Will PM Najib exert leadership over errant minister Zahid?
Kim Quek, The Malaysian Insider
Swashbuckling Home Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has delivered a speech so atrocious against common decency and the fundamental tenets of law that it is bound to rock the already scandal ridden Barisan Nasional government.
He advocates shooting of suspected criminals on sight in a speech that is filled with racist slurs that would raise racial animosity, pitting the Malays against Chinese and Indian Malaysians. Zahid’s recorded speech was uploaded in Malaysiakini website on October 7.
In a briefing session on security matters for community leaders that turned out be nothing but an Umno party election campaign meeting to introduce candidates at the Malacca International Trade Center at Ayer Keroh on October 5, Zahid disclosed that out of 40,000 gang members identified, 28,000 of them are Indians and he said there is nothing wrong in arresting them. He then asked:
“What is the situation of robbery victims, murder victims during shootings? Most of them are our Malays. Most of them are our race. I think the best way is that we no longer compromise with them. There is no need to give them any warning. If we get the evidence, we shoot first.”
Shoot to kill policy?
This is a clear endorsement of a “shoot suspects without warning” policy (unless convicted, they are known as suspects) that may well be in existence for some time, and also could well have explained the many suspicious police fatal shootings, in particular, the gunning down of all five suspected Indian gangsters in an apartment in Penang in August.
Shooting to kill suspects without warning is murder under Malaysian laws and a breach of international law under auspices of UN. Hence, Zahid has to explain why he should not be investigated for complicity in such murder.
Equally disturbing to Zahid’s apparent murderous trait, is his despicable attempt to incite racial animosity to gain populist racist support.
Stirring racist emotions
In the same speech, Zahid disclosed that of the 14,511 identified as secret society members, there are 6,171 Malays; 1,701 Chinese; 3,685 Indians and 2,954 other races. He said:
“The 6,171 Malays, they are not real thugs, they were Pekida members and were part of the Tiga Line group,Gang 30, Gang 7 – these are festivities (kenduri-kendara) gangster. I tell our Tiga Line friends, do what should be done.”
Zahid then went on to refer to Tiga Line on a first person basis, saying: “We are not evil, I know, I have checked. We gather during festivals with our siblings, we gather when there are projects, never mind. I see here, the candidates here; all four of them are Tiga Line.”
These statements contain lies, racial prejudice and admission of criminalities.
In the first place, saying all the 6,171 Malay triad members identified, who are from Tiga Line, Gang 7 and Gang 30 are good people is tantamount to saying that all Malay gangsters are innocent while gangsters of other races are criminals, because Tiga Line, Gang 7 and Gang 30 are the only three Malay-based secret societies in the list of 29 outlawed secret societies in Peninsula released by the Home Ministry on August 29. Besides this claim being manifestly false, the claim of benevolent activities of these gangs also contradict the Home Ministry statement on August 29 that described their activities as drug trafficking, extorting protection money and seizure of cars.
As if such false assertion to play up Malay racial sentiments is not sufficient, Zahid painted the Malaysian crime world as Malays being the victims while Chinese the beneficiaries. This is again another unfair and false claim. The truth is: triad criminals thrive across racial lines.
