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Should Dato' Yong Teck Lee have sued before explaining?

Dato' Yong Teck Lee has acquired the gravitas of Bolehland leadership after less than two years in office, unlike his colleagues elsewhere in the country who begin to show those signs only after two general elections. In Bolehland, as is well known, that stage is reached when heavy handedness, often accompanied by threats of legal action, is flashed at any who dares question questionable deals the state leaders tend to involve themselves in; that whatever they do can only be in the national interest even it violates the laws of the country. So, when he was questioned about the state's loss of RM72 million (then) -- when it bought three million shares at RM31.25 in a company called North Borneo Timbers -- by his political opponents and by his own coalition partners, he instructed his solicitors to sue them.

If Dato' Yong must want to preserve his reputation, he must explain his actions as -- to use the current buzzword -- transparently as possible. And instead of threatening dire consequences, he should explain his case fully. A politician does not have the luxury of shutting up its opponents, especially when on the surface it does appear that has not been truthful in his statements so far. It cannot be denied that the state lost that amount and more. It cannot be denied that the state's share buying at that scale of a company whose shares had risen from RM7.50 to RM58.50 under conditions that had nothing to do with its intrinsic value -- it was overpriced at RM7.50; it certainly was when it was quoted four and a half times higher. There was a piece which suggested close ties between Dato' Yong and Dato' Joseph Ambrose Lee. He needs to answer these questions in public before he considers legal action. Besides, it is well known that the writ of libel has been used to shut people from asking inconvenient questions.

A state chief minister, as an elected official, is answerable to the people of the state which elected his party to office. To treat them like enemies, as almost every chief minister did in Sabah, is a sure recipe for disaster. Besides, he is only the second Chinese chief minister of the state. Until his appointment, Tan Sri Peter Lo, was put out as a example of leadership the Chinese community could give. Unfortunately, Dato' Yong quickly acquires the reputation of how a Chinese chief minister ought not behave. If he does not back down quickly, he would no doubt seize defeat from the jaws of victory. The great trumpeting of his virtues before he took office turns out to be no more than that: a great trumpeting.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my