Pasir Salak Umno Youth chief Faizal Tajuddin has accused the police of being unfair for not conducting a proper investigation against Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad for hurling a vulgar word at his father.
“Yes, I am saying the police was not fair in this case. […] Is it because Khalid is a member of parliament and we are just ordinary people?” he asked.
“I was told the case was classified as NFA (no further action), ” he added during a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.
He suggested that Khalid be probed for criminal defamation or Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act, the same provision that Faizal, his brother Firdaus and six others were charged under.
His accusation comes in the wake of Khalid complaining about the lightweight charge against the eight for allegedly assaulting him in parliament.
The Shah Alam MP had asked the Attorney-General’s Chambers to justify charging them under the provision, which would see them slapped with a mere RM100 fine upon conviction.
Faizal (photo) questioned if the AG’s Chambers had opted for a lesser charge because the case involved the sons of a deputy minister, and sought the intervention of Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.
The alleged assault happened three days after an argument between Khalid and Faizal’s father, Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
Tajuddin, who is also agriculture and agro-based industries deputy minister, had referred to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok as the sole “woman with a Kok”, prompting Khalid to chastise the BN MP and call him “sial” (damned).
During the investigation, the case was probed under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting, which is punishable with up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine, or both.
However, the eight were yesterday charged under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955.
The charge was read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code which stipulates that when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention, such persons are liable for that act in the same manner as if the act were done alone.
‘We will fight the case’
Meanwhile, Faizal said he would write to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar to ask them to re-open the case against Khalid.
As for the incident involving Khalid, Faizal said he and a group of 30 had confronted the Shah Alam MP for using a vulgar word against Tajuddin.
Based on this, he said the eight would not plead guilty and were determined to fight the case right up to the apex court.
“(Our) intention was to question Khalid face-to-face why he chose to utter such a word (against Tajuddin). We showed up to give moral support (to his father),” he explained.
“If we had planned for a riot or attempted to attack (Khalid), we would not have picked a well-guarded place (like) Parliament. We are not that stupid.
“The commotion was due to over protective security personnel who prevented us from getting close to Khalid. We are all civilised, those who came wore suits and ties instead of T-shirts,” he added.
Faizal said if the group had been given a chance to confront Khalid, the incident could have been prevented.
He also claimed that one of those in the group fell after being pushed, and this agitated the rest.
Also present at the press conference was Firdaus, two other accused Ariffin Mohammed Ali and Azmir Ahmad as well as their counsel Hasnal Rezua Merican.
Faizal also claimed that the group went to parliament as visitors, and not under his father’s “ticket” as alleged by certain quarters, who demanded that Tajuddin face disciplinary action.
He said his father was in the dark about the group’s plan.
As for Umno not taking action, Faizal said this is perhaps because the case had become a police matter.
“In another country and in different era, God knows what would have happened to Khalid. But we still want to use the right channel and provision of law.
“We have no remorse because there is no price tag one can put on the honour of a family member,” he added.