Social and anti-graft activist Robert Phang appears to have hit the raw nerve of the government with the latest allegation that attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had gone on a trip to Mecca with former Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) chairman Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy Shahidan Shafie.

Tajuddin is locked in an alleged RM8 billion MAS scandal which was exposed and backed by confidential documents produced recently by blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

For the AG to be allegedly associated with a possible crime and for him to remain silent on the allegations, unable to even go on record to deny the allegations, is worrying.

The public’s perception is that the allegations are true because the AG is unable to act or deny against the allegations.

Phang has said he had received many calls from friends who showed concern for his well-being, advising him to be cautious with anti-graft issues. Phang is a panel member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory committee.

It is his duty to fight graft without fear or favour.

In fact, more than a year after the establishment of the MACC, Phang is clearly the only member who has consistently displayed some guts in the fight against graft with his relentless public statements, with some of them even being critical of the MACC itself.

The others, meanwhile, have been shy of publicity, rendering themselves as MACC puppets or showpieces. They are only interested in keeping up with their appointments.

Excuse me Nazri, AG is answerable

What is more worrying is the ‘blind support’ for the AG from government officials such as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz.

In defending the AG, Nazri had been quoted as saying that Patail was not accountable to Phang or the people; instead, only to Parliament.

For a politician to say that, he must really be ‘blind’. If politicians are not accountable to the people, why then are millions of Malaysian citizens called to the national polls once every five years to elect their representatives to Parliament and the state assemblies?

The Mecca trip is not the only anti-graft issue that has been targeted at the AG directly or indirectly. In recent months, many allegations linked to anti-graft or abuse of power have been raised via internet news portals.

All have been met with muted response from the AG, MACC and the government.

To the public, silence is taken as admission of guilt. Why then the silence? The office of the AG must uphold its dignity because it is the integral part of the judicial system. The world is observing the judicial system of this country.

Nazri’s ‘blind support’ statement is thus worrying because as a senior minister, whatever he says is taken as the government’s stand.

In this case, the world is not only laughing at Malaysia’s judicial system, but the investors, both foreign and local, will not be amused.

Their confidence on our judicial system is eroding daily with one scandal after another being exposed.

Like what Phang has urged, the AG and the government must come clean on all the allegations to maintain the confidence of investors who are the lifeline of the country’s economic progress.

The more we lose more foreign investors to our neighbours, the more the government and people will suffer. Clearly, justice and the fight against graft are issues that need the serious attention of the government, not silence.