In January 2018 I was very ill. I was receiving treatment and overlooked paying my monthly GST dues by 1 day. I was fined about RM900 for this. I wrote an appeal letter, with appropriate reports detailing the treatment that I was undergoing – 9 months later to my great relief, the money was refunded to me. Which brings me to a point – most of us at some point in our lives would have committed a misdemeanour. In most instances, the offence would be harmless but some if left uncorrected and repeated, for example, a traffic offence, could pose a potential danger to a fellow citizen or citizens in the future. Hence a punishment to serve as a deterrent and a lesson both to the offender and the onlooker to prevent recurrence of such events. For most of us the punishment would be swiftly handed out with no chance for a reprieve unless for mitigating circumstances as I have described at the beginning. For most of us it would be a fine of money; very few of us would commit a demeanour that would necessitate time spent in jail.
Let us now consider another scenario. What would happen if an individual, found guilty by the most knowledgeable judges in the land, where the committed crime is perceived as so blatantly serious, necessitating imprisonment and a monetary fine, manages to evade consequences through a constitutional pardon? This is what is causing sleepless nights for many law abiding citizens of Malaysia. We all know what I am writing about. The money plundered from the nations coffers runs into billions. The crime has generated spin offs in the courts of other nations where a guilty verdict has been handed down to co-conspirators some of whom are already languishing in jails. So whatever fairy tale that some supporters may believe in, causing them to imagine that their champions have been misjudged and treated unfairly, the guilt of the perpetrators has been clearly and firmly established without any doubt. However, one very guilty and high profile co-conspirator is still in hiding and by several reports living it up with the money stolen from us. Back home in Malaysia the chief perpetrator of the crime looks very well fed and attends court regularly to answer to the many charges still pending against him, dressed in designer suits. He has shown no remorse or guilt to the calamity he has caused the nation. Money that could be spent on building schools and hospitals and infrastructure for the country and for feeding the poor and disadvantaged, has been lost. We are in debt. Cost of living is escalating – to be fair, this is also due to many unhappy events around the world but the colossal crime committed in Malaysia has not helped our balance sheet. Our taxes are rising and our children and their children after them will have to pay for the billions stolen from us, though no fault of their own. Our hard earned ringgit is depreciating and all this is bad news for those of us with mouths to feed and children to educate. Years of working and saving and then to see the value of your savings shrinking creates a mixture of fear and anger in our hearts. It could have been so much better if not for the shenanigans of a few.
So will it be fair to pardon this man? It is claimed that his services to the nation has to be considered and that this should offset his “shortcomings”. But I have this to say. Most of us are hard working and honest citizens who have also served our nation selflessly. From as long as I can remember most of us burned the midnight oil to get good grades to get a place in local Universities. Most of us did not have servants to look after our needs when we were growing up. We came from humble homes without the trappings of luxury seen in a government ministers home. For most of us, our parents did not have the money to send us for a foreign education. Once we started work most of us rose in our stations based on merit and hard work. When I look at the long hours, selfless work and sleepless nights put in by mothers, teachers, oil rig workers, doctors and nurses, just to mention a few examples, we are all serving the nation just as much as if not more than government ministers. We do not steal but if we commit a crime we will be swiftly punished and no one will consider giving us a pardon.
So why must a government minister be treated differently? Even more so one who had a privileged upbringing and whose rise in life was also privileged. Surely for one as advantaged as him to commit such a crime against a nation that provided him so much, the punishment must be even more harsh. What do we teach the next generation? It is alright to plunder and steal and live in luxury with the money stolen from the Rakyat - do not fear, you will be pardoned. And what of the many others accused of corruption lining up in the courts awaiting their fate? Do not fear. A precedent has been set. Continue to steal. You will be pardoned! Ridiculous! In the eyes of the common Malaysian – my nation has been robbed! I have been robbed of the taxes I pay and I am very angry! The guilty must pay! There can be no pardon! There must be Justice for Malaysia!
Dr. Kannan Pasam 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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