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'When tragedies like landslides, floods and road accidents assail us, where is the law to protect us? Is that not a foremost priority for any responsible government?'
On ‘She would be alive if they had helped’
Michael Lim: A woman who gave birth just two months ago was left to die by cold-hearted rescuers. The reason given by the police chief was that the rescue personnel lacked training. This is a totally unacceptable and ridiculous explanation. Would such an explanation suffice if it involved his family members? How would he feel then?
Will the compensation promised by the prime minister bring back those who perished in this tragedy? Can we still afford to put our future in the hands of the current government?
Ahmad Hasan: As an ordinary person, I believe house owners’ allegations rather than the police chief’s denial. This is because the police have lost their integrity in the eyes of the people.
The police are duty bound to provide assistance and the 'hard work', as pointed out by Khalid, is actually their job. Are they expecting rewards from the victims? Is that not graft? Are they to help themselves to the properties of the victims as a reward?
The prime minister has no control over the police and neither does his government. The arrests of Jerit cyclists further prove that the police have absolutely no respect for civil liberties.
J D Lovrenciear: It does not matter who looted in the face of a human tragedy. It also does not matter how much or how little was lost to thieves.
Was it a uniformed personnel, on or off duty volunteer? Or was it fake personnel? Or was it a desperate drug addict? Or was it a ' pendatang '? These questions do not at all matter here.
Yes, it really does not matter who looted. What really matters is that there was looting when the victims where in the jaws of death, injured, helpless and suffering. And that really makes all decent God fearing humans very, very sick.
It does not even matter whether the complainants have responded to the call by the authorities for more information on initial reports. The point that matters is that there was looting in the midst of humanity's frailest moments in life.
What has this country come to? Are we so hopeless that those who are entrusted to reach and execute timely security and reliable safety are so incapable as to allow such looting to even take place?
Getting robbed in the stillness of the night while sleeping in our secured homes is already bad enough. Getting robbed on the streets in broad daylight is equally traumatic.
But when tragedies like landslides, floods and road accidents assail us, where is the law to protect us? Is that not a foremost priority for any responsible government?
The real issue is why is it so difficult for our uniformed service providers who report to the government, to ensure safety and security is foolproof in the wake of a tragedy?
On 99 hillslope projects approved by Khir Toyo, says S'gor MB
CH Ong: Ibrahim Ali said "instead of pinpointing who was at fault, both the state and the federal governments should allocate a RM50 million fund to help those affected by the landslide". I wonder why this normally extremely cynical politician is being so generous all of a sudden.
I cannot agree with his or any other suggestion or plan to spend tax payers' money to compensate any house owner. Much as I sympathise with them for their losses and grief, houses built on hills, hillslopes and foothills are generally up-market.
Those who buy such up-market houses are not poor, illiterate people who do not know any better. Malaysians from the upper echelons of our society are well educated and they should know better than to buy such property.
They ought to know that our building authorities cannot be trusted and that many of our developers cannot be trusted. Even if you buy such properties from the best and most reliable developer, the safety of your property will still depend on neighbouring developments.
Let all the house owners who are victims of landslides take the necessary legal action against those whom they feel are responsible for their losses and claim their compensation from them. Just leave my tax money alone.
I simply cannot understand why after the Highland Towers tragedy people in this country still crave for a house on a hill, hillslope or foothill.
If there are no buyers for such properties then developers will not be building them. Our hills can then be left for outdoor activities such as picnics and jungle trekking.
On Landslide: Minister rules out human negligence
Darren Fox: Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Chuan said if the landslide was due to human negligence, it would have happened very much earlier. Many aircraft accidents occur years after they were built, are you going to blame them on natural factors too?
If I drive drunk for 15 years without causing an accident, then one day plough into a group of schoolchildren on a rainy day, are you going to blame the rain? What other findings do you need, Mr Ong? That soil becomes loose during heavy rain? That it's actually going to rain in a tropical climate during the monsoon? That hillslope projects are dangerous and should only be approved after thorough study?
The Indians booted Samy "Act of God" Vellu out of office. Do you want us to pull off another "Act of God" and kick you out of office too? Stop being a mindless puppet of an inefficient and negligent government and take some responsibility as a minister.
On Cops detain 44 cyclists, Jerit turns to Suhakam
CH Siew: I am really puzzled by how free the police are. The whole country is in chaos because of the high crime rate and rampant government corruption. The situation has been made worse by natural disasters caused by human greed. Instead of working hard to make Malaysia a safer place to live in, what do the police do? They arrest people riding bicycles.
Is riding a bicycle to support a cause an offense? When was such a law established? It seems to me the police are the biggest gangsters in town. What hope is there for ordinary Malaysians when those who are supposed to uphold the law are brazenly breaking it?
Peter Yew: Let me say this to Kayveas. Blaze into Malaysian political history by pulling your party out of BN because your actions will spark other coalition parties to follow suit. Staying in BN will not benefit you or your members.
Leaving BN and either joining Pakatan Rakyat or staying independent will breathe new life into your party and allow PPP to continue its fight. In the hey days of the 1960s, PPP was highly regarded and respected in Perak. This respect has long been eroded.
I may not endorse all of your remarks but I certainly support your courage and conviction in wanting the ISA abolished. I hope that Gerakan and MCA will also be bold enough to step out of BN shadow.
Ms Leo: Yes Kayveas! You better leave BN right now and don’t turn back. The rakyat are praying that the other component parties will leave BN too. Then we'll see how much power the coalition has. It will crumble and fade away into oblivion.
What we have now is a prime minister who is ignorant of the needs of his people and who approves the arrest of people who speak out against injustice under the ISA. I am very sad to see Malaysia in the hands of such small-minded people.
On Mukhriz: Close down vernacular schools
Ibrahim: Like father like son. Mukhriz’s remarks on the vernacular school system only reflect what his father had once advocated in his capacity of education minister.
Politicians are elected to Parliament to serve the interest of the voters. Yet, often, they tend to serve their own vested interest at the expense of a pathetic and ultimately enslaved public.
To gain political mileage by endangering racial harmony in an already ethnically strained nation is sheer ignorance if not outright scheming. This is absolutely unacceptable and must be avoided by any respectable parliamentarian at all cost.
