VoxPop: 'Why is Najib apologising?'
Stephen Ng: Bukit Bendera Umno division head, Ahmad Ismail who made a racist remark recently during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign did not apologise. Instead, it was the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Razak, who made a public apology on behalf of Umno.
It is not an understatement to say that all Malaysians abhor the racist remarks made by Ahmad in his capacity as Umno divisional chief and for him to claim that he did not mean what he had uttered is as good as saying that his words and actions were that of an underaged person.
As a divisional leader, Ahmad should be personally responsible for the remarks that he had made, and we urge the deputy prime minister as the BN whip to take disciplinary action against Ahmad.
As an observer of Malaysia’s political drama, I am impressed by Anwar Ibrahim’s reprimand of the Penang deputy chief minister as well as the sacking of the Selangor menteri besar’s aide over allegations of improper conduct. It shows that no one is spared the axe if a wrong is done.
On the contrary, the nation has seen how the former state assemblyman of Selangor, the late Zakaria Md Deros, escaped any form of disciplinary action after a controversy involving him and his family was revealed.
I cannot help but urge Najib to exercise his authority as BN whip. The unhappiness expressed by the Chinese in Malaysia cannot be placated by an apology by Najib. Ahmad as divisional chief should take personal responsibility for his seditious comments.
The sad part is that he had uttered these words in the presence of the DPM and under the watchful eyes of the police as well.
Nantha Kumar: Well, proof that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government practices racism has finally been revealed. What is the prime minister going to say now after all his talk of unity and respect for people regardless of race or religion?
His own party is now talking about racism. This is the main reason why the Barisan ship is sinking and very soon it will be gone. To Umno, please stop stirring up such negative sentiments. People are sick and tired of your political double-talk and hypocrisy.
MILLIONTH CITIZEN: So, Mr PM, the rakyat is waiting to see what action you are going to take against Ahmad Ismail for making such inflammatory racist remarks. Many police reports have been lodged by various parties on the matter. Don’t tell me you are going to remain silent? What action are you going to take to correct this racist man?
Such racist arrogance can only be displayed by Umno. Where is Ahmad? Why isn’t he explaining himself? Has his bravado deserted him now that he is in trouble? Come out and defend yourself. We, the rakyat, are waiting for an explanation.
Chuacj: The prime minister said Ahmad did not mean what he said. Does this mean the issue should be swept under the carpet?
In the world of Umno, if you take a gun and shot somebody, will there be no case if you say you didn’t mean to commit murder? If Ahmad didn’t mean his words, there are only two explanations as to why he made the remarks.
Firstly, it was an honest opinion straight from the heart. This means the words just came out from his mouth without going through his brain. If this is the case, then Ahmad is a very dangerous man as he is full of hatred. Just think want will happen if he has more power.
Secondly, he purposely played up racial sentiments to pit the various races against each other. If this is the case, shouldn’t he be charged under the Internal Security Act?
Pendatang/Squatter/Immigrant: This is an appeal Lee Chong Wei. As described by a prominent politician, you are an immigrant. You did not represent your country to win a silver medal at the Olympics. The medal you won is worthless.
Maybe you should send that medal elsewhere, where it will be appreciated. Winning a medal means nothing if your country does not recognise and appreciate you for it. And I don’t mean plying you with money and gifts.
Eileen: I come from a kampung where the Chinese and Malays lived side by side in harmony. I remember during Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji, our kitchen would be full of kuih, ketupat and beef curry.
And during Chinese New Year, my mother would be busy making tons of kuih bakul for all our Malay friends.
During the local fruits season, our house would be full of rambutan, mangosteen and durians, fresh from the backyards of our Malay friends.
We were all very naive and lived happily together. We didn't know what racism was until ‘ambitious’ politicians introduced it to our lives when they came to our village to canvass for support. They used racist policies to pit us against each other in order to cling on to power.
For the past 51 years, politicians have been poisoning us. This was especially evident during the March general election and the recent Permatang Pauh by-election.
After 51 long years of struggle, is it too much to ask that we all get along and respect each other? I hope the rakyat will bury their differences and give Anwar Ibrahim a chance to lead Malaysia forward.
On Who ordered ban on RPK's site?
Meng: Is the prime minister aware of what is happening in the country? Does he even know that an institution called MCMC is under his purview? It never fails to amaze me that whenever there is a crisis in government, there is always silence from the PM's office. Only when things are in chaos does he say something.
It makes one wonder, especially in this latest episode involving the ban on Malaysia Today, who is in charge? Who is at the helm of our country? It looks like the country is on auto-pilot.
On PM unveils biggest Budget ever
Cetepe: Putting up figures conjured to impressed the masses with freebies, the BN governent is a total failure in money management and as a custodian of our hard earned tax money. Spending money is easy, spending it productively is not.
It was more a short sighted, knee jerk reaction and a populist budget than anything else.What the country needs right now when faced with fast deteriorating global financial and economic problems is a proactive budget that is forward looking with a visionary and progressive action plan. Is this beyond all the so-called best brains in the government?
On Pakatan moots Sept 16 public holiday
Siew Wah: It was with great joy that I welcomed the declaration by Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim that Sept16 would be a public holiday in all five Pakatan Rakyat-led states in west Malaysia.
It is not so much that Malaysians are hard up for another public holiday. Its just that an extra public holiday would signify solidarity with our brothers and sisters in east Malaysia.
Malaysians of all races are looking forward to real justice, transparency and good governance come September 16.
Timo Finian: Mr PM, if you are reading this, it is high time you got off your high horse and came out of your comfort-zone and touched base with us common-folk. Not just during elections but all the time.
You must come clean with the rakyat who put you where you are in the first place. Better late than never as they say. Please be honest with us so we can all remember you as the nice guy you really are and not someone who failed to act when he had the chance.
Remember, evil happens only when good men do nothing.
Paran Chinniah: In March 2008, our PM made an announcement that he would listen to the rakyat via his website. He promised us, the rakyat, that all comments, feedback, suggestions, complaints and any form of correspondence will be screened by himself be replied promptly.
So, the website went up immediately and I believe everyone, including me, visited the website and submitted our concerns immediately. I am not sure if anyone got any form of reply from the PM himself, as promised. But on Aug 31, the 51st anniversary of Merdeka, the website was inaccessible. Does this mean the PM ‘listened’ to us for only for six months?
Why can't the government be truthful in their intentions? All we want is for the PM and his cabinet to listen to the rakyat and serve us truthfully.
On Pak Lah vows to foil Sept 16 plan
Daniel K: Pak Lah vows to stop Anwar from seizing power through "illegitimate means"? So was it ok when the BN did it in Sabah? Now all of a sudden it is illegitimate.
Funny how Pak Lah doesn’t want the mandate given by the people to be seized from the BN. What mandate? Pak Lah, you barely scraped through in the last elections. I can safely say that if anyone was to be accused of seizing power through illegitimate means, it is you and your party.
Kenneth: The DNA bill in its present form is set to break all norms of justice and fair play.
First of all, the police will be in charge of the DNA database. It is common sense that the ones looking for evidence should not have access to the DNA samples which can easily be abused to fabricate evidence.
Secondly, the accused is unable to challenge the veracity of the DNA evidence or appoint his own experts to verify the results. This removes his ability to defend against the evidence presented.
Thirdly and this is the most oppressive clause, the court must consider the DNA evidence as conclusive overriding all other evidence. This means that even if you have ironclad alibi, it is useless for your defense.
The DNA bill is obviously designed to be a tool of political oppression rather than a law to solve crime as Syed Hamid suggested. There is no other way to account for the fundamental flaws in this bill.
If this DNA bill becomes law, no Malaysian is safe from unjust prosecution. Any innocent man can be charged with rape or sodomy, forced to give his DNA sample which can be planted and rendered totally defenseless by this draconian law.
Do we elect our MPs to safeguard our rights or to oppress us? Any MP who votes to pass this bill has no right to be holding office.
On Special Branch probes defection rumours: S'wak MP
Vijaya Sankar: It has always amazed me that the Special Branch seems to operate as an arm of the ruling party rather than to just safeguard the country.
During the March elections, there were reports in newspapers about Special Branch intelligence reports saying that the ground had moved and that BN was losing its support. Both BN and Anwar were quoting these reports. What is it in their remit to produce these reports on a political situation?
Indeed, in other countries important political leaders, whatever the party, whether in opposition or not are offered police protection but in Malaysia this is inconceivable. The police is considered the arm of the ruling party.
Right now they are investigating defections from BN. What has this got to do with their duty to protect people and the country. They have become involved in politics and no one seems to think this is wrong? This is complete undermining of what the fundamentals of a police force should be for. And it is wrong to abuse the police to strike fear into people.
On Where are the principled politicians and activists?
Tim Finian: Principled or not Anwar Ibrahim is the bet to diffuse the BN bomb. Nelson Mandela had to cool his heels in a cold cell for 25 years before he could initiate changes in apartheid South Africa. We have waited 50 years, going on 51. Our time is now. We cannot wait any longer.
Principled or not, whether he becomes PM or not, Anwar is the only ‘ace-in-the-pack’ that can effectively turn the tide against the convoluted and polluted blue wave on which we have been riding.
Going by the adage, one has to fight fire with fire, we can all sit down and talk about morals, principles and ethics after the blue-scourge has been removed, completely from the face of Malaysian soil.
On ACA officers pose as tea boys to bust scam
Raptor 22: This is really shocking but not something new in Malaysia, especially in the RTD, Puspakom and even the Transport Ministry itself.
The first thing I would like to see is the sacking of our transport minister. What is he doing in that seat? He issued a warning to the Kommuter and LRT train operators only after our PM personally traveled on these systems and expressed his disappointment.
And then the minister only issued a warning to the responsible operators, saying the transport ministry is closely watching its activities. If the ministry is really doing its job, why should the prime minister have to conduct spot checks?
The RTD, which is under the minister’s supervision, should work with and closely monitor Puspakom’s activities. However, the ACA probe shows that there is a huge gap between these two departments. I hold the transport minister wholly responsible.
On Kedah says no to gyrations, bans concerts
Gordon Lim: What in the world is wrong with PAS Youth? Don't they understand what entertainment is all about? Without entertainment, society will not be as constructive and vibrant as it needs to be.
I totally can't accept the fact that they have decided to ban entertainment which involves body movement. How is body movement bad and immoral? They should concentrate on eliminating crimes rather than imposing morale values on society.
