The Malaysian Insight

THE arrest of DAP members, including two assemblymen, over the alleged links with defunct Tamil Tigers terror group would not affect the party, said P. Ramasamy.

The Penang deputy chief minister ll said the issue, especially the arrest of those from DAP, has been blown out of proportion by the party’s enemies.

“They just want to portray DAP as anti-Islam and anti-Malay,” the Perai assemblyman told The Malaysian Insight.

“I am confident that this issue is not going to cause any harm.”

DAP would have not accepted his membership in the first place if he had indeed been a member of LTTE, said Ramasamy.

“Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng know about my activity in Sri Lanka. I was not there to support the cause but rather as a mediator for the peace process.”

The party central committee member is also confident that Gadek assemblyman G. Saminanthan and Seremban Jaya rep P. Gunasekaran have no formal ties with LTTE.

He said they are only sympathisers of the struggle of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.

“I don’t think that they need to be detained. I have known Guna for 15 years. He is a very soft-spoken man.

“Maybe he has these nationalistic feelings towards the Tamils and would want to express support for the victims in the war. I don’t think that is wrong and there is nothing wrong with holding an event to commemorate the tragedy.

“As for Saminanthan, he is a down-to-earth kind of man,” Ramasamy added.

Those calling for his arrest over his links with LTTE, especially those from PAS, never raised their concerns when they were with DAP in Pakatan Rakyat, he said.

“The pinnacle point of the Tamil Tigers struggle was in 2009. At that time, PAS never questioned about the LTTE link to DAP.”

Police recently detained 12 men, including the two DAP reps, for supporting the now defunct LTTE.

All men are detained under the Security Offences and Special Measures Act (Sosma) and are being held for 28 days.

Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism principle assistant director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said there is evidence of money transaction to fund the group’s activity to recruit, promote and to revive the movement.

However, Ramasamy said it is hard to revive LTTE’s struggle now.

“If LTTE is still around, you can say that these 12 are supporting the cause but LTTE is no more.

“The group is no longer around for almost 10 years and I am confident that LTTE will never going to be formed again.” – October 21, 2019.