Main photo caption: Former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in a Nov 7, 2019 Facebook posting where he maintained that instead of continuing to insult the Mat Lajak, he chose to inculcate technical and vocational education and training (TVET) skill in them.
NO politicians would wish to be in the shoes of Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong now for he wears two ‘hot’ hats by being the Transport Minister and the MCA president.
This puts the Ayer Itam MP in a very tight spot for he has to carefully navigate the flaring emotions of Malaysians following the sudden-turn guilty verdict on sales promoter/clerk Sam Ke Ting who was on Wednesday (April 13)0 sentenced by the Johor Bahru High Court to six years of imprisonment starting from the date of conviction aside from a RM6,000 fine in default six month’s imprisonment for reckless driving.
For a starter, several Chinese media had reported that Wee’s Facebook page has been flooded with comments of “injustice in the judiciary system” which according to him, is not just limited “to my page but almost all reports in the Chinese media were full of similar comments in relation to Sam Ke Ting’s case”.
Wee said many netizens were blaming him for not taking action against the parents of eight teenaged Mat Lajak but instead Sam was charged with reckless driving in the fatal accident involving eight teenaged cyclists aged 13-16 at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam beside the Mahmoodiah cemetery near Johor Bahru at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.
“After I was appointed the Transport Minnister in March 2020, I successfully led the efforts to amend the 1987 Road Transport Act to impose heavier penalties against driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and to curtail the recklessness on the road of so-called Mat Lajak and Mat Rempit,” he clarified in a recent Facebook posting.
“Unfortunately, the law cannot be applied retrospectively. I do understand why everyone is so angry but the fact is the case happened in 2017; that is something we cannot change.”
As a country that observes the rule of law, Wee further stressed that any judgment of the law and the executive must be respected and must not be interfered.
Some are disappointed with the decision made by the High Court while some are upset that Sam’s lawyer had advised or allowed her to give a statement from the dock as the accused,” noted Wee. “However, any dissatisfaction against the judgment must go through the judicial process to make an appeal.”
His official positions notwithstanding, Wee hopes that Malaysians can remain calm as the appeal process continues for Sam.
“I hope that we can refrain from placing the blame on the wrong parties throughout this episode,” he wrote. “Now that Sam’s application to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal against the High Court’s decision has been granted and will be heard on Monday (tomorrow), I am sure that we all share the same hopes of the best outcome for her.”
While Wee’s FB posting has invited mixed reaction from netizens with regard to Sam’s innocence in the accident there was this posting by Hamdan Abdul Jamal which shed some light into road conditions and timing of the accident:
Meanwhile, it is heartening to learn that a father whose son survived the “basikal lajak” (modified bicycles) ordeal never misses the opportunity to tell off such cyclists whenever he sees them on the road.
“I will stop my car, get my phone and take their photos in plain view. I would threaten to report them to the police if they do not go home immediately,” Salman Ahmed, 56, told The Star. “And I would usually tell them that they can sit in the police lockup until their parents come to pick them up.”
His son, Muhamad Arif Salman, is one of the survivors of the 2017 tragedy in which Sam’s Nisan Almera ploughed into a group of teenage riders. – April 17, 2022
