Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
4 Nov 2016
In all its years functioning as a responsible media organisation, Malaysiakini has been doing the right thing. As a former journalist, I have watched its progress through the years and can vouch for its steadfastness in adhering to the ethics and principles of journalism.
But it is now being investigated for carrying out activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
This is totally absurd.
That it should be singled out to be persecuted by the Malaysian authorities is a testament of how deep into the mud of absurdity our country’s leaders are pushing Malaysia into.
Our leaders are going mad.
So, Malaysiakini received a bit of money from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF). Is it therefore guilty of carrying out activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy?
The police, led by inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar, are quick to act against Malaysiakini over this. He says a special five-man team has been set up to investigate the online news website.
However, the police are reluctant to act against the one person who is carrying out activities that any sensible person can judge to be truly detrimental to parliamentary democracy. i.e. Jamal Md Yunos, leader of the red-shirts.
He has been trying to stop Bersih from realising its democratic right to gather peacefully in public, even to the extent of using violence and threatening to bathe the Nov 19 Bersih 5 rally in blood.
Yesterday, he brought about 100 of his thugs to Malaysiakini’s office to demand answers regarding the grant Malaysiakini received from OSF. He threatened to destroy Malaysiakini’s building at a rally this Saturday.
But what does Khalid the IGP say to that? “We will see on Saturday.”
What Jamal threatened is criminal intimidation. And yet Khalid is cutting him so much slack. He even brushes it off lightly by saying, rather cavalierly, “Yeah, Jamal has been making a lot of statements, but nothing comes of them.”
Now, how has he got away with making such “a lot” of such statements? How could the police have been so lenient with him? Isn’t he a threat to society for saying such gangsterish things? Aren’t he and his red-shirts a threat to peace?
What if one day, something DOES come out of his verbal threats? Isn’t he therefore a menace to parliamentary democracy?
So, please, Khalid Abu Bakar, before you get called Barisan Nasional’s ‘goalkeeper’ by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad (who called Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Aman Mulia that recently), do your bloody job right and go after the right skunk.
Leave Malaysiakini alone and set up instead a special five-man team to investigate Jamal Md Yunos and the red-shirts.
KEE THUAN CHYE is the author of the bestsellers ‘Unbelievably Stupid!’ and ‘Unbelievably Stupid Too!’