Ethnic Indian MP gets live bullet with threat letter

A prominent ethnic Indian parliamentarian has received a threat letter accompanied by a ‘live bullet’ in Malaysia.

A prominent ethnic Indian parliamentarian has received a threat letter accompanied by a ‘live bullet’, warning him against questioning the “rights of Malays”, who form the majority community in this multi-ethnic country.

Chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), Karpal Singh, who was accused of sedition earlier this month for questioning a decision taken by a state sultan, received a live bullet and a threat to his life, if he did not stop questioning Malay privileges.

The incident has elicited strong condemnation from Malaysia’s Parliamentary Human Rights Caucus, which called it a “despicable act”.

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Caucus chairman Mohd Nazri Aziz, who is also a member of the ruling Barisan Nasional party, said sending a live bullet to lawyer and Chairman of the DAP was a “despicable act and not the Malaysian way of settling any dispute”.

Nazri said there were democratic ways of expressing one’s opinion and law should not be taken into one’s hand.

He said Karpal Singh had the democratic right to express his opinion, and the Government also had the right to reply within the context allowed by law and democracy.

Opposition Leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Karpal Singh’s son Gobind Singh Deo, who is also an MP, also condemned the act.

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Singh had sparked an uproar when he claimed earlier this month that Sultan Azlan Shah, the titular head of northern Perak state, acted beyond his authority by interfering with the firing of a religious official.

He later accused Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi of harassing him for his questioning of the sultan’s decision and said he feared for his safety following Badawi’s statement to the country’s Attorney-General to decide the punishment for him.

Police personnel seen to control the situation during a massive protest over the statehood demand and the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, in Leh on Wednesday. (ANI Video Grab)

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