Akmal A Good Hostage Taker But Better Distractor

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Dr Akmal Saleh's threat to go on the rampage so that he can “teach” non-Malay shopkeepers a lesson has very little to do with upside-down flags or patriotism. It is about the art of distraction and about manipulating the public.
Holding Malaysia to ransom and threatening violence are unacceptable. The Umno-Baru Youth leader's race-baiting and threats to conduct a flag-inspection exercise caused widespread fear and panic.
Malaysians feared the worst, tourists stayed away, and businesses closed early.
Akmal's one-man battle against KK Mart's owners over wrongly printed socks last year was an unsettling period of fire-bombs and attacks on individuals.
Eighteen months later, Akmal returned with a vengeance, but today, if we were to take away the “Akmal factor”, what would we be reading in the newspapers, or viewing on television or hearing on the radio? Mostly bad news!
The headlines dominating our mainstream and alternative media make grim reading. They reflect the competency and performance of the Madani administration.
The hundreds of billions of ringgit in foreign investment, which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claimed to have attracted to Malaysia, may be a ray of sunshine.
However, until manufacturing commences and jobs are created, this so-called investment is inaccessible to the rakyat. They still suffer from the economic downturn and the cost-of-living crisis.
With continuing bad policies and a failure in education, six thousand Malaysians fled to the red dot, and around two million Malaysians became part of the brain drain.
Whistleblowers found that they were themselves being investigated by the authorities, instead of the perpetrators they helped expose. Meanwhile, corruption in government departments appeared never-ending.
Serious allegations were made about the selection of our chief justice and other senior judges. The promotion of relatively junior judges with limited experience made us lose confidence in our judiciary, and we wondered if their independence was compromised.
Mistakes not learnt
The "Turun Anwar" rally was ridiculed by the government, but the bottom line was the failure of leadership. Even one person turning up to protest, was one too many.
Teoh Beng Hock's murder was classified as "no further action" by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC); but DAP's silence, after previously supporting the Teoh's family's quest for justice, further damaged the party's reputation.
PKR faced similar critical opprobrium when its internal election highlighted party infighting, and outspoken individuals were allegedly systematically targeted for "demotion".
Outside of the PKR party, Malaysians were amazed by Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak's meteoric rise, from former political aide to multi-millionaire businessperson.
The rakyat was disgusted by the similarities between obscenely wealthy political aides, both in the former Umno-Baru/BN regime and the unity administration.
Anwar's success in stalling the lawsuit by another former aide, Yusoff Rawther, angered the rakyat further, especially when the PM applied for “immunity” from legal proceedings.
For months, the endemic bullying in primary and secondary schools, including in religious schools, filled column inches. Cadets were tortured to death in military universities. Victim's families were told, "No stone will be left unturned."
Almost daily, newspapers reported sexual harassment, sodomy, and rape in religious/tahfiz schools. The impression was that both religious and normal education had failed us. Despite the education minister's revamped anti-bullying guidelines, the bullying continued.
The straw that appeared to have broken the camel's back was Zara Qairina Mahathir's tragic death. Although the Form One student died on July 17, suspicions about the manner of her death, the alleged bullying she endured and the failure to adhere to procedure grew to a crescendo.
The parallels of Zara's death with the mysterious, unsolved death of the Dutch model, Ivana Smit, consumed the public. An incompetent police force, the post-mortem, and a possible cover-up gave us the impression that mistakes from the past, including Teoh's murder, had not been learnt.
Lawless place
The East Malaysians, in particular the Sabahans, have faced numerous challenges ranging from water woes to corruption in the water board, and lately, the mining scandal and its alleged links to a former political aide.
The courageous Sabahans had had enough, and so they took to the streets. Their contempt for the education ministry and the Madani administration was evident.
Back in the peninsula, the outspoken former economy minister, Rafizi Ramli, demanded a probe into Farhash and other allegations of corruption.
Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli (centre)A month later, two individuals assaulted his son by stabbing him with a syringe, and Rafizi's wife was threatened. Who would lose the most if Rafizi continued speaking out?
Has Malaysia become a lawless place and descended into a thuggish state, with restrictions on our freedom of speech?
Children fall from tall buildings. Or are stabbed with syringes. Or are physically and sexually abused. Or are kidnapped by their convert fathers.
In almost every organisation, political party or government administration, there is always someone - the hatchet man, who is willing to do their dirty work and take care of difficult situations in a ruthless manner.
Remember Jamal Yunos, the Red Shirts leader who is also the Sungai Besar Umno-Baru chief, who threatened former Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, and protested at the Selangor State Secretariat's gates?
Is Akmal the coalition's hatchet man? Like his predecessor, the firebrand Akmal is uncontrollable and an untouchable. Despite his race-baiting, Umno-Baru president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the prime minister have failed to rein him in. Why?
Akmal's rampage and threats are not about the upside-down flag, but more to do with distracting the rakyat from bad news. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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