The results of investigations that the police claim to have begun 57 days ago on Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on controversial remarks made against the DAP have not yet been made public, prompting an assemblyman to question why the police have been unusually slow to act in this case.

Canning State Assemblyman Wong Kah Woh said that while investigations and charges brought against Pakatan Rakyat’s elected reps and academics have been “strangely fast”, the police have not shown the same efficiency involving Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s case.

DAP have asked that the public should not be left in the dark and that the investigations, if there were any, must be revealed due to great public interest in the case.

Wong had lodged a police report on 24 September this year concerning Zahid’s false allegations against the DAP for apparently throwing stones at a car of the then-Regent during a demonstration in 2009. He maintains that Zahid was lying and that these accusations uttered at a ceramah during the Pengkalan Kubor by-elections were uncalled for.

“It has been 57 days since the police report was lodged and the IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar himself had on 15/10/2014 (36 days ago), announced that the police have recorded the statement by Ahmad Zahid and obtained a recording of his speech.”

“However, there has been no progress reported up until today, unlike other sedition cases that involves the Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives whereby the AG Chambers have brought up charges in Court within a short period of time,” said the Canning rep.

The deliberation by the police, Wong added, rendered Zahid’s pledge to investigate on any reports on sedition within 24 hours a “big fat joke”. Zahid had stated on the 20 September that the police would act within the said time against all sedition reports lodged, regardless of the status of the person being investigated. Albeit Zahid’s statement, the police had only approached him for a statement 21 days after the report was lodged.

Wong said that the Federal Constitution emphasises on equality before the law, and that no one is above the law.

“The fact that the police have failed to reveal any results from the investigation after such a long period of 57 days serves as a big slap to the Home Minister and the IGP,” he added.

It is a different case entirely when Pakatan leaders are involved, he said, exampling the case of RSN Rayer (Delima Rep), Surendran (Padang Serai MO), and even academics such as Azmi Sharom (University Malaya law Proffesor) where the police were quick to charge the “seditious felon”.

“How is it that the investigations and charges in these cases were exceptionally fast in comparison with the case involving Ahmad Zahid Hamidi ?” he asked.

Wong said that he understood if there was a need to retrieve evidence of the statement, however, he said that the police had already obtained a copy of the recording of the Home Minister’s speech and that this should warrant a quicker response by the police.

“Whether or not there were seditious tendencies in Zahid’s remarks is a question of fact which can be ascertained without delay. In view of that, what are the issues still pending?” Wong asked.

Zahid, the beacon of Malay rights

Ahmad Zahid had said in the reported incident that the Malays were politically divided to the point where they were willing to insult the monarchy and do the “dirty job for the Chinese”.

“I remember during the Perak crisis, they were protesting (against the Barisan Nasional takeover) at the time, they tried to block the entrance to the state building. You know who were the ones lying down on the streets? All Malays.”

“Where were the DAP people? They were throwing stones at the Raja Muda… they also threw stones at my car. I was there. When they were doing this, those lying down on the road were all Malays,” said Zahid Hamidi in his speech.

DAP had repeatedly denied that the incident ever occurred, calling them lies to create disharmony between Malays and the Chinese.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is no stranger to controversial speeches that have a tendency to stoke racial feelings.

Previously, Zahid Hamidi had called the Chinese community “ungrateful” for supporting the opposition party. However, he dismissed accusations that he is a racist, calling himself a “champion of Malay rights” instead. -The Rocket