THE two men detained last night for organising an anti-khat rally in Brickfields have been released on bail.

Umagandhan Krishnan, the chief coordinator of the Puratchi rally, and Malaysia Chinese-Educated Students’ Association chairman Tan Boon Tak were released at noon today after spending a night in police custody.

Acting Brickfields OCPD Arifai Tarawe confirmed their release when contacted.

“They were released today at noon. They were taken in after their speech yesterday and had their statements recorded.”

It was reported yesterday that the organisers had failed to get approval from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to hold the event, which led to congestion in the area.

The crowd at the rally had started gathering at 6pm at the fountain in the area known as Little India.

“Puratchi” in Tamil means “revolution”.

The speeches started at 7.20pm, with Umagandhan and Tan both addressing the crowd. They were given 10 minutes to finish speaking before police took them away.

Police estimated that some 500 people had gathered.

Many were dressed in red and black T-shirts that bore the words “Kami Tidak Setuju Pelaksanaan Tulisan Jawi Dalam SRJK(T)/SRJK(C)” (We do not agree with implementing Jawi writing in Tamil/Chinese vernacular schools).

Another rally was supposed to take place today at 2pm but had been cancelled after police issued a warning against it.

One of the organisers, Shankar Ganesh Siridharan informed the press that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim phoned him personally to scrap the rally.

However, WhatsApp messages are still being circulated among small groups and individuals, urging people to show their presence today with reminders to disperse peacefully.

The rally today was to express the Malaysian Indian community’s sentiments about Zakir Naik, who allegedly insulted Malaysian Hindus during a talk he gave in Kota Baru, Kelantan earlier this month.

Zakir has been accused of saying Malaysian Hindus were more loyal to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, than to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The rally today was also meant to protest other issues, such as the teaching of khat calligraphy to Year 4 pupils in Tamil and Chinese vernacular schools, as well as Indian poverty and marginalisation. – August 24, 2019.