No one is above the law – except politicians?

 

Nobody is above the law — without doubt, the most common line used by our politicians, police and other authorities when issuing a threat or warning to the public at large. It is a reminder to everyone that we are all born equal. But are we really?

While our politicians scramble for power to enjoy the spoils of war, the rest of the populace continue eking out a living for survival. If we are born equal, this would not be the case.

No one is above the law you say? Then tell me why is it that when Haziq Abdul Aziz went public with his supposed rendezvous with a minister no charges were filed against him? Surely he should have been charged for some offence or the other?

After all, when a man in Balik Pulau made a false report on Aug 23 to protect his 16-year-old son who rode a motorcycle without a licence, the man was charged under the Penal code.

When Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali returned from Turkey and failed to observe the self-quarantine rule, his case was stamped “no further action” or NFA by authorities looking into the case.

The authorities decided that this was because a health ministry personnel had apparently failed to hand the minister the quarantine order form or Form 14B to fill up.

But if the blame cannot be attributed to the minister, then shouldn’t the personnel from the health ministry be punished for the negligence and dereliction of duty for not ensuring that the minister was issued the said form?

Shouldn’t this health ministry official be made an example? I thought you said no one is above the law?

When the attorney-general dropped all corruption charges against ex-chief minister Musa Aman this year, there was a hue and cry from all quarters.

But when Dr Mahathir Mohamad became the 7th PM of the country, all corruption charges against Shafie Apdal of Warisan involving some RM1.5 billion were also dropped in August 2018, some three months after Pakatan Harapan came to power.

What’s the difference?

And while they were not clothed in “orange suits” (neither was former prime minister Najib Razak, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and a few other VVIPs), others who were brought to court for what seems like minor charges in some cases were smartly dressed in the colour.

Then Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy commissioner of operations Mohd Azam Baki said investigating officers have the discretion to decide whether arrested individuals should be made to wear the orange uniform.

But I was made to understand that nobody is above the law?

Until now no action has been taken against former federal tourism minister Mohamaddin Ketapi for saying the invasion in Lahad Datu by the Sulu in 2013 was a farce despite the fact that some police officers had lost their lives.

Mohamaddin, who is currently the MP for Silam and also Segama assemblyman, also infamously said during the Sabah election in September that the Covid-19 cases being reported daily was nothing more than a scare tactic of the Perikatan Nasional government.

In a video that went viral, he called on his supporters to stomp and kick anyone who faints in the polling lanes as he believed this fainting act was designed to scare away voters. But look at where Sabah is today with daily figures exceeding 500 Covid-19 cases or more!

Mohamaddin is being investigated under the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act.

But will he ever be charged? Or is he above the law?

Yet, there are daily reports of the masses being charged for flouting the conditional movement control order rules which include not wearing face masks, among other reasons, with summonses and fines running in the hundreds and thousands of ringgit.

Apparently because no one is above the law, or so we are told.

Perhaps this “no one is above the law” line should be confined to the annals of history, never to be used again by our politicians and the authorities for obvious reasons.

Instead, we should seriously consider using the now-famous words spoken by then prime minister Najib Razak in the Sibu by-election of May 2015 while campaigning for Barisan Nasional: “You help me, I help you.”

Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.

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