An alleged planned police trap laid at the State Secretariat to corner Pakatan Speaker V Sivakumar during the state budget assembly sitting yesterday succeeded only in the second attempt when he was also allegedly assaulted. NONE

The aim apparently was to strip the official speaker's robe off Sivakumar ( centre, left ) as well as grab his songkok as he and other Pakatan assemblypersons tried to enter the state government building.

However, the police's first attempt to guide 'the victim' into the trap failed as Sivakumar ignored their instructions to turn left into the building's basement car park, and kept walking straight to the lift, only to find it out of order.

At this point, a police officer arrived and snatched away his songkok to his and other Pakatan assemblypersons' annoyance.

They then turned on their heels and headed outside the building and briefed media representatives standing near the police barbed wire barricade at the road's edge on what had transpired.

This alleged police trap was revealed by Sivakumar at a press conference at the DAP state headquarters here today.

"The police were very smart and methodical in their planning to disrobe me of my official speaker's robe without the knowledge of the media or photographers.

Police attempts at keeping media blind

"They made sure that the media stayed out of the 50 m radius court restriction area by erecting barb-wires to prevent them from observing whatever incidents that could take place inside the compound of the State Secretariat," said Sivakumar.

"To make double-sure that the media could not really see the robe being taken off , they chose the left corner which leads into a dimly-lit part of the car park where many police personnel were waiting to pounce on me,"he claimed.

After speaking to the media, Sivakumar and other Pakatan politicians returned to the State Secretariat for the budget sitting but this time around they were cleverly guided into the ambush area where the waiting police jumped on Sivakumar to remove the robe.

"One policeman held my stomach tightly from behind and I was struggling to breathe, when another policeman caught me by the neck from behind and tried to strangle me.

"At the same time, both my arms were pulled back and another policeman was trying to remove the robe from NONE behind," said an enraged Sivakumar.

He tried his best to hang on to the robe but was overwhelmed by the number of policemen who eventually tore away the thick robe from him and he was only able to hang on to a strip ( pictured, right ) from the torn robe.

Pakatan rescuer pushed down and dragged

When asked which incident was worse, the infamous May 7th when he was forcibly removed from his speaker's chair or yesterday's, he replied: "Of course the second incident was worse as I was physically assaulted and nearly choked to death by the police.

"The May 7 incident was nothing as they merely carried me in my speaker's chair and did not harm me physically.

"Even now both my shoulders hurt, injured during the struggle with the police," he said.

Yesterday, when he went to lodge a report against the police assault, he was told to get his shoulders examined at the general hospital and submit the medical report to the police.

PKR Simpang Pulai assemblyperson Chan Ming Kai, had tried to rescue Sivakumar but was pushed to the ground and dragged away by the police.

It is believed that the police had recorded this incident, however, some main media, including Chinese newspapers, had managed to shoot pictures of the assault incident which appeared in today's editions.

Later after the media conference, Sivakumar and other Pakatan leaders showed the Malaysiakini recording of the police harassment of the Pakatan leaders to the journalists present.

NONE

An angry speaker had called the press conference in response to media reports of state chief police officer Zulkifli Abdullah and Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir ( left ) saying that Sivakumar was not assaulted as he had claimed.

He then produced copies of all the newspapers which carried the denials for the journalists.

"At first, I was worried that they were assaulting me away from the eyes of the media. Then it would've been my word against theirs when talking about this ugly incident to the public and press.

"But luckily for me some of the main media managed to get photographs and published them in today's editions," said Sivakumar with a wide smile.