Whether Guan Eng goes to jail or goes home the government still wins

By MT Webmaster Last updated Jul 7, 2016

And this means Guan Eng must be treated differently compared to Najib. So Guan Eng needs not resign or take leave and the prosecution must prove his guilt. In fact, since he is from the opposition, they should never have investigated, arrested, and charged him in the first place — and for sure should not find him guilty even though he did commit that crime he was charged for.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There are only two possibilities. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng goes to jail (the maximum which is 20 years and/or a fine ten times the corruption amount). Or Guan Eng gets acquitted or gets discharged without his defence being called.

Either way the government benefits. If Guan Eng goes to jail that proves he is guilty. If Guan Eng goes home that proves the government is fair and would never jail an innocent person.

I mean would the MACC fix up Guan Eng on fabricated charges? Well, according to Lim Kit Siang, Guan Eng’s father, Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission is one of the best in the world. You can see that video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FARGGYisHa0

In other words, there is no way the MACC would fix anyone up on fabricated charges. If you were innocent of a crime the MACC would not touch you with a ten-foot pole, let alone arrest you and charge you.

No doubt it is the Attorney General who decides whether to indict you or not. But then the AG cannot do that until he/she first sees the investigation file and the investigation report shows that a crime has been committed.

And the evidence has to be overwhelming. If the report is hazy and there does not seem to be any clear indication that a crime has been committed then the AG will send the file back to the MACC, as has happened more than once in the past.

The ex-Selangor Menteri Besar, Khir Toyo, suffered the same fate as Guan Eng is facing (for the same crime he committed as what Guan Eng is charged for). Khir Toyo was eventually found guilty and sentenced to jail and not a single person, not even the Umno people, protested and said he is a victim of political persecution and is innocent and so on.

Over the last 24 hours we have been hearing screams of protest about political persecution, injustice, solidarity with Guan Eng, and all sorts of negative comments regarding his arrest and indictment. In short, what they are saying is, Guan Eng should not have been arrested and charged.

They also say Guan Eng needs not resign or take leave pending the outcome of his trial. This appears to be a U-turn from what Ambiga said about three months ago. And Guan Eng, too, has promised he will not resign or take leave until he is found guilty (if he is found guilty) and is sentenced to a fine, jail or both.

Ambiga: Guan Eng should consider option of going on leave (READ HERE).

DAP, Guan Eng’s supporters, many NGOs, etc., have all said that Guan Eng is innocent until proven guilty. And DAP has raised RM1 million to pay Guan Eng’s bail so that he need not come out with a single Sen of his own money.

The long and the short of it, by their words and deeds, they consider Guan Eng innocent and as clean as a whistle and a victim of political persecution who should never have been investigated, arrested, charged and put on trial — and for sure should not be found guilty.

Of course, the question of whether Guan Eng did or did not commit that act he was charged for is not being discussed. And we need not discuss it because even though he did commit that act that is not important. What is important is that he should never have been investigated, arrested, charged and put on trial — and for sure should not be found guilty.

Now, let’s not start raising Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s case and start comparing it to Guan Eng’s case. Najib is a leader in the ruling government while Guan Eng is a leader in the opposition. Therefore Najib should resign or take leave until he is cleared of all allegations (even though he has never been arrested or charged). Guan Eng need not resign or take leave until he is cleared of all allegations (even though he has been arrested or charged).

Furthermore, Guan Eng must be presumed innocent until found guilty. As the Prime Minister, though, Najib must be presumed guilty until found innocent. And this means the prosecution must prove Guan Eng’s guilt while Najib must prove his innocence.

We must not forget that DAP is an opposition party although in Penang it is Barisan Nasional that is the opposition while Pakatan Harapan is the ruling government. Until Pakatan Harapan forms the federal government, all state governments under the opposition coalition must be considered opposition governments and not ruling governments.

Raja Petra Kamarudin RPK