Who’s next, after Syed Saddiq?

 

It is widely accepted that most leaders do not like those below them to refuse to kowtow to their every whim, and will instead open their arms to yes-men.

Last week, the High Court found the Muar MP and former Muda president, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, guilty of four charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of property and money laundering linked to RM1.12 million of Bersatu Youth funds.

He was sentenced to seven years’ jail, two strokes of the rotan, and fined RM10 million.

The punishment seems overly excessive, but what is more shocking is deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin’s moralistic preaching, as if Syed Saddiq had stolen more than a whole group of MPs, and over a longer period.

What Syed Saddiq was guilty of is peanuts compared with the loot other politicians stole and spent on handbags, personal goodies, luxury condominiums and the high life. We acknowledge that stealing is wrong, however small or large the sum.

Many Malaysians thought Syed Saddiq’s sentence was extraordinarily harsh, considering how those who had been accused of similar crimes had received less severe punishments, were fully acquitted or awarded conditional discharges.

They also forget that Syed Saddiq was charged during the Perikatan Nasional administration because, in some people’s eyes, his sentencing occurred during the Madani administration, and they wrongly thought that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had a hand in Syed Saddiq’s sentencing.

Malaysians can be a fickle lot. They want an independent judiciary but when a politician receives a somewhat harsh sentence, as in Syed Saddiq’s case, they want the prime minister to interfere.

The same happened for deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA), and they wondered if Anwar had a hand in keeping his deputy a free man. After all, without Zahid and his party, Umno Baru, there would be no unity government.

Cast your mind further to the time of Syed Saddiq’s close ties with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his foolish invitation to Dr Zakir Naik to his house for dinner. Malaysians called Syed Saddiq naïve, politically ignorant and a stooge of Mahathir’s.

Did they remove the tag when Syed Saddiq rightly rejected former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s offer to join him in the Sheraton Move?

So, was Syed Saddiq’s political future decided the moment he rebuffed Muhyiddin? He had more integrity than many Bersatu politicians when he rejected Muhyiddin’s backdoor entry into Putrajaya.

The prime minister must have been livid at Syed Saddiq’s open criticism of Zahid’s DNAA while most of the ruling Pakatan Harapan politicians kept quiet.

Outraged by the decision to halt Zahid’s trial, Syed Saddiq withdrew his support for the Madani administration.

Was his political fate again sealed then? Syed Saddiq’s dissent showed that he could be a potential threat in the future. Not just that, but his party Muda, would have split the youth vote.

What about the message by DPP Wan Shaharuddin, who had urged for a deterrent jail sentence for Syed Saddiq?

He acknowledged Syed Saddiq’s contribution to society, and said that a deterrent was necessary to halt the rampant crimes committed by politicians.

So, will the DPP go after the many corrupt politicians whom we know are currently serving in the Madani administration, or who served in previous administrations?

Will he acknowledge how the rakyat’s trust was similarly broken when many senior politicians, from ‘semenanjung’ to Sabah, who squandered billions of ringgit over an extended period, were then given a full acquittal or DNAA?

Even when the evidence was stacked heavily against them, we were told that for some reason or other, they too, were awarded the DNAA.

The DPP mentioned the gravity of the crimes of politicians and the broken trust, but what are we to make of the senior politician in the Cabinet, who was called to enter his defence, but was then awarded a DNAA? How fair to the rakyat is that?

The DPP’s remarks have revealed the two standards of justice in Malaysia. At the very least, he has sent out a mixed message.

Malaysians are very clear in that they are anti-corruption, but are disappointed with the weak law enforcement and selective prosecution. - FMT

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