Bribe vs Bribe

What's this I hear? A Singapore motorist was actually fined RM15,000, and had to spend a day in a Johor jail for offering a bribe to a Malaysia policeman? But that's how Singapore motorists have been settling their speeding offences (real of imagined by you know who) for upteenth years. I know because I was in a Singapore car on Johor's road when it was stopped by a policeman on a motorbike, ostensibly for speeding. The 'offence' was settled on the spot with a $50 note. That was more than 20 years ago. And the practice appears to have continued all these many years.

Now, the same act has been deemed a real offence, and the Singapore motorist has had to pony up RM15,000 (about Singapore 6,000 over dollars) for bribing a police officer with RM100. Going by the old practice, this same Singaporean could have gone racing up and down Johor's road with free abandon to use up all of that 'fine' money. And the money could have been spread around more to top-up these probably underpaid highway patrolmen's pay. Now I wonder who that money will go to? Maybe somebody higher up thought that their middlings have had it too good and wants in on it.

Make no mistake. Breaking the law is a serious matter, and doing so in a foreign country more so. But now Singaporean motorists need to change their mentality regarding Malaysian traffic and its policemen, and above all, drive more 'carefully'. Except, how fast is too fast remains a matter of personal judgment - the patrolmen's. Yes, Malaysia should enforce the law, but it must do so with a definite amount of certainty and not leave it to the whims and fancies of an often corrupt system to start off with. Imagine, a corrupt system accusing someone of corruption. How ludicrous.

I fear for Singaporeans motorists now.

Read this news article

Empty faith

Why am I not surprised? It was an incident demanding to happen. When Malaysia PM Najib Razak told Muslims that they can demonstrate peacefully over the decision by the Malaysia High Court to allow Christians to use the word 'Allah' for God, he opened the floodgates, never mind that the Inspector General of Police warned against it.

Religion, besides race, has and will always be a flashpoint in Malaysian society. Much of it can be irrational, fueled by emotions and that raw aggression in people. Truth, reason, rationality are all thrown out the window for no other reason than to protect one's own insecurities. Malaysian Muslim's indiscriminate bombing of 3 churches lays bare the emptiness of their faith, as if a word, when told to be shared, will shatter their very beliefs and teachings of their religion. Surely such action speaks no good of these adherents of Islam, and perpetuates the impression, formed since 911, that Muslims are dangerous and ultra-sensitive people.

To their credit, the Malaysian government and some prominent politicians have come out in condemnation of the bombings. But really, verbally condemning these actions is one thing. It remains to be seen if any concrete action will be taken against the perpetrators of these crimes - the destruction of property and the stoking of fear. And if so, how swift it will be. Are the authorities going to drag their feet on this because the criminals are their fellow Muslim brothers? Are they going to fish a few guppies to slaughter and let the big whales go, just like what they did in the theft case of the 2 F5 fighter jet engines?

Malaysian Muslims should listen and learn from the sensible response of Marina Mahathir to the ruling on the use of the word 'Allah'. She said something to the effect that a word is not important, that the important thing is if you are certain of what you believe in. Sadly, many Muslims in Malaysia are not all that certain about their beliefs.

Corruptor Free

Dr M is playing catchup. After Lim Guan Eng suggested offering money to whistle blowers for exposing corrupt practices, Dr M suggested in his blog that the Malaysia law should be amended such that it punishes the corruptee (those that gain from the corrupt act, i.e. receives the benefit in cash or kind) but look the other way on the corrupter - he who offers the benefit in cash or kind).

That doesn't sound fair. You forgive the person who initiates the corrupt act - the tempter, but screw the temptee? This won't stop corruption. It will do the opposite - increase it. Because the corrupter knows that whatever he does, the law will protect him, or at least look the other way. The temptee, will, of course, get his just desert by being locked up and/or de-cashed. Whether the Malaysia Polis throws away the key I leave it up to them ($$$ *wink* *wink*).

But on further thought, Dr M is probably doing Singaporeans a favour, seeing as how Singapore motorists, for example, routinely offer $50 Sing dollars to Malaysia traffic policemen for overlooking whatever motoring misdemeanor they may or may not have committed on Malaysia roads. We all know this is common. My friend did this once and I was in that same car. Now I don't have that sense of guilt anymore.

Hmmm...I think I am wrong about Dr M all this while. As a Singaporean, I support his proposal, I salute him. Majullah Singapura!

Crooked once more

Malaysian politics is complex, yet simple. There is probably a lot more wayang behind the scenes even as Najib Tun Razak is trying to get a grip on loyalty within UMNO, fire-fighting local quarrels (e.g. Terengganu), paring the Opposition PKR and considering some Johor political bigwigs' suggestion of resurrecting the crooked bridge idea across the Johore Straits hatched during Mahathir's reign as supremo.

The simple part? Najib appears to be beholden to Mahathir. He appointed Mahathir's son, the worst loser of the UMNO Youth contest, to a deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry. Mahathir appears to be cashing in his other chips early. He probably wants the crooked bridge project back on the table after unceremoniously being dumped by former PM Abdullah Badawi, much to the delight of the Singaporeans, who prefer things to be straight and clear.

But unfortunately, the crooked bridge proposal just wouldn't go away and alleged crooks like Najib Razak may, naturally, build it. If it is realised, it will stand as an infamous symbol of stupidity and waste by the Malaysian government. That will be Dr M's ultimate legacy to the country. Well, frankly, if he doesn't mind the infamy, the waste of the people's (from both sides of the Causeway) time and money, and the derisive laughter of the international community for generations to come, he and his cronies can go ahead and build their half of the bridge, however crooked.

Crime and High Office

One of the saddest things leading up to the takeover of the PM'ship of Malaysia by Najib Razak is the cloud of suspicion that the next PM of Malaysia is a crook and, possibly, a murderer.

Talk has been swirling for so long about this that it seems like fact in the minds of many. So far, talk has been hush hush. Spoken behind closed doors, in coffee-shops, at dinners, people are saying that Najib Razak is complicit in the murder of Ms Altantuya Shaaribuu, the stunningly beautiful Mongolian Model. Nevermind that his friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, has been 'cleared' of any wrong doing in the same case by the Malaysia Courts.

Hidden things can never remain hidden forever. Malaysia's former defacto Law Minister, Mr Zaid Ibrahim said a PM must be "beyond reproach in his dealings, both official and private..." and has asked the Malaysia King to reject Najib Razak as PM. Zaid Ibrahim has no proof. Nobody, it appears, has. Otherwise Najib would long have been dealt by the Courts, or would it? Even if there were proof, would it make any difference to prosecute him, given that the Court prefers to look the other way, as in the case of Abdul Razak Baginda?

The problem is Najib Razak is letting this thing fester. Sure he asks, "Where is the evidence?", and unless someone has concrete proof of his wrong doing, he is innocent. As they say, one is innocent until proven guilty. But for someone aspiring to high office, absence of proof is just not enough, as Zaid Ibrahim suggests. A person who aspires to the top post of the land must be beyond reproach. There should never be a shadow of a doubt. Yet the situation now is - many have doubts. So to begin with, Najib Razak does not have the moral authority. Sure he has lineage and politics behind him, but these count for little ultimately in forging a good leader, someone who commands the trust of the electorate. If Najib Razak is clean, he should make a concerted, deliberate effort to show, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he has nothing to do with the model's murder. It is not up to him. As the incoming PM, he owes it to the people, the rakyat, to show that the next PM of Malaysia is not a crook.

Unless, of course, he is ...

Standing the law on its head

Malaysia has been mired in controversy over the last couple of months. And it didn't begin with the dominant UMNO losing 5 Malaysia States in the last election. Of particular note is the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaaribuu, who was blown up by explosives. One of the accused, Abdul Razak Baginda, has been acquited. Abdul Razak has 'high powered' connections and some are saying that that is why he got acquitted.

On the other hand, the 2 police officers who remain in the dock have just about been convicted of the murder because, according to the prosecution, the 2 policemen have not been able to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that they did not commit the murders.

Well, I am flabbergasted. The established rule is that the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the 2 policemen (the defendants) did committed the murder, and not for the defendants to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they did not. The judge will hand out his verdict on 9 April 2009, but if it agrees with the convoluted and unprecedented arguments put forth by the prosecution, then I'd be floored totally.

One wonders where Malaysia prosecution lawyers were trained. I only hope the learned Judges do the right thing and throw out the case because the prosecution does not seem to have proved beyond reasonable doubt their case.

See also: Mongolian model shot and blown to bits

Dog for dinner

Nothing much, it would appear, has changed where the Malaysia Polis are concerned. 10 years ago, they arrested Anwar Ibrahim and gave him a wacking in jail that the Inspector General of Police was sacked and jailed himself - because he was the one doing the wacking.

10 years hence, Teresa Kok reports that she was fed dog food when she was in police detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Well, that's the talk going around Malaysian blogs nowadays. How different is this compared to Anwar's wacking. Nothing much. It shows that the Malaysia Polis still have no respect for the law. They are ready to take the law into their own hands and interpret it any way they feel like it. Clearly, after so much promise that came with Abdullah Badawi's government eight years ago, nothing much has been done to wipe out corruption in the Polis force. And just when something is being attempted, the corruption fighter, Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim, has quit his post. The corrupt elements in dirty Malaysia have triumphed yet again.

I hear people sharpening their knives. The corrupt have better get out of town. History shows that people can be fooled some of the time, even most of the time, but certainly not all of the time.

Punch and counter-punch

Things are coming to a head in Malaysia. Anwar Ibrahim has just been arrested for alleged sodomy (i.e. homosexuality) with a young 23 former volunteer at his political outfit. People are wondering why he was taken to the hospital when a swap of the saliva is sufficient to provide material for determining one's DNA. But I suppose that, going by Malaysian government doctors, you need a specialist to extract the DNA sample 'properly'. You need even to go to the hospital to do it, and I suppose, it had to be a government hospital. No, a General Practitioner (GP) will not do, and much less a police with a mouth swap in his hands, although this is widely practiced elsewhere in the world. I suppose that the Malaysian government wants to uphold the highest standards as they will be accused of un-professionalism when and if Anwar is convicted of sodomy - again. So that's why the government steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the medical report filed by a GP at a private hospital that reportedly stated that Saiful, the accuser, showed no signs of being violated in his private parts - a necessary condition for his accusation of sodomy by Anwar to stand.

I suppose all these started with the opposition gaining a spectacular victory in the last GE in March, where the opposition came 30 seats shy of unseating the incumbent government. With Anwar promising to really unseat the government by September 2008, things couldn't lie still. Real or not, Anwar got slapped with the sodomy charge, which if convicted, would guarantee that he will stay out of parliament for another 10 years. A punch must be met with a counter-punch. Najib was then accused of sleeping around with a murdered Mongolian model, whom he claimed never to have met - in spite of circumstantial evidence that showed he was probably doing a Pinocchio. Curiously, the lawyer who made the charge recanted almost the next day and went missing. Then the government grabbed Saiful and put him under police protection and quickened the pace of charging Anwar for sodomy. They knew that was the most effective and legal way of silencing Anwar, at least in Parliament, if not in public. But truth be told, the Malaysia Police do not have much credibility in the eyes of Malaysians, or foreigners for that matter.

Now, Anwar is trying to beat them all by running for election in the ward vacated by his wife. Many believe that he will win, even if he were arrested and sits in jail during campaigning. A duly elected Indian MP still sits in detention under ISA laws. But Anwar will still be denied if the charge of sodomy is carried, unless a Member of Parliament carries immunity for this type of 'crime'.

What next?

The Crocs Cometh

What is wrong with Malaysia today? All the buayas (Malay for crocodile) seem to be baring their fangs. First, Anwar Ibrahim's former aid, a very ambitious and young 23-year old - Saiful Bukhari Azlan, accused Anwar of sodomising him. That's not new. Anwar was accused of the same thing 10 years ago, for which he was convicted but which judgement was later overturned by the Supreme Court of Malaysia. I can understand why Anwar bolted to the Turkish Embassy to seek refuge the moment the accusation was made. He had to do so before the Malaysia Police could lay a hand on him. The last time, the Chief of Police (Inspector-General of Police, they call him) gave Anwar such a beating that he blackened his eye. Anwar certainly wasn't going to wait around for another black eye. But why would a young man make a false accusation, if it indeed was one? He is either a morally upright chap, or a opportunistic young man led astray, rather willingly, may I add.

A tit must be met with a tat. Anwar seems to have played a part in Mr P. Balasubramaniam, a private investigator employed by Abdul Razak Baginda who stands accused of killing Mongolian model, Altantuya Shaaribuu, 2 years ago, making a sworn statement that DPM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak knew Ms Altantuya, and that he had had sex with her. If Anwar can be accused of being a homosexual, surely DPM Najib can be accused of being an adulterer?

'I have never met her before", claimed DPM Najib in reply. Given the circumstantial evidence, it is hard to believe that statement. This revelation is not new. 2 years ago, when this tragic crime took place, tongues were already wagging of the DPM's complicity in the case. Otherwise, why blow up the victim into smithereens? Probably to ensure that no trace is left of any other persons than those already accused was involved. But this is all speculation.

When two of the pretenders to the Malaysian political throne go at each other like this, you wonder if there is any more hope for the long-suffering people of Malaysia.

The Great White One

You must give credit to the Malaysian government. After losing Pedra Branca (the Malays call it Pulau Batu Puteh - the White Rock) to the Singaporeans, they have taken immediate action to review the status of about 100 islands that they think belongs to them. But unlike previously when they didn't even bother to station a person (at least from time to time) on the island they claim to be theirs, in spite of Malaysia fishermen frequenting the area near the island regularly, it is taking a long hard look at every rock now and probably to assert their rights in the right way - the ICJ way. Which is simply to care for it.

The Malaysians have learnt to their grief that neglect is a sure way to lose something in international law. That, plus writing ill-conceived letters dis-claiming ownership of anything, even a piece of rock at the mouth of the Straits of Johor on the side of the South China Sea. Now, in spite of what they promised before the ICJ judgement was handed down, they are busy overturning their cupboards and drawers all the way to their former colonial master's to look for a purported document that could get the ICJ fellows to reverse their decision over ownership of Pedra Branca. Those Singaporeans - they think that everything is settled. Think again, man. You are dealing with a 100 pound gorilla in your backyard. It doesn't matter if a 1000lb gorilla half way across the world agrees with you.

Well, you can bet one thing - Singapore is not likely to claim sovereignty over any other island for now. It has better sense than that. So the Malaysians should look askance at the Indonesians. But then again, Indonesia has so many islands already, why do they want to claim some more stoney rocks near Johor? Frankly, those rocks are just not worth the trouble, but tell that to Singapore, who obviously think that their Pedra Branca victory was a significant one.

Slippery slope

If nothing, there is one thing that is begging for an answer in the arrest of Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) - is Najib Tun Razak involved in the death and murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaaribuu? So far, Abdul Razak Baginda has been fingered together with two policemen, but there is fierce talk out there that Najib's hands are tainted too. The Rakyat's questions have not all been answered, and given the state of the judicial system in Malaysia today, it won't be answered any time soon either. And given the state of the justice system in Malaysia today (and this includes the police and their political masters behind them), it is not surprising that RPK is now being thrown into the slammer for even suggesting that Najib is involved in this sordid affair.

Not only is there vehement insistence among the Rakyat of Najib's complicity, I have heard similar sentiments expressed by Singaporeans with equal vehemence. No smoke if no fire, so instead of shutting up RPK, the Malaysian government - the elected representative of the Rakyat - must do what is right to silence idle talk, or admit to the truth. Sadly, since a top politician, the number 2 government official, is involved, the current loyalties in the government makes the telling of the truth impossible.

Malaysia has notched itself one rung lower in the eyes of its own people, if not the world.   

Get this guy

Yes, the Malaysia elections campaigning are in full swing now. But Singaporeans, unfortunately, cannot care any more. It has greater problems in its back yard - looking for a dangerous terrorist which it inexplicably allowed to escape.

So till we find the *sob*, I'll have to give the electioneering a miss. Just don't keep your guard down during this time, my dear neighbours. Malaysia is nearer than any other country to Singapore. And it'll be a good place to run to because everybody is engrossed in the elections to care about an escaped convict from the island of Singapore - those incompetent, err, better not say.

Keep an eye out for Mas Selamat Kastari, will ya? He looks like this. Well, no, don't vote for him! When you see him, send him to the Singapore Prison Island, yah? Tolong, not to the Malaysia Parliament, ok? And pronto, please. Reward? Here's the reward.

Mat Selamat Kastari

p.s. Of course, if Malaysia wants him, it can keep him for good. Just down mix him up with those Hindraf political detainees. This guy is a real criminal.

Judge hammered in his Court

PM Abdullah Badawi is correct. There should not be any cover-up regarding the case of the unnatural death of Altantuya Shaariibuu. This case has been widely reported both in national and international press. The alleged murder took place last October (2006) and, after 7 months, the case is before the Malaysia Courts - but...

The prosecution revealed that he has just the day before been assigned the case and pleaded for a month to prepare afresh. Gosh, the Malaysia government legal department must be working in overdrive with so many cases that this reassignment was necessary? It is extremely odd (to say the least) for a government prosecutor to be appointed just the day before after 7 months have passed since the 'crime'. That or, as many are now whispering, there is more than meets the eye. Is something going on in the corridors of power such that the weight is now shifted against the prosecution from succeeding? The prosecution, by the way, is arguing that Encik Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda and his alleged accomplices kidnapped and killed the young AS. We are reminded that these accused have friends in high places in the Government. There is also allegations of a third party involved that is trying to pervert the course of justice, although this party has not been identified.

Surely the Malaysia government is not doing itself a favour and moreover putting itself up to ridicule by its own citizens and the international community just for the sake of the three accused men? Or it there something else going on higher up? Its looks like someone is desparately trying to tilt the scales of justice his way. Can the Malaysia Courts go along merrily with the government on this, so soon after its decision to take away basic civil liberties from its own citizens?


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