MANJUNG: No warnings were received prior to the early-morning arson attack on Wednesday (Jan 10), says Beruas MP Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham.
In a press conference held at his service centre in Ayer Tawar, Ngeh said he suspected the fire was due to arson as a broken bottle with an object taped to it was found near the porch of his house.
He added that the object resembled fireworks or a candle.
On a possible motive for the attack, Ngeh said that he is not involved in any quarrel or dispute with anyone.
“I forgive those who want to burn my cars, house, and even harm my family if they have been misled by falsehood and instigated by others to hate and commit violence," said Ngeh.
He added that as a lawyer with 38 years of experience, he knows that a person does not have a happy life once a crime has been committed as they are now living in fear.
“I want to tell them (the perpetrators) to turn over a new leaf, be good citizens, and do not cause your families to be worried,” he said.
Ngeh said both he and his wife were sleeping on the first floor of his double storey house, when around 2.50am, his wife heard someone constantly ringing the doorbell.
He said when his wife looked out of the window, she heard someone shouting "fire fire” in Chinese.
“When we rushed downstairs, we saw one of my cars on fire, with a bottle next to it. Two other cars were also slightly damaged due to the fire.
“I called the fire station and the police immediately, and their quick response saved my house from being burnt down,” he said.
When asked if he had received any threatening calls prior to this, Ngeh said that he had not and added that he knew everyone in Ayer Tawar.
“Therefore I never installed a CCTV system as my area is really safe, and everyone is good to me. After this incident, I think I need to install CCTV,” he added.
