Sybreon Ones Nought

Someone mentioned this phrase to me today: “masuk pintu besar, keluar tingkap kecil” (lit: in through big door, out through small window). It is something that I found quite catchy in Malay, and rather funny too, even though it may be highly inappropriate to make a joke out of the tragic death of a young man. However, how else are we going to cope with the irony of the situation. You see, according to TheStar today, new documents have surfaced that are directly tied to the reason Teoh was at the MACC in the first place. According to the article, these documents that were posted on a blog purport to be evidence that DAP assemblymen were siphoning money out of the coffers into dummy companies.

The DAP (not the PAS or PKR) has been stealing the rakyat’s money in Selangor. They have been doing this without the knowledge of the other Pakatan partners like PKR and PAS. They have cheated not only the rakyat but also their own Pakatan partners from enjoying some of the stolen money.

This is actually not corruption. Corruption means you get money illegally from someone else. In the UMNO style, someone gets a project. Then they pay through a runner 10% or 20%, usually in cash inside a bag. Very simple and also quite smart.

But the DAP are quite stupid. They set up their own dummy companies, create fake invoice, fake projects and then take the money out. This is stealing, not corruption. But because they abuse their power it is also involving corruption. In the process they leave behind a very long trail of documents and evidence.

Okay, let us assume for a moment that the documents are what they claim to be. Am I really surprised by this – not really. I have always said that there is no such thing as an honest politician. If these documents were true, then the list of potential people involved in the case of Teoh’s sudden death, has just suddenly lengthened to include a list of his former comrades. Of course, these documents could also have nothing at all to do with his death and is just a false flag planted by people from the other side.

However, regardless of the truth of these allegations, I still think that real men with balls would take responsibility for his death, even if they were not the ones who caused it directly. If anyone dies under the watch of the MACC, the MACC needs to be held responsible for it. If nobody is the culprit, then the leaders should grow a pair and take the responsibility for not doing their job in protecting the lives of citizens. You see, if someone goes in through the front door and comes out through the back window, something is very wrong.

Nobody should fear visiting the MACC if it is going to succeed as a investigative body with teeth.

Well, according to TheStar, the lead investigator in the MACC investigations has been reassigned to the MACC headquarters. On the one hand, I can understand why this is being done while on the other, I have a sinking feeling that the wrong message will be sent.

You see, the government needs to take action according to proper procedures. In such a sensitive case, it is even more imperative that the government does its best to do things the right way so that there are no accusations of impropriety later. Therefore, the right thing to do would be to transfer the person(s) involved to the HQ and sit them behind a desk where they will do nothing and not be involved in any sort of investigative work until the situation is sorted out. The government will then wait for the official investigations to come to a conclusion before any sort of action can be taken. Like our PM says, there cannot be a presumption of guilt. Action can only be taken against the officer later, be it a demotion and reduction in pay, a complete dismissal or even criminal charges. That is the proper procedure.

However, in any other time and place, we would be led by men of honour – men who would ‘do the right thing’ and turn in their badges until the situation is resolved. Real men would take responsibility for their actions or inactions and save the image of the institution and government, by disassociating themselves and facing the music on their own accord. In fact, even if they did not do anything wrong, but allowed something wrong to happen on their watch, real men would chin up and face it. Unfortunately, in this land, real men have a tendency of being castrated and their balls hung out to dry leaving them in short supply.

Personally, I don’t really hold out much hope for any sort of justice to prevail. Neither do I think that this case will change much. However, I still think that we need to respect the rules, regulations and proper procedures, lest we be called lesser men for ignoring them.

Be a man, do the right thing.

Seems like once in a while, our BN politicians do lay some gems. The Nut Graph printed a letter written by a former BN MP and present Wanita MCA head. In it, it suggested that certain parts of our law should be changed where it comes to birth registrations. I had previously written on this rather tetchy subject. It is silly to ask for the father to be physically present and to require a valid marriage certificate before registering a child’s father.

First and foremost, such practices and laws were designed during times when it was impossible to determine the father of a child. Hence the saying – “Mater semper certa; pater est quem nuptiae demonstrant.” (Mother is always certain; the father is whom the marriage shows). In the world today, fathers are just as easy to ascertain as mothers. In fact, all it costs in Malaysia now is RM1,800 to have a paternity test done. With time, the costs will only come down. In the near future, the prices would be so low that it could easily be done as and when proof of paternity was needed.

This issue has come to light again with the death of Teoh Beng Hock. He experienced ‘sudden death’ (due to whatever reason that is still being investigated), just one day before he was set to register his marriage with his fiance. Unfortunately, or fortunately (in light of present circumstances), she is currently in her first trimester. She fully plans to have the child in due course. Anyone suggesting that she should abort the child is just dumb. However, by our laws and regulations, this child will now be deemed a bastard.

when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth

Being called a bastard is one thing but being legally labeled as one is quite another. I don’t think that any child would want to be one forever. In fact, even with his death, proof of paternity can be easily ascertained as well since he has living parents and siblings. If scientific proof of paternity is required, the family could easily provide DNA that can be used to determine that the grandparents are whom they say they are, and the brother is not the father.

Let’s just do away with this silly notion that marriage is a pre-requisite of conception. That is just a brain-dead silly idea. The two things are entirely mutually exclusive. Marriage is an institution that is either man-made (if you belief it to be a legal institution) or bestowed by the heavens (if you belief it to be some sort of religious institution). Conception, is all about biology – high school biology in fact. When sperm meets, egg, things magically happen. Nowhere in biology did I study that marriage is a pre-requisite for conception.

But I fully expect the silliness to continue. TBH’s death, albeit tragic, is unlikely to change much.

For the rest of us, there are many reasons to study science but in Denmark, there are multiple reasons to do so!

It’s always nice to know that the Chinese press carry more sensational news that the English ones. We don’t get to see the photos in our English dailies. It just adds to the confusion on where his body was actually found. A picture is worth a thousand words though.

What were the bricks doing there? Why is there no blood? When will the truth be out? Will the truth ever get out? So many questions, so few answers.

Interesting. I guess that routers are such a commodity that you need to differentiate on aesthetics now. I rather like the side-table router and the key-holder one. I don’t know about the clock and jelly-fish ones though.

Thought this was quite cool.