vox populi small thumbnail 'Compare Taib and Mubarak - both billionaires, both corrupt and continue to hold on to power, and both like to think they are Pharaohs.'

Anwar to Taib: Don't be like Mubarak

Fido Dido: There has been repeated reports from whistleblower website Sarawak Report of Taib Mahmud's wealth both local and overseas, with photo evidence of real estate properties.

Why hasn't MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency) open a file on him. When will investigation going to start? I hope Sarawakian will be determined enough to throw Taib out in the coming state election.

Pemerhati: The biggest challenge facing Pakatan is how to get its message across to the rural people in East and West Malaysia.

BN uses its complete monopoly of the media to influence and brainwash the rural voters by maligning the opposition with lies and suppressing its own corrupt and criminal activities. They then throw some crumbs to these voters to obtain their votes while siphoning off billions for themselves.

All the nice speeches by Pakatan are mainly heard by their supporters and reach the more sophisticated computer literate voters, who are probably mostly Pakatan supporters.

Pakatan has to use all its ingenuity and resources to get its message to the rural people and inform them in simple terms of BN's plunder of the country, the extensive corruption and the massive degradation of all the public institutions, if it wishes to reduce BN's stranglehold on these simple people.

Without a swing in the rural support, the chances of Pakatan winning the next elections look bleak.

ONG: So far, all of Anwar Ibrahim's witty 'syiok-sendiri' jibes at BN personalities only has excellent entertainment value but do little to dent BN's ‘fixed deposits'.

If Anwar is serious about removing BN from Putrajaya, he should sacrifice his ambition to be the next PM. Promise the PM's post to either Sabah or Sarawak. Let the two states compete for the post. Promise them that if their votes help to oust BN from Putrajaya, then whichever state has the higher percentage (not higher number) of Pakatan or Pakatan-friendly MPs shall be entitled to the PM's post.

Anwar can keep the deputy PM's post for himself and with his skills, I'm sure he will have no problem becoming the puppet master, effectively the de facto PM. I think the PM's post is the only carrot big enough to have some chance of enticing enough East Malaysia voters to dislodge BN from power.

Anonymous_418f: Compare Taib and Hosni Mubarak - both billionaires, both corrupt and continue to hold on to power, and both like to think they are Pharaohs.

A message of liberation for Malaysians

PuteraMalaysia: Sim Kwang Yang, great article. Whatever that triggers the 'revolution' in entrenched governments all over the world, the root causes are the same - corruption, neopotism, arrogance, extravagance and abuse of power.

These very symptoms are now prevalent in Malaysia. The only reason that the 'revolution' is delayed is due to the clever use of race and religion by the ruling despots to deflect dissatisfaction and anger against the government.

Once the majority of the majority race realise that they are being taken for a ride due to being enclosed by a clouded glass, things will change. That day is not far off.

Louisg: It will be unlikely for a revolution of that magnitude to take place here - not because of races but because we know that the Chinese will never take to the streets and demonstrate. The Indians have had their Hindraf and the Malays, Bersih, but nothing from the Chinese.

Ferdtan: When the topic is on the fight against despotism, corruption and abuse of power by the ruling dictatorial government, invariably there are some racialist (hopefully not racist) commentators talking about races - the divisive aspect.

If our mindset cannot change, even after 50 years of Merdeka, there is not much hope for the nation. Maybe a different kind of revolution is needed here - to get people to think as one race: a 'Malaysian' race.

Proarte: Pakatan will not be able to dent BN's control if it does not promulgate a radical change from the politics of old.

If Egypt is in the throes of constitutional reform brought on by ordinary people sick to their back teeth of the abuse and corruption of the Mubarak regime, there is no reason why our constitution, which promotes the notion of supremacy of the Malay race, should not be cleansed of its racist and discriminatory clauses.

The world has changed but the Malay elite still want to play politics based on the British colonial policy of divide and rule. Yes, it has made the oligarchy immensely rich but at what cost to the nation?

Dr Nedu The Malaysian: The power of people is anytime stronger than any regime. We hope the Egyptian people will win and the same wind will hit Malaysia.

PKR Sabah chief quits party to join Umno

Sarawakian_3ff9: This is definitely the top PKR leadership's fault. They didn't listen to the grassroots and divisional leaders when they raised their strong objection to Pajudin Nordin's appointment. Now they have been proven right.

Sabah PKR is in a bloody mess and it's going to take a gargantuan effort to solve the problem. They will not be ready for the next general election. KL should give them the freedom to settle their own problems instead of interfering all the time.

Patriot: What's new? PKR leaders, and for that matter Sabah politicians, are frogs all the time. Having heard that 18 out of 24 branches did not support him - it was time to go and make a political statement at the chief minister's house. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: So far the defections from the PKR are not that critical as the media makes it out to be. Umno faced a similar exodus in 1987 during the Mahathir-Razaleigh crisis and to a lesser extent in 1998 over the sacking of Anwar.

Most PKR leaders in Sabah who leave the party are: (a) motivated by personal ambition; (b) are induced by Umno/BN with monetary gain; (c) incompetent and inexperienced; (d) weak leaders; (e) want instant recognition and gratification; and (f) motivated by racial and religious sentiments.

Politics in Sabah is a very dirty business with few loyalties. Nobody is your friend or permanent enemy. Since Umno took over the state, corruption and abuses are endemic, this has spilled over to politics where serving the public interest is no longer the order of the day but rather self-gratification, amassing wealth and craving power are more important.

All this makes it very difficult for the PKR to make character judgements when it appoints its state leaders.

Anonymous_410a: I think PKR is simply out-maneuvered by Umno. Remember it was Anwar who wanted to take over Putrajaya by accepting all the Umno frogs? It turns out that Umno is better at this game than PKR.

 

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