Recently, a single father of three was arrested for stealing some bananas.
Almost at once, some members of the public on social media asked if it would be somehow possible to obtain an ‘addendum’ to convert his punishment into ‘house arrest’.
If we were to allow a convicted felon to be released on house arrest, simple logic suggests that other felons with lesser crimes should be allowed to go home too. It is that simple. No need to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out!
Brink of malignant cancer
So, here we are, wondering if we are witnessing a level of idiocy never seen before, translated slowly into an unspoken policy and a philosophy that is dangerously unravelling the moral fabric of the country.
We should be concerned not only over the possible conversion of Najib Razak’s prison sentence to ‘house arrest’ but also over the appointment of Musa Aman as Governor of Sabah.
Musa was charged in 2018-19 with 46 corruption and money laundering cases, involving about $90m. But in 2020, the prosecution withdrew all charges.
More recently, there was that bombshell when Zahid Hamidi’s 47 corruption and money laundering charges were dropped.
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Anyone within our judicial, executive and legislative systems who has allowed these injustices to occur is treading on some dangerous ground.
All the signs indicate that these recent occurrences are no longer a series of random incidents but are now beginning to have the potency of a malignant cancer that threatens to devour the country from the inside out.
New paradigms of justice and fair play
Today, the System seems bold and daring enough to give us a new spin on what Justice should look like in this country from 2025.
Perhaps it is telling us that crime does indeed pay, that the greater the crime, the greater the rewards and that the ‘Political System’ will ultimately reward the criminals!
However, there is a caveat. It only appears to reward if one was once somebody of importance, or still has some political clout and influence, or has some wealth (stolen or not), and has some very important connections.
Such a person will have a great advantage in making a difference in the way justice and punishment is administered in our country.
It would also seem that it is not just the system that is unable to see the injustice but also strangely, even leaders of a certain political party that claims to champion the true ideals of Islam and that of the Prophet SAW. They too seem to have suddenly become totally blind to the real moral issues.
It is ironic that this very same political party – which holds power in a state where a poor 42-year-old carpenter was recently caned in public – is now interestingly supporting Najib’s bid for house arrest, if not a full pardon.
How does the nature of these two crimes compare against each other? One, a convicted criminal, who has stolen billions from the people, is seeking to return to his plush home, while the other, who was caught in close quarters with a woman, was disgracefully whipped in public.
Clearly, the support for Najib’s house arrest distorts and insults the very meaning behind the concept of sentencing a criminal through imprisonment.
The alleged ‘addendum’ after the conviction also casts a shadow over the concept of the law as being fair and blind on matters of race, creed, colour, position or wealth.
Najib, for all the gravity of his crime, is seeking to brazenly enjoy all the comforts of his luxurious mansion, his team of domestic workers and foot servants, and all his daily creature comforts that would make a mockery of the sentence he was given.
This is something the poor average criminal in Malaysia will never be able to enjoy, especially not that single father-of-three who stole some bananas.
This is a glaring unfairness and injustice that suggests a serious flaw in the system.
Ghosts in the shadows
When we take a step further back to look at the darker shadows lurking behind, it is difficult to ignore the ghosts of Kevin Morais, Hussain Ahmad Najadi and Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Why are these ghosts still walking among us?
Perhaps it is because the maths behind the motives and the circumstances of their deaths had never satisfactorily added up.
And so, every time we are forced to confront a controversial issue, such as the possibility of house arrest for Najib or of the dismissal of Zahid’s charges, it becomes impossible for many of us not to wonder if political expediency is circumventing the logic behind a crime and its inevitable punishment.
As has been hinted before, in all of these cases, simple logic is seen to be defied, again and again. When the maths does not add up, the pieces of the puzzles will never fit satisfactorily into place.
And so, are we surprised at all when these ghosts continue to haunt the consciousness of the country?
People vs political elites
I can also see how it is the common people who have become the victims, having to now live at the mercy of these rich, powerful political elites!
Weren’t there attempts by the Sabah Public Works Department and the police to thwart a peaceful student rally in Kota Kinabalu that merely intended to highlight the need to combat corruption?
Isn’t Fahmi Reza now at the wrong end of the law, at odds with the System for drawing a caricature of a corrupt ex-politician who now sits blissfully in high office?
To further rub salt into the collective wound, doesn’t another corrupt ex-politician who had stolen billions appear to be protected by the very same System?
If these incidents are anything to go by, the balance between the people and the political elites appears to be unfairly tipped in the wrong direction.
Perhaps we have no choice now but to wait for that malignancy to make itself known!
Whither Malaysia?
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
I am waiting to see if I need to apply for an addendum for my outstanding cases.
I don’t think it is something you can apply for. You will need to have powerful royal connections.