‘Today, we have quota systems and segregated schools and a whole generation of people who do not understand each other, even though we are all Malaysians.'

On Police reports lodged against 'racist' teacher

Takeda Shingen: Someone once told me that there are only two places on earth where racism does not exist - one is in kindergarten, and the other is in the grave.

Upon reading this report, I was deeply saddened by the state of the education system and the mentality of some of the teachers in the system. When my parents were growing up back in the 50s and 60s, the policies of segregation and religion were not in existence in our schools.

In the University of Malaya (UM), only the best were admitted, and it was a respected institution. Most importantly, people mixed and interacted despite their cultural diversity.

Today, we have quota systems and segregated schools and a whole generation of people who do not understand each other, even though we are all Malaysians. The only place you can get a decent education is in a private school.

The whole issue of 'Malay' and not 'Malaysian' nationalism in our education system has crippled our future.

No Malay, no Indian and no Chinese agenda should be allowed in education because a school is a place to educate us, not to indoctrinate us.

Meenachi Indian

: I am both saddened and disturbed with what has transpired in SMK Telok Panglima Garang, and can vouch that the affected students will never get over the mental and emotional pain of the abuse.

Even after they become adults, they will probably only stick to their own kind and keep away from other races for fear of being ridiculed.

I speak from experience, as I too have been subjugated to similar abuse when in primary school, years ago.

Luckily for me, the rest of my schooling years were not that bad, and my loving family and stable home life ensured that I wasn't emotionally damaged for life.

Having said this, I must add that the education ministry must make an example of the female history teacher in SMK Telok Panglima Garang who had no qualms about abusing her young wards.

She should be assigned to a desk job after undergoing a reasonable suspension period, and only then would justice be truly done.

How can an educator call her students keling pariah , 'Negroes', 'black monkeys', and say that they came from dogs and were children of prostitutes?

Is this how some teachers regard their students from the grassroots of the Indian community?

On ACA report: What'll happen to PM, DPM?

Ding Dong: I am tempted to say that nothing will happen.

Case in point, some years ago a very senior minister was involved in khalwat and was reportedly caught by the Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan in Port Dickson.

Nothing happened after that, whereas Anwar is charged left and right. This sort of justice will continue in our beloved Malaysia.

Monsterball:

Many more Umno members will speak out and may file more reports on corruption against these two top leaders and present and past ex-ministers. Just watch the show, as it will be revealed one at a time.

This Umno member's father was Harun Idris, who was jailed for corruption. Yet bigger crooks like the PM and DPM, are let off.

I hope this will encourage many more brave Umno men to expose Umno corruption as most are fed up with the double standards practised by Umno leaders.

This is a revelation that Umno should not have been trusted since the time Mahathir took over.

They always say ‘no evidence, so no crime'. That is totally unacceptable by Malaysians.

On Nurul Izzah: I cannot please everybody...

Man On The Street: Nurul, let me give you some brotherly advice. You have come to public life and should endeavour to attend to everybody's grouses, even though you are too busy.

Imagine, you are the only one in your constituency can look to for help. Have enough agents to help them. I, too, am a PKR supporter, for your information.

On Rafidah sets retirement deadline

Percy Chan:

The nation is feeling the weight of an unbelievable string of revelations.

From botched attempts to pervert the course of justice to the rotting judiciary, the failed NEP, our depleting wealth and the corrupt electoral processes.

On a micro basis, take the Rafidah case for example. I agree with comments on the pompous attitude of Umno leaders who anoint their successors. In a democracy this is contempt at its peak.

These are signs of despotism. Rafidah should be feeling lucky she hasn't been charged for her alleged but obvious corruption. If I were her, I would just depart the scene.

But then again, who are ‘we'? So it behooves the ‘we' to stand up and rid ourselves of these tainted people or we will not see the end of 2008 let alone waiting till 2010.

On Photographers mull boycott of PKR after attack

Philip Ng: I have always been a PKR supporter, but this incident has made me think twice. It makes me think, if PKR led the government, it would easily turn into a ‘new' Umno bully.

JD Lovrenciear: The recent episode where an alleged PKR member roughed up a journalist speaks volumes about the state of media freedom in the country.

Foremost, kudos to the PKR chiefs for the immediate positive reaction. Their unreserved apology and ownership of the incident are notable. However, two truths surface from this episode.

First is the fact that if such an incident had occurred on the other side of the political fence, odds are that a standard reaction from the politicians would have been 'we are investigating' and nothing more.

Secondly, a more serious concern is the fact that the media immediately announced a boycott in the wake of this PKR manhandling. If the PKR people had not responded humbly, the chances are the boycott would have been activated aggressively.

Now, if the same incident happened on PKR's opponents, the media boys and girls, even if it had registered any complaints, would have, in all likelihood, continued to cover their subsequent political events.

This is because their bosses would have nailed home the sober truth that if they do not cover the events, their jobs would be on the chopping block. After all, the ‘boss' is the government.

Takeda Shingen: While protecting Anwar's security is their duty, following the photographer out to her car (which is not anywhere near Anwar) and assaulting her has nothing to do with Anwar's security.

In fact, that is blatant thuggery, and in light of PKR's proclaimed values of fairness and justice, the security staff involved should be expelled and prosecuted for assault and battery (unless PKR is practising the same double standards they accuse the government of having).

Jimmy Lam:

It's very disturbing to know that PKR security are samseng . Wake up to this, PKR, or the people will reject you for a return of BN.

And since Dr M is so accessible and gentlemanly, despite his iron fist, I wouldn't be surprised if the people beg him to be PM again.

If that happens, I'm going to turn my back on Malaysia and support Israel.

PR Voter: I voted for PR, but I am very angry and disgusted with what happened to the photographer. Many PKR members are no different from Umno members as some are ex-Umno members.

Their behaviour and mentality are still the same, and the only difference is they have not been in power for the past ten years. They are not in power yet but are already behaving like thugs and hooligans.

Can you imagine what it would be like if and when they are in power? Maybe this is just a rehearsal of what is to come.

Stern action must be taken against every one of them involved. Not just one, but all involved. Charge them in court and send them to jail if necessary.

Please, no out-of-court settlement with a simple apology. Things like this happen because they always get away with it.

I urge all media to unite and send a strong message to PKR - boycott all their events until they punish the culprits.

Disgusted PR Supporter:

Disgusting. This is not just about whether the photographer is a male or female or from a BN-friendly newspaper or not. That's just not the way to treat anybody.

Is this the behaviour of a government-in-waiting?

I shudder to think what it would be like if PKR was in power. They sure are catching up to Umno's style and will overtake Umno in no time.

Sharyn:

I am not in favour of any person who does not handle another person with respect. However, this attitude is of the security person himself, and we should not blame PKR even though this requires PKR to take responsibility.

If a man kills his opponent, does this means the killer's parents are responsible? No, right? So be fair to Anwar and all the PKR people who were not involved.

But PKR should keep away from these kind of thug-like people. Neither PKR nor anybody else should allow thugs and bullies to have equal places in our society.

On Irene's appeal: This time, it's a computer virus

Francis: I just cannot be but be astonished by the ridiculous excuse used by the court to delay Irene Fernandez's Kuala Lumpur High Court appeal.

No wonder Irene Fernanndez shook her head in disbelief when informed by Justice Mohamad Apandi Ali that the computer used to type the notes got corrupted by a virus.

All those who are computer savvy know that computers can get infected only if they are connected to the Internet and unprotected by an anti-virus programme.

Lack of clerical staff to type out the proceeding's notes is also given as one of the causes of the delay.

With our civil service being bloated and having one of the highest civil-servant-to-population ratios in the world, how are we short of staff?

I think the government would like to think that all Malaysians are stupid.

On Murum Dam goes on despite EIA concerns

Augustine Yeo: Sarawak has a population of about 27 million. Do we need 12 more dams to supply hydroelectric power to our homes? The answer is no. The Batang Ai hydro is enough to supply power to the people of Sarawak.

What do the people gain from all this hydro-power? We are heading toward 2020, yet most of the people living in rural areas don't even have roads, water supply, electricity, telecommunication services, good schools or good hospitals.

The three billion to be spent on Murum Dam should be used to build better schools, universities, and hospitals, etc.

The building of the Murum Dam will destroy all our lovely forested areas and ecosystem. The indigenous people have to be resettled to unproductive areas like Bakun.

The state government will take this golden opportunity to clear the remaining forest area without paying royalty assessments.

This is how our greedy ministers think of their own welfare, without taking care of the indigenous people's survival with the skyrocketing costs of living.

Come the next election, let's join hands and oppose all the unnecessary dams in Sarawak.