A great deal of Mahathir's criticisms emanated from himself and his hypocrisy is 'as bright as night', says a reader.




On 22 questions for Dr M crosses the Causeway

Edmund Bon: I may have drunk too much but still, this news item is probably the best article I have read so far this year, and I could not stop laughing at the matters which are being put to Dr M, not because they were actually funny, but because they are relevant and true questions which were needed to be said for a long time.

I fully defend Dr M's right to free speech, but the more he talks, the more he buries himself in the "gutter of Malaysia", whatever that means. He was the cause of the problems he is now speaking about, and probably he has nothing much to do in retirement that he needs to continually hog the headlines to supplement his profile as the "former PM of this country".

To Dr M, please think through your statements before spewing them in public. I am not at all saying that the current administration is great, and I have a number of matters which need to be dealt with, but a great deal of your criticisms emanated from you yourself, and your hypocrisy is as bright as night.

Do not expect Malaysians to continually practice the "kow tow" culture, and I sincerely hope that for the sake of this country, you will now feel how great Malaysians felt when we were under your authoritarian rule.

Please take care of yourself, and kindly attempt to stop making a fool of yourself. As a Malaysian citizen, I would be very much obliged.


Nauseatic Bolehlander: They (the questions) are, by no stretch of the imagination, comprehensive! If one chooses to, they can be expanded to 44 questions, or 88, or even 176. Still, I do not believe he can satisfactorily answer even one!

Unless I can be convinced, I can only conclude that the ruckus that he is creating are but for, 1) to divert attention from the real problems (as he has proven to be the expert at that), and, 2) to protect his legacy which is being dismantled, one by one, in front of his very eyes!

Pathetic!


Waiting: This is an open letter to Mathias Chang. If Mahathir is not answering the 22 questions posed to him, why don't you try to answer them. Good luck.


On Scientist: Johor's bigfoots share human roots

HL Too: Scientific beliefs have to be based on scientific evidence. So far, the existence of the so-called Bigfoot has never been scientifically proven despite intensive search. There are people who make a living out of searching for non-existent creatures like Bigfoot, Loch Ness monsters, alien spaceships, Tasmanian tigers (currently extinct), et cetera.

Scientists do not regard something as a fact until scientific standards of proof have been met. I'm afraid Mr Vincent Chow, a member of the Malaysian Nature Society who claims to be a scientist, do not seem to understand the meaning of scientific proof.

Anecdotes and stories are not scientific proof. A true scientist has to accept that as long as there is no scientific proof, one has to remain sceptical (not cynical). Scientific scepticism is essential as otherwise all sorts of cranky beliefs would be regarded as facts.

Mr Vincent Chow who has already accepted the existence of Bigfoot as a fact, no longer has any objectivity to conduct any scientific investigation. All this preoccupation with Bigfoot is making the Malaysian Nature Society a laughing stock. Incidentally, what are Mr Vincent Chow's scientific credentials?


On Ex-judge: Reopen probe on 'poison-pen' letter

HJ Angus: In order for the rule of law to prevail, the public must have the perception that the judiciary and the police have integrity and corruption must be under control. We all know what happened to a few honourable judges. We effectively had a purge of good judges who did not favour the executive.

I suspect if we had a poll on whom do we trust, the public will rate judges at the same level as the police. The authorities have promised to implement the IPCMC and unless this is done soon, the public do not expect to enjoy equal protection under the law. But the rich will be seen to curry favour with everyone.


On Nazri dismisses calls for return of jury trials

Raveendran Shanmugam: Is lacking in legal training, cost, bribery and racial bias the hurdles for the jury system? Whose fault is this? Hello! Which planet are we living on! You get all this in most part of the world, and are you telling me that the rest of the world is blind to the reasons given for a jury system? Does anyone actually understand why a jury system exist?

The jury process actually resembles the core of democracy that we all claim to practice. It restores the notion of duty.


On Let 'em slug it out

Meng: The editorial ended with these words: It's that we cannot expect our political leaders - those in office and, yes, those retired too - to bring the much-needed reforms to this country. That, we will have to do ourselves.

I think many of us have come to realise this, but I have been asking myself, what can we do to bring the reforms?

  1. Become politically active in a political party that is serious about reforms?

  2. Take to the streets and watch the FRU bludgeon us?

  3. Write to websites which will print our articles like malaysiakini?

  4. Go to the polls in huge numbers to make a statement?

  5. Boycott the bias Election Commission and not vote?

Whatever it is, what is needed is critical mass, and enough people who will come out of their political apathy to demand reforms.