vox populi small thumbnail 'The fact of the matter is that more than 90% of the 1.2 million plus people in the civil service comprise of only one race.'

Murugiah: More non-bumis being hired by gov't

Sunnyd: So 1,500 Indians and Chinese were hired in the last two years? What is the strength of our civil service? A million plus? Senator T Murugiah, you can insult the people but don't think they are idiots.

Keturunan Malaysia: Senator T Murugiah, I just came back from a visit to Cairo. If you are on board the riverboat sailing the River Nile and looking out at both sides of the banks, 99.99% of the banks are covered with lush green. As for the extraordinarily huge deserts immediately thereafter, they are hot, dry and sparsely inhabited.

Are you looking from the far end of the deserts towards the Nile or are you on the top of the riverboat looking towards both banks of the Nile? Enough with your nonsense! Our eyes and minds do not lie, yours did.

Anon: The majority of Indians being employed in the Malaysian civil service work as sweepers, cleaners, gardeners, peons, security guards, etc. T Murugiah must be so proud and he expects us to be too. But what can we expect from a political outcast who livelihood depends on the prime minister?

Ong: He thinks everyone is as stupid as him. Of course, officially, there is no quota system for top management positions in the civil service. What about unofficially? I am an ex-civil servant who resigned because I could not tolerate the unofficial quota system.

After that, whenever asked by friends and relatives, my advice to them has always been that if their children are honest people and of average or above average intelligence, please discourage them from being a civil servant because if they are in the civil service long enough, they may become stupid and possibly even crooked besides having to accept the fact that their tuan , either deserving or not, must always be the boss.

On the other hand, if their children are of below average intelligence, I advise them to join the civil service to collect some gaji buta . Why should only the self-proclaimed tuan take all our tax money for doing very little or nothing?

Ethnic Malaysian: Wonderful ‘debunking' of the 'stats' provided by Murugiah. The fact of the matter is that more than 90% of the 1.2 million plus people in the civil service comprise of only one race. No use providing and manipulating so-called stats to try to convince the people otherwise.

PKR relaxes rules, Nurul qualifies for No 2

Urban Malaysian: 'Nurul Izzah Anwar has qualified to join the PKR deputy presidency race after intervention by the party political bureau last night.'

Does PKR's secretary-general mean to say he bent over backwards to accommodate Nurul so that she would qualify for nomination as deputy president?

Why the need to bend over backwards for Nurul? All we want is for PKR to be fair and transparent to everybody, not just to Nurul. If PKR will bend over backwards for the president's daughter, what will happen when Pakatan Rakyat takes over Putrajaya? What else will PKR bend over backwards for?

Don't they realise we just want you to be fair, just and transparent to all? Go read the People's Parliament . It says exactly what many of us who voted for Pakatan feel. Are we now seeing another 'Umno' in action?

Susah Kes: One thing is imperative folks, and let's always stay focused: Getting Umno out of Putrajaya is the ultimate goal. In my opinion, in allowing Nurul to contest, it may go to show that at least PKR is prepared to pay attention to the voice of the masses - which is more than what I can say about Umno and BN.

Now, whether Nurul is the right candidate or not is the subject of another discussion, but for now, I think it may not be a bad idea to rejoice in PKR's approach to democracy.

Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal: I do not see how in any way is the integrity of PKR's presidency race even the least bit compromised by this last-minute qualification of Nurul Izzah. The six divisions did indeed nominate her and they deserve the benefit of the doubt when they said that they were not aware of the deadline.

What ulterior motivation could there possibly be for any division to submit their nomination well after the deadline? Qualifying for the race does not automatically mean winning the post. Contestants still have to win the majority votes and if Nurul Izzah is really not cut out for the position, then she would not win anyway.

The presidency race should now proceed. So long as integrity and transparency are maintained in the entire voting system, then all is fair play and democracy within PKR shall prevail. I applaud PKR for the professional manner in which this matter was handled and they still have my vote.

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