VOXPOP 'With the May 13 bogey having been put to rest and every other enemy has not been able to bring about the ‘Malay unity', the Christian bogey now has to be brought to life.'

Deja vu: Himpun rally has 21-year echo

Durian: The real strategist and actual person running the country today is very obvious - right from the time former PM Abdullah Badawi was forced down and replaced by Najib Razak - that person is Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The post-Abdullah era (and Abdullah was the best among the worst of PMs) has been full of racial incitement and religious tension. That has always been the hallmark of Dr M. And this really works among the Malays. Malaysia really boleh .

Paul Warren: Well, with the May 13 bogey having been put to rest and every other enemy has not been able to bring about the ‘Malay unity' that Umno has always been talking about, the Christian bogey now has to be brought to life.

The politicians, knowing that this is one bogey that they cannot be welcoming, have left it to the Islamic NGOs to do their bidding. Everyone attending the rally will not have the praising and veneration of Islam on their minds. It will be an orgy of hate.

In that hate, they will find a unity that will be touted about in the days ahead. And somehow they are supposed to find that Umno is that source of unity.

Compass: The good thing about this Himpun rally is that not one Christian or opponent of the rally has come out to threaten mayhem against the people who wish to attend it. Here lies the difference in character between the Umno bigots and the rest of us.

Petestop: If one has strong faith, why fear being converted? It says a lot.

No Deepavali cheer for nine Kg Buah Pala families

Durian: These nine families - who rejected the generous offer from the developer because they were being told not to accept it by the BN, MIC, and so-called champions of the Indians and that they could get a better deal - should approach these people for their compensation.

Why blame those who offered them compensation?

Ong: All those who had encouraged and instigated them not to accept the offer should now get together and raise enough money to buy nine houses of equivalent value for them.

Passerby: The nine deserve what they got. Perhaps they can go to TV3 and give more interviews or give ceramah to attack the Pakatan Rakyat government. They deserve this and no one should sympathise with them. They should go and get their houses from MIC and Gerakan.

Anonymous: Kampung Buah Pala residents association chairperson M Sugumaran and its activists, serve you people right. All of you were greedy for more. Your greed was manipulated by BN, and you are all now the losers.

Jyaphs: Sugumaran really talks rubbish. He should be responsible for the nine families' predicament and no one else.

Just Say it: These nine should seek compensation from Koh Tsu Koon, who approved the sale in the first place, or MIC, who instigated them not to accept the RM500,000 house. For the lucky ones who did not fall prey to MIC, they have every reason to thank Penang CM Lim Guan Eng (LGE).

Pemerhati: In the Kampung Buah Pala case, everyone can speculate and say all sorts of things - either in favour or against the way the matter was handled.

But the stark reality is that the poor Indian villagers only got 10 percent of what was stolen from them and Lim refused to engage in a debate with Koh Tsu Koon and reveal all the facts and explain why he could not implement the suggestions that would have given a much better deal to the villagers.

His behaviour thus gave rise to the strong perception that DAP is not very different from BN when it comes to treating the marginalised minorities.

Sze Tho Weng Ho: Dear Pemerhati, please get your facts right. The land was not stolen from them (refer to the Federal Court judgment). Just because you squat on land that does not belong to you, doesn't mean you are entitled to compensation.

The issue has been settled. The court has ruled the villagers have no legal standing. The houses given to the 24 families were on goodwill basis. The nine who were foolish and allowed themselves to be used as cannon fodder have no one to blame but themselves.

What is there to debate?

Temenggong: KBP (Kampung Buah Pala) is Brown Family Trust land administered by the Penang government. The residents paid quit rent and assessment for decades, not TOL (temporary occupation licence).

By some administrative trickery, the assessment was converted to TOL. Then the land was sold to the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang Bhd. The sale agreement lapsed on March 8, 2008.

It was Guan Eng who resurrected the lapsed agreement on March 27, 2008. So don't lie to us with dubious arguments.

Proarte: I have been on record as saying that initially LGE handled the KBP debacle in a crude and insensitive manner which did not do put DAP in good light. However, DAP is now more savvy in dealing with Indian issues and issues which concern the marginalised.

I personally believe LGE had the best interest of the villagers at heart but was constrained by previous agreements and court orders. He had to look at the wider picture of business confidence in his administration. If the rule of law is not adhered to, Penang would suffer in the long run.

With regard to the nine who rejected the compensation, what leg did they have to stand on? They were not bargaining on a position of strength. They were given four months to decide but yet they stubbornly refused, having been fooled by MIC and Hindraf.

We know how BN deals with illegal residents - it is bulldozers, tear gas, clubs and if lucky a RM30,000 compensation. It was greed and ill-advice by the treacherous Sugumaran who singlehandedly caused their woes.

Abil: Let's be all rational here, rubber estates are being converted to commercial and residential land. This is very much evident in most states and the victims are invariably the Indians. They are being displaced with minimal compensations, and no guarantee of a roof over their heads.

Here in Penang, they were fortunate to get RM500,000 homes, which they can sell and buy a plot of land elsewhere if they desire to rear cows. In Selangor, the most they can get is a low-cost house worth about RM40,000.

Tkc: To M Sugumaran, C Thamaraj and the nine family members of Kampung Buah Pala: you were given a golden opportunity to own a nice double-story house without paying a single cent.

Due to some twisted logic in your heads, you declined the offer thinking that BN and Hindraf would serve you better.

Now, you said, "We are not beggars". I agree with you that you are not beggars. So why don't you - just like the rest of us - go work hard so that one day you might be able to buy a decent home.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: These nine families deserve what they get. As an Indian, I have no sympathy for their plight.

They allowed themselves to be used by politicians and parties that were aligned to BN and the Human Rights Party, each with their own agenda against the Pakatan state government rather than think rationally and sensibly.

There is an old Tamil saying that translates to ‘one is angry with the well and decides not to wash his backside' - the same has happened to these families.

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