A YOUTH activist who made a video of the #Lawan rally that was widely shared has received threats to harm her two days in a row, Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR).

The youth-based coalition of non-governmental organisations said Shakila Zen, who is an environmental activist but not a part of SSR, received the threats on August 30 and 31, and has lodged two police reports over each incident.

In the first threat on August 30, she received a replica of a severed and bloody hand with a letter threatening her with an acid attack.

The second threat the following day was a WhatsApp message containing a threat to harm her sexually along with a “vulgar poster” containing her personal information.

“She has lodged two reports, on each day of the incidents, respectively, at the north Klang police district headquarters,

“Shakila believes that these threats are in relation to her video of the #Lawan protest on July 31 that went viral on the Tiktok platform,” SSR said in a statement.

SSR said it condemned such threats as extreme and unacceptable.

“It is a crime to use threats to intimidate those who are vocal, while sexual harassment experienced by women activists should be strongly condemned by all parties.

“We view this seriously and do not want it to become a normalised part of our culture,” SSR said.

The July 31 #Lawan rally drew over a thousand participants, mostly youths, who converged on the streets around Dataran Merdeka and held a sit-in after being barred from entering the square.

The rally had demanded the resignation of then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, full restoration of Parliament sittings and a moratorium on loan repayments to help people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several SSR activists have been questioned since then. – September 1, 2021.