THERE appears to be a new trend, a reworked script as it were, to show that the authorities are even-handed—they arrest an individual or individuals from both sides of the spectrum.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has done so. The police, too.

Recall that Penang state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh was held by the MACC in August over allegations of corruption in allowing an illegal factory to continue operating. 

Days later, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Isa Samad was also detained by MACC in their corruption probe at Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV). 

This week, a couple of days after establishment preacher Zamihan Mat Zin was detained for sedition, Penang state information officer and preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin was pulled in for something he allegedly said four years ago.

Memo to the authorities: Malaysians are not a gullible lot.
                        
We understand the concept of natural justice and truth much more than the people who are in positions of power and authority.

We can smell from a mile away a stitch-up; we know when something is being stage-managed, and we have an in-built detector for rubbish.
                        
Now, expect some more Umno types to be pulled in MACC’s widening probe in Sabah. The agency has been stung by accusations that it is motivated solely by politics in going after former cabinet minister Shafie Apdal and his colleagues in Parti Warisan Sabah.

Malaysia’s mainstream media have been giving the impression that several Umno politicians will also be picked up in connection with the alleged abuse of funds parked under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

How naive it is to believe that the arrest of a few Umno men will suddenly give the probe a gloss of fairness and legitimacy. How naive of anyone to think that.

The arrest of any Umno man will just help Malaysian focus on one truth: that the alleged crime by Shafie and friends happened when they were in Umno.

Their “crimes” were discovered after they left the ruling party.

Memo to the authorities: Malaysians can think.

Just like the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) looking into Bank Negara’s foreign exchange losses three decades ago, the current run of arrests is also to demonise those who might threaten the ruling government’s popularity.

Politicians such as Shafie Apdal and Dr Mahathir Mohamad have been long in the game, with most part of their political lives in Umno. They can drum up support to the detriment of their former party. 

That they are being vilified in the mainstream media now after years of adulation speaks volumes about the ruing government’s fear of these politicians. Hence, efforts to bring up the past, dredge up past “crimes” and smear their reputation.

But will it work? Or will it backfire on the authorities because it just looks like revenge and sabotage to make sure they don’t break the ruling party’s hold on power.

If the authorities are really investigating crimes past and present, go all out and inspect allocations and contracts given out by all ministries. Investigate all those who ran government companies 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Strategic Resources Corporation (SRC) and find out why some of the money ended up in the prime minister’s private bank accounts.

And you know what, publish the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB. Publish the accounts of these companies. After all, the Najib government’s 1Malaysia slogan is People First, Performance Now.

See, the success of the Barisan Nasional government is that more people can think independently now and don’t just swallow the official spiel. They know a show when they see one, especially when it is just political drama. – October 14, 2017.