by Lim Guan Eng
Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail’s assurances that action will be taken on any report or resolution by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah is meaningless.
Why? Because he had failed to act against Perkasa for calling for Bible burning and to establish the Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) recommended by the RCI on police reform. Abdul Gani has shown a troubling propensity of cowardly inaction on cases which involved Barisan Nasional leaders, their cronies or closet supporters.
Nothing exemplifies such prosecutorial cowardice and double-standards as his refusal to act against Perkasa for calling the Bible to be burnt with the ridiculous excuse that the Bible has not been burnt and he will only act when the Bible is actually burnt!
However at the same time, he shows extreme prejudice and ‘bravery’ when taking action against Pakatan Rakyat leaders such as DAP National Chair and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh for sedition.
Abdul Gani’s promises sound even more empty following the denial syndrome of the BN government as shown in the recent horrific death of security guard C. Sugumaran last month whilst being handcuffed by the police.
Sugumaran’s death followed a string of custodial death victims such as Chang Ching Te in Subang this year and the previous years of A. Kugan as well as 16-year old boy Aminulrasyid Amzah, who was shot dead by police.
The public has no confidence in Abdul Gani’s pleas to all parties to have confidence in the RCI when the public has no confidence in his professional impartiality. Instead he is politically partisan to the point of blindly parroting the BN’s line that the RCI is transparent and that it is a promise fulfilled or janji ditepati.
The time has come for Malaysians to remove political Attorney-General who serve no function except to serve their political masters. Malaysians deserve a legal Attorney-General who is fulfills his or her statutory obligation to uphold the law without fear or favour in a professional and impartial manner.
There can be no justice for all when cronies, supporters of BN leaders enjoy legal immunity for breaking the law whilst law-abiding citizens are punished by the Attorney-General merely because they dare to dissent and oppose BN.
Mutual respect among different faiths
The Penang state government records its appreciation to the Penang police and Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai (MPSP) enforcement personnel for taking the necessary steps to frighten the extremists from carrying out their plans for a Bible burning festival in Dewan Ahmad Badawi in Butterworth on 27 January.
We also thank the people from both in Penang and Malaysia as well as outside Malaysia from both Muslims and non-Muslims for their prayers and support against such a vile and abhorrent act.
The failure of the Bible burning fest in Penang sends a strong message for mutual respect amongst different faiths, peace and harmony to the extremists who want not only to burn the bible but to burn down Malaysia.
The Penang state government urges the Attorney-General to stop appeasing Perkasa but take action against its leaders for calling for the Bible to be burnt, that has brought us international shame.
Just because Perkasa is supported whole-heartedly by UMNO does not give Perkasa immunity from the law or the freedom to insult non-Muslims and deprive non-Malays of their basic rights. Malaysians are grateful that Muslims and Malays also reject such extremist tactics that are similar to those employed by Hitler and the Nazis in Germany before the Second World War.
The failure of the Attorney-General to act against Perkasa will only encourage such future acts of impunity by extremists to threaten our multi-racial society. The time has come for the BN government to draw the line by taking firm action to ensure that no one threatens any holy books of any religion.
Hate, racial sentiments and violence will bring us nowhere
DAP welcomes the lifting of the four-year ban on the Hindu Rights Action Force by the federal government last month, rescinding the Section 5 order under the Societies Act 1966 issued on October 14, 2008, which had gazetted Hindraf as an illegal organisation.
However such a political decision made just before Thaipusam late last month was not enough. The BN government must show its remorse and sincerity by not only apologising for this ban but also pay compensation and withdraw all cases against Hindraf and 54 of its members for being part of an illegal organisation.
Failure to apologize, withdraw all court action and pay compensation will give an impression that the BN government is treating this as a political game to court Indian votes in the coming general elections. This will prove that there is no nambikei or trust in BN federal government’s actions.
Like all Malaysians, Indian Malaysians wants to see substantive action that can move the country forward and not sweet words and gestures (sandiwara). What is the use of talking about nambikei when there are hundreds of thousands of stateless residents in Malaysians who have lawfully resided for decades and decades but cannot get citizenship whilst hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Pakistan or Philippines staying illegally for 2 years in Sabah were granted blue ICs (citizenship) in the last 20 years?
Indian Malaysians with all Malaysians will choose a government that is people-centric and makes decisions that benefits the people yearly and not once every 5 years. Malaysians have a right to a government of the people, by the people and for the people not only once every 5 years with the remainder 4 years only serving cronies and the corrupt.
Only a responsible government that places principles over hate, policies over extremist sentiments and performance over violence will determine whether Malaysia succeed in transforming itself into a developed and progressive country.
Let me also take this opportunity to wish a Happy Chinese New Year. Let us welcome the Year of the Snake with a fresh hope and a strong resolution that we will have a new government soon, ending decades of corruption, mismanagement and economic malaise. -The Rocket
