By Daniel John Jambun, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) refers to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s keynote remarks at the Commonwealth Legal Education Association Conference 2026, where he said the rule of law must be applied consistently and warned against hypocrisy, double standards, and the “perversion” of the rules-based order.
He said credibility depends on consistency and condemned a world where “might is right.”
Let us be absolutely clear:
Those words may sound noble on the international stage.
But they ring hollow when Sabahans look at what is happening at home.
Because the real test of belief in the rule of law is not what is said about foreign conflicts.
It is whether the law is applied honestly, courageously, and without fear or favour inside Malaysia itself.
And in Sabah, the people are asking one burning question:
If Anwar truly opposes selective application of the law, then why does Sabah still see the stench of selective prosecution?
1. RULE OF LAW CANNOT BE A FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH ONLY
The Prime Minister said law must not be used selectively to shield one side while denying accountability to another.
Very well.
Then the same principle must apply in Malaysia.
It must apply in Putrajaya.
It must apply in Sabah.
It must apply in every corruption scandal where the public sees delay, silence, hesitation, fragmentation of action, and unequal treatment.
A government cannot denounce hypocrisy overseas while tolerating public suspicion of double standards at home.
That is not moral leadership.
That is rhetorical convenience.
2. SABAHANS ARE NOT BLIND — THEY CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAW AND SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT
The problem in Malaysia is not merely whether laws exist.
The problem is whether those laws are enforced equally.
A law may look neutral on paper.
But if prosecution is selective, delayed, carefully narrowed, or politically timed, then the law becomes an instrument of power instead of justice.
That is exactly why Sabahans are disturbed by the handling of major scandals affecting the State.
When ordinary people, opposition figures, or politically expendable targets are pursued swiftly, but politically sensitive scandals move slowly or unevenly, public confidence collapses.
And once confidence collapses, the phrase “rule of law” becomes little more than decoration.
3. THE SMM CORRUPTION SCANDAL HAS BECOME A SYMBOL OF PUBLIC SUSPICION
The Sabah Mining Matter (SMM) corruption scandal has triggered precisely this concern.
This is not a trivial controversy.
This is not gossip.
This is not political theatre invented by the public.
It is a serious scandal that has raised profound questions about integrity, enforcement, accountability, and whether the system is willing to pursue the truth wherever it leads.
Sabahans are entitled to ask:
Why does action appear incomplete?
Why does enforcement appear uneven?
Why do some matters move with speed while others drag in silence?
Why does the public keep seeing fragments instead of full accountability?
These are not extremist questions.
These are rule-of-law questions.
And the longer they remain unanswered, the stronger the suspicion becomes that prosecution is being calibrated, not simply conducted.
4. SELECTIVE PROSECUTION IS THE MOST DANGEROUS FORM OF LEGAL HYPOCRISY
Selective prosecution is worse than open injustice in one crucial sense:
It hides behind the language of legality.
It allows those in power to say, “The law is taking its course,” while the public sees that the course seems to depend on who is involved, who is protected, and who is politically useful.
That is why the Prime Minister’s speech invites scrutiny.
Because once he publicly declares that credibility depends on consistency, he has set the standard by which his own government must now be judged.
And on that standard, the government must answer:
Is the law being applied consistently in Malaysia?
Or only when convenient?
5. SABAH DOES NOT NEED LECTURES — SABAH NEEDS EQUAL JUSTICE
Sabah has heard enough speeches.
Sabah has heard enough principles.
Sabah has heard enough carefully worded commitments.
What Sabah needs now is proof.
Proof that anti-corruption enforcement is not selective.
Proof that politically sensitive scandals will not be handled with kid gloves.
Proof that no office, no ally, no coalition arrangement, and no political calculation stands above the law.
If the Prime Minister truly means what he says, then he must ensure that Malaysia does not practise domestically what he condemns internationally.
Otherwise, his speech becomes a mirror reflecting his own government’s contradiction.
6. BO PIMaFO’S MESSAGE TO ANWAR IS SIMPLE
Do not speak of “perversion” of the rule of law abroad while Sabahans suspect distortion of justice at home.
Do not condemn hypocrisy in the geopolitical arena while tolerating public distrust over selective prosecution in Malaysia.
Do not invoke the language of principle if the machinery of enforcement still appears vulnerable to political convenience.
Because the rule of law is not measured by speeches at conferences.
It is measured by whether the powerful are treated the same as everyone else.
That is the test.
That is the principle.
That is the truth.
CONCLUSION
BoPiMaFo therefore calls on the Federal Government and all enforcement authorities to restore public confidence by demonstrating, not merely declaring, equal application of the law.
Sabahans do not want slogans.
Sabahans do not want moral grandstanding.
Sabahans want one simple thing:
No selective prosecution. No protected class. No political shielding. No double standard.
If Anwar Ibrahim truly believes that the rule of law must be consistent, then let him prove it where it matters most:
Here in Malaysia. Here in Sabah. Right now.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Jesselton Times.
