Focus Police Resources On Stopping Serial Custodial Deaths Instead Of Persecuting And Intimidating Opposition Politicians With Meaningless Investigations.

DAP condemns the investigation by the police for suddenly probing DAP Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching over a social media post she shared in April 2017. For an investigation to be carried out 5 years later smacks of double standards and political intimidation against an opposition politician.

Will the police take similar action against pro-government leaders who make baseless allegations in their Facebook posts and news reports more than 5 years ago? The investigation is being conducted under Section 504 of the Penal Code (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace) as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (improper use of network facilities or network service, etc).

However, Teo has never been sued for defamation in her private capacity.

This is a complete waste of resources which should be focused on preventing police failures such as the serial custodial deaths, the most recent a 63-year old Malay man at the lockup of the Taiping district police headquarters (IPD) in Perak.

It is regrettable that the police appears to be doing the government’s dirty work to persecute opposition politicians not just Teo, but also PKR Youth and Muda leaders, who protested against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Azam Baki in front of MACC headquarters and against PKR Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik for being present during the handing over of the memorandum to an anti-graft agency representative.

The police should not allow itself to be politicised and used by what could be a civil matter. Such investigations should be stopped, particularly on a matter 5 years after the fact.

Lim Guan Eng

DAP Secretary-General