While Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has claimed that there was no need to arrest two Umno leaders for their allegedly inflammatory comments, facts appear to contradict his explanation that this was because police had wrapped up their investigations quickly.

Instead of less than 24 hours within a police report being lodged - as Zahid claimed - it took about a week before Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was even quizzed by the police on his controversial call to boycott Chinese traders.

Similarly, in the case of former deputy minister Mashitah Ibrahim and her claim that some Chinese in Kedah had burnt the Quran, page by page, she was only questioned by the police nine days after DAP lodged a police report against her.

Zahid had claimed in Parliament yesterday that there was no need to detain Ismail Sabri and Mashitah because initial investigations and the recordings of their statements were done within 24 hours of the reports being lodged against them.

“It's not true that only opposition members are being arrested. There are government supporters who have been arrested too,” Zahid ( right ) replied when Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran asked why Umno politicians had not been arrested for their recent provocative remarks.

The home minister’s flailing comes in wake of the recent series of arrests under the Sedition Act 1948, almost all of whom were opposition activists detained after voluntarily going to police stations after being called in to give their statements.

The latest arrests were that of Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar and Batu MP, Tian Chua.

'Postponed because minister busy'

The crackdown comes hot on the heels of the March 7 Kita Lawan rally in the capital city, which saw some 10,000 people march in support of jailed Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Ismail Sabri ( left ) made his controversial statement on Feb 2, with Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar tweeting on the same day that police would be calling him in for questioning .

This was originally slated for Feb 4, but was later postponed to Feb 9, ostensibly due to the minister’s busy schedule as the period coincided with Indonesian President Joko Widowo’s official visit to Malaysia.

Ismail Sabri has since clarified that he was referring only to "stubborn Chinese traders" who refused to lower the prices of their goods despite falling oil prices.

As for Mashitah, she made her claim at the Wanita Umno general assembly on Nov 26, but her claim was later shown to be untrue .

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching and several others lodged a police report against Mashitah on Nov 28 and, according to Agenda Daily, Mashitah’s statement was recorded on Dec 7.