APABILA RAKYAT MULA TAKUT: MENGAPA KENYATAAN TUN DR MAHATHIR TIDAK BOLEH DIPANDANG RINGAN

APABILA RAKYAT MULA TAKUT: MENGAPA KENYATAAN TUN DR MAHATHIR TIDAK BOLEH DIPANDANG RINGAN

Oleh: Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

(English version at the bottom)

“Sebuah negara tidak menjadi kuat hanya kerana mempunyai undang-undang yang banyak. Sebuah negara menjadi kuat apabila rakyat percaya bahawa undang-undang itu dilaksanakan secara adil, konsisten dan tanpa pilih kasih.”

1. Kenyataan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mengenai kewujudan “feel of fear” dalam negara tidak boleh dipandang ringan. Sebagai seorang negarawan yang telah menyaksikan perjalanan politik Malaysia selama lebih enam dekad, kebimbangan yang beliau suarakan wajar diberi perhatian serius.

2. Apa yang dibangkitkan Tun bukan semestinya ketakutan fizikal semata-mata. Ia lebih berkaitan dengan persepsi bahawa institusi yang sepatutnya melindungi rakyat semakin dilihat tidak bebas, tidak konsisten, atau terdedah kepada pengaruh politik.

3. Dalam mana-mana demokrasi, keyakinan rakyat terhadap institusi penguatkuasaan undang-undang, badan kehakiman dan agensi penyiasatan merupakan asas kestabilan negara. Apabila keyakinan itu mula terhakis, rakyat akan mula mempersoalkan sama ada undang-undang dilaksanakan secara sama rata kepada semua.

4. Kebelakangan ini, pelbagai kes berprofil tinggi telah mencetuskan perdebatan mengenai keputusan pendakwaan, pengguguran pertuduhan, DNAA, serta layanan yang dilihat berbeza terhadap individu tertentu. Sama ada persepsi tersebut tepat atau tidak, hakikatnya keadilan bukan sahaja perlu dilaksanakan, tetapi juga perlu dilihat dilaksanakan.

5. Bagi sesetengah pihak, kes Yusoff Rawther turut menjadi antara contoh yang sering dikaitkan dengan persepsi bahawa wujudnya suasana ketakutan dalam negara. Apabila seorang rakyat Malaysia merasakan dirinya perlu mendapatkan perlindungan di luar negara kerana bimbang terhadap keselamatannya, ia secara tidak langsung menimbulkan persoalan mengenai tahap keyakinan terhadap institusi yang sepatutnya melindungi rakyat.

6. Perdebatan awam mengenai beberapa kes berprofil tinggi, termasuk keputusan pendakwaan dan siasatan terhadap pengkritik kerajaan, turut menyumbang kepada persepsi bahawa keyakinan terhadap institusi negara sedang diuji.

7. Perasaan takut ini juga boleh terbentuk apabila rakyat melihat ahli politik pembangkang, aktivis, wartawan, pempengaruh media sosial dan rakyat biasa disiasat berhubung pandangan yang mereka kemukakan. Walaupun setiap tindakan mempunyai asas undang-undang tersendiri, persepsi yang terbentuk ialah ruang kebebasan bersuara semakin sempit dan prinsip kesamarataan di sisi undang-undang semakin diuji.

8. Malaysia dibina atas prinsip kedaulatan undang-undang, kebebasan institusi dan keluhuran Perlembagaan. Sebab itu, kenyataan Tun Dr Mahathir perlu dilihat sebagai satu amaran bahawa keyakinan rakyat terhadap institusi negara mesti dipelihara dengan bersungguh-sungguh.

9. Sejarah menunjukkan bahawa krisis sebenar sesebuah negara bukan bermula apabila ekonomi merosot atau kerajaan bertukar. Krisis sebenar bermula apabila rakyat hilang kepercayaan bahawa sistem negara akan melindungi mereka secara adil.

10. Kestabilan negara tidak boleh dibina atas rasa takut. Ia hanya boleh dibina atas kepercayaan, keadilan dan keyakinan rakyat terhadap institusi negara. Sama ada seseorang bersetuju atau tidak dengan Tun Dr Mahathir, persoalan yang beliau bangkitkan adalah persoalan yang menyentuh asas demokrasi itu sendiri: adakah rakyat masih yakin bahawa undang-undang akan melindungi mereka tanpa mengira kedudukan, pengaruh atau pegangan politik?

11. Apabila rakyat mula takut kepada institusi yang sepatutnya melindungi mereka, maka yang terancam bukan sekadar kerajaan yang memerintah, tetapi asas kepercayaan yang menyatukan sebuah negara.

~ Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

ENGLISH

WHEN PEOPLE BEGIN TO FEAR: WHY TUN DR MAHATHIR'S WARNING SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY

By Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

"A nation does not become strong merely because it has many laws. A nation becomes strong when its people believe that those laws are enforced fairly, consistently, and without favour."

1. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recent remarks about a growing "feel of fear" in the country should not be dismissed lightly. As a statesman who has witnessed and shaped Malaysia's political journey for more than six decades, the concerns he raises deserve serious consideration.

2.What Tun is highlighting is not necessarily physical fear alone. Rather, it concerns the perception that institutions entrusted with protecting the people are increasingly viewed as lacking independence, consistency, or immunity from political influence.

3. In any democracy, public confidence in law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and investigative institutions forms the foundation of national stability. Once that confidence begins to erode, citizens inevitably start questioning whether the law is being applied equally to everyone.

4. In recent years, several high-profile cases have generated public debate over prosecutorial decisions, the withdrawal of charges, DNAA rulings, and what some perceive as differing treatment of certain individuals. Whether such perceptions are accurate or not, the reality remains that justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done.

5. For some observers, the case of Yusoff Rawther has become one of the examples often associated with the perception that a climate of fear exists within the country. When a Malaysian feels compelled to seek protection abroad due to concerns for personal safety, it inevitably raises questions about public confidence in the institutions that are meant to safeguard citizens.

6. Public debate surrounding several high-profile cases, including prosecutorial decisions and investigations involving government critics, has further contributed to the perception that confidence in national institutions is being tested.

7. Such feelings of apprehension may also arise when citizens observe opposition politicians, activists, journalists, social media influencers, and ordinary Malaysians being investigated in relation to views they have expressed. While every investigation may have its own legal basis, the perception that emerges is that the space for free expression is narrowing and that the principle of equality before the law is increasingly being scrutinised.

8. Malaysia was founded upon the principles of the rule of law, institutional independence, and constitutional supremacy. For this reason, Tun Dr Mahathir's remarks should be viewed as a warning that public confidence in the nation's institutions must be protected and preserved with great care.

9. History shows that a nation's true crisis does not begin when the economy slows or when governments change. A real crisis begins when citizens lose faith that the system will protect them fairly and impartially.

10. National stability cannot be built upon fear. It can only be built upon trust, justice, and confidence in public institutions. Whether one agrees with Tun Dr Mahathir or not, the question he raises strikes at the very heart of democracy itself: do Malaysians still have confidence that the law will protect them regardless of their status, influence, or political affiliation?

11. When people begin to fear the very institutions that are meant to protect them, what is at risk is not merely the government of the day, but the foundation of trust that binds a nation together.

~ Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin