After the recent general election, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had made two points: firstly, he urged the people to set aside their political differences and reunite now that the general election is over; secondly, that Malaysians do not practise democracy like the people in the West, who close ranks after a general election to work together for the nation.
The DAP had endorsed the call by the Prime Minister to the people to put the general election behind them and to restore national unity which had suffered the worst damage in three decades in the dirtiest election campaign in the nation’s history. To set an example that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and political beliefs, should try to work together for national good to promote justice, freedom, democracy and good governance, I made a special point to lead a DAP delegation to call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad during the Hari Raya in Putrajaya as well as the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at PWTC.
The crackdown yesterday, however, showed that that the Prime Minister is not interested in the process of national healing, as the wounds opened up by the dirtiest election in the nation’s history will now deepen and fester with far-reaching repercussions for the nation-building process.
It is not the Malaysian people who do not want to close ranks to work together for the national good, but the Barisan Nasional government under Mahathir who do not want the people to close ranks by practising a politics of hatred, spite and vendetta even after it had retained political hegemony and parliamentary two-thirds majority.
I am particularly aghast at the arrest and prosecution of Karpal for his court defence of former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sept. 10, 1999 on sodomy trial relating to the allegation of arsenic poisoning.
On 9th October 1999, when there was intense UMNO pressure for the government to take action against Karpal for what he said in connection with the arsenic poisoning of Anwar, Mahathir conceded that Karpal enjoyed immunity for what he had said in court in his capacity as defence counsel for Anwar.
This was why he announced that the government was proposing to introduce a new Act pertaining to contempt of court purportedly to ensure that "lawyers indulging in politics do not abuse the court for political mileage and publicity".
Mingguan Malaysia of 10th October 1999 reported:
"Menurutnya, dalam sistem perundangan negara ini, anggota politik yang menjadi peguam boleh berselindung dalam mahkamah dengan membuat kenyataan politik dan pihak lain tidak boleh tegur.
"’Saya menghormati sistem, dia boleh buat apa dia suka dalam mahkamah dan kenyataan ini akan dikeluarkan dalam akhbar dan kita tidak boleh tegur dan kita akan hormatnya,’ ujar beliau."
I do not fully agree with Mahathir’s twisted comments, but the pertinent point here is that at that time, the Prime Minister conceded and upheld the right to immunity of Karpal as a lawyer in the conduct of his duties as defence counsel in court.
This was before the Nov. 29, 1999 general election. Now, after the general election, Mahathir has refused to concede and respect the right of lawyers to immunity for what they say and do in their course of their duties in court, subject only to contempt proceedings, and this is why Karpal has been arrested and will be charged tomorrow under the Sedition Act.
Why this sudden change of mind? Do we have a government of laws or a government of men in Malaysia?
Normally, a person is investigated before he is arrested. In Karpal’s case, he is arrested first before a statement was taken from him.
Was Karpal’s arrest one of the last instructions of Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad before he departed from KLIA early yesterday morning for Argentina and the Caribean for a two-week vacation?
There can be no doubt that Karpal’s arrest was more political than legal. Probably, Mahathir blamed Karpal for UMNO’s worst electoral debacle in party history.
Mahathir cannot deny that the Anwar factor was the major cause for UMNO’s worst election showing in history, but he would not concede that this represented the cries for change and for the restoration of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance. Instead, he blamed it on the adverse publicity resulting from two Anwar episodes - the black-eye and the allegation over the arsenic poisoning.
It would appear that Karpal is now being made a scapegoat for UMNO’s electoral setbacks in the recent general election, when the UMNO leadership should have responded positively to the general election result by conceding the need for reforms in the country.
For the sake of the nation, the Barisan Nasional government should desist from plunging the country into another dark night of repression as what happened 13 years ago in 1987 during Operasi Lalang.
No one in human history, however high-handed, autocratic and dictatorial, has ever succeeded in permanently stifling the people’s aspiration for justice, freedom, democracy and good governance and Malaysia is not going to provide an exception.
(13/1/2000)