GEORGE TOWN, 1 Sept: The Penang Government will provide legal services and funding to defend the members of the Penang Voluntary Patrol Squad (PPS) who were wrongfully arrested.
The Chief Minster, Lim Guan Eng, said that the service will not be provided for any criminal wrongdoing, but merely for being a good Samaritan and helping the public.
“PPS had never strayed from its original objectives of serving the public to start hitting people,” Guan Eng said in a statement.
Guan Eng said that the state Exco for the Welfare Committee, Caring Society and Environment, Phee Boong Poh, will take full responsibility to ensure that any wrongdoings by PPS members are punished.
“If there are any criminal incidents involving PPS that are wrong, the Penang state government will co-operate fully with the police to take stern action,” said Guan Eng.
He added that the Penang state government had said repeatedly that PPS was not registered as a society under Section 41 of the Societies Act but was established by the Penang state government.
He said that the PPS works similarly to the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) which was set up by the state government and the JKKK (Federal) was set up by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.
“If JKKK and JKKK(P) is not wrong, why is there double-standard by the IGP to declare PPS set up by the Penang state government illegal?
“Why should the nearly 10,000 members in PPS be punished for the wrongful acts of one PPS member?” asked Guan Eng.
“If that is the case, can the IGP answer whether the entire 120,000 police forced should be punished just because of the criminal acts of several policemen committing crime, beating up people, even causing death whether in lock-ups or during interrogations?” Guan Eng asked.
NS
