At the stroke of midnight on Aug 31, 2007, BN leaders should sign a declaration to bring to a close of their respective race-based parties.
On Pak Lah says race relations fragile
BOLH: It would be a good thing for the prime minister, on the 50th anniversary of our country's independence, to declare an end to all race-based political parties in the BN.
He will, together with the MCA, MIC, SUPP, etc, at the stroke of midnight sign a declaration to bring to a close of their respective parties. After this, it will be followed by an announcement by the prime minister, that as henceforth from Aug 31, 2007, all citizens in this country shall be known as 'Malaysian'.
These acts would have provided a much more enduring ring to the occasion rather than the continuous lamenting why we are so disunited and doing nothing about it. Come on, Mr Prime Minister, I dare you to accept my proposal for the good of the nation.
Meng: Racial unity in Malaysia has always been a propaganda spread by the ruling party BN. It has always been only "skin deep". As far as I can remember in my adult years, there has always been strong undercurrents such that any small friction arouses intense emotions and anger. It is, to borrow from Lim Kit Siang's book, "a ticking time-bomb".
In the past, under Mahathir's strong tyrannical rule, the undercurrents were strong but nobody was allowed to voice their opinions. There was fear among the people that the ISA could be used at anytime and many did not dare speak up. Today, we have a greater sense of freedom under Pak Lah and these tensions are surfacing. It is tempting to close Pandora's box and continue the oppressive rule of the past.
However, it bodes well for the nation in its international standing if Malaysia allows the openness and frankness to talk and debate about issues that concern our nation openly. It shows a sense of maturity. Malaysia is in the process of finding itself after decades of tyranny and the destruction of democratic processes. Let's hope it can weather through.
KSN: It appears that, finally, the PM has realised that race relations in Malaysia is "fragile" and his solution seems to be to include all races in our 50th Merdeka celebrations! If only things were so simple.
Dear PM, first you have to study, understand and determine why race relations have deteriorated, and formulate and implement policies socially just to all in all walks of life. There is no short cut to this problem, i.e if you are serious about national unity.
You, as our PM know the reasons for the current state of affairs. Even further study may not be necessary. The question is whether you have the leadership, determination and courage to carry out policies regardless of race and religion, and rise above sectarian politics.
Give it a try, sir, for the sake of Malaysia's future.
On Gov't told to butt out of Rayappan case
Truly Malaysian: Karpal has a point and it is a pity nobody actually voiced it out. I guess this is what a great lawyer epitomes. The whole basis of a constitution and a written one is definitely defeated by the attempt by the government to intervene.
You have the de facto law minister stating that the government has the right to direct the AG to override the judicial decision. What's even more pathetic is that the AG is able to advise the PM to intervene. Such a sorrowful state we are in. The incumbent PM (a decent guy by nature) is not legally trained as a lawyer and he depends on his so-called experts to decide on the right course of action.
We are definitely heading back in time as oppose to doing what is right for the society.
RM: I salute the late Rayapan's daughters for declining to seek justice in the syariah court system. I hope that many more non-Muslim Malaysians will espouse the same kind of courage and fidelity to principle that these women are displaying for it is clear that the recent swashbuckling keris exhibition has not cowed them.
Tan Teong Boon: Give Pak Lah a chance. He is trying this best to do the nation good. I do not think it is the head that's the problem but it is the body. The attitude of the government servant and the people in charge of the jobs that are given to them are the main cause of problems. Good intentions always turns bad in the end. Everyone wants a share of the money given to fund projects. All taking advantages of their power, absolute power comes with absolute corruption.
We must change our attitude. Look at Japan or Singapore, they can do it without the natural wealth we had. Japan has earthquakes. Singapore is a small country but they are better than us. It is all about attitude.
Joseph Paul: I would like to commend AB Sulaiman on his well-articulated article Battling the ulama . His line of reasoning and his use of the (English) language was a pleasure to read, apart from being informative. It is articles like these that help malaysiakini brand itself as a "newspaper" which encourages critical thought.
