Few options left for theTeohs: Why is BN protecting the MACC trio

The current government seems suspiciously bent on sending the Teoh Beng Hock case into oblivion and making sure that it can be forgotten as soon as possible. There is no real motivation to seek the truth nor is there any real effort to bring those guilty of killing him or forcing him to kill himself to justice.

This was evident when Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Nazri Aziz, was caught red handed while attempting to explain away why the police have not launched any criminal investigation against the three MACC officers named by the Royal Commission of Inquiry as being involved in Teoh’s death.

A terrible lie

Nazri had explained in Parliament that the Attorney-General could not charge the three officers because the police had not received any complaints requesting an investigation into the three officers named in the RCI. However, two DAP members who are also Klang councilors immediately rebuked the Minister for his lie, revealing that they had lodged a police report requesting a probe into whether the three MACC officers were directly or indirectly involved in Beng Hock’s death.

Nazri's attempt at creating an excuse for the police for their inaction indicates clearly the BN government’s evil motive to hide the truth from the public. The Teoh RCI clearly states that the three MACC officers contributed to the sudden death of Teoh. Thus, a police investigation would help bring to light the motives behind the harsh techniques employed by the trio and also explain their overzealous investigation into a lowly political aide, which Teoh had been. Indeed, a police investigation may reveal the ties that run, probably all the way to Putrajaya via Selangor Umno.

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A police investigation into the three MACC officers would also help to offer closure to all involved, from the Teoh family, the MACC and the Najib administration itself. A properly conducted probe would ascertain if the MACC officers were out-of-line in their questioning methods and to what extent did they exceed their authority to cause Beng Hock's death. Did it border on murder? This must surely be the key question on everyone's mind.

Bordering on murder?

The Najib administration's denial of justice to the Teoh family will also take its toll on them. They are running out of judicial options to gain some measure of justice. There is really nothing much they can do, unless the courts decide to act independently of the Executive and pursue the truth and nothing but the truth.

That there has been a systematic and intentional push by the BN to bury the Teoh Beng Hock case is real; what is the government trying to hide? Was Teoh a mere stepping stone to establish a foothold in the Umno push to take back control of the Selangor government?

Embezzlement and corruption charges could have been easily trumped up against Pakatan Rakyat leaders with a forced confession from Teoh and this would have formed the crust of the BN’s takover bid for Selangor, much like what Prime Minister Najib Razak did in Perak. Up till the time of Teoh’s detainment and subsequent death, the BN government was hell-bent on snatching Selangor back - at all costs as Najib had vowed!

Teoh a pawn in Umno's ruthless politicking

It can be inferred that Teoh was likely to have been a means to an end. Hence the cast-iron lock on the case and everything possible being done to protect the MACC trio. With Teoh's death, the sudden rush to whip up embezzlement charges against several Pakatan Rakyat leaders began to flounder and the modus operandi to take over Selangor has changed. Umno has now been accused of offering citizenships for votes to foreign workers.

With Selangor performing better financially under the Pakatan rule, as stated in the Auditor-General's report, BN is finding it harder to gain any foothold the 'honest' way. The timing advantage has been lost to the BN and it now needs slapdash methods. It also needs to cover-up its past trails at all costs from the Malaysian public. And the BN government is good at covering up their shoddy businesses.

Maybe this is what Nazri Aziz, the police, the courts, the RCI panel and in fact the whole justice system of Malaysia are trying to hide from the rest if the country. But whether of Chinese descent or not, most Malaysians have already made up their minds about who is guilty - something for the overly complacent and lethargic Prime Minister Najib Razak to note.

Altantuya

There is another similar case that is suffering the fate as Teoh - the Altantuya murder case. Both cases have revealed the double standard handiwork of the BN government, and all the civil and public apparatus at its disposal. In both cases, the police have not only been caught dragging their feet, they outright shut their eyes to the facts that stare at them. And this also reflects the mind-set of the police masters who seem hell-bent in allowing these cases to fade from the memories of everyday Malaysians. Justice for the victims is no nowhere on their radar.

While swift action is taken against opposition leaders - Lim Guan Eng and Mat Sabu come to mind - little if not no action is taken by the police against the MACC officers involved in Teoh’s death. It is amazing that in December 2009, when DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng uttered the words “Beng Hock was murdered” at the party's annual convention, the Selangor police were themselves the first to lodge a report, threatening to investigate Guan Eng under the Sedition Act, 1948, no less.

The same can be said for Mat Sabu, the PAS deputy president, when again it was the police themselves who were super-quick in lodging a report over his Bukit Kepong speech. The report has resulted in criminal defamation charges against Sabu, who is due to go to court next month.

Trust destroyed

Yet, here we have the de-facto law minister, lying in Parliament that no police report was ever lodged to investigate the three MACC officers! There is only one conclusion to be made of all these innuendos and drama by the BN government. They have something to hide and they are willing to do anything to cover the lie and bury Teoh’s death.

Why and what are they hiding is anyone’s guess for now, but it’s a slap in the face for any talk that Malaysia is a nation that practices the tenets of fairness and justice. Malays, in particular, should then question themselves, can they trust a government that habitually lies to cover up their own faults?

Malaysia Chronicle