MP SPEAKS Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed’s statement yesterday that the arrest of Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah under Sosma was not because of terrorism is irrefutable proof that Najib Abdul Razak is the undisputed “U-turn King” and Malaysia’s most untrustworthy prime minister, whose promises and pledges, even in Parliament, are not worth a single sen.

In fact, the extraordinary scenario where the Najib administration, through one minister, makes a solemn pledge about a new law in Parliament is contradicted when the law is implemented by another minister was foreseen by MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok of DAP, during the winding-up debate to enact the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in the Dewan Rakyat on April 17, 2012, when she posed the question:

“Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Seputeh): Yang Berhormat Menteri, kenapakah selepas rang undang-undang ini di luluskan di Dewan ia akan dilaksanakan oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri, tengok Kementerian Dalam Negeri semalam kebanyakkan masa tidak ada, tidak mendengar keluhan daripada pihak di sebelah sini dan juga macam mana dia boleh melaksanakan apa yang dicadangkan oleh Dewan ini.”

At the time, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, who was responsible for the passage of the Sosma bill in Parliament, ridiculed Teresa Kok’s concerns boasting:

“Tuan Yang di Pertua, Yang Berhormat Seputeh, saya ini Menteri yang menjaga Parlimen dan ditambah juga dikatakan sebagai de facto Menteri undang-undang. Ini ada kaitan dengan Parlimen dan ada kaitan dengan undang-undang… kalau saya hendak, saya boleh menjawab bagi mana-mana pihak oleh sebab saya dalam keadaan yang emergency kalau sekiranya ada orang yang tidak dapat hadir, tidak melanggar apa-apa peraturan untuk saya menjawab bagi pihak mana-mana kementerian.”

Nazri went on to make two important pledges: firstly, the Sosma bill “merupakan undang-undang yang menentang keganasan, oleh yang demikian rang undang-undang ini akan berbeza dan tidak bolehlah disamakan dengan undang-undang jenayah yang biasa”; “bertujuan untuk melindungi Malaysia daripada terdedah kepada ancaman pengganas” that Sosma would only be used to fight terrorism.

Secondly, that the Najib cabinet is bound by the principle of collective responsibility - “Kementerian tidak akan hilang, individu akan datang dan pergi dan kita terikat dengan apa juga keputusan yang telah dibuat oleh menteri-menteri yang terlebih awal”.

Clearly, the principle of collective responsibility is meaningless for the Najib premiership, where Sosma was presented to Parliament in 2012 with the specific undertaking that it would be used solely to fight terrorism could be violated and reneged by the same prime minister!

It is time for Najib to speak up as to why he is breaking his undertaking to Parliament made through his Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department on April 17, 2012, that Sosma would not be abused and would only be used to fight terrorism - and whether Najib would ensure that Maria Chin is released from Sosma detention immediately, without any delay.

LIM KIT SIANG is the MP for Gelang Patah and DAP parliamentary leader.