PKR polls: 'Will capability trump popularity?'

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vox populi small thumbnail 'In a democratic election, the better strategist or the one with more charisma may win over a more capable leader. At the end of the day, it's PKR members who decide.'
 

 

WanFair: As far as the PKR party election goes, it will be an excellent show of democracy which no other party in the country has done yet. No matter how the results turn out, all contestants must understand there will be winners and losers, and they have to keep in mind that fair play and being loyal to the party and the nation is the end goal.

Loyal Malaysian: In a democratic election, the more popular leader or perhaps the better strategist or one with more charisma may win over a more capable leader. I must say I'm captivated by Zaid Ibrahim's stature and political convictions. But at the end of the day, it shall be the PKR members who decide.

KSN: Zaid, I am sure you know that nominations mean little or nothing as the elections are by members. Azmin Ali, Anwar Ibrahim and their backers are in for a shock. Zaid can win and can continue to articulate his agenda for Malaysia.

TG Harris: Azmin is good for PKR but I believe Zaid is good for Pakatan. Let the members decide.

Chris: This nomination trend will translate into votes. The reason is very simple - all the leaders have supporters and their supporters have friends and relatives. There will be a multiplication effect. Azmin will be the clear winner and this is what we call grassroots support.

Ferdtan: The number of nominations means nothing in this PKR election, unlike in Umno and other political parties in the country. This is due to the direct system whereby every member is entitled to one vote each, irrespectively of who the candidates, the branches or divisions are rooting for.

In Umno, before the quota system was implemented, Dr Mahathir Mohamad won by a slim margin of 43 votes (761 vs 718 votes) against the popular Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the president post in 1978, despite the overwhelming endorsements from all the Umno divisions. This may hold true for Zaid Ibrahim, who is fighting as underdog against the party giant, Azmin Ali.

The empowerment of each member is the truest form of democracy a party can bestow to its members - all 400,00 of them. Win or lose, my only hope is that the candidates be mature enough to close ranks after the election.

Equinox: PKR needs both Azmin and Zaid for different roles - Azmin for his political side (you know what I mean) and Zaid for his brain and intellect. I pray that the two will work together after the election is over and concentrate on the higher agenda. This is what democracy is all about. Look at the erstwhile antagonists, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Look how closely they work together now.

ACoward: In another word, Azmin is for party building and Zaid is for nation building.

Plan to use 'killer' mosquitoes draws fire

Chipmunk: What makes the government feel that the genetically-modified mosquitoes plan will not backfire? Can the government guarantee 100 percent that there will be no female mosquitoes released in the process? That's when the problem will start and then we will have another problem in hand?

It will take a couple of years of hard-hitting research under an isolated environment so that teething problems (which we cannot afford to have) can be ironed out. Don't be too quick just to show Malaysia Boleh, and in the end cause a turmoil for the nation. Malaysia is famous for this, so be extra vigilant on this one.

Hwa Shi-Hsia: I think this is fear triggered by the pantang (taboo) phrase ‘genetically modified'. People are worried about this, but can CAP (Consumers Association of Penang) or CETD (Centre for Environment, Technology and Development) even articulate what the potential ‘problems' are?

The whole point of this technology is that these GM mosquitoes will have few or no offspring. Therefore, it's impossible that the transgenic mosquitoes will take over wild populations. It's also highly unlikely that the genes will jump into another species of insect as animals are unlike bacteria or plants, which can exchange DNA or pollen easily.

In the grand scheme of things, a few thousand mosquitoes is a tiny number. How will we know if it has any effects, good or bad, if we don't test? The precautionary principle (that you cannot use something unless you are 100 percent sure it will cause no harm) should not be applied blindly.

Part of the hysteria of course is the lousy basic science education in primary school coming home to roost. This is what happens when you don't educate people to really understand how biology works. It's not clear from Malaysiakini or mainstream media news which of the two strains (will all the female mosquitoes' larvae die, or will they just be flightless and die as adults?) is being used?

I am not affiliated with Oxitec or the Institute of Medical Research nor a blind worshipper of technology but I strongly believe that, given the huge problems dengue fever causes throughout the world, we should at least check out all plausible ways to combat it.

Lim Chong Leong: Releasing GM mosquitoes into the wild is the most half-baked idea from Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai that may threaten our lives. When we can modify genes artificially, nature through natural selection will be faster in designing a more resistant or adaptive genome to counter and even use the engineered gene to multiply and possibly cause us more harm.

Especially at the rate that mosquitoes breed, they are quick to mutate and adapt to new conditions, even those of the modified gene. It is a battle we will definitely lose.

Rolls-Royce: The whole country is like a garbage dump, what do you expect? Why think of such sophisticated approaches and talking about releasing genetically-modified mosquito into the wild when we can't clean up all the clogged drains, ponds and rivers and enforce strict hygiene standards?

Fellow Malaysians, if you can find me a clean drain anywhere in Malaysia, I shall stop posting my comment here. Today it is dengue, tomorrow it will be leptospirosis.

Penan power and a press conference that wasn't

Maitreya: What troubles my heart is the fact that in the early 1990s all these issues were already highlighted in the international news, thanks to the courageous efforts of Bruno Manser - who, of course, was on Abdul Taib Mahmud's hit list for being a huge thorn in the side of the logging companies.

Manser disappeared in the Borneo rainforest in 2000 and no trace has ever been found of his body. Locals whispered that the logging tycoons had put up a RM1 million bounty on Bruno Manser's head, but nobody in Sarawak dared to speak up for fear of Taib's secret police.

Now, almost 20 years later, things have gotten worse, not better, for the Penan. The only glimmer of hope lies in the possibility of the corrupt and greedy BN government being toppled.

Loyal Malaysian: Much water has flowed under the bridge since those days that Sim Kwang Yang is now revisiting. Yet, it is important, for those events have been kept from public view all this while. His narratives have helped me understand somewhat the Penans' predicament and why they are powerless in the face of the total weight of state and federal suppression.

Au fait: The suffering incurred by the Penans sounds like the plight of the Palestinians. The FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) acted like Israel Defense Force (IDF). The trademark of FRU and IDF is their possession of asymmetrical brute force. Only in Palestine and Malaysia are these things allowed to happen. Zionist tactics are applied here under the name of democracy.

As for the Malaysian press, they have been shut up by the state and BN. What a shame for press freedom. It should be ‘pressed for freedom'.

 


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