UMNO Youth Chief, Dr Akmal Saleh, has broken the silence about the viral scuffle between DBKL and a balloon vendor at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman recently.
In his video, Akmal questioned the SOPs of DBKL officers when carrying out their duties and asked if force was necessary when dealing with the viral balloon vendor.
Akmal also clarified that he understood it was wrong if the vendor had no valid licence but highlighted that there was no need to treat the vendor in such a way as seen in the video.
“He’s a human being, not an animal”
In the video, the balloon vendor refused to hand over his goods to the officers who wanted to confiscate the items, which resulted in a physical dispute where both parties pushed and shoved each other.
“Yes, it was wrong if he had no license. But what about the unlicensed vendors who have been there for years?”
“It is the Raya season, just let him be. How much could he make from selling the balloons? Not much. He’s a human being and he has kids too, not an animal,” he said.
In his video, Akmal also expressed his desire to bear the legal cost for the balloon vendor, who is now hospitalised for injury. Akmal urged Malaysians to reach out to him if they happen to know the identity of the balloon vendor and said UMNO Youth Malaysia will fight for the balloon vendor in court.
What do you think of this? Do you think the balloon vendor deserves justice, or were the DBKL officers merely carrying out their due diligence?
Also read: Bazaar Vendor Who Attacked & Bit a DBKL Officer After Being Asked to Move Her Truck Fined RM3,000
