your say 'Ibrahim Ali behaves the way he is because he and the Umno-led BN regime come out of essentially the same mould.’

Anonymous: This reminds me of why Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted Malaysians to improve their English. Mahathir was on a Mid-East visit and reporters were swarming him on his way to a conference. His Malaysian bodyguards were busy shoving and pushing these aggressive foreign journalists away.

The bodyguards were distinctly heard to have shouted to the foreign pressmen, “Let him pass away! Let our PM pass away!” They were directly translating from Bahasa Malaysia: “Biar dia lalu! Biar PM kita lalu!”

Mike: "There are different levels of understanding and maturity in the Malay community, as Hishammuddin Hussein said. But the question is, why pander to ignorance?"

Indeed, the failure to face this question is the crux behind the country slipping behind internationally. Can the debacle be reversed? Not if we have leaders like Ibrahim Ali who wallow in their ignorance.

YF: John Malott, was your article questioning the rights of the Malays in the first place? No, it wasn't. So why is Perkasa, which supposedly fights for Malay rights, concerned with the Anwar Ibrahim trial?

It makes one wonder whether Perkasa is a militant Malay group in the first place, or rather a tool of another's party's propaganda. Ibrahim Ali is a confused man "leading" a confused organisation.

SS2 Girl: Very well said! Unfortunately, ignorance seems to be the order of the day among many politicians in Malaysia. That's embarrassing.

Not Confused: I guess it is unkind to mock the afflicted this way, but John Malott is absolutely correct, of course. I really don't understand why Ibrahim Ali gets so much press, though. His statements and rantings only show him up for what he really is - ignorant and arrogant.

Yours: John Malott, a good majority of the Malaysian people are with you on this one. I must apologise to you for this buffoon's bad (read 'mad') behaviour, one who is not willing to look up the dictionary to at least learn the true meaning of what you said of his organisation, but instead grabbed on your statement to capitalise for his own selfish ends.

Noor Arianti Osman: Although I totally do not approve of what Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa did, I also do not appreciate John Malott dissing my fellow Malaysians like this. As an ambassador, he should rise above the follies of the likes of ‘Breheng’ Ali.

Did they not teach linguistic relativity in his country's ambassadorship finishing school? Or was it just his white superiority and arrogance speaking?

Anonymous: It’s typical, isn’t it? When a 'white' speaks even if it is for the cause of good and justice, one is labelled a white supremacist and arrogant by some locals.

Reserved: Well, first and foremost I don’t know why in the world the writer chose to use the word 'militant'. Since he seems very well-informed about the contents of the Oxford dictionary, why not choose a less controversial word to describe Perkasa?

I’m not for or against any party but that was certainly a simple solution. Now we're arguing over petty little things that are insignificant, name-calling and such - it’s about time to grow up.

Abil: Ibrahim Ali is known for his unprincipled ways as a politician. He is well-known for jumping from one party to another. We Malaysians have to endure such people, who only serve their own racialist cause. He is not capable of reasoning but only stirring racial sentiments.

Wilfred: John, you can't expect much from an idiotic guy like Ibrahim who just craves for such cheap publicity. The regrettable thing is that the local media just panders to his wishes. To people like him, his main motivation is to prove to the world that the Malay race, or in the local lingo ‘ketuanan Melayu’, is superior to all the other races and communities in Malaysia and must be given precedence.

Cala: Ibrahim Ali behaves the way he is because he and the Umno-led BN regime come out of essentially the same mould.

Allen Wanz TC: John, you just have to forgive this has-been who needs the publicity for his stupidity. Forgive also all his lieutenants who blindly follow him. Don't teach him English, please, because he is satisfied with his mastery of the language, which allows him to make empty noises and jump at every comment.

Don't give him any more publicity. It will shame us Malaysians at every turn and corner.

KSN: Honourable Mr John Malott, you are on the dot about Ibrahim's knowledge of the English language. The only thing he knows to talk about is that 67 percent of the population of Malaysia are Malays. That is not exactly right if the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are excluded.

From what I know, the Malays in the Peninsular, who Ibrahim claims to champion, are around 50 percent, but he wants everything, likes jobs in the civil service, scholarships, etc, for the 50 percent. If that is the foundation on which this Perkasa is based, that target was achieved a long time ago as the categories are made up of nearly 90 percent Malays.

If he is referring to equity, according to some independent studies, Malays control nearly 45 percent whereas the NEP target was 30 percent, and the government and Ibrahim like to see it as being 18 percent. If my figures are correct, Ibrahim can wind up satisfied that his goals were achieved before Perkasa was born.

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia: Dear Malott, your candid observations on the sorry state of Malaysian politics are much appreciated. Ibrahim Ali is the slightly less intelligent but equally offensive and obnoxious Malaysian equivalent of Rush Limbaugh - representing the worst of the pseudo-nationalistic ethno-centric demagogues, a physical manifestation of the vile corruption that wracks our wonderful country.

He is the puffed-up redneck of rednecks, proudly revelling in his ignorance, bigotry and greed, a human Jabba the Hutt.

The only reason Ibrahim Ali exists politically is because Umno - in an unsuccessful pretence at distancing itself from racial politics - has 'outsourced' its more inflammatory race rhetoric to him and his Perkasa mob.

Without the open support of Umno - which boasts people like Hishammuddin Hussein (a slimmer and slightly more urbane version of Ibrahim) - Ibrahim Ali would quickly disappear back into the gutter from whence he came.

T he above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only Malaysiakini subscribers can post comments. Over the past six months, Malaysiakinians have posted 50,000 comments. Be part of the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .