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YOURSAY | ‘What a turn of events one election makes.’

Zahid slapped with 45 charges for CBT, receiving gratification, money laundering

Vijay47: The continuing adventures of Umno president Ahmad “Bungalow Bill” Zahid Hamidi is a well-concocted soup with something for everyone. 

Considering that it involves an Umno leader, most of it I can take in stride, though there is one particular item that defies logic and would be good fodder for Ripley Esq. 

Coming from a gang which insists that the huge stashes of cash found at home were to facilitate election expenses, it is rather strange that much of Zahid’s alleged transactions were by way of countless cheques, and this despite follow-the-paper-trail sleuths like PKR deputy president candidate Rafizi Ramli and Damansara MP Tony Pua running wild.

But there is a simple explanation – the arrogant conviction that Umno would rule forever and nobody would dare put the Indonesian warrior under the microscope. All the same, one does wonder whether there was anything for which the man did not demand reward.

Next, we have Zahid’s encounter with the donation-distributing Arab, an act not usually achieved by mortals expect perhaps gentlemen toting two coconuts and a bamboo telescope, that is, the ability to meet people who, like Elvis, have left the building to meet their Maker. But with the spirituality Umno and PAS leaders claim, anything is possible. 

But what takes the almighty Indonesian kue (cake) is that here we have a man being charged with indulging in all manner of financial depravity running into millions of ringgit, and yet we have crowds baying that the innocent virgin is being violated. Only in Malaysia, folks, only in Malaysia. 

Hope: I think Umno is starting to realise they are the opposition party now. Right now, there is no one higher up to protect any alleged wrongdoing by their party members anymore, since they are no longer in charge.

The tables have turned, with their president and ex-president both charged with bribery and money laundering at the same time.

While not long ago they still walked with a swagger (like Umno Sungai Besar division chief Jamal Md Yunos once did), now they are probably feeling cold sweat running down their backs.

Anyone from Umno who has done wrong in the previous government must be having a fit every time someone presses their doorbells at night, wondering if there is a MACC official at the door.

We all know very well after dealing with the top brass, MACC will continue down the line to others. What a turn of events one election makes.

FairMind: It is interesting to note that these 45 charges amounting to RM114 million were only relating to the years 2014 to 2018.

Zahid has a long political career both in Umno and Malaysian government. Can one imagine how much can be unearthed if one were to look into his earlier years?

Sunshine: Another very significant day of reckoning with the rule of law for someone who had long been in a position of power under Umno.

In one sense, it is also an occasion for ordinary people to have a cathartic expression of emotional release to witness alleged wrongdoers in high political office being brought to book on allegations of the corrupt acceptance of monies, money laundering and amassing disproportionate assets.

The nation is surely going to be better for this corrective effort by its enforcement agencies. Any attempts to subvert this process by a show of protest or force by supporters should be deemed as felonious.

Undecided: It's staggering. The proverb "There is no smoke without fire" rings so true in the gratification cases, especially the one involving giving licences to the import of Nepali workers.

This was widely reported in news dailies and internet portals but was ignored by MACC then.

Don't let your spirit be broken, Khairy urges Umno members

Sirach: Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, the sooner you distance yourself from the alleged (and soon-to-be proven) criminality within the upper echelons of your disgraced party, the better.

I know your political future hangs on the support from the grassroots, but don't sell your soul for political glory, brother.

A leader is supposed to lead, and not follow the misguided whims of the masses. The little respect that you still have among some Malaysians will evaporate if you buy into the narrative that this is selective prosecution.

The details in the charges proffered against your two former bosses make it amply clear that there is very much for them to answer for.

If you can steer the party back to the right path, out of the deep swamp into which it has sunk (a herculean task for anyone, let alone you on your own), then you will have contributed much to the emergence of a respectable two-party democracy that we all wish for.

But when you join forces with the likes of the tainted Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa and are seen to support (even by way of lip service) the alleged criminality of your pillaging leaders, you are not going to win any brownie points with the rakyat.

Stand for principle, man! Say something like, “The law must take its course.” You'll get hammered by the Neanderthal fringe within the party, but your self-respect will be intact and you may survive to fight another day.

When you show support like this, it just makes you out to be cut out of the same cloth. Unless I'm mistaken, I doubt you want to be characterised that way.

Overseas: Khairy, the problem with your statement that "our strength and loyalty, however, rest on the strength of the grassroots”, is that the grassroots are, generally, loyal; your party, however has been utterly disloyal to them. 

You and others from your party can only blame others for the absolute disgraceful position you find yourselves in. In fact, it is your own members who have brought this sad state of affairs on you all. It is time for honesty.

Roger 5201: Come on Khairy, please show your support when the cause is a righteous one.  Umno must renounce money politics, racism, bigotry and instituted corruption if it wants to stand for clean governance. Only then will the party be credible and relevant.

Vent: The vulture moves in. After all, what is Khairy or where will he be without Umno? It remains his only route to possible stardom in the future.

He's smart enough to know that, unless he stops singing that litany about “agama, bangsa, dan negara” and jumps ship of course. But certainly not on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's watch.

Demi Rakyat: The only chance for Umno is to get rid of all their precious "leaders". There are many more to go.

Once all these are removed, then Umno can truly transform and be useful again. Umno members must wake up and not continue to be deceived.


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