While the world waits with bated breath for news of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, DAP’s deputy publicity chief Teo Nie Ching on the other hand tries to gain political mileage by mocking a photo of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak buying a whole chicken.

Although such insensitive acts by DAP are not surprising, they are nonetheless still disappointing. In her haste to politicise this issue, Teo has apparently failed to take into account the feelings and emotions of the families and friends of the passengers of MH370.

If I had not personally seen her Twitter post, which in Mandarin translates as “whole world searching for airlines, Najib searches for chickens. Fantastic” I, too, would have found it hard to believe that an elected representative can be so frivolous towards the loss of an entire aircraft.

In times like these, we should be spreading hope and prayers on the safety of those aboard flight MH370, and not spread jokes and mockery over the Internet. Teo’s cynical tweet has shown that she has little consideration for the feelings of the victims’ families, and as a Member of Parliament, her attitude is completely unacceptable.

Her behaviour will also lead others to believe that they do not have to be responsible for their actions and words in the online world. Is this the sort of behavior she wants our future generation to grow up in?

As a Member of Parliament, Teo is duty-bound to lead by example. However, it is clear that she is not doing a good job about it, and her insensitive remark on Twitter has upset Malaysians.

I would prefer to see more positive remarks and statements online, and as such, I urge DAP to review their behaviour so that they can be a more positive role model to our future generation.  

IVONE LOW YI WEN is Wanita MCA publicity bureau chairperson.