Minister To Lam publicly discloses his ideological developments and ambitions for power

Minister of Public Security To Lam

Recently, public opinion has seen that Minister of Public Security To Lam does not take care of the main work of the police forces, but only cares about meddling in the functions of other sectors, to capture benefits and demonstrate power. There is much evidence that the Ministry of Public Security is ambitious to comprehensively manage the state and society, on behalf of the Government.

Especially after the National Assembly conducted a vote of confidence for 44 key personnel, elected or approved by the National Assembly, Minister of Public Security To Lam received the highest number of “low confidence” votes among 6 members of the Politburo in the voting.

Observers believe that this is a lesson that will force the Minister of Public Security to reconsider and learn from experience if To Lam still harbors ambitions to become General Secretary – the top position of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

And people were not surprised when, during the discussion session on the morning of November 10 on the Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order project, General To Lam gave the opinion that “… create favorable conditions for State management agencies, but the law must also serve the people and ensure the people’s rights.”

Dan Tri newspaper on November 10 had a news article with the title: “Minister of Public Security: There is only one law, priority vehicles must also stop at red lights.”

According to Dan Tri, commenting on regulations related to “traffic command,” General To Lam cited lessons from other countries, that is, they do it very well according to the principle, “on the road there is only one law and you have to stop at a red light… but in reality, in Vietnam, when the light is red, priority vehicles can still pass through. So the priority vehicle does not comply with the law.”

And yet, according to Mr. To Lam, “In Vietnam, every time a priority vehicle passes by, the traffic police have a hard time, and the people also have a hard time. When the light is green, you have to stop to give way to the priority vehicle, which is very dangerous. People on the right path and according to the law must be able to go.”

According to observers, based on Minister To Lam’s opinion, one can see that To Lam is telling the National Assembly to “live and work according to the law” and “everyone is equal” with no exceptions, no preference for anyone.

A question arises, why did the head of the police’s respect for the law suddenly turn 180 degrees? Because not long ago, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, under the Ministry of Public Security, acted according to “double standards.” In the field of legal protection “double standards” means, “two similar cases are handled with different standards.”

Specifically:

  1. Ho Chi Minh City police have prosecuted and arrested model Ngoc Trinh (wearing a helmet), for dangerous motorbike riding. Meanwhile, two circus artist brothers, Giang Quoc Co and Giang Quoc Nghiep, both rode a motorbike and performed a circus performance without wearing helmets, which is many times more dangerous than Ngoc Trinh, but they did not be handled.
  2. Ho Chi Minh City police acquitted 4 Vietnam Airlines flight attendants who were caught carrying more than 11kg of banned substances; as for Ngoc Trinh, who only drove a motorbike, she was charged with criminal accusation and detained for 3 months.

Article 16 of the 2013 amended Constitution of Vietnam clearly states: “Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall be discriminated against in political, civil, economic, cultural and social life.” That is, everyone has equal status before the law, and has the right not to be discriminated against.

Not to mention, in July 2017, Minister of Public Security To Lam was present in Eastern Europe to directly command and operate the Vietnamese special agent system and kidnap suspect Trinh Xuan Thanh in the center of Berlin, then brought back to Vietnam. This is an act that defies international law and violates Germany’s security sovereignty, which as Minister of Public Security of Vietnam, Mr. To Lam absolutely cannot do.

Therefore, the explanation for Mr. To Lam’s unexpected “law-abiding” attitude could be: If in countries with democratic, pluralistic politics, then the short statement should be just right. Minister To Lam’s statement can be considered part of the election platform of an individual or a political party, which he represents.

Therefore, there is skepticism about whether the above statement of Minister To Lam, made at this time, is the commitment of a candidate for the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in its 14th National Conference or not?

If that is true, according to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, then To Lam is developing his own ideology and not hiding his ambition for power.

It is unclear whether General Secretary Trong still has enough power at this time to deal with Minister of Public Security To Lam?

Thoibao.de (Translated)