By Mariam Mokhtar
To paraphrase Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysians mudah lupa.
When police searched the residence of former prime minister Najib Razak at Jalan Langgak Duta, his close friends and family were furious. But MPs from the new ruling government, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Khalid Samad, were also displeased.
What should the police do, make an appointment to raid?
In the new Malaysia, everyone can speak out for that is what we want Malaysians to do. To censure. To question. To demand answers.
Mahathir has already said that any investigation into wrongdoings will be conducted according to the rule of law.
Some have asked why the search started at 10pm, not earlier. Who knows? Maybe the search warrant had only just been granted. A warrant must be based on reliable information and issued by a neutral magistrate. It will only be issued if a crime has been committed and items connected to the crime are likely to be found in the place mentioned in the warrant.
There are also sound psychological reasons for raids to be conducted at certain times.
At any rate, the raid started at 10pm, not in the early hours of the morning as said by Nurul. It is not the fault of the police that the raid took so long; they were probably shocked by the amount of evidence they found.
Najib’s lawyer, Harpal Singh Grewal, said he believed Najib was being investigated for alleged money laundering. He also posted a picture of Najib sleeping on the sofa, which no doubt pulled at many a heartstring.
Former minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan, meanwhile, complained on Twitter that Najib’s treatment was inhumane, undignified and humiliating.
“Of course, he can be investigated. No problem. But a little respect, please. He is our ex-prime minister after all,” he said.
No one can recall if Rahman complained when former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested in a commando-style raid. Nor did he say anything about Anwar being hounded with trumped-up charges in Sodomy II.
The forgetful Rahman must also have seen the humiliation suffered by Mahathir when his personal staff such as his cook, driver and secretary, police protection unit and bodyguards were removed. Did he say anything about the lack of respect for Mahathir then? Did he condemn the attacks on Mahathir at the Nothing to Hide 2.0 forum?
We complain that the police, along with several other institutions, are beholden to the Prime Minister’ Department. But if Mahathir were to tell the police how to conduct their raids, that would be seen as political interference. Do we really know what we want?
If the police’s standard operating procedure is anathema to Rahman and the MPs, the best place for them to bring this up is in Parliament.
Let’s recall several other cases besides Anwar’s: Rafizi Ramli, following his arrest, was seen barefoot and handcuffed in purple lock-up garb; Zunar was dragged from one police station to another; and Maria Chin Abdullah was held in solitary confinement for no other reason than for speaking the truth.
The people who complain about the extended search of Najib’s house forget that he is accused of involvement in the greatest economic heist in Malaysian history. He mocked us with his sham governance. He made us the laughing stock of the world. We wanted fairness and justice, but we got none. He told the international community that Malaysia was a moderate Muslim nation, but we know that extremist views were allowed to thrive.
If the police had to arrange for an appointment before conducting a search, no raids would ever be done, and all evidence would be spirited away or shredded long before the said appointment.
The comment about not conducting the raid on the first day of Ramadan is another frivolous attempt at emotional blackmail. All right-minded Muslims know that Ramadan should not be used as an excuse to stop us from doing the right thing.
Will we ever grow up in this new Malaysia?
Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.
The views expressed by the writer are not necessarily those of FMT.