What is happening in Malaysia?
Yesterday evening, a “Datuk” and two other people, were killed in a shooting incident on Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in George Town, Penang.
The police said that the 32 year-old “Datuk”was Ong Teik Kwong and that the shooter was Ong’s bodyguard.
Ong was driving the car when his bodyguard, shot him, then shot another passenger in the vehicle. Despite his injuries, the passenger managed to escape.
The bodyguard’s stray bullets hit four other bystanders, and two of them were shot whilst the others were rushed to hospital.
Police have since, arrested the bodyguard.
Questions and more questions
Apart from the seriousness of this shooting, one glaring observation cannot be ignored.
One: Datukships from Pahang
The victim was a “Datuk”. Awarded from Pahang.
In the olden days, one had to perform a life’s worth of charitable work, and good deeds to the community, or bring honour to the state or to Malaysia, to be awarded a Datukship.
Nowadays Datuks appear to be in their early thirties.
Soon, they will be in their teens.
i) If anecdotal evidence is to be believed, many of these dodgy “Datuks” have alleged links to the underworld? So what is happening to the vetting system of being awarded these “Datukships”. There are serious quality control issues to be resolved.
ii) Why do many dodgy characters receive their awards from Pahang? Food for thought…
iii) Is the recipient of the award, vetted by the police, to check his background, even for minor offences?
These questions have to be answered to maintain the respect of the rakyat, for the royal household.
Two: Armed bodyguards
How many “bodyguards” are there in Malaysia, guarding so called important “Datuks”?
What do many of these Datuks do?
Why do they need bodyguards and worse still, armed bodyguards?
Perhaps, the IGP can answer these questions:
i) How many police permits, for gun ownership, have been issued to “Datuks” throughout Malaysia?
ii) How many guns have been issued to bodyguards?
iii) Is the bodyguards mental state assessed by a qualified and competent person?
iv) Have background checks been made on the bodyguard, his family and his previous crime record, if any?
A man who needs an armed bodyguard means that he has many enemies. Why would someone like that, become a Datuk?
Do your job, Mr IGP
The IGP refuses to arrest troublemakers and finds it easier to go after soft targets, like Maria Chin, the leader of Bersih 5, the pro-democracy movement, dancer, Bilqis Hijjas, who released yellow balloons with the words Justice and Democracy printed on them, and cartoonists, like Zunar who draws cartoons, criticising a corrupt regime.
Meanwhile thugs like Jamal Yunos, the Red Shirt leader, the son of the foul mouthed MP, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (both father and son do not respect the institutions of parliament: the father uses crude sexist language in parliament, the son caused a ruckus in parliament trying to defend his father’s ‘honour’) and the thugs from Umno-Baru who stormed and destroyed the exhibits in Zunar’s exhibition, are allowed to escape scot-free, with just a rap on the knuckles.
This is justice, and law enforcement Malaysia style.
Whilst all these are going on, the really dangerous criminals from the underworld roam in society. Why?
What do you expect from Home Minister, Zahid Hamidi who once declared that the Malay gangsters, called Tiga Line were not dangerous and were his friends.
Zahid also sent a letter to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), defending another of these safe “friends”, the illegal gambling operator, Paul Phua Wei-seng.
We wonder why crime including serious and gun crime, is increasing, in Malaysia!
With friends in high places, what do you expect?