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Oh yes, Dr M is handsome
Published:  Nov 13, 2006 1:22 PM
Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM

Readers respond to Hey good looking, get lost!

I HAVE to agree with you - Dr Mahathir Mohamad, I must say, is one of our better looking politicians. Yes, he is indeed handsome.

I suppose his Indian mixed-blood descent has something to do with it. Although he is from a state once as rural as Kedah, he does not look like your typical kampung Pak Cik. You know, the typical sarong clad, toothless and almost always bald old man in the kampung. Oh, I really cannot imagine our former prime minister looking like a kampung Pak Cik.

Dr Mahathir looks dashing also because he has the height. I believe he stands around 5ft 9in, give or take an inch. That's quite a good height for an Asian and perhaps above average for a Malaysian.

I think it's important for a national leader to be tall - height does give one a certain stature. Imagine President Bill Clinton standing next to Deng Xiao Ping or Goh Chok Tong with President Gloria Arroyo. It's not my intention to ridicule short people but I'm merely saying it helps being of some height when you are constantly in the international spotlight. Dr Mahathir is able to shine in the international arena because of his intellect plus good looks and stature. This also enables him to project a certain personality - one that is dignified and respected.

I suppose being a medical doctor, Dr Mahathir knows how to look after himself better than most of us. At 81, just look at his lean, trimmed figure - many of us who are younger should be ashamed.

Look at his hairline too - although the hair may be thinning, the receding hairline is not obvious and there are no bald patches. Now, Mukhriz Mahathir must be wondering why he did not take after his father as far as the hairline is concerned.

Talking of the head and hairline, you have forgotten to add MIC president S Samy Vellu as among those who are considered good looking besides S Subramaniam, Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir and M Kayveas.

Seriously, the 'original' Samy Vellu in his 40's with his receding hairline looked better - know what I mean! Sometimes, a man does not need to go 'artificial' when there's no need to. Hey, someone once said that Syed Hamid Albar looks good too with whatever's left on his pate. So there you go.

Dr Mahathir is also a neat and tidy person. We can always see him clean shaven. Most Malay or Indian politicians spot either a moustache, beard or goatee. It's okay if that extra growth suit your facial appearance. It's ugly when it doesn't. As for Mahathir, I cannot imagine him with a moustache or a beard. But he looked good with his side-burns in his younger days ( photo above ).

The man also dresses well. Says a lot for his good wife, Dr Siti Hasmah. I particularly like to see him in his Nehru collar suits. He looks almost immaculate.

I have much respect for our former premier not only because he is good looking and is disciplined about his health. He is indeed a great man.

I think many of us can look back at what he had contributed to our nation and appreciate him, perhaps more now that he is unwell.

He has his own style of doing things and there may be times we do not understand him. Nevertheless, history will record his achievements for posterity.

Finally, please allow me to send my best wishes to Dr Mahathir for a speedy and complete recovery. - MN Mansor

Foreign workers should not create social problems

THERE is no doubt that we need foreign workers in our country. Their contributions to our national development must be appreciated.

But we have to draw the line when these guests in our country start to misbehave. According to your article, our government leaders are already taking action against Bangladeshis.

It's good that action are taken against those who are in the country for other reasons other than to work and make a living.

In fact, I think it is not only Bangladeshis who are creating social problems in our country. Other nationals are the same. You always get a few bad apples in every basket.

Take the Indonesians for example. We have all heard or read about the crimes they had committed in our country and against our people.

Then, we have the illegal Filipino immigrants in Sabah. Granted that many of them are in the country to eke out a living but many are also here for other reasons.

I think it is not right to defend those Bangladeshis just because they are good looking. As long as they break our laws or become social parasites, the government must take action against them. - CK Liew

What? In Malaysia to learn English!

IN reading your rambling diatribe of Nov 8, I was nevertheless intrigued by one issue raised: that Bangladeshi men were coming to Malaysia in the guise of students to - wait for it - learn English.

I'm flabbergasted because I know from long first-hand experience of Malaysian students in Australia, and of the media in Malaysia, that the standard of English in Malaysia is next to pathetic, and the standard of Malaysian teachers of English is of equal measure.

So why would anybody in their right minds want to study English in Malaysia? - Manjit Bhatia, Australia

A reader responds to Confessions of the other woman

Being a mistress is being selfish

MY sympathies to Hermosa. You may kid yourself that you are in love but you will eventually face reality one day. I am a single woman in my forties and love life to the fullest I am well educated and have had the opportunity to work locally and abroad. I can be the corporate bigwig at any one time whilst being a social care-giver the next. And I will never kid myself that loving a married man is anything but being selfish.

A man can never be a good husband and father if he has more than one woman in his life. It is simple mathematics - he has to share his time between them. A mistress has deprived another woman of her husband's time and his children from spending more quality time with their father.

As a Muslim, you don't want him to convert because of you but have you thought of the implications on his family if he is caught with you for khalwat? His name will be published in the newspapers and his family's reputation will be tarnished and smeared because of your selfishness.

Why do I blame you solely for this and not him? Sorry but I think that men are not half as intelligent as women in many things. That is why I prefer to be single than waste my time. You call yourself single but you technically aren't. You belong to a man who is too much of a coward to call it quits with either you or his wife.

Have you ever seen how people react whenever a second wife or mistress is assaulted or even murdered? Not many people sympathise because in every sense of the word, you have deprived a family from being happy. And nobody can blame them. It is human nature.

Yes, we know you don't care what we think about women like you but then again, we too don't really care about what you think. - Aleesha


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