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There is a natural hunger to know the truth. This makes keeping secrets difficult. Criminals must be especially vigilant to prevent their crimes from becoming widely known. In an effort to prevent detection and disaffection, a number of standard subterfuges are used. A popular method is to conceal the truth by cleverly camouflaging it in the clothing of a lie. This method is a blatant attempt to trick the innocent eye (mind).
A secret, in this age of the internet, has a short lifespan. This fact does not act as a deterrent to those whose greed obscures any appreciation of present realities. Today misguided government policies have put everyone into the position of the spy, and reports are promptly put forth for all to see. A crook finds more tacks in the carpet now-a-days.
Such vigilance does not prevent routine and regular attempts to find new wrinkles. The entrepreneurial spirit is constantly probing for new technological weaknesses. There is a new honest man born every day, innocent of the world's wiles, bravely stepping forth into the snake pit of international business. The snakes are waiting.
Governments have secrets to keep, and other governments are interested in those secrets as a means of self-protection. There are governments whose malicious ministers parade as honest, truthful men. They feel safe behind the Official Secrets Act, subjugation of the media, and the intimidation and arrest of those bold enough to publicise.
In the days of the Spanish Main there were ships outfitted as innocent merchantmen, flying the flags of a friendly and neutral country. Other merchantmen, spying the flag at a distance, allowed these vipers to approach without suspicion.
The pirate ships flew false colors from the mainmast in order to gain confidence that allowed for a successful deception. Once the range closed, the false flag was lowered, and the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger were hoisted. The gunports were opened to reveal hidden cannon.
A few shots across the bow were usually sufficient to bring the victim about for a final approach and boarding. The captured vessel and crew were quickly despoiled, and once the more valuable cargo was transferred the unsuspecting ship was usually burned. The crew often disappeared with the burning hulk into the depths of deep sea silence.
Some governments today fly false colors. Malaysia is one of them. The entire structure of the party-in-power is filled end-to-end with pirates. There is not a party member holding a position above that of village head who can stand close investigation. This is a strange thing to find in the new millenium, and certainly there will be loud protestations that this is false news. In Malaysia those who tell secrets are put into prison, on the theory that bad news ripens into something more palatable. It seldom does.
The party-in-power does not wish the world to know of the treatment of prisoners. The longest trial in Malaysian history is the prosecution of a woman who told these secrets. She is charged with false news. A man who reported the misdeeds of party ministers publicly has been prosecuted interminably, and there is no end to his persecution by the prosecutors, acting as cat's paw of the party-in-power.
The ex-finance minister, who of all people knows many secrets, has been arrested without bail and kept incommunicado. His medical problems, brought about by imprisonment, have forced him to be hospitalised. But the home minister warns, "If he talks too much he goes back to prison." It is too late. The ex-finance minister has already revealed the truth of the matter.
The continuing attempts to maintain silence add greatly to the frustrations of the party-in-power. Their ability to remain in power is threatened by widespread public discontent. The Anwar Ibrahim incident has been a flashing beacon that warns the world there is danger. Most mariners know there are pirates in Malaysian waters. There is even a realtime website devoted to news of daily pirate attacks in Malayian waters.
What is not so well known is that the Malaysian government, as operated by the party-in-power, is itself a conspiracy operated by a band of pirates. The party-in-power in Malaysia, in the persons of its ministers, daily struts before the commercial world, proudly boasting of trivial triumphs in an effort to conceal the underlying deceit. These are seen as nothing more than the false colors. The Jolly Roger is ready at hand.
A small example suffices to reveal the general tone. Let the failure of the party-in-power to bring a quick resolution to these matters act as confirmation of the accuracy of this admittedly jaded view.
News reports today complain South Korea secretly subsidises the building of ships. Shipbuilding employs large numbers of people, utilises major resources such as steel. Shipbuilding is big business. Malaysia buys ships. Therein lies opportunity.
The chairman of the national oil company, Petronas, is thought to be a capable executive. Under his care has been put the national car corporation, the national airline, the national shipping company, and numerous other less weighty enterprises. He is thought to be a capable juggler.
He is also compliant. Under his watchful eye the party-in-power has removed a major royalty payment to one of Malaysia's northern states. Located within this state is Perwaja Steel, a favorite enterprise of the party-in-power, into which enormous sums of public money have been converted into useful private and party accounts.
A fraud investigation into missing funds has been delayed by the party-in-power. Delay is a principal means of protecting secrets. An investigation is announced, a scattering of progress reports is issued intermittently, then the matter is left to digest in its own feces. The smell, however, grows and grows.
The new PAS government in the northern state of Terengganu refuses to drop further public money into the Perwaja Steel rat hole, and the royalty payment from Petronas has been diverted as replacement. The Petronas chairman has not vigorously complained. He is apparently distracted by the large number of enterprises he juggles.
When contracts for new ships were let by Petronas, an opportunity for large kickbacks was opened. Arrangements were made on the recorded telephone lines of Petronas. The cash was duly delivered to Kuala Lumpur by courier, transferred to an official bagman in a local restuarant over dinner. All was observed. Petronas executives cursed the loss of their bonus money.
The Malaysian public, through Petronas, must now pay for the five ships a generous 20% overcharge, which went into the pockets of the ministers and treasury of the party-in-power. The transaction is widely known throughout Petronas, and the chairman cannot be ignorant. He does not complain, perhaps preferring the details of the transaction remain a trade secret. He is a good, compliant executive. Company secrets must be kept. Petronas is controlled by the finance minister, who also serves as party treasurer. He has private business interests.
Electoral fraud is the principal prop to the party-in-power. Trusted party members previously responsible for gerrymandering and voting day irregularites have changed sides, taking their knowledge with them. Their secrets are such a threat they have been incarcerated. It is part of a keep-the-secrets policy put in place by the pirates of the party-in-power. The party-in-power is old, of another time, and there is little appreciation of the new millenium. They do not see that their pirate ship is on international radar, constantly visible by satellite to all, everywhere in the world.
Many more secrets are known, yet to be told. The rich lore calls out to the bold and the brave, offering a career of investigative journalism. The journalist is thus the foe of the pirate state, carrying forward mankind's hopes for justice and democratic processes. The entry fee is low. All that is needed is desire and a computer. There is excitement and danger. Just the thing for a bright tooth to bite into. The allure is magnetic, the reward rapturous.
The media in Malaysia is compliant also, with an annual permit acting as a boot on the throat. The cadre of professional journalists is suborned to coverup the conspiracy. Happily, the market for their fickle fiction freely falls, and the party-in-power must find funds to finance future falsity.
In Malaysia the secrets of the Mitsui bribe and the five billion US dollar government bond scam funnelled through Malaysia's Labuan Island International Money Laundering And Fraud Center are still hidden. But the secrets will be told. Piracy today is too obvious, too transparent. Those who tell the truth cannot be silenced by threats of solitary confinement. The ancient ministers still believe the old strategy of cruel solitary confinement will still work. The younger party members, however, do not, opting instead for a policy of honesty, openness and humanity. That is the modern Malaysian generation gap.
Pirates have a long history in the Straits of Malacca. Malaysia has new fast patrol boats to curb their appetite. But the big pirates still sail the seven seas. They have a special appetite for gambling, timber and oil. Their colours are the ensign of Malaysia. Let commercial interests of the world's waters beware. There is another flag in Malaysia's locker, waiting to be flown.
It is the Jolly Roger.
