Mysterious events take place in Malaysia. There seems to be no one accountable or courageous enough to say that they have been directed to take a particular course of action.

Take the ‘Altantuya’ case where the lawyer for late private detective ‘PI Bala’ laments that in his entire experience in the Bar it is unprecedented for the prosecution, the defence and the judge to all be changed so soon before the trial. Amazing, that such things happen in our country that boasts about its democracy and separation of powers.

Well we all know what transpired. In the statement given from the dock by Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar during the trial, he stated that “he is the black sheep who has to be sacrificed to protect unnamed persons”. As this was given from the dock his statement could not be cross-examined.

Further in the cautioned statement recorded on Nov 9, 2006 at Bukit Aman, he further confessed that he and his co-conspirator Azilah Hadri were offered between RM50,000 to RM100,000 to settle this case.

One cannot doubt the veracity of the confession for it contains details that only the accused could have known, says a lawyer. In the same light questions regarding incentives offered, protecting unnamed persons and being made a black sheep should not be taken lightly. This information is available in the public domain, as indicated by the lawyer.

What is mysterious is that the proceedings never addressed these two issues. Who offered the money, who gave the orders and who are the unnamed persons being protected.

This seems to have been appropriately missed during the entire trial. This information was all part of the cautioned statement that was provided. Again were there mysterious hands at work? Any ordinary individual listening and learning about these facts would have serious misgivings regarding credibility and interference.

Now we witness raids on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials. Their investigating officers are being interrogated by the police and their computers taken away. The MACC chief seems to be away on holiday overseas. The attorney-general has been prematurely dumped in an unceremonious manner and there are rumours that another task force member, the governor of Bank Negara, may also be replaced.

The deputy inspector-general of police (IGP) says that they are investigating and that there are no hands behind the scene directing them. I would believe the deputy IGP if there were earlier precedents of such independent action by the police. At the moment a large number of citizens do not hold the police in high esteem. The deputy IGP may be right in that he has received orders from his boss, the IGP.

Who has directed his boss is a matter under the ‘Official Secrets Act’, the domain where all lies will be laid to rest. How are we to detect the ‘unseen hand’ in all these acts? With a trust deficit touching -RM2.6 billion, the credibility of the ruling government is at an all time low, not to speak of the prime minister’s himself.

No one seems to accept responsibility

The situation is bad because no one seems to accept responsibility. There is fear for this could result in the loss of one’s job and all the perks that go with being a government servant. Can the directive be from the PM or the DPM? Speculations at best, but to say that there is no one pulling the strings of the ‘wayang kulit’ is to pour scorn on the general public and citizens at large.

These actions do not endear the government or the PM to the public. The world is laughing at us and our nation’s credibility is going down the chute. The capacity to stand up and express a different view is difficult when bred in a culture of rent-seeking, patronage, money and power.

One appreciates the challenges that the likes of the late Suffian Hashim and Ahmad Nordin, men of conscience and conviction had to face. They were men of independent convictions who laboured during their lives and were not obligated to anyone. That is why they had the spine and the guts to call a spade a spade.

Meanwhile, we have Shahrir Samad of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Backbenchers Club confirming that both Bank Negara and Inland Revenue knew about the RM2.6 billion that was deposited into PM Najib’s bank account. They now claim that this was a political donation. Amazing that Najib could in Johor say that some Umno divisions have benefitted from these donations and that they were now being unfair to him by questioning him in this regard.

How can the PM rationalise away such a large donation which perhaps saved the ruling party and now keeps them in power? Truth, integrity and personal honesty cannot be rationalised, however noble your intentions may be. A wrong act is a wrong act. That others before him have done so does not mitigate the wrong. The reality is that he is now caught and stands to answer. The law is the same for all of us.

What is happening both to Umno and BN? To have received more than two and a half billion as political donation is shocking. This alone morally and ethically convicts the PM and his party and one can understand the challenge that MACC now poses, hence the fear tactics being employed to curb their independence.

Does this imply that our last elections were bought with foreign money? If this were done by DAP they would have been deregistered and their leaders jailed for being unpatriotic.

This may be the shaping of MACC and I salute the guts and courage of MACC officers to stand up for their convictions. The Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia is with you and stands with your officers for there is no use talking about ethics and integrity when the actions taken indicate otherwise. We have to stop the preaching and stress on application and practice. This is the most serious test regarding the independence of MACC.

When will Umno have the guts and courage to address these very challenging issues for otherwise they will continue to lose credibility both as a political party and the leadership they offer? Do the members love Umno more or their president and will they hold onto transparency and accountability in relation to how they manage their affairs and the affairs of the nation?

People in power can never be as objective as the citizen. This is because power centres always attract around them people who all the time want to only to please them.

The citizen has no axe to grind

The citizen has no axe to grind and what is there in the public domain and the statements made are clear enough. Debt or donation this matter has to be seriously investigated and the PM will be wise to step down and let the citizens be informed by an Independent Investigation as to whether this is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with by the AG and the police.

Without fear or favour, with justice before us and God to guide us let us do what is right in the interest of the nation and its future, in the interest of our children and their future. It is no longer a question of accommodation or forgiving.

It is a matter of what is right and only an independent investigation that does not report to the executive can get us to the truth of the matter. It is also not fair for Najib Abdul Razak to be continuously tormented by this issue. An urgent independent closure is needed.

Aldous Huxley once said, “Experience is not what happens to a person. It is what the person does with what happens to him or her”. It is only by facing the challenge and being honest and candid can there be a closure to these events. This is what character calls for in leaders at moments of serious crisis.