vox populi small thumbnail 'Free up RTM by putting it under an independent oversight body, something similar to BBC Trust in UK, to ensure editorial independence. Then, I'll start believing in Umno's slogan of change.’

RTM outs another vocal producer

Bryan Michael SM Yeo: Tan Ean Nee, please keep up your fight for truth and integrity. Although you may suffer a setback, get up and go again. Your deeds speak for themselves.

As for BN’s use of RTM as if it is their private property, the only way to change is to get rid of BN and all their cronies in the coming 13th general elections. The rakyat has no fear of BN's goons, guns and gold. Together we will overcome and prevail.

Danny LoHH: Such actions by RTM is expected. After all, they are the official government propaganda tool. This is one area that Umno could convince the populace that they can change and reform.

Free up RTM by putting it under a truly independent media editorial oversight body, something similar to BBC Trust in UK, to ensure editorial independence. Then, I'll start believing in Umno's slogan of change.

Carl: Whoever pays the piper calls the tune. Nothing the other parties won't do if they were ruling. They’re not ruling now, but they’re already doing similar things with sackings and so on. Just don't be hypocrites.

Jiminy Qrikert: It is a known fact that Chinese in Malaysia are a vocal lot with pretty strong opinions on matters that affect them and society at large. While this can be said of the other races as well, it is common knowledge that generally the Chinese will speak up.

One good indication of this is the kind of coverage you get in the Chinese papers, especially so if the issue affects the community at large. By contrast, the English, Malay and Tamil papers tend to toe the government line more often than not. So, discussing and debating controversial issues is very much a daily diet for Chinese than for the others.

Politicians as well as marketers know this - once the Chinese make up their minds, very little can sway them. The way Tan departed is a sure-fire indication of the disgust she feels for the way issues are covered up, swept under the carpet, ignored, belittled and kept away from the rakyat.

Joe: The henchmen and hatchet men of the BN regime have to be systemically identified and removed by having Pakatan Rakyat in a change of government.

The integrity and professionalism of our entire administrative system have been compromised by Umno over the past 53 years. Umno has staffed their key positions with their loyalists. Pakatan will inherit a huge Trojan Horse if it fails to recognise this danger and do what is necessary.

Take, for example, the heads of the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, AG’s Chambers, and judiciary. How does Pakatan keep such characters who are party operatives, loyal only to Umno and not to their profession and position?

StevenForMalaysia: Tan, I'm saddened by your situation. Regrettably I'm unable to help except to pray that you would find a new posting soon. Have courage, stand firm for the sake of fellow Malaysians.

Bil: Miss Tan, get out of MCA and join PKR or DAP and get yourself in politics for the coming general elections. Your kind of talent would be of more use exposing the calamities and corruption of the present administration. Why waste yourself in RTM (Road To Mati) when your opinions can make a change for the better of the people.

Jacob George: Despicable behaviour for a station financed by public funds. But this is not surprising - RTM has been spiralling down for many years. Just look at their productions and its quality.

Sarawakian:

Actually, who watches RTM these days anyway? I've given up on them years ago. The crap they are churning out are quite embarrassing to the country. Miss Tan should employ her talent elsewhere.

Geronimo: I have stopped watching Umno TV channels for many years now. What difference does it make to me? None.

RTM might as well close shop for all I care. It is just a waste of taxpayers' money watching all the spin and propaganda on the little screen. Me thinks that our RTM fellas must have graduated from the Goebbels’ School of Propaganda.

Allah row: Syed Hamid may land in court

Anonymous: I just wonder how the use of the word ‘Allah’ could be a threat to the nation. After all, this word has been in use for hundreds of years; and there has been no untoward incident arising therefrom in either Sabah and Sarawak or Indonesia.

Why create a situation when there was none before? Why make it an issue when there was none before? If something is not broken, why try to repair it? Peace and harmony have been with us for a long time, except the May 13, 1969 incident. Why stir the hornets' nest and have the bees fly around and sting people?

Jiminy Qrikert: This case is absolutely interesting. I suppose it is poetic in a sense as well - the bumiputera of the land whose forefathers have been here for thousands of years is challenging the self-proclaimed bumiputeras on an issue where one is denied the right to the use of the word ‘Allah’ in worship despite a history of freedom of having used ‘Allah’ for hundreds of years, while the other is a recent 'bumiputrea' with only several hundred years of presence in this land implementing the denial of the use of ‘Allah’ despite ‘Allah’ being used by Christians in the Middle East for the last couple of thousand years.

Sentinel: Syed Hamid Albar should also be dragged to court to explain why instead of charging Ahmad Ismail for his ‘pendatang’ racist remarks, he signed an order to arrest the reporter who reported the speech under the Internal Security Act. Similarly, why did he arrested YB Teresa Kok under the ISA?

KSN: The point that caught my attention is that the reason for confiscating the CDs - that it goes against the guidelines of Islamic Development Department, Jakim. Is it the contention that this Islamic body and the like can issue guidelines that can restrict and make it illegal for other religions to practice it the way they wish, including access to their religious literature? Can some lawyers out there please enlighten those not conversant with the laws?

I have always been under the impression that while Islam is the religion of the federation, that other religions are free to practise theirs without restriction. Is that not what our constitution guarantees as a fundamental right? Do Islamic religious bodies like Jakim supercede constitutional guarantees? I am confused.

Keturunan Malaysia: In a wide-ranging article written for ‘The American Muslim’ in 2008, right after the word ‘Allah’ became a controversial subject, Dr Farish A Noor, a Malaysian political scientist and historian, writes that Malaysians did not even refer to God as ‘Allah’ when they first converted to Islam:

“The minister’s remark not only demonstrated his shallow understanding of Muslim culture and the clear distinction between Arab culture and Muslim theology, but it also demonstrated his own lack of understanding of the history of the Malays, who, like many non-Arabs, only converted to Islam much later from the 13th century onwards.

“Among the earliest pieces of evidence to indicate Islam’s arrival to the Malay archipelago are the stone inscriptions found in Malay states like Pahang where the idea of God is described in the Sanskrit words ‘Dewata Mulia Raya’.

“As no Malay spoke or even understood Arabic then, it was natural for the earliest Malay-Muslims to continue using the Sanskrit-inspired language they spoke then. Surely this does not make them lesser Muslims as a result?”

Political hamstring: The 'magic pen'

Gerald: The onus is on the signatories of such letters of support to ensure that:

a) They (signatories) know and understand the prerequisites of such businesses that are being tendered and

b) The ‘requestees’ have the necessary experiences as well as the financial means and capabilities to undertake such businesses. Otherwise, we will have tons of such support letters flying around without accountability.

Anonymous: Recommendation for government contracts should be stamped out, especially if there is a conflict of interest for the politician who signed the letter of support. That there’s a tremendous need for the desperate poor and needy to get Welfare Department's swift decision to provide aid only shows how inefficient and corrupt the bureaucracy is.

Yum: The problem is not "Saya sokong" messages scribbled on a letter. What is the difference between this "saya sokong" and a show of hands during a committee vote to determine the winning vendor in a competitive bid? Isn't a show of hands a sign of support of the person toward a vendor?

The problem here is direct negotiation. The support letters are just a red-herring.

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