By G Vinod
July 15, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: DAP MP Er Teck Hwa landed in trouble when he wore the banned Bersih 2.0 yellow T-shirt on his way to a memorial service for the late Teoh Beng Hock yesterday.

Relating the incident, the Bakri MP’s aide Liew Choan Chee said some 50 people gathered at Wisma DAP in Muar, Johor, for the service at 8pm.

There was a FRU truck and several policemen stationed nearby.

“We were supposed to march to Er’s service centre which is about 300 yards from the DAP building. When we started walking, several police officers stopped our procession,” said Liew.

He added that a police officer, identified only as Bala, ordered Er to remove the T-shirt and warned the group that it was an illegal gathering.

Refusing, Er then argued his case with the officer who eventually relented when the MP agreed to wear a red T-shirt bearing a Chinese character which meant “Change” on top of the yellow T-shirt.

The procession was then allowed to continue until they reached a road where a patrol car stopped them.

Liew said several police officers then forced Er to remove his Bersih 2.0 T-shirt on the spot.

“Er grew irritated and started shouting at the officers. A commotion ensued, and the police told him to follow them to the Muar district police headquarters,” he added.

The police, Liew said, refused to tell Er whether he was under arrest.

The aide added that his boss then told the police that he would come to the police headquarters in his own car. Er was later released after his statement was recorded.

Commenting on the incident, DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said the police should concentrate on eradicating crime instead of being overzealous in their clampdown on Bersih 2.0.

Calling it ridiculous, Pua said the country had become a laughing stock among the international community for its fear of yellow.

“Er was arrested despite wearing the Bersih T-shirt under another shirt. So even if someone was wearing a yellow underwear, the police will arrest them,” he added.