Close One Eye, Shut Up!

It seems Jasin MP Mohd Said Yusof is winning his battle -- if ever there was one -- with the Customs Department. He had the Finance Ministry backing him.

According to The Star's front page report today, the Finance Ministry ordered the department not to make anymore statements against Mohd Said.

And yeah, he sounds victorious too:

When met at the Parliament lobby, Mohd Said told newsmen: "That is what the Finance Ministry should have done earlier. The Customs Department has no right to reply directly to us via the media.

It should go through the proper channels, such as the Finance Ministry." [Source: The Star, Aug 29, 2006)

He had his parliamentary colleagues -- the backbenchers -- backing him up too, reports the New Straits Times:

BARISAN Nasional backbenchers yesterday delivered a stern message to potential critics: That they had little time for those who took them on in public or who questioned their immunity from prosecution.

Anyone who crossed them would be savaged in the House. And this is what happened as they attacked the Customs and Excise Department like never before and took subtle digs at the Chief Secretary to the Government.

They attacked the top brass in the Customs for going public over a threatening SMS sent by Datuk Mohd Said Yusof (Jasin MP) to the Customs preventive director Adnan Ariffin. This text message is only the latest point of contention between the MP and the Customs.

So this is it. Close one eye, shut up.