NOVEMBER 4 ― The light is hard to tell in this matter.
Six young men in prison, presumably for two decades. They did every vile thing possible to Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, but they did not intend for him to die. Interpreting as such, the high court judge passed them life sentences.
The government seeks to challenge the verdict; it prefers the death penalty.
This column wrote about Zulfarhan, and other two violent and unnecessary young deaths, T. Nhaveen and Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Ghaddafi in the second quarter of 2017.
How things remain unsatisfactory years later.
For Zulfarhan’s family, the quest for closure in the court ends, somewhat. There is no complete closure, however, in their hearts. Impossible when a loved one dies through a torture ordeal meted by many. Even four years later.
It is cruel to recollect how a young cadet was dehumanised with a hot iron, hangers and other objects for days by his own cohorts, and no one came to help. He was helpless in the dark.
It could have been so different.
In a parallel universe, they’d — Zulfarhan, his killers and abettors — be best buds untroubled by whether a laptop is missing or destroyed. Now, officers in the navy, air-force or army. Exchange laughs in a common Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia) WhatsApp group sharing the ups and downs of young officers serving to protect the nation. To be guard of honour at each other’s impending weddings.
Instead, six sit in prison and one remains dead.
It is heart-wrenching to hear the victim’s mother speak of her pain. Of crying so hard and so long, she developed cataracts.
How to not feel anger? Even as outsiders who hardly feel an ounce of her anguish.
But after venting, how does Malaysia prevent another Zulfarhan episode?
Six serve sentences presently but in 2017 up to 32 were implicated in the horrible incident. Twelve others have three-year jail terms pending appeal. It was not a quiet nor hidden crime. Many were witnesses and silence allowed the days to pass till a corpse remained.
These boys from various corners of the federation gathered in our one defence university, and when a situation transpired expressed a different moral code to deal with their classmate. How to channel aggression and to serve rather than dominate has been mislaid in this tragic story.
The present defence minister warns the ministry and the university not to repeat the error but if the underlying problem is not confronted, how can things improve?
There is a process issue and assuming a series of orders fixes the deep-seated cultural and learning misalignments is naïve. And dangerous because it gives the impression a cleansing is underway.
The column deeply appreciates the value of our armed forces and them choosing to lay down their lives if Malaysia requires it. My late father served.
But all militaries have challenges, and it is imperative to face those shortcomings with honesty and honour in order to raise the worth of the service.
The service is judged by not how it hides its weaknesses but how it engages them.
The misguided group relied on a bomoh (witch doctor) to zero in on Zulfarhan as the person behind a laptop theft. If a percentage of our young cadets can harm their own based on the advice of men who hear voices, how to trust them with the weapons of the country?
As for the boys themselves, still boys at 25?
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Prison is hell. And they are set to endure it in disgrace. Rather than commanding men to protect Malaysia, they sit in compounds watched over by men with guns. No military uniform or medals on their chests, just prison uniforms. Yet, they live and Zulfarhan does not. They have to live with that truth, that responsibility and relive it, as they grow older.
Their own families are not left off the hook. How do they explain their children’s actions? At the various events and kenduri attended they’ll remain the parents and siblings of those horrible torturers talked about by a whole nation. Whispers can kill most certainly the soul of the most steadfast.
When they emerge from incarceration, what can the future hold for them. Redemption is aloof.
Is that the end of the tale?
Where does it leave the rest of us, the rakyat?
Other than our disgust and carefree willingness to condemn wrongdoers. Are we complicit in the affair?
They did not come from nowhere. They were brought up in our system.
Subject to a combination of what is taught in school and society. They looked up to their elders and leaders, to see what values they hold dear. Whether they reason or rather choose to show power and contempt for the weak, the disenfranchised. Whether compassion and self-examination are for silly liberals with ideas of equality. I’ll dare offer the opinion that viciousness is celebrated rather than challenged in our federation.
And the children watch and learn. One of the three hashtags on the T-shirt Team Zulfarhan put on for trial days reads #humanity. They probably won’t oppose the next lines.
Compassion requires leadership and examples.
That’s all the Deepavali message I can conjure up as we all — millions of Malaysians — endeavour to become better people, to be better examples so those who see us walk towards the light of compassion rather than away from it.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
