Malaysian Abu Ghraib - Battleground for UMNO factions

Well, it’s bad news for us ordinary people, if the fears of Malaysian Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) come true again. Lim had earlier predicted correctly that the Malaysian police would go after the person who took the video shot of police abuse rather than the police woman abuser caught in the film terrorizing the naked Chinese detainee.

This time, according to Lim, the various UMNO factions are using the Malaysian Abu Ghraib scandal as an issue to hang up and display their ethnic credentials. There are more or less two camps, and the Prime Minister may not be completely in charge as it seems.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar leads the powerful pro-police resistance together with a number of ministers, and undoubtedly backed to the hilt by the police top brass.

Noh has projected himself as the Number One man in defending the police against complaints of abuses. He has taken on a non-negotiable stand in the Malaysian police Abu Ghraib scandal, declaring in the most arrogant and dismissive manner that the police actions had been in accordance with rules and regulations. He has basically declared that universally recognised forms of abuses are part and parcel of the Malaysian Police treatment for detainees.

He contemptuously told the media that foreign nationals, meaning the Chinese (and other previously abused ethnic groups), can go back to their countries if they think the Malaysian police are cruel. That should make him look good as a fiery ethnic hero.

He is obviously grandstanding to the Malay constituency to enhance his UMNO position, wanting to be seen as a strong resolute leader in asserting the sovereign right of Malaysia (or Malays) to do what it pleases, even to be cruel. He has virtually disregarded the issue of prescribed laws and human rights standards. I shudder to think of this bloke as a future Prime Minister.

To make matters worse, Rafidah Aziz, Minister for International Trade and Industry, averred with great confidence that the police abuse of the Chinese woman will not affect trade relations between Malaysia and China. As Lim Kit Siang said with dismay, this minister is a woman and yet fails miserably to defend the human rights of women and their right to dignity and respect for the human personality. Unlike several UMNO ministers, Rafidah has not condemn the Abu Ghraib-ish abuse.

The Abu Ghraib scandal has provided the backdrop for an internal UMNO Party struggle as some ambitious personalities like Noh assert their reputation as resolute Malay Warriors defending sovereign rights (but not human rights) while almost-has-been Rafidah attempts to rejuvenate her faltering image by being the lady Hang Tuah.

The original Hang Tuah, a chivalrous and chaste warrior, would have rolled in his grave at the very thoughts of these modern wannabes of him, as they discard human rights in place of personal interests.

Everyone wants to see what Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Badawi will do. Will he steamroll ahead a la Dr Mahathir, or more likely as many suspect, water down the independent inquiry that he wants set up to probe the disgraceful police misconduct. It will be a reflection of his strength within the UMNO hierarchy.