The hands of the clock are not yet at the 12th hour
Malaysiakini.com
Jul 8, 2008
V Vendetta

Politics are for tough people. Winners if you like. Not for arm-chair loose cannons who, when the moment of truth comes, bleat and whimper about politics becoming too much. Sorry mate. But as the saying goes, ‘When the going gets tough the tough gets going’.
MCPX

In this regard, Anwar Ibrahim has passed this obstacle test for leadership. He is a spirited fighter who knows that justice and truth is on his side.

The Hon. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also receives the tip of the hat for his leadersip. A non-quitter. Definitely not a loser. Even though a gentleman fighter.

Mr Najib Razak? He has said all the politically correct words in public. Appears a gentleman too. And a reasonable and rational person too. Not a loser either.

The Altantuya murder case, however, has cast a terrible and serious pall over him. The perception of the public lies herein in the question - ‘Is he or is he not responsible for the murder of Altantuya?’

A very serious question indeed for an aspiring leader of Malaysia. Without doubt, civilised Malaysia draws the line in the sand there. Let's hope we do not come to this.

So notwithstanding all the commotion about the statutory declarations made, three important facts and/or issues remains and may be summarised as follows:

One, an accusation of a personal nature has been made. Young man Saiful has made a potentially libelous charge against Anwar. Is the charge true? Most feel it is not true but a trumped-up political charge.

If so, who is behind this? Can the ACA be asked to investigate this impartially, and report to Parliament? If it is not true, the culprits must be punished. This kind of politics of character assassination is below our social accepted standards, and the persons involved should all be punished.

This fact remains that Anwar been tarred and he has all the right to redeem his good name and honour - as would all of us - and sue the felons concerned for this misdeed.

Two, Ms Altantuya is dead. Murdered. Her family, her father, mother, sisters, brothers, and other relations and friends grieve. Who murdered Altantuya? Was it a politician? Has there been a cover-up or an attempt to frame another person?

Were the police also involved? Army personnel? Whatever it is, this is an extremely serious case and justice must be done and seen to be done. The murderers must be flushed out and punished before we can feel proud to call ourselves Malaysians in the league of nations.

As it is, the trial of the murder of Altantuya seems to be a farce; a joke; a trial drifting towards a forgone conclusion of not getting to the bottom of the truth. Is the faceless, nameless public being taken for a ride again by the arrogant powers-that-be that deems the public a faceless and ignorant easiliy manipulated ‘masses’?

If so, a real insult, really, by a ruling government put in place there in the first place by the voting ‘masses’.

Three, are the inspector-general of police, the attorney-general, and the judges in the judiciary credible as professional, independent and unbiased outstanding men of integrity representing the different arms of the democratic Westminister parliamentary system that we have in Malaysia?

These people are the key to justice in all the cases mentioned. Or has the reformation by the Hon Abdullah Badawi been usurped and hijacked again by the ‘clingers-on-to-power-at-all-costs- elected-people's-representatives" in his cabinet?

Are we back to square one? Let's hope not. Let's hope we are better people than that. So what will be the story? How will it end?

If you ask me, we are already a police state; a totalitarian state. All the key institutions and personnel including the mass media - which the West will term as ‘government mouthpieces’ - are in the ruling party's pockets.

Witness the KGB-like, Stasis-like, Kempeitai-like, methods of removing ‘problems’. I, too, would like to ask Mr Bala in private - ‘Were you and your family threatened and by whom?’

I, too, would like the ACA investigate this and get to the bottom of it. I, too, would like to ask Mr Razak Baginda, what happened exactly. The truth.

We are at the precipice and these cases are the defining moments of Malaysia so let's not be careless about them.

If the Rt Hon Mr ‘Gorbachev’ Abdullah Badawi can solve these problems, he will go down in Malaysia's history as the man who rescued Malaysia in its darkest hours and from an almost terminal condition - a situation bequeathed by that no good ‘doctor’ Mahathir.

May be I am an optimist. I believe still in the intelligence and the resourcefulness of Malaysians, of which Anwar and Abdullah counts as amongst our best of the best.

The hands of the clock are not yet at the 12th hour.

So to the those who throw their hands in the air as a gesture of hopelessness and loss of spirit, let's not be wimpish about the whole matter shall we? We have to journey on.

Copyright © 1999-2007 Mkini Dotcom Sdn. Bhd.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/85767