Najib and Hihammuddin should intervene and drop all charges against RMAF pilot Major Zaidi Ahmad who should be rewarded and not penalised for speaking up about the indelible ink fiasco in 13GE


I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to intervene and drop all charges against Royal Malaysian Air Force pilot Major Zaidi Ahmad who should be rewarded and not penalised for speaking up about the indelible ink fiasco in the recent 13th General Elections.

If Pakaktan Rakyat is running the Federal Government in Putrajaya, I would have recommended that Major Zaidi should be promoted for showing utmost patriotism going beyond the ordinary call of duty instead of indulging in the mean and petty vindictiveness of clipping his pilot’ wings and reassigning him to a desk job, followed by charges before a court martial which could land him in jail for two years.

Why is the Najib government so unreasonable and even perverse as to want destroy Malaysia’s fragile international image with the latest scandal of sending a patriotic air force pilot to jail for two years not because of any heinous crime or moral turpitude but because of the basic honesty of a decent human being in speaking the truth about the “indelible ink” used in the last general elections which was in fact quickly washabke and deletable?

In contrast, the really corrupt and heinous characters in Malaysia, particularly the “big sharks” of corruption who steal tens and hundreds of millions of ringgit of public properties and wealth, enjoy total immunity and impunity,.

In fact, if Major Zaidi is sent to jail for two years for speaking the truth about the “indelible ink” fiasco in the 13GE, all Malaysians will feel utterly ashamed of being Malaysians in the eyes of the world in having such barbaric and savage laws in the country.

The two persons should be the most embarrassed not only in Malaysia but in the world at such a travesty of justice if Major Zaidi is sent to jail should be the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, but they seem to have become completely numb and insensitive to decent opinions whether in the country or world-wide.

I hope this is an unfair judgment and I am prepared to be proved wrong – which is why I am urging Najib and Hishammuddin to immediately intervene to drop all charges against Major Zaidi – and even to consider a promotion for him, in view of his great act of patriotism in speaking up as a voter about the indelible ink fiasco in the 13GE.

When Major Zaidi lodged a police report about the indelible ink fiasco, he was acting as a Malaysian voter and citizen. He was not lodging a report as an air force pilot.

Is the Prime Minister and Defence Minister suggesting that if Major Zaidi had been bribed to vote for any political party, or he has concrete evidence of election offences committed during the elections such as big amounts of money being used to buy votes from the soldier-voters or other election abuses, he cannot lodge a report to the police without violating his military duties?
Which has the higher calling – loyalty to the Constitution or loyalty to the bureaucratic rules and regulations in the military services?

In any event, any law, regulation or rule whether in military establishments or government service which conflict with a citizen’s loyalty to the Constitution cannot stand and must be repealed immediately because, as in this particular case, they are not in conformity with a democratic society, where every citizen, whether in uniform or otherwise, must enjoy the constitutional right to vote freely for the elected representative or government of their choice.

The Election Commission should be thoroughly ashamed of itself that it is standing idly by while Zaidi is being charged for ensuring a free, fair and clean elections in the country.

Is it any wonder that the Election Commission has forfeited all respect and confidence of right- thinking Malaysians when it could be a party to such a travesty of justice against Major Zaidi?

The least the Election Commission should do is to protest in the strongest terms against the court martial of Major Zaidi, and recommend the air force pilot should be rewarded for his great act of loyalty and patriotism in exposing the “indelible ink” fiasco – which though embarrassing to the Election Commission is a great service in the cause of clean, free and fair elections.

Major Zaidi is a cause celebre in Malaysia for democracy, the rule of law and upholding the Constitution.

If Najib and Hishammuddin are not prepared to act to drop all charges against Major Zaidi, then Major Zaidi will become a cause celebre in Parliament when it reconvenes for a month-long meeting on March 10.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 15th February 2014)

  1. #1 by worldpress on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 11:55 am

    A model of TRUTH

    How many be uphold the TRUTH.

  2. #2 by yhsiew on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 12:00 pm

    Malaysian legal justice is turned upside down by the inept ruling regime, which seeks to prosecute upright, patriotic citizens but let “big sharks of corruption” who steal hundreds of millions of ringgit worth of properties and wealth get away.

  3. #3 by undertaker888 on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 1:09 pm

    The ugly regime is pushing the people to a brink that at the end of the day we will strike back. Hard.

  4. #4 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 1:10 pm

    Trying to reason with people in power why they should not punish – instead they should reward – whistleblowers who speak/reveal the truth for public good or the principles of democracy is of course a waste of time as (1) people in power already know the truth which they want concealed than revealed and (2) the reason for (1) is that power an aphrodisiac is an end to itself and not democracy human rights or public good. This universal – Obama administration in US (*so called bastion of democracy) is hypocritically no better when it hounds the whistle blowers. This is not to justify actions of our authorities but to state the obvious perspective that this a universal problem steming fropm peoples hunder for power and self interest above everything else. When Major Zaidi spoken he was not speaking to EC or those in power to rectify this problem. He was speaking to the Rakyat of the shenanigans of those in power and hence from holders of power perspectives he has to be persecuted. He cannot set a precedent. Just imagine beyond military every govt employer were to blow the whistle at every dept and every level – that’s the end of legitimacy to govern. Already there’s a huge deficit of public trust in relatio to ‘minority’ govt after last GE. Its self interest then that a threat to power has to be countered. Happily there’s not enough Nelson Mandelas to bear the cost and galvanise collective outrage .

  5. #5 by bryanbb on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 1:26 pm

    persecuting a personnel from the military, an officer at that, who has sworn to uphold and serve with his life,constitution ,king and country. An officer where honour ,discipline ,principles and integrity means a lot more than it does to some politicians.They should not be subservient to any political party.It will not augur well for morale of the services, which may have ripple effect throughout the forces of those who serve the country in the military, whether land,air or sea.If this officer is punished for what he sees as a breach to what he has sworn to defend. where is the honour in that?

  6. #6 by lee tai king (previously dagen) on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 1:36 pm

    remember folks.

    Umno is the supreme grand master of the universe and the GOD of all gods.

  7. #7 by tak tahan on Saturday, 15 February 2014 - 11:41 pm

    Somemore bigger than all the amitaba’s kongs ie tua pek kong,thih kong,chai kong,kong beh liau kongs ? Sure must be the only and one ketuanan supremo God of all the universal Gods-Bumno God.Hail Bumno and kowtow 3*

  8. #8 by boh-liao on Sunday, 16 February 2014 - 7:22 pm

    Any REWARD put up by Perkosa-UmnoB/BN 2 SLAP RMAF pilot Major ZA?

  9. #9 by boh-liao on Friday, 21 February 2014 - 8:11 am

    杀鸡儆猴
    Perkosa-UmnoB/BN must make SURE dat d Major is PUNISHED in order 2 spread d mesej dat “Thou shall NOT tell/expose d TRUTH 2 rakyat without permission fr Perkosa-UmnoB/BN”

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