The post of Attorney General is a crucial one. It is one of the pillars of a just society. The post of Inspector General of Police is also critical to the effective administration of justice. These two men must be carefully chosen. They must be capable and honest. They must possess sufficient moral strength to place justice and honour above greed and pressure from other authority to act illegally or unjustly.
Suppose, however, they are not happily endowed with a high character. Consider the consequences if they are chosen not for their devotion to truth and justice, but for their willingness to perpetuate a corrupt and selfish regime. If the IGP does not investigate the flouting of the laws, failing to seek prosecution of those who commit crimes, then the criminal elements are free to prey on the innocent citizens without fear of exposure or punishment.
Suppose the Attorney General is not idealistic, but is instead a sycophant who prostitutes his ability and education for money and temporal power. Suppose the holder of this high office violates the sworn oath of duty, failing to prosecute those who violate the laws of the land. Suppose further, that false accusations are made against those who seek a righteous government; that manufactured evidence is brought into court along with perjured testimony to secure a conviction. It is difficult to imagine that such crassness is possible.
The societal guidance provided by the laws are not followed, and in place of a rule of law upheld by a determined desire to maintain the highest ideals of truth and justice, there is complicity in a conspiracy with others in positions of power to grant them immunity from prosecution. A corrupt Attorney General thus issues a licence to fellow conspirators to commit crime, and for this service he receives a sordid share.
If these two offices are filled by individuals who knowingly misuse the public trust to protect criminals, this is a crime in itself. Then the Attorney General and the Inspector of Police are guilty of obstruction of justice and dereliction of the duties of office.
It is unthinkable that individuals, who are placed in positions of authority and responsibility by a society to protect its citizens from criminals, will themselves become criminals. With the authority the office carries, there is a responsibility to free the innocent and prosecute the guilty.
Honest men need not fear the public. Criminals who occupy these offices must conceal their illegal acts. To do this they seek protection from a higher authority. By not wishing to be held to account, they become the helpless cat's paw of the protector, and thus more innocent people are prosecuted, more guilty are protected. It is a cancer that cannot heal.
Yet people of criminal mind cannot occupy these two offices unless a higher authority makes it possible. Present evidence is sufficient to call for a complete investigation into the activities of the holders of these two offices. Yet who is empowered to call for such an investigation? Who can hold the Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police to account for their actions?
The Constitution, in Article 140, calls for the appointment of a Police Commission. It further delegates to the King the appointment of the Inspector General of Police and his deputy. The King selects the Attorney General, who serves at his pleasure, and receives a salary the King deems fit to the office.
It is the King who is the ultimate protector of the people's liberty, and the people rightly look to the King for reform if there are reasons for complaint. The King may, at his discretion, appoint police officers superior to the Inspector General and his deputy.
The false prosecutions now number in the dozens, and it is these same members of the judicial system who carry the travesty forward. What is the resolution of this suppurated situation? It is the prerogative of the people to insist on honesty and accountability from all public officers. If there is no group with sufficient authority to correct the abuses, then one must be created, one that is totally independent and unafraid of the incumbent party and its officers.
The Anti-Corruption Agency is incapable of acting effectively, though headed by a trained policeman, and has become totally incompetent in the investigation and prosecution of new abuses brought to light each day. The law thus goes awry, crying out for justice when the guilty escape punishment and those who seek accounting and reform are persecuted and prosecuted. The prisons of Malaysia hold many good men who have committed no crime.
The people seek redress of grievances, and the necessity becomes daily more obvious. At the moment there is only the Council of Rulers, who can insist that an honest and capable Attorney General be appointed to end the cycle of conspiracy and corruption.
It is seen that the selection of the new King is crucial to the restoration of democracy and justice. The privileged position of royalty itself is compromised if the public sees that members of the royal institution ignore the present perilous plight of the people.
The party-in-power has exhausted the patience of the people in its failure to restore decency to political office. If the Council of Rulers now fails in their constitutional duty to appoint an Attorney General who will select competent deputies to help clean up the present filth, then the final authority redounds to the people. The people may with complete legitimacy call for new conventions, new councils, new authority, even though this will inevitably pit the people squarely against the criminals in office.
Any concerted move to forcefully remove political criminals who maintain themselves in office by defiling the democratic electoral process will naturally bring out the riot police with their water cannons. The leaders of an active opposition will be arrested and held indefinitely. There is no limit to the schemes a party illegally in office will use to maintain itself in ruthless power, screaming "national security" as justification to continue in obstruction of justice and rapine transfer of public property to private pockets.
In other places, other times, revolution was the chosen avenue of reform. It is always accompanied by violent confrontation and loss of life. Today there are other avenues, just as effective, and with better chances for an acceptable outcome. What is required is for honest men and women to stand together with resolution, determined to reclaim freedoms lost. Everyone, young or old, must openly support political parties that offer reform.
An insistence on free and honest elections is of paramount importance. Known violations of the electoral law must be exposed. A public media free of control is needed. Many newspapers and TV stations purposefully confuse and poison the public mind, contributing to a continuation of the criminal conspiracy. A concerted refusal to buy these newspapers will soon close them.
For success, courage and unity are essential. If the desire for freedom is eroded and demoralised by the threats of the tyrant, continued slavery is the sole consequence. At the moment the tyrant throws on new chains. What is to be the reaction?
More than half our population is young, with little prospect for living securely in a country free from shame. They have ideals and courage sufficient to restore democratic freedoms. What they lack is leadership and encouragement from their elders. The criminals in power know this, and are ever alert to keep these potential leaders silenced. To an extent this is our fault, that we allow it.
The Attorney General, a crucial player in this drama, is also at fault, allowing the persecutions of the opposition to continue, and actively prosecuting the leaders. The Inspector General of Police is also not free of blame. It is the police under his direction who arrest and mistreat the young leaders under an illegal law. Neither is above the law, but both act without corrective supervision. The Constitution provides for supervision. We must enquire why the necessary supervision is lacking.
A first requirement is for the withdrawal of the announced candidate for Attorney General from further consideration. He is clearly unacceptable, being personally involved in the many judicial failures. The second is to wait patiently for the Council of Rulers to carry out their constitutional responsibilities, giving assurance to the people that they are sensitive to the urgency of present problems.
The third requirement is absolute insistence that all public pension and retirement funds give a regular and full accounting of present and past activities. Fourth is to make a firm resolution that all police interference (and secret policemen) be removed from our schools. Fifth is a call for the immediate appointment of an honest and capable Finance Minister.
The Westminster system of government, as it is practised in Malaysia, must be declared a failure. Its weaknesses are apparent, and its greatest weakness is the inability to correct its weaknesses. Criminals, once installed, become entrenched, and the people have no constitutional means to remove them.
The Constitution looks to the King, who is required to act wisely and well. If he fails to act, there is no further legal redress, short of a general strike. In a general strike, the rakyat simply refuse to participate further in the tyranny.
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