Police detained nine people from among 300 from various NGOs that staged a demonstration to protest against Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik, who is also the political secretary of Penang chief minister, in Georgetown today.

Although the protest procession was only for an hour, it created traffic congestion and affected business in the surrounding areas.

Northeast district police deputy chief Ahmad Bakhtiar Kassim confirmed the arrest.

"All those detained were brought to the northeast district headquarters for further investigation. About 100 policemen had been assigned to control the situation," he said when contacted today.

The protestors marched from Oriental Hotel in Penang Road at about 12.30pm before gathering at Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar) to accompany the submission of a memorandum calling for the sacking of the assemblyman.

The memorandum also urged the Penang government to be more focused on resolving the people's problems and to be rational in its actions.

Among the NGOs involved were Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa), Persatuan Kebajikan Insan Mulia (PKIM) and Suara Anak-Anak Malaysia.

NONE During the procession, the group carried banners calling for Ng's (left) sacking and expressing dissatisfaction with his leadership as he was rude and biased.

Upon reaching Komtar, they marched around the building before back in Penang Road at 1.20pm and the demonstrators then decided to sit in the middle of the road for 20 minutes.

Perkasa northeast district chairman Mohd Rizuad Mohd Azudin later handed over a memorandum to the information assistant in the Chief Minister's office, Zuliana Aziz.

Rizuad said the demonstration was held following a series of controversies involving Ng and the Penang community.

"If the DAP government has been ruling fairly, we need not hold this demonstration. As a state assemblyman, he (Ng) should be protecting the interest of the people and not oppress them," he said.

On Nov 22, Ng was alleged to have sparked a controversy by using harsh words on two fire victims in Jalan Gurdwara.

One of the victims was accused of being a traitor for marrying a foreigner and was not given any assistance by the state government.

Ng was also criticised for acting like a 'mafia' member when he led an operation to seize the goods of a nasi kandar restaurant in Gat Lebuh Maccalum.

The political secretary of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was also alleged to have uttered racist words against the workers of that restaurant.

- Bernama