(Bagan Dato, Saturday): Half a year ago, the MP for Bagan Datok, Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, when he was the UMNO Youth Leader, was a strong voice in UMNO against corruption, cronyism and nepotism.
Now, however, Zahid seems to have recanted from his earlier public stand demanding an all-out war against corruption, cronyism and nepotism - even to the extent of denying that Malaysia is afflicted with such social cancers. This is clearly another proof of the power and efficacy of the Special Branch techniques of "neutralising" and "turning over" Internal Security Act detainees to make them stop seeing things they have seen or stop believing in matters which they had at one time thought important for the country and people.
However, the Special Branch may be able to "neutralise" and "turn over" dozens or scores of people who fall victim into their hands, whether as a result of the Internal Security Act or other draconian laws of the land, but the important question is whether it can "neutralise" and "turn over" the entire population to make Malaysians believe that there is no problem of corruption, cronyism and nepotism in Malaysia.
Recently, there was a posting on the Internet which was later republished in a printed publication which alleged that the MIC President and Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu spent at least RM1 million ringgit for the wedding of his son, Dato' Paari Vellu, two weeks ago.
This is not an anonymous posting but was the writing of a well-known Malaysian journalist, and if his allegation is true, raises many questions about the ostentatious style of living of Barisan Nasional leaders which are completely at odds with the government’s call of belt-tightening to the people in the midst of the country’s worst economic crisis in history.
For a start, Samy Vellu should explain whether he had spent over or close to RM1 million for his son’s wedding and if so, where the money had come from.
(26/12/98)