‘Are we going to allow the monsters get away with their crimes which they are likely to repeat? Are we going to just stand and pretend that nothing ever happened to the Penan girls?'

On Sarawak sounds alarm over Penan rape claims

Shirina Rashid: In response to the issue of the sexual crimes against young Penan girls which has been in the news of a late, a reader like myself is left not only enraged but also agreeing with those who are calling for the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Recalling some history lessons at high school on colonialism during the rise of the Western empires of the past where there were true historical accounts of European colonialists who took advantage of the female indigenous natives, I thought this kind of thing would never repeat itself in the future.

Sadly, this disgusting act has recurred and this time it is happening in this century and in our home country. I would like to pose this question, are we going to allow these monsters get away with their crimes which they are likely to repeat it all over again in the future?

Are we going to just stand and pretend that nothing ever happened to the Penan girls? The answer is no! We are not going to let them escape nor will we ignore these victims.

Those Penan girls are like you, me and everyone else. They have feelings, they have their rights to be kept safe from harm and be treated with dignity and respect not as objects. They are no lesser than the anyone else and they are human beings.

This incident is a not just a call for us to stand up and fight against those who harmed those girls but also an opportunity for us to ensure the victims and their families get the justice they are waiting for.

I hope the public, the authorities and the MPs of Sarawak will band together and take action against these monsters who think it is okay to hurt the Penan girls.

As for the perpetrators, you should be ashamed of yourselves and sooner or later the law shall take you down. We do not condone such monsters in our society.

On Perak may 'seize' ISA detention camp site

Sitha: Great thinking and yes, you guys rock! We really hope for the success of this proposal and there is no reason for any one to reject it.

The camp seriously needs to be abolished. As a first step, remove it from Kamunting, Taiping.

During my drive back from my hometown last weekend, I passed Taiping and, of course, Kamunting. It is a place which I liked most because of the quietness and the greenery but now, it gives me a sorrowful feeling passing by there.

This because knowing that is a place where people are kept cruelly and unconstitutionally. Well, it definitely does not function as a ‘tourist spot'. So, remove it.

Augustine:

Well done I say if the Perak government can seize ISA detention camp site.

It will be of more benefit if the land is use to build schools, hospitals or low-cost housing rather than keeping innocent people locked up.

If the BN government really needs a detention center, then better build in Johor Baru next to Syed Hamid Albar's house.

As he is the minister in charge of security, that is the right place so that he can make frequent visits.

Pakatan Rakyat has been fighting to abolish the ISA so it is better to move this detention centre to a BN-controlled state.

Allow the BN federal government to first suggest where they want to move this detention camp to since they are so much in favour of it.

On Can he overcome Altantuya, NEP?

Timo Finian: An economist by training, an actor by profession and not a good one at that. The man can best be described as a Johannian-schooled thespian of Shakespearean standards.

Political acumen: Wavering. Management and administrative skills: Good but only confined to his ministry and not on a national level.

Like an ageing actor that's losing his star-quality, he appears to be grappling at anything to achieve his 15 minutes of fame as the PM.

A by-product of his father's regressive NEP policies which enabled him to have all and sundry on a silver platter for most of his political career, there appears to be a sense of urgency and paranoia on his part to clinch the prized trophy, the premiership which he fears might slip away or even worse, fall in the hands of his nemesis.

Dented pride and a shattered ego might not be the stuff his silver-spooned persona could handle. Not even a lifetime of therapy could fix him if that happened which explains his hurriedness to get to the top at all costs.

Sex and murder allegations which has caused him to loose his silver-spooned lustre might explain why he will find the final lap to the premiership-tape tough going.

All in all, Malaysians have to brace themselves for an era (thankfully a short one) of showmanship without substance by the last Malay-ultra PM.

On Anwar says he still has the numbers

Papillon: I think many people misunderstood Sept 16. The date was set to initiate the formation of a new government on Malaysia Day ie. to get the ball rolling.

It is commonsense that for a change of government in a parliamentary democracy in the present circumstances, parliament has to be in session (to put it very simply) to enable the due processes to take place according to the law of the land.

While the Malaysian public had finally awoken from their deep political slumber in March 2008, it is sad to note that many Malaysians do not have a clue as to the due processes and think that forming a new government is as simple as buying nasi lemak bungkus or goreng pisang at a road side stall.

I was shocked to note that many people actually thought that Anwar was just going to wake up on the morning of Sept 16, get into his new suit, drive to parliament and drop an SMS to the King and the PM along the way requesting them to drop by parliament if they had the time.

Subsequently (some thought) he would walk into parliament to the roaring applause of the Pakatan MPs as well as the 31, 32, 33 or whatever number of defecting BN MPs and proclaim himself as the new prime minister of Malaysia (with Hadi and Kit Siang being there earlier to get the security guards to unlock the gates and doors of parliament).

I would like to make a humble appeal to all Malaysian to take the initiative to learn and have a basic understanding on how things actually work in a parliamentary democracy.

Garry Khoo: I hope that those BN MPs who intend to crossover will do so now. Please show your enthusiasm to serve the rakyat .

What is the point of staying on in the ruling parties if you are unable to do your job? Give your mandate to the opposition to run things. Crossover now!

By the way, the rakyat are not just enthusiastic about your crossover. The rakyat are seriously enthusiastic!

On Najib's ascendency will see the return of Dr M

David Bock: Ong Kian Ming's and Yun Yang's highly biased assessment of Najib's possible ascendency to prime minister-ship is not what one expects to read on news portal like Malaysiakini which claims to be independent.

Their judgments are unfair and weakly substantiated and are based on subjective behavioural assumptions, hardly the work of credible political analysts.

I will from now on be keeping an eye on all articles that bear their names.

And here's the ironic part (and you can choose not to believe me on this) - I am pro-Opposition.