Batu MP P Prabakaran has been invited by the Social Welfare Department to attend a discussion on the distribution of supplies to residents of Taman Seri Murni in Selayang.
This comes two days after he was arrested for allegedly interfering in a high-level meeting on supply distribution in the area that falls under his constituency.
“I would like to thank the Social Welfare Department for inviting me as the people’s representative to discuss matters of assistance even though this is the third day of enhanced movement control order (MCO).
“At the meeting, I will raise issues such as inadequate food supplies, critical patients who need urgent medical assistance and the food assistance from the department that was supposed to be sent during the phase 1 and 2 of the MCO, which has not been sent yet.”
The Seri Murni apartments in the northern Kuala Lumpur and eight areas in Selayang – all under the Batu constituency – have been placed under enhanced MCO from April 20 to May 3 to enable Covid-19 tracing and testing.
These are mainly housing and mixed development areas with low to middle-cost flats and shop lots.
Prabakaran was arrested when he visited the area two days ago, which he said he had done after receiving complaints from his constituents about the lockdown.
It was reported that he was detained by police at the scene after he had gotten into an argument with Deputy Federal Territories Minister Edmund Santhara Kumar.
However, Edmund had denied being in an argument and that Prabakaran entered the command centre in Selayang, which is under enhanced MCO, where different agencies were discussing sensitive data.
Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 28 Covid-19 cases and one fatality have been registered in the area and a total of 2,064 samples have been taken from the residents.
Meanwhile, Prabakaran today said he is urging all government agencies to provide assistance to the people of Seri Murni, majority of them who are locals.
He also urged the residents there to abide by the rules set by the authorities.
Earlier, Prabakaran said that he is getting calls from people without food in Taman Sri Murni
He said in a social posting last night that he has been receiving calls from residents at Taman Sri Murni informing him that they have yet to receive aid from the Social Welfare Department.
“On the incident…between one deputy minister and myself inside the Taman Sri Murni command centre, I believe they are not being honest in saying what really happened, which led to my detention at Sentul police station for several hours on Monday.
“I will look into it, maybe later, because I have more urgent matters to resolve for my constituents at Taman Sri Murni…(I) just received the message that some food has been distributed (to) one phase and two more pending.
“I’m still getting so many calls from people there who tell me they haven’t had a proper meal because they are out of groceries. They claim they haven’t eaten and are in dire need of milk powder, rice and the basic essentials, but no aid from welfare department has reached them when I’m writing this,” the lawmaker said.
He claimed his team has been able to put together 500 bags of food and essential items for the residents but was not allowed to distribute them due to the enhanced MCO. He was told the Welfare Department would distribute the bags of food items today.
Earlier reports:
Apr 21, Batu MP Prabakaran Faces Charges of Flouting MCO, Obstructing Cops
Apr 20, Cops Quiz Batu MP for Breaching MCO