Is the Ulu Tiram police station attack a sign that lawlessness is unfolding in Malaysia?

Focus Malaysia:

Is the Ulu Tiram police station attack a sign that lawlessness is unfolding in Malaysia?

By Nehru Sathiamoorthy


I HAVE said it before and I will say it again: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim could be unknowingly ushering in a reign of lawlessness in Malaysia.

A few months ago, the mother and daughter duo of Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman who mounted a constitutional challenge that nullified 16 provisions in Kelantan’s syariah criminal laws complained that they have been receiving an endless number of death threats as a result.

A few days later, Johor police chief M. Kumar said he received a bomb threat through e-mail. This came after earlier reports that three government agencies in Johor Bahru had received similar threats.

Not too long ago, three KK Super Mart outlets were attacked with petrol bombs.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a spate of assaults, including acid attack on football players in the country, became so out-of-hand that Selangor FC had withdrawn from the Charity Shield game against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).

In the wee hours of yesterday (May 17), two police constables were killed (and a third seriously wounded) in the attack on a police station in Ulu Tiram, Johor.

Now how is all this connected to Anwar, you might ask? Well, all these cases of lawlessness might be indirectly connected with Anwar who is setting a bad example for the nation.

In his handling of such issues like Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s DNAA (Dismissal Not Amounting to Acquittal), Najib’s partial pardon or in the manner that he is using the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to settle his personal scores, Anwar’s reckless behaviour is sending the signal that to be on top, you have to dare to break the system for only losers and weaklings are bound by the system.


Wrong signal

When the top leader in the country is unabashedly sending the message that you have to dare to break the system to remain relevant, then as sure as night follows day, those among us who see themselves as winners and champions will clamour to break the system.

People, as a rule, follow examples – not instructions – whereby examples are provided by leaders and those who are in the top positions.

Anwar can preach about following the process and procedures until the cows come home but it is his example that people will follow, not his instructions.

There is a limit to how many times people can witness the top leader in the country taking the law in his own hands and behaving as if he is smart and capable just because he is in a position to bend the system with impunity.

That we are seeing back-to-back cases of death threats, bomb threats, acid attacks and now an assault on a police station and police officers is likely a sign that the people’s trust and respect in our laws, authority and institutions is being rapidly eroded.

It takes generations of good and virtuous leaders to establish a process, procedure and system that can inspire the confidence of the people to follow them to the point that they bring peace, happiness and prosperity to the country.

One reckless and careless leader who believes that he is so special that he is not bound by any laws and procedures that governs everybody else is often all it takes to bring down what took generations to build. – May 18, 2024



Nehru Sathiamoorthy is a roving tutor who loves politics, philosophy and psychology.