vox populi big thumbnail ‘You are employed to do the job and to do it well. Not by complaining of too much work for you if there are unfortunate cases of natural deaths involving elected representatives.'

On EC chief: No more deaths, please

Appum: Who wants to die? Die for a by-election ... is this now a sacrificial sport?

For such a statement to come from the mouth of a very senior member of the EC only reflects his poor thinking capabilities as a senior man on the job.

My dear man, you are employed to do the job and to do it well. Not by complaining of too much work for you if there are unfortunate cases of natural deaths involving elected representatives.

If you cannot handle such mild stress then you don't deserve to sit in that chair. Best for you to seek early retirement and live a life of leisure and peace.

So far, from the work that is involved, we the people don't see a very objective operator of the election system.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read your minds and motives.

If this ‘death' statement is made on the basis of a joke, then it was a poor joke made coming from a supposedly very independent operator of our elections.

Choose a better platform to make your jokes and if you don't know how to, then make them to your private audience, not to a public audience. We are not impressed.

On Sodomy trial II: The knives are out

Kenny Gan: Come July 1, the nation will witness another gripping political sideshow in the guise of the Sodomy II trial of Anwar Ibrahim.

In these turbulent times, many people would rather that the government focuses on uplifting the economy rather than going after the opposition leader in what appears to be a politically-motivated prosecution.

Although archaic law on consensual sodomy exists, it is worth noting that nobody has ever been dragged to court and convicted for it except Anwar Ibrahim and perhaps never again except Anwar Ibrahim.

Umno should realise that putting Anwar away is not the end of the matter.

It will not deal Pakatan the political death blow they intended unless his conviction is seen to be completely fair and his guilt proven beyond reasonable doubt.

If Anwar is convicted by anything resembling the much ridiculed kangaroo court in Sodomy I, the intended political death blow may morph into a powerful rejuvenating boost.

A boost for the opposition as PR rides the wave of sympathy and outrage to the next general election.

Proving rape in real cases is notoriously difficult, what more with a fabricated one.

The public events surrounding this case do not give the impression that the A-G has a solid case at all.

If the prosecution has strong evidence, they could convict Anwar under any judge, even by Komathy Suppiah in the Sessions Court where his case was originally heard.

But we saw how the prosecution fought tooth and nail to transfer the case to the High Court as if their lives depended on it.

Umno is treading on dangerous grounds here. If they have bitten off more than they can chew, they should just drop the charge.

This rather than dragging the judiciary to new lows and the nation through another gut-wrenching political upheaval while the hoped for political capital blows up in their faces like C4.

On JPA scholarships - revamp and rediscover

Chee Foong:

Most of the governments tax the rich more so they can, at least in theory, provide universal services to the citizen.

The governments might also use the money help the abject poor segment of the countries.

The rich segment, while some with objections, mostly agree that is the best social policy.

The over-achievers helping the underachievers, the oldest heartwarming story in the world and that is how a country moves forward.

The Malaysian government however, is starting to limit over-achieving.

Starting from next year, no secondary students can take more than 10 subjects for SPM. Why the artificial ceiling?

The official excuse is to streamline the scholarship award process.

The scholarship programme that is used to spur the over-achievers to achieve more is now the excuse for limiting achievement.

Let alone the fact our government is utterly inefficient, now it is devising policies that is paradoxical to its own other policy.

On 1 more mis-leader 4 Malaysia

Ex-M'sian:

Dear (sorry, not so dear to me) Prime Minister

This ‘1Malaysia - can you explain this concept?

How is it that everything the Umnoputras do is always right and what the others do are wrong all the time?

Utusan Malaysia can write what it likes and you don't say anything?

Umno's party organ often plays the racial card. Why can't you open your mouth and tell them something? ‘Takut hilang kerusi?'

I know there is no point in saying anything as even the courts have fooled the rakyat with the latest decision on the Perak case.

But remember one thing - there is always the Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient God witnessing all that is happening around us.

He is undoubtedly playing His game slowly. As you can see, nothing that is happening around was ever anticipated or expected. One development after another.

What about the Hindraf rally and the subsequent detention of their leaders.

The sufferings their families had to go through. Just because they are Indians.

Have you ever thought why they rallied? If the government had done the right thing, why would anybody revolt? Please think...

On USJ folks battle-ready against development of TM land

Lau Weng San: I support the move by the residents to retain the land as a reserve for public utilities (telecommunications purposes).

During the previous state assembly, I urged the state planning authority to provide reserve land for public utilities (telecommunications purposes) for any development order in the future.

Developers should also prepare high-speed fibre optic cables as part of the infrastructure development in addition to the normal infrastructure such as electricity, water, sewage facilities, telephone lines etc.

The mushrooming of illegal telco towers and base stations are the effect of poor urban planning where the previous planning authority failed to anticipate the future needs of the country in terms of telecommunication.

In view of the rapid development of the telecommunications industry, the state needs to urgently preserve land for public utilities (telecommunications purposes).

The same goes for this reserve land at USJ6 Subang Jaya ( The writer is state assembly person for Kampung Tunku, Selangor ).

On Herald fails to revoke 'Allah' ban pending case

Sivadas:

Well, the decision does not come as a surprise to most of us.

What with the antics of the government of the day over other things that affect our day-to-day lives.

The irony of it all is that the Malay language itself thrives on borrowed words.

The one most prominently used is ‘bumiputera' a clear-cut, direct adaptation from Tamil and Sanskrit.

Can we (Tamil Malaysians) now challenge Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka to not publish this and many other borrowed words?

Language, its evolution and growth thrives on borrowed and adapted words. That's the gist of the matter.

No right-thinking authority has any hold or right to impose what can or cannot be adapted.

We can argue till the cows come home on which word belongs to which group of people but this will not provide any insight to the current legal tussle.

One and all must first accept that there are certain things which cannot be claimed to belong to only some but not to others. Language, religion and culture are some of such things.