The two groups rallying for and against Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy on his links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) came face to face at Komtar today.

But no untoward incident took place as both groups were cordoned off by the police, who stood watch and later dispersed the groups about 3.15pm.

However, the groups shouted at each other when the pro-Ramasamy group chanted "Tangkap" as the Muslim group arrived at Komtar.

The group was represented by about 15 Muslim NGOs, police said.

One protestor from the anti-Ramasamy group then shouted back, "Shut up, you terrorists."

The members of this group mostly chanted "Allah-u-Akhbar" and they also demanded that Ramasamy resigns as deputy chief minister.

Later, Northeast District police chief Anuar Omar (photo) negotiated with the Muslim group, asking them to disperse after they handed over their memorandum to an officer from Ramasamy's office.

The spokesperson for the Muslim NGOs, Mohd Azmi Yusof, said they wanted the Penang government to intervene and investigate Ramasamy on his purported links with terrorist groups in Sri Lanka.

"We are protesting because we want to ensure that our country's security is protected as we don't want any links with terrorist organisations like LTTE," Azmi said.

Anuar confirmed that no untoward incident occurred and both sides protested peacefully.

However, Anuar said both groups did not fulfil the requirements of the 10-day notice to assemble, which is required under the Peaceful Assembly Act.

Asked if police would be taking action on the protestors, Anuar replied, "This is new Malaysia and we allow both sides to express themselves, as long as it is peaceful".

The pro-Ramasamy group started their rally at Komtar at 1pm. The protest was organised by Tamil NGO Tamilar Kural, led by its president David Mashel.

The group was cordoned off at about 1.30pm by the police.

The rallies followed allegations against Ramasamy after photos of him paying homage to the AK 47 assault rifle went viral on social media.

Denying his involvement in violent activities, Ramasamy said he attended a memorial for the Sri Lankan Tamil genocide victims in Butterworth in 2015.

Ramasamy got into a further trouble when Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin asked him to debate with Muslim preacher Zakir Naik on the topic: "Who is the real terrorist?"

Asri made the call after Ramasamy urged the government to deport Zakir, who is on the wanted list in several countries.

Zakir, a permanent resident of Malaysia, has denied the allegations of involvement in money laundering and terrorist activities against him.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has refused to deport him on grounds that he has not committed any crime in the country.