YOURSAY 'You go around promoting openness and fairness to all, including minorities, but then you condone the actions by Utusan, Ezam and Perkasa.'

MCMC questions Aziz Bari and Malaysiakini

your say Ruben: All this shows is that ‘1Malaysia - People First, Performance Now' is just lip service.

Here is Prof Abdul Aziz Bari, a man who is giving his expert views as a constitutional lawyer - and it contradicts the government's views - is now under investigation. What a mockery to our values system.

There is only one way out, prof. Keep speaking out, like when 50,000 people showed up at the Bersih 2.0 rally. What can the government do? Also, show our displeasure at the polls.

Henry Hock: I lectured on constitutional law for several years in the past. What Abdul Aziz commented is a very simple thing that all first-year law students understand.

Utusan Malaysia and Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) should be ashamed for not able to comprehend it. They don't need a professor of law to admonish them.

If any judge was to rule against Abdul Aziz, then he or she might as well take law tuition from law students.

Democrat 53: Are we in the Gestapo era? A professor cannot make a comment on his area of expertise and knowledge?

PM Najib Razak, what are you doing? On one hand, you go around promoting openness and fairness to all, including minorities, but you condone the actions of Utusan Malaysia , Ezam Mohd Noor and Perkasa, which undermine your efforts.

Is it a ‘good cop, bad cop' strategy?

Kgen: Utusan is the real face and voice of Umno. It is used by Umno to bludgeon opinions it doesn't like, and is immune to any action for whatever racist and rabble-rousing article it publishes.

The editors of Utusan hide behind pseudonyms, which is very unusual for a newspaper, when any self-respecting writer would be proud to see his byline in an article. Utusan editors hide behind pseudonyms to spew out racist diatribes.

One Brain Cell: Words like "socialist," "communist," "republic" and "anarchist" have the power to apparently make insecure egos shake, even though the same egos have absolutely zero understanding what these words actually mean. They can only react.

The reason is obvious: they are opposed to change because they feel threatened by the dynamic trends accelerated by the digital age and are convinced they can only survive by clinging ferociously to a totally corrupt and rotten status quo. How pathetic.

Paul Warren: Why is MCMC come a knocking? Just because Aziz Bari's message got digitised? If it had not been digitised, then what? MCMC cannot touch him, is it?

I think the authorities better get themselves together on this. This is as if the message may not be offensive if it was not conveyed in a digitised manner. If the same had been spread by smoke signal, then what?

Disbeliever: There goes MCMC, serving at the command of Utusan . Why don't you investigate those pro-Umno blogs and Utusan Online too?

Don to Dr M: Look who's talking

BTN: One thing is for sure - professor Abdul Aziz is one ‘Melayu' who, unlike others, does not ‘mudah lupa' (forget easily).

Yes, I do remember those days when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in power and when he was pushing to remove those powers from the sultans, I had that uneasy feeling that the monarchy was about to be abolished. That was my feeling as a rakyat at that time.

Nobody dared to challenge Mahathir and we have ended up with a man and party so strong that all institutions have to bow to them. That wrong has to be made right now for the good of this country.

Hope: Aziz, don't count yourself as an equivalent to Mahathir. He curbed the monarchy's powers and not allowing them to misbehave.

He also created a court for them to be sued and/or charged, and that is more than anyone can do to make sure they are held accountable if they do wrong. He did not insult them nor question their comments, he was doing his duty for the nation.

You, on the other hand, do what you did to be noticed and nothing more. It's clear you are enjoying your five minutes of fame, but there is a price to pay.

Baiyuensheng: One thing I must credit Mahathir - for the clipping the powers of the sultans. At one time, the sultans and their families were abusing their powers and the laws cannot touch them.

I believe some sultans still behave irresponsibly. Only those affected will know the truth. This, I think, is Mahathir's greatest achievement during his tenure. Till now, I still believe that powers of the monarchy are still too much and need to be checked.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: Mahathir will use and abuse the rulers simply to suit his own political agenda as was seen in 1983 and 1993.

Not only did he force the rulers to agree to the constitutional amendments but he also denigrated them through a huge media campaign and in numerous public rallies.

If Umno has such a high regard for the rulers and is the natural defender of the monarchy, then Mahathir should be the first to apologise to all the Malay rulers for his previous actions, that were not only disrespectful but also disloyal, and Umno should restore the former prerogatives and privileges of the rulers through amendments to the federal and state constitutions, which Pakatan Rakyat will support.

Even the late Sultan of Johor Tuanku Iskandar al-marhum revealed that the sacking of the then Lord President Salleh Abas was orchestrated by Mahathir using his name and he expressed his regrets to Salleh in private.

Confused: As an academic, I really admire Dr Aziz's stand. We need more no-nonsense academics like him.

 

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