It has been clearly evident for decades that Malaysia’s BN regime is not so much a political coalition, as an exercise in organised crime.

BN, in concert with its cronies and accomplices on both sides of the law, has systematically robbed the Malaysian people of not only untold fortunes in natural resources and public funds, but also of every possible protection and right from equitable justice and trustworthy news to free and fair elections.

So, the recent revelation that Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had written a letter attempting to kid the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a US court that Malaysian illegal-gambling suspect Paul Phua was not a member of the 14K triad, but on the contrary, was somehow helpful to the BN regime on matters of “national security”, hardly came as a surprise.

Nor did the fact that this small matter was never mentioned by Malaysia’s so-called “mainstream” media, as of course they are firmly under Zahid’s and his department’s control.

Unsurprising, too, was the initial deafening silence from Zahid and his BN bosses following the foreign and online media’s revelation of his support of a criminal suspect.

In light of the fact that Zahid had apparently acted without the approval or even knowledge of the BN cabinet, and in curious conflict with earlier advice to the FBI by the Malaysian police that Phua was indeed a member of the 14K triad, he needed as much time as possible to get his story straight.

But unfortunately for Zahid, the suspiciously-speechless Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( right ) and the rest of the BN gang, the “explanation” he gave in the press conference that the pressure of events finally forced him to call only served to make him look even more crooked, if possible.

So, soon after lamely lying to the assembled media that “I issued the explanation letter on Paul Phua’s status to the FBI, and it was not a support letter for not charging Paul Phua, as reported by pro-opposition news portals,” he turned from self-defensive to attack-dog mode against the allegedly offending portals.

'Culture of spinning'

First, whining to his captive audience of minions in the monthly Home Ministry assembly that the ministry at large was under assault, when in fact he personally is the sole target, then yapping that “these news portals are always on the hunt for negative news,” and have a “culture of spinning”.

This was rich indeed, considering the culture of secrecy and spin that Zahid and his underlings insist on in the news media dominated and/or owned by the BN regime.

This reality notwithstanding, however, Zahid then proceeded to go totally rabid in an attempt to turn the tired old “man bites dog” line to his account with a laughable attempt to “joke” that “the postman who is bitten by a dog is a normal thing, no need to be written as news. But if a postman bites a dog, that is news for them. So they are always looking for postmen who bite dogs .”

At which point - one has to wonder - is this man not only as crooked as the proverbial dog’s hind leg, as evidenced in general by his membership of the BN regime and in particular, by his denial that the 14K triad exists in Malaysia or that “gambling kingpin” Phua ( left ) belongs to the thing, but also a few huskies short of a sled-team?

Whatever, all his frothing at the mouth about postmen and dogs only serves to remind me, and doubtless many others, that the 14K triad, whether and where it exists and who is or is not a member, could hardly be more criminal than the BN K9 so-called government.

An organisation that - under cover of its false claims to defend royalty, race and God - is as busy as ever ensuring that Malaysia goes to the dogs.

Where top dogs are free to make a killing, in every sense of the word; their poodles in the police, judiciary, media, Election Commission and every other conceivable sector of society are trained and paid to sit, fetch and perform sundry other cunning stunts on their behalf; and the critics, opponents and all the millions of passive, powerless underdogs can go begging.

Begging for scraps like subsidies and occasional bones like 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) and election-day bribes to help them afford overpriced, crony-monopolised goods, services and tolls.

Begging for an end to endemic nepotism, rent-seeking and corruption, and begging for justice to be done in the name of the vast majority of Malaysians who are sick to doggone death of seeing regime-connected crimes - ranging from massive theft and fraud, to murder - go unpunished.

A case in point being, to mention just one of hundreds because it’s particularly topical right now, the shooting and dismemberment with C4 military explosives of the Mongolian translator in the Scorpene submarines corruption scandal, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Dog's breakfast

What an absolute dog’s breakfast the K9 BN regime has made of this. Changing judges, failing to call key witnesses and persons of interest, erasing the victim’s immigration records, permitting the two finally accused to always appear hooded to conceal their identities: the list of irregularities and illegalities is almost endless.

And all that we underdogs have to show for all our years of begging and hounding the regime for justice, are two photographs purporting to be of the perpetrators, and the news that one of these murderous mongrels has somehow gone astray.

To Australia it seems, of all places, or so the police apparently suggest, where he finds himself unable to afford to travel back to Malaysia.

A shaggy-dog if not outright dingo story if ever I heard one, as Australia - like many other countries - doesn’t grant entry visas to foreign nationals without return tickets home.

But if it turns out that the suspect is indeed down here, at least I hope that Canberra will refuse to extradite him back to Malaysia on the grounds that he is facing the death sentence there, and that thus he will be free to tell all about who unleashed him and his co-accused on the late, lamented Altantuya, and why.

Let’s not get our hopes up too high, however. Like the mafia, the yakuza, the 14K triad and other similar criminal gangs, the K9 BN regime undoubtedly sees informers and other truth-tellers as ‘dogs’ to be disposed of.

Which is why it’s so vital that we witnesses to the truth keep reminding ourselves that we may not have the killer instincts or vicious temperaments of our criminal enemies, but our numbers are so overwhelming that if we hunt in packs together, our collective bark will eventually beat their bite.

DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he coaches and mentors writers and authors and practises as a writing therapist. Published books of his columns for Malaysiakini include ‘Mad about Malaysia', ‘Even Madder about Malaysia', ‘Missing Malaysia', ‘1Malaysia.con’ and ‘Malaysia Mania’.