The Malaysian political scene appears to be moving into a vortex of incongruity, anomaly and ambiguity. It challenges one’s critical faculties to unravel the veracity of unfolding events and utterances, and to determine what is gospel and what is apocryphal.
It is becoming more of a theatrical drama combining farce and absurdity, in which actors and characters keep changing roles. They are both protagonists and antagonists, espousing both good and evil traits, depending on the circumstances, like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
The current political imbroglio reminds us of the guard Marcellus in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, who said: “Something smells rotten in the state of Denmark.”
This rotten smell emanates from leaders and privileged elites who appear to have lost their moral and ethical integrity in their lust for wealth, position and power.
Currently, several political incidents are giving rise to this rotten smell.
The Negeri Sembilan Umno and palace standoff is unprecedented and goes against Umno’s stated tenet of being the protector of the royal institution.
At the recent Umno General Assembly, the party’s youth chief challenged anyone and everyone who dared to tarnish the royal institution, stating that Umno Youth would defend the monarchy to its last drop of blood. Now, his words ring hollow and hypocritical as Negeri Sembilan Umno has sought to dethrone the sitting Yamtuan Besar.
But can we trust Umno to protect a royal institution that does not need any protection, or to act as the protector and champion of the wellbeing of the Malays?
This rotten smell has filtered through the party’s political echelon and the orifices of the nation’s governance, serving the elites and privileged class while condemning the Malays to adversity. Their track record speaks for itself.
Over the years, those from the party have been embroiled in controversies, including a series of court cases and scandals involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Tabung Haji.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the first prime minister in the country to be charged and convicted in court over the 1MDB-related scandal, has brought the nation to shame. Nevertheless, he was accorded a pardon, not once but twice.
In 2024, the Federal Territories Pardons Board reduced his 12-year prison sentence in the SRC International case by half, to six years, and his RM210 million fine to RM50 million. His scheduled release was also brought forward to Aug 23, 2028.
He was once again granted a conditional pardon this month to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest and is to pay a RM50 million fine.
To add insult to injury, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Umno started a crowdfunding drive to pay Najib’s fine. This is tantamount to asking the victims to pay the fine for the thief who stole their money. Such an affront has provoked angst among the people because it lends official sanction to such thievery, which could encourage entities to continue plundering the people’s and the country’s wealth.
While the granting of mercy is at the discretion of the authorities, it should never be maligned or tainted by partisan or privileged-class shenanigans. It should be a sacred endeavour rooted in compassion or aimed at righting the wrongs suffered by those denied justice, who have served their stipulated custodial terms and shown remorse and repentance.
The granting of mercy should be based on a clear and stipulated due process and should never be influenced by position, wealth or partisan advocacy. It should also be accompanied by accountability to the public to allay any thoughts of conspiracy.
Granting mercy is a noble gesture as well as a heavy burden. It is akin to the adage that “heavy lies the head that wears the crown”. For mercy is bestowed with divine trust and must be extended to those who truly deserve it for having met the stipulated conditions. It is a divine sacrament that must not be violated by prejudice or evil designs. For the Sword of Damocles hangs over those who abrogate this sacred trust.
It is imperative that those who wield power over the public be cognisant of their responsibilities and fear the consequences of misusing that power to serve their prejudices, lusts and vested interests.
But now a pall of gloom has descended on the land as personal and partisan expediency takes precedence over justice, undermining the tenet that all are equal before the law, irrespective of position, wealth or creed.
The hollow rhetoric of promises to cleanse the nation of the scourge of malfeasance, misfeasance and corruption, and to instil dignity and ethical and moral principles, has all but filtered into the realm of ambiguity and dissonance.
The once-binding trust has broken down as those in power suffer a trust deficit that will become telling when they return the mandate to the people, who will then judge them. The people must wake up to the unethical and immoral violation of their rights and the hypocrisy of institutions that wield absolute authority without accountability.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not represent those of Twentytwo13.
