KUCHING: Political leaders implicated in scandals should go on a hiatus from their official duties to facilitate the investigation into their cases by the authorities.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Information Chief Datuk Idris Buang (pic) said they should be on leave so as to be seen giving the fullest cooperation to the investigators as they would have fewer excuses and would not cause unnecessary delays due to their daily duties.
According to him, it is also in the interest of justice that no one should be given any special treatment before the law.
“Everyone should be equally treated before the law according to the tenets of human rights and our Constitution. At this very moment our justice and legal system is ‘on trial’ by the world of media,” he said when contacted by the New Sarawak Tribune yesterday in response to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent statement that any leader under investigation has the option of going on leave or remaining on duty so long as he or she has not been proven guilty.
“Is our system and its implementing agency lame? Are they bias-proof and foolproof, or are they honest, efficient and professional?
“Are they dedicated to their respective duties and do they uphold the law in accordance with the spirit of our Constitution?” asked the Muara Tuang assemblyman.
“If the answers concerning the system and its implementation are in the negative, the ultimate result is not only injustice but surely and gradually, anarchy.”
Meanwhile, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak chairman Mohamad Ibrahim Hamid, when contacted, said the matter has to undergo all the judicial processes.
“Unlike in employment, normally an accused workman is suspended while under investigation.”
However, the cases under the Prime Minister are his prerogatives.
“I believe a person is innocent until proven guilty,” he said.
