Bickering politicians affirm justice dances to power's tune

Summary

• Puad Zarkashi, Rafizi Ramli, and Wan Saiful bicker about political persecution and how cases surface and vanish.

• Puad cites cases against Umno leaders Najib and Zahid to drive home the point.

Politicians across the divide - including past and present prime ministers - have long accused the police, MACC, attorney-general, and the courts of dancing to the executive’s tune and choreographing cases against political nemeses.

Now, those claims resurface as a war of words erupts between Umno’s Puad Zarkashi, Bersatu’s Wan Saiful Wan Jan, and PKR’s Rafizi Ramli.

Puad fired the first shot, warning Rafizi – who has been on the offensive since losing his PKR deputy presidency and quitting as minister - not to go too far with his criticism or risk landing behind bars.

“Cases can be found,” he cautioned the Pandan MP.

Undeterred, Rafizi shot back that he was prosecuted and sentenced during Umno-BN’s reign - a jab clearly aimed at framing his case as politically driven.

Not one to sit out, Wan Saiful jumped in, claiming that cases don’t just surface - they can also disappear, hinting that the authorities and courts are easily bent to political will.

This prompted Puad, who believes that imprisoned former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was not accorded a fair hearing, to remind Wan Saiful of Bersatu’s partnership with Pakatan Harapan before they split in 2020.

“Wan Saiful forgets that when Bersatu was colluding in Harapan 1.0, three of Rafizi’s convictions were expunged. Even sentences could be changed from imprisonment to good behaviour.

“That’s why Rafizi was able to contest in the 15th general election,” Puad said in a social media post.

According to the Umno state assemblyperson, it was during that “collusion” that many of his party’s leaders, including Najib and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, were slapped with dozens of charges.

“In fact, Najib had SRC cases 1 and 2. He was accused for six years without trial.

“Don’t forget, (Muar MP) Syed Saddiq (Syed Abdul Rahman) claimed his corruption case was politically motivated, saying he was a victim of persecution by (then prime minister) Muhyiddin (Yassin).

“Remember, when you were in power, cases against you could be pursued - but they weren’t. You simply erased them,” Puad added.

Bersatu and the opposition, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad, now accuse Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of the very abuse he once condemned - manipulating the wheels of justice, just like Mahathir and past BN leaders.

The ongoing spat comes amid the Malaysian Bar reminding Putrajaya of the 1988 legal saga - a constitutional crisis that saw executive interference in the judiciary and allegations of judicial interference against a Federal Court judge.

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