No teeth; A question of honour
In his Sunday column, former IGP Hanif Omar said the three-man Panel of Enquiry swiftly set up by the Abdullah Administration to establish the authenticity of the Shock-A-Lingam Tape "has no teeth".
He said the 'damn-est' statement attributed to any senior member of the Abdullah Administration was that made to the Deputy Prime Minister on October 4. He said it "just cannot be correct" for Najib to have said the panel are not supposed to call any witnesses. Quote:
This flies in the face of the Justices’ statements that they cannot compel witnesses to attend, which does not mean that they cannot invite witnesses to attend voluntarily!The DPM is also reported to have said that the panel could (only) access reports prepared by various agencies such as the ACA and PDRM. This gives us scant comfort if that is all they can do.
I hope the Deputy Prime Minister’s office will clarify this because if it is true, then not many will believe any findings that may exonerate the perceived main actors even though that may be the irresistible conclusion under the circumstances. Then, of what use is the Panel of Enquiry?
Hanif also said that judges are human; some can be frail in character. "Therefore, the system should be able to detect candidates with frail characters and avoid appointing them to office or promoting them," he said.
It's all a question of honour, Hanif concluded.
In Malay, the word 'honour' here should be equated to maruah.
Then, maruah would be a word hard for an average anak barua can't understand.
Comments
This is what we get when we have ministers who lack common sense or who are incapable of intelligent thought. What is the point of having a panel to undertake the task of determining the authenticity of the tape if it does not have the power to call witnesses? It is like having judges in a cooking contest who are not allowed to taste the dishes. How stupid can this government be? Alas, we should not complain; we get what we voted for.
Posted by: birdseye![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 8, 2007 04:51 PM
Obviously Tan Sri Hanif doesn’t watch much TV, n record these are the exact words from Najib:
“No, No, No they are not supposed to call witnesses. They know the terms of reference. There is no ambiguity. They will work within the terms of reference. They will work very closely with the appropriate Government agencies”
The Panel has its Secretariat in the Legal Affairs Dept of the PM Department and it looks like they are orchestrating & directing the probe. On the first day of meet the Attorney-General, the IG Police and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) DG came separately and assured the panel of their fullest co-operation and then the Panel took a two-week break to await their findings.
But the latest pronouncement from Nazri seems to seal the fate of the tape authenticity :
"If they do not cooperate, then the authenticity cannot be determined and this will prevent the panel from discharging its responsibility….. reveal the source failing which we can conclude that they are lying”
He also has the gall to challenge:
“`Takut Kerana Salah'. I think he is scared because he is in the wrong."
More details at:
http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/10/pm-denies-whistleblowers-targeted.html
& the Video Clip on Najib’s words & PM Abdullah pronouncement “we want to be fair”
Posted by: mwt![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 8, 2007 05:50 PM
Jeff,
I just read on the Malaysian Bar's website (www.malaysianbar.org) that there is no Witness Protection Act in Malaysia. Our defacto law minister has yet again raised the bar to show the Rakyat of how low (and how thicked their skin is) the government can go to protect their own kind.
Posted by: Deepblue_dude![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 9, 2007 01:27 AM
BBC: Malaysia witness offered surgery!!
LMAO.. Shame or not? I am!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7034133.stm
Posted by: cc![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 9, 2007 01:41 AM
Nazri said "The government will give the witness a new identity. So what is there to be afraid of?"
Right, change look and identity. Does it not required to asked someone to key in the new identity, new photo, and some finger prints into the JPN system.
Well if people can delete records from the custom's office, I think it wouldn't be that difficult for these well connected criminals to find out from the JPN his new identity.
I think Minister Nazri missed that the alleged criminals are from the government and have a well connected network?
Posted by: freewave![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 9, 2007 12:41 PM