As a Christian, I cannot keep to my seat, or shut my mouth and stay neutral over issues of morality.
So I emerge today from my several months of silence and non-involvement to say that what transpired yesterday is immoral, unacceptable and unconscionable.
Why was a witness being held for questioning for ten hours and only released at 3.45am? What kind of case is it and what is the urgency of the case in question that the witness had to be deprived of sleep and forcibly kept awake till 3.45am? Was the nation deemed to be in grave danger had the witness in question been sent home at a respectable time and asked to report again for questioning the next morning?
The nation could endure long years of waiting over so many other much longer pending cases involving so much more public money and have much greater weight in public interest but this particular case could not wait for the next morning when the witness in question would have been fresher and better rested?
What kind of interrogation was he subjected to on the fateful night without end? Why was it that a witness had to be isolated from his lawyer and forced to be in the sole company of officers with no other neutral person/s present? Because he was in the sole company of officers who were interrogating him, how would his side of the story be ever told? And how would, why should the officers in question be trusted when they tell the nation what actually transpired during that fateful night the witness lost his life?
There were no other witness/es present so how would these officers in question clear their own involvement or clear their own names in this sad story?
Isn’t it true that a medical doctor should carry out the examination of a patient of the opposite sex in the presence of at least one other person? This is a wise procedure so that should any allegation of wrongful conduct be raised against him or her, the doctor would have some neutral testimony to defend him or her.
There have been too many instances of contravention against natural justice in this country involving the agencies and instruments of state. There have been too many victims. The neutrality of these instruments of state is questionable.
I CANNOT REMAIN NEUTRAL ABOUT ISSUES OF MORALITY.
This is not about partisan politics. I expect my friends from both sides of the parliamentary divide to speak up. I expect to hear from all political parties and all who hold public office at all levels to speak up. I want especially to hear from Maximus Ongkili, Bernard Dompok, Lee Hwa Beng, Loh Seng Kok who publicly profess the Christian Faith to speak up.
I expect the churches and the church leadership to speak up including those I know personally such as Hwa Yung, Ng Moon Hing and many others.
Of course all of the above persons should state their own views and even fault my manner of speaking or reasoning. But silence is not an option. Leaders do not have the option of keeping their opinion to themselves. They must lend their voices to voices which have been silenced.
A young life has been lost on the very eve of his wedding. Siblings, parents, colleagues and a fiance are in inconsolable grief. WHY SO? WHO WILL BE NEXT?
Originally published on July 17, 2009 in onGOHing by Goh Keat Peng.
July 17th, 2009 at 11:23 am
I expect anyone of any religion who claims to be religious to speak out. For that matter, even those who profess no faith but claim to be decent human beings are duty bound to speak out. This transgresses all bounds of proper and ethical behaviour. There can be no excuse for allowing this matter to be glossed over. This demands attention at the highest levels!
July 17th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I hope the churches can mobilize their members to attend the anti-ISA rally on 1st Aug. That piece of immoral legislation has to go. Then again, this may be wishful thinking. I waiting to see how long it takes for CCM/CFM/NECF to come out with a statement on this latest incident. If it’s too watered down I hope they don’t bother to issue any.
July 17th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I would rather the Church being silenced by persecution than be silenced by apathy.
Silent is not golden, and choosing to be a silent majority clearly defies our prophetic tradition of praying: Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!
We are not calling for droplets and drips of water, we are calling for rapid rivers and streams!
Frm Martin Luther King Jr.:
“There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators”‘ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.
Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Par from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it vi lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.”
Sedarlah wahai umatku, sedarlah, sedarlah!
July 17th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
what is the justice in Malaysia?
July 19th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
My heart goes out to the family of Teoh Beng Hock. Even if we do not speak out now, the stone will speak out. I am, on one hand, shocked to hear that a witness could be interrogated for so long a time. On the other hand, I do not understand what steps have been taken by the personnel of MACC to safeguard the interest and the life of a witness who was in their custody. The MACC has the full responsibility to be accountable and transparent to tell nothing but the truth of the death of Teoh Beng Hock. He was last seen at Plaza Masalam where MACC has its office on the 14th Floor. His security should be closely monitored so that his life would not be at stake. The MACC should endeavour to bring to book every single one who is involved in the PKFZ scandal.
July 19th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
If we do not speak out now, the stone will speak out. It is really sad to see the life of a man who is in his prime to be taken away just like that. My heart goes out to the family of Teoh Beng Hock. The voices throughout the country are going to bring justice to the family of Teoh Beng Hock. It is high time that all Malaysians should ask for the accountability and transparency from MACC to explain the death of Teoh Beng Hock. He was last seen and interrogated by the MACC personnel. His security at the Masalam building was actually in the hand of the security authority of the building.
July 19th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Well we can wait till the cow comes home for the TRUTH to be revealed. Many big cases have simply died a natural death. The powers that be, think we are all retarded and have short memories. Eventually…after much dilution we may have a situation of…. It looks like a murder, Sounds like a murder but its NOT a murder.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
and… many churches have responded by organising… days of fast and prayer…
July 20th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
they said it was sudden death
for he died silently
unable to protest
his young body was crushed
under the weight of interrogations
fourteen storeys tall
deprived, pressured and cowed
he left behind
the grimace
on his powerless
and helpless face
as he sprawled contorted
on that hard concrete floor
of justice abused
that have threatened to instill
fear in many living still
who have long since
died silently
unable to express
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Yes, poor Beng Hock is dead and silenced forever but the live ones, especially the ones in power, speak up and speak out because you are suppose to be and expected to be god fearing leaders!