COMMENT | A miracle happened last week! A man who could not walk suddenly found life in his puny legs.

One minute, disgraced Arau MP, Shahidan Kassim justified his meeting with an unchaperoned 15-year-old girl in his car at 11.30pm, because he "could not walk".

The next we know, a miracle had occurred. His legs became strong enough for him to make the arduous 10-hour journey, of 7,000km, to Mecca. Praise be to God!

The public had reacted with fury at Shahidan's daft excuses, especially as previous allegations about his philandering ways had been dismissed by the Umno-Baru authorities.

He could not quash the negative publicity over his alleged sexual misconduct, despite his victim's retraction of the police report. His lawyers' threats to sue anyone who commented on his alleged molestation, have also backfired.

Only a person like Shahidan would think Malaysians will believe him. For some inexplicable reason, guilt-ridden Umno-Baru politicians like to choose Mecca as their 'platform' to show Malays at home that they are innocent, and that God is on their side.

Why do these Malay politicians do it? Why denigrate Islam? Why insult the intelligence of the Malays? Why make Malays the laughing stock of Malaysians?

Scurrying off to Mecca, just before a story is about to break and further tarnish their reputations, or because an arrest warrant has been issued, causes those who are not "holier-than-thou", to wonder: Do high profile people on the pilgrimage go because they want to perform their religious vows? Or is it more accurate to say they go to whitewash their image?

Disgraced former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, and his equally disgraceful spouse, the self-styled former First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM) Rosmah Mansor, scooted to Mecca at various points in Najib's tenure. To pray for salvation. To ask for God's forgiveness. To show that he is God's chosen one. We have lost track of the number of times he has visited Mecca, but it was almost always on the verge of a new scandal...