COMMENT MCA president Liow Tiong Lai made an interesting observation that the rakyat are currently watching Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

In fact, Liow is right because the rakyat are watching how Lim is being persecuted over the purchase of a property allegedly at below market value and the conversion of a piece of agricultural land to industrial land.

The above two incidents may not even be connected, but immediately after the top people in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) left the two top posts, the anti-graft panel immediately swung into action.

What most people are also angry with is that the judge has agreed with the attorney-general to set bail for Lim at RM1 million. The Malaysia Book of Records can register this as probably the highest bail in the country through its six decades of Independence.

I have just donated my RM10, and helping others, including a few Umno members and an MCA man, to donate their RM10 to Penang DAP. It is not surprising that by 2pm yesterday, Penang DAP announced that it would end the donation drive since the target of RM1 million has been reached.

Lim is unlikely to leave the country; therefore, whatever we donate will hopefully go to Penang DAP to be used during the coming general election.

This is what the rakyat are watching, Liow. What we are seeing is a man riding on the fastest camel from Kuala Lumpur to Penang just to appear in the court, and laughing, too, because he thinks that he has his pound of Lim’s flesh.

Liow will get to see that at the end of the day, what goes around comes around. Even Shylock who demanded for Antonio’s pound of flesh had to finally suffer his own humiliation.

This is why I say that the rakyat are watching the Lim Guan Eng episode, because we are waiting for God’s retribution - and I can assure you, He will!

Powerful messages

Since news of Lim’s arrest hit the streets, I have been receiving numerous messages on the social media. One of them is more of a joke which I will allow the Facebook account holder, Joseph Chan Wai Loon, to explain his line.

Two others I think is worth quoting are on the ‘kafir harbi’ and on Pakatan Harapan coordinator Saifuddin Abdullah’s post.

Instead of gaining popularity amongst the Malays, people are now criticising both the Prime Minister’s Office and the mufti of Pahang over the incendiary statement made by Abdul Rahman Osman.

While having buka puasa with some Muslim friends at the mosque on Thursday night, the conversation also focused on this issue as well as Lim’s arrest.

All I can say is that this entire episode of ‘kafir harbi’ and Lim’s arrest have gone out of hand, and both Umno and especially Barisan Nasional component parties are sure to suffer the backlash. As a Chinese, I would not vote for MCA or even Gerakan. I hope my Sabahan and Sarawakian friends would say the same as well of their local BN component parties.

Even former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz is warning that Umno will soon follow Brexit with its own ‘Umno-exit’. Darn it! People are beginning to see Umno has become one dirty word when they see injustice being played in front of their eyes.

As pointed out by a cartoon illustration, the rakyat are not as stupid as Liow thought they are. Because of what happened to Lim, I am now more supportive of the DAP. I am now more politically aware of what is happening in the political arena.

Is it because I am Chinese, therefore, I only support the DAP? Trust me, even my Malay friends and even Umno supporters are now expressing their disgust. Yes, Liow is right. The rakyat are watching but the rakyat are not stupid.

Former Umno strongman Saifuddin Abdullah also came out with a statement which opens my eyes - and I think being a great supporter of his, I would quote what he said: “Guan Eng bought a bungalow at RM2.8 million, which is below the market price. He is being arrested.

“But, in the 1MDB scandal, the Tun Razak Exchange and Sungai Besi military base were bought and sold at a price far below the market price. Najib is both the buyer and the seller. There is obviously the conflict of interest. Why is Najib not being investigated or arrested?”

Not to mention the missing billions of ringgit that went into some dummy companies registered in the British Virgin Islands including the company owned by Good Star which investigators have confirmed was solely owned by Jho Low, and a huge amount of money had been transferred from Good Star to Najib’s own stepson in New York.

This, too, the rakyat are watching - and now, we are given the full picture by investigators around the world. Perhaps, Liow is still blind to it all.

Liow should not think that the rakyat are stupid, or that we are watching Lim through his own perspectives. I think Liow should change his glasses so that he, too, can see more clearly what is happening to this country.

Rallying point

I think it is time that the rakyat rally around Lim and others such as Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Rafizi Ramli who are currently being investigated, and many of us are speculating the former prime minister is likely to be charged in court after the festive season.

We should not forget de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as well. Leaders from around the world have classified Anwar as a political prisoner.

Put it this way. In Anwar’s case, the High Court had already acquitted him. Period. Yet, the Najib Abdul Razak administration saw it fit to pursue the case beyond the High Court. It is obvious why the High Court decision could be easily reversed, and later supported by the apex court.

But the question is, how many such cases have been charged in court? It is no longer important whether Anwar did it or not, but if such acts take place every day, why are the authorities not taking any actions against the homosexuals?

That is why I say Anwar’s case has gone beyond what, under normal circumstances, would have been looked upon with an eye closed by the authorities, if it had not been Anwar.

I doubt if Lim’s case would hold water, no matter how it is argued, since the case is a willing-buyer willing-seller situation. Like Teresa Kok’s satire and Tian Chua’s ‘mati katak’ statement, these cases proceeded despite the prosecution having no concrete case against them.

Lim has helped the Penang state government to save some money on his official home, by purchasing the property for his own home. As someone rightly pointed out, the son of a particular minister had bought a bungalow for RM7 million, why is he not being investigated by the MACC?

In the case of the seller, it is most unfair! She was a willing seller, who was also a personal friend of Lim’s wife. There is a lot of anger in the air when we read that business women Phang Li Koon was also being arrested.

Different people express their anger in different ways. As far as I know, even church groups have responded to the injustice that we see by urging their members to pray for the nation, after Lim was arrested. Others are willing to go down to the streets at any moment!

However, the opposition leaders know well that they would not play into the trap which allows Najib to use the National Security Council (NSC) Act to declare an emergency before the coming general election.

We will wait for the coming general election, and work doubly hard to see that change comes to this nation. Yes, an MCA leader challenged me about the mindset of the rural Malays whom he said have been brainwashed all along never to vote the DAP. I told him that no one expected the 2008 tsunami to happen; yet, it happened, because people were already brimming with anger.

As for me, I am saying, “Enough is enough!”

Umno and Najib have to suffer a major defeat in at least one federal election so that they learn to humble themselves before the rakyat.

This is why I appeal to Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Mahathir’s faction not to start another political party, but to rally behind Pakatan Harapan to see Umno being defeated for once. Otherwise, they will continue to be arrogant and like Liow, think that the rakyat is with them.

As rakyat, we are watching Lim Guan Eng to make sure that justice is upheld at the end of the day!

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.