Rosli Dahlan triumphs again!

Rosli Dahlan triumphs  again as Bank Negara loses Appeal

by Din Merican

I was deeply troubled when I read the news reports that in Karpal Singh’s trial for uttering seditious words against HRH Sultan of Perak, DPP Noorin Badarudin insulted the court when she submitted that “The Attorney-General has the sole discretion and absolute power in deciding who to prosecute…. and the A-G’s discretion cannot be questioned in Court ”HERE 

That is a startling arrogant statement that A-G Gani Patail can show his middle finger to the courts of this country and there is nothing the courts can do about it  because A-G Gani will definitely not allow himself to be charged before any court of law. No wonder A-G Gani Patail seems invincible despite the expose’ on his Hajj exploits with Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, Shahidan Shafie; his interference with the Ho Hup Bhd Boardroom tussle and even the highly explosive book by Zainal Abidin Ahmad titled ‘Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail: Pemalsu, Penipu, Penjenayah?’  

It seems that A-G Gani Patail can fix people up and practise selective prosecution (more like persecution) and there is nothing anyone can do about this.

Was that why, five years ago A-G Gani Patail dared to sanction the brutal arrest of  lawyer Rosli Dahlan and then make the Anti-Corruption Agency (now known as the the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission [MACC]) to charge him on Hari Raya eve?

Was that why the MACC was not bothered about losing that case badly despiteits Deputy Director of Prosecution, DPP Kevin Anthony Morais, being exposed as a Liar? Was that why A-G Gani Patail remained unperturbed and made the MACC appeal against Rosli’s acquittal and kept that hanging on for two more long years but withdrew it last minute on the very day the appeal came up for hearing? Is it because A-G Gani Patail feels his conduct cannot be questioned by anyone, even by the Prime Minister? I considered that as an abuse of power, malicious prosecution and prosecutorial misconduct and made that the central theme in my recent writings in these links:HERE, HERE, HERE

To my mind, abuses must be exposed and checked by the Courts– that simple! That is why I posted Tan Sri Robert Phang’s Statutory Declaration describing how the MACC knew they had no case but was made to continue persecuting Rosli by A-G Gani Patail. I now understand why Rosli had filed multiple law suits against those him he considered “Rogues in Government” to seek accountability from them. Despite initial disappointments when dirty tactics were used in Rosli’s criminal trial and goal posts were changed several times, Rosli was vindicated by the criminal courts.

Rosli is now pursuing civil claims against his perpetrators – 17 Defendants were named in his RM50 million law suit filed in 2008 including the Government of Malaysia. He also sued big mainstream media like Utusan Malaysia, The Star and The NST. Utusan Malaysia had published a public apology admitting that “their news article was untruthful and written in a sensational manner to generate publicity which exceeded the parameters of ethical journalism”.

Rosli seems to be taking on the whole establishment. As I have seen how his family and career suffered during his incarceration and persecution, perhaps he should step back and think about his family. Many will be cheerleaders but eventually he will be standing alone in facing the onslaught from those in the corridors of power. That is my friendly advice because his path towards vindication has been quite a rocky climb and he has had to go through a baptism of fire. 

   

In November 2011, Rosli suffered a setback when High Court Judge John O’Hara (not sure which Irish stock he is from) struck out his RM50m claim against Defendant No.16, Abdul Rahman Abu Bakar, the Bank Negara Financial Intelligence Manager. Judge O’hara held that Rosli had no cause of action against Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

But this morning, the Court of Appeal Justices Dato Ramli Ali, Dato Zaharah Ibrahim and Dato Anantham Kasinather unanimously disapproved of Judge O’Hara’s decision. The Court of Appeal held that the High Court Judge had misdirected himself on the law on conspiracy and that the facts showed that Rosli has sufficiently shown misconduct on the part of BNM for colluding with the rest of the defendants in fixing up Rosli. BNM was even ordered to pay cost of RM10,000 to Rosli  to show how the Court of Appeal disapproved of BNM’s conduct. Rarely, one gets costs against government.    

This is certainly good news. In celebration of that fighting spirit, I want to share with my readers the lyrics of Randy Newman’s song “Can’t Keep A Good Man Down (HERE), especially this part:

Listen, when you’re on the bottom like I am today

Those around you are losing faith in what you’re tryin’ to do

There is only one thing a man can say

‘You can’t keep a good man down’

Treat a man like dirt, give him no respect for who he is

Expect something dirty in return

Oh, they’re flyin’ high up there, they’ve got a lot to learn

Because you can’t keep a good man down

They shame me, blame me, tryin’ to frame me

But they can’t keep a good man

They can’t keep a good man down….’