'What a disgrace, more so when Anwar is the parliamentary opposition leader. It is best for Anwar to take his impending suspension to the court of public opinion.'
Anwar to be suspended without his defence heard
Gerard Samuel Vijayan: This is the kind of natural justice practiced by the Najib Razak regime. Punish a person without him being given the right to be heard and to present his defence. This is unprecedented in the history of parliamentary practice unless you happen to live in Burma, North Korea, Sudan, etc - countries that the BN loves to emulate.
What a disgrace, more so when Anwar Ibrahim is the parliamentary opposition leader. If he goes to the court, our great judges will rule that Article 72 of the constitution applies and therefore the court has no jurisdiction on the matter.
It is best for Anwar to take his impending suspension to the court of public opinion. Let the voters have the final say on the injustices and abuses of the BN regime. Let the whole world know that Malaysia is an authoritarian state with no respect for the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights.
Singa Pura Pura: Oftentimes, politics is a game of anticipatory chess-calculations and analytical prowess. Now that Karpal Singh and R Sivarasa have withdrawn from any further deliberations (and can no longer claim to have any positive influence on the decision of the committee), the certainty and quality of the goal that Umno can score here is literally at its angled right foot.
A decision not to suspend the opposition leader would cut the legion of hardcore-Umno-critics (myself included) right at their knees and embellish Umno with rare decorations of seeming magnanimity and comity. That might be worth thousands of votes from fence-sitters who have been increasingly tempted to buy into Amanah Saham 1Malaysia.
The question is: Can Umno resist such an all-gratifying strike (or stroke) at its once-exalted arch-angel and heir to the throne of Malay politics?
Lover Boy: Why the unholy haste to hear the matter? The right to be heard and to present the case fairly is a human right.
House speak Pandikar Amin Mulia, I know your light bulb up there is not too bright but people like Dr Fong Chan Onn, a former lecturer in the university, should know better. We know what is the final outcome - that you chaps are going to suspend Anwar from Parliament - but at the end of the day, the world is watching.
This indeed is a black day for the Malaysian parliament. The bastion of democracy has now gone to the dogs and you cannot prevent us from thinking that Apco has Israeli links for you to try to close the matter so fast.
Anonymous: The speaker and the BN government is trying to silence Anwar so that he doesn't spill the government's Apco deal and connection. That's why Anwar is not called for his defence. It does not take a genius to figure this out.
Monsterball: "D-Day is coming. Judgment day is near," so said Najib to his ministers. A confident man will not say that. Najib has split personality. One side, he wants to be truthful. The other side, he is pure acting and try hard to fool Malaysians to win their confidence, and therefore their votes, with all sorts of tricks and treats.
A confident commander would have said, "Prepare for victory. Work hard and don't disappoint the voters who are supporting us." He claimed to have 72 percent support. Why be negative?
Allow Orang Asli to enjoy special rights too: Dompok
Kaisim: My dear Benard Dompok, I really feel sad that only now you are aware that the Orang Asli are excluded from the special rights group under Article 153.
Where were you all these years? You were in the government and were in a good position to defend these people but you chose to keep silent. I feel that your concern comes a bit too late because the opportunities for the bumiputeras have almost gone. Much have been taken away by the Umnoputras.
The Orang Asli in West Malaysia are disappointed because they have been cheated all these years - and on their own land.
Malaysian: YB Bernard Dompok is right and his call should be taken up by other parties too. This will be true justice. If there's objection, it will be from Umno where 'ketuanan' is considered the right of the Malay community as a reward for championing Islam.
No doubt Umno's stand will be, yes, Orang Asli can enjoy these privileges too but they must first convert to Islam.
KJ John: It takes a brave and honest bumiputera to say this. Well said, and I suggest that the minister work towards fully realising this oversight about the Orang Asal of Peninsular Malaya.
HNL: If Bernard Dompok is serious and sincere about fighting for the rights of the Orang Asli, he and his party, Upko, should oppose the proposed amendment to the Aboriginal Peoples Act which if passed by Parliament will reverse all the decisions by the courts which had ruled in favour of the Orang Asli in respect of their rights to their ancestral land.
Red flag up over Orang Asli rights
Loyal Malaysian: Very sad, isn't it? The Orang Asli are increasingly legislated out of their customary land rights.
