BMC: Affidavit shows police hands

Taken from Malaysiakini
Lee Way Loon | Jul 22

Highway concessionaire Grand Saga Sdn Bhd has admitted that the police assisted in the re-erecting of the barricade blocking the toll-free access road to the Cheras-Kajang Highway from Bandar Mahkota Cheras BMC.

DAP Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng today revealed that Grand Saga executive director Zainal Abidin Ali made this admission in a sworn affidavit dated May 20.

"On May 7 and May 8, the company attempted twice to re-erect the barricade with the help of the police," read the affidavit submitted to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The High Court is hearing the case to determine whether residents have the right to access the highway from Bandar Mahkota Cheras.

Nearly 40,000 residents have persistently asked the highway concessionaire to remove the initial barricade which were erected in 2005. The barricade forces residents to take a longer tolled route to gain access to the highway.

Things boiled over when various altercations occurred in May involving residents, hired help for the company and the police, including Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel.

It resulted with the federal government ordering the road to remain open until the legal dispute is resolved in court.

Residents have accused the police of siding with Grand Saga, which was denied by Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.

On July 1, Works minister Mohd Zin Mohamed denied in Parliament that the government instructed any enforcement agency to assist Grand Saga.

Who's lying?
In the affidavit, Zainal Abidin related to the court the events pertaining to the dispute:

a) The barricade, which was built by his company on May 2005, was wrongly and/or illegally removed and/or vandalised by BMC residents on 21 April 2008;
b) On May 7 and May 8, his company twice attempted to re-erect the barricade with the help of the police;
c) However, these attempts faced objections from residents and it was removed and/or vandalised subsequently.

At a press conference held at his service centre, Lim said since the affidavit has legal effect, it is highly unlikely for Zainal Abidin to be lying.

He added that Zainal Abidin may face seven years jail and be slapped with a fine under section 191 of the Penal Code, if he was found to have made a false statement.

"Selangor police chief Khalid claimed that the police were never involved, however it is highly unlikely for Zainal Abidin to make a false statement. So who is lying?" he asked.

Lim also revealed that he emailed Suhakam on July 10 asking them to allow him to submit relevant documents at their public inquiry.

The public inquiry is slated for tomorrow and Thursday to investigate the alleged excessive force used during the BMC incident on May 27.

"However, my application was rejected by Suhakam," he said.