"There is no one to blame but the PM himself. He should have set up the RCI instead of the inquest, a delay tactics that he himself is playing for his political survival."
By Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle
Prime minister Najib Tun Razak is desperate and has finally shown us the depth of his depravity. He has little concern for the feelings of the grieving family of Teoh Beng Hock. He has ignored all pretence for decency and is willing to make political capital out of their tragedy.
He has blamed the family of the late Teoh Beng Hock for delay tactics and said they were deliberately prolonging the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) until the general elections. He has accused them of complicity with the Opposition to besmirch his government.
He is despicable and wrong!
Teoh’s family only want justice for their son and the Malaysian public is behind the family in their quest for the truth.
On the other hand, it is Najib who has thwarted all of the family’s efforts to get at the truth.
From the outset, Teoh’s family had demanded the RCI be set up to directly probe the circumstances surrounding the 30-year-old’s death to find out the real cause — including if he was pressured to jump. However, their request was turned down by Najib.
Najib is callous, crude and insensitive. How difficult is it to understand that there is no delay tactic? There is no reason to prolong the RCI till the general election. There is no political motive.
Najib’s baseless accusations reflect a man who is desperate. Only someone as scheming as him would have used another family’s personal tragedy, to advance his own political ambitions.
Najib is angry because the family’s recent boycott of the RCI has derailed his plans for the upcoming General Election.
Over in Sarawak, Taib will soon announce the date for the state election. Here in the peninsular, everything is primed for the general election. Only the final stages of dissolving parliament and naming the date have been withheld.
From the very beginning, the ‘routine’ interrogation of Teoh by the MACC, raised more questions than answers. The MACC officers ended up with a national and political nightmare. It was Najib’s machinations that politicised the whole affair from the start.
The ensuing inquest into Teoh’s death was inconclusive. Eighteen months after his death, an open verdict was delivered on 5 January 2011. It ruled out both suicide and homicide as the cause of death.
It was public pressure which prompted the government to convene a RCI.
The family’s boycott of the RCI was because the RCI rejected a request to postpone the proceedings pending a judicial review to be filed by the family.
The family wanted the three conducting officers (CO) from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (A-G’s Chambers), who are assisting the RCI, to be dropped and replaced by independent COs. Moreover, there was neither representation from the Bar Council nor respected individuals on the panel.
The Selangor government also withdrew from the proceedings for the same reasons as the Teoh family.
Najib’s only desire is to remain in power. He is also pressured by events in the middle-east and north Afirca. His cohorts in BN including a former Prime minister, depend on Najib to remain in power. If he goes down, they all go down. Hence, Najib must retain Putrajaya at all costs.
That is why Najib blames the Teoh family for prolonging the RCI until the general election. But no one except for Najib and his trusted lieutenants know when that date is. He was a fool to blame them for that.
Najib thought the RCI would have appeased both Teoh’s family and the public. He assumed that having made a favourable impression with the rakyat, he would brreze through the general election. Well, he didn’t, not with the RCI as it is.
Everything Najib has done thus far was only to present an image to the rakyat that he was listening to them. But he only does things in half measures. His plans have a habit of backfiring.
In July 2009, Najib met the Teoh family and promised them, amongst other things, “No stone will be left unturned in finding out the real cause of death and, if there is any foul play, action will definitely be taken.”
Today, he sings another tune.
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