Let's face it - Dr Mahathir Mohamad's refusal to assess Pak Lah's performance is in itself an assessment, says a reader.

HL Too: I'm still shaking my head in disbelief - Dr M talking to malaysiakini ! Wonders never ceased. The simple reason is that the press freedom in the country that Dr M claims to have promoted during his tenure as PM is such that he cannot get his criticisms of the present government to be printed in the so-called mainstream media. Now, why should we be surprised that our newspapers would not print his criticism of Pak Lah. (Let's face it. Dr M's refusal to assess Pak Lah's performance is in itself an assessment. No comment is also a comment).

Let us wait and see if any of the major dailies would report his criticisms in the malaysiakini interview. I may be wrong but I would strongly suggest that we do not hold our breadth while we wait.

Truly Malaysian: The bumiputeras have been the most disappointing, at least according to Mahathir. Why so? A simplified answer to this is: wrong motivation. The motivation has always been everything else, except for check and balance.

So why does Mahathir feel disappointed? This man had such far-sighted thoughts on what he has been doing, or what he intended to achieve, but are the people around him on the same wavelength? If siblings of the same worm are not alike, how do we expect the community to know his intention?

It is not easy to change a whole generation in one swoop but it's easier inculcate the right principles and methods to achieve the desired goals. Alas, this is where he had failed, hoping a whole generation could jump from Standard 1 to Form 5 within a decade or two.

Constructive criticism should have an open-door policy and a two-way street. Criticism is excellent when the recipient is receptive rather than trying to prove a point.

The bottom-line, if you see Malaysians as one community rather than segregating it, the result would, and will, be better. We, the future generation, irrespective of background, still have hope, and malaysiakini in its own way could pave the way.

Me! I am proud to be a Malaysian, no matter where I am or what happens around me. It is a self-instilled patriotism.

VL: If Mahathir's word can be trusted, we would have no problem trusting a fox. What he has done in the past did more harm to the people of Malaysia than good. He made us pay a hefty price for the national car (the rakyat should remember how much money we have to pay for an inferior Proton).

There is a Chinese saying, 'If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam would not be straight too.' If he claimed Samy Vellu is his good friend, you know what I mean by that.

Ramesh: God, I cannot believe the hypocrisy of this man. He still thinks that the rest of the populace are idiots.

Vincent Lim: I have read all the comments and start to think why these people are so angry with Dr Mahathir. I personally is not involved with any political party and know that they are corruption and cronyism in our Malaysian society, but where on earth is there no corruption and no croynism. Even in a family, you will find favouritism.

I personally think Dr Mahathir is a man with vision and he has done a lot for Malaysia. Just imagine during the 1997-1998 financial crisis - if not because of Dr Mahathir, I think our economy would have gone down the drain. I think people have very short memories. Being on top is not an easy job. If without Dr Mahathir's vision and leadership, I don't think you will be able to see Malaysia like today.

Just look at Iraq, when Saddam Hussein was the president, everybody didn't like him but the country is peaceful but now with the American- and British-appointed government, the country is in a worse situation. Please, fellow Malaysian, think and think hard, and don't blame the leadership of Dr Mahathir.

What about our present PM? What has he done after two and half years - practically nothing. All I can see is his son-in-law and son are making lots of money, and the economy is getting worse. Give Dr Mahathir the credit due. He has done a good job for the country and I am proud of him even though I don't personally know him but I really think he has done many good things for the country.

Records 1997: When he was asked by CNN's Riz Khan in 1997: "By setting the nation about 30 years ahead of Vision 2020, what kind of person do you see in a successor ... a visionary or a manager?"

Dr Mahathir replied that he should think a manager more than a visionary. "Now that I have designated my successor, there should not be a problem." Of course, we now know that Dr Mahathir was wrong. He appointed a successor who is neither a good manager nor a visionary.

On corruption ... senior ministers' family or children getting involved in businesses, which in the eye of the public seem to be corrupted, Dr Mahathir was quoted during the 1997 interview as:

"We cannot assume that simply because they are members of a minister's family, therefore what they do must be because of their connections. If there is any suggestion of some patronage on the part of their parents, then we will certainly remove the parents from the decision-making process. Others will make the decision, but this is, of course, viewed by some as ineffective.

"But we cannot expect that the children of those in government must be rendered poor, unable to do business, cannot work in government because that would mean patronage also. If they do things on their own so long as they do not involve the government, I think they have a right to bonus or to work with the government."

We shall now ask, is our present leadership practicing this principle?

Ahmad Fuad: I am lost for words for this man. I am afraid, any word I use either to describe him or his actions, will be rude!

The following are readers' comments in respond to other responds. This one is on Electricity tariffs jump 12 percent .

AB: Let us see whether in five years' time, TNB (or whatever remains of it), will be complaining about the increased costs of loans, or operational costs, or vendors overcost, etc. I hope that the opposition parties will keep the reason for the present hike:

"With the new tariff structure, (Tenaga) will be in a better position to re-invest in existing infrastructure from 2006 to 2010 in order to improve reliability and quality of supply in core areas..

"(Tenaga) is expected to invest an estimated RM40 billion for upgrading and improving the electricity supply system over the next five years."

The Malaysian citizen has been made the scapegoat in many aspects by these GLCs so it is up to them to show how much they continue to trust this Barisan Nasional government and their constant excuses for persistently burdening the poor, when the elections come around. Maybe we will all be like the Dayaks in the recent Sarawak elections and fall for the smooth-talking, palm-greasing politicians in Sarawak!

On Samy 'praises' burning of newspapers: report

RJ: The MIC leader is a classic example of thugs who are unfortunately also members of parliament and cabinet ministers. There was no condemnation by Samy Vellu against the acts of violence and vandalism, in fact he supported and encouraged it. He is a shameful reflection of the aggressive nature the leadership in this country adopts when addressing opposing views.

Lee: I am a non-Indian. The way I look at it is that Samy Vellu is desperately trying to get rid of Subra. As party president. why don't he allows the delegates to elect who they want to be the second man? I think the MIC constitution should be amended so that the election of the president and all other main positions in the MIC be on the same date and month instead of the president first, then the rest of the positions.