Recalling her experience of being detained overnight, former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan says she does not harbour a grudge against police personnel on the ground who were just following instructions.

However, Ambiga has a bone to pick with their superiors on the hill in Bukit Aman.

"For me, these faceless and nameless people giving the orders are the real cowards. Their action is based on a set agenda and this is not professional policing.

"The police personnel on the ground treated us reasonably well and kept telling us they were following orders. My quarrel is not with them," she told Malaysiakini .

Ambiga said despite being asked to come to the Dang Wangi police headquarters last Friday night for taking part in the anti-GST rally, her statement was only recorded hours later.

"When I received the call that night, my lawyer and I asked the police why the matter could not wait until the next day. But they insisted that I come in. I went there about 9.30pm, but my statement was only recorded about 3am," she revealed.

The police also told her that she would be taken to the Jinjang police station to be held overnight and attempted to handcuff her.

"I pulled away and insisted that I was not going, so there was a bit of pulling and tugging.

"I asked that they take my statement right then and they did. The process only lasted about 45 minutes," she said, adding that she was then allowed to wait in a room, under the watchful eye of a policewoman, until morning

Ambiga said the police are using their arresting powers and remand process as a "system of punishment" when it should be done to facilitate investigations.

'Aim of the arrest is to dehumanise'

"That's what happened to me. They used their arresting powers to punish me. The dehumanising that takes place is incredible. The aim of the process is to dehumanise. It is vicious, because there is no respect for liberty," she added.

The patron of Negara-Ku also lauded the magistrate for acting according to the law in rejecting the application of the police for four-day remand orders against her and two others, DAP lawmaker Anthony Loke ( left ) and PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan, who were also detained last Friday night.

"The magistrate kept inquiring why the investigating officer needed a four-day remand. Our lawyer questioned if the police thought we would run away and if we would interfere with the witnesses.

"The magistrate also noted how we had voluntarily gone to the police station after being summoned. The officer could not answer these questions," she said.

"At the court I saw the other two (Loke and Arutchelvan, who were brought from the Jinjang police station) dressed in coloured lock-up outfits and without slippers," Ambiga added.

Following this, Ambiga was told to report back at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at 4pm to collect her MyKad.

Fingerprints taken and photographed

"I went to the police station about 4.30pm. Once again, I was made to wait for a few hours. I then had my fingerprints taken and photographed," she said, adding that she saw PKR MP Rafizi Ramli and activist Hishamuddin Rais there.

Rafizi and Hishamuddin were also detained in connection with the anti-GST rally.

Ambiga said she was being investigated under the Sedition Act and for participating in an unlawful assembly. But the charges have left her puzzled.

"I don't know what I said that was seditious, I only spoke for two minutes (at the rally). I merely said that not only is the GST burdening the people, but we must also protest against oppressive laws and corruption.

"The campaign (of the police) is to punish those who went to the rally," she added.

Ambiga also expressed shock over the manner in which PKR lawmaker Tian Chua was allegedly treated when he was detained in Penang late last night.

"If the allegation is true, he should sue the IGP (Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, right )). What kind of country are we living in? Look at the public resources wasted.

"The same thing happened with (PKR vice-president) Nurul Izzah Anwar (who was detained overnight for her remarks on the judiciary following Anwar Ibrahim's Feb 10 conviction).

"When I went there (after Nurul Izzah was arrested), we told the police officers that we want to see the person giving the orders, just to appeal to him so that she can be released and not be held overnight. They made the call, but that person refused to yield.

"I don't know who this nameless and faceless person is. It (the excuse) is always ‘instructions from Bukit Aman’. So, it is people there who make those on the ground do their dirty work.

"We must also not forget how Hishamuddin was once bundled into an unmarked car by plainclothes policemen. These are all signs that we are becoming a police state," Ambiga added.

Similarly, Ambiga was horrified to witness a number of young people arrested after the anti-GST rally being brought to the Dang Wangi police headquarters with their hands cuffed and attached to a long chain.

"These were youngsters, some even below 18 years. It was horrendous. They looked shocked and dazed and we had to console them. It is frightening to know how the police treated these youngsters who are not aware of their rights," she added.

Ambiga also accused the police of "selective treatment", citing the recent protest against a church in Taman Medan, which saw the presence of IGP Khalid’s brother, Abdullah Abu Bakar.

Ambiga: Silence not an option for us