Minister Hishamuddin’s response to Malaysiakini’s report on on how informants giving information to the police on Johor underworld kingpin Tengku Goh were forced by ACA officers to change their statements leading to the outcome that Tengku Goh succeeded in his habeas corpus and was freed is the classic ostrich placing its head in the sand. He response of “prove it, prove it” is typical “in denial” behaviour. Most unbecoming of a Minister purportedly educated in the law.
A responsible response would have been to suggest that perhaps besides making allegations in a newspaper report , that a police report should be lodged. Better still, that he had directed the police to lodge a report so that investigations could be launched as to whether the allegations were true. After all, the allegations on first blush were credible because Malaysiakini was saying they had the documentary evidence in the form of statutory declarations. Very rarely does it get as good as that.
Hishamuddin’s simple-minded response has a strong irresponsible element. Mkini’s expose show that there are two conflicting versions – the version uncovered by Commercial Crime Investigation Department led by Ramly Yusuff showing that Musa Hassan whilst Johor CPO ( before he became IGP in 2006) was in cahoots with Tengku Goh running gambling and money-lending syndicates. The other version supposedly uncovered by the then ACA said that the allegations against Tengku Goh were fabricated . This version led to 6 police officers supposedly making these false allegations being charged – but the Court hearing the charges found them so flimsy it did not even call for their defence. And sitting in the middle of all this is the albatross of the AG Gani Patail who supposedly pulled the file from the CCID and passed it to the ACA.
Surely the Minister must see the obvious point staring at us all – that an independent inquiry was urgently needed to unearth the truth.
Surely he must see that the last thing a responsible Minister must do is to ask investigative journalists to provide him “proof” before he takes action. Journalists do not run investigation departments or courts –they unearth issues for Ministers like him to act on.
The inquiring public will next ask – is Hishamuddin deliberately missing the point? What is his interest in covering up the matter?
Sivarasa Rasiah
Member of Parliament Subang
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