Squeezing Blood from the UMNO Disciplinary Board.

Latine loqui coactus sum( you can't squeeze blood from stone in Latin)

Many people are livid about the judgements given by the UMNO's DB. They say the DB is doing a shoddy work. It is not serious about wanting to stamp out corruption. I think such accusations are misplaced.

The UMNO DB makes it decisions based on facts. They are guided by the principle that justice rushed is justice buried. They must be absolutely certain before arriving at a decision. The chairman of the Board, Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen is of course aware of the saying by the English jurist, William Blackstone. "Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer,"

The litmus test of not a Kangaroo Court is to arrive at a decision based on facts. It cannot based its decision on hearsay or impute meanings on perceptions. If the basis of deciding is perceptions, then it is foreseeable that the entire group of people offering themselves for UMNO posts be barred. Everyone is tainted in one way or another.

Consider for instance the situation of Khir Toyo. The general perception is that KT is waist deep or even neck deep in money politics. But the facts ascertaining that perception were never strong enough to nail him. Without facts, the Board is never able to provide the flesh to the bones of perception.

Hence even though we despise the outcome of the Board's findings as regards to KT, the facts were just not there. The outcome of the findings of the board does not free KT from taint. What it has proven is that KT is one step ahead of the Board. He has proven himself an accomplished master in the art of Machiavellian skulduggery.

The seriousness by which UMNO wants to stamp out money politics is not measurable by the judgements and punishments of the UMNO DB. If UMNO is serious about wanting to eliminate money politics, the new PM will need to overhaul completely the UMNO elections system. He needs to look into election by the entire membership of UMNO. Perhaps he may want to consider the slew of reforms proffered by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.