A Pakatan Harapan meet and greet in Kampung Bakar Batu, Johor Bahru last night was cut short after being interrupted by angry locals.

Stulang assemblyperson Andrew Chen Kah Eng claimed the disruption was caused by Umno and BN members.

"They have abused their power (in order) to frighten people and stop us from meeting the people," Chen said in a Facebook live press conference at an eatery in Kampung Bakar Batu.

Also present were Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang, Johor Harapan secretary Osman Sapian from Bersatu, and Johor PKR information chief Akmal Nasir.

Sporadic shouts could be heard in the background as Chen was speaking.

Osman claimed he had faced similar harassment by youths wearing blue shirts previously.

"Who are they if they wear blue, if not BN and Umno Youth, BN Youth (members)?" he said.

Osman's remarks incensed an onlooker, an elderly man wearing a white kopiah.

"Don't drag Umno into this. I don't like it," the man claiming to be a local, said.

The man continued to heckle Osman, who continued the live press conference by speaking louder.

The crowd soon became more agitated, until a youth wearing a blue hat told the Harapan people to "relax" and that "we don't want trouble."

After the commotion died down, the camera turned to Lim, who said he would reserve comment until he could get an explanation from Umno's Johor Bahru MP Shahrir Samad.

The group then dispersed peacefully.

'Like gangsters'

In a statement later, Chen said that the stall owner was under “tremendous political pressure from Umno” for allowing it to be used for a Harapan event, calling the purported act of intimidation an abuse of power.

“It can be said that Umno-BN is now running scared. They are no longer confident in the people’s support.

“This is why they have undertaken various means to prevent us from meeting the people, including pressuring the stall owner.

“This incident shows that Umno-BN has been in power too long, that they feel they can do anything to pressure or intimidate the people,” the statement read.

Chen lamented the slow death of democracy in Malaysia, saying it was just a matter of time before the country submits to authoritarian rules, such as in North Korea.

He also called on Johor Bahru Umno chief Shahrir Abdul Samad (photo) to apologise for the incident.

A joint statement from Johor Harapan chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin, Johor Bersatu chairperson Shahruddin Md Salleh, Johor Amanah chairperson Aminolhuda Hassan, Johor PKR chairperson Hassan Karim and Johor DAP chairperson Liew Chin Tong also called for an apology from Shahrir.

From the logos visible on their clothing, the statement read, the three youths who disrupted the meet and greet in an were believed to be from Umno-BN.

The Harapan leaders claimed that the youths could not have acted without approval from higher-ups in the party.

“In a world that is progressing at a fast pace, BN is still acting like uncivilised gangsters.

“Because of the incident, people had to leave the event to avoid the gangster-like youth from acting more irrationally and disturbing the peace.”