Police yesterday questioned Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan on his involvement in the Solidarity with Egypt demonstration in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.

Arutchelvan was questioned at the Cheras district police headquarters for 30 minutes by Inspector Faizal Abdullah, the same officer he said harassed him in front of his house in Kajang last Sunday evening.

"The questions were the same standard ones... they (the police) asked whether was I there at the rally last Friday and who else were there," he said when contacted by Malaysiakini .

NONE Arutchelvan ( right in picture ), who is also a Kajang municipal councillor, said he did not answer any of the questions as he saw the procedure as a waste of time.

"I do not see any point in it (answering the questions). They (the police) should be out there catching criminals instead," he added.

Apart from that, Arutchelvan said he clearly informed the police officer that he would not answer any more questions, as Section 112(2) of the Penal Code says an individual may refuse to answer questions.

"I told them I will not answer any (other) question as Section 112 (2) of the law says that a witness may not, or does not need, to answer anything if the witness feels it's incriminating... Therefore, I refused to answer," he said.

He has not been asked to go back to the district police headquarters, and neither has been charged with any wrongdoing.

'Creating fear among the rakyat'

Asked about the outcome of yesterday's investigation, Arutchelvan said: "Honestly, I think it is nothing big... from what I gather, the police are doing this just to scare the rakyat so that we won't hold demonstrations."

protest against hosni mubarak us embassy kuala lumpur crowd 1 Fifteen people accompanied Arutchelvan to the Cheras district police headquarters yesterday to give him their support. Among them were PSM president Nasir Hashim and several committee members of the human rights NGO Suaram.

On Monday, Arutchelvan lodged a report against four police officers for harassing him following the Solidarity with Egypt demonstration in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.

The four went to Arutchelvan's house in Kajang on Sunday to serve a notice under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code and to question him about the demonstration.

Last Friday, police fired water cannons at protesters as about 3,000 Malaysians held a noisy rally outside the US Embassy to demand that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns immediately.

After Friday prayers at the Masjid Syakireen in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre park and the Tabung Haji mosque along Jalan Tun Razak, members of the respective congregations streamed out, unfurled banners and took out posters condemning Mubarak.

The protesters headed towards the US Embassy, about 300 metres from the Tabung Haji mosque on Jalan Tun Razak, where they submitted a memorandum on the matter to embassy officials.

About 200 heavily-armed riot police with batons, shields and tear gas rifles stood guard outside the embassy gates.