vox populi small thumbnail'Frogs, whether leaping into or out of BN or Pakatan, disgust me because they deceive the people who voted them into Parliament.'

Anwar's Sept 16 bid was real, says Wikileaks cable

Anonymous_4031: September 16, 2008 came and went, without any concrete proof that defections would come about.

Whatever the reasons for the dissatisfaction with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as PM, the most important to take note of this is: no MP who won on BN or Pakatan Rakyat ticket should stay on as MP if he or she crossed over to the other side. It is highly unethical for any MP to do so.

If ever there is any integrity left in the person, he or she should gracefully resign and go back to the voters again for their endorsement of their actions.

Since Wikileaks had exposed what happened behind the scene, it is wise for BN to pass the anti-hopping bill. If BN fails to do so before it is too late, then it has itself to blame.

Probably BN feels that it has the advantage of turncoats jumping to BN. But it may not be so any more in the future. By then, BN will live to regret it.

Multi Racial: I am glad the intended September 16 defection failed. If it was successful and Anwar Ibrahim became the PM, it would mean Pakatan started on the wrong foot and they will never recover from that.

Following that, Anwar tasted his own medicine when seven state assemblypersons jumped ship from Pakatan to BN, and in Perak's case, enabling BN to take over the state government.

If what Anwar did was right then, what happened in Perak was also right. But it is obvious Malaysians, particularly Perakians, were and still are against it and the subsequent by-election that gave ousted menteri besar Nizar Jamaluddin a big majority win reflected that sentiment.

This is a warning to Pakatan. We don't want them to behave like BN.

WhatLiesBeneath: Just so that Pakatan knows: It is absolutely and totally unacceptable to me as a voter that elected representatives jump ship. They have to get a fresh mandate from the voters again. I write so that Pakatan is clear about at least my sentiments regarding this cross-over issue.

Up till now, I remain confident that Pakatan will consider voters' opinions in their deliberations and decisions. Of course, I also want them to act in accordance with those opinions.

All the same, I am using this forum to encourage all others with similar views to express themselves as well through any popular media that Pakatan people would read.

One Brain Cell: It appears that the warlords in Sabah and Sarawak are still mired in a feudal mindset, afraid of radical reforms and the introduction of a decentralised economy.

The argument that Anwar only wants to be prime minister doesn't hold water. What about Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah? Doesn't he want to be PM too?

Indeed, there are many (Muhyiddin Yassin, Mukhriz Mahathir, Khairy Jamaluddin) who dream of being PM. Ultimately, it's a question of whom the rakyat elect.

Meanwhile, PM Najib Razak was only elected by 191 Umno division chiefs out of a population of 15 million voters (registered and as yet unregistered).

Ah Hoe: Frogs, whether leaping in or out of BN or Pakatan, disgust me because they deceive the people who voted them into Parliament. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar, Azmin Ali and Najib should all be condemned for encouraging these frogs.

Fairplayer: I don't agree with the idea of jumping ship. It's outright immoral, even if it's legal!


Media lynching and academic collaborators

Cheong Sai Fah: I think people need to distinguish the role of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) as one of many fighters for independence and its subsequent parting of ways from the various parties after Independence had been achieved.

This is not uncommon. Take the Communist Party of China - it fought alongside with the Kuomingtang to defeat the Japanese imperialists. Or closer to home, Singapore's PAP linked arms with the Socialist Front to fight for independence and then they went separate ways.

To deny that the CPM did help in the efforts of Malaya gaining independence may not be the proper rendering of the history of this country.

1 Malaysia: The communist did fight the common enemy at that time - the British. I would like to give the example of India. The common people of India fought the British for Independence. They attacked the British and their buildings, their police stations, their courts and even their homes.

The soldiers guarding the British buildings were also Indians and not British soldiers. If the Indians attacked the British police stations and killed the police officers (Indians) guarding the police stations, who would be the heroes - the police officers guarding the British police stations or the Indians attacking the police stations?

The police officers were Indians paid by the British. The ordinary Indians were fighting the British. Now put the same perspective in Malaysia and the Bukit Kepong incident at that time, what do we get?

We sympathise with the dead and their families. Both parties had their reasons. One guarding their employer's property, the other fighting for their country.

Onyourtoes: Before independence, every establishment in the country - the police, the army, the judiciary and civil service - was the lackey of the British (and also the Japanese, don't forget that).

Anyone fighting against the British (and the Japanese) was probably a patriot and freedom fighter. So what is the issue now? By the way, does it matter who fought what and for whom?

I also can say, the British did not grant independence to the freedom fighters. The British handed power over to the aristocrat and feudal class in order to protect their vested interests and the interests of their local cronies, and this legacy was passed down till today.

Look, we can interpret history on our own; we don't have to learn from those professors from University Malaya or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The most important thing we need to look at now as a nation is what has independence brought us - a divided nation saddled with acute income disparity, corruption, poor governance, environmental degradation, hopeless education, poor health care and zero public hygiene?

 

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