Even before the haze from the Riau and Sumatra peat fires, which have caused state of emergency to be declared and thousands of schools to be closed in various states, have been fully resolved, Malaysia has been hit by a new haze emergency – the haze of accountability, integrity and good governance revolving around two top security officials, the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister.
Who would have thought that in matter of 48 hours, it was possible to reduce to smithereens the credibility and authority of the country’s two topmost security officials, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
On Wednesday, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge, Justice Datuk V.T. Singham (who turned 65 today and went on optional retirement a year before his term is up), found Khalid who was Selangor police chief at the time responsible in the death of suspected car thief A Kugan during police custody from grievous injuries at the Taipan police station on Jan 20, 2009.
In a landmark ruling which saw the family of Kugan winning RM801,700 in damages, Justice Singham found the police and the Government liable for Kugan’s death and said Khalid was liable for misfeasance of public office.
Yesterday, the Federal Court dismissed Zahid’s bid to strike out an assault suit filed against him by a businessman Amir Bazli Abdullah in connection with assault in 2006.
Court of Appeal president Justice Md Raus Sharif, who headed a five-member bench, said the issues brought up by Zahid’s counsel Shamsul Bahrain Ibrahim were factual and should be heard in a trial at the High Court.
With this ruling of the highest court in the country, the civil suit by Amir Bazli Abdullah against the home minister will begin in the High Court in Shah Alam on Aug 26.
It is indeed the height of irony that only a fortnight ago, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said that Malaysian voters had conveyed a clear message in the 13th General Election that they want the government to be more stern and bold in defending the important institutions in the country, “enforcing the law, upholding the country’s Constitution”, but these two incidents involving the Home Minister and the IGP have conveyed the exact opposite message that the credibility, integrity and authority of national institutions are facing unprecedented assault after the 13GE.
It is unlikely the Home Minister can suggest that the IGP should assume full responsibility for Kugan’s death when there is the question as to why the police had not carried out investigations and charged Zahid for the offence of assault against Amir Bazli in 2006.
Similarly, it is unlikely that the IGP can suggest that the Home Minister should assume full responsibility for the assault case of 2006 when Khalid himself is in the dock over responsibility for Kugan’s death in police custody in 2009.
Both the Home Minister and the IGP seemed to be trapped in a lock-step, with neither able to assert full authority over the other because each has a skeleton in the cupboard.
Is this the way for the Barisan Nasional government to restore national and international confidence in the key institutions in the country after the 13GE?
In less than two months, the post-13GE Barisan Nasional government is facing a full-blown crisis in good governance.
Malaysians are entitled to know how the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak proposes to resolve this second national emergency of the haze of accountability, integrity and good governance revolving around two top security officials, whether he would terminate, suspend or ask both Zahid and Khalid to take leave of absence from their offices until both of them have cleared themselves of the serious charges and allegations of improprieties and wrongdoings made against them.
Will there be some other skeletons in their cupboards???
It is unthinkable that a person who has been accused of malfeasance and the other who has a civil suit pending are still clinging to their respective posts. How is the Government going to convince the people that it has undergone transformation? Nothing has changed at all. Is it another case of gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua again? One really needs moral high ground before he can act.
orang PR kalau buat hal pasti kena tangkap,
orang barisan najis buat hal takda apa…line clear,ada polis ada macc ada ag ada ec…cuma bila mati nanti kena jawab denganNya…pasti kena
It looks like we are having a gangster minister
zahid cakap kalau boss aku steady aje jadi pm walaupun ada tempias altantuya, aku punya kes kecik aje. Takda apa apa…
well said uncle lim but ironically,altantuya is haunting us again,looks like not many VVIPs in our bolehland are “clean”,but the same AG is there,whether or not these VVIPs are to be prosecuted,still remain unanswered,i doubt he will.
Like chinese proverb says,”muddy buddha is crossing the canal,he himself is helpless!”,and now top UMNO posts are opened for contest,may be,i say probably we will have a new PM like Australia end of this year
!
This is a good time for PM Najib to do some house cleaning jobs before the coming Hari Raya Puasa…..starting with the two in mind!
The latest news that Najib is going to reward failures and political baggage with plum jobs in GLCs and agencies is CERTIFICATION OF UTTER FAILURE OF NAJIB’S POLITICAL STRATEGY.
What “transformation”? RNC lost despite having unfair advantage, cheated, got caught, even abuse of his power for politics, and he gets a nice plum job? Azeez, clearly official or unofficial member of Perkasa, cannot be made a minister and hence he is given a plum job?
What ‘tranformation’? Najib challenge has always been the ‘transformation of his party’. He was given one term free of charge, ask for a mandate to change his party and clearly all he can do now is pander to the worst in his party..Given poliitical capital, he only uses it to ask for more political capital – from the wrong people…
Folks. Lets witness the great melt-down of the centuary – the Umno Melt-down.
Najib is having a holiday with his sweetheart, Rosmah…in Africa.
Uncontactable.
Zahid and IGP can both collapse and KO’d.
Najib doesn’t care a D…. as long as najib is up there.
if najib acted on this…I will eat my aging boots. How can 1 act on other shady characters when 1 is also of similar vein?
Will Najib act against the IGP and home minister? My bet? NO!!! Najib is never a leader. He hardly makes any firm decision on his own. More often he will act according to the sentiments of UMNO members. So far , do you read nay of his comments on so many controversial and racist remarks? At least Pak Lah is more decisive and dared to cancel the crooked bridge. No. Najib lacks PM materials.