Friday, January 7, 2011

malaysiakini: Public integrity is dead... by Josh Hong

Public integrity is dead
Josh Hong
malaysiakini, Jan 7, 2011, 1:48pm
In 1993, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago became embroiled in allegations of sexual abuse. To defend his Catholic faith and clear his name, he instructed the church to set up an investigation panel. He also refrained from making negative comments on the case and asked his lawyer not to apply any form of pressure on the claimed victim.

As it turned out, the claimed victim admitted he had identified the wrong person due to loss of memory. There was also lack of circumstantial evidence. He withdrew the case and apologised to Bernardin.

Later, the cardinal spoke about the humiliation and pains that he had suffered in the wake of the false accusation, stating that he had chosen to remain silent because he did not want to undermine the accuser's integrity as a person.

He also hoped that by doing so, he would create an environment that would be safe and assuring enough for more victims to come forward so that the church could deal with its own sin and reconcile with those who had been wronged. In the end, not only was he vindicated, he also proved his living faith in God.

While the moral leadership that the Bernardin case demonstrates may not be fully applicable to a secular context, it indicates certain leadership qualities nonetheless. First, a political leader must be consistent, humble, honest, self-disciplined and possess some positive values; second, a political leader must be duty-bound to safeguard and improve social justice, and show fairness to him/herself, colleagues, rivals and the masses.

Do we have a leader like this in Malaysia?

After Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas delivered an open verdict on the cause of Teoh Beng Hock death the day before, a Malaysian Insider article reported Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as among the winners.

What winners did the journalist talk about unless those who only did so at the expense of justice, not to mention the pains and sorrows on the part of Teoh's bereaved family - especially his wife with a posthumous son?

It is clear that the finding has been a cunning one: It exonerates (for now) the MACC from the accusation of having caused Teoh to die young, while ruling out suicide. Perhaps one should now blame Teoh for having chosen to work as a political aide in the first place?

More time to deflect uproar

Make no mistake - this ambivalent verdict is politically-driven, reflecting precisely the wishy-washy character of the man in charge of Putrajaya. It gives the man more time to deflect the potential uproar from the masses should the truth be found, and to engineer a way out of the morass not only for himself but for his political colleagues also.

With the next general election just around the corner, the man cannot allow controversial issues to jeopardise his chances of reclaiming the two-third majority in Parliament that his ruling coalition has been so shamelessly and avariciously coveting.

The man is, of course, Najib the 'winner'. Justice is denied but victory is in sight. How convenient.

It has been almost two years since Najib took over the leadership from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Still, there has not been a semblance of substantive reform by the government; neither do we see in the 1Malaysia prime minister any valuable ideals or moral directions. All that we witness is the continued erosion of social, political and judicial integrity.

Najib is the slickest prime minister that this country has ever produced, utterly bereft of core values at the same time. He is not hesitant to resort to openly endorsing the culture of bribery (remember you help me, I help you), and has no qualms boasting publicly how he has survived in the treacherous political terrain within Umno by choosing the right side.
Be guileful and prosper

In other words, the secrets of Najib's successful ascension to the highest political office are not a set of values or a certain political ideology, but fence-sitting, double-dealing and duplicity. He is practically telling our future generations: Be guileful, so that thou may prosper!

As deputy prime minister, Najib once came under enormous pressure over the shocking murder of Altantuya. Despite the SMS exchanges between him and the accused Abdul Razak Baginda - his then close associate - which implied political intervention in the judicial process, he escaped the witness box unscathed.

When private investigator P Balasubramanian went public with Najib's association with the Mongolian victim by way of a statutory declaration, all that Najib did was swear his innocence in a mosque. Most ominously, Balasubramanian has since vanished from Malaysia.

With this hair-raising episode in mind, can we now blame the Indonesian maid who claims to have been raped by a Malaysian minister for not being willing to come forward with more evidence and witnesses?

Rais Yatim is rumoured to be the perpetrator. In June 2007, he was nominated for the Commonwealth secretary-general's post. There was much publicity and promotion for his candidacy then, but it was withdrawn all at a sudden one month later. The whole turnaround was shrouded in secrecy.

Rais, too, is a political chameleon. He left Umno in 1988 and joined the now-defunct Semangat 46, rising to the No 2 position and even writing a PhD thesis that argued against the notorious Internal Security Act. Having rejoined Umno in 1996, his political career again took off. In 2000, he overturned the conclusion in his thesis by saying that it was purely an cademic exercise.

But Najib retains a character such as this in his cabinet because they share the same values. If Rais is adamant about his innocence, he should invite the Indonesian national to Malaysia to help in investigations so that he can clear his name, instead of issuing veiled threats against those who comment on the issue. (Yes, I am mindful of Rocky's dubious past and hidden agenda, but let's save it for another article.)

No doubt, Najib does fight back from time to time, but his tactics are far less than gentlemanly, especially when the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat comes in handy. The banning of Anwar Ibrahim and other opposition lawmakers is a flagrant violation of democratic principles, and more so when Najib himself has consistently refused to be cross-examined over all the allegations involving him. Sheer cowardice and humbuggery, to say the least.

With a prime minister like this, should we then be crying foul over the open verdict on Teoh death? This ambiguous result in fact best reflects the ore values of the most powerful man in the country. Seen in this light, we should cease all expectations in regard to other victims of institutional violence: Kugan Ananthan, Aminulrasyid Amzah, and countless others.

Even so, Najib will be fervently supported and cherished by his coalition partners. After all, this is a country where justice has lost its meaning while public integrity has departed.

JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.

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