vox populi small thumbnail 'Pakatan is certain to win the by-election in the Batu constituency if one is called. And it will expose the lie that support for Najib's administration is at an all-time high.'

 

Tian Chua's status: Judge to meet lawyers on Monday

Habib RAK: Tian Chua was already a people's leader even before becoming a MP. Even if the MP's post is yanked away from him, he will continue to garner rakyat's respect and support. He will even be regarded in higher esteem because he is unjustly victimised by the authorities.

Any candidate from PKR who stand for by-election in Batu will win with an overwhelming majority. This will signify the support for Tian Chua. Anyway, I don't think Umno and EC (Election Commission) will have the guts to call for by election. Somehow, Tian Chua will remain as MP for Batu.

Loyal Malaysian: I believe the only downside to a by-election in Batu will be Tian Chua being disqualified for five years. However, PKR can win hands down.

The judge has made it clear the reduction in fine is so as not to disqualify Tian Chua. Being not a mathematician, he did not realise setting the fine at say RM1,999 will have avoided all the current uncertainty.

And Tian Chua should have taken expert advice before hurrying to pay off the fine.

Petestop: I am very surprised by the ambiguity of the wording used in law. Such kind of wording used would not stand in scientific or IT terminology. To erase all doubts, the word "equal" should be used. For example, "more or equal to the sum of RM2,000", that is very, very clear, and anything else should be "less than the sum of RM2,000".

Really, for an engineer and an IT guy like me, such kind of ambiguous language "does not compute".

Anonymous: The message is clear that the judgment is to avoid by-election. The emphasis should be on the judgment, rather than the fine of RM2,000. Since we have the practice of 'rounding-up' in paying anything, can we deem payment of RM2,000 is actually for the fine of RM1,999.99?

The benefit of doubt should be given to Tian Chua. The law itself is redundant or out-of-date since it was enacted a long time ago.

Joe: It will be a blessing in disguise if Tian Chua loses his parliamentary seat. Pakatan Rakyat is certain to win the by-election in the Batu constituency if one is called.

And it will expose the lie of BN-Umno's propaganda that support for Najib Razak's administration is at an all-time high. It will further unveil BN's ‘People First, Performance Now' is all smoke and mirrors.

Najib and I are reformists, says Khairy

DOC: Khairy Jamaluddin claims to share the same economic outlook with Najib; thus claiming both to be reformists. Unfortunately to date, Najib has only ‘attempted' to make bold reforms to the Malaysian economic and financial systems. The moment there is pressure to Najib's reform agenda from either within his own party or from the opposition; he buckles under pressure and sidelines his plans.

Claiming to be a reformist is one thing but having the political determination to do what is right is another thing. Najib is no reformist. He is nothing more then an entertainer - just to please everyone and create an illusion that everything is fine and dandy.

On Khairy claiming to be a reformist - that's all talk and no action with the intention to score some brownie points with Mr PM.

Freemsia: You call yourself reformist. And you say the 30 percent bumiputera equity target is to "comfort some people". Just what kind of reformist is that?

It looks like the cat is definitely out of the bag. Najib have fallen to the pressure of racist Perkasa. Some leader we have. He knows that he needs to take bold action to change Malaysia, yet he could not take the heat from Perkasa.

When newspapers trade in blood, not news

Paddington Bear: I remember how as a kid in school I used to see my parents poring over the day's papers over breakfast. The one thing I recall most vividly is how freaked out I was at the front page images of accident victims, destruction, tragedy, blood, gore, etc.

I'm 30 now and I still see the same form of sensationalism and insensitivity coming from the very same papers. Pardon the generalisation, but it's normally the Chinese-language broadsheets that do this. It seems like the only incentive for someone to pick up a newspaper nowadays is to read about the misfortune of others.

Kancil: Wait a minute. Who's to blame? It is the public who still buy these newspapers in spite of having to pay so much higher, for pages and pages of rubbish. Come on people, the power is in your hands. Resolve to donate the money you spend on newspapers for worthy causes and helping the needy. After all, there is a respectable free newspaper and a lot of online news media.

Louis: To Wee's wife and family, words cannot describe my heartfelt sympathy to all of you. It is my prayer that you can find strength to carry on for the sake of your children. Also I would like to propose to Malaysiakini to start a fund for his family. May God bless all of you and may Wee find peace, away from this corrupt world.

PM welcomes name suggestions for kitten

Yum: Najib is sure running out of ideas to get close to the people. Now he is stealing a page from the US president family's habit of adopting a dog while in office. Of course, dogs are anathema for a Muslim in Malaysia. Hence, a cat.

Dang, he should have gotten a snake instead. Oh wait, he already has those in Parliament already.

 

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