'By undermining the peaceful rally, you undermine the tens of thousands who braved tear gas, water cannons and arrest.'

Zaid: Keep an eye on 'blockbuster' scandals

Simon Lee 3ed5: The DAP has been raising such defence corruption since the 1970s. Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang was harassed and jailed for raising all such crimes against the rakyat, and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua has made many recent attempts in Parliament to debate the unaccounted billions.

Kita chief Zaid Ibrahim, you were acting deaf and dumb and making millions all these years, but now you're trying to be a "hero" just to stay relevant. The fact that you are now regularly attacking Pakatan Rakyat only confirms who you really are.

What have you done when the highway tolls, the independent power producers, the Syabas water agreement and all other multi-billions contracts were all given out without open tender and kept hidden under the Official Secrets Act?

Righteous: Umno/BN is all fired up to obliterate DAP for all these issues raised through the many premierships. They have been harassed, intimidated, threatened and thrown out of Parliament, etc, while Zaid's mum was changing your soiled diapers.

Born In M'sia: It looks like other than ‘bersihkan' the election process, we also need to ‘bersihkan' the supplies procurement process. Perhaps Kita should take the lead and start a new Bersih march.

Blogsmith: Zaid, corruption and misuse of public money are important, but without free and fair elections, the Umno/BN complex will continue with their wayward ways. So the first step must be to secure free and fair elections so that such occurrences can be stopped, plus checks and balances so that whoever holds the power are held accountable.

Sssh: Zaid, you can talk about scandals, but what can be done in this police state such as ours?

Can PM Najib Razak and other ministers be charged and punished if found wrong? The only way to get a clean Malaysia is by changing the current corrupt government, and the only way to do that is through a ‘bersih' election.

Long Jaafar: I would not condemn Zaid for reminding everyone about the defence contracts. After all, we need such 'reminders' from time to time, so that we are focussed on what needs to be done.

Anonymous_4031: If what Zaid says is true, then Pakatan leaders must question the defence minister and the prime minister on the exorbitant costs of defence purchases. We cannot afford to spend frivolously on defence while poor Malaysians have to live below the poverty line; and subsidies being slowly but surely reduced.

Najib, as finance minister as well, must account for the expenses; whether they are necessary and whether prices are just and competitive.

While government leaders urge citizens to tighten their belts, Najib loosens his belt and go on a jolly good ride as if it were his father's money. It is the taxpayers' money and it should be spent frugally. We cannot afford a spendthrift PM or defence minister.

Ferd Tan: The issue of overspending in the defence budget is nothing new. Isn't the Scorpene fiasco the rallying point of the opposition with the untimely murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu? Where have you been, Zaid?

We can see through your motives in issuing this statement. The hint lies in your attack on the opposition's focus on the Bersih 2.0 rally. You are trying to divert attention from the many attacks on the government's handling of Bersih rally.

But thanks, anyway, for reminding us on the frivolous spending of our defence budget by the government.

JBGUY: Zaid, you are playing politics - at every given opportunity, you were running down the opposition instead of focussing on the misfeasance of the BN government. Do work in tandem with the opposition on the street rallies to put forth the point that free and fair elections are necessary to get rid of this corrupt regime.

Borg Kinaulu: Zaid, with all due respect, expired or otherwise, you are portraying the "responsible opposition" role that your master wants you to play. But we don't want to have an opposition that merely digs up dirty laundry anymore.

We want to get rid of the root of the dirty laundry - the ‘tidak bersih' political parties and politicians. We want a fair and clean election so the people's choice will be correctly reflected in the election results. We want a change of government, and you are not helping.

Ghkok: Zaid, Pakatan has been bringing up the issue of procurement of everything - not only military hardware - such as inflated price for notebooks, screwdrivers, projects, etc. Where have you been?

By undermining the peaceful rally for Bersih, you are undermining those tens of thousands of us who faced the tear gas and water cannons, and risk arrest to uphold our rights under the constitution to free assembly and to fight for a just cause.

Without free and fair elections, how would it be possible to gain the power and authority to investigate such transgressions and bring the criminals to justice?

Anonymous_3dba: Zaid, I do have great respect for you as a right-minded person who fights for the rakyat to improve their lives. I think we all know the current system needs a major overhaul and to achieve that the government has to change or be replaced.

For the former to happen, drastic measures has to be in place and I doubt the existing government could do it. For the latter, I think it's a long shot, especially what Kita and yourself have been doing.

I do agree that the opposition deserves some of the criticism directed at them but then again this does not bode well with the bigger picture, that is to deny the existing government from continuing to run this country with its sickening ways.

I think the existing government has at least 40 percent die-hard voters in hand. In any three-cornered contest, there could only be one winner and 40 percent is enough if the balance 60 percent is shared. So my hero, what do you think and how are you going to make a difference?

2cts Worth: Zaid, well and good that you highlight the doubtful blockbuster expenditures. But don't you think the march for a free and clean election is the primary issue. The big picture is to give validity to our votes to ensure legitimacy of the government chosen.

Ong Guan Sin: The point Zaid raised has its place for attention, but Zaid always sounds like sour grape. He missed the historic event of July 9 and now he's coming out to 'correct' us?

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