vox populi small thumbnail 'This seems to be a common trait among our cabinet ministers - any screw up and junior officers get the blame.'

Nazri clarifies Teoh's 'weak character' remark

People Power: Minister in the PM's Department Nazri Aziz, your officers prepared the statement and you just read it out without understanding? Is that is how Malaysian ministers give press statements? Oh my God, that's embarrassing.

Chuath: How insulting and illogical to draw such inferences of ‘weak character' when there is no basis for it. How can we trust Nazri when he dares to read out such nonsense?

Did he not even question such statements given to him? It is a sign of weak character to blame others when things go wrong.

Tailek: Nazri, as a minister and a lawyer to boot, shouldn't you double check what your officers tell you? Take responsibility for the blunder and apologise, rather than put the blame on your officers.

This seems to be a common trait among our cabinet ministers - any screw up and junior officers are blamed. All you guys went to the same ministerial training school or what?

Hello: The minister, in unveiling the RCI report, must refrain from giving his own opinion, after all the RCI is not his report. In doing so, he is seen as trying to deflect the conclusions of the RCI and this leads to public inference of a cover-up by the government.

Keropok Lekor: "The commission found that Teoh (Beng Hock) was hardworking, diligent, responsible, devoted to his family, loved children, and was faithful to his boss" - of course to Nazri and Umno, this is weak character.

If you steal, take huge 'commissions', threaten to kill other races with a keris, blow up people with C4, then they will say you are of sterling character.

Eric Koay: If Teoh is of weak character, don't you think he would have told the officers whatever they wanted to hear at the first possible moment and beg for his life? Teoh didn't. He was a strong and brave man.

It took three arrogant, gangster-like BN pawns to continuously torture him, yet Teoh would not sway one bit. That was why Teoh was found dead the next day.

To me, that is not the characteristics of a weak person. The one who laughed at people who were tear gassed and went back on his own word is a weak character.

Quigonbond: The minister completely misses the point. The point is not what Teoh's personality is. The point is if the RCI's findings show the cause of his "suicide" as a result of aggressive interrogation techniques and mind manipulation, then there is a manslaughter charge to be made.

The attorney-general and the government will be sorely remiss in their duty to just slap the officers on the wrist through disciplinary action for disobeying SOP (standard operation procedures).

Mr Kalai: This conclusion is like saying it was the parang that murdered, not the person who was using the parang.

NGOs insist DAP's Teoh was murdered

Anonymous: Teoh has been interrogated in relation to suspicion of corrupt practices for a miserable sum.

Regardless of whether he was guilty or not of any crime, it has now been established that the MACC officers had gone overboard in their interrogation methods beyond the scope of the commission's SOP. The officers' overzealousness, best known to themselves as to why they did it, resulted in Teoh's death.

However, be it suicide, manslaughter or murder, shouldn't the officers be subject to due process of the law? In this instance, consideration the gravity of the result of their abuse (ie death), the punishment should go beyond departmental disciplinary action.

I2I: The three MACC officers named are responsible for Teoh's death. They had used unlawful and barbaric methods resulting in Teoh's death. The question is, what punishments are these three MACC officers going to receive?

Charge them in court to get justice? Sack them from MACC's service without pension? Or, just some disciplinary action to transfer them to some other offices?

An innocent man, getting married the next morning and expecting a child, died in their charge. Whether Teoh's death was suicide, homicide or murder, the fact is Teoh died because of the unlawful actions of the three officers.

Anonymous_3e14: The RCI members also ‘cari makan'. So, they've managed to produce the most expedient conclusion from their know-how/findings.

But one thing that is quite obvious is they dare not hurt the MACC and the government despite knowing clearly that Teoh was under MACC's custody at the time of his death.

If the MACC and the government is not responsible for his death, then who else?

Onyourtoes: RCI, please explain to us how you fellows have come to the conclusion that when Teoh died, he died alone and that no one was with him or present?

After all, MACC officers seem to be a pack of liars, so how can they ever be trusted on anything they say? They colluded and lied to protect themselves, so the obvious course of action is to "compel" them to tell the truth.

Ketuanan Rakyat: Umnoputras have come up another way to murder and get away with it. Push the person you want to kill to the edge and let him fall. Thereafter, claim that he committed suicide under extreme pressure. It is then not murder. What a stupid conclusion this RCI has come up with.

Durian: No thanks to the ‘madman', Malaysia has turned into a country full of individuals with no conscience and willingly become scums of society although holding esteemed positions in the government, military, police, judiciary, civil service, etc.

Lim Chong Leong: To force a man to kill himself is just as guilty someone pulling the trigger himself.

Ex-minister: EC should bring in opposition members

Sarajun Hoda: Minister Nazri Aziz, while replying to reporters on TV3 news recently said that the EC is an independent institution and that it can decide if it wanted members from the opposition or independents to sit on the commission.

But in the same breath, Nazri also said, let the EC propose the names and "rundinglah dengan kerajaan" (discuss it with the government).

So, he is admitting at the end of the day, it is the BN government that decides? So what independent commission is he talking about?

Boiling Mud: Where were people like Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir when they were in power and could do something for the rakyat?

Mirror thyself: I believe many ministers would support Kadir's stand, but none is prepared to sacrifice his/her positions and luxuries until the gravy train is destroyed.

Alan Goh: Not only should the Election Commission bring in opposition members, it should be seen to be ‘bersih' and not beholden to the ‘kotor' Umno/BN: that goes for MACC and the judiciary too, for a start. Otherwise, talk is cheap.

MatrixLYN: Why is it that all these politicians, that only after they lose their posts, they talk sense?

 

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .