vox populi small thumbnail 'Pak Lah, MCA has ceased to be able to influence BN's fortunes. They are just passengers on the Umno train like MIC and Gerakan.'

Pak Lah to MCA: Don't destroy BN

Son Of Malaysia : Pak Lah just woke up from his hibernation. Why blame MCA, Gerakan or MIC? Umno has done it all on its own. Instead of rectifying its errors, Umno is shifting the blame on its partners. What about Kedah and Terengganu? Isn't there trouble brewing in these states among Umno people, especially in Terengganu.

It is time the component parties in BN evaluate their contribution to the "downfall of BN" if it should happen. It is a sinking ship, better for them to bail out. Perhaps Bagan Pinang by-election will be the indicator for MCA and others whether to hang on or get out.

Kim : Pak Lah, MCA has ceased to be able to influence BN's fortunes. They are just passengers on the Umno train like MIC and Gerakan. They can only win in Malay-majority areas. The ones doing a good job of destroying BN is Umno through its abuse of the police, the MACC, the judiciary and the Attorney-General's Chambers. Last but not least, Umno ministers treat the public like fools!

Kelvin Lawrence: Are you kidding? Umno needs no help in the matter, but on the positive side, MCA's problems will hasten the slide. Anwar will finally become prime minister: the ultimate BN nightmare.

Malayamuda : Mahathir Mahathir laid the foundation for BN's death. Mahathir removed all capable leaders from Umno. And he put Abdullah Ahmad Badawi there so he could become the puppet master.

Loyal Malaysian : No, you give too much importance to the MCA. If it self-destructs, it will not be missed and there will be other wagging dogs or Umnoputras to take its place.

Lim: People still support Penang gov't

Billy Ong : I agree with Lim that Pakatan Rakyat/DAP will continue to receive the support of the Penangites unless they are Umno, MCA, MIC. I make monthly business trips to Penang and each time I was driven to the hotel by a Malay cab driver, he would never fail to tell me of the good work Lim and his team have done.

Wira : Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, you are doing a great job according to your conviction and sincerity. If I am not mistaken, the MPPP/MPSP together have a larger collection and operating budget than the state government.

LimBC : At least we support Lim not because not because he is a Chinese but because of good governance. On the Kampung Buah Pala issue, where would you find a Chinese chief minister willing to get such generous compensation for a group of Indians?

Ong : Among all the Pakatan-ruled states, including formerly Pakatan-ruled Perak, I can safely say that support for Pakatan is weakest in Perak. Yet BN dares not dissolve the Perak state assembly and have a re-election. What does that say about the people's support for Pakatan in the other Pakatan-ruled states?

Au Yong : Najib's comments are typical of the BN goverment (or lack of it). After the disastrous 2008 election, they have not been governing the nation, but trying to bring down by foul means the state governments of Pakatan. They treat all opposition as traitors.

Life in the twilight for Muslim transsexuals

Gk : "Of course they won't get a job if they turn up wearing a woman's dress. All religions are opposed to this," Harussani said. I think it is not fair for Harussani to say that on behalf of other religions. As far as I know, my religion does not oppose this. My religion teaches me to accept other people as what they are, and learn how to co-exist with each other.

Parvinder Kler : I am very much on the side of the transsexuals and other groups whose sexual mores are oppressed. I now live in Australia and I can tell you that even in this more liberal society the 'sexual minorities' continue to suffer discrimination.

When socially aware people like me go out to protest on various issues, we yell out in unison for women's rights, workers rights, immigrants' rights, etc. But when someone yells out 'gay rights' the yells of support are much quieter. It is still a somewhat private issue between individuals and their religious beliefs.

Genorimo : When I was in school back in the 60s, we had a few male transexuals schooling with us. Of course, we used to tease them. But once we got to know them better, they were actually a nice, decent, smart group of people. As years went by, the teasing ebbed and they became part of our school.

Deep inside nobody wants to be born a transsexual and be ridiculed by society. Given a choice they would be prefer to be either a man or a woman.

Harussani Zakaria asked, "You cannot be transsexual, you are either a woman or a man. Why do they want to go against Allah? If God has created you as a boy, then act like a boy." It is so easy for him to say without knowing the psychological and emotional distress the person is undergoing.