Petrol bomb attack on Malaysian opposition politician's home

KUALA LUMPUR: A Molotov cocktail was thrown into the home of Malaysian opposition politician Teresa Kok but did not cause any injuries or damages, Kok said in a statement Saturday.

Kok, who was recently released after a week-long detention under the tough Internal Security Act (ISA) said, a piece of paper with a warning message was also flung into the compound of her family home in Kuala Lumpur during the dawn incident.

"I am deeply saddened and most perturbed upon hearing from my family first thing this morning that some criminal elements have thrown a Molotov cocktail into the compound of my residence," she said in a statement.

Kok said she was called a "pig" in the message and warned to "stay out of trouble or you and your family will be burned."

"The family was very shaken and now fear for their safety. I am deeply concerned about the personal safety of my family now," Kok said.

"I view this act as most despicable and criminal which is designed to instil fear, anxiety in me and to prevent me into performing my duties as an elected representative," said Kok, who is of the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Kok was arrested on September 12 under the ISA, which drew public outrage and the minister responsible for legal affairs resigned over a series of arrests under the security law.

The ISA, which human rights groups have pushed to have abolished, allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial and is normally used against terror suspects.

Police said they arrested Kok because she was involved in a petition to silence the call to prayer in mosques in non-Muslim areas.

Kok has denied making such complaints.

She said Saturday that actions by "certain media groups and blogs" that have painted her as anti-Malay and anti-Islam in the Muslim-majority country may have stoked contempt and hatred against her and her family.

AFP/yb
Channel NewsAsia
27/09/08