Shah Alam district police chief Shafien Mamat said this is because his men had clearly told the organisers to make sure that appropriate security measures were in place to avoid incidents like that which broke out at the forum today.
“We met the organisers yesterday, and one of the conditions we gave them was that they had to ensure everyone is safe.
“But you saw what happened. We will call the organisers as part of our investigation,” he told reporters when met at the venue of the forum, the Raja Muda Musa hall here.
Shafien also said that three suspects, aged 17 to 19 have been detained by the police, to assist in their investigation. Two of them were students at a private college here, he added.
When asked if any police report had been lodged over the incident, he said “not yet”.
PPBM Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman however, told reporters that the party planned to do so at 8pm today.
Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad was answering questions at the “Nothing to Hide 2.0” forum this afternoon when out of nowhere, two projectiles with a pungent chemical odour were hurled in his direction.
The hall was then filled with smoke, throwing the event into chaos.
Punches were also said to have been traded as PPBM members rushed on to the stage to protect the 92-year-old leader.
The incident happened soon after a participant had questioned Mahathir on the Memali incident in which saw 14 villagers and four policemen were killed in a confrontation between the police and members of an Islamic cult in November 1985 in Kedah when Mahathir was prime minister.
“Why, Tun? They were Malaysians. They were Malays, villagers. They were not Jews or Zionists,” the participant was heard saying.
Mahathir kept his cool, replying that four policemen were also killed and that the authorities had used standard procedures in the operation.