[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]

Today's Issue Of The Malaysian

Date: 07 Aug 1999
Time: 05:35:42
Remote User: -

Comments

Today's Issue Of The Malaysian

More shame brought on the police Honourable ordinary policemen have seen the body for which they work brought into increasingly disrepute through the course of the Anwar trials.

The latest instances of these occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday during the questioning of Azizan by defence lawyer Christopher Fernando.

On Tuesday, Azizan, star witness in the Anwar-Sukma sodomy trial, unwittingly further put another nail in the coffin of police credibility. In response to questioning by Fernando, Azizan said he and Ummi Hafilda were afraid of being beaten by the police, thinking that the police was then under the control of Anwar Ibrahim.

The problem is that the senior officers of the police cannot now deny this perception of Azizan without also denying that their detention of Azizan and Ummi was on Anwar’s orders. Nor can they deny that the reason they detained Azizan and Ummi and obtained their retractions was because of directions from Anwar. Obviously, they can’t now affirm that they acted independently as senior officers have testified in The Trial, Part 1, that they didn’t act independently, did not believe the retractions they obtained, and were simply the tools of Anwar’s power.

To now deny that Azizan and Ummi’s fears were unfounded would mean affirming that the retractions were impartially obtained, hence valid. Which would mean that Anwar was indeed the target of malicious accusations.

So Azizan’s allegations will have to be allowed to stand.

Now, since the police were the mere tools of Anwar who was, after all, only the Deputy PM, why should we not believe that they are equally the mere tools of the PM who was also Home Affairs Minister and who indeed had charge of the police?

Clearly, the credibility of the police as an independent agency of law enforcement has been seriously called into question as a result of the behaviour of some of its senior officers.

Whatever credibility that still remains was furthered shattered on Wednesday when Azizan acknowledged that he changed the date of the allegedly sodomy from May 1992 to between January and March 1993 on the instructions of SAC Musa Hassan and that this took place just a week before the The Trial Part 2. Who is the real witness here – Azizan or SAC Musa?

Thus, the police are seen as the tools of one or another leader, group of faction, swaying this way or that depending on who has the ascendancy. Azizan believed it, the majority of Malaysians believe it, although in a different way.

As such, the Barisan Alternatif’s proposal to reform the police and restore its credibility and independence has become a critical necessity for the future well-being of law-and-order in the country.

Dollah Badawi’s polis mesra just won’t do, given the widespread belief that the kemesraan of the police are with one or another leader or faction.

The plot re-viewed

Ever since the beginning, former DPM Anwar has alleged he was the victim of a plot. After all these months, some may have forgotten much of the testimony in The Trial Part 1 which gave some substance to this allegation.

It may be of some use to remind ourselves of some of this which came out again in the sodomy trial on Tuesday. Amongst them:

Dr Ristina, at whose home Azizan and Ummi Halfilda were arrested, just happens to be the sister of then Home Affairs Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Shamsudin Azizan was taken to meet with former Melaka MB Rahim Thamby Chik by Ummi and Ziela, who just happens to be the wife of Megat Junid, then Deputy Home Affairs Minister, with charge of the police Address of the publisher of Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become PM just happened to be the same as the address used by former Melaka MB Rahim Thamby Chik

Laughter, as the doctor prescribed

Q: What is the difference between England and Malaysia?

A: In England, the king/queen remains for life while the prime minister is changed. In Malaysia, the prime minister stays on and on, while the king is changed.

Was Dr Mahathir crying for Khalil?

The new Minister of Information is aiming for the "cemerlang" award by trying to exceed his predecessor in outrageous claims.

He claimed that since RTM belonged to the government, only the BN government could use it.

Well, I went to the Treasury Economic Report for the past twenty years and looked up the table of government revenue.

I found that government revenue or income was made up of income taxes and corporate taxes, sales tax and service tax, licence fee payments, import and export duties, and so on.

Searched as I might, I found nothing that said: "Payments from the Barisan Nasional". Not even "payments from the Barisan Nasional for the running of RTM".

So, we, the people, pay for RTM as we pay for everything else, including government scholarships, subsidies for the rice price, the cost of running the health system, the cost of operating schools and universities, and so on.

The Minister of Information is talking rot.

When we say the government owns something, what it means is that the people own it. The government holds it on behalf of the people, not the Barisan Nasional. And when the government provides any service, it is not the Barisan Nasional that pays for it, but we the citizens and residents of Malaysia collectively.

Obviously, the Minister of Information didn't learn very much from his days in university.

Was Dr Mahathir crying for people like him, wasting tax-payers money and never having learnt the most elementary principle of government, not to mention democratic government?

Calling all taxi drivers in Kelantan

All taxi drivers in Kelantan should pay heed to the words of their fellow Kelantanese, the Minister for Entrepreneur Development.

As instructed by him, they shouldn’t criticise the Kelantan government to their passengers. Instead, they should slam the opposition in Kelantan.

Best of all, they should put up a notice in their taxis: "We fully support the government of Kelantan and urge you to return it to power".

Now will the Minister kindly reward them for obeying his orders?

END

Visit our website at:

http://berita.webjump.com/

Readers are urged to print, copy, forward and distribute 'the Malaysian', especially to those who may be interested. We would appreciate receiving e-mail addresses to which we can send this daily newsletter directly.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

REFORMASI - The Right To Question http://members.xoom.com/rpetra/ http://www.parti-keadilan.org/


Last changed: August 07, 1999