Human rights NGO Suaram activists were attacked by a group of hostile youths after attending a rally in support of detained student Adam Adli at the Penang Esplanade last night.

They were chased by the group, some on motorbikes, and were accused of carrying weapons, which they did not.

NONE A journalist with Oriental Daily , Ooi Choon Nam, was also hit during a scuffle resulting in a pair of damaged spectacles and light injuries on his right arm.

The incident happened at about 9.30pm as the 100 odd peaceful protesters, including Penang Suaram coordinator Sean Ho and PSM central committee member Soh Sook Hwa, were dispersing.

As Ho and Soh were leaving the field, they were suddenly confronted by the youths, who aggressively tried to block their way.

The situation grew tense as the duo were pursued and chased by the hostile group until they reached near the iconic Fort Cornwallis.

According to Ho, those on the motorbikes tried to ram him, and one machine hit his legs.

"We tried to leave the scene but they followed us shouting that we were armed and had guns," he said later.

NONE Journalist Ooi, who was on duty, armed with a digital camera, tried to intervene but a scuffle broke in which he took a hit to his face which sent his glasses flying to the ground.

The hostile youths continued to tail Ho and Soh, and one of the group's members shouted through his loudhailer that the duo had weapons on them.

He repeatedly screamed, "Where are the weapons? Where are the guns? Let the police check them!"

Ho and Soh were later met by several police officers who managed to restore order, ordering the crowd of hostile youths and curious onlookers to disperse.

Ooi was brought to the Penang General Hospital for a check-up before lodging a report at the Jalan Pattani police station.

Ho and Soh would also be lodging police reports over the incident.

Ooi is the third journalist to be assaulted while on duty over the past two days.

On Monday, a similar rally in support of Adam Adli outside Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was also disrupted by thugs , with two journalists - Malaysiakini's Low Chia Ming and Nanyang Siang Pau's Bryan Lai Thiem Wah - being hit on their arms.

The duo were in the midst of photographing the chaos which erupted when a rowdy group disrupted the rally organised by USM's Student Progressive Front.

Hostile group gatecrashes rally

Earlier during last night's candlelight vigil for Adam, the event was suddenly interrupted when a group of 20 men, mostly wearing motorbike helmets, appeared when Zainulfaqar Yaacob, a staff of Buletin Mutiara , the state's fortnightly newsletter, began to speak.

NONE Interrupting him, Salleh Ismail ( right ), a representative of the obscure Persatuan Mukabuku Pulau Pinang, a familiar face in such protests, spoke through a loudhailer, declaring the rally "illegal".

It happened so abruptly that a Special Branch officer remarked, "I thought the (George Town) OCPD (Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng) has come."

Salleh condemned Zainulfaqar for lacking journalism ethics, saying that Buletin Mutiara was "the ultimate propaganda machine" of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He then scolded the crowd for not having the guts to accept the fact that the BN has retained Putrajaya in the May 5 polls, which saw the coalition winning 133 out of 222 parliamentary seats compared to the opposition's 89.

"The people have decided. God has decided that Pakatan Rakyat cannot go to Putrajaya," he shouted.

His remarks were met with a bold chorus of "Ubah! Ubah!", Pakatan's battle cry during the election campaign.

Undeterred, Salleh continued to dare the crowd, asking them not to be taken for a ride ( jangan jadi macam kuda ) by Pakatan.

NONE "Adam Adli tried to incite people (to go to the streets to topple the government), he deserves what he got ( cari penyakit sendiri )," he added.

The protesters responded with "Free Adam!", their voices drowning out Salleh's, who nevertheless continued with his speech.

"Why don't you all accept the election results? Penangites do not want BN to rule in the state, Pakatan won 30 out of 40, and we have accepted it," said Salleh.

"If we incite people to go to Guan Eng's home and make trouble, it is wrong. So let Adam face the law," he added.

"What else do you all want? The Election Commission requested those who were not satisfied with the results to send in their petitions," he continued.

"But until today, 19 days after the elections, we have not seen any petitions being sent, why? Where are all the Banglas who they claimed voted on polling day? Answer these questions," he mocked repeatedly, urging them to stop cheating the rakyat.

  M atching shout for shout

Salleh was referring to Pakatan's ongoing ‘Blackout 505' nationwide rallies, where ten of thousands turned up in black to show their disgust at alleged incidents of election fraud, which they believed, marred the polls results.

Pakatan claimed it would furnish all the evidence in petitions to the court when the election results are gazetted, which happened yesterday.

However, the group ignored Salleh's plea and sang the ‘Suara Rakyat' song loudly and in unison, annoying his supporters.

Another member of the hostile group then spoke, praising Prime Minister Najib Razak, urging the protesters to accept him as they have accepted Lim as Penang chief minister.

He later cried "Hidup BN!" but the protesters continue to chant "Suara Rakyat", with Ho leading the crowd to shout slogans like "Hidup Rakyat, Bangkit Rakyat!" and "Reject Budaya Samseng (gangsterism)!"

At about 8.50pm, Ho told the protesters to disperse, and as he started to leave the venue with Soh and a few friends, they were confronted with the rowdy crowd which led to the scuffle.

NONE The vigil, which began at 8pm, saw several speakers, Bersih co-coordinator Toh Kin Woon, Aliran activist Johan Saravanan, Pakatan candidates Abdul Rahman Mydin (Tasek Gelugor) and T Jayabalan (Batu Uban), PSM state chief Choo Chon Kai and a representative of Mama Bersih, speak without disruption until the hostile group appeared.

Meanwhile, in Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur, police arrested 18 protesters, who were among those who had gathered in front of the Jinjang police station last night where Adam is being held.

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