Here's the irony - Istana Zakaria is still standing proud while Hindu temples and squatter homes are being demolished without so much as a second thought.

On Tearful Zakaria tells why he needs mansion

H Rod: It is truly ironic that the mansion and its ignominious owner are still standing proud amidst all the controversy while Hindu temples and squatter homes of the poor and ethnically marginalised are being demolished arbitrarily without so much as a second thought in the very same state.

If only the opposition and the media would take it upon themselves to highlight the issue of the destruction of the last bastion of Indian unity just as vehemently.

Ahmad Fuad: I cannot help but notice some very interesting observations that has emerged from the King of Pandamaran's 'meet the press' session. I must say from the offset that what had emerged are traits that we never should expect from the very people whom we had chosen to represent us in the first place. But I am left with no doubt that these are traits built over years of arrogance, conceit and greed with very little (if at all) realisation of accountability.

Let us consider these:

  1. That the mansion is his "right", and all because he had helped built "a mosque to replace a ramshackle surau, putting up a multi-purpose hall and constructing a religious school". He had not in any way insinuate that building mosques, roads, schools, or any public utility for that matter are all part and parcel of being the elected representative. That a house without building approval (just like anyone else) is not a right. Worse still, if it was built on a piece of land that was alienated by an authority which include one's offspring, and who is one of the 11 that is slotted to live there.

  • Forty years as a politician (part of which as the town councillor), and he does not know the procedure to construct a house so much so that he had to seek "the assistance of housing experts to guide him in adhering to the proper procedures".

  • Warn the opposition not to politicise the issue! You are a town councillor. In short, you are representing a political party. You abused your position, knowing full well that you will not suffer the same fate than had it been a lesser mortal who had committed the crime. You have the gall to tell your opponents "not to politicise the issue"?

  • Last but by no means least, cry! This is a time-tested strategy and was effectively put to use by his previous boss.

    • On Pak Lah's 3 years: What's his score?

    Ronald Quay: After being under the thumb of Dr Mahathir for 22 years, I think we should be grateful to have Abdullah Badawi as the prime minister. The man is too nice to be PM. So what are we complaining about?

    Under his watch so far, he has encouraged more debate and greater openness as we can see from the media. Unlike before, we can now confidently discuss and debate important issues amongst us which is contributing, finally, to some soul searching among many of us

    When he inherited the mantle of prime ministership, it has to be remembered that he also inherited a host of unwanted baggage from his predecessor. The country's financial deficit was then about 5%, which earned us financial ratings of DDDs and EEEs. After three years, he has brought down the financial deficit to a more respectable 3.2% which is now getting us some decent BBBs rating and we still need to work harder to achieve the AAAs

    Naturally, under his profligate predecessor who was perpetually on a spending spree, the poor chap had to take a pause and consolidate. Simple economics will tell you that one cannot keep on borrowing all the time and keep on spending especially on projects to satisfy the ego of one person and the greediness of a few

    It was inevitable then that the last three years were difficult years for the Malaysian economy. Once in a while, there is the need to imbibe some medicine to try and cure us of the excesses of the past and then move forward

    Sure, we can find fault with Abdullah and this is the easiest thing to do! The man is obviously a very patient person and while many of us can be frustrated with this virtue of his, the fact is, we see him as a decent and pleasant fellow and I feel in situations like this, it is a matter of time that he will deliver the goods for us

    Admittedly, he squandered a few golden opportunities; like for example, when soon after assuming the prime ministership, he created history when he won his first general elections with the biggest-ever mandate given to a leader. Perhaps, he could have used this opportunity to purge and cleanse his Umno party (and the other less significant Barisan parties) of the hangers-on and sycophants of his illustrious predecessor, but he did not.

    Why not? Like I said, the man is just too nice a person. Let's give him a chance.

    HL Too: As far as fooling the electorate with promises to fight corruption, I would give Pak Lah a distinction because, to paraphrase Churchill, never in the history of Malaysian politics, have so many been given so much hope but have so few of the promises fulfilled.

    In addition, in his meeting with Dr M, it was very clear that an important part of the meeting was about whose sons (or son-in-law) received more contracts. Perhaps Pak Lah was correct when he said that Dr M's sons benefitted more.

    However, given the fact that Pak Lah has been prime minister for only three years (compared to Dr M's more than two decades in power), I would think it would not take very long before Pak Lah's son (and son-in-law) get more contracts than Dr M's sons. Therefore, in this regard, I would award Pak Lah a distinction

    On Explosive feud damaging PM and Mahathir: analysts

    Mrafee: With due respect to the former PM, I would like to ask him how tolerant was he when criticism was hurled during his tenure as the PM. How many politicians have Pak Lah imprisoned under the ISA, OSA and so forth. How many bailouts have we heard during Pak Lah's time compared to Mahathir's time.

    No doubt the former PM had contributed tremendously to the country's development and subsequently to international recognition of Malaysia. But at what cost? About RM270 billion have been coughed out by Mahathir to built his mega-projects, mostly money from Petronas. This amount is just a rough figure worked out by our former foremost economist, the imminent Prof Jomo Sundram. There are other unaccounted monies involved like in the Bank Negara's foreign exchange scandal, the MM microchip scam, etc. As for cronies there were many prominent personalities who were associated with Mahathir than Pak Lah, who enjoyed bailouts worth billions of ringgit.

    In conclusion, my advise to the former PM is, please exercise your rights rationally. Since Pak Lah was handpicked by you, voice your dissent and ideas at private meetings with the PM. I am sure Pak Lah can be admonished but in a cultured way rather than confronting him. But please remember Mahathir, Pak Lah is the prime minister of Malaysia, he shouldn't be "directed" on how to run the country.

    On Najib warns against losing focus amid Mahathir row

    KB Chan: I have been following the "quarrel" between Pak Lah and our beloved ex-premier Dr M since June 6. From the mainstream media, cabinet ministers and component party leaders within BN, I am quite sure, Dr M has stirred the hornet's nest. That's why his speeches are all blacked out.

    I do not belong to any political parties but I am following closely the happenings in Malaysian politics for a long time now - for over 20 over years to be exact.

    I believe what Dr M brought up is justified and demand an explanation from the PM himself and not from cabinet ministers. Only Dr M and Pak Lah know what had been promised to each other during the handing over of the premiership three years ago.

    The way I see it, all the cabinet ministers, component party leaders are all singing the same tune so that their 'rice bowl' would not be jeopardised. This is bad for the country. It is going to drive investment away and corruption will rear its ugly head again with all the cover-ups and threats by government agencies and machineries.

    I pray and hope that sanity will prevail at the end of the day, rather than showing to the world the purity of the ruling coalition by maintaining his "elegant silence" and supported by his "angelic choir" harping or echoing the same tune. I hope what is good for the nation should be courageously pursued and getting it done even though it may go against the tide like what our beloved ex-premier did during the 1997 financial crisis.

    Good leadership knows when to drop his ego and see the bigger picture and be sincere in his heart to lead for the nation, for the people and preparing for the next generation of leaders to take over the reign with integrity, loyalty and 100% focus on serving the people and the nation.

    I pray for the best to happen - politically, socially, economically, financially and structurally for Malaysia. Malaysia Boleh!