If I let the authorities take what rightfully belongs to me without protest, it would mean one of two things: either I am guilty of wrongdoing, or the authorities are guilty of wrongdoing. In either case, remaining silent is an admission.
This is why it is so bewildering — and troubling — that former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has chosen not to challenge the seizure of RM169 million by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
If the authorities seized even RM10 of my money although I had done no wrong, I would fight tooth and nail to get it back. Not for the sake of the money, but for the sake of principle.
If he insists this is all a misunderstanding and that the money never truly belonged to him, then surely he should be demanding apologies from the media outlets that reported otherwise. But he has not. His silence implies acceptance of the association between himself and the RM170 million.
And if the money did belong to him, then where is his fight to reclaim it? RM170 million is not a trivial sum. If it was earned honestly, he should be exhausting every avenue to get it back, not only to restore his wealth but also to defend his integrity. By refusing to act, he invites the public to assume the worst: that he is guilty of wrongdoing.
As someone who once occupied the highest office in the land, Ismail Sabri should not need to be reminded of the importance of honour. An honourable person does not remain passive when his name is dragged through the mud. He either defends himself with vigour, or he admits his guilt and seeks to justify his actions. To do nothing — to stand silently and allow the stain of dishonour to settle — is to accept disgrace.
In ancient times, nobles who were accused of dishonour would rather fall on their sword or commit ritual suicide than live with shame. Even in modern times, cultures like Japan and Korea still expect public figures to undertake drastic actions to restore their honour. Of course, we cannot ask that in Malaysia. But surely, at the very least, we can demand accountability.
If Ismail Sabri will not act to clear his name, then we must act as a nation. We should declare him a persona non grata, so that his dishonour does not taint us all. We should strip him of all titles, privileges, and recognition, so that history will record that when Malaysia discovered it had once been represented by a leader without honour, the nation did not stand idle.
Anything less would be complicity. If we allow dishonour to go unpunished, then what respect can we claim in the assembly of nations? What right do we have to demand integrity from our leaders when we cannot even demand it from our former prime ministers?
The Sessions Court has already been informed that Ismail Sabri and his former political secretary, Datuk Mohammad Anuar Mohd Yunus, will not contest the prosecution’s application to forfeit the seized cash. If no third party claims ownership by October 1, the money will be forfeited to the government.
The sheer scale of the assets — RM169 million in multiple foreign currencies and even 16 kilograms of gold bars — underscores the gravity of the matter. Yet, instead of mounting a defence, instead of reclaiming his supposed innocence, Ismail Sabri has chosen silence.
And so the answer to the question is clear: a man who will not defend his own honour does not deserve ours. Ismail Sabri should be stripped of his titles and cast out from the memory of our national leadership.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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