By P. Gunasegaram
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s tongue-lashing against corruption in high places in Sabah following Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Jeffrey Kitingan’s 5-hour questioning by the MACC, is most welcome.
But disappointingly, Anwar’s rhetoric is not fully backed by MACC and the prosecuting authority, the attorney-general’s chambers, who have investigated and prosecuted only a fraction of those implicated in the mining scandal.
This has not gone unnoticed, especially by the whistleblower in this case, businessperson Albert Tei, who released a series of incriminating videos through Malaysiakini, and expressed surprise against Anwar’s selective response to his broad-ranging allegations.
Unless Anwar addresses these criticisms and backs it up with visible action by the relevant agencies responsible, he is going to look like a selectively toothless tiger. The cry of political prosecution will be raised yet again.
Malaysiakini reported last Friday that Anwar launched a blistering attack against corrupt political elites in Sabah, lacing his speech with sarcasm. It seemed directed at the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) administration, implicated in a mining scandal.
He alluded to the time he was arrested and mistreated. “I was arrested, I was beaten, I was tortured in prison. I forgive. I was shamed, stripped of dignity. I forgive. But if you steal the people’s money, if you take billions belonging to the people – I cannot forgive.”
Sabah CM implicated
Strong words but unmatched by action so far. Also present at the function was Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor who was among those implicated in the scandal but claimed that the leaked video could be related to political donations which he said were not wrong.
“How can a political party function without financial contributions from those who can afford it? If we were to rely solely on the salaries of elected representatives, there wouldn’t even be enough to eat,” he said.
But it can be argued that if a political donation is tied to a particular contract, then it is illegal and subject to prosecution. Few would contest that although the law right now does not explicitly prohibit political donations. Hajiji was not among those charged.
Businessperson Tei took issue with Anwar’s statement on corruption, saying that his reaction this time was different from when he exposed the scandal earlier, saying that it revived an earlier blackmail claim.
Anwar’s response “drastically different”
He claimed Anwar’s response was “drastically different” compared to when he exposed earlier videos and alleged evidence of corruption involving nine other GRS leaders since last November.
Malaysiakini reported that those implicated included eight assemblypersons and state assembly speaker Kadzim Yahya. Two of them, along with Tei himself, have since been charged, but the fate of the rest, including senior cabinet members, remains unclear.
Tei’s complaints against Anwar are valid and need to be answered if Anwar’s credibility in terms of fighting corruption are to be believed and secured.
Tei added in a statement Saturday morning, a day after Anwar’s fiery speech against Sabah corruption, “What has Anwar done in the past year? He seemed to close his eyes and pretend not to act against the remaining six assemblypersons and the speaker.
“I want to ask Anwar: is it because the target this time is Jeffrey Kitingan, who has always been at odds with him, that he suddenly became interested and concerned about the corruption allegations?
“I wish to tell Anwar – do not ride on my revelations as a bargaining chip or a tool of political blackmail to serve your political agenda in Sabah,” he added.
Anwar’s speech in Sabah on Friday was particularly strong, hitting out at past bad practices which had impoverished Sabahans and referring to timber wealth which was stolen. What he said would have been equally applicable to Sarawak too.
“Everything was stolen”
He said: “There are leaders who have held onto power for so long, and what did they do? They plundered. They enriched their families and their cronies. They became arrogant. They speak about defending their people, but what really happened?
“Contracts and projects went to their own circle. Meanwhile, ordinary people struggled
“Timber, land, everything was stolen. The wealth of Sabah was looted and shared among a few. This is why people remain poor, while those in power live in luxury.”
Events show that all that Anwar is saying is true. But the regrettable thing is that hardly anything has been done over the years to bring the culprits to book even though the rakyat know who they are by the their continuing display of ostentatious wealth and infighting among families for the accumulated billions.
There is a law being proposed now to fully separate the powers of the attorney-general and public prosecutor through amendments to the Federal Constitution. The cabinet has agreed to this.
Political will
It would be good to have a law like that but mere separation of powers is insufficient if the public prosecutor is still not given the independence and the resources to fight corruption. Unless there is a change in political will, it won’t happen.
The only way to bring about political will is through public pressure. That’s a process and will take time and for circumstances to be right. Meantime, it is entirely likely that politics will determine who gets prosecuted.
The only way that has any chance of changing is if the public punishes such behaviour at the polls if threats to do so before that don’t work.
P Gunasegaram says we must all do what we can to bring about change.
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