All this noise over Latheefa is for nothing
COMMENT | In August 2015, three grown men wept openly. There were hundreds at a gathering to say farewell to the three outstanding graft fighters. When it all ended with hugs and handshakes, there wasn’t a single pair of dry eyes. The trio’s only fault was to carry out their duties diligently – without fear or favour.
The trio – Abu Kassim Mohamed, Mohd Shukri Abdull and Mustafar Ali – the then three top people at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) were unceremoniously booted out of their offices at one go.
The official version was that Abu Kassim had decided to go into academia, Shukri opted for early retirement and Mustafar was sent not exactly to Siberia, but to the Immigration Department...
COMMENT | In August 2015, three grown men wept openly. There were hundreds at a gathering to say farewell to the three outstanding graft fighters. When it all ended with hugs and handshakes, there wasn’t a single pair of dry eyes. The trio’s only fault was to carry out their duties diligently – without fear or favour.
The trio – Abu Kassim Mohamed, Mohd Shukri Abdull and Mustafar Ali – the then three top people at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) were unceremoniously booted out of their offices at one go.
The official version was that Abu Kassim had decided to go into academia, Shukri opted for early retirement and Mustafar was sent not exactly to Siberia, but to the Immigration Department.
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang described that tumultuous period, which included other purges, as the “Week of Long Knives”. To the many of us who witnessed and recorded those moments, it was a painful flashback. While the then subservient mainstream media watched with folded arms, a few of us stood up and questioned the decisions.
Kit Siang noted: “It represented the most serious, deplorable and disgraceful attack on the democratic principles of the Malaysian Constitution and the independence, impartiality and professionalism of all the important national institutions in the history of the country.
“These dark events must never be allowed to recur in future and this is why the fullest light must be allowed to expose all the nooks and corners of the federal government that allowed such a dastardly chapter in the history of Malaysian democracy to take place.”
Also falling to the “long knives” were then Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and other senior officials. The long list included media tycoon Tong Kooi Ong and the publisher of The Edge, Ho Kay Tat whose only fault was to publish the truth on the 1MDB scandal.
So much had been said in a few words. That was not the end of the matter. Cyber troopers went to town accusing them of treason – “passing state secrets to the US in a conspiracy to overthrow the democratically elected government of Najib Abdul Razak”.
Kit Siang said the most ludicrous and outrageous allegations were made implicating top officers in the government, especially key officers in three of the four “Special Task Forces” investigating into 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal bank accounts.
Such bunkum was repeated in the social media until Abu Kassim made it known that the MACC works with its various overseas counterparts on a government-to-government basis.
Abu Kassim was replaced by Dzulkifli Ahmad. Except for Kit Siang, Malaysiakini and a few other journalists, the silence was deafening.
Dzulkifli’s tenure was marred by his personal affairs and other indiscretions, including clearing Najib and his coterie of cronies of any wrongdoing.
Fast-forward to this week. The mainstream media, the online portals and social media have been abuzz with the appointment of Latheefa Koya as the new MACC chief. As a matter of interest, I must declare that I know her and have in the past had one or two discussions with her on issues of public interest – not politics.
I take umbrage to the views of those who are questioning her appointment. Even before she physically starts her work, the guns are being pointed at her. This is not an issue because freedom of expression is sacrosanct and expressing opinions is a given. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but when the same people who express two different sentiments on the same issue, questions have to be asked.
They all talk about “political connections and affiliations”. Where the same critics when government officials openly campaigned for Najib and the BN in the last general election? Why hasn’t anyone screamed blue murder at the large number of these civil servants who still occupy the seats of power?
Why wasn’t there even a whimper when civil servants and heads of government-linked companies did not stay neutral and went on over-drive to discredit the then opposition? Perhaps, they were “afraid” of the BN tyrants who would have gone after them if these issues were raised.
Where were the “voices of reason” when Gani was asked to vacate his office to make way for Mohamed Apandi Ali? Where were they when Abu Kassim was compelled to “seek a new career as a lecturer?" Was the then cabinet consulted before the “morning raid” on the Palace of Justice when Gani was ordered to vacate his office?
There cannot be different sets of rules for different people. And already, people and organisations are lining up with opinions and demands on the new chief. What did they have to say when the then de facto integrity minister Paul Low declared that he had asked Najib to avoid attending an international conference on corruption three years ago?
There are many who think Latheefa is walking around with a magic wand and can make things happen. Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) says her first task is to reopen investigation on the “corridors of powers” in Sarawak as there’s a lot of “big fish".
Then, there’s another which want the Teo Beng Hock files reopened. Everyone wants to make demands.
All this noise is for nothing. Dr Mahathir Mohamad is known not to budge on important issues such as this. He and his team had faced the same flak for appointing Tommy Thomas as attorney-general. Wasn’t he an “outsider” just like Latheefa who has no experience in the service? So, why don’t we give her a chance to prove herself? The same guys within who are sharpening their knives may be the ones who could be carrying her on a sedan chair in a year’s time.
R NADESWARAN has been involved with the MACC in various capacities and opines that everyone has a right to disagree with his views. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
