Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, the wife of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, merely had her statement taken and was never interrogated with regard to her participation in a rally against "toxic politics" in September last year, the police said today.

In a statement, Bukit Aman CID chief Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd also cautioned against parties who were trying to manipulate the situation.

"PDRM would like to clarify that Siti Hasmah was called to get her statement taken in regards to a probe regarding a protest which was organised without a permit last September.

“She was never interrogated, but her statement was taken professionally and with respect to her standing and status in the country.

"In fact, she herself had released a public statement saying that she did not face any intimidation when her statement was taken," said Wan Ahmad Najmuddin.

Wan Ahmad Najmuddin also cautioned against "seditious" remarks made by parties intending to capitalise upon the matter.

"This is part of police investigations and does not involve pressure from any parties," he said.

Last Friday, two police officers from Bukit Aman took Siti Hasmah's statement at the Yayasan Al-Bukhary building in Kuala Lumpur for more than an hour.

Her lawyer, Haniff Khatri Abdulla, later told reporters that the case is being investigated under Section 9 of the Peaceful Assembly Act.

In her speech at the protest, known as the “purple rally,” Siti Hasmah spoke about violence against women, and had also commented on an incident where movie producer David Teo was slapped by actor Sulaiman Yassin in the presence of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“Back in the old days, no one could be easily slapped at a public event,” she had said.