A former lawmaker has described court charges against former Penang deputy chief minister II P Ramasamy as “political payback dressed in legal robes”.
Taking Putrajaya to task, ex-Klang MP Charles Santiago said leadership is about confronting uncomfortable truths, not muzzling them.
“The move to charge Ramasamy raises serious concerns about the priorities and integrity of our democratic institutions.
“The rakyat deserves answers, reforms, and a future, not theatre masked as justice,” he said in a statement today.
This morning, Ramasamy was charged in the Butterworth Sessions Court on 17 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving funds belonging to the Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) totalling RM859,131.29.
Ramasamy, 76, pleaded not guilty to all charges before judge Zulhazmi Abdullah.
The former Perai assemblyperson was charged, as the then PHEB chairperson entrusted with the funds, to have committed CBT by dishonestly misusing the funds to pay RM779,131.29 in separate payments via cheque and telegraphic transfer for the purchase of a gold-plated chariot to two different companies without first obtaining approval from the board.
Political retaliation?
Charles said the allegations levelled against Ramasamy were nothing new and had been brought to MACC’s attention previously.
However, the sudden move to charge Ramasamy, at a time when his criticism against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on governance and institutional decay is mounting, raises legitimate suspicions of political retaliation.
He added that if every critic of the government is to be met with legal intimidation, then the promise of “Madani governance” would only ring hollow.
“This is not just about Ramasamy. It is about the integrity of public institutions that must operate free from political influence.
“When state machinery appears to be weaponised to silence dissent, especially against veteran leaders who have contributed decades of service, it undermines public trust in both the justice system and the government’s reform agenda,” he said.
Charles added: “At a time when racial polarisation, economic disparity, and democratic fatigue are real and growing, the last thing Malaysia needs is to distract itself with anything that vaguely hints at political vendetta.
Earlier, PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan also decried the charges levelled at Ramasamy and called them politically motivated. - Mkini
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