The boundaries between patriotism and targeted harassment (by UK Menon)
True patriotism does not require public humiliation. It requires proportionality, empathy, and respect for the law. And for the people living within its borders.
Read MoreTrue patriotism does not require public humiliation. It requires proportionality, empathy, and respect for the law. And for the people living within its borders.
Read MoreAlthough the Federal Constitution has established a sound legal system, the machinations of a small group of people compel us to ask important questions. Is it true that the enforcement of the law is being disrupted by three devices: [1], an attack on the prosecutorial process; [2], an attack on the judiciary; and [3], a modification of the pardon process?
Read MorePhineas T. Barnum was the owner of a very popular circus. He once said, “Any publicity, whether good or bad, is good publicity”. Barnum's point was simple: “Nothing is worse than not being talked about”. You might wonder why I quote the owner of a circus. Do you not think that what is happening in Malaysia is nothing more than a huge circus — one that even Barnum himself would ...
Read MoreWe should stop dancing around an inevitable admission: Malaysian corruption laws have failed. Enforcement has failed. Look at the Najib Pardon case; or the ‘Lorry Stickers’ fiasco. Corruption has been ‘formalised’. It has thrived, for 68 years, in a ‘parallel' system 'monetised' by those who have power to open doors. Why not force it into the open? Why not decriminalise it? Why not ask for tax relief for bribes paid? ...
Read MoreThis is not a story of the Najib government's machinations. It is about an older system that exploits power. Can you see a recognisable pattern here?
Read MoreIf you had only RM10.00, can you spend RM20.00?
Read MoreSome say that the power of the King to grant a royal pardon is ‘absolute,’; that ‘no one can question it’. Is this correct?
Read MoreMinisters who suffer even a whiff of impropriety should immediately (1) make a public statement explaining the circumstances of the allegations against them; (2) allow space for enforcement agencies and Parliamentary Committees to do their investigation; and (3) go on leave.
Read MoreCorruption is enmeshed throughout the Government. It cannot be ripped out without damaging the nation. Can kleptocrats be allowed to return what they stole, and let off with a minor punishment? Could only the recalcitrant and the greedy be subjected to naming, shaming? Should their family and friends, who helped in corruption, be punished?
Read MoreWas Art Harun, the Speaker, right, when he said, Najib could continue to sit as an MP, pending the King's decision over Najib's application for a royal pardon?
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