Shocked.
That was exactly how I felt when I found out that a political secretary of a Selangor assemblyman was found dead near the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters. The MACC put the aide, Teoh Beng Hock, through questioning regarding activities of DAP assemblypersons just hours earlier before the time of death.[1] Granted, the cause of death — did the aide commit suicide? Did somebody push him from the top of the building? Was it defenestation? — is still a mystery but it surely, rightly or wrongly, incriminates the MACC.
To many, especially for Pakatan Rakyat sympathizers I suspect, judgment may have already been passed: the MACC is somehow guilty of causing the death. While it definitely an unfair position to assume, it is not hard to reach to that conclusion given that individuals have died in the custody of the authority, namely the police.
The MACC is already seen as biased arm of the government, embarking on selective investigation by targeting Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen but continue to leave Barisan Nasional politicians with suspicious record like Khir Toyo free from investigation. The death of the aide can only further damage whatever public confidence — if it has any left — that MACC has right now.
As for the Najib administration, looks like its 100-day celebration has just been cut short. On his 100th day as the Prime Minister, he announced six key result areas and one of them is the prevention of crime. [2] A government body now is being perceived as a perpetrator of crime. It is not just any crime but murder, perhaps the gravest of all crimes.
[1] — SHAH ALAM, July 16 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) controversial probe into several DAP assemblymen’s activities was thrown into more turmoil today with the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock at the anti-graft authority’s Selangor headquarters.
The 30-year-old’s death will put more pressure on the MACC, which has been accused by the opposition of conducting selective investigations.
[…]
At a press conference, the MACC director of investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul said Teoh was questioned from 5pm yesterday to 3.45am and was released soon after.bod
However, Teoh apparently said he was tired and so he rested on a settee in the lobby. He was seen sleeping on the settee at 6am.
At about 1.30pm, Shukri said, they heard that a body had been found on the 5th floor of the adjacent building and when one of the MACC officers went to investigate, he realised it was one of their witnesses.
Shukri said Teoh was not a suspect but was questioned as part of their investigations into the misuse of state allocations. [Ean Yong’s political secretary dead at MACC HQ. Neville Spykerman. The Malaysian Insider. July 16 2009]
[2] — KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak on Saturday announced six national key result areas for more effective attainment of the targets of the key performance indicators (KPI).
He said these were crime prevention, fighting of corruption, widening access to quality and affordable education, raising the living standard of the low-income people, upgrading infrastructure in the rural and interior regions, and improving public transportation in a moderate period of time. [Najib Identifies Key Areas For KPI Targets.Bernama. July 11 2009]