‘Again we see the thuggish and samseng attitude of Umno Youth members. What's really appalling is that Umno leaders, instead of condemning this barbaric act, are actually encouraging it more.'

On 'Singh is King' mobbed, MP claims assault

Ko-han Wai: Again, we see the thuggish and samseng attitude of Umno Youth members. Assaulting opposition MPs this time.

What's really appalling is that the so-called Umno leaders who instead of condemning this barbaric act, are actually encouraging it more. What next?

Burn down Karpal's house? Kidnap his family members? Khairy, what are you going do if Karpal made the remark outside of Parliament? Beat up a wheelchair-bound man?

Wow! That will be great for you in the party elections, won't it? Collecting brownie points by insulting a disabled person. Great!

Come on people! Are we going to stand for this anymore? Do you want these kind of people as our leaders? Wake up already. We have been exploited for 50 years. How many more years do you want?

Let's kick these people out of office already using the ballot box. Starting from the coming by-elections. Show these samseng that the rakyat will not stand for this kind of nonsense anymore.

Lim Chong Leong: This is exactly the type of rowdy behaviour from Umno Youth that warranted Karpal's comment that they were responsible for the sending of death threats and bullets to him.

What were these Umno Youth members thinking of when they stormed Karpal at Parliament or when protesting outside his office and home?

Can we blame Karpal for his choice of words when he said ‘Pemuda Umno celaka '?

Harbans Kaur: This is Ketuanan Melayu at its height! A member of Parliament can be roughed up in the Parliament lobby!

We will wait to see what action will be taken against these celaka youths!

Baiyuensheng: Talk about arrogant. How could Umno Youth members just barge into the Parliament and intimidate parliamentarians?

They have no respect for the country's institutions and act like hooligans. The security guards, if the claim is true, are biased and should be removed. Then again, this is nothing new from them.

JD Lovrenciear: This reported incident within the august compound of Parliament involving Umno Youth's attack on an MP is most despicable.

How on earth can we live with such deplorable incidents of near gangsterism where a respected veteran MP is confronted by a mob and refused entry into Parliament?

Mind you that man Karpal Singh is also wheelchair bound.

And to top off the insult we have leaders proclaiming that they are prepared to die for a cause? Such racist war cries must be stopped at all cost if we truly care for Malaysia.

Let us pause to reflect. If on that same token a Hindraf representative had walked in with a flower in hand, what would have been the scenario? The law enforcers would have outnumbered the 'intruder'.

All respectable individuals, leaders and citizens must stand up and condemn such thuggish behavior so that others do not follow suit. Otherwise we might as well go the way of a cowboy country-style lawlessness.

Indeed this incident marks a deep and ugly dent on the state of affairs of this nation. If left to its own course, one would dread to speculate eventualities.

Frank Xroy: The police and the attorney-general must take a serious view of what happened in Parliament when a group of organised thugs from Umno went to confront Karpal and intimidate him.

They were either summoned by their superiors or it is the culture of Umno Youth to respond in this manner?

How often have Umno members used derogatory terms against people of other races? Has there been a single occasion when even one member of these races so referred to in Parliament staged a confrontation?

It is reported that an MP was assaulted in Parliament,and that during the entire melee the security guards and police present in Parliament did nothing to protect these MPs.

These security guards must be investigated and charged accordingly and this has to be done with haste. If the house of Parliament is not safe where else in the country can we expect to be safe?

Khairy, should know better than accuse Karpal. Karpal has nothing to tell you outside the house, for everything he said in the house is the truth.

You have to face it like the man who may very soon - if you win the elections - lead this bunch of untamed brutes.

On Toll hike for 5 highways on Sunday

Peter Yew: The announcement could not have come at a worse time and will certainly not endear the public to the BN government.

Recession has struck and people are being burdened by the high costs of living, now made higher by new toll rates from next month.

I can almost feel their anger when the news broke over the television channels and newspapers. Most certainly some of the grouses will be taken to the polling booths at Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai.

These by-election outcomes will represent an opinion poll on how confident Malaysians are of the new Najib regime from April 2009.

Rain Man: This is totally uncalled for with the current economic crisis which we are facing.

The government is talking so much about economic stimulus packages and it's amusing to see none in the government haver given some serious thought over this toll hike.

What's the point of pumping out billions of ringgit under the name of ‘stimulus packages' when things like toll rates which impact on Malaysian daily life are being increased without due consideration?

Something is obviously not right somewhere.

John Tan:

We, the rakyat of Malaysia, would like to express our ‘heartfelt thank you and gratitude' to the very people that some of us had foolishly help elect.

‘Thank you' for looking after our interests and for inking lopsided deals with the toll concessionaires to help enrich an elite few while burdening the rest of us.

We certainly hope that they will continue to do so for future deals. After all, hike or no hike, these elite will never feel the pinch.

These toll concessionaires are probably projected to suffer ‘massive losses' due to the economic downturn and our government has a ‘social responsibility' to 'guarantee' that they maintain a ‘reasonable' margin of profitability.

It is a noble cause as long as it does not come out of their own pockets. A prominent former minister has once said that ‘if we don't like to pay tolls, then use other roads'.

So I guess we do have a choice, and that choice is ours to exercise when the next general election comes around.

To all fellow Malaysians, don't blame then, blame ourselves for putting us in this position.

On Water project: Why kowtow to the Japanese?

Concerned Professional: It is apparent that the Water Tunnel project is fraught with problems and controversies and yet the authorities concerned seem not to care or take notice despite the increasingly loud complaints.

What does it take for those responsible parties to respond and to, at least, clarify and be transparent about the issues that have been raised?

With regards to Jica and the Japanese government as the giver of the so-called soft loans, the Malaysian government at one time invoked ‘sovereign rights' and threatened to forego soft loans.

The relevant ministries who are responsible for the execution of the project owe an explanation to the nation. Why is this matter not even raised by the lawmakers in Parliament? Is everyone just too busy with all that politicking that is now infecting the nation?

Will the parties who are clearly breaching good open tender practice and transparency in spending public funds escape scrutiny simply because the nation is mesmerised by politicking?

The Japanese government and Jica in particular must be made accountable and be taken to task for their apparent lack of concern over the whole exercise for the award of the water tunnel works.

The presence of a corrupt contracting party and clear abuse of good, open tender practice has caused the public to rightly perceive that corruption has infected the impending award, once heralded as the benchmark of open tender by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Can the Japanese government and Jica afford to be linked to such practice? After all, the Japanese government seems intent on correcting and punishing the Japanese corrupt contractor in their homeland but is silent on this matter here in Malaysia.

This is clearly a double standard by the Japanese parties. Wake up, Malaysia.

Disgusted: It seems that we have always been existing under the umbrella of the Japanese Yen since the time Mahathir adopted his ‘Look East and Buy British Last' policy back in the eighties.

Twenty plus years on and looking at the reports on the Pahang Water Project with its serious allegations of backroom manipulation and hidden agendas involving a Japanese loan agency, I am really curious how many such ‘orchestrated' projects involving Japanese companies have been executed since.

This being a national project and with vast amounts of money involved in an environment shrouded in secrecy and deception, why then is this matter not even mentioned by the mainstream media? Not newsworthy enough?

So it would seem that blunders by the government involving abuses of the rakyat 's money are not worthy of report. The rakyat do not need to know. What they do not know does not hurt.

Or is staying mute a standard operating procedure (under the marvelous Printing Presses and Publications Act) on this dubious maneuver or any other issue for that matter involving the excesses of the government with some party wanting a pick at public funds?

Again we are talking about having something to hide under apparently open and transparent practices. They will never learn and I have gotten so used to this.

In fact, I will be very surprised if there ever was anything transparent to be spoken about in the first place.

On Selective bidding: Is Najib serious?

Mohd Arshad Raji: Once again, the issue of direct negotiation for government contracts was raised in parliament by member of Parliament for Machang, Saifuddin Nasution recently with regards to the pledge made by the government that direct negotiation should cease.

He was referring to the on-going direct negotiation to be awarded for submarine rescue services for the Royal Malaysian Navy billed at RM2.45 billion to a bumiputera company.

Apparently, the company being called for direct negotiation is a bumiputera construction company having no previous experience in handling naval contracts.

It is also believed that this same company was awarded the construction of the aircraft shelter and ammunition dump at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base at Gong Kedak, Kelantan. The former project is said to have major defects in the construction that could affect aircraft safety.

This same company was also awarded three construction projects for army camps at Gemas. I have also been told that currently, the same company has an on-going construction project in Ipoh and Pahang.

One only needs to search the background of this bumiputera company and it will not be difficult to find that the owners of the company are well-connected to some top government politicians.

Otherwise, it will not be too easy for the company to be awarded contracts through direct negotiations by the government.

A search at the defence ministry will reveal it all including those involved in approving the award of contracts.

The time has come for the government to take stock of the abuses by unscrupulous officials who have been awarding contracts through direct negotiations.

On S'gor MB digs up more dirt on Khir Toyo

Suhaimi Said: Let us now watch and see and evaluate what the MACC would do in face of revelations and more revelations from the Selangor MB on Khir Toyo.

Well, well, so much dirt. And this is the Khir Toyo is the one who tried to imply corruption by the good MB?

MACC, are you there?

On Bkt Selambau candidate: There can be only one

Richard Teo:

Pakatan Rakyat leaders should not follow BN in selecting an Indian candidate for the Bukit Selambau state seat. Pakatan Rakyat will easily win this seat if it chooses a Malay candidate by virtue of the 51% Malay majorityin the area.

BN is likely to field an Indian candidate from MIC and PKR should select a Malay candidate to contest against him. As long as the Malay candidate can look after the interest of all the races in this constituency, I see no reason why we should follow BN in choosing candidates.

The political reality of the constituency dictates that a Malay candidate stands a good chance of winning the seat and I am sure the majority of the Chinese and Indian voters will support a PKR Malay candidate.

PKR must move away from BN's race-based ideology. It must demonstrate to Malaysians that a Malay candidate from PKR can, and without any problems, look after the interest of the Chinese and Indians.

If PKR is looking forward to that change, then there is no other option but to have a Malay candidate for the Bukit Selambau state seat.

On Sodomy trial: Transfer ruling on March 5

Kenny Gan: Whichever court Anwar is tried in, it does not matter. Justice must be done and be seen to be done.

He can only be convicted based on hard evidence beyond any reasonable doubt and not on the words of his accuser backed by dubious circumstantial evidence presided over by a biased judge.

Malaysians will no longer tolerate a repeat of the circus trial of 1998 where the reputation of the judiciary was dragged through mud to convict Anwar in a scandalous show trial worthy of Stalin and Hitler.

Malaysians are now more matured and enlightened, less fearful of authority and more demanding of good governance. The reach of the Internet will ensure that all the court proceedings will be subject to public scrutiny.

Anwar's status as opposition leader now is not the same as 11 years ago when he was a fallen ex-deputy PM.

He now represents the hopes of millions of Malaysians for a better Malaysia and they will not be deprived of their hopes by a university dropout used by the ruling regime and aided by a compromised judiciary.

Although the nation has moved forwards, I have no doubt that there are ossified minds within the corridors of power who think they can pull off a repeat of 1998.

To them, I say think carefully, your grievous actions will be the death knell for the regime you wish to protect by foul means.

On Najib denies inducing Pakatan reps with cash

Suhaimi Said: This is not the first time and it may not be the last time that allegations of offers of millions of ringgit were made by Najib to induce PR's lawmakers to defect.

And every time, Najib will deny them. The MACC will be in no hurry to investigate. And finally they will not investigate.

Since the 1983 and 1993 constitutional amendments, immunity has been transferred from the palace to BN politicians.

The police and the MACC will dare not investigate allegations made against the ‘political rulers' and they are now very, very safe.

It may turn out instead that those who made the police reports and MACC reports will be prosecuted and persecuted.

Najib will deny, the MACC will not investigate, and those who made reports, be forewarned that you are going to be prosecuted for making ‘false allegations'. Such is the state of affairs in Malaysia now.

Richard Teo: Najib should be the last person to offer the threat that any one making a false report would be prosecuted. Can he tell us why till today,Bala the private investigator has never been brought to account for his purportedly false declarations?

Is Najib implying that as long as the false report does not concern him, then one could be prosecuted?

The Malaysian public deserves to know why no action was taken against Bala, the PI who made the two statutory declarations implicating Najib.

Surely in this case a false declaration has been made since two declarations were made and only one of them can only be the truth.

What is even more astonishing is that one SD implicated the DPM, Najib. Any innocent person implicated in an SD would be furious and would take stringent measures to clear his name.

But instead there is a deafening silence from Najib who seems to treat the unfolding drama with disinterest.

His action of swearing on the Quran that he was innocent only seems to convince the public that there is more to it than he would care to admit.

What even makes the whole unsavoury episode more interesting is the nonchalant manner in which the police are treating the disappearance of Bala, the private investigator.

No one seems to care and no one seems interested in finding out the truth as to the truth or falsity of either of his statutory declarations.

On Hisham says no to language switch debate

Peter Ooi:

I feel a debate serves no purpose at all. Using English to teach science and mathematics at the primary level is an outright failure. Only that the powers-that-be would not dare to admit this.

I believe that English is very important. But definitely not done in this way. What the education ministry should do is to increase the number of periods for the teaching of English language and if possible, for English Literature too.

But we know that there are an insufficient number of English Language teachers. To overcome this, the government should reemploy many of the retired English teachers who were not only trained but educated in English too.

To continue teaching science and mathematics in English would further put those students from the rural area at a disadvantage.

Generally, students in the towns or cities are exposed to some English at a tender age. They might haves used it at home or at play. This group would not find difficulties in understanding science and mathematics if taught in English.

But the main problem among the rural kids is that most of them do not speak English at home or at play. To them, English is Greek.

Without the basic understanding of English, how would they understand the concepts of science and mathematics taught in that language?

On Question Gan, suspend Najib

John Johnson: I would definitely agree with the writer. It is imperative that all facts and evidence be scrutinised to see if there were indeed high-ranking ministers involved in this murder.

For a senior police offficer to dismiss everything as fabrication and inconclusive is utterly ridiculous. Where is the justice system here?

Is Gan so fearful of interviewing a high-profile personality? There are so many allegations pointing to Najib knowing the victim.

So how did Gan ever come to the conclusion that it was not necessary to investigate or even take a statement from our minister. Is he ‘untouchable'?

We, the rakyat, insist on a thorough and unbiased investigation to be carried out immediately.

On Nizar vs Zambry: Judge recuses himself

Essdee: Justice Ariff did the gentleman thing with the recusal of himself in the 2 MBs case.

I would have done that for the same reason ie, justice must not only be done but must manifestly be seen to be done.

Augustine Paul would have learned something from this.

On Sujatha's death: Kapar MP wants answers from ex-Sentul OCPD

Spark: Ex- Sentul police chief K Kumaran left the case hanging at the beginning stage itself.

The Kapar MP had also questioned the police credibility then in investigating Sujatha's death.

As far as I am concerned, a lot of cases are left unsolved or no proper investigation given.

The police must not practice double standards and MACC should look into these kind of matters rather than focusing on the 46 cows given to Bandar Tun Razak and menteri besar of Selangor's Lexus.