Zahid exposes the DARK SIDE of Umno

Home Minister Zahid Hamidi is making the headlines almost every day with controversial comments and decisions that have shocked certain segments of Malaysian society, while pleasing other stakeholders in the nation.

The latest brouhaha stirred up by Zahid was over how he and the police are handling rising crime in Malaysia with tough action and repressive laws.

"He's talking like the Godfather of the Mafia, giving the green light or encouraging trigger-happy cops. Zahid is working overtime to win the Umno election," Opposition MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Dangerously polarized

Despite Tian's criticism, it is clear many members of Zahid's ruling Umno party agree with their vice president.

In a speech made on Saturday, Zahid had revealed that Malaysian police now shoot first. He also bragged that the recent draconian amendments made to the controversial Prevention of Crime Act 1959 were the result of his efforts.

The contrasting reactions to Zahid is indeed a telling reflection of how dangerously polarized Malaysian society is today.

"This is a wake-up call to all Malaysians. Zahid is not a dumb loud-mouth, but quite a sharp politician. To a certain segment of society - the civil society leaders, the NGOs, the Opposition, many Malays as well as the majority of the non-Malays - the brash comments Zahid is making are disgraceful. In any developed democracy, he would be stripped of his job. But here in predominantly-Malay Malaysia, he is a hero," an Umno watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.

"To the Malays, he is doing what all good Umno leaders should do - go out and grab all you can for the Malays. To ensure the Malays get what they want and to make sure the non-Malays are kept in their place, bring out the guns and the tough laws so that no one dares to revolt. That's why I say an alarm bell has gone off and the non-Malays would now be wasting their time dreaming about a Malaysian Malaysia. It is obvious the Umno Malays do not want this. They want to be supreme over the other races and this is why you see their leaders getting away with this sort of caveman philosophy and policies."

Taking advantage to pitch for VP votes?

Zahid had been speaking at what appeared to be a government briefing to community leaders on security matters but apparently, the meeting quickly dwindled into an Umno affair, with Zahid taking full advantage to 'pitch' for votes.

He is one of Umno's 3 vice presidents and is defending his post which is up for grabs at the party election slated for October 19.

Reporters had been unceremoniously kicked out towards the end of his speech, with Zahid personally threatening the journalists he would close down their newspapers if they dared to report his comments.

"What is the situation of robbery victims, murder victims during shootings? Most of them are our Malays. Most of them are our race,” Malaysiakini reported Zahid as saying.

"I think the best way is that we no longer compromise with them. There is no need to give them any more warning. If (we) get the evidence, (we) shoot first.”

OK to shoot first, detention without trial also OK

According to Malaysiakini, Zahid also said about 28,000 of the more than 40,000 gang members identified by the police in a recent clean-up operation were Indian Malaysians and there was nothing wrong in arresting them.

The Umno minister also highlighted the fatal shooting of five suspected Indian gangsters in Penang in August and chastised a deputy minister for raising questions about the incident. Although he did not the deputy minister, it was obvious he was referring to P Waythamoorthy

"There is a deputy minister ... he disputed me and the police. He (asked) why there were no warning shots first before shooting. "I said that if you want to be (in) a NGO, resign as a deputy minister. He is not qualified to be a deputy minister," Zahid said to cheers in the room.

Draconian PCA was also my doing - Zahid boasts

Zahid also bragged declared that the amendment to the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (PCA) that reintroduces detention without trial was "my new law". The revised PCA allows for indefinite detention without trial for durations of two years at a time.

"We investigate (criminal cases), we take it to the courts. If there is no evidence, if there is not enough evidence, at least there are still two years’ (detention). That is my new law, there is no compromise.”

Zahid further boasted about how he persuaded the Cabinet, the Speaker of the Parliament Pandikar Amin Mulia and the police to support his idea.

"The Internal Security Act has been repealed, the Emergency Ordinance has been repealed, the Restricted Residence Act has been repealed, but they (opposition) did not notice the PCA 1959, they did not notice it.

"I discussed with the inspector-general of police. I discussed (it) with the ministry's legal adviser, I said this can be used. I (discussed) with (minister in charge of parliamentary affairs) Shahidan Kassim so that when the time comes (for a vote), the ... speaker would be on our side, the Dewan Rakyat secretary will be on our side," he said.

Zahid's latest comments contradict remarks made less than two weeks ago, when he was asked what were his chances of successfully defending his post and if he was using his position as Home Minister to gain favor with the Umno hardliners.

"As an incumbent, I am carrying out all the responsibilities given to me. As Minister of Home Affairs, what I have done is not to achieve political objectives but taking care of the safety of all Malaysian citizens as a whole," said Zahid.

Malaysia Chronicle