'When Noah was building his ark, everyone laughed and mocked. But when the rains and the floods came, I bet they all wanted to jump right into that ark.'
Pakatan en route to victory or disaster?
Paul Warren: Zaid Ibrahim, just in case you have forgotten the story. When Noah was building his ark, everyone laughed and mocked. And still others would stood and stared with a suspicious look, not wanting to let known their doubts. But when the rains and the floods came, I bet they all wanted to jump right into that ark.
To them, I'd say their fear is what will let them down if they don't climb on board the ark you are building.
Starmandala: Everybody has grown very fond of Nik Aziz Nik Mat, and with good reason. The man represents all the qualities Umno warlords are unable to fathom. Simplicity, modesty, humble living, strong spiritual grounding.
However, the Tok Guru is no longer young and vigorous. As long as the position of Pakatan Rakyat chairperson is more symbolic than administrative, Nik Aziz can handle it. But his health comes first and Pakatan will still need a political veteran with enormous stamina like Anwar Ibrahim to manage the day-to-day responsibilities of governing a country.
Zaid is truly a brilliant thinker and an exceptionally noble soul. My gut feeling is that at this juncture the only real option is to let an agile and resilient streetfighter deal with the messy human ambiguities of realpolitik. Who else but Anwar to build us that rainbow bridge to a new kind of politics - a civilised species of politics, free of greed, hypocrisy and corruption.
Melter Jiki Tais: As a Sabahan, I fully agree with Zaid's suggestion that in order to win big in the two East Malaysian states, Pakatan should play a supporting role to the local parties with the same vision. His suggestion reflects our sentiment.
Ranjit Singh: Like Barisan, Pakatan too has become a victim of own success. Perhaps the people have given the fledgling coalition power too soon. When those who were too long in opposition suddenly found themselves in positions to call their own political shots, obviously many are carried away with it.
They lacked the political compassion to appreciate public political sentiments. They failed to empathise popular opinion that the people had put them in 'powerful' positions to test them whether they were qualified to rule the roost at the centre.
Pakatan politicians shall not forget that if the people can put them there, they can be kicked out from there too. They should realise that their political strength and power were given at the people's convenience, not theirs.
Nicholas Lim: There is one thing that is bugging me - the unenthusiastic response from Pakatan leaders to formalise their coalition, to unite under one banner and logo, to draft a common policy framework of cooperation and major issues, to go about the tough task of dividing seats, representatives, areas of influence, portfolios, etc. Each of the three parties still behaves as if it is still in the opposition and as separate groups.
Where are the common press conferences? Where are the common goals? Where are the common budget manifesto? Until they really get involved in the tough job of coalition building, taking over Putrajaya is a pipe dream. Zaid is spot on, and we wish him all the best in his endeavours.
Spokenthots: DSAI (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) you just do what you gotta do and get on with it. Why is Najib promoting 1Malaysia? Because of the threat that DSAI and his band of merry men did in the 12th general election.
If not for DSAI and his merry men, you think we the people will be getting all the rules relaxation and other so-called goodies. If not for DSAI, do you think BN would have become or try to become an inclusive coalition. So DSAI, keep up the good work and keep the Najib on his toes and let's see what other goodies he has in store for us.
BN is disintegrating before our very eyes - almost every member of the coalition is having internal problems. So DSAI, do what you do best, speak out against tyranny and oppression of the people, cronyism, nepotism, and all the other "isms".
But DSAI, you have to act fast as well and form a credible Pakatan.
RM9 mil shares: Azmin dismisses allegations
Sentinel: The 9 million Telekom shares allocated to Maika Holdings that went missing were meant for the Indian community, SA Vigneswaran. That should give you more reason and incentive to investigate further and find the answer. Why are you afraid to ask your ex-boss who stole and robbed the shares from the Indian community?
Trigger-happy cops: Opposition MPs demand action
Mammen: As a human being, I do not tolerate any form violence. Thugs, alongs and snatch thief mat rempits, irrespective of which race they belong to, pose a great danger to the nation and society as a whole. My experience... they do not pick and choose their victims based on race, religion and so forth.
As a law-abiding rakyat of this country, I, too, have my expectations. I do not want my country turning into some rogue nation whereby authorities carry out their duties in uncivilised manners. We have our federal cnstitution and other laws to guide us.
As a civilised society, we do not want to behave like these thugs... jungle law is their law... we will become no better than them, and of course, will not be the right ones to comment and judge. Whether a person is guilty or not... let the courts decide. I think we should stop playing God.
Fade Away Murgiah: Gobind Singh is doing a great job as a MP. We say "yes" to his proposal for a mandatory inquest to all police killings.
I can see no reason for the police to be afraid of an open inquiry if they have nothing to hide in these incidents to begin with. An ex-IGP assaults a former DPM (deputy formal minister) in lock-up and lies about it. Can we, therefore believe them? A mandatory inquest is the best solution for all parties, including the police.
