Arutchelvan said he was only exercising his rights as a Malaysian, as Article 10 of the Federal Constitution allows for peaceful assembly.
The party’s central committee member told reporters outside the Dang Wangi police headquarters here that he and fellow PSM member V Paneerselvam were questioned separately by ASP R Chandran for half an hour, facing 20 questions each.
Their lawyer, Rajsurian Pillai, was also present during questioning.
Arutchelvan said he and Paneerselvam had been shown pictures of the rally, adding that they had told police that they would answer the questions in court.
He said the organisers had notified police on April 18, more than 10 days before the rally, and had further met with the police on April 19.
At the meeting, DBKL said they had no problems with the rally, he said.
“We just had to get Lot 10’s permission. We were informed of this through a letter on April 21.”
Police said Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) member E Nalini and rally organising member T Janice would also be called in to give their statements.
Arutchelvan said police would be better off looking for people like Pastor Raymond Koh, who has been missing since February, than wasting their time questioning them.
“They are wasting time and wasting public funds, which can be used to stop crime instead of questioning activists.”
The May Day rally, which drew over 300 people, saw the crowd marching from the National Mosque to Bukit Bintang.
The rally’s theme revolved around a workers’ retrenchment fund in support of those who lost their jobs due to companies either closing down or downsizing.