Thursday, July 17, 2008

Shoud I Be Rejoicing That Anwar Ibrahim Is Arrested ?

Hantu Laut

Public perception of the government is at its lowest ebb and the pre-emptive arrest of Anwar has worsen the situation and made this country looked like a police state.Is there a need to arrest him in such a way and before the dateline when the man has confirmed to present himself voluntarily at the police headquarters.If he was arrested after the expiry of the dateline than nobody should blame the police.

I am not an Anwar fan nor do I believe he would be prime minister in the next few months.If indeed he tries to fortify himself from being arrested, there are other options to get him. The kind of strong arm tactic used by the police should only be used on hardened criminals and Anwar Ibrahim although a nuisance to the government is not a dangerous criminal nor is he a threat to society to be treated in such a manner.

People like me should be rejoicing that Anwar has been arrested but I am not, I am actually sad,disappointed and disgusted at the over-zealousness of the police force and disrespect for human rights and a government that has not learned its lesson.What's the point of sending balacalava-clad police commandos to arrest him, is he armed to the teeth and dangerous?

I disagree with the way Anwar runs his politiking. It has shaken the political stability of this nation and heightened the people's anger at the government but that doesn't mean he is to be treated like a criminal.The government has to carry part of the blame for the problems they have inflicted on themselves. Instead of getting to the roots of the problems and the causes of the people's grievances they have become arrogant,defensive and living in a state of denial.

Anwar Ibrahim would be foolish to refuse meeting the police as that could be construed as an act of guilt. To refuse giving samples for DNA testing is within his rights, the police can't force him to do so.The only way is to get a court order to compel him to do so if such material is crucial in the pursuant of evidence to prove or disprove the case.

To be fair to him and to satisfy public opinion such samples and all other materials should be given to an independent person or institution for testing, no government appointed doctors or government related facilities should be used to conduct such test.

As Anwar had made a report with the ACA against the IGP and the AG, it would be wise for the government to exclude these two gentlemen from getting involved in the case.An independent body comprising experts in the relevent fields should be formed to undertake the job and report directly to the Prime Minister.

In the court of public opinion the government's credibility is at ground zero, unless it takes precautionary measures to alleviate the adverse public opinion and distance itself from being accused of conspiracy to terminate Anwar's political career, this government will end up in the quagmire sooner than later.

Is our government living in paranoia ?

7 comments:

Monsterball said...

You don't have to be an Anwar fan to realise the way this case has been handled really paints a bad picture of governance in the country.

My sense of this in the last two days is, a lot of people - even BN members and supporters - are shaking their head in disbelief.

The "Silent Majority" which BN / UMNO likes to talk about, is not with the government on this.

My suggestion to the government would be to open up its books and evidence on the case to scrutiny from independent parties, even Foreign legal and forensic experts BEFORE the decision is taken to charge Anwar in court.

It may look like surrendering some of the government or even national rights, but it will save a lot of heartache later.

Don't forget, apart from the Malaysian Public, for the sake of our economy, there is also an important constituency called Foreign Investors who need to be convinced of the Rule of Law in the country.

This is no ordinary criminal case. Don't even think about repeating the 1998 sandiwara.

Anonymous said...

HL,

you said..."I disagree with the way Anwar runs his politiking. It has shaken the political stability of this nation and heightened the people's anger at the government but that doesn't mean he is to be treated like a criminal".

I agree with you on the last part of that statement BUT seriously, even if DSAI has disappeared after what UMNO, the Govt, the Police & the Judiciary did to him years ago, the people's anger at the Govt, would have been at an all time high. We do not need DSAI for that. Even if he was the cause of the people's ire, what's wrong with that? In fact Raja Petra probably had more to do with "that" than DSAI!

As for the way the Government (let's face it, the Police & the Juiciary are still taking thier "orders" from the UMNO Leadership) is treating him...well...are we surprised? NOOOOOOOO!

Anonymous said...

I don't understand ... you sound like a fair and reasonable guy and I like your writing but why don't you embrace the idea of a two-party system with check and balance. At the moment without Anwar that won't become a reality. If anything support him to achieve that and then, after that BN would be a much better government ... you do not agree?

Umno member

gram.kong said...

kittykat46,
I have always been on issues, regardless whether it is the government or oppositions.

A man is innocent until proven guilty and the rule of justice must prevail.The police must adhere to this principle and treat every man with decorum.

I may not agree with Anwar's brand of politics, but I still respect him as a human being and he should be treated like one.

gram.kong said...

sm,

I don't hate Anwar, I just don't like the way he goes about doing what he is doing.The elections are over, he should chilled-out and wait until the next round.

In the case of Raja Petra I think he love to fuck the government,it's his favourite pastime.

gram.kong said...

anonymous,

I am not an UMNO member nor any other political party.I am an independent analyst.I do not have a favourite politician in this country because none of the present leaders, both in the government and oppositions,I would trust.The nearest that I got to like in certain ways before was Mahathir but he has disappointed me lately.He is out of my good book.

My heroes are Lee Kuan Yew,Nelson Mendela,Gandhi and Bill Gates.

I would like a two-party system but,believe me,it is not going to work unless PKR become a dominant partner in PR.

At the moment the loose alliance can break up anytime.Worse still all three have different political ideology and are what we call 'strange bedfellows'. Even now PAS is split between PR and rejoining the BN as espoused by Hadi but opposed by NIk Aziz.This issue will come up from time to time and the chance of a split up is not impossible.

Anonymous said...

HL

I agree that PR comprise 'strange bedfellow' as you put it but I see that as a positive point. So even within PR there's check and balance unlike now with BN where MCA, MIC and others simply kowtow (for want of a better word) to UMNO. I read tho' your preference is for a strong main party like UMNO now and for PKR to be same in PR. In the unlikely event (I'm still hopeful I must admit) that PR took over, I'm quite certain PKR will be not unlike Umno but perhaps not Umno now but Umno of a few years ago ... before TDM's time or maybe before 1987.

Thanks for the opportunity to bounce with you

Umno member not anymore