JULY 24 — For all the hype about the cultural and political impact of social networking technologies like Facebook and Twitter, the age-old phenomenon of death remains the most powerful, galvanising force.
After all, despite the fawning the world has recently expressed over Michael Jackson, the truth remains that he was widely derided both personally and musically until the day he died. Then quicker than one of Jackson's signature dance moves, the world went from ridicule to remembering him as the genius he once was. His death was enough to make him the first artist to sell a million digital downloads in a week and, more amazingly, got Malaysians rushing to music shops to buy original CDs.
In Iran, an ordinary 27-year-old citizen decided to join thousands of her fellow Iranians by participating in the historical demonstrations against the suspicious election results. She was just one of many who were killed in the protests, but as fate would have it, Neda Agha-Soltan's death at the hands of cowardly snipers from afar was recorded and disseminated for the world to see. From a previously apolitical young woman, she became the rallying cry of Iranians still hoping for some form of change in their country and a symbol of bravery in the face of tyranny.
Much has been said about Teoh Beng Hock. I have little insight to offer beyond what others have already remarked. My own personal acquaintance with him was brief and coincidental. I had just started working for the Selangor government and first met him several weeks before his untimely death, and he was friendly enough to sit down and join me for lunch once when I was eating alone, despite my terrible Mandarin. This was just a few days before he was called up as a "witness" by the MACC.
The collective outrage of sane Malaysians is understandable. The response of the rest — some Umno members and the party's partners in the media — is, while disturbing, also rather predictable. Power and the thirst for it can make one lose any form of moral compass.
I do believe, however, that those who express disbelief at what Malaysia has become have simply not been paying attention. Blinded by the constant feel-good imagery, most recently perpetuated by 1 Malaysia, we have ignored the reality of how rotten our institutions have become, from the lowest levels to the highest office.
It was more than 10 years ago when a deputy prime minister was sacked, arrested, beaten by the top cop in the country, while those close to him were tortured in order to frame him. Sadly, many chose to view Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's persecution through political lenses, or as an isolated and specific case.
But it was never about him alone. It was about how our institutions, the judiciary, the media and the police knew no boundaries when it came to carrying out the orders of their political masters. Frighteningly, many of those responsible are still in positions of power and are about to impose on us the same farce once more for political purposes. That most Malaysians find the second sodomy accusation unsubstantiated is immaterial to them.
When institutions that are meant to protect Malaysians and uplift justice are rotten, it is not surprising that we have the stories of Francis Udayappan, Kugan, Altantuya, Sujatha and many, many others. Stories of people mysteriously disappearing, of false post-mortem results, of newspapers fabricating stories outright, which Harian Metro was proven of doing recently.
The MACC has previously been accused of harsh interrogation tactics before, including by Umno members. It's obvious from the blatant partiality of its Selangor investigations that it isn't corruption that it is fighting, but Pakatan Rakyat. The MACC was playing its role in discrediting the state government, along with the media who saw it fit to collude with them in shaming the state's lawmakers without any evidence at all.
Make no mistake, there will be those who will try to isolate the cause of Teoh's death, much like how some have thus far unsuccessfully tried to turn it into a racial issue. They will point the finger at several officers, and distance themselves from them. These opportunists have already started to pretend to sympathise with Teoh's family, even though they are part of that very system that allowed his death to happen.
There are those who think Teoh's death shouldn't be politicised. Yes, insincere capitalisation of such a tragedy for personal and partisan political purposes is tasteless and disrespectful. But his death had everything to do with politics, albeit of a troubling variety, and therefore must be greeted with a political response. And that response is, bluntly put, to change the government. This will not be easy, as we now see. Nor will it be the magic solution to all our nation's problems. But it must be done.
It's always sad when anyone loses his life needlessly, but Teoh's demise must not be pointless and in vain. Death is a powerful force, and hopefully his passing has opened all our eyes to just how urgent it is to bring down the entire system, before it drags us all down with it.
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