Four Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists were detained by the police this morning while on their way to a protest in Teluk Rubiah, Lumut in Perak.

The four - S Nagenteran, Choo Chon Kai, Patrick Vincent and Alexis Paul Raj - who were travelling in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, were stopped by the police at a roadblock approximately 1km from the protest site.

    

When contacted, PSM member S Nagenteran said the police detained them at about 10.30am after finding party paraphernalia and Anything But Umno (ABU) DVDs inside their car.

"They looked at the material that we were carrying and then asked us to go to the Manjung district police headquarters," he said.

Nagenteran said the group abided by the demand as their MyKads were confiscated by the police.

However, he said the quartet were left waiting at the police station for almost two hours without any action being taken against them.

"When the protest at Teluk Rubiah was over, the police eventually let us go after taking down our personal details," he said.

According to Nagenteran, former Perak menteri besar Nizar Jamaluddin had also gone to the police station and those detained were subsequently released at about 12 noon.

"They were just trying to harass us and to tell people not to participate in the protest," he said, pointing out that all motorists heading to the protest site were also checked.

Environmental concerns

Meanwhile, the demonstration, which saw the participation of 200 people, went off without a hitch.

The rally was held to protest against Vale Malaysia Manufacturing Sdn Bhd - the local subsidiary of the world’s largest iron ore mining and processing company - which is constructing an iron ore processing plant in Teluk Rubiah.

According to Bernama , the assembly at the main entrance of the company's premises was attended by Pasir Panjang assemblyman Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, former state assembly speaker V Sivakumar and Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham.

The plant, expected to be operational in June next year, has raised fears that it will affect the health of local residents and destroy the livelihood of fishermen in the area.

Consumer and environmental groups have opposed the project, arguing that the Vale plant would destabilise the fragile ecosystem of the area, formerly gazetted as a forest reserve.

lumut waterfront beautification 021106 boardwalk The Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Perak (CCCP) has also questioned the easy manner in which approvals were given to Vale by the state government.

On Wednesday, Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the

state government was mulling over declassifying the documents on the iron

investment project to prove that Mohammad Nizar agreed with the project when he was the menteri besar for 11 months under opposition coalition's administration.

One of those arrested today, Choo, was among five other PSM members detained for one month under the Emergency Ordinance last year.

They were subsequently charged with possessing subversive materials. PSM has since filed a lawsuit against the government for wrongful detention.