It is sad when we feel that we have to put people in their place and teach them a lesson for all to see. It is not nation building and it is counter productive.



On Bail denied for 31 Hindraf protesters

Adxin: We suddenly have a very determined attorney-general 'turun padang' and getting his hands dirty in the prosecution of 31 Hindraf supporters for alleged attempted murder. Our AG seems to be determined to get his men. If only he shows more zeal in the prosecution of the alleged Altantuya murderers.

It is hard not to agree to claims of selective prosecution being practiced here, and the explicit request for denial of bail for the accused is a case of ‘after having fallen, the ladder falls on you’. The ‘body language’ of our AG is all wrong for a case as sensitive as this, but it is not surprising as he has had his way for a long time now.

It is sad when we feel that we have to put people in their place and teach them a lesson for all to see. It is not nation building and it is counter productive. What we need is a conciliatory hand to defuse the situation before it gets any worse - especially when we have so many loose cannons around and a clueless leader.

Ibrahim Musa K: I cannot comprehend why some Indian Malaysians strongly feel that they are the only ones pushed to the insignificant peripheral of the mainstream. One just has to open their eyes wide to notice the number of Malays, especially in the remote areas of Kelantan, struggling to make ends meet every day and the ordinary Chinese in many former new villages toiling to feed and shelter their families, let alone providing their children with proper education.

For five decades, our government suffered under the ignominious control a single party. True, the country has progressed materialistically. It has made a certain elite group very rich along with a group of middle-class cronies. But its morality degenerated so fast that getting rich quick, by scrupulous means or otherwise, has become the life goal of many.

Will the coming general elections provide a platform for the oppressed to voice their plight? Could there be a possibility for change? Unfortunately, both answers are a clear no. Favoured by electoral rules, the incumbent will continue to rule. The only way is to wait for those in power to disintegrate under their own weight of endless, shameless corruption and deception. Perhaps, it won’t be too long. Just be a bit more patient.


On Police report against Rahim's fiery speech

JH: Pak Lah, you said Malaysia is multi-racial and multi-religious nation. But I want ask you, why did ex-Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik said, “The Malays have never taken to the streets so do not force us to do so as we will draw our parang (machete) to defend the Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) in this country.” You said you have a big ear to hear all our problems. Where’s your big ear now? What are you going to do about Rahim? He's not from opposition party, he is from Umno, your own party. Who is actually being racial here?


On IGP: Hindraf linked to terrorist groups

Hamdan Ibrahim: While one cannot make assumption on hearsay alone, one cannot feel that peace and harmony among the various races in this country is in trouble if what the top cop said about Hindraf is true.

Enmity and discord among the various races in this country had been tested several times before and while May 13 seems like distance memory among our young, the Kampong Medan incident a few years ago where a half-a-dozen Malays and Indians were killed and many more injured due to a slight misunderstanding shows that our race relations continues to be on tender hooks.

While one can deny ‘ethnic cleansing’ which occur in Bosnia, Palestine, Rwanda where thousands of innocence people are killed in the name of religion and race is not happening here, we must be honest enough to admit that social ills among the Indians are quite high compared to other races.


On Zaki will be CJ in 10 months

Ikaz: It’s only in Malaysia that we have a man who was only appointed judge three months ago now promoted to be the judiciary’s No 2 - and without having written a single judgment in court. Malaysia Boleh!


On Three paratroopers dead in airshow accident

Melayu Baru: As a parent of children now coming into their 20s, my heart goes out to the loved ones of those who died and the 20 injured in the recent paratrooper incident. I read that the government is going to set up an inquiry. What are they going to say? Will they say it was negligence? There have been 18 deaths at the PLKN (national service) camps. Not once did the internal inquiry blame the administrators.

I expect the same inquiry will exonerate the military administrators. What will they argue? That there was a freak wind? Come on. If I cared about my troops, I would have anticipated such wind-drift problems and would have stationed my motor boats on stand-by at the places that the drift might take them. All I know is that before jumping, the Meteorological Department could give air speeds and directions of prevailing winds. The mission could have been aborted. This is the problem where a government which is interested more in symbols of grandeur and patriotism become careless, and care less about the lives of our anak bangsa.

I have said many times in my letters that I do not accept results of internal inquiries. As in the PLKN deaths, there must be an external and independent inquiry that would take a truly impartial stand. I wish lawyers would help the grieving parents take the government to court but not many dare to do so in the light of our seemingly corrupt judiciary.

What is the solution? Short of we having a new government or leaving the country, I am at a loss. I truly fear for my children in this country.