Focus on Jasin MP, not Shahrir
08 May 2006
Brendan Pereira
New Straits Times

THE focus is on the wrong individual. It is not the actions of Datuk Shahrir Samad which should come under scrutiny but the good MP for Jasin, Datuk Mohd Said Yusof, whose manner of intervention on behalf of a timber importer with the Customs and Excise Department is nuanced with doubt.

See, it is not difficult to understand why Shahrir decided to relinquish his position as the chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club. What he did happens in every sphere of life every minute of the day. It is the natural consequence of losing the ground. It is the natural consequence of going up against convention and coming up empty.

When support evaporates, politicians should step aside for someone else.

When a football coach loses the trust of his dressing room, there is only one way to go. When a CEO loses the confidence of his shareholders, only one decision to make: His date of departure.

When a general loses the respect of the men he commands, only one way to go.

So what Shahrir did last week was normal. In his mind, he had lost the support of the men and women he was supposed to lead. To recap, these were the events which led to the meltdown in Parliament:

The New Straits Times published a front-page report that an MP had interfered in the seizure of illegal sawn timber from Indonesia at Sungai Linggi recently.

He had asked the Customs and Excise Department to "close one eye".

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang sought to refer the NST report to the Committee of Rights and Privileges. He argued that the matter had to be investigated because the integrity of all MPs had been punctured by this damning report.

Shahrir went against the Government Whip and supported the motion. Keenly aware that they are forbidden to support any Opposition-sponsored motion, the Barisan Nasional MPs left the maverick politician in no-man’s land.

He knew what he was doing and the risks involved but figured that he needed to follow his conscience.

He told the NST: "I felt I needed to face the issue. All this while the Opposition had been criticising the BN MPs, saying that we are not serious about corruption and integrity. That we are of third-class mentality and don’t walk the talk.

"I felt that if we reject the motion, we are giving another issue to the Opposition to pick on. It was also to bring to the committee the issue of proper conduct of MPs when dealing with government departments.

"At present, there is no such thing. That is why we see cases of the police and district officers being approached for ‘help’ and hospitals asked not to conduct post-mortems. Unless there is a dos and don’ts for MPs on this matter, there will be more problems.

"That’s why this is an important issue to discuss... I was willing to face the consequences as we need to show that there are BN members who are for integrity. So if they want to discipline me, it’s not a problem as I can discipline myself first."

He disciplined himself by resigning as chairman of the BBC. Hard to argue with the way things turned out for the man who has livened up Parliament’s proceedings with acerbic gems and who has carved a name for himself by being unconventional.

He knew he was taking a gamble by going against a direct order not to support an Opposition motion. He knew he was taking a big chance by believing that his colleagues in the House were on the same page.

Is he guilty of poor judgment? Maybe. Does he deserve to be punished further? Definitely not. Should we continue debating his actions? No.

So, what should Malaysians focus on? How about starting by putting the action