‘To all right-thinking MCA members, it is time for you to pack up your bags and move on. You should not have yourself be associates of such people.'



On Cops probe Soi Lek for alleged oral sex

HH Lim: Poor Chua, he is facing endless problems. The irony thing is that his own party leader together with his gang are all out to finish poor Chua.

This bunch of heartless creatures are these days the so-called the MCA ‘champions'.

To all right-thinking MCA members, it is time for you to pack up your bags and move on. You should not have yourself be associates of such people.

Look at the so-called MCA No 1. He is no better then the Gestapo and he is arming himself for only himself.

MCA members, think hard and be brave.

Arumugan: The whole of MCA is now like a rotten egg that does not only smells terrible but also is rotten at the core.

If the authority were to investigate politicians, particularly those from the ruling coalition, they will find that they can be charged for terrible crimes including corruption, lack of accountability and responsibility, self-benefitting manipulation as well as others.

That will be tantamount to sacking every BN politician and putting them behind bars. But here is the case of a man, Chua Soi Lek who is gentleman enough to declare his act.

Should his be considered an unforgivable crime when he was and is able to contribute to society significantly.

I think Ong Tee Kiat is becoming greedy for more power. He should stop that and make peace with Soi Lek. After all, the latter is also a capable leader in his own right.

Society Manner: This shows what politicians in Malaysia would do to gain support or remain in power.

The politicians seem to have forgotten that the rakyat are not interested in smears. Too bad it is now a common practice for them to tell the rakyat how bad the other guy is.

Teoh Boon Pee: That the authorities have started a probe on a senior Barisan Nasional leader shows that the government is fair.

I think we should give the authorities a chance to work. If a sodomy case has been established and charges were preferred against a top Pakatan Rakyat leader, it is only fair that an investigation commence against a BN leader for oral sex.

How then can we say that there are double standards in implementing the law? There is only one law which should be applied fairly to both Pakatan Rakyat as well as BN leaders.

I find it perplexing that some leaders make so much of a hue and cry when they are investigated, whether for holding illegal demonstrations or for illegal use of funds to service a car or to purchase sacrificial animals.

Let's be fair. If an offence has been committed, the person must face the music, regardless of which side of the political divide he stands.

Dr Chua Soi Lek, the man at the centre of a sex DVD scandal had last year, admitted to being caught on tape having sex with a friend. If news accounts were anything to go by, he had committed oral sex too.

That being the case, an offence under Section 377(b) of the Penal Code had been committed.

By the very same principle which saw PR leaders being hauled to court, I think Chua should also be charged if the prosecution can establish a convincing case. And if there were video clips to prove thir case, I don't see a problem.

In fact, I am just curious what took the authorities so long to act on this case. Swift action is necessary to avoid accusations of selective prosecution.


On Pakatan faces acid test in Batang Ai

Sam: What is the bet that the Election Commission will rather conveniently choose April 7 for the by-election in Batang Ai?

I am sure that the Barisan Nasional government and Najib in particular, are very worried about the outcome of all the upcoming by-elections and they will do everything they can to dilute the efforts of the opposition.

In particular, they will attempt to disrupt the movements and time available to the most prominent and charismatic (of which there are many) opposition politicians.

So by pressuring the Election Commission to hold the Batang Ai by-election on April 7 they will make it more difficult and expensive for the opposition to campaign in the widely-separated constituencies.

Of course, it will be more expensive for BN as well but since when were they ever short of a billion ringgit or two?


On Kulim: A few questions for CID chief

Ayob K: As a victim of an armed robbery, I am all for what happened to those criminals. It does not matter if they are Indian, Chinese, Malay or any other race. The simple fact is that they are brutal thugs who chose the life they lead.

Would the same people now crying foul over these guys, react the same way, for example, if it was a Indonesian snatch thief who in the process of grabbing an old woman's purse dragged the lady 20 feet on the road breaking her bones and tearing her up?

These guys are criminals, plain and simple. Like any rapist, murderer, thief they deserve what they get.

The politicians that are trying to make a political buck out of this and the Indian leaders should address real issues like how to eliminate poverty or give better opportunities to the poor. They shouldn't be trying to make excuses for these men.

Indian rights groups should be highlighting issues like racial discrimination in job selection, promotions within jobs, etc and not try to con the public into thinking thugs are innocent youths randomly targetted for extermination.

Justice for criminals? Whatever happened to justice for their victims?


On Saudi apartments deal riddled with discrepancies

Noor Hamzah: Poor Khalid, he is puzzled and has no clue what is happening. It probably work like this:

‘Someone' with contacts and friendship with the Saudi developer, probably the BinLaden Group (forgive me if I am wrong) got offered apartments in Mecca.

But he/she doesn't have money, well not enough anyway, so he passed on the offer to PNSB. After deliberation, the board of directors approves for 5 units, costing RM2 mil each.

But this fellow is very high up in the PNSB, so he ordered the finance director to write a cheque for RM25 millions, enough for 12 apartments.

So he used this money to buy 12 apartments, and given that the property market was hot at the time, the price of the apartments increased. So after paying for 12 units, soon as he got the title, he sold it again, ie the seven units and made a profit.

It was not unusual that the price of properties in the Middle East increase 5% or even 20% of the original offered price within a short period. Look at the Dubai property market at that time.

So this person made a profit on PNSB's money. That's why in a short time he managed to pay back PNSB RM17million.

It would be especially useful if that the apartment is in your name so you can buy and sell as you wish. Didn't the board of directors ask to buy back the apartments that were resold?

Yes, and what did he say? Kalau dah jual tu, tak elok minta beli balik.


On Nude photos: Sultan hits ball back into MB's court

Micheal: Like the majority of the rakyat, His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor voiced his concern over the intrusion of someone's privacy to destroy one's dignity and reputation.

As the sultan has correctly said, this case is still under the police investigation. The rakyat, therefore, must be patient and should not come to their conclusions. We ought to wait for the outcome of the investigation.

If Eli is indeed found to be guilty of consenting to the making and the distribution of the nude photos, she must then resign immediately.

On the other hand, if the police concludes that she is the victim of the irresponsible act of her former boyfriend, we the rakyat see no valid reason for her resignation.

She should then remain as exco member for Selangor and continue to serve the rakyat. Therefore, the police are crucial in determining the future of Eli Wong's political struggle.


On Khir Toyo: It's an old issue, I returned the watch

Kaisim: A good and seasoned leader can withstand the test of time in Malaysia even in difficult situations. But for Khir, he could hardly last two terms in the state.

The people know what you and your men have been doing all these years. They do not live under coconut shells.

Generally, corruptions in any form is bad. But they is a difference between taking a expensive souvenir as kickback and doing something good for the people.

The former MB should know that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones but he threw and the stones deflected and landed on him. too. Below are a few cases that I need to mention

The famous Zakaria mini-palace in Klang. The Sagong Tasi land case. The untrue racial and religious outburst against Theresa Kok. The illegal assembly against Karpal in Penang.

It is unbecoming of a leader to run down other people in order to move forward. We need good and sincere leaders for the country, not opportunists.

The MACC should have taken action against this former MB of Selangor long ago but they chose to keep quiet.


On Perak - people's maturity grossly underestimated

Chua Thean Poe: Everyday I read with disgust and disillusionment how the mainstream media carries news of such petty and trivial subjects.

Of how the police, the MACC, the judiciary will break their backs over trivial issues and argue over petty and insignificant points. This while the country is suffering a real recession, never mind what this blinkered (or shall I say wily) government is saying.

Imagine a PM who can tell the newly appointed MB Zambry to ignore the Perak state assembly speaker and go attend the assembly. Or the noisy, vocal uproar by Umno Youth about how the Perak royalty is being insulted, etc, and the list goes on.

Are the people of Malaysia aware that this Umno-led government are in jobs and positions of power all being paid for by our tax ringgit?

Do you remember how your own boss in the private sector spies on you to supervise and make sure that every minute of your time during office hours is accounted for productive work?

How can you, the people, let this Umno-led BN get away with whittling away our hard-earned money in direct and indirect taxes? We're paying them to abuse and cheat us.

Enough is enough. Let's vote them out at every by and snap election, culminating in the final ‘great flood' of the 13^th general election. If you people keep voting them in, then I tell you that you deserve what you get.

Bosco Philip Anthony: Sultan Azlan Shah, this is what you said in the case of Loh Kooi Choon v Government of Malaysia (1977) 2 MLJ187, at 188 as per Raja Azlan Shah FJ:

‘... the constitution is not a mere collection of pious platitudes...the third is that no single man or body shall exercise complete sovereign power, but that it shall be distributed among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, compendiously expressed in modern terms that we are a government of laws, not of men'.

As such Your Royal Highness does not have the power to remove a sitting menteri besar. Please right the wrong and please stay above politics.

Lawrence Anderson Burley: This is indeed a testing time for the institution of the monarchy in Malaysia. A successful royal family is one that adapts to the role expected of it by the people while retaining their respect.

It is delicate balancing act, requiring the monarch to hold to a long-term view of what is best for the people and for the institution, while re-interpreting in the light of changing events.

The British family is past master at this; several of the ‘bicycling monarchies' of Northern Europe also.

Spain's royal family was an endangered species but redeemed itself by taking a major risk and coming out forcefully for democracy when it was under threat of military coup.

Integrity is indeed key. Also key is that justice must be seen to be done. I'm told that daulat in Malay is a much stronger concept than its usual English translation of majesty, as in ‘the King's majesty'.

Daulat is the sanctity that invests the sacred office of a king but is stronger and separate from the king. The king must live up to his daulat.


On Will Malaysia someday turn republic?

Peter: The ruling party , especially Umno never seems to seize every opportunity to portray the opposition as anti-monarchy or anti-Malay.

How irresponsible they are. The opposition must be made aware that every word they utter is being exploited to the hilt by those budding Umno politicians especially at this point in time when Umno will soon be holding its election for office-bearers.

Gobind Singh did not question the position of the rulers at all. He only asked whether we could elect a prime minister the same way the US elects its president. How did Nazri relate this question to replacing the monarchy?

We can always do it the same way as that in US but with a little modification. The candidates for the premiership must have the approval of the Agong before they can stand for election.

In this way, the winning candidate still enjoys the confidence of the rulers. Thus the position of the monarchy will not be compromised


On Other Christian denominations not using 'Allah'

Sabah Catholic: Christians in Malaysia do not (and I repeat do not) target Muslims in their evangelising. But if you come over to Sabah, you may be convinced that many Muslims have been converted to Christianity.

These Muslims are from Indonesia where it is not against the law to convert to Christianity. You can imagine the difficulty during puasa in catching Muslims who break the fast in public.

Catholics always believe in one God. If the writer wants to know about the Holy Trinity, please approach Catholics to explain it (but then, these Catholics will run the risk of trying to evangelise the writer and may be arrested). Hence, his ignorance.

It has long been explained that the word 'Allah' has existed before the beginning of Islam.

Early Christians did not object to Muslims using the term 'Allah' as Christians all believe that there is only one God and no single religion has any patent rights to the name for God.

In East Malaysia, before the formation of Malaysia, the local Christians have been using the word 'Allah'. Just ask Bernard Dompok.

Catholic countries like Ireland, France, Italy, the US and Latin America obviously do not use the term 'Allah'. They use the English, French, Italian, Spanish or Portugese versions

And the Pope is never consulted on such trivial matter; only on matters of doctrine.

By the way, other Christian denominations do use the term 'Allah'. There is a suit in Sabah filed by a Christian denomination (not Catholic) over the confiscation of their children's books which contained the term 'Allah'.


On Astro's gunshots that killed Harvey Milk

Christina Orow: During the broadcast of the recent Oscar Awards ceremony from Los Angeles, Astro censored the words ‘gay' and ‘lesbian' from the speeches of Justin Lance Black and Sean Penn.

As these words are not swear words, I do not see why they were censored. You might as well censor ‘African American' or ‘Jew' or ‘Asian' or ‘straight'.

In future I would hope Astro does not condescend to its subscribers by assuming they have so little a sense of discernment they would not be able to recognise such words simply as factual representations of real human beings.

Even if they erroneously believe that those human beings do not exist here in Malaysia, or are a threat to the public at large. I'll make my own opinions, thank you.


On Animals not having it too good here

Malaysian Dog: I wholeheartedly agree with the writer's comments. As a member of canine welfare project ‘Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better', I must also add that dogs lead the most precarious lives amidst Malaysians.

Not only are these loyal animals treated with disdain and disgust by Malaysian society at large, the authorities too have little mercy for dogs.

Apart from capturing dogs through bounty-hunting companies that are paid about RM30 per dog caught, the relevant authorities also hold dogs awaiting the ‘death sentence' in horrid conditions.

Some local councils also resort to using wires to loop dogs and these wires are left to cut deep into the dogs' necks. And if this wasn't bad enough, these dogs are left to rot with deep necks wounds without food and water for days pending execution.

Another perplexing revelation is the large number of captured dogs found wearing collars at the local council pounds. Are the bounty hunters luring pets into their death traps to meet their quota for the day?