'At the heart of the issue is not whether the said bungalow costs RM2.4 million or RM24 million. It is about whether Khir Toyo has been doing things right in the process of building the bungalow.'

Khir Toyo files suit against Sekinchan state rep

Cala: Is morality situational? At the heart of the issue is not whether the said bungalow costs RM2.4 million or RM24 million. It is about whether Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has been doing things right in the process of building the bungalow. Did he use his own money or did he not?

But context matters. Why? Apparently "the morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed" (Fletcher, 1966). As an example, 150 years ago an American could hunt for a wild ox and take its tongue for dinner. Now, as wild ox is an animal near extinction, such an act is seen as highly contemptuous.

Back to the Khir Toyo case, during BN's rule in Selangor, things were a lot more relaxed. Evidences that surfaced during the Selcat hearing illustrated the point. But when Pakatan Rakyat calls the shots, things are run differently. In its quest to go to Putrajaya after the next general election, the morality standard is set at a much higher mark. Too bad. Khir Toyo is caught with his pants down.

Rocky: Look at this. The person who exposed the matter is being sued while the owner who was a public servant is beyond investigation by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency). The issue is how did he afford the house? If Khir Toyo was CEO of Disneyland, we would not care. But he was the Selangor menteri besar.

As for the land and the bungalow, is it worth only RM3.8 million? Come on. Land at that area is close to RM100 psf (per square feet), even at a discount. Let's say it is RM70 psf. The land alone would come to RM3.5 million for land alone.

If he did buy it at a steep discount, then who did he buy it from and was there any corruption involved because one can always give the house away for some ‘favours'.

Geronimo: A good move by Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Swee Lim. Finally, Khir Toyo has taken the bait by suing Ng. Where MACC feared to tread, Khir Toyo will now have to bare it all in an open court and knowing Ng's lawyer M Manoharan, he is going to grill Khir Toyo till he is roasted good and proper.

PKR supremo gears up for make-or-break sodomy trial

Chee Hoe Siew: I am concerned over Anwar's comment that ‘they are blocking me from becoming the next prime minister". If this is what Anwar has in mind, then his heart is not for the people but for his own vested interest. No doubt it is good to have an ambition to become the prime minister of the country but this should be a long-term end goal.

Anwar should focus on serving the people rather than being obsessed with regaining what he has lost. It is only through serving the people that he can achieve his goal of becoming the next prime minister of the country.

PKB: Dr Munawar Anees says that all have become oblivious to the fact that Sodomy II or not, the previous sodomy charge against Anwar sticks till the time the name of Dr Munawar Anees is cleared. Even if Anwar wins this second round, it will be immaterial until the name of Munawar is cleared. The entire Malaysian nation must understand that.

Chuath: At this point in time, we can say it will be an injustice if Anwar is found 'guilty' of sodomy in the face of all the evidence presented to the public. But we cannot deny that if Anwar cannot manage his people such as Zulkifli Noordin then it is difficult to see how he can manage the country.

To then choose between Pakatan Rakyat or Umno would be like trying to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. We really hope that Anwar would be able to get Pakatan to act together.

GH Kok: I refer to the part about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. The report says "...Najib...who, in the view of many, has by most counts done an admirable job in a short time since taking over the country...".

Surely this is nonsense. Most people are giving up and leaving the country (something like more than 300,000 last year). These are people of all races, mind you. People don't feel safe, people don't see action on corruption, people see billions being lost in the Port Klang Free Zone and people don't see action taken against an ex-MB who lives in a RM24 million house.

The people are puzzled how two jet engines can go missing and the people are fed-up that the duty on cars is as high as ever. The people are fed-up. The people don't think Najib is good enough. The people want change.

Disgusted: What has Najib done since coming into power? Corruption goes on unabated, crime is on the rise, freedom of people for peaceful assembly curtailed using brute force of the police, judiciary under his control, religious and racial extremism on the rise whilst people live in fear of racial and religious tension daily, price of everything - especially necessities - skyrocketing and the poor can't sustain themselves thus the rise in crime.

Our currency and stock market are not moving in tandem with other regional markets and is being artificially boosted by our own government-run institutions (like the EPF, Amanah Saham, Khazanah Nasional), foreign investment on the decline whilst outflow of capital is on the rise.

Soon, additional taxes are to be imposed via the GST (goods and services tax) and subsidies for the poor are to be withdrawn. Even sports development at the grassroots level are to be denied their funds.

1Malaysia clinics boon to urban poor

Johan: Kudos to the Health Ministry for finally meeting the needs of the urban poor. It is a shame that the general public does not realise that our health statistics are one of the best in the world and a lot of this is due to the health network established in our country ranging from the simple health clinic in the ‘kampung' to the tertiary centres of the state capitals.

Healthcare is denied to no one in this country. Sure, things can improve and they need to and therefore setting up of these urban clinics is one way forward. Healthcare is practically free here in the government sector. Ask the poor in our neighbouring countries - nothing is for free there.

Lim Chong Leong: The real issue is that all along we did not cater for the health of the rural poor and now giving them peanuts is actually no big deal. In this modern time and age, we should have already one sizable clinic in every ‘kampung' and mobile ones for the more remote areas.

Instead, we have hospitals worth millions that grow fungus or are structurally unsound. The truth is much public money has been spent with little progress. ‘Satu lagi projek Barisan Nasional'. So don't be conned by hand-out of crumbs by the ministry.

Drvk: The scenario described by the health director-general as to how the medical assistants (MAs) are going to handle cases will remain as a description only. In reality, there are a lot of things that can go wrong and they often do in the practice of medicine.

Even an ex-clinician should know that. I wonder how much of the RM10 million will be allocated for malpractice suits? And for your information, catheters ARE being changed by MAs and staff nurses in ALL government clinics and hospitals already!

Smooth GTP needs 'carrot and stick' tactic

Ahmad Iqhbal: The current system for building contracts fails the country and that much is obvious. It enriches cronies and often ends in poor workmanship and use of substandard materials. They are often over the budget and hardly ever finished in a timely manner.

Why not try a whole new system? Set up government departments that get the contracts and employ Malaysians and legal labourers. Wouldn't it be good to know that there is a government body directly responsible for civil works and we need not have the ‘escape clause' of a ‘bad contractor did the job'?

This system would avoid cronies becoming middlemen where they simply take a slice of the project and then pass it along to a third party that has to make the job profitable after the cream has been skimmed. Doesn't Malaysia deserve to get what it pays for instead of enriching just a connected few?

Or have a government body that employs Malaysians to seek out the best deal for supply of goods without having to pay a huge sum of money as a ‘commission'. Imagine the good that could be done from saving all that money on each contract.

One RM500 million commission from a submarine deal springs to mind. I doubt the current government would do such a thing because they would lose too much power.