1MDB car spinning deeper into the rut – Ravinder Singh

City folk driving cars won’t understand that if the car is stuck in mud (off the tarred road), they should not try to get it out by revving the engine as the wheels will spin and dig deeper into the mud, thus getting the vehicle deeper into the rut. 

That’s what the damage controllers of the 1MDB are doing.

When they accuse some Malaysians of giving Malaysia a bad name by questioning 1MDB, take in others for questioning, prevent a few from travelling out of the country, suspend newspapers and issue threats of action against anyone who dares “peep” into the 1MDB goldmine, which is deemed acting against national interests, the 1MDB car is only sinking deeper into the rut.

So who is giving Malaysia a bad name – those who cry “wolf” or those who are using every trick in their bags to silence the alarm raisers?

The police chief says that “whistleblowers who expose alleged wrongdoings could not be protected by the law if they trumpeted the matter through the media”.

He said protection was given only to those who used the proper channels, that is, who quietly informed the authorities.

Well, those who secretly give information to the authorities are known as “informers”.

A “whistleblower” is defined as “a person who informs people in authority or the public that the company they work for is doing something wrong or illegal”.

So it is one’s choice whether to give information secretly, or do so publicly. Where people have no confidence that any information given secretly would be properly and impartially investigated, they would choose to give it publicly.

By the way, are there uni-directional whistles, i.e., that send sound out in one direction only? So “whistle-blowing” connotes letting the whole world know.

What, then, is the real wrong on the part of the whistleblowers? That they have opened up a can of worms or that they have made false allegations? 

If they have opened up a can of worms, how does that affect the security and harmony of the country? In Malaysia, is it a crime to question the acts of the “Yang Berhormats”? 

If anyone has made false allegations, the authorities should prove the falsity first and then punish those responsible. This will discipline people and teach them and the public at large that there is a heavy price to pay for making wild allegations

But no, what we see is that no table is left unturned to silence people from talking about the subject matter. Why, why and why, if no wrong has been done which must be kept secret?

What perception do these efforts to silence people create in the minds of the public and the world, other than convincing them that the allegations have merit?

If those who spoke about the 1MDB had told lies, it should be so easy to nail the lies first and then nail the liars.

Let us take the case of the RM2.6 billion said to have been credited into the PM’s private account. The lie can be nailed by answering a primary school type question as follows:    

Question: Mr. PM, some people claim that a sum of RM2.6 billion was credited into your account. You responded that you did not use a cent of that money. Please answer the following questions by circling “True” or “False”.

1. RM2.6 billion was credited into the PM’s personal account. True/False

2. It was public money. True/False

3. Not a cent was used personally by the PM. True/False

4. The PM withdrew the money and gave it to others. True/False

5. The money was used for GE13. True/False

The fight being put up by the whistle-silencers leaves me wondering whether I’ve been a duffer to have believed what I read about the Quran, saying that the ordinary people should question the questionable actions of their leaders and not remain silent, lest the leaders become more and more corrupted and oppressive.

Could the ulama and muftis please enlighten the public whether in a country where the official religion is Islam, the public has a duty and right to question the questionable actions of the leaders, or should the public shut their mouths, ears and eyes and “sokong” all that the Yang Berhormats do?

* Ravinder Singh reads The Malaysian Insider.