Dear Editor,
Times are changing for the better in this country, and one such heartening change is the fact that people, big or small, are made to pay for their crimes. The person who comes immediately to mind is Mr Azruddin Mohamed, who was recently sworn in as a Member of Parliament and vowed to uphold the laws of this country. But this man has a remarkable strategy: just blame the Government.
This billionaire-turned-politician seems to believe that he can break Guyana’s laws with impunity. In the past it would seem that he allegedly bribed some Government officials to facilitate his illegal gold smuggling activities, for which he is currently on the extradition list, and no doubt “very soon” or “shortly” he will get a free ride to the US to face related charges and probably a long jail term, but right now this man is still of the mindset that he can violate the laws at his whims and fancies by driving a reportedly uninsured and controversial luxury vehicle to Parliament and his family members driving heavily tinted vehicles without insurance.
He claimed that the Government instructed the non-renewal of his vehicle’s insurance. It would seem that all this man’s legal woes are the Government of Guyana’s doing, not his. Commit a crime and then blame the Government and call it persecution, not prosecution. He broke the laws, yet he is not culpable in any way. If a vehicle is not insured, do not drive it; if it is heavily tinted, then remove it and put on those within acceptable levels of window tint opacity. He smuggled billions of dollars in gold, and when he is caught, he blames the Government. Yet some asinine social media commentators cannot see the plain, unadulterated truth because of their innate hate for the PPP.
This man believes that if he lies all the time, then those lies can be transformed into facts. He is a strong disciple of Goebellism – “repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”. Azruddin Mohamed is now following in the footsteps of PNC when in opposition – he now claims that the 2025 General Elections were massively rigged, denying him the presidency. Even the PNC had some shame; they had claimed that they had the winning SoPs for the 2020 General Elections. Of course, those cannot be presented until now, but Azruddin did not make such a claim; he felt that it was enough that he claimed that the PPP/C massively rigged the elections and people should believe him. Again, he blames the PPP/C for denying him the presidency.
Is this man for real? This man needs help. He is dangerously delusional, and as the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, warned that Azruddin’s false narrative is an insight into his mentality and is not only reckless but also reflects “psychological disorders at play”. The AG further stated that what is alarming is that it appeared that Azruddin actually believed that the PPP/C rigged the 2025 elections without an iota of evidence. Most Quixotic. Will his supporters endorse such a baseless claim when they know the contrary? Our country will be better off when his extradition takes effect.
We are witnessing an unprecedented level of ostentation and arrogance from Azruddin when he drove his luxury vehicle to Parliament claiming that he brought it for Dr Jagdeo to see since “I think he loves the car more than me. He’s obsessed over the car, so he can see it in person.” He fidgeted with his gold tie and had his driver opening the car door for him to make his dramatic entry. That same controversial vehicle is the subject of a massive fraud and tax evasion scandal, and using it to show off is sending the wrong message to the public. Again, he believes that he did nothing wrong or illegal even though all evidence states otherwise. It is important to note that the discontinuation of the tax evasion charges by the GRA does not mean that there is no evidence and is not a celebrated victory for him but because all hurdles are removed to facilitate and speed up his extradition process. Underestimating his precarious predicament, Azruddin is bent on warbling his swan song.
Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) strongly condemned giving charity to be seen by others, referring to it as “Riya” (showing off), which he called “minor shirk” (minor polytheism). Actions done with the intention of gaining praise or recognition from people, rather than solely for the pleasure of Allah, have their rewards nullified, and on the Day of Judgement such a person will be told to seek their reward from those whom they tried to impress. Muslims are wary of this nullification of their good deeds, and hence, they give charity in utmost secrecy without an iota of ostentation. I was disappointed that Azruddin was at No. 63 Beach giving “charity” to many poor and unfortunate persons and used it as a photo opportunity to publicise the photos on the Team Mohamed FB page. These pictures showed many of these unfortunate persons, which include the elderly and children, sitting with outstretched hands with Azruddin hovering above them, placing money in their hands. One was extremely touching: an elderly woman with a notice which read “Please help” displayed on the front of her clothes. Islam spoke about protecting the dignity of those in need, but here is a newly sworn MP and another WIN MP embarrassing them at a Hindu religious event, Kartik Purnima. There was no need to post these pictures on Facebook to publicly embarrass and degrade these poor people.
This aspiring politician has broken not only his country’s laws but also the moral and spiritual laws and should change his future course of action so that he does not lose this world and the hereafter. Blaming the Government will not resolve your self-imposed crisis.