However, PAS MPs rarely get punished. Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has courted many controversies with his racist remarks, his insensitivity towards non-Islamic festivals, and the arrest of his critics, but he has always avoided punishment.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang accused non-Muslims and non-Malays of systemic corruption. Despite an investigation into his incendiary remarks, what became of his punishment?  

By her own admission, Siti Zailah supplied her electorate with a clean supply of water from a fire hydrant. She knowingly violated Section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1988.

Despite breaking the law she probably knows that, like her peers, she would not be punished.

Instead, we suspect that a face-saving gesture has been put into motion. Why are PAS MPs always treated with kid gloves?

Is it because they preach hell, fire and brimstone and the enforcement officials are afraid of their souls being damned?

Most of the wannabe politicians-cum-preacher constantly harp on the afterlife, but say very little about life on earth, the importance of unity and good community relations, of having solid moral values and of being able to distinguish between right and wrong.

Show proof of permission

Last week, Siti Zailah claimed that she had successfully sought and obtained the permission of the chief of the state fire services. She denied allegations that she had "stolen" water, saying that the suggestion to use water from the hydrants had come from Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB).

Despite her claims, Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department director Zainal Madasin denied this. He said that Siti Zailah had not sought permission.  

So who is telling the truth? The PAS MP or the Fire and Rescue Department director?

Siti Zailah could have swiftly ended this unnecessary banter by producing the letter of approval from Zainal but she did not.

Many unsettling things about this case may seem trivial to some people, but this incident is symptomatic of many other irregularities in government.

For instance, when wrongdoing or crime is committed, the people allegedly responsible, be it MP, civil servant or member of the establishment are rarely found guilty.

Call it face-saving, or a cover-up. Not convinced? The death of student S Vinosiny at her university campus in Sintok, Kedah is one such example. A young woman died but how she was electrocuted has not been revealed. Was it faulty university equipment, poor maintenance, negligence or a simple accident? Why prolong the parents' misery?

Or when a woman complains about being sexually assaulted by a member of academia, company manager or board director, the investigation fizzles out and no action is taken to protect the woman, or to punish her attacker.

Scapegoat move

Siti Zailah boasted about providing free water but a contractor was fined. Why the contractor?

The RM100 fine will not act as a deterrent. Anyone who decides that he needs water for his own needs may just tap into the fire hydrant, with the help of a willing firefighter or water-board contractor. He may perhaps sell the rest to anyone who is desperate for water like factories, farmers or animal breeders.

What would happen in an emergency when firefighters find a depleted water supply because someone had stolen it? What happens if dry weather sets alight crops, or dry grass and the low volume of water is unable to douse the fire?

If it was true that AKSB had mooted the idea to take water from the fire hydrant, why did Siti Zailah, the MP, agree? She should have upheld the law, rejected the suggestion and also admonished the person who made it.

However, she went along with it and even commissioned a banner for the water truck to give her publicity as the 'caring MP'. What happened to integrity and principles?

Siti Zailah and all those who were party to the idea should have been fined. Instead, a contractor was allegedly made the scapegoat, and the case was declared closed, but Malaysians know that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

The Rantau Panjang MP, and some of her peers, make poor role models. They appear to have lost their moral values and cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Moreover, they are rarely punished.

Are they really untouchable, or just insignificant?

There is one way to punish them and that is through the ballot box.