Stop the violent trend!
By Thomas Lee Seng Hock, MySinChew
The live M-16 bullet that was sent together with a threatening note to DAP national publicity chief Tony Pua yesterday (Wednesday 11 August 2010) is not simply a cowardly intimidation against the Petaling Jaya Utara MP, but a dastardly dangerous threat to the whole peace-loving citizenry of the country.
The bullet and the note were mailed to Tony’s service centre in Damansara Utama in Petaling on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 August 2010.
The note said: “Tony Pua Kiam Wee. You are so brave? What do you want now? You better watch out. We know about your family, your house, your office, your car.”
One of the MP’s assistants has lodged a report at the Damansara police station. Tony also gave a statement to the police on the matter.
Tony told a press conference later that the threat was possibly related to his suggestion to the Selangor state government to do away with bumiputera discounts for luxury homes costing over RM500,000 each and for upmarket commercial property in the state, to improve competitiveness and restore investor confidence.
Tony said this at a forum on the Selangor economy last month, but he also said that the 7% discounts enjoyed by Malays and other bumiputeras should be retained for homes costing below RM500,000 each.
The evil death threat against Tony is not the first received by DAP leaders in recent time. In 2008, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh received a 9mm live bullet and a threatening note at his office. The then DAP national publicity chief Teresa Kok’s family home was also attacked in 2008 with petrol bomb. The petrol bomb did not explode, but an accompanying note warned the Selangor senior state executive councillor that she and her family would be burnt to death.
Such despicable cowardly actions are done by people who are obviously evil, malicious, malevolent, demented, and perhaps even mad.
It is even possible that these violent and dangerous maniacs are used by unprincipled and unscrupulous political rivals of the DAP to daunt, discourage and dishearten its leaders, and to sabotage and destabilize the party by creating fear, uncertainty and incertitude among its members and supporters. This is surely very plausible and possible, in view of growing influence and impact of the DAP among the people, including even the Malays.
It surely is a very sad day for our country that, instead of growing towards a more civilized stage of socio-political, cultural, and moral development to become a more advanced civilized society, we have people adopting, expounding and promoting a barbarous culture of racialist and violent politics in our midst.
Tony, for example, was apparently threatened because he had suggested the abrogation of discounts for luxury houses costing more than RM500,000 for bumiputeras.
Note that Tony does not advocate the abolition of special rights and priviledges of the bumiputeras or the annulment of the affirmative policies and programmes for them when he suggested that discounts for luxury homes costing more than half a million ringgit each be rescinded in favour of spreading the subvention on the basis of basic economic needs, rather than a blanket subsidy discount grant which could be abused by the rich and powerful.
