“We have heard nothing so far. I want to know where my daughter is. I want to know if she is alive or dead?” said Kok, who was present at the DAP headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.
“If I don't hear from the police by tomorrow or Monday, I’ll go court and make them answer why they have arrested her,” he added.
According to Kok, his daughter, who is also the Selangor senior state executive councillor, was taken into police custody around 11.18pm last night upon returning home after dinner with her parents.
It has been ascertained that she has been detained under Section 73(1) of the Internal Security Act (ISA).
“Why have not I been informed about her arrest? I’m a parent and parents have the right to know about happens to their children,” demanded Kok.
Besides Teresa, Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Chinese language Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng were also detained yesterday.
Synthetic crisis
Meanwhile, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang claimed the ISA crackdown was likely to be an artificial ploy by the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to ward off the actual crisis in hand.
During a 45 minute press conference today, Lim said that the arrests of Raja Petra, Tan and Teresa were ‘completely synthetic’.
“This may be partly to thwart the imminent ‘916’ (Sept 16), but more importantly I think it is to consolidate and preserve his power in Umno because his position as the prime minister has been challenged publicly,” said Lim referring toUmno vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin's call to the PM to step down.
“This a totally synthetic crisis arising from gross mis-governance, as there is no national crisis, no racial tension or religious strain unlike the pre-Operation Lalang 1987 which saw serious racial tension resulting from a sustained and systematic campaign of polarization by irresponsible elements,” said Lim.
He added the detention of the Chinese language daily Sin Chewreporter has evoked all-round outrage by Malays as well as non-Malays, Muslims and non-Muslims.
“Everyone in Malaysia is asking - why Ahmad Ismail - the person who had made the provocative, inflammatory and racist reference to the Chinese in Malaysia is not acted against but the reporter is detained under the ISA for just reporting what Ahmad said?” he asked.
“Teresa’s detention is most ludicrous. She had been accused by the former Menteri Besar Khir Toyo of wanting to ban the azan in a certain locality in Selangor..Teresa immediately denied the allegation backed up by the mosque committee concerned,” he explained.
Clearly this has been orchestrated by the prime minister, said Lim.
“I call on Malaysians to be calm and go about their usual business peacefully and normally… Malaysia in 2008 is completely different from 1969 when certain elements succeeded in creating a scenario of racial confrontation between the Malays and the Chinese over the May 13 incident.
“There is no racial confrontation in Malaysia of 2008, as the Pakatan Rakyat comprises all races – Malays, Chinese and Indians – and all religions!” said Lim.
PAS infomation chief Hatta Ramli was also present at the press conference.
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