By Nathaniel Tan,
Below is an article published today that I wrote on Friday. Today, there’s some follow up news in TMI:
With all these calls for talks and consultations, this is obviously a very different aftermath than Teoh Beng Hock. There is now an inter government agency dispute that is perhaps bigger and more public than anything in recent memory.
I’m no expert, but the way I read it, there are perhaps two ends of the spectrum we can look at, given the way things are developing.
Firstly, these talks fail and discontent boils over. We may see this mark the beginning of a war of attrition, where the feuding agencies attempt to hurl or uncover more dirt about each other, where Customs is filled with anger and indignity about what happened to Sarbani while the MACC really starts spilling the beans on what they supposedly have on corruption in Customs.
This of course, would be extremely costly to the Najib administration. So costly, it makes me fear the other end of the spectrum: That secret deals are made, compensation abounds (especially for family and associates), wheels are greased, individuals sworn to secrecy.
God knows Najib and gang have done this enough times to get pretty good at it.
I hope irresponsible people do not take advantage of this death to cover things up, to aid or abet corruption, or to strengthen their own ‘positions’. We must remain vigilant and do our part to ensure that the focus is on getting justice for Sarbani, and never allow his death to be used as a bargaining tool.
(Even as I write, more and more conspiracy theories come to mind; but we shall wait and see what light unfolding events will shed. It will be difficult seas to navigate).
These are just very speculative thoughts off the top of my head, but the integrity of both the Customs and the MACC may be facing its toughest test yet.
Today’s article:
That’s the body of Allahyarham Ahmad Sarbani, being sent for burial.
The main Customs union will meet the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission tomorrow to address the “controversy” behind Operation 3B and senior Customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed’s death at the commission’s headquarters last week.Pursuant to the thoughts below, we can make a few observations.
Peninsular Malaysia Customs Union president Ibrahim Ahmad said union representatives will discuss a range of issues with MACC chief Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed following the highly-publicised swoop and subsequent death.
“The MACC chief has agreed to meet us this April 12, so we hope that this opportunity will be used to get an explanation into a few things that have been happened for the last two weeks,” Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider.
Union representatives have stated after a meeting in Kelana Jaya last Friday that they wanted to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and MACC management over Operation 3B and the death of Ahmad Sarbani.
“It would not be a problem. I can meet them, at the appropriate time,” said Najib yesterday.
The Customs’ union remains unconvinced that Ahmad Sarbani would meet the MACC if he had not been ordered to do so.
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s immediate reaction, but when this meeting will take place we do not know.
“We will bring up several issues including that of the welfare of Customs staff if the meeting were to take place,” Ibrahim added.
President of the Malaysian Customs Alumni Association Datuk Abdul Rahman Manan said that senior officials have unofficially decided to ask MACC to clarify a few matters to avoid the Customs department being wrongfully portrayed.
“We are disappointed with media reports which have connected Operation 3B with illegal money transfer amounting to RM108 million.
“We want this issue explained, given the right information so that people do not view KDRM negatively,” said Abdul Rahman.
With all these calls for talks and consultations, this is obviously a very different aftermath than Teoh Beng Hock. There is now an inter government agency dispute that is perhaps bigger and more public than anything in recent memory.
I’m no expert, but the way I read it, there are perhaps two ends of the spectrum we can look at, given the way things are developing.
Firstly, these talks fail and discontent boils over. We may see this mark the beginning of a war of attrition, where the feuding agencies attempt to hurl or uncover more dirt about each other, where Customs is filled with anger and indignity about what happened to Sarbani while the MACC really starts spilling the beans on what they supposedly have on corruption in Customs.
This of course, would be extremely costly to the Najib administration. So costly, it makes me fear the other end of the spectrum: That secret deals are made, compensation abounds (especially for family and associates), wheels are greased, individuals sworn to secrecy.
God knows Najib and gang have done this enough times to get pretty good at it.
I hope irresponsible people do not take advantage of this death to cover things up, to aid or abet corruption, or to strengthen their own ‘positions’. We must remain vigilant and do our part to ensure that the focus is on getting justice for Sarbani, and never allow his death to be used as a bargaining tool.
(Even as I write, more and more conspiracy theories come to mind; but we shall wait and see what light unfolding events will shed. It will be difficult seas to navigate).
These are just very speculative thoughts off the top of my head, but the integrity of both the Customs and the MACC may be facing its toughest test yet.
Today’s article:
April 11, 2011
APRIL 11 — As you already know, Ahmad Sarbani who was an assistant director at the Customs Department in Port Klang, was found dead at the MACC building in Jalan Cochrane in an incident involving a broken 3rd floor window.
I didn’t make it to Teoh Beng Hock’s funeral, unfortunately — but I did make it for Sarbani’s.
It was my first time I think to a full-fledged government quarters (Customs, in Kelana Jaya), it was a bit of a gateway into another world. This is where they had the prayers, before burial at the Kota Damansara cemetery (which I made it to as well, but somewhat too late unfortunately).
In both venues, there were a lot of people. I do mean a lot.
I don’t think I can fully process yet all the many details surrounding the death and its aftermath. I’ve heard a few theories, and had calls from people I have not had calls from before.
What I think we can say for now is this — this has the makings of something big. I get the sense the bust the MACC was trying to pull off runs pretty deep.
We all know that corruption is a huge thing in this country. I’m not sure all of us are fully aware of how deeply what technically qualifies as corruption is part not only of our system of governance, but also in what is basically our culture.
It’s so deep, that there’s no way I believe the MACC is some independent force looking to objectively and systematically battle corruption. Call me biased or cynical, but I reckon there is probably a motive and agenda behind every case the MACC pursues (I of course would not be so stupid as to paint everyone within the organisation with the same brush, but the people that matter anyway).
The question is, what was the motive/agenda in this Customs bust? How high up does it go? What house of cards was about to come tumbling down?
Maybe I was imagining things, but I get this feeling that there was an undercurrent amongst the crowds gathered to mourn this loss. That there were a lot of very unhappy Customs people, and that something’s going to give. I felt I witnessed the first shot in what will soon be an all out gang war.
Maybe I was just imagining things.
I have no interest in getting involved in some government agency turf-war trying to out-corrupt one another in some race to the bottom. That said, a man died and was buried last week.
By all accounts, he was a good man, a pious man. I certainly don’t have enough facts to say anything for sure, but something tells me he was not the mastermind of some corrupt operation.
I am not in possession of all the facts yet, but whatever the case, no one deserves to die the way Ahmad Sarbani did, any more than Teoh Beng Hock deserved his untimely manner of death.
Something is not right in the MACC, and something is not right in this country we call home.
We’ll continue to watch closely and try to put the pieces together slowly, but in the meantime, let’s make that change we all need so badly. Sarawak would be a good place to start.
I didn’t make it to Teoh Beng Hock’s funeral, unfortunately — but I did make it for Sarbani’s.
It was my first time I think to a full-fledged government quarters (Customs, in Kelana Jaya), it was a bit of a gateway into another world. This is where they had the prayers, before burial at the Kota Damansara cemetery (which I made it to as well, but somewhat too late unfortunately).
In both venues, there were a lot of people. I do mean a lot.
I don’t think I can fully process yet all the many details surrounding the death and its aftermath. I’ve heard a few theories, and had calls from people I have not had calls from before.
What I think we can say for now is this — this has the makings of something big. I get the sense the bust the MACC was trying to pull off runs pretty deep.
We all know that corruption is a huge thing in this country. I’m not sure all of us are fully aware of how deeply what technically qualifies as corruption is part not only of our system of governance, but also in what is basically our culture.
It’s so deep, that there’s no way I believe the MACC is some independent force looking to objectively and systematically battle corruption. Call me biased or cynical, but I reckon there is probably a motive and agenda behind every case the MACC pursues (I of course would not be so stupid as to paint everyone within the organisation with the same brush, but the people that matter anyway).
The question is, what was the motive/agenda in this Customs bust? How high up does it go? What house of cards was about to come tumbling down?
Maybe I was imagining things, but I get this feeling that there was an undercurrent amongst the crowds gathered to mourn this loss. That there were a lot of very unhappy Customs people, and that something’s going to give. I felt I witnessed the first shot in what will soon be an all out gang war.
Maybe I was just imagining things.
I have no interest in getting involved in some government agency turf-war trying to out-corrupt one another in some race to the bottom. That said, a man died and was buried last week.
By all accounts, he was a good man, a pious man. I certainly don’t have enough facts to say anything for sure, but something tells me he was not the mastermind of some corrupt operation.
I am not in possession of all the facts yet, but whatever the case, no one deserves to die the way Ahmad Sarbani did, any more than Teoh Beng Hock deserved his untimely manner of death.
Something is not right in the MACC, and something is not right in this country we call home.
We’ll continue to watch closely and try to put the pieces together slowly, but in the meantime, let’s make that change we all need so badly. Sarawak would be a good place to start.
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