(News snippet – the photo of the alleged multi-million complex belonging to politician’s family – with a big question – where the money to purchase / construct them came from? Image source: Sarawak Report)
Snippet 1 – Fishy Assets
Will MACC investigate this further?
As I mentioned before, we don’t mind politicians in office are entitled for some privileges and perks (for some, outriders and government houses) for the time and effort spent by them. But what we do not want to see is they abuse their position for personal gains and shameless robbing of the public in the open whilst crying for reduction of subsidies for consumer goods and telling bright students off that there is no budget for scholarships.
There are politicians who also have good business ventures around the world.
If it has been done legally and all business dealings have been properly made without any abuse of power or without mis-allocation of public funds to their own, we have no problem with it. After all, if they are brilliant businessman, there is no harm making profitable business venture.
But then, since there has been an ugly expression that in Malaysia, powerful politicians are not angels, it is better for the authority to investigate them.
Snippet 2 – Tortured Confessions
TheStar reports that the family of Royal Malaysian Air Force Sergeant N. Tharmendran, who is accused of stealing two jet engines, filed a police report Wednesday alleging that Tharmendran had been tortured in detention to confess and was being made a scapegoat
If you ask me, this is not only very damaging but if it is true, it also raises the important question – have the real culprits escaped prosecution?
The ability of a lonely low ranking RMAF officer and a businessman to steal 2 jet engines from a secured military base and then without any detection at the nation’s exit points, able to transport it all the way to South America has been long doubted by many of us.
Has there been a massive cover-up?
What is the extent of the breach of security when illegal sale of the military hardware was first detected? The Government’s assurance that everything is “under the control” is in serious doubt.
Now there is also talk of giving away the air base to commercial development and this had not settled down well with the opposition politicians who claim that the nation’s defence is severally compromised. They do have a point there.