Royal Addendum When Paperwork Gets Lost In Madani

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“Malaysians are not born yesterday.”
– Khairy Jamaluddin, former government minister
One of the values exhibited the most in Madani is passing the buck.
Every time something happens that politically discredits this government or points to some legal malfeasances, everyone passes the buck but never to the top.
This is because the head honcho’s stock answer is - trust the process.
Keep in mind that nobody in Madani had actually said that the royal addendum pertaining to former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s house arrest was false or fabricated, but merely they have not seen it.
The Pardons Board said it didn’t receive it. The Federal Territories minister said she “did not look at it”.
The home minister said that no such document was sent to the Prison Department. Both attorneys-general (AGs) were scuttling about not answering direct questions.
The government spokesperson said that he didn’t receive anything, and as such, it means that it was not hidden
The prime minister, meanwhile, said “oh” before he came clean and admitted that the addendum was sent to the AG, although he didn’t say which one.
When Najib was granted partial pardon to have his jail time halved and fine reduced in January last year, former AG Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh was in office. He stepped down on Nov 11 last year and was succeeded by Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.
In other words, rational Malaysians were told to believe that a royal instrument - not to mention one that could not be challenged depending on your legal point of view - in this context was not seen by anyone in Madani.
Cut through all the horse manure and this is basically it. Madani claimed that the paperwork got lost in Madaniville. Now of course we know the truth.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said: “That’s the situation… we didn’t hide anything.”
But this is the very definition of hiding something. Hiding was done through omission, deflection, subterfuge and, of course, by attacking the people who want the truth.
Moving the Najib piece
The questions rational Malaysians have to ask is what does Madani want to do with Najib? We have to ask this as no Madani member has said that Najib getting his house arrest or even a full pardon is a calamitous thing.
The only folk playing it somewhat straight is Umno. For the most part, they want Najib to walk or at least walk around his house.
Ex-PM Najib Abdul RazakThe worst thing about this hiding is that it gives legitimacy to a whole range of voices who only have mala fide intentions to the idea of a secular and democratic Malaysia.
Zahid the saviour?
Khairy Jamaluddin was right in that there was an intention to hide this addendum for whatever reasons.
The former Umno man was right when he claimed that there was a conspiracy in Madani to keep Najib in jail or that some people in Umno want to keep Najib in jail.
He was also right to claim that party chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants to be a saviour but a saviour to who exactly, Khairy is unsure.
Ex-Umno Youth chief Khairy JamaluddinI hate even writing this, but as a former minister, Khairy is right again when he questioned the believability of the legal apparatus of the government claiming that it did not know about this addendum’s existence.
Bridget Welsh, one of the best hands when it comes to Malaysian politics, reminds us in her opinion piece “Partial pardon poison” that with Najib staying behind bars, Zahid’s position as Umno president remains secure.
“He (Zahid) is the only clear winner of the partial pardon decision. He can claim some leniency was gained through pressure, but does not have to fear displacement - at least for now.”
DPM Ahmad Zahid HamidiThe “for now” part, at least, is urgent now. Mind you, the reduced sentence was merely the tenderising process and I am sure Najib will get his get-out-of-jail card eventually or at the very least his house arrest, which for Malaysia and a man of his resources, means the same thing.
His acolytes in Umno are already plotting their next move, and no doubt the rakyat would be subjected to another “sandiwara” (show) very soon.
Rakyat’s trust eroding, kleptocrats getting away
With the way Madani operates, I am sure that the only people who will benefit from this are the illiberal forces of this country.
All the prime minister has done with this issue and the high-profile corruption cases is to muddy the waters. And rational Malaysians have to wonder why.
Indeed, when a convict – this would be the former prime minister – uses the current premier’s words as a point for his political persecution defence, you know you are in Madaniville.
“I believe Anwar’s recent remarks on flaws in the prosecutorial process strongly validate my longstanding concerns about the legal proceedings against me.
“For six years, I have maintained that these proceedings exemplify rushed and flawed prosecutions,” Najib told the court last week during the defence stage of his RM2.27 billion 1MDB corruption trial.
In justifying the dismissal not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) for Zahid’s corruption case linked to millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim advanced the narrative that this was partly a political persecution by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The fact that Zahid, Najib, and every other alleged kleptocrat said the same thing points to the narrative that is being shaped by the mainstream political establishment when it comes to how it deals with kleptocrats.
Of course, when Anwar made those remarks, which occurred when Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor was acquitted of money laundering charges, he said - “Why (ask me about Rosmah’s case outcome)? Do you want me to interfere in the judicial process? I have my personal view and I have my personal reasons, whether I like it or dislike it.
“But we have to talk about judicial independence. How do you want judicial independence?"
Najib’s wife Rosmah MansorHow do I want my judicial independence? Well done, of course. But this has nothing to do with judicial independence.
Indeed when it comes to this addendum no matter what the prime minister says, there were operatives in the justice system who knew of this addendum and they all kept their mouths shut hiding the truth from the rakyat. This is a pattern when it comes to the justice apparatus in Madani.
As former MACC chief Latheefa Koya, who belled the cat in the Zahid case, reminded us - “Stop trying to fool the people by repeating endlessly that Zahid’s DNAA was the court’s decision.
“Article 145(3) is clear, the court had no choice in the matter. So don’t blame the court.”
Former Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan’s public statements in the Zahid case were prophetic.
“We saw the evidence. The judge found a prima facie case.
“You insult our intelligence and the judge for pursuing this line of argument.
“Don’t defend the indefensible and then talk about reform,” the lawyer said.
This is another self-inflicted wound that the men from Madani have engineered. What the prime minister has done is cast a shadow over every operative in his administration, but worst of all, he has given the PAS-led Perikatan Nasional a new narrative to hang their hat on.
Now we know why all these laws restricting free speech are in play. This is not about the opposition’s hypocrisy. Any rational person knows they are mendacious and hypocritical.
This is about how people can trust the good ship Madani and the person steering it.  Mkini
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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