PKR has given the New Straits Times 48 hours to publish the opposition's statement or they would pursue legal proceedings over an allegedly defamatory article published by the English daily.

After handing over the memorandum by elections watchdog Bersih to Suhakam this morning, vice-president R Sivarasa told reporters that the letter of demand was issued to NST yesterday.

The NST article in contention entitled 'RM1m damage, 23 held in riot' was published on Sept 10.

It reported that PKR had organised the ceramah at Pantai Batu Puruk in Kuala Terengganu that turned ugly last Saturday.

The public forum organised by coalition group Bersih - which PKR is a member - was refused a permit by the police which resulted in a clash that left two men seriously hurt and 23 others arrested.

Bersih, an alliance of political parties and non-government organisations to campaign for electoral reform, is currently conducting a nationwide roadshow.

In last Saturday's clashes, Suwandi Abdul Ghani, 37, and Muhamad Azman Aziz, 21, sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and neck respectively. Both, who have been hospitalised, are reported to be in stable condition.

Terengganu police chief SAC I Ayub Yaakob had clarified that the shooter was a 25-year-old constable Wan Abdul Aziz who was said to have opened fire four times in self-defence after being set upon by an armed mob.

PKR's rebuttal

The demand letter said NST had falsely imputed that supporters of PKR were violent and caused the riot.

"We were informed that none of your journalists referred to any party official or representative to check the alleged acts in respect of the incident before writing the report," it read.

"In the overall context of the report, the photograph and accompanying caption also implied that a PKR member burned the Malaysian flag during the incident, an imputation made with no reasonable facts," it stated further.

Attached to the demand letter was a statement by PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim who provided a rebuttal to the NST article.

In his statement, Khalid ticked off NST for not clarifying facts with PKR leaders.

"The report was one-sided and only quoted comments from the state police chief Ayub, Umno deputy president Najib Abdul Razak and Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein.

"This is not only unprofessional and unethical as far as journalism practice is concerned; it also showed malice on the part of writers and publishers," it read.

Gun pointed at Bersh worker

Khalid also narrated the events that took place that night which included a plainclothes police officer pointing a gun at a Bersih security personnel for moving a police cone.

In addition to that, he condemned the high-handed police action who allegedly were acting on instructions from Umno Terrengganu leaders.

On the controversial police shooting, Khalid said a man was found to be inciting a part of the crowd whereby some members of the public tried to subdue him.

"Unexpectedly, the men drew out a gun and discharged his weapon and shot two persons. A key question is to be answered by the police is why did this man not fire into the air [than] shoot directly at unarmed persons?" he asked.

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