IPOH, June 3 — Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general A. Sivarajan today said that all five National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services’ (NUWHSAS) members who were arrested during yesterday’s protest in front of Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) must be released by 6pm today as police failed to obtain a remand order against them.
Sivarajan said the Magistrate had refused the remand order and instructed police to release all five of them as soon as fingerprints and other records are obtained.
“The police requested a four-day remand order, but the lawyers representing those detained informed the Magistrate that there is no need for further remand as their statements have been recorded.
“Thus, the Magistrate refused the remand order request and asked the police to release them by 6pm today,” he said.
The five arrested are M. Saraswathy, L. Danaletchumy, V. Santhiran who are all NUWHSAS office-bearers while P. Jothi and C. Subramanian are PSM members.
Yesterday, the five individuals together with the several other members of NUWHSAS, who are mostly hospital cleaners, held a protest in front of HRPB here.
The protest aimed to raise attention to the hospital cleaners’ grouses, including the lack of protective gear against the Covid-19 virus.
They claimed that they have been subjected to constant harassment, victimisation and union-busting activities since early this year after making multiple police reports and complaints to the Human Resources Ministry against UEM Edgenta’s subsidiary Edgenta UEMS Sdn Bhd.
During the protest, the five individuals were arrested for obstructing public servants from carrying out their duties.
Separately, NUWHSAS also posted a picture of the five, who were handcuffed when they were brought to the court today, on Twitter and criticised the police for their action.
Meanwhile, PSM’s deputy chairperson S. Arulchelvan also condemned the act as he said the five unionists were not given fair treatment despite conducting a peaceful picket and adhering to strict standard operating procedures (SOP).
“It is shocking that police requested a four-day remand, the maximum allowed under the Criminal Procedure Code and the investigation officer (IO) has further indicated that they plan to charge them tomorrow.
He also urged the police to stop any attempt to charge the five individuals as they complied with all CMCO’s SOPs during the picket.
“It is a waste of public funds and time besides it does not address the core issues raised by NUWHSAS,” he said.
