KUALA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA - A minor scuffle broke out between Kuala Terengganu City Council enforcement officers and PAS supporters over flags at a roundabout in Batu Manir here yesterday.

The officers were acting on motorists' complaints that PAS flags were obstructing their view.

Forty council officers came to the site, a PAS stronghold, at 11am to remove the flags put up at the centre of the roundabout, including one hoisted to about 30m.

About 20 PAS supporters confronted the officers, six of them women, while they were removing the flags.

The supporters surrounded the officers and a few began heckling the women.

The female officers, fearing for their safety, fled to a waiting council vehicle while their male colleagues alerted the police.

A team of policemen soon arrived and managed to calm the situation.

However, 20 minutes later, the situation became tense when a man in a robe, believed to be state PAS deputy commissioner Datuk Abu Bakar Chik, arrived at the scene.

Upon seeing him, the supporters turned aggressive and surrounded a group of four officers who were trying to remove one of the flagpoles.

Police managed to stop the supporters from injuring the officers. No arrests were made.

Mayor Datuk Mat Razali Kassim said that he had already advised the party on Monday to remove the flags.

Meanwhile, state police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayub Yaakub said Terengganu recorded the highest number of police reports related to the general election compared to other states.

To date, 33 incidents were reported involving the desecration of flags in four districts.

There were 10 reports in Kuala Terengganu, Kemaman (nine), Dungun (11) and Marang (three).

Other reports were intimidation of supporters, causing mischief, damage and stealing of party flags.