The police detained eight cattle farmers and a social activist this morning when the group attempted to meet with Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Mohd Toyo to air their grouses over eviction problems they had been facing at Ladang Bukit Tinggi in Klang.

According to social activist V Selvam, the group was arrested at about 10am when they arrived at Dewan Hamzah in Klang where Mohd Khir was attending a meet-the-people session.

"We were carrying placards bearing enlarged copies of letters that the menteri besar had written to the cattle farmers in response to their appeals for intervention. But the group was arrested before any of us could meet him," he said when contacted.

Among those detained were activist T Saravanan and chairperson of the Ladang Bukit Tinggi Cattle-Breeders Committee A Thevinderan.

The group were brought to the Klang district police headquarters for further questioning.

Meeting disrupted

When contacted, Klang police chief A Paramasivam confirmed that four men and five women, aged between 13 and 73, were arrested during the incident this morning.

He said the group had disrupted the state government's function when they started distributing leaflets and bringing in posters to the event.

"We asked them to leave but they refused. They continued (with their activities) so we picked them up," he said.

The police chief said the group are being investigated for various offences including disrupting the meeting and causing a breach of peace, illegal assembly, resisting arrest and use of abusive language (towards the police).

He added that police would try to complete their investigations by today and release the nine.

"At this point it does not warrant us detaining them further," he said.

Paramasivam also denied that two children, aged two and five respectively, were arrested as well. He said they had only been brought to the police station as their mother was among those held.

"We had to bring them along as we cannot just leave them there by themselves," he added.

No action

Relating the morning's incident, Selvam who is also a committee member of the pro tem Parti Sosialis Malaysia, said the group had intended to demonstrate their dissatisfaction over Mohd Khir's apparent lack of concern on the problems faced by the cattle farmers despite their repeated appeals to him.

He said the cattle-breeders who had been facing eviction from Ladang Bukit Tinggi in Klang for the past three years, had sent several letters to the menteri besar and the state government, appealing for intervention over action taken against them by the new owners of the former estate land.

"All he has done over the past three years is to forward our letters to some other people. We have not received a proper response from him on the issue till this day," he said.

Meanwhile, in a protest letter to the Inspector General of Police Norian Mai, the police watch and human rights committee of the Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia called for the immediate release of those arrested.

"(These people) were unlawfully and unreasonably stopped by the police and arrested by the Klang police chief A Paramasivam. We do not understand why the (meet-the-people session) was held if the authorities are not willing to meet with affected persons who were merely seeking help and solutions to their problems," the letter said.

Traditional owners

The committee also called for the sacking or suspension of Klang police chief Paramasivam for allegedly abusing police power in arresting the group.

The problems facing the cattle-farmers started after previous landowner Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad sold part of the former estate in 1993 to another company to develop a township known as Bandar Bukit Tinggi.

Gemilang Waras, the new land owner, is said to have been trying to evict the residents since early 2000.

However, the company's ownership of the land is disputed by some 11 cattle-breeding families who have claimed, in turn, that they have occupied the Ladang Bukit Tinggi area for three generations, going back 70 years.

Although the ownership dispute is still pending in court, several clashes have taken place between the residents and developers over eviction exercises.

In September last year, six persons were arrested when they tried to stop their demolition of their homes and cowsheds.