Whether or not he talks of lofty principles of transparency, accountability and integrity and immediately goes about doing the opposite concerns him, his conduct & credibility, what people will eventually perceive of him as a leader.

Whilst that is important – and I’m not saying it is not – the larger picture of which we should take note is that by him repeatedly being held to his words and values (transparency, accountability and integrity) as yardstick by which government’s and public officials’ actions are measured, there is change, albeit tentative towards right direction.

I don’t think it can be denied that there is now greater openness and public debate the exercise of which beginning in Internet medium spills over to mainstream media, notwithstanding manacled by Printing Publication and Press Act.

Of course, today we have just as much if not more shit (pardon the expression) as before but at least with all these talk about “transparency, accountability and integrity” being the basis of measurement of government’s and public officials’ actions – by not only us and civil society but also between themselves of themselves when they use these yardsticks to get at each other’s throats in competition over the spoils of patronage & largesse – and a concomitant relaxation of restraints on public debate, all the shit gets to surface (judging from the number of scandals being serially publicly exposed) where it was never before. And that is a good thing – all these shenanigans and peccadilloes get to be exposed which otherwise remain buried in syndrome of denial. Even ACA director general gets taken to task; there is also occasional breaking of ranks, as ministers contradict ministers, IGP complaining openly about political interference, top judge admitting that there is something rotten within judiciary. Whence has this happened before?

Compare the situation to what it was then under TDM and compare the situation with neighbouring countries including down Southern neighbour.

He has inherited a corrupt legacy from predecessor and he operates within limiting conditions of a political and cultural milieu permeated with feudal and tribal values of patronage, corruption and racial discrimination. Above all, he is concerned with personal political survival, not free from blandishment of power – nor the ability to rise very much above the system from which he rose to power in first instance.

But his big talk does set and entrench the proper benchmarks so that these may be used by the rest of us, and all and sundry including themselves in measurement of themselves. That’s the Good he can so far be identified with.

Why care that he exhorts transparency, accountability, integrity and then he goes about doing the opposite (that’s only concerning about him) when we could use what he exhorts to get others to abide or at least to pretend to abide by these values and move along in right direction (that’s concerning the larger society)? Isn’t that slowly happening now which is for the better?

Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Bahrum has strongly denied the allegations against him. We can agree that he is not to be adjudged guilty unless proven otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.

However, there are certain aspects of his public denial – the accusations against the police, and obliquely the IGP – that are anomalous, and come as a disconcerting surprise.

I am very surprised that a Deputy Internal Security Minister like him, who, in the chain of command is on top of the IGP and the police force, should make a public attack in media against his own men and subordinates under his charge in such a manner.

Johari had said that “people have posted all sorts of lies and claims against politicians and other government officials on the internet. He then asked why the police was not going after those who posted such things that “tarnished and damaged those named” in the postings, and instead investigate him.

Now in the ordinary course of things why would the police do that to their immediate political boss??? They are not political rivals.

In a telephone interview with The Sun (see The Sun page 2), our IGP had already said that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had directed him to get to the bottom of the allegations which surfaced last week. The Deputy PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak publicly endorsed a thorough investigation. IGP Tan Sri Musa had also assured all a fair and thorough investigation of the allegations.

Now why would UMNO chieftains order the IGP to get to the bottom of the allegations even though they emanated from the internet?

Another accusation leveled at the police is that they are not following standard operating procedure (SOP) when carrying out investigations on Emergency Ordinance (Public Order & Prevention of Crime) (“EO”) cases, thus forcing him to release the detainees. He was quoted by NST March 5th page 2 as saying: “I am disappointed with the police for giving me files at the last minute. I only have 3 or 4 days to scrutinize the cases and decide whether to send these people to Simpang Renggam, as they would not be brought to court”.

Now the police know enough of the 3 secret society kingpins whom they have detained under EO released by Johari. The police could not fathom the rationale for the release. Neither can some of us.

Being kingpins, they run their organized crime fiefdom of gambling, prostitution and illegal gambling enforced by gangsterism through tiers of proxies of whom none will provide sufficient evidence against the kingpins to satisfy standards of proof required in courts for fear for their lives or the lives of their families.

Which is why the police arrested and detained them under EO in the first place.

Now if the Deputy Internal Security Minister felt that, with only 3 or 4 days, he did not have sufficient time to decide on signing the detention order under EO to send the 3 kingpins to Simpang Renggam, then he equally has not sufficient time to decide that the kingpins should be freed by signing on the release order. What is there to stop him, the boss of the police, from deferring his decision, requiring more time to study the cases and meanwhile send the kingpins back to Bukit Aman for remand until he makes up his decision? I find it very incredulous that the embattled minister should now posture himself as champion of civil liberties and lecture us and the police about the dangers of EO being a preventive law.

Johari said that the decision was collectively made by an independent advisory board of legal advisors made up of judges and ex judges. Can we know the names of these board members who agreed with him on the release of the 3 kingpins? We like to know what their views are on this issue.