When good governance fades, hopelessness sets in

In April, single mother Lisa Christina was sentenced to a month in jail for breaching the government's movement control order (MCO). She spent eight days in prison before her sentence was replaced with a fine of RM1,000.

A few weeks later, Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid and her husband Saiful Nizam Mohd Yusoff were each fined RM800 for similar breaches. While penalties are at the discretion of the magistrate, there was a twist to this because she happened to be the daughter of former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. It didn’t cause much of a furore but it got tongues wagging on the double standards.

Later, Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali and Perak executive council member Razman Zakaria were fined RM1,000 each for violating the MCO.

Instead of being judged by higher standards and the penalty being appropriately higher for someone holding high office, the perpetrators got away lightly.

On Monday, it was revealed that Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali and his family visited Turkey from July 3-7. The minister did not undergo the mandatory quarantine of 14 days and he attended no less than 12 functions, including attending the Dewan Rakyat session on July 13.

The irony is that almost every day, without fail, Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob announces the number of arrests for those breaching the MCO and that includes not observing quarantine requirements.

One of them was a 72-year-old woman who was caught on video for eating out while wearing her pink Covid-19 home quarantine tag. She was subsequently sentenced to one day’s jail and fined RM8,000.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told Malaysiakini that Khairuddin was tested for Covid-19 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport upon arrival.

“We are investigating. It was the period of home quarantine then. If (he) tested positive, (he) will be admitted to hospital and if (he) tested negative, (he needs to undergo) mandatory home quarantine for 14 days,” Noor Hisham said.

So, the inevitable questions that the authorities have to answer are: Why were the minister and his entourage not tagged before they were allowed out of the KLIA? Are the tagging and quarantine not applicable to ministers and their families? Is the Health Ministry exempting selected personalities from these requirements?

Again, while the ordinary folks are arrested, why are certain people allowed to roam around pending “investigations”? Are there two sets of rules – one for VIPs and another for Joe Public – in this country?

Is disorder slowly descending into our lives, with people allowed to break laws with impunity? These questions have to be answered, lest the country descends into a state of lawlessness.

Already, we are witnessing a convicted felon and a tax dodger criss-crossing the country attempting to pull wool over the eyes of the people by claiming to be the modern-day Robin Hood. He may be claiming to be exercising his rights and being allowed to hoodwink gullible people is no crime. But surely, right-thinking Malaysians who do not buy his fiction must stand up and put an end to these tales.

Couldn’t someone tell the people he was convicted of stealing and not for his generosity?

What more will have to happen before the authorities act to create a semblance of law and order and enforcement of the law, irrespective of the offender’s colour, creed or status?

Day by day, the credibility of the system is coming under a cloud with decisions, some which border on absurdity, being questioned at all levels.

Unbelievable justifications continue to be made

At the local government level, Little Napoleons continue to rule with their own set of norms, often disregarding the rules and regulations which were promulgated to ensure fairness and equality.

At the state level, the horse-trading continues to occupy centre stage with politicians being bought and sold – all in the name of power but with total disregard for the residents.

At the federal level, the antics of our lawmakers may keep us amused on and off, but when their conduct descends into making a mockery of the parliamentary system, questions have to be asked. Isn’t anyone committed to bringing to the open the financial atrocities perpetrated by the BN government and its ministers so that we, the people, can make an educated decision?

Isn’t the government interested in recouping the billions siphoned from the country’s coffers (read: people’s money)? Or is the government contented with the side incomes it receives as rewards for blind loyalty?

Short of a better example, why is the government sending carpenters armed with saws, drills and hammers to carry out surgeries in the operations theatres? The appointment of MPs to statutory boards and government-linked companies is a farce but unbelievable justifications continue to be made.

At every turn, the results of such high-handedness are beginning to show. To state that the cumulative results of such actions affect all the stakeholders is an understatement.

When tallied, those at the receiving end are the citizens who will eventually pay for the follies of the politicians. When will all this come to an end, and at what cost?

We have a right to stand up and ask: What is happening? Are you lawmakers or lawbreakers? We, the citizens, deserve better.

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R NADESWARAN says the feeling of despondency descends when the state offers protection and treats selected citizens differently when enforcing the law. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of us.