Those were heady times. The Edge Weekly and its sister newspaper The Edge Financial Daily restarted publication after completing their three-month suspension.
In 2016-2017, 1MDB and Najib Abdul Razak were continuing to make the headlines locally and abroad. The continuous advent of complicity on the part of the then-prime minister had already been detailed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
Despite the emergence of a photograph of Najib and his family holidaying in a yacht with the notorious Low Taek Jho, the former continued to harp that they did not know each other.
The sycophants were insisting that “not a single sen was lost” and almost the entire government machinery was being used to portray Najib (above) as the innocent leader who was being framed.
The key words in the mantra to gullible Malaysians then were “Arab Prince” and “donation”, which have since been blown to smithereens with the revelations as evidence in various court cases.
One from then communications minister Salleh Said Keruak who said “1MDB has been the subject of unprecedented politically-motivated attack, the objective of which was to unseat a democratically-elected head of government.”
Equally brazen was ex-minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan who declared the DOJ’s announcement of its lawsuits related to 1MDB was “heavy-handed”.
“It could be motivated by politics rather than the law. The manner in which they announce the case is unbecoming. The language that was used was heavy-handed. The case has not been brought to court, yet they make statements that imply certain facts. If it is still being investigated, why do they make conclusions?” he was quoted as saying.
Entering the fray was then and is still minister for law in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said who echoed then-attorney-general Apandi Ali’s call for a heavier penalty - life imprisonment for those who leaked secrets.
Too many details of Najib’s involvement were emerging and they needed a sledgehammer to swat the fly.
These days, Azalina is making headlines again, suggesting a new act to impose civil penalties on those who play up 3R (religion, royalty, and race) sentiments, as if there are not enough existing laws.
Such cases can be prosecuted under Sections 504 and 500 of the Penal Code, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Section 504 of the Penal Code pertains to intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, while Section 500 concerns criminal defamation.
Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, meanwhile, concerns the improper use of telecommunication network facilities.
No Further Action
Why cannot existing laws be used instead of looking across the Seven Seas for new legislation?
The answer is simple – there is no political will to put an end to such utterances because they sometimes become useful tools in politicking and influencing people and getting more supporters for the cause.
Remember former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s infamous rant last year against Christians and Jews, claiming Pakatan Harapan was involved in an agenda to “Christianise” the country?
In a recording of a ceramah in Johor, he claimed a group of Jews want Harapan to win the elections and alleged the coalition was working with Jews and Christians to “colonise” the country.
Police reports were made but what happened? Nothing. Zero. Zilch.
Why? The answer was provided in court proceedings the previous year. Part of the blame for the surge of such statements should fall on the police and to a certain extent, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
This is because both these organisations have declared in court proceedings that they had no plans to prosecute two people who were reported to have made provocative statements.
This opened the floodgates and we are now facing increasingly provocative comments.
In April 2021, appearing on behalf of the AGC, deputy public prosecutor Ainul Amirah said the AGC was unwilling to prosecute Perlis-based preacher Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu and Multiracial Reverted Muslims founder and president Firdaus Wong Wai Hung as police had classified their cases as “no further action” (NFA).
The duo is allegedly linked to controversial preacher Zakir Naik. Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) president S Shashi Kumar had said over 1,000 police reports were lodged against Zamri for insulting non-Islamic faiths and their religious practices.
A free-for-all
So, what messages were being conveyed to the purveyors of untruths and half-truths who were causing unnecessary annoyance to the populace?
Two days after the 15th general election (GE15), then-inspector-general of police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani warned social media users against uploading content that would threaten public safety and order.
In a statement, he told social media users to stop misusing the platforms to spread content that is considered provocative in nature because it will cause public disturbances.
Nothing happened but the immunity enjoyed and the invulnerability of some have resulted in a free-for-all of sorts and nothing is beyond approach or comment.
It has been like giving them carte blanche to say and do as they please, defying the laws, let alone practise decorum and sedateness.
Why do we need new laws when the many existing laws which are sufficient are selectively used? Why do people jump over fences in the middle of the night to arrest some people while a few are treated with velvet gloves? - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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