E Contrario

Yesterday (27 Jan) afternoon, a few representatives from student bodies Sekretariat Melayu Muda, Gabungan Pemimpin Mahasiswa Malaysia and Jaringan Pelajar Islam Se-Malaysia lodged a police report against the “theft” of highway concession agreement documents.

The press reported the secretary of Sekretariat Melayu Muda Syfik Idzywan Sidek led the groups to Brickfields Police Station. They urged the police to take stern action against PROTES, and implicitly they targeted me.

We are not sure who were self-proclaimed student leaders. It appears that some of Umno outfits are now “budak suruhan” Samy Vellu. I don’t know what are the common interests between Samy and these young Umno kids. I believe they are laying ground to use OSA against certain individuals in PROTES or KeADILan.

Let us be clear on this. The government is yet to declare formally these highway contracts as official documents. Sending these kids to lodge police report is simply a trick to divert the central issue—the negligence of the government in defending the interest of taxpayers.

I don’t think it is a simple laxity of one or two ministers. I don’t even hold Samy solely responsible for the blatant abuses in the contracts. The problems of highway concessions are the consequence of an extensive and expanding network of corruption and cronies. The fat cats on the toll roads are growing, not only in term of numbers but also in their appetite. Their body weight is about to break the people’s back.