KUALA LUMPUR: A senior DAP leader has been widely lambasted by the public for allegedly politicising the tragic death of T. Nhaveen, who was brutally assaulted by a group of youths in Penang last Saturday.
Datuk Keramat assemblyman Jagdeep Singh Deo in Facebook posting yesterday appeared to have blamed Barisan Nasional (BN) for the tragedy, claiming that the government had "failed" the victim's family by not preventing the incident.
The controversial posting was made on a page under the name "Jagdeep Singh Deo 'Serving the People'".
"Rest In Peace Dear Nhaveen. For every second of pain that he suffered so should his assailants.
"The crux of the matter is that the federal government has failed his family by not preventing this incident.
"Do not fail the country where this is concerned. Where BN has failed, we will succeed given a chance.”
The statement received a number of rebuke in the comments section, with one expressing disbelief over the posting.
A netizen who goes by the username Magz Ynwa Reds reacted with the comment "Enough with politicising this…", while another Facebook user Suriya Prakash said: "I can’t believe his statement.... dumbest thing I heard today".
Sentilnathan Gopal told Jagdeep to refrain from using the case as a political tool, as it was a matter stemming from shortcomings in upbringing.
"Please don't try to show your politician (sic) agenda in this particular issue. This is a case of a family upbringing failure. Blame the parents of the assailants first."
Devi Kupusamy said she had never agreed with pinning blame on political parties concerning such cases.
One Sorata Mu, in a tongue-in-cheek response, suggested DAP would be at fault instead of BN, should Jagdeep's statement hold water.
"Lol...you forgot the case happen in your own state. So you fail the family first before anyone else, according to your own logic."
Nhaveen was pronounced dead at the Penang Hospital’s intensive care unit at 6pm, Thursday.