If Najib walks free like Azalina is alluding, Malaysia will be no different from "Animal Farm"

If Najib walks free like Azalina is alluding, Malaysia will be no different from "Animal Farm"


11 Mar 2025 • 3:30 PM MYT


TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: NH Online / Word Histories


In a written parliamentary reply on Lim Lip Eng (Kepong, DAP) Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman has recently declared that a prisoner like Najib can be released into house arrest under existing law , without the need for new legislation.


According to her, Section 3 of the Prisons Act 1995 grants the minister of home affairs the authority to declare any home, building, or place as a “prison” for detaining inmates.


"In other words, the home minister has the power to declare a house as a lawful place to detain prisoners, subject to provisions under the Prisons Act," she said.


Listening to Azalina reminds me of the famed dystopian novel, Animal Farm, written by George Orwell in 1945.


In the novel, after the animals had liberated themselves from the clutches of the humans, they will adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, "All animals are equal".


The pigs however, who became corrupted by power after the revolution that overthrew the humans, would later amend the commandment to say: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".


Najib as a citizen and a prisoner, I suppose, is equal to every other citizen and prisoner, in that he was convicted and sentenced for the crime of corruption, just like any other citizen of the country, but we must understand, that just like how the animals in the Animal Farms were made to understand, that some prisoners and citizens are more equal than others.


That is why though the law will take effect on someone like Najib, just like how it will take effect on anyone of us, the manner that the law will take effect is not the same.


For the rest of us regular “animals”, if we are guilty of corruption, even if it was just for tens or hundreds of thousands of ringgit, we might be apprehended immediately and face the full brunt of law.


If the “pigs”, who are more equal than us “regular animals” are guilty of corruption however, even to the tune of hundreds of millions or billions of ringgit on the other hand, we cannot expect them to be arrested immediately or face the full brunt of law.


Even if they are sentenced, we should get used to seeing them roaming free and having the time of their life for years, while waiting for their appeal to be processed.


Even if their appeal is rejected, not to worry, they might still be granted a pardon and serve the remainder of their sentence from the comfort of their own house.


If any one of us were to say no, this cannot happen, because no convicted criminal in the country has ever been granted the privilege to serve their sentence from the comfort of their house, it will be we that will be faulted for understanding the law.


The law, the "experts" will tell us, actually does allow for convicted criminals to serve their sentence from the comfort of their house. Just because it has never been done before, it doesn’t mean it cannot be done now.


And if you were to ask why should it be done now, when it has never been done before, I think your question will be answered with silence.


It will be answered in silence because it will be us that will be expected to understand by ourselves, that “some animals are more equal than others” in the Animal Farm.


That being the case, we should know by ourselves why some convicted prisoners will be able to serve the remainder of their sentence from the comfort of their house, while others will have to resign themselves to sleep on the concrete floor of their prison cell until their prison term expires.


At the rate that our country is being turned into an Animal Farm, I won’t be surprised that after he is released into house arrest, we might even find Najib walking around in the mall or enjoying himself at a restaurant.


If you were to ask why is Najib roaming around as if he is free, when he is supposed to be in house arrest, I have an inkling that the “experts” might again answer us by saying that it is us that is at fault by not understanding how the law works.


When the law says that Najib is supposed to undergo house arrest, they might tell us, it didn’t mean “house” as in a location with one specific address.


“House”, the experts might tell us, can be defined as many different locations.


As a matter of fact, “house”, they might even tell us, can be defined as any place that Najib’s foot is stepping on.


Therefore, if you find Najib in a restaurant or a mall, rest assured that Najib is still under house arrest, because the restaurant and the mall can also be considered as being a part of his house.


Right now as you read this, you might be laughing, because you think I am joking.


To that, all I will say is, give it a few more years, my friends, and you might be surprised by how you might have changed your mind.


The book “Animal Farm” will end with Napoleon, the head of the pigs, holding a dinner party for the pigs and local farmers, who the animal revolution had originally overthrown, to celebrate a new alliance.


The other farm animals, who have not been invited, will gather at the window to watch the party.


As they watch, they will see the men and the pigs start playing cards, flattering and praising each other while cheating at the game. Both Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington, one of the farmers, play the ace of spades at the same time and both sides begin fighting loudly over who cheated first.


At this point, when the animals outside look at the pigs and men, they can no longer distinguish between the two.


Many people are already saying that the reformasi movement which had purportedly overthrown the corrupt regime of the past, is already “playing cards” with the corrupted.


If Najib comes out, I have a feeling like the animals at the end of the Animal Farm, we are also going to be looking at those who claim that they are a part of the Reformasi movement and the corrupted individuals that they fought against and overthrew, and not be able to distinguish as to who is who.