Same charges, same appeals; But Doan Continues to Languish Behind Bars While Siti Goes Free
Questions are being raised as to why the Attorney Generalโs Chambers had withdrawn the case against Indonesian citizen Siti Aisyah who was jointly charged with Viet national Doan Thi Huong for the murder of North Korean citizen Kim Jong Nam.
Our Malaysian laws should not discriminate. Everyone is equal before the law, be they Malaysian citizens or expatriates, migrant workers, business travellers and tourists to Malaysia. Our Federal Constitution gives us this guarantee.
MCA observes that DAP Legal Bureau Chairman Ramkarpal Singh emulates the courageous tiger spirit of his late father Karpal Singh in daring to be vocal against the conspicuous practice of double standards by the Attorney General (AG). It has been reported that the AG has rejected the application from Vietnamese Doan Thi Huongโs lawyers for a withdrawal of the charge.
Arenโt both cases identical? Did not the Foreign Minister of Vietnam contact our Foreign Minister to release Doan, similar to how the Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights wrote to the AG to secure Sitiโs release?
MCA is in full consonant with Ramkarpalโs statement that โboth Doan and Siti Aisyah were charged together. Doan has a constitutional right to be treated the way Siti Aisyah was as she is entitled to equal protection of the law.โ
We may sit on opposite sides of the fence but politicking over the law serves no purpose. Not only does MCA prioritise the law as equal before all of us, we, like the public, expect equal application of the law and equal protection by the law for all of us.
Not only must justice be done, but justice must be seen to be done, lest the law becomes an ass. If the rule of law is not observed and judicial independence is compromised, it will be a sad day for Malaysia, when our laws are reduced into the proverbial ass.
It would be sinker to ask โ were racial and religious similarities and preferences in our populations the reason for charges on Siti to be dropped but not the same treatment accorded to Doan?
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ค๐๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฟ
