Why the delay in charging deputy minister’s assailant, asks DAP’s Kula

DAP today demanded an explanation from Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on the delay in prosecuting the schoolteacher who assaulted deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan.

Party national chairman M. Kula Segaran (pic) said Abdul Gani should file criminal charges against the teacher, Muhammad Rizuan Suhaimi who is also the Hulu Selangor Umno youth secretary, regardless whether Kamalanathan withdrew his police report.

"A strong message should be conveyed to the rakyat that aggression does not pay and there is a price to be paid if one resorts to violence," Kula said in a statement today.

The Ipoh Barat MP noted that Kamalanathan had reportedly said he would not be withdrawing the police report he had filed against Muhammad Rizuan, although the deputy minister had said he had "forgiven" his assailant.

"Even if Kamalanathan withdraws his report, it does not change anything as Abdul Gani can proceed with the criminal case.

"The investigation papers were submitted to Abdul Gani on January 15. There has been no action taken almost two weeks later," said Kula.

He pointed out that even Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was quoted as saying that he could not condone Muhammad Rizuan's act.

Khairy had reportedly said that whatever the reason or pressure faced by Muhammad Rizuan, there was little justification to resort to violence.

Kula also questioned if Muhammad Rizuan would be subjected to disciplinary action by the Education Ministry.

He said that Khairy had called for a teacher who made her students wear bells around their neck and offered them grass to eat for not completing their homework, to be sacked.

The Education Ministry had not sacked the teacher, merely issued a stern warning and transferred her to a different school.

In a twitter posting, Khairy said the teacher in question should be sacked and not transferred to another school.

"Does Khairy view a violent assault by an Umno Youth member as a more serious offence than the teacher's actions?" Kula asked.

"Will he demand that the Education Ministry sack Muhammad Rizuan too?"

Kamalanathan was assaulted when he attended the Hulu Selangor Umno division meeting on January 13.

The deputy minister was allegedly punched when he declined to accelerate the transfer of Muhammad Rizuan's wife from her school in Batu Pahat, Johor back to Selangor.