vox populi small thumbnail ‘It is not about whether the arrest of the Singaporean duo was lawful or unlawful - it is about your officers making them do nude squats. Was it necessary?’

Immigration DG: Full body check part of SOP

Troubleshooter_sltiger: OK, Alias Ahmad, you say that the arrests were lawful. Kindly explain the humiliating nude squats, then. Is that necessary and within the law? Whose law - yours?

Alan Goh: Hello, Alias Ahmad, do you really know what the issue is all about? It is not about whether the arrest of the Singaporean duo was lawful or unlawful - it is about your Immigration Department officers making them do nude squats. Was it necessary? Just charge them with unlawful entry into Malaysia, if they have committed an offence. I am sure Singapore would have done the same thing.

Gggg: This is what you get under BN rule. The incompetent director-general can't even recognise the issue here.

Rubystar_4037: The Immigration DG is very economical with the truth. If the booth was manned, then when a car drove pass without stopping, it would trigger off a loud Klaxon alarm and a whole host of enforcement officers would go after the car. Instead, the duo's car made a U-turn to stamp their entries.

Yes, the detention was lawful, but does Immigration know that even a criminal must be accorded some human dignity and respect, when coming to making arrest for some infraction of the law. It may be better for the DG to apologise for the over-zealousness of his officers than to protect them.

L Joy: I have come to an entry point and found it vacant. In my case, I waited until someone turned up.

These government officers are so used to protecting their own skin and morality all the time, and willing to use every opportunity that presents itself for them to view naked women.

Shameful display of low, nay, nil morality. I am sure these idiots have mothers, sisters, etc, yet anything is game for them. Mind you, this is not the first time such a controversy had occurred and these Immigration officers know fully well what happened the last time and that such nude squats are not permitted.

Anonymous: The whole hoax was due to the biometric scanner introduced. People were thinking that the system is so advanced that only thumbprints needed to be scanned for their entry. Was there any clear instruction/explanation or pamphlet or brochures released after the Immigration Department implemented the new system?

As a Malaysian commuting daily to Singapore, it is normal to go through unmanned booths, especially in the bike line. Many times, I see officers busy on their iPhones, who just wave their hands signalling "ok" to go through. Even for a Malaysian like me, I feel very bad, and I was thinking, maybe Mas Selamat got into the country with officers like this manning the booth.

Those who do not believe me, take a bike ride from Singapore to experience this.

'Police won't take sides in July 9 rally'

JBGUY: Hishammuddin Hussein, our track record and that of the Royal Malaysian Police Force is dismal. Both the police force and you have been partial in that action is taken only against anyone seen to be threatening the hegemony of BN rule or its policies. You have not taken any action against rowdy groups like Perkasa and other government-linked NGOS. You and the police have played politics to the hilt; you have no credibility at all.

Soap Opra: Hishammuddin, if you want to be seen as neutral, tell the police to allow this peaceful demonstration to take place. After all, the group is only echoing BN's claim that elections in Malaysia are "clean". What have you got to lose?

Pakman: Hisham, as home minister, the security of the nation falls under your watch. It is your responsibility to see that peaceful rallies are allowed and the police should assist and ensure that such rallies are held without any threat from groups that have declared publicly to disrupt and oppose Bersih 2.0.

Preventive measures must be taken as the intention by the group opposed to the rally has been known earlier. Police should not compromise and be partial, but act professionally, without favouring one side or another. Any action otherwise by the police will only worsen its inherent bad image.

RM1.8m for tourism drive, not just Facebook page

Norana Johar: Ng Yen Yen, your ministry's Facebook page is not properly maintained. It has only four albums, and there's no detailed information about places of interests in Malaysia. Sigh. Our land is so beautiful.

You don't need to spend a lot of money to hire photographers. Organise FB competitions, jus ask people to send in the great photos they have of Malaysia, stories and blogs they have about Malaysia, and so on. Be creative a bit, lah . Learn about Malaysia first before you want to do this page, lah .

Your FB page is a pathetic job. For that amount of money, I am dumbfounded.

Anonymous_40a7: "Australia Tourism is spending RM150 million for the next three years on social media." Yeah, and I bet they did not need to spend RM1.6 million for their Facebook page. Go take a look.

Docs: It seems to me that our local ministers always like to make reference to what is done in Malaysia versus another country. Yes, Australia may have spent RM150 million for the next three years on social media. Unlike the Malaysian Tourism Board, however, the Australians would have studied which media would bring the most impact to their targeted audience before embarking on a tourist promotion venture.

Che: Yen Yen is so arrogant that she just dismisses the public grievances with vague, evasive and meaningless press statements. She is also a coward. She dares not give this kind of statement in Parliament because she knows that she would be questioned over and over again, even by her ally Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar.

Yen Yen, just tell us how much Australia spent on promoting tourism on Facebook, which is just one of the many, many social media in the world.

Politik Asia: My understanding is that RM1.8 million is spent on social media. On what? Are you saying for just responding, monitoring and interacting you need to outsource? Come on, use better arguments, lah . How come your staff, who I am pretty sure are Facebook-ing, can't do it? That should be doable at no cost. Why the need to outsource work on social media when current staff at Tourism Malaysia can do it? Otherwise, why are they employed?

Mob1900: Google-search "Impact Creations (M) Sdn Bhd" and you will find no website. For a web company that handles a RM30 million contract tender for three years under the Tourism Board, it's highly suspicious.

 

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