Opposition MPs fined RM3,000, but others just escape?

 

I am finding it very hard to reconcile all the facts when I was told that the Opposition Members of Parliament had been issued three summonses each, totalling RM3,000. 

        In fact, a lot of the decisions made by the previous government under Mahiaddin Yasin and the present government under Ismail Sabri Yaakob simply do not make sense to me. 

        The special parliamentary sitting was already in session but after a few Covid-19 cases were detected, there was such a big commotion in parliament on the evening of July 29. 

        The hype was on the Delta variant, presumably, and the special parliamentary sitting was conveniently cut short. Meanwhile, the number of cases are still hovering around 20,000 cases every day when the government announced that cinemas will be allowed to open soon. It just doesn't make sense at all! 

        Why do I say so? We all know that the Delta virus is airborne, especially in an enclosed airconditioned environment. The airborne virus has an infectivity rate of 1:12, compared to the original Covid-19 (1:5). 

        We also know that in countries like Israel and the United Kingdom, they are talking about tightening the SOPs again and going for a third booster jab. If there was such a big commotion over the closure of parliament, why are we subjecting the ordinary rakyat to the Delta variant now with the opening of the cinema? Entertainment industry needs to survive, but it is hardly a necessity in life. WHERE IS THE LOGIC?

Vote of No Confidence

        Most people like me suspect that this was because Mahiaddin at that juncture knew that he would not be able to sail through a vote of no-confidence that the Opposition was planning to moot against him and his cabinet.

         Ask any Malaysian who has been following the news with a deep sense of frustration, the answer is one simple and obvious conclusion: Mahiaddin needed more time to negotiate. He, Umno and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would do all they could to prevent Anwar Ibrahim from being the next prime minister. 

        If you ask me why, I think it is because Anwar knows too much about Umno from within that even Dr Mahathir is afraid of Anwar becoming prime minister. 

        The rest is history. We see the parliamentary sitting was suspended indefinitely, much to the disappointment of both the rakyat and the PH lawmakers. 

        The ChinaMalaysiaInsights.com quoted Kuala Lumpur Police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim as saying: “So, we decided to conduct roadblocks at all roads heading to Parliament for security purposes.”

        Azmi also revealed that approximately 500 police personnel, including from the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) were mobilised to control the situation during the march.

        Five hundred police personnel including from the Federal Reserve Unit? Assuming that there were 112 Opposition members who marched from Dataran Merdeka to the parliament, do we really need 500 police personnel? 

        These are civil people who would not gatecrash into parliament. In fact, it was just a very peaceful demonstration of the lawmakers themselves against the sudden suspension of the special parliamentary sitting. 

        At most, you probably need only ten patrol cars to protect them from any form of intimidation and another 20 traffic policemen on bikes to control the traffic. Once they have expressed their protest, that would have been the end of the story. Period.

        To have 206 people lodge police reports against the peaceful march is simply a phenomenon probably not found in any other country, and we can safely conclude that there is a political agenda and perhaps a mastermind behind all these people who lodged the police reports. Surely, the Inspector-General of Police, Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani should know that the police have better things to do than to satisfy those who lodged police reports. 

        If a protest cannot be carried out in the parliament house, of course, the lawmakers will carry it out under the hot sun for the rakyat to see. After all, we are  the rakyat who gave Pakatan Harapan the mandate to run the country, didn't we? The mandate was only subsequently hijacked by a small group of lawmakers a.k.a. "katak" and they even abandoned Captain Crook, who was stranded on their own ship! 

        Now, for each of the Opposition MPs to be issued three summonses of RM1,000 each for various offences, appear to me to be just another form of selective persecution. I am wondering now whether the Press photographers were similarly issued summonses since they also failed to keep the social distance during the MCO? What about the policemen who were not following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by not keeping the social distance?

        Didn't Mahiaddin and a number of his cabinet ministers also meet at his home? Were they not flouting the SOPs? Were each of them issued summonses as well? 

        I believe Mahiaddin's home would be fully-airconditioned. With the Delta variant still on everyone's mind, I was more worried about the spread of the airborne virus in an enclosed environment than in an open space like the Dataran.

        We are keen to know if Mahiaddin and gang were similarly issued summonses for flouting the SOPs. If not, why not?

The Rakyat is Watching You

        It is not what the Opposition did that was wrong, but in the eyes of the ordinary rakyat, our expectation is for the Government to be seen doing the right thing! 

        If the Opposition lawmakers are issued three summonses, the authorities have to do the same even to the people who met at Mahiaddin's home. Otherwise, the same argument can be used by the rakyat for having meetings in homes since the lawmakers themselves had no regard for the SOPs. 

        Even if there is a discount of 50 per cent should the fine be paid within seven days from the issuance of the summonses, RM1,500 is still a lot of money especially during the current pandemic. 

        I know, for example, some of these MPs donate their own money to help the B40 community in their own constituencies. 

        If Ismail Sabri's government wants to be fair to all parties, perhaps, he should cancel all the summonses. Instead of paying the penalties, all the lawmakers should donate the money and provide food for the B40 community. 

        Isn't this the spirit of collaboration that we are expecting to see, no? Do the Rakyat come first? Maybe, not!