Malaysia today is having the most “political” Inspector-General Police in the nation’s history in the person of Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar who has established this dubious reputation for himself in the week he was elevated to the office of the top police officer of the land.
The country is also have the most “political” Home Minister in the nation’s history, with the appointment of Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi who had not said a word about how to get the police to roll back the tide of crime and the mounting fear of crime felt by Malaysians, particularly in Johor Baru, the capital of crime in Malaysia as his only obsession is how to use police powers to crack down hard on Pakatan Rakyat leaders and civil society activists.
In the past week, student leader Adam Adli had been arrested and charged in court for sedition; the trio PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua, democracy activist Haris Ibrahim and PAS activist Tamrin Ghaffar arrested for sedition in connection with their speeches at a forum on May 13 with the Home Minister announcing that the police will appeal against the magistrate’s decision rejecting the police application to remand the three for another seven days; the police harrassment of Pakatan Rakyat leaders like founding DAP Chairman Dr. Chen Man Hin, 86, and DAP elected representatives; the pending prosecution of DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Thomas Su, PKR Perak Secretary Mohammad Anuar Zakaria and Penang Pakatan Rakyat executive secretary Ong Eu Leong tomorrow under the Peaceful Assembly Act and the confiscation of party publications, Harakah (PAS), Rocket (DAP) and Suara Keadilan (PKR).
Thanks to Malaysia having the most “political” Home Minister and the most “political” IGP, Malaysians are reminded of an eerie return to the bad old days of Mahathirism, where all the institutions and instruments of state as well as the laws of the land are subverted to serve one and only one objective – to violate all democratic and human rights of Malaysians just to protect the political regime of the day.
It is simply ridiculous and outrageous for Zahid to announce that the police will appeal against the decision by magistrate Norashikin Sahat on Friday rejecting the police application to remand Tian Chua, Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin Ghaffar for another seven days for investigations under the Sedition Act 1948.
When did the Home Minister take over the powers and duties of deciding whether there would be an appeal against a court decision – overriding the powers of the Police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers?
This is in fact the most flagrant evidence of the Minister’s blatrant interference with police duties.
Is Zahid suggesting that Attorney-General’s Chambers have agreed to lodge an appeal tomorrow against Norashikin Sahat’s rejection of police application to remand the trio by another seven days?
I stand corrected, but if this the case, it will make dubious police and legal history, as it is likely to be the first case of its kind where an appeal is made against a magistrate’s rejection of police application to extend remand – but for what purpose?
Why does Zahid want Tian Chua, Haris and Tamrin to be remanded for another seven days from tomorrow when the trio had been freed for three days, i.e. Friday to Sunday, apart from satisfying the Minister’s vengeful and sadistic streak?
I do not see how the further remand of the trio can help in police investigations, as the police should have all the necessary evidence based on their speeches at the May 13 forum whether to charge them under the Sedition Act.
The combination of the most “political” IGP with the most “political” Home Minister will concoct a toxic brew for democracy and human rights which will speed the end of the authoritarian Umno/BN regime.
The IGP has denied that the police are neglecting their crime-fighting duties to hunt down the opposition and its supporters, claiming that the police have always acted on law-breakers without favouring anyone.
Does Khalid really think his claim that the police will act without fear or favour against all law-breakers, whether they are UMNO/BN VVIPs or bigshots to be believed by the general Malaysian public?
If so, then the police leadership is suffering from a double malady – a grave public credibility gap as well as an equally serious denial syndrome.
While Malaysians await the advent of Malaysian Spring, Zahid and Khalid should not usher in a new era of darkness reminiscent of Operation Lalang in 1987 with their toxic brew to undermine democratic and human rights of Malaysians.
Instead, they should drop all charges against Pakatan Rakyat leaders and civil society activists, which are clearly political in nature, whether against DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Thomas Su, the PKR Perak Secretary Mohammad Anuar Zakaria and Penang PR executive secretary Ong Eu Leong tomorrow, or the pending charges against Tian Chua, Haris Ibrahim and Tamrin Ghaffar or the earlier charges against Adam Adli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
[Speech at the opening of the Johor DAP MPs and SAs workshop at Johor DAP State premises in Nusajaya on Sunday, 26th May 2013 at 11 am]
A prelude to what’s coming taking post G12 (Tsunami March 2008) as guide. But when comes G14 again , all the HIPOCRISY of the highest order start to spin again. Bumno is just FULL of SH*T and nothing else since Mamak’s time.
The combination of the most “political” IGP with the most “political” Home Minister will put public safety at stake when they devote their time and energy to fight the Opposition instead of crime.
In fact, if the “most political” Home Minister and IGP wants to help BN, they would be more effective if they put their heads together and find solutions to resolve the deteriorating crime problem in the country instead of trying to victimise the PR people and a student activist. If “Laurel and Hardy” can effectively produce tangible results that shows the police are effectively combating crimes such as street robberies and snatch thefts, the rakyat will be ever so grateful and vote for BN again.
I recently returned from house hunting for accomodation for my child in the Kelana Jaya vicinity. Every single condominium in the entire area admitted their streets outside their guarded compounds were not safe for their residents. I was repeatedly told of residents being robbed at bus stops by parang wielding robbers in broad daylight and some victims even being slashed when they tried to resist or were slow to hand over their belongings.
The final straw was this warning sign ” WARNING, BEWARE OF ROBBERS” posted by the condo management of a PJ condominium near to an LRT station warning its residents to beware of robbers in bold red letters on a bright orange signboard. And most of the other condos also has similar warnings on their notice boards.
What is the PDRM doing? We have huge publicised events of the BN Govt handling motorcycles to the police to patrol the streets but in the two days I was travelling around all these areas I did not see a single policeman patrolling on a motorcycle despite the many police reports that had been made. What does the PDRM and the BN Govt want? That the people form vigilantes to reclaim their streets which they have all but lost to the armed thugs and robbers.
The newly minted Home Minister and IGP will score more points with the rakyat if they tackle this crime ridden streets rather than alienating the people by their double standards of arresting people they claim are inciting violence.
the oppositions do not want to say that this is something like Arab spring, or to a lesser extent the people’s power of Philippines or Indonesia because of peace loving malaysians. when you have a government that has all the instruments to control you and even to make themselves win all the time, or to stay on when they are minority government, what else can you do other than coming out with the people’s power? i think the people should just go and do what we can do when changing government cannot be done through the votes.
Let them appeal. The court will reject the appeal for the same reason: What is the point of the appeal?
I think the new IGP is afraid to meet the same fate as his immediate predecessor. How to get your contract extended if you don’t do anything which pleases your political masters? I think these two will just work hand in glove to cause problems for the Opposition and the Opposition’s more vocal supporters.
ubat kuat umno=polis+macc+ag+bangla. Ubat kuat PR=RAKYAT MALAYSIA
Watch out for this diabolical twins.
only God knows what the devils are capable of.
Yes, obviously yes.
BN Government wants to teach Malaysians to be self reliant.
Take for instants BN education policies of giving only 1% of government scholarships and limiting places in public universities to the non-malays.
In 40 years, this policy has made the chinese very self reliant when it comes to tertiary education. Either you go to university or you don’t (25% don’t). And if you don’t go, your job prospects are poor. And if you do go, either you have a foreign international grade degree or you are one of the best, the top gun and go to public university.
Now BN government wants to extend this form of self reliant to crime. If someone attacks you with a parang, Malaysians are required master unarmed combat or pulled out their own parang and fight back.
20 years of this kind of this street fighting training will results in Malaysian being kick ass combatants. We will be so hardcore, the BN government will be able to loan out our citizens as mercs.
Puih! All bought & paid for with our country’s money! This is like that movie The Untouchables, corrupt to the core…maybe after we UBAH the whole rotten lot they can all emigrate to Bangla like Zahid so kindly suggested… their beloved Banglas can play their backsides to their hearts’ content.
By far, one of the most potent concoctions ever to derive from Najib’s trademark innovations of alphabet soup. We have an Afghan hound and two Boston terriers who are trained to inflict the maximum harm to those they think impose a threat to their political patronage. Policing and crime prevention, sadly, are the least of their priorities. What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important…that’s the realities we are living with!