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Saturday, October 11, 2014

AMBITION GREATER THAN CONSCIENCE? Nancy will never say no, so long as she remains a Minister - Zaid

AMBITION GREATER THAN CONSCIENCE? Nancy will never say no, so long as she remains a Minister - Zaid
My friend M asked me why I had not commented on de facto Law Minister Nancy Shukri’s now infamous “Ibrahim Ali was just defending Islam…” retort. This is why:
Nancy does not know when to say no. She will probably never say no, so long as she remains a Minister. She feels that as a Minister, it’s her duty to make any statement that her colleagues in the ruling Government tell her to. Her explanation for why the Government would not take action against Ibrahim Ali for his call to the burn Bibles was probably not her own idea. Knowing a little bit about how our Cabinet works, I suspect Nancy did not prepare the statement, but was told to use it since she is the person in charge of matters of law in the Prime Minister’s Department.
The Police should first tell the public why there was no evidence to prosecute Ibrahim Ali, since they were involved in the investigation. When an investigation yields insufficient evidence, the Police would recommend to close the case. If there were sufficient evidence, but also other “constraints”, they would pass the problem on to the Attorney-General.
The Police are smart—they knew this is a hot case and that the public waited anxiously for results from the investigation. To many of us, it’s clear enough that Ibrahim should have been charged. We expected him to be charged, if not under the Sedition Act, then at least under other provisions of the Penal Code.
The Police, realising the potential public outcry over the decision not to prosecute, passed the buck to the AG. After all, under our system of government, the final decision rests with the AG.
But the AG is also a smart cookie. He is not a Cabinet member, nor does he occupy a seat in Parliament. He doesn’t need to explain the decisions he makes. He is not accountable to anyone, other than the Prime Minister. There is therefore no reason, in this case, why he should engage with issues that draw public ire and contempt.
The smart cookies in the Government then do what they have always done: ask the Cabinet member they call the de facto Law Minister to take the rap. Give him or her the task of issuing unpopular or controversial statements. Some of these statements are downright idiotic, but they are used to justify the Government’s decisions.
This same Minister is expected to appear in Parliament and give answers that have been prepared by those who really exercise power in the Government. They tried the same tactic with me on the ISA arrests, the Lingam tape case and other issues in 2008, and expected me to defend the decisions made and issue their statements. But I stood by what I believed in; naturally, I was not able to stand for long in the post!
I am not defending Nancy, but I understand her predicament well. She wants to remain a Minister and she is prepared to play ball, and to do what is asked of her. Perhaps to Nancy, appearing ridiculous and compromising her credibility as a lawyer is not too high a price to pay. To each his own. -Zaid.my

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