COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that he is depressed because the media is unfair to him. As an observer, I think the contrary is true.

Since coming into office, it is the rakyat who are not only feeling depressed but many of us feel that we are being suppressed in nearly every angle. When cornered, it is either flight or fight back.

Do not blame us if more of us are choosing to fight against a regime headed by Najib that we feel is being unfair to both the rakyat and members of the opposition.

Leaders have to be fair

For example, we know that owner of Media Rakyat, Wong Chee Kong, has sacrificed so much, even without pay, just to bring the latest ceramah to the masses since 2008, but Najib has recently thrown him two lawsuits.

The moment Najib wants to broadcast his message, all TV stations have to oblige; but Wong, he had only a few cheap cameras and some creativity to expand the influence of opposition leaders. Tell me, is that a level playing field?

Not to mention that with expose by Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report, is the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission carrying out their audits and investigations, whereas someone like me and my wife working so hard day and night, not taking a single sen of bribery but saving every sen we could in order to provide for our own family, find ourselves obligingly answering one letter after another from the IRB.

Leaders have to be fair, because in them is vested all the powers,  not the other way around. If leaders become corrupted or abuse their powers, they will be judged many times more severely.

In wanting to be treated fairly by the media, is Najib even being fair to the people especially members of the opposition?

The unfair treatment is not only felt by the non-bumiputra in this country, but even the bumiputra themselves are experiencing the inequality that clearly widens the gap between the rich Umno elites and the ordinary citizens, who have to tighten their belts just to make ends meet.

With the fuel subsidies removed, and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) introduced in April this year despite the huge protest from the rakyat over a year ago, we are not moving towards a high income nation. Instead, our purchasing power is diminishing and the purchasing power parity between Malaysia and the United States would only widen, making us further trapped in the middle income level.

Petrol prices just shot up again, when crude oil prices have tumbled since last year and the Government is now talking about raising the toll again. The rakyat suffer, while the Umno elites such as Culture and Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz  tell us that they have plenty of money.

Has the any agencies conducted the audits or investigations on those in public offices who live beyond their means? If not, why not?

The ringgit has also depreciated against the US dollar. Many of us who have children studying overseas have to fork out more money to pay for their education.

Tell me, which of us feel we have been treated fairly especially when have to pay for the flamboyant lifestyle of a few elites?

We will join the chorus

It is therefore no surprise why as the rakyat are now  joining the chorus in asking what has gone wrong? As a nation, can we afford to allow multi-billion dollar scandals, one after another, to happen before our eyes, and still remain indifferent?

Can we remain a forgiving nation, especially when one culprit after another has plundered the nation’s wealth?

In Indonesia, during Professor Dr Anwar Nasution’s time as deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (central bank), ministers were forced to resign but here in Malaysia, despite the expose by two international media, Najib remains in the highest office. Is that fair?

We have no choice but to join the chorus to ask Najib to step down. This is not being unfair to him, but it is more than what we can take any more.

Now that former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is in jail, more people feel they have to speak up on what Anwar is now unable to say from his prison cell. If the late Karpal Singh were still alive, what would he say about the latest expose by the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report ?

Today, if both Altantuya Shariibuu and Teoh Beng Hock were still alive and each given a vote, who would they vote for? Would the people continue to support Najib should another general election be called tomorrow? Where are the voices of conscience within the cabinet?

The people had given Pakatan Rakyat the mandate with a 52 percent popularity vote in the last general election but, because of the gerrymandering and the way how constituencies were drawn out, Najib is still in Putrajaya, while Anwar is in prison. Tell me, is that fair?

It is Najib who has all the power that he can use to suppress the voices of dissent, but why is he still feeling depressed with the media focusing on his wrongdoings? After all, who has in fact brought this on? Why did the international media not take on former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he was in office?

One will have to reap what he sows. What you do to an innocent man, the punishment will be many times more. Najib and those in power should realise that this is God’s universal law that no one can escape from. God expects leaders to be fair, but if they fail to uphold justice, the judgment on them will be even more severe.

So, what is there to complain about feeling depressed?

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.