MP SPEAKS | The police have started investigating me under Section 550(c) of the Penal Code for making a statement with the intention to incite anyone or race and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1988 for improper use of network facilities or network service over my statement warning Malaysia to not become like Sri Lanka.

Section 505(c) of the Penal Code on “statements conducing to public mischief” states that “whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report with intent to incite or which is likely to incite any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community of persons, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine or with both”.

Section 233 of the CMA on the “improper use of network facilities or network service, etc” states that: “(1) A person who - (a) by means of any network facilities or network service or applications service knowingly (i) makes, creates or solicits; (ii) initiates the transmission of, any comment, request, suggestion or other communication which is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person; (b) initiates a communication using any applications service, whether continuously, repeatedly or otherwise, during which communication may or may not ensue, with or without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person at any number or electronic address, commits an offence.

“(2) A person who knowingly - (a) by means of a network service or applications service provides any obscene communication for commercial purposes to any person; or (b) permits a network service or applications service under the person’s control to be used for an activity described in paragraph (a), commits an offence.

“(3) A person who commits an offence under this section shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both and shall also be liable to a further fine of RM1,000 for every day during which the offence is continued after conviction.”

Kleptocracy at its worst

I have neither incited anyone, any class or community of persons nor have I any intent to incite anyone, any class or community of persons.

I have also not created or initiated any transmission which is “obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person”, but I am prepared to go to jail for warning Malaysians not to become another Sri Lanka.

However, is former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak prepared to go to jail for Malaysia’s infamy, ignominy and iniquity worldwide as “kleptocracy at its worst”?

I am reminded of the book by Najib’s brother, Nazir Abdul Razak, who wrote in ‘What’s In A Name’ the following:

“When we were all still young my brothers and I once trooped into my father’s office with a request to make: we asked him to build a swimming pool on the grounds of Seri Taman.

“My eldest brother Najib was the ringleader, corralling the rest of us to make the case, standing in front of my father’s desk in his study. My father listened to our proposal carefully and then calmly dismissed it. ‘How would it look,’ he asked, eyebrows raised, ‘if the prime minister spent public money on building a swimming pool for his family?” (page 51)

Najib has not learnt from his father, Abdul Razak Hussein, the second prime minister, or we would not have graduated from a swimming pool to 1MDB, “kleptocracy at its worst”, and Malaysia losing its way from becoming a world-class great nation, or to use Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman’s words, “a haven of peace, harmony and happiness” and “a beacon of light in a difficult and distracted world”.

But to become a world-class great nation instead of becoming another Sri Lanka or another Philippines, we must return to the nation-building principles our founding fathers have agreed to in the Constitution - constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and national unity from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity.

Can we return to these founding nation-building principles after we have lost our way in the last half a century? This is the challenge Malaysians are confronted with in the 15th general election which must be held within a year, whether this year or next. We need new political aspirations.

If Najib loves the country, he will contribute to this process of returning Malaysia to the founding nation-building principles our founding fathers, including his father, had agreed to when Malaysia was founded and help remove the national scar where Malaysia was identified as “kleptocracy at its worst” worldwide.

In these circumstances, there is nothing that Najib can do better than to just disappear from the political arena instead of trying to be prime minister again.

LIM KIT SIANG is Iskandar Puteri MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.