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UPDATED VERSION. PAS, a component of election watchdog Bersih, has revealed the chronology of the bloody Batu Buruk Incident Saturday night, in which live bullets were fired at a ceramah crowd. Read it here at Harakahdaily.

Let's await the authorities reveal their side of stories with details.

At a press conference well attended by foreign Press today, PAS vice-president Mustafa Ali claimed that Senator Wan Mohd Farid Wan Salleh, political secretary to the Internal Security Minister (who is also the Prime Minister), was involved in the "pre-planning" to spark the incident.

PAS also claimed that the (Federal Reserve Unit) FRU officer who shot two of its party members was one of several agent provocateurs in plain clothes -- he wore red ribbon as identifier to colleagues -- who prompted police action last Saturday night.

However, Mohd Farid denied his involvement, stating an alibi. Quote:

“I don’t know about any plan. At the time of the rioting, I was chairing a Kuala Terengganu Umno division meeting. I was not involved. The allegations are wrong. I dare to swear by it,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was also dispute over the number of live bullets fired -- Police said only one, while PAS said more than one was shot.

Drawing press attention to the fact that two men were now being treated for gun wounds -- Suwandi Abdul Ghani, 37, was shot in the chest while Muhamad Azman Aziz, 21, was shot in the neck -- DAP central executive committee member Ronnie Liu questioned:

“How can one bullet wound two men? Is this similar to the magic bullet used in the (John F) Kennedy assassination?” he asked.

Read Malaysiakini here and here.

ORIGINAL POSTING

In these days of real-time Internet, it seems information flow from oil-rich Terenganu is still very much constipated.

More than 36 hours have gone past but not many details had been reported in the Press about claims by PAS and PKR leaders that the police used unprecedented violence - including firing live bullets - to disperse a ceramah in Pantai Batu Buruk, Terengganu, late Saturday night.

UNIFIED MESSAGING... Judging from the camera angles, the photos used in today's newspapers could be from a controlled, syndicated and authoritative source

According to Malaysiakini, quoting party sources from the two opposition parties, two individuals have been seriously injured -- one in his shoulder chest and another in his neck -- as a result of being shot.

The live bullet was fired during a stand-off between the police and the crowd of 500 people that started after the authorities wanted to ban a ceramah organised by polls watchdog, Bersih. The police said that the organisers had no permit to conduct the ceramah.

Among those who were to address the crowd were PKR treasurer Khalid Ibrahim and PAS vice-president Mohamad Sabu.

Bersih is a coalition of opposition political parties and NGOs which campaigns for free and fair elections. Among its main appeals for reform in the electoral process include ( 1 ) the use of indelible ink to prevent repeat voting; ( 2 ) abolishing postal votes; ( 3 ) cleaning up the electoral roll; and ( 4 ) independent reports by the mainstream media.

The coalition is organising a series of public forums nationwide to raise awareness on the subject. The ceramah in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday night was the seventh in the series. The grand finale will be held on November 10 as the general election is expected to draw nearer.

Police confirmed live bullet fired

On the other hand, Terengganu police chief Ayub Yaakob, told a specially arranged press conference Saturday afternoon, confirming that one live bullet was fired by one of his officers from the Federal Reserve Unit.

Malaysiakini reported that the police also fired tear gas and used water canons to disperse the crowd.

So far, we read from the Press that, of the 23 people arrested Friday night, 19 of them were freed on police bail by the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court the following day. Four, however, have been remanded for further investigations.

If history served me well, the last time live bullets were used during a stand-off between the uniformed forces and lay people was during the bloody Memali Incident in 1985, in which 14 civilians and 4 policemen were killed.

So my question is: You fire live bullets at ceramah crowd? What Idi Amin country is this? Or Batu Buruk was just as bad as Memali?

UPDATES: Screenshots was told that PAS will hold a special ceramah at 9.00pm on Friday (September 14) to clarify on the Batu Buruk incident. The venue is within the compound of the Rusila Mosque, Marang.

The speakers include: Hj Abd Hadi Awang, Ustaz Nasarudin Mat Isa -- who are the Top 2 in PAS -- and Hj Mohamad bin Sabu and Mustaffa Ali.

Live video streaming will be available via www.terengganukini.net.