by Stephen Ng

The Sedition Act 1948 used against Member of Parliament, Batu, Tian Chua is most unwelcoming with the coming General Election coming near.

Despite promises that it would be repealed, nothing has been done, instead the Sedition Act is being used against a Member of Parliament from the Opposition, but not on two others, who had obviously hurt the feelings of fellow Malaysians who love peace and harmony.

Ibrahim Ali had threatened to burn the Alkitab and Ridhuan Tee had written words that has implications on racial harmony. Actions were not taken against both of them until today, but swift action was taken against Tian Chua for what he had denied saying.

What if Tian Chua had not been found guilty, would the government go after the pro-Umno bloggers such as Papagamo who spread lies about Tian Chua? We shall see.

As the government has rightly proposed, there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Lahad Datu invasion. Without the RCI, the people would not know the truth of what transpired before the said invasion, in the same breadth of argument, without the RCI on Projek IC, no one would have known the extent of which Projek IC had put Sabah into a very vulnerable position.

The people of Malaysia, especially Sabahans, have the right to know what happened or transpired before the invasion took place. There are many unanswerered questions.

For example, we read that when Jamalul Kiram III was coronated as the Sultan of Sulu, Umno had to sack him. The question is how was it in the first place Jamalul became an Umno member?

During the invasion, the ‘invaders’ were saying that they were promised land, right? They wanted to meet a ‘personality’ in Sabah. Why? Why did the brother of the ‘Sultan’, Agbimuddin Kiram, become impatient, and led a group of people to enter Sabah? Is it also over the land that being promised to the Suluks which was never fulfilled?

News reports said that the ‘Sultan’ had met up with Anwar a few occasions. Did he suggest that, instead of supporting an Umno-led government, he and the Suluks would now support Pakatan? Could it be that because he had been sacked from Umno and the promise to be given land was never fulfilled, that sparked the so-called ‘invasion’; hence, the meetings with Anwar?

Why was there a one-month period before action was taken? What was the ‘negotiation’ about? This is the worst joke of our time. We have a group of armed invaders who have entered Sabah. Whether they were on friendly terms or otherwise, immediate action should have been taken within a week. At the least, they should have been disarmed and escorted out of the country. Why did it take four weeks before action was taken? This is ridiculous as it is right now!

And, when action was finally taken, why was it that only the police force was used, instead of the army? This is an invasion, and as spelt out by the government, by the terrorists! The police was ill-equipped to handle terrorists. They did not have tanks to protect themselves against ‘terrorists’ who attacked ‘out of nowhere’.

The police force should not have been asked to handle the situation, and they were unnecessarily put in a vulnerable situation. Because the army was better equipped to handle these invaders, especially since they were ‘terrorists’, why did the policemen have to die in vain?

Having already suggested the setting up of the RCI, the government should not pull back. It should immediately open the investigation, because fellow Malaysians are just as skeptical about the episode – how it started, and how it evolved, and the truth must be brought to the surface.

I wonder if the leaders of Pakatan would also take up my call for the RCI to be conducted soon, making sure that the terms of reference is comprehensive enough to avoid further allegations, as in the case of Projek IC where the investigation did not have to establish the mastermind behind Projek IC.

As with this and findings by previous RCI, the present government should immediately implement the suggestions made by the RCI in the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Failure to implement the suggestions made by the commissioners appointed by His Majesty, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, it would mean that the Government is in contempt of His Majesty.

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