An act of paranoia and barbarity

The act by Sabah CM to bar Nurul Izzah is an act base on unfounded fear and unexplainable paranoia.

COMMENT

By Jose Mario Dolor De Vega

As a former expatriate in Malaysia, an independent observer and as a Social Science lecturer, I condemn to the utmost the utterly unreasonable and undeniably barbaric act committed against Nurul Izzah Anwar by the so-called powers that be in Sabah.

I am categorically referring to the act of the Sabah Immigration of stopping Nurul and the act of deporting her back to Kuala Lumpur on the order of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

I am specifically condemning Musa Aman and the state immigration department who executed the patently illegal and idiotic order given by Musa.

Nurul is a legitimate citizen of Malaysia. She is an elected member of Malaysian parliament.

As a legislator, she was voted into office by the rakyat themselves.

It is a basic rule of decorum and legal protocol in all civilized jurisdiction that a legislator, a member of parliament, in a word, a representative of the people that they deserve a certain degree of deference and respect and that is by virtue of their public office.

Is this how the state of Sabah treats its visitors? Is this how the state of Sabah treats its legislator? Is this how the Chief Minister treats a fellow member of parliament? Is this how they treat a representative of the people? Is this how the CM treats a fellow citizen?

This is a shame!

In a statement issued by Musa Aman, the government “has had no problems with opposition figures entering the state as evident in the run-up to the recent general election.”

Vulgar display of power

First thing first: I have an issue with the tenor of the CM, why is it that the way Musa talk is like; he is equating the government and himself as one and the same thing?

Musa, you may be an elected representative, yet you and your cohorts is not the government. The government is the people of Malaysia. Hence, do not talk or act as if you are the government or the power there.

As stated, the government is the people themselves and all government powers and/or authority emanates from them.

Your act of barring and banning Nurul from entering the state of Sabah is not only illegal, but incontestably immoral and idiotic. It is an idiotic act that is base on fear and paranoia. Undoubtedly, this is a vulgar display of power.

Why do you fear the presence of Nurul in Sabah? Are you afraid that because she is in town, the people will come out in full force? If that is the case, then what is wrong with that?

Musa, had you forgotten the Latin doctrine of vox populi vox dei? Which means: the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Why stifle the people from freely expressing themselves? Do you think that by stopping Nurul from entering, you will succeed in silencing the people? I never thought that the CM of Sabah is that naïve.

The struggle in politics and in any cause for that matter is not only wage base on physical presence; there is also the moral and/or the spiritual aspect of it. You can’t stop the people from showing their political allegiance and highlighting their ideological hate and disgust.

They will use any means necessary to voice their disagreement, grievance and dissent!

You succeeded in banning Nurul from entering Sabah by using your grave abuse of authority and unjust use of power, yet you cannot stop the inhabitants of Sabah and the rest of the Malaysian people from condemning you and your cohorts from the various social networking sites.

That is also another area of the struggle and that is technological warfront. Will you now also stop the people from using the internet?

Musa further stated that: “Sabah also welcomed those who respect a civil society, whereby there is law and order to uphold the prevailing peace and harmony.”

The new general rule

It is my considered view and so maintained that it is precisely the CM’s act of stopping Nurul from entering Sabah that gravely disrespect civil society, violates the law, mocks order, disturbs the peace and irrefutably rapes the social harmony.

The barbaric act of the CM disrespected civil society by virtue of the fact that they humiliated a fellow citizen and a legislator, a legislator that was voted into office by the people.

So now, in Malaysia, it is not illegal for the Sabah CM to bar a fellow Malaysian and a MP, but it is perfectly legal to allow illegal workers, such as the Filipinos, the Indonesians, Pakistanis, etc. to roam freely and work openly to the state?

There seems to be, in my view an underlying lies and political discrimination with regard to the position undertaken by the CM. He said that, they welcome everyone into Sabah, yet when it comes to Nurul:

“However if we have reason to believe that your presence here will pose a threat to these ideals that Sabah has enjoyed all these while, you are not welcomed here…”

See? In my view, only a moron could fail to discern the hypocrisy and contradiction of the CM. What he is saying is that, you are welcome, but you are not welcome! What the hell is that?

Let us try to subject the fallacious contention of the CM using a simple illustration.

General rule: everybody is welcome in Sabah…

Exception to the rule: Except Nural Izzah.

Is that what the CM is trying to tell the Malaysian people and the whole world?

And what is the basis of the CM’s preposterous decision?

This is what he said:

“We have reason to believe that Nurul Izzah’s intentions to come to Sabah this time round may not be as innocent as she or her fellow opposition members make it out to be…”

What are the real reasons?

Following the public interest rule, may I inquire from the CM what is that ‘reason’ that they are believing that Nurul’s intention of coming to Sabah that fateful and shameful day is not as innocent as she and her fellow opposition members make it out to be?

Following the closely the provision of the law, the CM is guilty of slander and oral defamation.

Slander is a crime punishable by law. He is accusing a fellow MP of intending to commit crime and violence in the state. The pertinent question there is: what is the basis of his charge or the evidence of his allegation? What is his proof?

The problem with the position of the CM is that, he himself is not sure of his charge. Why? Consider the words that he used: Nurul’s intention… “may not be innocent…”

In law, specifically the legal subject of statutory construction the word “may” entails uncertainty.

It means that the CM is not sure of the intention of Nurul. Because if he has a sense of certitude with regard to his allegation, then he will state or use the words “will” or “shall” or “must”.

The very fact that the CM used the word “may” betrays that the basis of his ridiculous allegation is base on a baseless basis.

Hence, the act done by the CM against Nurul is an act base on unfounded fear and unexplainable paranoia.

It is a well-entrenched rule in criminal law that you cannot charge or convict or barred or stopped an offender or a suspect or a subject or a person base on the judge’s or magistrate’s or any public officer’s (exercising quasi-judicial junction) whims, caprice, fear and paranoia.

As the report narrated accurately, “Nurul Izzah was barred from entering Sabah upon her arrival at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on Thursday.

“PKR deputy secretary general Darrel Leiking who had been waiting for Nurul Izzah at the airport had said her one day trip was to among others attend the state level Kaamatan or Harvest Festival at the Hongkod Koisaan.”

Is it a-not-so innocent intention to attend the Kaamatan? It is a crime to participate to the Harvest Festival?

People power

For purposes of the record: Nurul Izzah in the past has been to Sabah plenty of times and has celebrated the Pesta “Kaamatan” or the Annual “Harvest Festival” in Sabah plenty of times with friends and colleagues.

This year, she arrived on May 30 to once again join her friends in celebrating the Pesta Kaamatan when she was detained at the airport and not even allowed to meet with anyone or any legal counsel and was deported back to KL for her not-so-innocent intention.

The CM has undeniably tarnished the image of Malaysia in the eyes of the international community.

I call upon all Malaysians in general and the Sabahans in particular to come out into the open to categorically criticize and condemn the idiotic, illegal, immoral, utterly unreasonable and extremely barbaric act committed arbitrarily by the CM of Sabah against Nurul Izzah.

The Malaysian people must show in one collective voice and in unified manner the true power of the government and that is no other than people power.

In the moving words of Nurul Izzah using her Twitter account:

“Dear Sabahans, happy Kaamatan. I’m sorry I can’t be with you. But remember our bond as Malaysians remains stronger than ever…”

The writer is a philosophy lecturer at Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Far Eastern University.