This is what the prime minister said when he met with the family of Beng Hock: “I have heard the grievances and several requests from the family. I have been closely following this case for a long time and deeply understand the sorrow and suffering of the family who have long been fighting for justice for the deceased.

“I affirm the government’s position that it agrees for the police to reopen the investigation into the death of the late Beng Hock.”

You have to wonder, why the police had trouble finding witnesses when the key question posed by the Court of Appeal verdict and articulated by Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement (TBH-ADA) chairperson Ng Yap Hwa was, “They want the police to shift their attention to the MACC officers who were present at the Selangor office on the night Beng Hock died, as these individuals are the most suspicious.”

This is not a high-tech case. Indeed, this is not even a complicated case. Successive governments have created this narrative that any investigation into the death of Beng Hock is a complex, arduous process.

In fact, why was the state security apparatus even harassing Beng Hock’s family about his state of mind when the court had already ruled that the death was caused by a person or persons unknown?

Indeed, if the police followed the ruling, all they would have to do is investigate those individuals who were there the night Beng Hock was murdered. But here is the thing. Politicians are hoping that the passage of time dulls the feelings of outrage. They want the rakyat to forget or, worse, believe that this is a communal issue.

Lee Lan lamented that we seem to be trapped in a BN-era rule and said, “The same MACC remains unaccountable. The same police force refuses to investigate the MACC. The same opaque conclusions are drawn, and the same murderers walk free.”

This, of course, is an indictment of this unity government, the brief Harapan regime, the brief Perikatan Nasional regime, but more importantly, the same political players who continue to enable the people who are responsible for Beng Hock’s death.

Death of a DAP comrade

TBH-ADA said it “believes that DAP leaders should not hide behind the excuse of cabinet collective responsibility without taking action”.

Two minor DAP MPs have made noise, but the big guns in the party are silent on the death of their comrade. Former party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who used Beng Hock’s death as a political talking point for years, is too busy squabbling with the current chief minister of Penang. Meanwhile, the DAP’s big cheese would most probably remind everyone that cool heads prevail or some such nonsense.

And this is the most shocking part. All those MPs who in the past made use of the death of Beng Hock have not said a word. Can you imagine the message this sends to cretins like Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh and the rabid, far-right, theocratic state-in-waiting?

In fact, they would say, unlike them, the DAP does not even care about the death of their comrade, much less someone from their community. Online trolls rejoice in the fact that the non-Malays will continue supporting DAP even though their political leaders do nothing.

Gerakan is on point when it reminds everyone that DAP used this issue for years, but they are part of a virulent Malay uber alles coalition, which, in terms of outcome, amounts to the same as this coalition government.

But what is shocking and unnerving is when a sister of a slain citizen said, “Under Anwar’s ‘Madani Malaysia’ slogan, will the government stand with the officials who killed a civilian, or with the victim’s family seeking truth and justice? The people are watching closely.”

But are the people watching closely? It certainly does not seem that way. Here is a family who believes that officials within the government murdered their son, and this was confirmed by the courts. They commiserate with the prime minister of this country, and what they get is no further action.

Imagine if this were your brother, father, or loved one. Could you move on?

Of course this is about accountability and it is a two way street. We cannot really blame political parties for not holding the state accountable because we the rakyat do not hold political parties accountable.

And this is how they get away with murder.