Kick BN out

Sam Peh
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 26, 2012

AUG 26 — There are two options that the BN government relies on: deny even in the face of evidence or keep silent.

The first option was used by Koh Tsu Koon (can anyone explain to me why he is still around? Didn’t he get trounced?) when he told the MCA newsletter that he was unaware that a circular had been sent out by the National Unity Department of the Prime Minister’s Department asking Chinese and Indian students to make up the numbers for the National Day Parade. For their troubles, they would get some cash and a T-shirt.

Koh said no such was needed. But the problem with that bare denial is that circular has been sent to several institutions of higher learning and that it appears that The Malaysian Insider has got its hands on one such circular. Of course, the MCA newsletter will publish anything without checking. Instead of taking the word of a Cabinet minister (who trusts these chaps?), their reporters should have called up the Department of National Unity or even checked with a few private institutions but I suppose that would involve doing some real journalism.

The second BN option is silence when faced with a troublesome issue. Sometimes, the silence is because Putrajaya believes that the issue will blow over. (That is why Putrajaya kept quiet for months while PKR lifted the veil of the NFC scam).

At times, the silence allows Putrajaya to buy some time while it cooks up an explanation about some expose. Take the embarrassing disclosure from an anonymous senior police officer on how crime statistics are being manipulated so that the government can show that crime is down.

According to this detailed expose, crime figures are fudged under different categories. In reality, it is a public relations exercise aimed at duping the Malaysian public.

Nearly a week has passed since this explosive expose but there has been silence from Hishammuddin Hussein, Ismail Omar and Idris Jala and those masters of statistics, Pemandu. Why the delay?

Need to cobble together a cerita that is believable, is it? Just a caution: the senior cop who blew the whistle knows more and will be waiting to poke holes in your cerita.