By Din Merican

Fight to allow Appeal against Abdul Razak Baginda’s Acquittal for the Murder of Mongolian Model and Stand By Rosli Dahlan

The Ramli trial ends and Rosli Dahlan’s trial begins on Monday December 21, 2009 at the Special Criminal Sessions Court 10, Jalan Duta Courts Complex Kuala Lumpur (specially created for MACC cases). What is at issue in the Rosli case is the victimisation of a lawyer who has the courage and conviction to stand up for his client , Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, and for his own rights which are also our fundamental rights as citizens of Malaysia.

En Rosli has sued the MACC, Bank Negara and the Government of Malaysia for various abuses of powers and laws, assault and defamation by its office bearers. En Rosli also sued the mainstream media – Utusan Malaysia, the Star and The New Straits Times for colluding and conspiring with those in the corridors of power to disparage and damage him. Already Utusan Malaysia had made an apology but is still sued. It is unprecedented for a professional or any citizen to take on the whole establishment in this manner.

In his 3 legal suits, En Rosli narrated the conspiracy to eliminate Dato’ Ramli from the the Royal Malaysian Police after investigations by Dato’ Ramli’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) officers revealed that Inspector- General of Police (IGP ) Tan Sri Musa Hassan had links to the Along syndicate. The criminal Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku Goh was eventually released at the advice of the Attorney-General (A-G), Gani Patail. The fall out resulted in several junior officers being charged, presumably to discredit them for having uncovered IGP Musa Hassan’s misdeeds.

En Rosli has accused the mainstream media for false and sensational reporting that Dato’ Ramli had assets worth RM 27 million. The eventual charges against Dato’ Ramli was not even for obtaining wealth illegally. Instead Dato’ Ramli was charged for abuse of power and for his family’s ownership of property worth nowhere near the RM 27 million reported by the newspapers. En Rosli had also featured prominently in the action that Malaysia Airlines (MAS),the national airline, had pursued against its former chairman, Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli (TR). Dato’ Ramli’s CCID also investigated this case.

To this date TR has not been charged but instead Dato’ Ramli and En Rosli were charged. These “Mickey Mouse” charges against Dato’ Ramli and En Rosli was clearly for a collateral purpose which showed the collusion between the IGP, the AG and the ACA/MACC to stop all these investigations that would be embarrassing to the Government.

In his legal suits, En Rosli provided an account how officers of ACA/MACC ambushed his office to make an unlawful arrest on him (Read RPK’s posting below). They stormed into his office, shouted and roughened him up before his staff, handcuffed him so tightly that his wrist bled. They then kept him in the ACA underground cell overnight and refused him medical treatment and also his request to lodge a police report, so that the injury and swelling could subside.

Yes, all this is very reminiscent of what happened to Anwar Ibrahim 10 years ago where they kept Anwar unseen for more than 3 days to let the black eye heal. Ironically, Dato’ Ramli was also the person who “rescued” Anwar from being bludgeoned to death by then IGP Rahim Noor.

Fortunately for En Rosli, the MACC did not kill him like they did to Teoh Beng Hock because the ACA/MACC Putrajaya cell is an underground dungeon and not on the 8th Floor like Plaza Masalam.

En Rosli’s suit also recounted how his request to pray in the surau was refused and instead he had to pray next to the toilet wc bowl in the cell. The food brought by his wife for buka puasa was refused and he coud not meet his wife and children who kept vigil that night. Even his request to meet his lawyers was refused. The next day, the ACA handcuffed him all the way from Putrajaya to the court and paraded him in that condition from the public car park through the court corridors. The objective was clear – Humiliate him to the maximum. That’s what you get for stepping on the toes of those in the corridors of power.

That is why we applaud and support En Rosli for his steadfastness and resilience to bring this matter to court to see that the Rule of Law is applied. We hope that En Rosli will get the justice he deserves from the court.

Allow Appeal Against Abdul Razak Baginda’s Acquittal for Murder of Mongolian Model

Do we know that the A-G has lodged an appeal filed out of time against Dato Mirza of Tourism Malaysia to cover up for the appeal that the A-G had earlier made against Dato’ Ramli Yusuff in his acquittal by the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court, just to be seen as being fair? Poor Mirza, who had been acquitted, but now suffers the agony of going through another display of the arrogance of the A-G and the MACC.

The issue is not so much about Mirza in regard to Ramli’s case, but the issue is why did the A-G not appeal against Abdul Razak Baginda’s acquittal? Was it because Gani Patail received a telephone from an earthly political God? Since, in Mirza’a case, the court granted the A-G an extension of time to only now file the appeal, therefore by the same logic, it is still not too late to appeal against Abdul Razak Baginda.

Is it not time that we, as members of civil society and political activists in Pakatan Rakyat, push the A-G on that and see what silly answers he can come up with?

Pakatan Rakyat Leaders at its First Convention on December 20, 2009 must pass a strongly worded resolution condemning travesty of Justice.

It is my fervent hope that at tomorrow’s Pakatan Rakyat First convention, delegates will renew their efforts and make a resolution to the effect that given the precedent shown in Dato’ Mirza case, the Attorney-General will appeal against the acquittal of Abdul Razak Baginda for the murder of Altantuya Shaarribu, the Mongolian model who was brutally killed and then C4ed to pieces.

We are a nation of the Rule of Law, but we are now witnesses to the Rule by Men with unchecked powers to inflict emotional trauma and physical pain on those who dare to defend their fundamental rights and fight against selective prosecution.