Media statement (2) by Teo Nie Ching in Serdang on Friday, 13^th May 2011:

Another contemptible threat to a PR leader, but will the culprit be caught this time around?

DAP unreservedly condemns the despicable threat to kidnap the three-year-old daughter of PKR vice-president and MP for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar.

The reasons behind the text message is no doubt politically-motivated and the sender has demonstrated his incapacity to discuss contentious issues in a calm, civil and rational manner. The threat to kidnap a three-year-old girl and insinuate that the child will end up sharing the same fate as another kidnap victim Sharlinie Mohd Nashar is no better than the actions of a terrorist threatening to kill innocent people.

Sharlinie, 5, was abducted in 2008 at a playground near her house in Petaling Jaya and remains missing until today. This tragic case has broken the hearts of many Malaysians. It is hard for us to imagine that there are human beings out there who lack such basic human decency and are capable of carrying out such a terrible and brutal acts.

The tragic kidnapping of Sharlinie is a slap in the face of the police force, as until today, the police still do not any leads to the case. The police must do all they can to investigate the threat note sent to Nurul Izzah, as it is the latest in a long string of cases and situations in which Opposition politicians have been threatened and intimidated.

In January this year, two males left a death threat note and a dead chicken on the grilled door of the DAP Sg Chua office premises. Though their action was recorded on the CCTV belonging to the shop next door, no one has been caught or charged in court until today.

In August 2010, Tony Pua, MP for PJ Utara, also received an M16 bullet and a death threat note in the mail. It was sent to his service centre in Damansara Utama.

In November 2010, Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim went to attend to the grouses of rice farmers who had complained about the low prices they were being offered by Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), but he ended up being physically assaulted by at least 30 men.

Karpal Singh, Teresa Kok, Wong Ho Leng and many other PR leaders have also been victims of death threats but sadly, none of the culprits were ever identified or brought to book. The inaction, indifference and inefficiency of the police force are part of the reasons why such brazen,cowardly actions take place repeatedly and in an unhindered manner.

There's a limit to how much stress and fear a family can endure, and we will be praying hard for the safety of Nurul Izzah and her entire household. All reasonable-minded and peace-loving Malaysians must stand firmly behind her and demonstrate our convictions ¨C that we will not condone such despicable acts by irresponsible and uncivilised parties.

We call upon the police to act swiftly and competently to nail the culprits, in order to allay public fears and restore confidence in a police force which has already suffered much damage to its reputation.

* Teo Nie Ching, DAP Assistant National Publicity Secretary & MP for Serdang