Despite arrest, Justo being potrayed as hero by certain quarters, says Sabah Speaker
(The Rakyat Post) – Xavier Justo, the Swiss national who was arrested in Thailand over allegations of attempting to blackmail his former workplace — PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI), is somehow being portrayed as a hero by certain quarters.
“Malaysians have a weird mind when it comes to issues like these.
“What if data theft is used to bankrupt the country? Would Malaysians still consider that thief a hero?” said former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.
Commenting on Justo’s arrest by the Thai police last Wednesday, Salleh, who is also the Sabah state Speaker explained that data theft was considered a very serious crime that had no territorial boundaries, likening it to terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking and child pornography.
“People would condemn you if you robbed a bank, but the same outrage is not being demonstrated in cases of data theft,” he told The Rakyat Post.
Salleh was asked to comment with regards to Justo and his alleged blackmail of PSI, an international company based in Saudi Arabia, which had drawn attention in Malaysia as it had established business ties with national sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Following the attempted blackmail, several e-mails and documents were published by theSarawak Report, a politically-motivated blog, to the extent of creating various allegations against 1MDB.
Salleh, however, said that it was not right to jump to conclusions as yet, contradicting CIMB Group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak’s view that people must know the truth behind the Justo fraud, because, to date, everything was just allegations and investigations were still ongoing.
“According to news reports, Xavier Justo has been arrested on suspicion of blackmail. That is all. And, also according to news reports, he allegedly tried to blackmail PetroSaudi International with correspondences, documents, e-mails, etc, obtained illegally.
“I think this allegation of blackmail and data stealing have never been denied so far. However, the allegation that these e-mails were doctored is being denied. So we will probably know in time to come the real story behind this Justo affair.
“I believe that if Justo is finally implicated in a crime of some sort there may be many other people who will be implicated together with him.
“The question, of course, is although some crime may have been committed, it is yet to be established what those crimes are.
At the end of the day it may be more than one crime and involving more than one person,” he said.
When asked whether the country and its citizens were paying for the scrapping of the Internal Security Act, Salleh said the detention-without-trial law that also allowed for preventive detention had its usefulness.
However, he said Malaysians appeared to be taken in by Western human rights activities that campaigned against such laws, whereas in their own countries such laws existed.
“If we cannot take action against terrorists then what do we do when terrorists not only murder people but also cause the bankruptcy of our country?
“Will Malaysians still talk about human rights when 30% of Malaysians are unemployed and 10% of the population or three million people are living on the streets because the country is bankrupt?” Salleh asked.
The 50-year-old ISA was abolished in 2012 and replaced with two new laws to safeguard peace and order in Malaysia.
