Much-criticised ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad deserves a praise - for talking to Malaysiakini, says a reader.

Truly Malaysian: I was reading the issues raised in Mahathir's Q&A . Who cares about the issues! The bottom line is that this great leader of ours, after 22 years in power, has finally taken the bold step to talk to malaysiakini .

This is actually a plus to malaysiakini because Mahathir thinks he may be able to reach the public via malaysiakini as oppose to the regular channel that had voiced his thoughts for the 22 years.

I must admit that Mahathir has been a great visionary but unfortunately none around him was able to visualise his goals. Simple - greed gets the better of humankind! Let this man make his peace and atonement. As for the rest of us, we are still there very much in the limelight, let's make hay when it shines, with humankind and compassion in our thoughts.

KSN: The only credit, I will give Dr M is his infrastructure development, especially the highways, but at what cost to the people, like giving the highway operators blank cheques to increase tolls until doomsday at their whims and fancies!

Corruption flourished, favouritism and cronyism were rampant. He filled the civil service across the board - including the judiciary, the institutions of higher learning - with people from one race, inept, incompetent, submissive and obedient gentlemen, denying the non-Malays their legitimate representation. I can even accept if the Malays were given 60% and the balance to the other races. He did not. He gave them all. He played into the hands of PAS to show he and Umno was more Islamic, and to cap it all, he declared Malaysia an Islamic state, when it is not. I can go on and on.

All his policies - let me call them his sins, committed for a continuous period of 22 years - have taken the country to the point of no return, and the present and future generations will pay dearly. It will take a great statesman and leader even to begin to reverse the wrong direction Malaysia has been taken to during his time. Let me ask the people, do you find anybody of that stature in the present leadership or even on the horizon?

The damage Dr M has done to the country far outweighs the good he has done a few thousand times. Ask him about the above, and every Malaysian will be interested to read his answer and his justification. Tell him that he has missed a great opportunity to make this country great and become the greatest PM ever, but alas, he threw all that away because of misguided policies and ego. He is no democrat and there is nothing great about him. He is obviously very intelligent but no intellectual, by any measure.

MS: So he never liked malaysiakini because it was critical. And now he has to take his whining to the same critical malaysiakini . Because the adulatory press he engineered will not now report nor praise him. Judge the man by his own words. And do give him a mirror to reflect on.

The following are comments from readers on other reports. This one is on Mahathir: I believe 'my good friend' Samy

RD: This charade that is going on with Samy Vellu and Mahathir is all too clear that both are equally guilty of letting down the Indian community. Samy Vellu was very happy to let Mahathir and Umno ignore the community's needs and let it to go to the dogs as long as his power base in MIC was not threatened and he could pick up the juicy cherries that came along with the

post of works minister.

Now that many Indians are openly questioning the relevance of the MIC and the strong sense of betrayal felt by many in the Indian community towards the MIC and particularly, Samy Vellu, and with the impending MIC elections, it is all too likely in the heat of the moment, he decided to shift blame to his 'good friend' Dr Mahathir, who at the moment looks like an easy target for many.

Dr Mahathir is all too happy to accept Samy Vellu's explanation and let the issue rest as letting this debate to go on would open another pandora can of worms for the former PM. For Samy Vellu, it perhaps dawned on him, as usual that he did not engage his brain before opening his mouth, and it would be extremely wise not to raise the ire of his good friend who is just raring to

have a fight with anyone as long as he gets into the limelight.

On Samy 'praises' burning of newspapers: report

K Narayanasamy: It is highly regrettable that the MIC president has applauded his followers who torched the Tamil papers as it clearly shows that he is expecting a blind adherence to his rule in the party. His expectations are indeed feudalistic. He wishes to keep the community in the clutches of feudalism where the king/leader is revered to the extent that the followers sacrifice themselves without thinking. Symbolically, burning the papers is tantamount to burning the Tamil language. Surely there are more civilised ways to tackle whatever issues that might have arisen by any biased reporting.

Organising the torching of the papers is an illegal act, and the government minister is applauding it as a defence of democracy. Democracy, it seems, is anything that favours those in power! But, if it is done by others, the force of law will surely be felt.

If he is responsible, he should have refrained his supporters from burning the papers and rebut whatever that had been said about him in a manner befitting his position. Encouraging emotional actions and reactions is not a sign of strength, but of great weakness. Is it a wonder that this type of leadership has resulted many 'parang-wielding' youths who succumb to their emotions plunging the image of the community to the lowest level imaginable?

While the MIC president has Tamil Nesan as his mouthpiece, why is he worried about the other Tamil papers that do not fall into his control? He can easily rebut biased reporting through his own paper. His paper can also explain in detail the reasons for his backing of specific candidates clearly to everyone without resorting to any character-assassination or inflammatory actions by his followers.

I am appalled by the amount of character-assassination by the supporters of both factions in the Tamil papers, without much food for thought. This is reminiscent of the politics of Tamil Nadu - an import that we cannot be proud of, and can do without. The Indian Malaysians deserve a very much more rational and responsible leadership, but the prevailing climate within the minority community seems to stimulate the continued growth of the self-serving feudalistic leadership that surely does not give much hope.

On Southeast Asia vulnerable to cyber-terrorism

YourKad: Experts are generally right in their respective views that cyber-terrorism will happen as it is only a question of time. On regional terrorists outfits being temporary incapable of such an assault - our government has yet to deal honestly with "real issues" on the concerns involving IT usage. Ranging from MyKad to cyber crimes in the country, our government has its hands full. The potential threat and weaknesses on IT-online usages pertaining to security features or policy-implementations affecting users on Internet (i.e. applications, licencing or multiple use of our MyKad) are not thoughtfully and wisely handled with effectiveness.

There is a general lack of public confidence in the use of online Internet business transactions due to potential "fraud and cheating". The majority of members of parliament (IT illiterate) do not even use Internet facilities, and government websites continue to be mere showpieces or "cobweb" sites.

Unless all these "small but serious issues" are shown to be handled wisely by our government, otherwise it is like a person shouting about "fears of a three-storey tall dinosaur attack" when he was eventually devoured by a baby crocodile.

On Lim: Taib given appropriate b'day present

Poet: Expecting for a clean sweep to augur his 70th birthday? I think the Sarawak CM is counting his chickens before they are hatched. To add salt to injury, this is a bird flu season and counting chickens has never been made more difficult

On Parents file report against 'corrupt' headmasters

Lee: It was a known fact all these years that headmasters received 'commission' in the various purchases, and can you believe that the various authorities do not know about it? If so, then it is the greatest joke of all. It all boils down to leadership by example. I think the reward offered is one, and the other is that the new administration can be counted on but provided the actions taken against the HMs must be charged actively.

However, if the action against the SRJK(C) school HMs is seriously implemented, then the public at large expect the ACA to act along the same line against HMs in the national schools too (both primary and secondary).

After that, ACA has to expand further to investigate all the local councillors irrespective of race, colour, religion or party affiliation. Therefore, Mr PM, it is time to increase the ACA workforce with integrity, and be put them under parliamentary supervision.

Mr PM, the ball is at your feet now - act without fear or favour.