COMMENT Although most people have given former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad the thumbs-up with regards to his incessant pursuit of the 1MDB scandal, the talk of the town now is that the doctor has finally tasted his own medicine.

In the current scenario, it is unlikely that Dr Mahathir will ever be arrested or detained, given his age and his seniority within Umno, but unlike his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Dr Mahathir is having a tough time even removing Najib Abdul Razak as the sitting prime minister.

People are saying that Najib is enjoying the fort which was set up by Dr Mahathir himself. For this reason, Najib feels secure as long as he remains in office.

From his office, he can allegedly remove former attorney-general (AG) Abdul Gani Patail and replace him with the present AG Apandi Ali. The police can also allegedly be instructed to detain Dr Mahathir’s two right hand men, Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Matthias Chang, under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

That is how powerful the prime minister’s office has become, but a wrong person filling the office will lead to a major disaster for the country. This is what we have now been witnessing in the past few months.

Sosma, a lesson

In fact, Sosma was voted in by Barisan Nasional members of Parliament in 2012. Currently, it is used against fellow Umno members who are against Najib.

When Sosma was tabled in Parliament, it was the opposition and members of civil society who spoke up against it. No one had expected that Sosma would someday be used against members of the ruling coalition themselves.

Those who voted for it may say that they gave it the support not for it to be abused , but in the first place, why did they vote for it when they knew that there is a tendency for such a law to be abused?

Laugh now! Today, for example, Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi may give his thumbs-up to Sosma, but tomorrow, would he become a victim of Sosma?

There is no one else to blame but those who gave it the thumbs-up. Therefore, when Chang and Khairuddin were arrested, initially under Sosma, the Bar Council had rightly expressed their concerns and shown them their solidarity. The Bar Council has consistently opposed such laws, but my question is: where were Khairuddin and Chang when the people protested against Sosma?

Nonetheless, the civil society and members of the opposition stand in solidarity with both Khairuddin and Chang. Although they were not invited by Dr Mahathir to his press conference on Monday, I believe both the Bar Council and Pakatan Harapan nodded in full agreement with the 90-year-old former prime minister when the press statement was read out.

What goes around comes around; whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Everything will come to an end eventually. Today, Najib may be in power; tomorrow, he, too, may be in handcuffs. God is fair.

In fact, whether you believe it or not, someone told me that he had had a vision of Najib in black-and-white striped T-shirt; the same person had also told former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim that he would go to prison.

I cannot help but put my fingers crossed when I first heard it, but with the investigation on-going in other parts of the world, a black-and-white T-shirt (instead of an orange jumper) could mean a lot! Only God knows!

The maxim is this - today, if you abuse the rights of your fellow humankind, tomorrow, you may be the one languishing in the prison cell yourself. You have only yourself to blame.

Will end eventually

Najib’s eleventh hour attempt to remain in office will soon come to an end, with the issuance of the royal decree last week. Under the federal constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the power to dissolve Parliament, if the sitting prime minister refuses to step down.

If the parliamentary speaker chooses to go against the royal decree by blocking the vote of no-confidence, he, being an Umno leader himself, will make it easy for the opposition to exploit the situation and tell the rural folk that Umno has ‘derhaka’ to the Agong and their Royal Highnesses’ decree.

All odds are now against Najib. Investigations against the Malaysian prime minister have kick-started in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong.

A word of warning - those who are protecting him and 1MDB today may suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law when the tides change.

Therefore, in all sincerity, I appeal to all to adopt a more prudent and reasonable approach in carrying out their official duties - whether they are now the most powerful man or not. There is even a Malay saying, “No matter how good the squirrel is at climbing the tree, at last, it falls to the ground, too.”

What one does now may come under scrutiny when there is a change of regime. This brings to mind the number of insensible and emotional outbursts that have taken place in the last few years, such as burning of effigies and playing on racial cards.

The long arms of the law may return in a few years’ time and take you by surprise. This is a universal and divine rule that we are taught in almost every religion - there is a punishment for the wrong that we do unto others.

And, in case politicians think that they will not go unpunished in this world, they have to better think twice.

Hopefully, with this, upon Najib’s removal, Dr Mahathir’s camp will realise what they have done wrong and make amends to the laws to prevent further abuse of the laws that undermine basic human rights. Let’s put the country in order again, and progress with time.

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