Cops cooking up violent plot theory, says PSM

Arutchelvan accuses BN of planning a media campaign about his party trying to oust the government through an uprising that will include suicide bombing

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is planning a media campaign that will accuse Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) of trying to oust it through a violent revolution, according to the party’s secretary general, S Arutchelvan.

He said police had forced detained PSM activists to sign false statements to support the theory.

He told a press conference today that the detainees gave this information to lawyers and relatives who had visited them. PSM received similar information from 24 Perak-based party members who had been released on bail, he added.

“The police are making conspiracies that members have undergone special training such as suicide bombing,” he said.

Apart from statements forced out of the detainees, the police would point to a PSM resolution to support uprisings in the Middle East and a leaflet calling for a change of government, he added.

The activists in detention are Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, PSM deputy president M Saraswathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M Sugumaran, youth chief R Sarathbabu and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan. They are held without trial under the 1969 Emergency Ordinance (EO).

Police arrested them last month under Penal Code, accusing them of waging war against the King.  They were released and rearrested under the EO on July 2.

Arutchelvan said Special Branch police had prepared answers to their questions and forced the illiterate among the detainees to sign the answer sheets.

He gave the following examples of questions and answers:
Why did you join PSM? Because of the communist ideology but peaceful.
What activities do you do in PSM? Help the poor and topple the government.

Other questions raised, Artuchelvan said, were about PSM’s relationship with Pakatan Rakyat, Anwar Ibrahim, and Bersih.

He urged the police to “stop the bullshit” and said he was arranging for a meeting next week with Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar and his deputy, Khalid Abu Bakar.

PSM president Nasir Hashim would attend the meeting.

Arutchelvan also told reporters that lawyers and family members would be meeting the EO detainees tomorrow and that three MPs had been given permission to visit Dr Jeyakumar in Bukit Aman following a request by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

The three are Lim Kit Siang of DAP, Salehuddin Ayub of PAS and R Sivarasa of PKR.