Americk, you did it for the greater good

FREE YOURSAY 'Americk, your conscience is crystal clear. You were in fact helping private eye Bala to accomplish what he had aimed for.'

The dilemma of PI Bala's lawyer

Harapanbaru: Americk Sidhu, thank you for being such an upstanding lawyer and human being.

What you have done may have been a betrayal of confidence between you and senior lawyer Cecil Abraham - but what Cecil confessed to having done, on the instructions of PM Najib Razak, tantamounts to complicity in covering up a most heinous crime.

In this instance, you found yourself facing the moral dilemma of a priest to whom a serial killer had confessed - if you report his confession to the police, you would be breaking a vow of confidentiality; but if you keep silent, the killer will continue committing more crimes.

For the long-term well-being of the entire nation, the killer has to be apprehended. We cannot allow serious crimes to go uninvestigated and unpunished.

We can, of course, be compassionate and not demand the harshest penalties - and in the case of Cecil Abraham and Najib Razak, being stripped of their power is already an important first step.

We don't demand that Cecil be charged, convicted and imprisoned; but the sight of Najib continuing to bluster against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in public and squander public funds on various outrageous crony-enrichment mega-projects, is utterly intolerable.

The man must be forced to resign and then perhaps we can be lenient and offer him the option of returning all his ill-gotten wealth to the nation in exchange for allowing him and his family to go into voluntary exile.

Dont Just Talk: Never in the history of Malaysia do we have a prime minister so scandalous and his hands tainted with not one, not two, not three, not four scandals - starting with the RM500 million commission on the two Scorpenes submarines, the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, the illegal takeover of Perak state from Pakatan Rakyat in 2008 and now private investigator P Balasubramaniam's second statutory declaration (SD).

Yet he still has the audacity to stand in front of the main news media preaching to Malaysians what we should do and not do. Wake up Malaysians and do the right thing in the coming 13th GE, otherwise, padam muka sendiri.

By the way, Americk Sidhu, you did the right thing by revealing the truth. Otherwise, unlike others, your conscience will prick you daily and that will give you sleepless nights and eventually it will affect your health.

Sinner: Cecil Abraham should have done the right thing and made the admission himself. Americk, you have made things easier for him and placed the two of you nearer to your respective Gods.

You have not done anything wrong. As a lawyer, you are also aware that concealing a crime is itself a crime. God bless you.

Cala: I sympathise with Americk over his agony of whether to release the information he got from his friend, Cecil Abraham.

In the end, he concluded that the path was worth taking because by doing that, he was doing PI Bala justice.

In ancient China, if a father knows that his son has murdered someone, Confucius teaching dictates that he reports his son to the authority for punishment. Therefore, if I am Americk, my conscience is clear.

Qiqi: A real dilemma. No better choice. The fair minded Malaysians understand.

Ksn: Americk, you did the right thing in breaking a promise to a lawyer friend because you had to be faithful to a client of yours, who is not with us anymore. That is what all good men should do, you just did just that.

Tehachapi: Americk, although you have broken a solemn promise to an individual caught in a difficult situation, you chose rightly to disclose the evil scheme and render justice to the murdered victim and two possibly innocent individuals in jail. There is now hope that the mastermind of the heinous crime will be brought to justice.

Malaysia deserves to be led by visionary and principled leaders who can inspire the nation and draw out the best from each individual in this multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country richly blessed with diverse talents.

Unless we return to the fundamental principles of good governance, it is impossible for Malaysia to achieve greatness and prosperity. There is no way to make any progress with a gang of corrupt and self-indulgent individuals without principles. Thank you for giving us hope.

Gen2: Don't worry, Americk. From whatever religion's point of view, you did right. When everybody starts to forget what a straight line looks like, we need some brave soul to stand up and show us how to walk the straight line.

Apa Nama: Americk, you action actually followed this saying: "It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing.

"It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."

Indeed, you have done the right thing. Let's nature takes its course.

Ferdtan: Americk, agonise no more. You have done the right thing. We salute you for your courage. It is said that the hardest decisions are the ones where the choices are not clear and the consequences are potentially momentous.

These are the kinds of decisions a great man has to make. You have made yours. Leave the rest to God.

LittleGiant: I was actually moved to tears reading the text of Americk Sidhu's speech. A man with extraordinary courage and conviction "to do the right thing", Americk rose above the torment and did the right thing.

If and when justice is done, both Americk and his client, Bala, will be vindicated.

Louis: "Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people." - Spencer Johnson.

Americk, your conscience is crystal clear. You are in fact helping Bala to accomplish what he had aimed for.

At least he is blessed with a true friend whom he can count on to carry on his task, a noble one which benefits all Malaysians.

We humbly thank you and Bala from the bottom of our hearts. May good triumph over evil.

Mogansivas: Why Najib? Why? Please tell us why did you instruct Cecil Abraham to draft the second SD? - Malaysiakini