A botched shot?

November 25, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR – WHAT shall we call the political scandal in Sabah in which a businessman secretly filmed YBs (assemblymen) discussing projects and monies?

ome call it the whistleblower exposé. But for me, it is not the right phrase as it gives the wrong impression that the businessman is a whistleblower.

He is not.

The businessman has told a news portal, to which he has exclusively given his edited videos, that he had bribed the YBs to get them to support his application for a mining exploration license.

Under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) 2010, protection could be revoked if the whistleblower participated in the improper conduct that he disclosed. Also, a whistleblower who shares the disclosed information with outside parties, such as the media, risks revocation for violating Section 8(1), which prohibits this action.

By exclusively sharing the secretly filmed videos, which the businessman told the portal that he had edited, he was engaged in a trial by media and social media.

In the words of his target, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, the businessman wanted to tarnish the chief minister’s and state government’s image. The businessman also wanted to bring down the Hajiji and the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government.

It is a political game not to expose corruption but to grab power. I’ll call it “Langkah Billiards”.

In billiards, the break shot sets the tone for the entire game. Some amateurs hit the cue ball too hard, hoping that a ball will be potted in the pocket. Hitting it too hard has unintended consequences. The player has no control over which ball is potted – the cue ball, black ball, solid blue, or striped red.

The same is true of the game played by the business and his syndicate,