YOURSAY 'Organisations like Pekida and Perkasa are outsourced by Umno to do its dirty work so that it can play good cop.'

More to Pekida than meets the eye, researcher finds

your say, Yoursay Telestai!: "In reality, Pekida is one of those numerous NGOs created by this network to offer political support, legalise part of their activity, and ease the reception of funds from the ruling party," said French researcher Sophie Lemiere.

Well said. In short, organisations like Pekida and Perkasa are outsourced by Umno to do its dirty work so that it can play good cop. Umno needs a lot more imagination if it hopes to fool the rest of us.

Commentable: No wonder we have Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi calling them his friends and asking these people to carry on doing what they do best. Even the police close both eyes when these ‘professional' gangsters go around doing their tour of duty.

Ferdtan: They are all state-sanctioned thugs. They don't follow the laws of the country. In fact, the police and the government 'allowed' these gangsters to break them with impunity. They are untouchable.

If PM Najib Razak does not keep a tight leash on their activities, one day they may come back to bite the government with their rowdy violence - if their inducements and benefits run out. They only listen to their ‘money god.'

Quigonbond: Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong should realise that working with Umno is like working with gangsters. Do you put short-term national self-interest first, or do you truly want long-term peace within Asean?

For long-term peace, Malaysia must get out of becoming a gangland couched in legal jargon and Singapore must tacitly support real democratisation of Malaysia.

A democratic and dynamic Malaysia is in a far better position to co-exist in synergy with Singapore. It need not be a zero-sum game between Singapore and Malaysia.

Swipenter: This is reminiscent of Brown Shirts of Nazi Germany and the Black Shirts of fascist Italy. Power, money, race and religious supremacy all rolled into one.

Since Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin "legitimised" and put the Mat Rempits under the party's political patronage, this social menace has gone literally unchecked by PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police). They are out of control now.

Lim Chong Leong: Mario Puzo's ‘Godfather' portrayed Vito Corleone as the most powerful don because he has all the politicians in his pocket and the other dons dare not touch him. Should one is foolish enough to try, he and all the other dons would go blasting away.

Senior: Are they paid consultancy fees, too?

Some gangs now eyeing opposition and Anwar

P Dev Anand Pillai: If this is how the country is run, then there will not be much hope for the educated in this country.

There are some educated gangsters as well but it defeats the purpose of the country being a democracy if we allow political violence to be condoned by the political elite to ensure that the status quo is never changed.

Again, it is up to the people of this nation - if we enjoy being led by gangsters and say that we don't have a choice then we have to do their bidding, no matter how much we may dislike it.

Lemiere is indirectly telling us to wake up and keep these politicians in check, be it from BN or Pakatan Rakyat.

Onyourtoes: Gangs switching allegiance or playing both sides? That is natural. Business tycoons and cronies do that all the time and it is called lobbying and buttering.

I hope that the Pakatan leadership will get it right - just set the right policies and damn the rest. It is the unfettered business-government nexus that is destroying this country.

It renders the government useless and helpless to serve public interests. It encourages businesses to employ unethical methods to get deals. Government and business must be separate and distinct.

Retired government servants, police officers and judges should never be allowed to become directors of corporations or to run businesses. It is a travesty of ethics and good governance. It will corrupt the whole system as we see today.

Doc: A very interesting research by Lemiere. There are lots to deduce from it.

1) Not only the rakyat are getting disillusioned by Umno-BN, even the local gangsters are looking to switch allegiance.

2) Pakatan has more credibility in running the country thus they appeal to many levels of society, even the dodgy types.

3) The gangsters are probably worried that the economy is tanking at the hands of Umno and it is affecting their business. The gangsters are hoping that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan can reinvigorate the economy for which they, too, will prosper.

4) Umno is broke and are demanding more kickbacks from the gangsters thus their profit margin is shrinking.

5) The local gangsters are the main rival of the police. Now that the police have taken over the gangsters' jobs, they are being left high and dry.

Anonymous #12566075: No doubt gangs (secret society group as commonly known in Malaysia) are going for money.

It is common knowledge that a few leaders of one of the main Chinese-based party are linked to gangs as the party is rich in resources. It will be a sad story indeed if gangs could influence the vote in our elections.

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