THE whole country has witnessed how Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was brought to the courts on the first day for them to be charged, walking with their uncuffed hands and possibly in their finest tailored suits.

Even Rosmah Mansor was spared the ignominy of having to wear that dreaded orange t-shirt and have a cuff over her wrists.

But when photos emerged of an ordinary person, caught and arrested and brought to the courts to be charged with the same type of offences, albeit of a much smaller quantum, dressed in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) orange lockup tee and their hands cuffed, the public is extremely disturbed.

Why the double standards?

Shouldn’t rules and regulations be applied consistently among all Malaysians regardless of their background, the positions they held previously or even the services they undertook for the country?

In October 2020, the chief commissioner was quoted to have said that the MACC directive for accused persons to wear the orange t-shirt is to differentiate MACC detainees from those detained by other enforcement agencies.

But in September 2018, when queried by the media, then deputy chief commissioner Azam Baki explained it away as saying accused persons do not have to wear the orange tee and do not need to be handcuffed. The investigating officer has the discretion on making such a decision.

A directive that is not mandatory and can be discretionally applied by investigation officers?

The politicians, in their quest for power and position for their own self gratification, have been screaming on top of their lungs that they are the people’s representatives. Whatever they do, they do it for the people.

But in instances like this, it appears that the politicians are placed on a pedestal and treated deferentially while the people are paraded publicly and treated in accordance to a directive that is enforced as if it is mandatory. – October 5, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.