PANDORA'S BOX: Sanjeevan shooting tip of the iceberg in BN’s corrupt governance

The assassination attempt on the life of R. Sri Sanjeevan, chairman of Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (My Watch), who was on the verge of revealing a list of policemen in an alleged link to a drug syndicate has sparked much outrage and anger among Malaysians.

Sanjeevan had tweeted earlier to the incident that hired guns were out to snuff out his life. But his intention to expose the cops under probe in an internal investigation by Bukit Aman has only confirmed the worst fears of Malaysians.

Many Malaysians had long suspected and believe in a BN politician nexus with the police and underworld vice kingpins who not only push drugs but promote illegal activities such as cyber café gambling and prostitution.

Malaysians are up in arms by the fact that law enforcement agencies in the country have become heavily corrupted and have a strong dislike for having to deal with these public authorities. They have come forward in droves to channel their displeasure through different channels especially social media

Expecting Malaysians to trust those who hold public office is a big deal as more and more people in the country think and believe that corruption has hit peak levels. This is why public confidence in the BN government is currently at its lowest ebb and fast eroding.

Differing views on corruption

While the Malaysian government still wants to and tries to sit pretty based on their belief that the general public’s hold on corruption is far-fetched and exaggerated, there is no smoke without fire.

The BN government has upped the ante to state strongly that corruption levels are under control and the situation is in check. But Malaysians just think of this as an eye-wash and think there is more to corruption than meets the eye.

This, Malaysians of all walks of life feel is especially true of big-wigs and those who walk the corridors of power in this country as being able to get off scot free from any form of punishment by using or rather by abusing their status and position.

This is why Malaysians, who are better educated and better informed, believe that the top brass of BN government, on the pretext and under the guise of governance, are covertly engaged in various acts of corruption which has spread down throughout the civil service.

If previously Malaysians were offered the explanation that this is really a case of a few black sheep that is tarnishing the image of the BN government as being corrupt-free, on hindsight and further investigation, what is to be stated actually is that this is really the tip of the iceberg.

This is why Malaysians have the idea that corruption is now a very serious matter and once again it is the Polis DiRaja Malaysia or PDRM that has topped the list of complaints lodged with Suhakam against law enforcement agencies for violation of human rights.

According to Suhakam’s 2012 annual report, of the 202 complaints made against the Police, Prisons, National Registration and Immigration departments, PDRM tallied a total of 126 complaints.

Inaction or no action taken by the police accounted for 44 complaints, abuse of power 43 complaints and use of excessive force 39 complaints. This was similar to the previous two years: 113 out of 156 complaints in 2011 and 125 out of 212 in 2010.

Suhakam’s damning verdict

The annual report by Suhakam states that the complaints against cops related to assault of arrested persons during interrogation to compel them to confess. This clearly shows the wanton and brazen act of abusing power and position by the police.

Other complaints included allegations of unlawful arrest, that is re-arresting those who had been freed; extended remand by producing the arrested person in the magistrate’s courts in several districts; and intimidating complaints to withdraw reports against the police; and acts of biasness.

Owing to the damning verdict of Suhakam against the police, follow-up measures have been recommended by the commission which is to fit every interrogation room with a closed circuit television, a doctor to examine the suspect before and after interrogation and for every complaint against an officer to be investigated either by Bukit Aman or the state police headquarters.

Transparency International Malaysia’s similar findings

In the latest global corruption survey by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), the police and political parties were discovered to be the most corrupt public institutions in the country. This 2013 survey polled 1,000 Malaysians between September last year and March this year.

Respondents were asked to rate public institutions on a scale of 1 (least corrupt) to 5 (most corrupt). The police were rated 4 and political parties were rated a close second at 3.8, making PDRM still the worst culprit.

It was discovered in this survey that 39 per cent of the respondents believed corruption has become worse compared with 37 per cent in 2011. However, 87 per cent of those polled agreed ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.

Generally, the perceived effectiveness of government action in fighting corruption has decreased. Even the perception that the government was effective in dealing with corruption has suffered dropping to 31 per cent from 40 per cent in 2011.

Now a major concern

While policing the police has become a major concern, Barisan Nasional (BN) political leaders are of the view that the Malaysian police force suffers badly from a “negative perception” of being corrupt.

They are of the view that the success and achievements of PDRM are often not publicized, instead publicity is given to the police in a negative way, painting a picture that they are lax on crime and are to be blamed for the rising crime rate.

For some reason BN leaders in government seemed to be blind and deaf to the growing number complaints that are recorded against the police with perhaps more grouses and complaints going unreported and therefore not placed on record.

It is clearly high time for BN to wake up to the demands of Malaysians in their bid to want to rid the government of corrupt personnel especially those within the law enforcement agencies that have not only given Malaysia a bad name but weakened considerably the structure of government.

Getting to the root of the problem

It is merely wishful thinking if Malaysians feel that corruption will go away just like a bad dream. There is now a dire need to spring clean the government and law enforcement agencies. Corruption will spell the death of the country and reduce it to a failed state or rogue nation.

Malaysians must not linger anymore but come forward in a concerted way and organize themselves with the help of the non-corrupt to boot the corrupt and restore law and order as there is perceived to be a law and order situation in the country now.

The farce of the 13th GE must be unearthed in full as it has spelt the death of democracy in Malaysia. Malaysians must begin at this juncture, from the political farce of the 13th GE, to begin to set right the country in order.

Only those whom Malaysians can put their faith and trust and belief should be allowed to lead this country. For far too long this nation has been victim to the masquerade of evil and oppressive politicians who are not only selfish but self-seeking.

Malaysia needs to have in place leaders that will lead them by serving the people and not politicians who desire to be masters of the people. This is why it is imperative that we rid the government of all those who are corrupt to replace them with those who uphold truth and integrity.

It is not beyond Malaysians. The feel of the ground is that change has been waiting to take place, it is now only delayed, and a matter of time before changes are wrought and brought about for the betterment of the people and country.

Malaysians should not give up on the fight against corruption because they will eventually prevail. Whatever gains made to remove the corrupt should be worked on further to fruition until Malaysia becomes a completely corrupt-free society.

Malaysia Chronicle