24 hours later, still no police action over ‘chicken and slap protest’

by Elizabeth Zachariah
The Malaysian Insider
February 07, 2014

More than 24 hours after members of Muslim NGOs staged a protest in Kuala Lumpur at which they slaughtered chickens and offered RM1,200 to anyone who would slap Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, police have yet to pick up any suspects because reports were only lodged this morning.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said investigations into the case would begin today after Kok, along with her supporters, lodged a total of seven reports at the Tun H.S. Lee police station.

When asked why no action had been taken earlier despite the presence of police at the protest, Mohmad stressed that a report had to be lodged before police could begin a probe.

“This is our standard operations. There is nothing biased about it. Our actions are the same no matter who lodges a report and we will look into this,” he told The Malaysian Insider, declining to comment further.

However, lawyers said the police should not wait for someone to lodge a police report before investigating the incident.

“They must be proactive under these circumstances. They must nip the escalating racial and religious problems before it gets out of control,” Datuk Baljit Sidhu told The Malaysian Insider.

Lawyer Salim Bashir said the police should also check whether the group had violated the Peaceful Assembly Act.

He said yesterday’s incident revealed that the NGO was taking the laws into its own hands when police were already investigating reports made against Kok over her Chinese New Year greeting video entitled “Onederful” Malaysia CNY 2014.

It is learnt that police have classified the case under Section 505(c) for public mischief with intent to incite anyone to commit any offence against others and Section 506 for criminal intimidation.

Earlier today, DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng condemned the police for practising double standards in handling yesterday’s protest.

Kit Siang, who is the party’s adviser, noted that if the protesters had called for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be slapped, they would have been “loaded onto black marias and put behind bars even before they could gather”.

Party secretary-general Guan Eng hit out at the police for its inaction on the pro-Umno demonstrators, adding that DAP will do everything possible to ensure Kok’s safety.

Yesterday, the group, calling itself the “Council of Islamic NGOs”, slaughtered two chickens and offered a RM1,200 reward to anyone who dared to slap Kok as a sign of anger towards opposition leaders for allegedly insulting the Malay leadership, royalty and Islam.

They then smeared the blood of the slaughtered chickens on a banner featuring photographs of Kok, Guan Eng, Kit Siang and Machang Bubuk PKR assemblyman Lee Khai Loon.

“Their statements are a threat to my safety and it is also against the law,” Kok said after lodging the report this morning. – February 7, 2014.