A few weeks ago, G25 member Tawfik Ismail urged the abolition of the Malaysian Islamic Development Agency (Jakim). He was short-sighted. He should have added the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to the list of agencies bound for the scrapheap.

Why? The latest absurdity from the MACC is that it cannot reveal the donor of Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.6 billion because it violates the MACC Act 2009 . So, after months of detailed investigation and probably millions of ringgits in manpower and resources, we are back to square one.

Is it any wonder that a few hapless individuals join banned terrorist organisations, out of sheer frustration, hoping that they can make a difference through violence?

Perhaps, they realise that talking to their MPs was unproductive. They know that clean voting is impossible, as it is common knowledge that the government machinery allows the ruling party to cheat.

On the other hand, people who have the means to emigrate will not hesitate to do so, because they have lost hope in Malaysia.

The MACC is a failed institution. It failed Teoh Beng Hock, and now it thinks it can fool the public.

This simple timeline shows the authorities meticulous, and painstaking plan to hoodwink us.

i) In mid-November 2015, the MACC said that it would not compromise the integrity of its investigations, and would not be pushed to make a hasty decision. It brushed aside the suggestion to seek Interpol’s help to locate two executives of SRC International, Nik Faisal and Suboh Md Yassin, for questioning.

ii) On Dec 3, Parliament was told that the identity of the donor of Najib’s RM26 billions cannot be revealed as the MACC was in the middle of its probe. The deputy PM, Zahid Hamidi, said that a statement could affect the investigations.

We should have realised from Zahid's remark that this would lead to a cover-up. When have the Malaysian government been concerned about statements affecting the outcome or the integrity of its investigations?

The outcome was decided long before the investigation was started. They banked on the rakyat’s patience and hoped that we would be distracted by other issues.

iii) On Dec 27, the MACC director of special operations, Bahri Mohamad Zin, claimed that although he was willing to give the information, his hands were tied , and he said, “MACC has no problem revealing the details of the investigation if it did not violate the laws. However, the current provisions do not allow MACC to do so.”

There you have it. Done and dusted!

No one has any confidence in the government of Malaysia or its institutions. More's the pity that the opposition is weak, and former judges, policemen and heads of the civil service have probably been threatened to prevent them from speaking out against corruption.

Arrogance and intransigence

Former PM Mahathir Mohamad’s arrogance and Najib Abdul Razak’s intransigence have compromised the government institutions and robbed us of our dignity. We pity those who love Najib for his Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), instead of demanding a better government. Umno Baru has crippled many minds.

The checks and balances needed to contain power-hungry politicians have gone, thanks to Mahathir. The irony is that today, even he cannot undo the bad that he has done. No one can make the leaders accountable.

Nobody said that democracy was going to be easy. The Malays are taught that Islam is their way of life, so that when institutions like Jakim say that “black” is “white”, the Muslims are afraid to contradict Jakim. They are afraid that their report-card to God may stop them from entering Heaven.

It may sound ridiculous, but it is the reality of life in Malaysia. Malays have been turned into robots, controlled by both Jakim and their masters, Umno Baru.

The non-Malays are not without blame. They are afraid to comment on issues which they feel are predominantly Muslim issues. Muslims issues are also Malaysian issues, and every feedback is important.

Malaysians hate being taken for fools. Day after day, we are fobbed-off with one excuse after another to protect the failures of the politicians, their corruption and their crimes. Basically, politicians, and the men running the government agencies, lie.

Our leaders get away with wrongdoing, time after time. The long-suffering rakyat is the victim.

If you want to do something, try and stop Najib’s National Security Council Bill. He has the institutions like the MACC eating out of his hand; so do not allow the NSC to inflict more damage, not just on your liberties, but also on the way of life of you and your children.

A Merry New Year to you, and best wishes for 2016.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).