Dr M, Teoh Beng Hock and MACC

“Many common lies and hypocrisies are like that, just out of the harmony of the moment.”

- Saul Bellow

When I read that the old maverick was threatening the MACC with some sort of exposure if they, in his words “… don't (stop) we have to be very active in exposing all the wrong things that they carry out,” all I could think about was Teoh Beng Hock.

But first, only the old maverick can say something like that and get away with it. He can actually have some folks cheering him on. It says a lot about Pakatan Harapan when the person who led the Harapan government can threaten to expose the alleged malfeasance of the MACC if they continue harassing his political operatives and totally ignore the fact that he supposedly has “evidence” of wrongdoing, which should be reported to the “relevant” authorities.

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy, not to mention the lunacy of threatening the MACC with exposure when it is the job of the Harapan government (when in power), not to mention its role as the (now) opposition to reform the MACC? 

And keeping silent when the MACC is apparently engaging in wrongdoing if they harass your political party means what exactly? That you keep their sins and omissions to yourself if they aided your political party?

And what about the other Harapan political operatives? The ones who claimed that they were all about reform? Have they got nothing to say regarding the latest salvo from the old maverick? Or are they all trying to formulate a game plan, if Harapan decides that Dr Mahathir Mohamad (photo) is still their pick for the top job if a snap election is called?

Actually, when it comes to corruption and the political establishment, PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim was correct to remind people that there were “yes men” in Harapan and that corruption was not merely confined to BN. 

He said that these people should be investigated and that - “The public will become cynical about whether the MACC will take action against the leadership.” 

Kudos also to the then Harapan religious czar Mujahid Yusof Rawa echoing Anwar’s statements and saying in a ceramah - "We have given the MACC the biggest opportunity to take action without fear or favour. We should support the MACC. We cannot be biased when it comes to corruption. It is wrong to be biased." 

All of which makes sense considering what Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said to a netizen “if she was confident that the previous administration was indeed clean.” 

But I guess all of that meant bupkis because the internal politics of Harapan meant that whatever intention for reform was flushed down the toilet. Now the old maverick pulls the curtain back on the MACC and reminds us that nobody can trust government agencies no matter who is in charge.

At the height of the media coverage of the death of Teoh, then New Straits Times group managing editor Zainul Ariffin Isa, as reported by The Edge Markets, wrote an op-ed piece in Berita Harian which "suggested that there was an agenda to discredit government institutions like the judiciary, police and MACC." The institutions, he added, were staffed predominantly by Malays. He alleged that some Selangor PR politicians had attributed the recent probe into them as being racially motivated. He also asked why the Selangor MB, who is also a Malay, doubted the ability of his own people to act fairly.

Readers interested in the article titled "Kematian Teoh Timbulkan Pelbagai Spekulasi Politik" can find it online but it is a rather bizarre piece that decries the playing of the race card.

While the idea that independent institutions are “Malay” institutions has been promulgated by various political operatives from Umno over the years, the Malay dignity congress, went further in its list of demands attempting to codify whatever practices that have been going on for years.

Remember two of the demands of the dignity congress was that – (1) Main positions within the government should only be filled by Malay-Muslims and (2) Only Malay-Muslims should be appointed in the top positions within the government.

Now it does not really matter how you designate the MACC, the reality is that the Malay political establishment considers it part and parcel of the political apparatus. Since race-based parties are the lynchpin for all other parties, what this means is that Mahathir and his band of merry men are on the receiving end of the ire of the Malay establishment (fractured as it is) and are now complaining as if they are outsiders.

The abuse Siti Nurul Hidayah (above), who is former minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's aide, alleges at the hands of the MACC, is mild compared to the allegations, to what has been exposed by various detainees including opposition politicians during former premier Najib Abdul Razak's era, not to mention what went down when the old maverick was in charge. All this is a matter of public record.

The fact that they are asking her questions (if she is to be believed) about her boss’ personal life is evidence that they are building a case against him. Remember the alleged peccadillos of former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali - dismissed by the old maverick, ironically - is of no interest to the state but a troublemaker like Syed Saddiq, well that is another thing.

The MACC has, of course, denied all of this and who knows, they may be telling the truth but then again, there's the case of Teoh and now, the old maverick reminds us that there are skeletons in the closet that of course should be exposed but instead are used as leverage.

This is what happens when supposedly independent institutions are defined as “Malay” institutions and are used by political factions to wage war on their opponents. This is also the direct result of the Harapan regime’s disinterest and failure to attempt reforms.

Teoh, pastor Raymond Koh, Amri Che Mat and of course Wang Kelian are evidence that there is something very wrong with the system. Harapan which before the election pointed to these as the existential threats facing the soul of Malaysia, did nothing when in power. 

In addition, we get a former prime minister - twice - who attempts to politicise his insider knowledge of the MACC to use as leverage.

Over the decades I have witnessed cynical displays of power and privilege but in this situation where Teoh's family has been denied justice, and coming from a former Harapan prime minister, this really is despicable.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A retired barrister-at-law, he is one of the founding members of Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan. - Mkini