If truth be known, the nation has reached a stage when even top BN leaders have no control over downline. Top down instructions are circumvented, if not ignored.

Specific examples: a lot of govt departments, GLCs, and uniformed services have their own “little Napoleons” ruling their fiefdoms like vassal lords, exercising power, making money, collecting tithes from areas demarcated their own spheres of interest. They don’t care what the top leaders tell them. In part it is due to the latter’s poor example : downline says toi the top, “if you can make money at the top, why can’t I? I won’t disturb your sphere and you don’ t, mine! “

Hence as far as police force goes, they even resist Premier’ s call for IPCMC.

Think they would be afraid or deterred by AG’s classification of Kugan Ananthan’s death as murder precipitating an investigation?

In the case of land offices, they are not giving approvals if their palms were not greased even if applicant were a GLC supported by patronage of a top BN politician.

You can see that in Pakatan Rakyat controlled state of Selangor : PKNS bureaucracy could rebuff Selangor MB (PKR’s Khalid Ibrahim )’s appointment of Low Siew Moi as acting general manager!

Things were going in this direction for some time but Mahathir could, by sheer force of personality keep the lid on things so th at they didn‘t spill.

But now things tend to fall apart, and the Centre does not hold, to borrow the phrase from Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe from the title of his famous 1969 literary masterpiece/novel “Things Fall Apart”.

Back to specific problem :What shall be done to check custodian deaths?

Take a leaf from Karpal Singh. He has urged the authorities to charge the doctor who conducted the first post-mortem on Kugan for issuing a false report. Karpal said that the doctor could be charged under Section 197 for knowingly issuing a false post-mortem report claiming that the cause of death was due to ‘fluids in the lungs’. “Had it not been for the family and friends entering the Serdang Hospital mortuary and taking pictures, the bruise on Kugan’s body would not have come to light.”

The moral of the story is to look at direction of independent medical check – not to allow medical check up and post mortem be done by the normal medical channels, coroner, doctors with whom over the years police refer cases and have an “understanding”.

Have in place, in every case of complaints of torture or custodial death, independent medical assessment and determination. One can’t obliterate this problem but one can mitigate it. What sadistic abusers fear most is disclosure from independent medical investigation that produces evidence to implicate their evil deeds.

I have dwelt a little longer on this subject of custodial death in particular reference to Kugan Ananthan’s case because we all note that YB’s Kit’s wish list – and Happy Chinese New Year Message for the year of the Ox – was addressed not just to Chinese Malaysians but all Malaysians of whatever race.

And the question raised here which Kit says Malaysians should ponder on the occasion of the Chinese New Year of the Ox is whether Malaysians can share a common Malaysian dream on the wider issue of building “a united, harmonious, democratic, just, meritocratic, competitive and prosperous nation”, we should ask the more immediate and limited question – whether we can get simple justice – whether the family members of Kugan Ananthan can get simple justice…

They were not given the simple courtesy of any information when he was detained more than six days ago. He just ‘disappeared’.

They had an inkling of what happened only when Kugan’ s aunt, S Renuga received an “anonymous” phone call informing her that Kugan had been arrested without details about where he was detained. The family searched from one police station to another to no avail. Parents could not sleep. Their worst fears were confirmed only when police informed them on Jan 20th that Kugan had died under police custody.

Family members were not immediately allowed to see the deceased. They had to barge into the Serdang Hospital Mortuary to see him. They found to their horror that his body had severe marks, deep cuts on his wrists and bruises on his legs, blood/froth oozing from his nose.

Family members were informed that the post mortem showed he had ‘fluid in his lungs’ as if suggesting of illness. Knowing he had no medical condition, family members wanted a second post mortem to ascertain if there was foul play. Imagine their dismay when authorities’ first reaction was that whilst they were entitled one, the police would not allow it! What have they got to hide?

It is only after much public clamor that authorities finally relented to allow Universiti Malaya Medical Centre doctors to conduct the second post mortem today at 9am with preliminary findings expected within eight to 10 hours.

This can happen to any average Malaysian family whose member is detained.

What has happened to Kugan and his family will arouse the deepest indignation of all Malaysians of good will and common decency.

Which is why I ask : will Malaysians dare think of “common Malaysian dream to build a united, harmonious, democratic, just, meritocratic, competitive and prosperous nation” when the more limited entitlement and aspiration of simple justice seems to elude us?

This is something we are forced to ponder on the eve of the Chinese New Year of the Ox…..

The raising by Loh in his posting at 17: 30.34 above of the subject of 2 deputy ministers likely to face action is interesting as it highlights the kind of contradictions that are weighing down the ruling coalition, and accelerating its political decline.

BN is traditionally structured upon dominance of UMNO with other component parties playing second fiddle. It works as long as UMNO could maintain its dominant position by securing support of Malay ground by traditional communal policies.

However once the appeal of communal policies begins to be superseded by concerns about corruption and abuse of power, it causes the BN to lose ground in the GE 308, Permatang Pauh, KT By- Election, and brings to the fore internal contradictions to which the BN coalition is subject and may in time be un-ravelled by.

The first example of contradiction: Within BN’s framework of communal politics, component parties now realise, after beating at the polls, that their survival in elections cannot be assured if they continue playing second fiddle to UMNO – without being seen to champion their communal constitutencies’ interests. So Gerakan & MCA begin to speak up more against government’s policies. The two deputy ministers from MIC went along with Kugan’s family to Serdang Hospital’s morque. Hamid tries to reassert UMNO’ s control by saying that they could be taken to task. If this were done, it will be widening the rift between MIC and UMNO. Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam of MIC is now indirectly taking the side of his two other MIC colleaques by saying that the police must interrogate suspects in a professional manner. In short, component parties, whether Gerakan, MCA or MIC are beginning to try change their subservient image, and as UMNO resists this change to re-assert it’s traditional dominance, conflicts within BN will undoubtedly ensue.

Another (second) example of contradiction: BN has developed its strength from harnessing and tapping the country’s rich natural resources. It secures loyalty and allegiance from both office bearers, delegates, members as well as contituencies by ability to distribute largese, patronage of contracts and licences : in short, Money Politics. However GE 308, Permatang Pauh, KT By- Election show that Malaysians in general and the Malay ground in particular are turning against the BN on grounds of corruption. This implies BN has to be seen re-inventing and shedding of its image of being identified with Money Politics and Corruption. So it enacted/ established the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (“MACC”) and to demonstrate that it has bite, they have charge a few of their own (even a Supreme Council member) for corruption under MACC.

Money Politics is raison de etre – the very reason of BN ‘s existing. To charge its very own albeit selectively for corruption – in order to be seen “clean” – is to dissolve the very glue that has held the seamless web of allegiance and loyalties that kept BN together…If they don’t take action against corruption of its members, rakyat will boot it in next election for wanting resolve and sincerity; if it takes action, it will only shoot its own foot, dissolve the glue that holds it together, and undermine the very foundation of it s strength based on ability to manipulate with abundant money resources. Either way, it faces a dilemma.

Bota assemblyperson Nasarudin Hashim has quit Umno to join PKR, resulting in Pakatan Rakyat now controlling 32 state seats in Perak.

These may well be the early birds. More may defect to the perceived “ winning” Opposition side if they think the BN Titanic is sinking from the weight of its own contradictions rather than the attraction to Pakatan Rakyat’s ‘cohesiveness’ strained by PAS’s fanatical pursuit of its theocratic agenda.

The problem the BN faces is that no leader has yet emerged from within its ranks who evinces a strategic vision and capability to grasp, grapple and resolve these internal contradictions and dilemmas accelerating its own political decline.

“ BN are living in the shadow of Malaysia’s first black president. Having beaten the USA in the one-drop mixed singles, they’re buckling under his legacy.” – OrangRojak

Quite true. Well Malaysia’s first black president had the opportunity during his long 22-year administration to take the nation to heights but he didn’t. Indeed quite the opposite!

One cannot do so if by temperament, one treated his fellow countrymen and their mentality with supercilious condescension as evinced by an involuntary and perpetual facial sneer and vin tag e sarcasm.

The nation’s biggest resource is its human capital, the mental infrastructure.

However to Malaysia’s first black president, the verbal reflex to the word “infrastructure” was “physical”: roads (North South Highway, skyscrapers (Twin Towers), airport (KLI A), ports, (Paya L epas). Other things were added to this category as time went by – electricity (Bakun) communication (Maxis & Multi Media Super Corridor) – but they all have one thing in common: tangibility measured by their physical manifestations.

Like Nigeria and very unlike red dot in South, the blessings of crude oil, the manna from heaven, spoil rather than elevate us. It makes possible the rapid development of physical infrastructure at the expense and neglect of social and mental/intellectual infrastructure.

By “social infrastructure” I mean the laws, social institutions and agencies, social stratification, demographic elements and other social structures, formal and informal root of the mentality of the people; by “mental infrastructure” I mean the education, and more particularly the “type” of education that mould/shape outlook fundamental beliefs and philosophies, which in turn determine our attitude to life, politics and public office.

OrangRojak, well said. :)