Umno man who punched deputy minister let off?

 

A heavy vehicle driver was yesterday charged with threatening Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan but an Umno man who went a step further by punching him is yet to face action, says DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.

Kulasegaran said this in reference to M Gunalan who was charged in a sessions court in Petaling Jaya over a text message threat, while teacher Muhammad Rizuan Suhaimi's assault case remains unresolved.

"Some have asked if this is because the teacher is from Umno.

"When the assault incident took place, the teacher was Hulu Selangor Umno Youth assistant secretary," Kulasegaran said in a statement today.

He questioned the sluggish action by the attorney-general (AG) against the Umno man even though the assault happened on Jan 13.

In contrast, he said, Gunalan, who issued the threat on Oct 20, was charged yesterday, less than a month after he allegedly sent the SMS.

"The police revealed that the investigation papers in the matter involving Muhammad Rizuan were submitted to the AG on Jan 15, but why the long delay in prosecuting till today? Or has the AG closed the case?" Kulasegaran asked.

He said regardless of whether Kamalanathan had withdrawn his police report against the Umno man, the AG should proceed with criminal charges to deter violent conduct of Muhammad Rizuan.

Kamalanathan on Jan 26 said he had "forgiven" the teacher for assaulting him.

However, Kualasegaran, quoting netizens, questioned whether the deputy minister was practising double standards by not being similarly magnanimous with the lorry driver.

He also quipped about the apparent attempts to threaten or hurt the deputy minister.

"Why do many people love to punch Kamalanathan? To the best of my knowledge Kamalanathan was never a boxer," he said.