PARLIAMENT | The police are "colour blind" when dealing with the controversy surrounding the banning of the Oktoberfest and other beer festivals, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

Zahid, who is also the home minister, confirmed that three individuals have been arrested for planning attacks during the festival. 

"The police are in the midst of collecting more information. They have identified the individuals (who planned the attacks) and that's why the inspector-general of police (Mohamad Fuzi Harun) issued an early warning against the festival. This is not our culture.

"I hope you understand that the police are 'colour blind'. Whatever action that was taken was meant for the interest of all parties," he stressed

Zahid said this in the Dewan Rakyat, during the Ministers' Question Time, to M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) who asked if the cancellations of the Oktoberfest were due to the lack of political will by the government in dealing with extremist elements threatening such activities.

Oktoberfest celebrations originated from Bavaria in Germany and customarily runs from mid-September until German Unity Day on Oct 3. It is a Bavarian harvest festival in which food and drinks, including beer, are shares during the festivities.

The matter was first publicised when Kuala Lumpur City Hall rejected the Better Beer Festival 2017 which was slated for Oct 6 and Oct 7 at Publika Shopping Gallery, citing security concerns.

A similar Oktoberfest-related festival was also not allowed to be held in Klang, while in both Sarawak and Penang, the state governments allowed the festivals to go ahead as planned.

On Oct 10, the cops arrested three suspected militant bombers, including a 19-year-old Form Six student, who allegedly built high-impact improvised explosive devices (IED) to be used at the Better Beer Festival.