vox populi small thumbnail'But is he merely making public statements now to buy time or is he really ‘looking into' all the reform demands?'

EC mulls inviting international observers

Loyal Malaysian: EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof is just trying to pull wool over the rakyat's eyes in the face of Bersih 2.0's rally. A simple matter such as the use of indelible ink, the EC had to abandon it.

Meanwhile, his deputy, just the day before, was quoted as saying foreign observers would not understand our system.

V: Abdul Aziz, don't gloat that it's a honour that the Thais invited you to observe their elections. They are open and welcome international observers as witnesses, while you won't even allow local observers in our elections.

Anonymous_3de1: Now that his pants are on fire, the idiotic EC chairman is talking about electoral 'reforms'. Don't be taken in by such cheap talk because he may agree to doing it but remember his fat pension is at the pleasure of his corrupt Umno/BN masters.

Abil: Demonstrations may not solve anything, but they do create awareness of the injustices of the EC.

2cts worth: Does the EC think it can hoodwink the international observers? What if our prime minister starts his usual Santa Claus rounds - "helping" the people during the election and making deals with voters? I think you have to educate those observers on our unique system before inviting them, don't you think?

That way it will avoid any misunderstandings. They will even appreciate our tradition and follow Malaysia's ‘macam macam pun boleh' (anything goes).

Quigonbond: Is that the EC's carrot so close to the Bersih rally? What an inconsequential concession.

SusahKes: Forever "looking into this", Abdul Aziz, what have you been doing the rest of the year in your office? Who are you kidding?

If you cannot do this or do that, then what's the point of paying you gaji buta? That is whole idea behind Bersih and reform is so that we empower ourselves to do what we are limited from doing now.

DannyLoHH: Yesterday, the EC deputy chief commented that foreigners do not know Malaysia's election laws and do not understand Malaysian law, hence no need to invite international observers as it would hurt our national pride.

But today, he is singing a different tune. This speaks volume of his personal character.

Anyhow, for the EC chief to be willing to consider inviting international observers, that is itself an improvement. The question is, would he be so accommodating if the Bersih rally wasn't being planned? From all his previous statements in the public, it is clear that he would not.

So, is he merely making public statements now to buy time or is he really "looking into" all the reform demands?

Artchan: They will only invite observers from the military junta in Burma, and maybe Zimbabwe.


Ex-assistant Bank Negara governor charged


Anonymous_3de1: It looks like Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad is the fall guy. He could be only an ikan bilis (small fry) considering accepting only RM100,000 when the contract for the printing of the banknotes is for RM95 million.

Some big white sharks are still merrily swimming around in Bolehland. So MACC, don't pat yourself on the back and think we, the people, are excited by it. This is a tip of the iceberg.

Onyourtoes: If Australia has not charged the Australians on the same case, do you think Malaysia will charge the assistant governor here?

Lessons learnt from this case is if you want to be corrupt, deal with third world countries. Don't deal with Australia or other Western democracies. Our former PM knows best and that is why he hates Western powers and why Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe is his best friend.

Lim Chong Leong: More ikan bilis corruption cases. To print the ringgit notes, what decisions can small fries make? The Haris Onn Hussein character in the story is more interesting.

Justice Bao: Where is Haris Onn Hussein, Mr Home Minister? No punishment because he is your brother? Everything to you is wrong, except when it involves your brother.

Darrel Damian: MACC must make sure the masterminds behind this case are also investigated.


Monaco royalty asked to reject Rosmah's donation

Lim Chong Leong: How much does PM Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor make in order to be able to donate 100,000 euro, assuming it is her money? How many poor Malaysians are there who need this money, yet she gives it to the Monaco prince's foundation.

Monaco is richer than Malaysia, so we don't need to give our money away in times of subsidy cuts. But it sure is worth the limelight Rosmah is getting.

People Power: Yes, charity starts at home. Our fellow Malaysians need money and Rosmah throws money away to outsiders. Help the poor in Malaysia first.

Docs: This 100,000 euro donation sounds more like a ‘Purchase of Wedding Invite'. After all, our Umno PMs are known to buy invites to meet famous people (e.g Dr Mahathir Mohamad apparently paid a few million ringgit to see George Bush and Najib Razak apparently paid a few million to see President Barack Obama) so why shouldn't Umno ‘first ladies' do so.

My concern is that if she does get invited for the wedding, how much of the Malaysian taxpayers' money is going to used to finance her air fare (private jet rental and gas), hotel, shopping and spending money at Monaco. I feel sick already.

Bender: "The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has launched an investigation on the allegations involving Taib but has yet to reveal its findings."

What do you expect? Anything that has anything to do with MACC is bound to become stale (unless of course, it involves the opposition or lowly citizens).

 


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