vox populi small thumbnail 'No vote-buying during ‘buy-elections', no shameless ‘Let's make a deal' remarks. Just dogged, determined and real efforts to help those that were exploited.'

 

Finally... RM6.5mil compensation for Orang Asli

Ubi Wan Kenobi: Along with the devious delusion that this land is 'Tanah Melayu' comes the disgusting dogma of 'Ketuanan Melayu'.

What the Umno-serving Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli has done, in some cases, is to reduce the status of the Orang Asli to 99-year leaseholders on their own ancestral lands where they have lived freely for thousands and thousands of years.

This development would not have been possible if Selangor wasn't under Pakatan Rakyat's management.

Teh: This is a showcase of what the Pakatan government can do. No vote-buying during ‘buy-elections', no shameless ‘Let's make a deal' remarks by the prime minister. Just dogged, determined and real efforts to help those that were exploited by big corporations and a corrupted BN government.

God of Gamblers: At last, the minorities are getting some recognition, though that's only after the opposition took over the state. Perak still has some outstanding matters not resolved.

UnkerLai: "The deadlock was broken on April 22 last year, when the Selangor government - led by Pakatan Rakyat since March 2008 - pulled out from challenging the suit...". Truly a people-friendly government.

Swipenter: Orang Asli, please take note that your customary land rights are recognised by the Pakatan-led government and never by BN. This is also an eye-opener for the natives in Sabah and Sarawak.

You must always remember that the Umno-led government only sees you as mere ‘tenants', meaning you are squatters or ‘pendatang' on your customary lands.

Anonymous: The Dayaks, Ibans and Melanaus have awakened in Sarawak. The Orang Asli in West Malaysia cannot escape change, so this award of RM6.5 million should propel them to seek greater changes under the Pakatan government.

Tee: Is this really compensation? Or just another show act by BN just because the 13 th general election is near, and its recent lost in the Sibu by-election? If it's real, why after 15 years?

VP Biden: All Pakatan representatives should take note of this and what was done by the Selangor Pakatan government to achieve this. And use it in Pakatan's campaigning strategy and disseminate this information far and near. The people of Malaysia must know.

Khairy sings to Vell Paari: 'We_are_family...'

Chee Hoe Siew: S Vell Paari is an idiot. Does he have evidence that Khairy Jamaluddin specifically told G Kumar Amman what to do? What G Kumar implied could be that Khairy was an inspiration to him, while Khairy himself might not even murmur a single word.

DOC: I see the reason behind Khairy's ‘we are a family' remark to Vell Paari. When his father-in-law was the PM, Khairy led a life of being respected and was sucked-up-to by many in and out of Umno. The general consensus was that he was running the country by proxy.

When his father-in-law was forced out, his privileged life ended and he now leads a life of an Umno outcast and his band of merry men have deserted him. Similarly with Samy Vellu, Vell Paari (despite being a imbecile, unlike Khairy) had some dignity and standing with his group of MIC clowns while his father was in power.

When Papa Samy got thrown off the cliff... I bet Vell Paari will be sacked from MIC and share the same fate as Khairy. The only difference is that, Khairy has intelligence and that has made him a survivor in Umno. Sad to say, Vell Paari is not endowed with that gift of intellect.

Indhumathi: It's a good feeling to note from Khairy that Umno treats BN component parties like family. I hope they will begin to treat the children of these families equally.

Vell Paari should stop pointing fingers and accept that MIC chief Samy Vellu's political career is over. Malaysians got together and taught the tyrant a bitter lesson in the 2008 elections when they ended his political career in Sungai Siput.

He should have quit MIC president within days (of the loss), but shamefully, Samy cannot live a single day without political power. He is now holding on to power at the expense of MIC's overall progress. The problem with Samy and Vell Paari is that they both think that they are God's gift to the Indian community.

PKR's precarious balancing act

Anonymous: I think it is important for PKR, or for that matter the whole Pakatan Rakyat, to regard the rural Malay as Malaysian and not as Malay. This way, PKR-Pakatan could counter Umno's ‘Malay first, Malaysian second' rhetoric. Don't talk to them about Malay rights until the rural Malay themselves ask about this topic.

PKR-Pakatan should put emphasis of how economy can prosper if various communities work together, and compare to how the economy will be affected if each community works separately. Such an approach should be consistent when PKR-Pakatan work in other communities so as to nullify Umno-BN's racial politics.

Pakatan has to work on this fast as time is running out. Consistency of such an approach will tell the rakyat that Pakatan is a force to be reckoned with to put our country back on track.

Mohd Hilmi Mohd Salleh: One point on which to gain Malay support: use the sports gambling issue. Any Malay in the right state of mind will surely oppose it.

FairMind: There is absolutely no need for a balancing act. Just work on these and the whole rakyat, including the Malays, will be behind Pakatan:

1. Arrogance of Umno

2. Endemic corruption in BN

3. Injustice to the rakyat

4. Widening income gap

5. Corruption of the police force

6. Breakdown of the judiciary, MACC, EC

7. Poverty among the Malay masses despite 50 years of BN rule

8. Unemployment of Malays

9. Poor education system

10. Secretive agreements for utilities

11. Toll rates hike

12. GST (goods and services tax)

13. Increase in petrol prices, basic necessities

14. Withdrawal of subsidies

15. Unfair policies

16. Issuance of gambling licenses

17-100. Etc, etc.

Kgen: Why is it a balancing act? Both Malay and Chinese/Indian interests can be accommodated easily. It's not a zero-sum game like what Umno thinks.

The rural Malays have nothing to gain from special rights, NEP, Ketuanan Melayu, endemic corruption and institutional abuse by Umno. They should share the same ideals as the Chinese for good governance and social justice.

What is needed is to help them make the connection between Umno's plundering ways and discriminatory racial policies and a declining economy which impact on their lifestyle. The Chinese have already made the connection, now the rural Malays must be enlightened.

Ghkok: Lots of advice from everyone. Hmmm... Here's a guy who spent six years in jail in deep isolation, persecuted by the tyrannical forces for the last 12 years, abandoned by some of his friends, and still soldiering on for what he believes in. And everyone is trying to tell him what to do.

I think we Malaysians fail to see that we are the change that we are seeking. It starts with us. Go volunteer.

 

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