Let Ahmad Maslan speak for himself over his ‘cruel’ remark

 

Former prime minister Najib Razak can make some sensible statements at times. However, his attempt at damage control over Ahmad Maslan’s statement about “cruel” court cases against some Umno leaders is not only senseless but is a downright insult to the intelligence of Malaysians.

Surely Najib cannot be so daft as to think we are about to swallow his defence of Ahmad’s statement hook, line and sinker.

Ahmad knows what he said and what it meant. Najib knows what he meant. Most importantly we know what he meant. There was no need to try and cover up what Ahmad said. There was no need to try and wrangle a way out of this ridiculous situation.

It would have been much better if Najib had censured Ahmad and stated that justice must be allowed to run its course no matter who was being charged in court for crimes committed or are being accused of a criminal offence. Hence, it has nothing to do with the situation affecting the Perikatan Nasional government at the moment.

If Najib had done that, he would have come out smelling like a rose.

Cabinet minister Khairy Jamaluddin of Umno said it was a “goreng pisang” statement from Ahmad. I need to correct Khairy on this: a “goreng pisang” can still be eaten. However, Ahmad’s statement cannot be swallowed, let alone be eaten!

Najib was pathetic for bringing in the names of former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Latheefa Koya and former chief justice Richard Malanjum into his argument.

Don’t play the race card here. That is the last thing we need as the country struggles with the unseen Covid-19 enemy. The people are struggling for a living. It is difficult just to survive.

I do not know what politicians think of us people. Neither do I care. But if a person has come to the stage of believing that politicians should be allowed to get off scot-free, then you have descended to the lowest of the low.

Ahmad will have his day in court. Let him speak for himself. Let him explain what he meant. Allow the public to form their own opinion.

While some out there may believe what he has to say or how Najib tried to spin it, there will be others who will simply say: Good try!

Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.