The government should do what it promises - that it will listen to and work with the rakyat, says a reader.



On Broga incinerator project to be axed?

Ng Tze Yeng: Yes, please renew my faith in the system by canceling this project. If the project is cancelled, than the government is finally doing what it says - listening to the rakyat and that they are working with the rakyat. How we came to this deplorable state in itself is another story, but redemption is always at hand. Cancel the project!


Joe Public: We should ask ourselves whether we would allow a huge incinerator to be built in the vicinity of our homes to understand how the residents who live near Broga feel about the proposed project. How about near Putrajaya, within sight of the PM's official residence?

I am truly surprised that we seem to have given up on serious recycling to avoid the need for an incinerator. Just like water conservation, I am equally amazed at how we seem to go for big projects instead of ways to collect water from the heavy rainfalls and by educating the people instead.

Quite often, in a public places, I had difficulty finding a bin to put away some rubbish. Similarly, our recycling efforts seem to fail because of the lack of separate bins for plastic, paper and glass. For those with a compound, kitchen waste, which accounts for some 45% of household waste, could be saved to make compost.

Idle landowners should be allowed to have mini-dumpsites for organic waste. Either allow them to charge or give them tax incentive. Encourage them to set up compost centres.

It is sad to read of certain manufacturers having to import plastic, paper or glass because of the lack of such materials collected locally. It is a question of mismatch and it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out how to organise. If necessary, provide incentives like having local representatives to do it like a business with designated convenient spots.

It would be nice, for a change, to see manufacturers competing to collect segregated refuse and minimum refuse collection instead of leachate dripping expensive garbage trucks turning residential areas into smelly neighbourhood.

Even if, initially we did not succeed, through trial and error and with the support of the general public, we should be able to find a solution. There are already good examples overseas and we need not go on an overseas trip to find out, thanks to information technology.

I just hope our leaders will use common sense approach instead of opting for big projects which invariably end up poorly maintained, costing more and creating new health-related problems.


On Bouquets and brickbats for Perak mufti

Shufiyan: Soon the ulama and Badai will be calling for segregated seating for Muslims and non-Muslims on public transport and public places. Then they'll ask for a ban on Muslims working in non-Muslim-owned companies because close proximity to non-Muslims will threaten their 'aqidah'. Are they working towards an Islamic apartheid Malaysia?

My reaction after reading the Perak mufti's comments was: "Alamak! Bodoh-bodoh nya ulamak kita!"

Why don't they instead call for the casino licence in Genting to be revoked? Being civil servants, their salaries could have been coming from Genting's taxes on gambling revenue which is obviously haram. Unless of course, government revenue from Genting taxes go into a separate account.

Hey! What about taxes on liquor? And on gaming revenues horse racing, 'empat nombor ekor', etc...? Are these in a separate 'taxes from non-halal products, services & gaming' account?

Message to the government-salaried ulama kalau was-was, resign lah!


A True Malaysian: For some months now, I dread going to sleep for not knowing what tomorrow may bring. And if I do sleep, I wish that there will be more hours to help me slumber on as I do not wish to be awaken to more mind-numbing news like the recent "konsi-raya" issue. Racial and religious polarisation have come to a point where I don't believe any of our politicians have the will to bring back the "secular" days where I could enjoy the good company of my Malay, Indian and Eurasian friends, be it at school or in the office.

Islam teaches one to be compassionate but what I am now witnessing is Muslims, especially the religious leaders, have a knack for creating unnecessary anxiety for the populace, both Malays and non-Malays alike. They simply lack empathy. This kongsi-raya issue really takes the cake.

For heaven's sake, instead of of torturing us on a piecemeal basis, why don't these fellows once and for all, come out with a full range of "don'ts" for us to adhere to. Umno leaders said that it would be better that we increase our petrol at one go by 30 sen than on a piecemeal basis as the shock would not be so great for the rakyat. Why can't these religious leaders do the same on religious matters? If they can't, maybe I can help to prod them along:

  1. Muslims must now use a different set of ringgit notes and coins as the current ones are being stained by non-Muslims working in casinos; selling pork, keeping dogs; religious donations from temples and churches; and prostitution.

  2. The religious leaders must now issue a directive to all non-Muslim companies, especially the Chinese, that they can no longer recruit Muslim staff with the following message in the job advertisement "Muslims are discouraged from applying". Reason - many Chinese companies (and Indians) have religious altars placed in the workplace and there have been cases where due to space constraint, a Muslim staff is placed quite close to such altars and inevitably breathing in the incense.

  3. MAS must now have two set of aircrafts flying to the same destination - one for the Muslim staff and the other for the non-Muslims and all Muslim passengers are required to fly the aircraft serviced by Muslim staff.

  4. Inter-racial marriage between a Malay Muslim and a Christian or Hindu is now a no-no. Although the non-Malay could be converted to become a Muslim but on Christmas Day, he/she cannot return home to visit his/her parents and other members of the family. If they have the intention to do so, then such marriage cannot take place. This is to prevent a Muslim from being influenced by other religion thus weakening his/her faith. This applies to Chinese New Year and Deepavali home visits as well.

  5. Muslim tourist guides can only conduct tours for Muslim tourists as conducting tours for Europeans will inadvertently expose them to Christian thinking and thus weaken their faith.

  6. Muslim students are to stay away from national-type schools as they can be influenced by non-Muslim students' associations such as the Christian, Buddhist and Hindu societies, thus weakening their faith. Alternatively, non-Muslim students are barred from national-type schools which is now meant only for the Muslim students.

  7. A separate LRT unit will need to be introduced as the current arrangement often see Muslims physically rubbing against non-Muslims in a crowded train and this is definitely "haram".

  8. All Malay traders can no longer trade in a non-Muslim residential area for fear of being influenced by its surroundings thus weakening their faith.

  9. Muslims can only work in a hotel owned by a Muslim. Hotels with names such as JW Marriot, Westin International, Hilton, Nikko are a no-no as they are non-Muslim establishments.

  10. Duit Raya is no longer accepted as it is a Chinese (Toaist) practice called "ang pow".

This list is not exhaustive and I do hope readers can contribute to facilitate the job of the religious leaders. God bless this country!


On Project M: False ICs for foreigners in Sabah

We Can Handle The Truth: I for one am glad that old Mah (Mahathir) is gone and Pak Lah is allowing the dirt to come out from under the carpet. Old Mah doesn't have the right to be just another ordinary citizen. We didn't have the opportunity to scrutinise Old Mah's dirty tricks when he was in power. We now must bring out all the skeletons in his closet. We can't talk about "national unity" and "let bygones be bygones" in the same breath when some citizens had their rights intentionally and actively squashed by Old Mah.

We are not talking about mistakes which every leader inevitably make in his or her career, we are dealing with deliberate malice which may be illegal in nature. It's rumoured that the title "Tun" entitles Old Mah some legal immunity. If that's true, we should at least let it be known that far from being the Malaysian hero that many still believe him to be, Old Mah have done damages that will take a whole generation to repair, if ever.

Old Mah is undoubtedly the most adept politicians Malaysia have seen. Unfortunately, he was not, and probably is still not, for justice and the long-term good of all Malaysians. I doubt we can do much now that a sizable number of voters in Sabah are aliens but let make sure the truth go down in history so future generations can decide if Dr M was George Washington or Stalin.

As for those short-sighted enough to maintain that Old Mah is still a Malay hero for what he may appear to have achieved for his race and party, let me risk being criticised as being a doomsayer and say: we shall see, like many things that Old Mah has supposedly achieved, it's probably still too early to tell. The bubble may yet burst.


On 10-year wait... all for a police report

No Other Way: Another police report! What a waste of time. What can the police do, honestly. I think maybe let us not blame the police per se. Let us look at the whole police organisational set-up, including their salary structure. Let's be honest, the ordinary mata mata as well as the top brass are not super humans. They are, in a way, like you and me. Yes, like you and me.

The whole police force needs to be restructured. This include its organisational structure, a code of conduct (realistic and from all parties), salary scale and a constant drilling and re-drilling of ethics and morals. Get the rakyat (not the MPs) and the police involved. After all, it is they who are the main players.

Let us sit down and talk, closed door if necessary, The politicians have done their role in highlighting the problems, so Mr Politicians, shut up for a while. Bring in truly independent parties if necessary, foreigners if necessary. It is time we move on to get the police not only efficient and clean, but are seen to be so.