In a statement carrying the names of all the top PH leaders in Johor, the opposition coalition said it would mobilise the support of the public to condemn the “cruel and unjust” action taken against the leader of Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda (Anak).
“Johor Pakatan Harapan is shocked by the news of the arrest of Mazlan Aliman by police at his home near Felda Sungai Ramun, Kulai, at 1.53am today.
“Johor Pakatan Harapan also condemns the action of the police who used force to arrest Mazlan at a most unreasonable hour, raising the question what serious offence he had committed.”
The statement was signed by Johor PH chairman Muhyiddin Yassin and the state chairman of the PH component parties — Dr Shahruddin Md Salleh (PPBM), Aminolhuda Hassan (Amanah), Hassan Karim (PKR) and Liew Chin Tong (DAP).
Mazlan was earlier accused of lying and spreading malicious slander after he claimed the wife of the prime minister, Rosmah Mansor, was involved in a failed multi-million ringgit fish farming project which has been the subject of a corruption probe.
On Monday, Rosmah lodged a police report on the matter, with her lawyer NoorHajran Mohd Noor saying Mazlan’s claim had destroyed her client’s reputation.
The Auditor-General’s Report, in 2015, stated that Felda had yet to get any benefit or returns from its sturgeon fish project, despite millions of ringgit invested to kickstart the sector.
The report also said the sturgeon fish could not be sent to Malaysia because the aquaculture farm had yet to be built.
Last January, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested five people suspected of corruption in the project.
In a YouTube video of him speaking at a ceramah, Mazlan said millions of ringgit were wasted on building facilities for the project which never took off.
The PH statement said police could have just asked Mazlan to present himself at their headquarters to record his statement.
There was no need to effect an arrest, it added.
“This matter does not make sense. Mazlan is widely known and, from his previous record, he had given very good cooperation to the authorities and never absconded.
“Johor Pakatan Harapan suspects the arrest of Mazlan is politically motivated. Mazlan’s revelation of the involvement of the prime minister’s wife in the failed sturgeon fish project perhaps is among the factors for his arrest.
“We believe any political issue should be settled with justification and facts — not trampled on with a show of power. That is a despicable and immoral form of action.
“It is also an injustice to Mazlan’s wife, children and family.”
The statement said Mazlan is a grassroots activist who fought for the interests of Felda settlers.
In the current critical political environment, with Felda issues becoming ever more distressing, the arrest of Mazlan would only increase the people’s hatred towards Barisan Nasional, it said.
Meanwhile, Bentong PH chairman Wong Tack also condemned the arrest of Mazlan.
Wong questioned whether the BN had misused the police to silence Mazlan because the ruling party was shaken up by the inroads made by PH in gaining the support of settlers in Felda schemes.
“The attendance of thousands of Felda Gunung Besout settlers (at a PH ceramah) in Tanjung Malim, Perak, last week clearly showed the Felda community is rising up to reject the Umno-BN regime,” he said in a statement.
Rosmah reports Amanah man for slander over Felda’s failed project