vox populi big thumbnail 'Let's make the forthcoming by-election an election without looking at topography of the constituency. We should vote according to merit of the candidates.'

 

PKR's Hulu Selangor MP passes away

DontPlayGod: PKR is a multi-racial party, so race is not a factor in the choice of candidates. The electorate are already sick of the racist politics of Umno. But this must be properly explained to the electorate of this constituency. Choose a quality person, the best person whose integrity is proven.

The Indians should not insist that the candidate should be an Indian. If they think that way, then they are again falling into Umno's trap set up in the last 50 years.

Kgen: Peace be on Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad. This is a racially-mixed constituency with Malays and non-Malays in almost equal parts. Hence BN cannot play the racist card effectively but they will try to do it anyway hoping to deliver different messages to different races.

The Human Rights Party will send their man to contest. There is no way HRP can win of course but in a tight contest they may help BN win. I hope the race champion P Uthayakumar contest himself. If he loses his deposit he can go fly kite instead of huffing and puffing that he represents Indians.

Gk: My condolences to the family of the late Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad. Let's make the forthcoming by-election an election without looking at topography of the constituency. We should vote according to merit of the candidates.

Pakatan Rakyat, let this starts with you by fielding someone credible, dedicated and principled. Only then, even if you lose, you lose with your head held high, and prove to rakyat multiracialism, meritocracy, fair play, etc, are the way to go for Malaysia.

Long Arm: Field the best candidate, Indian or Malay makes no difference. I think it has to be a Malay, we can work on the Indians. Take it from me, I am an Indian.

Malaysiakini wins top media brand award

Rayfire: Congratulations Malaysiakini . I hope you continue to keep up the good work and service you are rendering for us Malaysians who seek independent and investigative articles to help us know the truth about matters from all perspective.

We thank you for your openness and dedication in getting the news across. Please don't be intimidated by some disgruntled politicians out there who may tell you otherwise. Remain neutral, remain truthful and you shall remain as our No 1 choice for news.

Doc: Congratulations Malaysiakini ! It's important to be recognised for your good work despite being constantly under pressure and scrutiny. Besides receiving the Putra Brand Awards, which is the testimony that Malaysiakini has now become a household name in Malaysia, there are other achievements that Malaysiakini should be happy.

For example, Malaysiakini has been quoted in Parliament by politicians as reference to informative source. Politicians (even the vile once) are willing to be interviewed by Malaysiakini as they know that the readership is wide.

Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal: You guys report the truth and the real news, some of which even I do not like to read. That is testimony of your independence and objectivity. Well done! You guys truly deserve it and may the government-controlled media emulate you and finally find a vindicated purpose to their existence.

Tan Kian Khim: More important than these awards, Malaysiakini has become synonymous with brave, ethical and responsible reporting, journalistic integrity and being the foremost bastion of independent news in the hostile newsmedia environment of Malaysia.

By doing your jobs properly you have also provided an invaluable public service for the people of Malaysia. Now that's 'branding' for you.

Malaysian: Kudos! Keep up the good work in reporting the facts and telling the story as it is. By the way, the truth is not out there - it's right here, in Malaysiakini .

IGP vows to probe Zul Noordin's claim

Wira: What is spoken in Parliament should not be questioned nor investigated by the police because the MP making those allegations is immune from prosecution. Doesn't the IGP (inspector-general of police) understand the meaning of parliamentary immunity?

Zul must make a police report or repeat what he said outside of Parliament before the police can take action. So far Zul have not done those two things. Why should the police waste their time investigating unsubstantiated statements and hearsays?

Beetle: A report was made against the ‘law degree' holder IGP. So who is going to investigate him?

Soi Lek: I can unite the MCA

Ichigo: Why can't he just admit that Kong Cho Ha is his running mate when it is so obvious? I guess he is worried delegates will vote LTL (Liow Tiong Lai) as the deputy for check and balance and in case Kong does fails, he can work with Liow.

Good strategist? All the while, he insisted he was not interested in any ministerial position yet in the interview he complained that without any government post, he could not be effective as the deputy.

Ramachandran Muniandy: How can you deal with Umno when they have your sex scandal in their files and anytime you demand anything from Umno, they will blackmail you by telling that your indiscretion is a crime under Malaysian law and they can charge you in court.

Follow laws on local elections, Penang told

Ahmed Kamal: Section 113 states the Election Commission is only responsible for elections of the House of Representatives and Legislative Assemblies. Not local government elections. Please don't mislead the rakyat.

However federal or state laws may authorise the EC to conduct elections other than those two. The Local Government Act states that the local councillors are to be appointed. The EC is only required in determining local authorities and their boundaries. So a strategy worth considering is for the states to have create their own mini-ECs, have local elections and appoint the winners.

It will be a difficult, costly exercise because the March 2008 electoral rolls don't have council districts specified for voters. Section 1 (4) of the Local Government Act implies the state by way of gazette may exempt any area within any local authority area from the section that makes provisions for local government elections cease to have effect.

If that is possible, why hasn't it been tried in the last two years?

 

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