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Friday 31 July 2009

Raucous assembly in front of MIC headquarters

KUALA LUMPUR, 30 July 2009: Traffic along Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Tun Razak was reduced to a crawl for almost two hours from 11am today when an illegal gathering took place in front of the MIC headquarters here.

According to Malaysiakini, the assembly comprised two groups that squared off against each other. The first comprised unhappy shareholders of MIC investment arm Maika Holdings and members of the Pakatan Rakyat, led by Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Prof P Ramasamy; while the second group comprised MIC loyalists, led by Maika CEO S Vell Paari.

The news portal reports that Ramasamy's group was stopped from entering the headquarters to hand over a memorandum to Vell Paari on the financial status of the company, and clashed with Vell Paari's group when the CEO met them in front of the building.

Bernama reports that Ramasamy's group was disgruntled over claims that Maika Holdings planned to buy over land in Kampung Buah Pala in Penang. Kampung Buah Pala is an Indian Malaysian settlement, and its residents are facing eviction to make way for development.

Among the other Pakatan Rakyat leaders involved were DAP vice-chairperson M Kulasegaran, PKR vice-president R Sivarasa, and Klang Member of Parliament S Manikavasagam.

Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman was quoted by Bernama as saying the gathering of more than 100 individuals [led by Ramasamy] had started at a private hospital on Jalan Rahmat before proceeding to the MIC building.

Police mobilised the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), which "managed to control the situation and no arrests were made," Zulkarnain said, adding that police also confiscated several banners and dispersed the assembly at around 1pm.

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