ahead of the July 9 rally.

The police detained the PSM members, including Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar, on a charge of waging war against the King, based on their findings that the party is allegedly trying to resurrect communism in Malaysia. 

"It's ridiculous, what has happened to the PSM members. We don't know what the basis is (for the arrests). We don't even know what they are talking about," Ambiga said, referring to the allegation about 'communism'.

"They (the authorities) are stuck in a time warp. Instead of threatening people, they should engage with us... who talks of communists today? I'm sorry, but it's rubbish."