Najib Razak is a victim of his own apathy

Today, Najib’s lawyers are upset about the shabby treatment and blatant injustice he is being subjected to. Well, 13 years ago I left Malaysia at the insistence of Marina (who could no longer endure driving to the Kamunting Detention Centre every week) because of this same reason. But those who had the power to reform the system did not do so. And, as Pastor Martin Niemöller said, “Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

First, they came for the Communists,
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists,
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me,
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

PASTOR MARTIN NIEMÖLLER
**************************************************
From 1998 to 2000, I spoke out against the corrupt Malaysian legal system and judiciary. I did not really have much love for Anwar Ibrahim, but I opposed what they did to him. This was not about Anwar per se but about if this could be done to an ex-Deputy Prime Minister, imagine what they could do to us lesser mortals.

In 2001, I was detained without trial under the ISA together with nine other Reformasi Movement activists and PKR leaders. The allegation against me was that I was planning an armed insurrection with bombs, M16s and rocket launchers.

My wife, Marina, filed a writ of habeas corpus and the high court judge, S. Augustine Paul, rejected the application and commented that I am a terrorist.

Since then the police raided my house numerous times and confiscated my computers (probably four or five times) plus carted away all sorts of files, documents, VCDs, videos, etc. I was also hauled to the police station four or five times (once together with Marina who had to spend the night in the lockup) and in 2008 I was, again, detained under the ISA.

That was when Marina said to me, “Fook this third-world country that has no respect for justice, freedom, human rights and civil liberties.” She packed her bags and told me she was going to the UK, with or without me. (Two of our sons had already settled in Manchester in 2001 soon after 911).

Like it or not, I was forced to also pack a suitcase, and at dinner time one Friday in February 2009, we left home and took a speedboat ride to Phuket, Thailand. We arrived there the following day and a month later flew to Manchester.

Two months later, Najib Tun Razak took over from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Malaysia’s new prime minister.

But nothing changed. In the nine years that Najib was prime minister there were no reforms. When Pakatan Harapan took over in 2018, there were also no reforms. In fact, the corruption in the legal system and judiciary became worse. Pakatan Harapan dropped all the criminal charges against their own people and launched a witch hunt against Umno-Barisan Nasional people.

What Malaysians do not know is hundreds of Umno-Barisan Nasional people were targeted, some with criminal action, but most by the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (income tax department). The victims were forced to pay millions in so-called ‘denda’ to avoid getting arrested and being charged in court.

Malaysians know about the criminal charges against Najib Razak, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Rosmah Mansor, and a number of other Umno leaders. But very few know about the hundreds of others who were targeted by the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri and who suffered fines amounting to millions — while at the same time they were dropping the charges against Pakatan Harapan people.

Today, Najib’s lawyers are upset about the shabby treatment and blatant injustice he is being subjected to. Well, 13 years ago I left Malaysia at the insistence of Marina (who could no longer endure driving to the Kamunting Detention Centre every week) because of this same reason. But those who had the power to reform the system did not do so. And, as Pastor Martin Niemöller said, “Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”