The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 27 Jun 2013 03:56 PM PDT
Watergate - the granddaddy of all political and government scandals. US President Richard Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 as investigations against him being involved in a break-in looked like it was going to lead to an impeachment and conviction. Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's former Senior Advisor, went under investigation for 'improper political influence over government decision-making' and was forced to resign in 2007. Well, the US has a lot of high-profile scandals. In the UK, a sex scandal at 10 Downing Street is currently putting Prime Minister David Cameron in a bind (apparently, details can't be spared at the moment due to legalities). Actually, the UK government has been facing a string of scandals in the very recent past. Last week, a Conservative Party MP, Patrick Mercer, was forced to resign the Conservative whip after being caught by the BBC for receiving money in return for posing questions in parliament. A Liberal Democrat MP, Mike Hancock, will also go through the motions to see if he will be expelled from the party over allegations of sexual assault. And a Tory MP, Nigel Evans, has been arrested for sexual assault. Many countries all around the world have all kinds of governmental scandals that have caused so many politicians and government officials to be forced to resign from their positions because what they did were wrong. In other words, if someone has done something wrong (and most importantly, get caught doing it!), the only right thing for that person to do is to own up, apologise and resign from his or her position of trust. Now Malaysia isn't void of her fare share of governmental scandals either. We've had quite a few that have piqued our interest and created a lot of stir in the country, and even internationally. But what is slightly different in Malaysia, as compared to the rest of the world, is that the rate of officials resigning and admitting to the blame when they are caught is so much lower than anywhere else around the world. And that brings me to several recent cases in Malaysia that have caught the attention of the public (me specifically!). The first is of the assault case against the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Businessman Amir Abdullah Bazli sued the Home Minister for punching him and fracturing his nose in 2006. He was the Deputy Minister of Information at that time, and has been unsuccessful in all his bids to strike out the case. Seeing that he holds the important portfolio of looking after the country's internal security, opposition politicians have been asking that Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid be sacked from his position or at least suspended until the civil suit case is resolved. Well, to be fair, the case isn't resolved and the Home Minister has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing yet. And every single individual in Malaysia has a right to a fair trial and to be able to defend himself – innocent until proven guilty. So be it for now. Then there is the case against the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, in which he was recently found responsible for the death of police detainee A. Kugan in 2009 by the Kuala Lumpur High Court. The judge had stated that there were elements of a cover-up by the then Selangor police chief, when he failed to classify the investigations into the death as murder, based on the injuries suffered by the deceased. Remember 1999 and Tan Sri Rahim Noor? The former Inspector-General of Police was convicted of beating Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while he was in custody and spent 20 days in prison as well as paying a fine of RM2,000. And he was forced to resign. Enough said. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. |
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