Paul Low must resign to restore Malaysia’s lost integrity
Opposition MP says being a Minister of Integrity without having integrity is meaningless and Paul Low must resign over the OSA issue.
By Raja Bahrin Shah
Paul Low has actually spoken out against the further tightening of the Official Secrets Act (OSA). He spoke out against the Attorney-General’s (AG’s) outrageous proposal for life imprisonment and whipping for offenders of the OSA. As it was hard to believe the AG’s statement, I decided to wait a full day just in case Low retracted or modified his statement. Credit should be given where it is due: Low stood by his original statement, which came just days after my earlier article that stated Low’s appointment was more ceremonial and akin to window dressing to fill up the 30 plus ministerial posts. After all, when we have a Minister of Integrity, we expect to hear from him but disappointingly, his noticeable silence for the past two years has been deafening.
The second surprise was a Perkasa spokesperson’s view against the AG’s proposal. Is this the straw that has finally broken the camel’s back? We would like to believe so. However, these unexpected developments would be of little effect if they are not backed by firm actions. Perkasa had warned this might lead to the people’s uprising against the authorities. Low should do the honourable thing and resign as a minister. What good is a man if he does not back his words with firm actions? Like the saying goes, talk is cheap.
After all, Low was previously from Transparency International and now Minister of Integrity. Malaysia lacks both transparency in its administration and integrity in its government and ministers. Low had seen enough in his over two-year stint as minister. His ministry’s window dressing is decorated with silent puppets on strings pulled by its masters. Last year, some of us Parliamentarians were evicted from the Wisma Integrity auditorium during a so-called open briefing. So much for their transparency gimmick.
Low should do the only thing left to be done to redeem his disgraceful inactions as Minister of Integrity after enjoying years of comfortable privileges. He owes this to the rakyat who pay for his salary and perks.
If Low chooses to stay on as Minister of Integrity, he will be a very forgettable and loathed minister who chose to betray the values of the ministry he is supposed to uphold and represent — integrity. Should he choose to resign, he will forever be remembered as a man of honourable principles and of utmost integrity who chose to side with the long-suffering rakyat and did what was right for our beloved nation, “NegaraKu yang dicintai.”
Let the other ministers dance to their political masters’ tune but let us remember as God-fearing citizens that at the end of the day, we are only answerable to our creator: God. To him, we all shall one day return.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Azalina Othman, who is a lawyer, contradicted Low’s stand and agreed with the AG on the harsh OSA issue. Low, who is also from the Prime Minister’s department and in charge of integrity, should make a strong principled stand. What is a country with faulty oppressive laws and an absence of integrity going to stand for? Low must emulate the stand taken by the former Minister of Law Zaid Ibrahim and resign.
If a former minister of law had once resigned on a matter of principle and now the present minister in charge of integrity does likewise, it goes a long way to redeem some of Malaysia’s long-lost credibility with over 30 ministers who lack the political will to carry out reform. It may not be a giant step towards restoring lost credibility but it certainly is a significant symbolic sign that some form of accountability, integrity and sanity still exists amongst Malaysians.
It will give the rakyat much needed hope to carry on and strive for a better Malaysia, which we know we all deserve and are capable of rebuilding again, God willing.
Raja Bahrin Shah is MP for Kuala Terengganu and chairman of the International Affairs Bureau, Parti Amanah Negara.
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram
With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider