Apa yang diketahui apabila seseorang MP itu dijatuhi hukuman denda lebih RM2,000 dan penjara maka kedudukannya sebagai wakil rakyat baik Adun atau ahli parlimen hilang. Namun ternyata tanggapan itu tidak tepat.
Contohnya kedudukan ahli parlimen Pekan Najib Razak walaupun sudah dijatuhi hukuman penjara 12 tahun dan denda RM210 juta, tetapi statusnya sebagai ahli parlimen Pekan tersebut masih kekal hingga ke hari ini, demikian menurut speaker parlimen Azhar Harun.
Under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution,a person can be disqualified as an MP if they are
convicted for an offence and sentenced to more than one year in jail and fined more than RM2,000.
"Mengambil kira permohonan pengampunan yang telah dibuat sebelum ini dan juga usul tersebut di atas (semakan kehakiman) yang difailkan, maka status Najib Razak sebagai ahli parlimen Pekan pada masa ini tidak berubah," jelas Azhar. Makanya kepada mana-mana wakil rakyat yang disabitkan hukuman yang membolehkan statusnya sebagai wakil rakyat hilang bolehlah mengambil duluan (percedent) yang berlaku ke atas Najib itu.
Apabila anda dijatuhi hukuman, sila buat permohonan pengampunan dan semakan kehakiman terlebih dahulu, kerana setidak-tidaknya anda masih bergelar wakil rakyat untuk beberapa ketika dan mendapat semua kemudahan dan elaun wakil rakyat. Dan kalau proses permohonan itu tergenddala atau dilewatkan maka anda masih menjadi wakil rakyat serta mendapat semua kemudahan termasuk elaun.
Persoalan, apakah dengan status itu maka speaker akan membenarkan Najib untuk hadir bersidang apabila sidang diadakan kelak. Mungkin Najib boleh memohon jasa baik penjara untuk hadir sidang. Kerana kalau mengikut penjelasan Azhar itu, Najib masih "valid" sebagai wakil rakyat. - mso
Anti-apartheid hero vs hero kleptocrat...
In 1964, Nelson Mandela, who had already served a five-year term for illegally leaving the country, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of sabotage.
He spent the next 18 years at Robben Island prison in a damp cell measuring eight by seven feet, sleeping on a straw mat and breaking rocks into gravel during the day.
During his time there, Mandela suffered various health problems including contracting tuberculosis, and he was eventually transferred to the relative comfort of Victor Verster Prison in 1988, before being freed two years later. He died in 2013 after suffering from a prolonged respiratory infection at age 95.
We then have to wonder how people from these countries Zwelivelile included would react to jailed former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak being compared to the great anti-apartheid campaigner.
On Sunday, his son Mohd Nizar Najib (below) compared his father’s imprisonment to that of Mandela’s experience, saying that he would rise above the challenges similar to what the South African anti-apartheid leader did.
How do you compare a statesperson who stood up against an oppressive regime with a thief who plundered the nation’s wealth? Mandela fought for the end of apartheid and his work inspired and continues to inspire others to stand up against oppression and fight for freedom.
What will Najib be remembered for? He was already described as “kleptocracy at its worst” by former US attorney-general Jeff Sessions, and by The Economist as a “brazen kleptocrat”. At home, the Court of Appeal described him as a “national embarrassment”.
Najib’s claim that the RM2.6 billion was a donation from the Arab royal family was not sustained, even in a court of law. Even his then deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who claimed he met the Arab donor, was never called as a witness for the defence.
Conducting its largest ever kleptocracy investigation, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said billions were diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies, many linked to Najib’s associate and friend Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low. As of March 3 this year, 1MDB debts stood at RM38.5 billion, of which RM6.5 billion was in interest alone. Malaysians will continue to pay for Najib’s follies for a long, long time.
Against this background, how could Najib be likened to Mandela? The latter was an idol and father figure for billions of people while Najib would certainly not be idolised except by the sycophants and cronies who were adequately compensated for their roles in what can be said as the darkest days of the nation.
But this is not the first time Najib attempted to put himself on the same plinth as Mandela. In December 2013, he said Umno was fighting for the “same cause” as the South African leader. While the partisan crowd would have applauded and swallowed that hook, line, and sinker, writer Kee Tuan Chye poo-poohed the monologue with this stinker: What same cause?
Mandela fought against racial discrimination, whereas Umno institutionalised racial discrimination a few decades ago and still upholds it. Mandela never advocated black supremacy, whereas Umno promotes Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy), he wrote.
Klang MP Charles Santiago aptly put the comparative statement by Nizar: “Oh gosh. I want to vomit. Where did this guy get his education? Comparing freedom fighter Mandela with thief Najib is a crime! “One stood up for empowerment and democracy. The latter stole from the country to buy jewellery. A stupid way to rewrite history.”
It is no secret that Nizar will replace his father as the candidate for the Parliamentary constituency of Pekan. He may have put his foot in the mouth but there will be those who will be convinced that like Mandela, Najib will rise from the dumps.
He would have certainly drawn bigger applause from the majority of Malaysians if he had drawn similarities with Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, or Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, or Sani Abacha of Nigeria.
Would Nizar compare his mum Rosmah Mansor to Mother Theresa? He needs to be reminded that if he ever does any more of his comparisons, he must compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges, or any other fruit. - R.Nadeswaran,mk
cheers.
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