YOURSAY 'I can think of no greater insult to our constitutional monarchs than for such disgraceful threats to be issued in any sultan's name.'

Prof Aziz Bari receives bullet in the mail

Cala: There is an unmistakable fact that the sender of the bullet knows the whereabouts of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) law professor Abdul Aziz Bari.

Who can that person be? Surely that person must be his detractor, someone who does not condone his style of reminding the Selangor sultan about certain constitutional issues.

If you ask me, I would suggest that Abdul Aziz builds around him a circle of like-minded friends. To ‘fight' the battle single-handed is not wise, nor realistic.

Not Confused: What depths this sad country has sunk to when a learned professor voices his legal opinion on an important issue, gets a bullet in the mail.

He didn't insult the royalty. The morally bankrupt BN under Dr Mahathir Mohamad did far worse in the past. And this is supposed to be an Islamic country.

Brahman: For a country which imposes a mandatory death sentence for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, there seem to be ample of bullets to be posted in the mail.

It is not easy to purchase these ammunition in Malaysia. As such, there is a sense of suspicion that certain parties in power are involved in this.

Multi Racial: I think the Sultan of Selangor should not keep quiet but to speak out against the recent attacks against Aziz Bari.

If the sultan did that, it goes to show how magnanimous a person he is. It is also an opportunity for him to elevate himself above politicians.

As ruler of the state, his primary interest should be solely on what is good for Selangor as well as its people. regardless of race and religion.

This is the time for the royalty to win back the respect and support of Malaysians at large.

MCA Member: I agree with Multi Racial. The sultan, being a person who should be seen to be above the fray, should come out with a statement to diffuse the situation.

The sultan has to bear in mind that rakyat of today are very much aware of democratic principles and freedom of speech.

It will certainly do a great deal of good to the image of the royalty if the sultan recognises these facts and absolve Prof Bari of any wrongdoing and send the rakyat the message that this sultan is a righteous and forgiving sultan and is willing to listen to the rakyat, warts and all - not only the good things, but also the not-so-good things.

One Brain Cell: If I were the Selangor sultan, I would be absolutely horrified and outraged that some quarters are committing serious crimes like making death threats against academics in my name.

Whatever Aziz Bari said about the sultan, it was a civilised critique. This bullet-in-the-mail, however, is low-grade thuggery and I can think of no greater insult to our constitutional monarchs than for such disgraceful threats to be issued in any sultan's name.

Nil: Just what constitute an offence against His Highness or "to cause mischief"? Do I take it that whatever the sultan says or does are beyond criticism? Can a sultan ever be wrong?

Nik V: The question of ‘whodunit' is something that will probably never be solved as long as BN is in power.

But the bigger question is whether the Sultan of Selangor is magnanimous enough to state officially that he finds such acts of sending bullets and threatening any of his subjects in such a way as despicable, and that if in fact Prof Aziz Bari had said anything wrong, His Highness would wait for the law to follow due process.

That act alone will show the rakyat that even the Sultan of Selangor will not tolerate those claiming to defend his name, and who in fact end up painting the royalty in bad light.

Anonymous: All these uncivilised act of sending bullets and rowdy behaviour is the product of 54 years of bad leadership, bad education and gutter politics.

It will need another 50 years before we can attain political maturity. Politicians should concentrate on substantive matters of national importance if they want to be relevant and have the confidence of the people.

Those who act cowardly by sending threats and bullets should be apprehended and punished severely so that a strong message is sent that such acts will not be tolerated.

Milosevic: It was none other than Mahathir who said during the constitutional crisis that the sultans had done nothing for the Malays, and it was only Umno which had saved them.

The sultans, he claimed. were prepared to sell out Malay interests with the Malayan Union proposal. Did the bullet sender get the wrong address?

It is becoming clear to ordinary Malays that Umno is no longer serving their interests, and as such the party is in a tight spot. Party leaders are mobilising all kinds of institutions, from the previously ridiculed royalty to religious chauvinist organisations to prop them up.

However, since these do not provide intellectual and moral power to win the hearts and souls of the people, their role is limited to shoring up authoritarianism and spreading paranoia to silence broader discussion about alternatives for Malaysia.

There is a direct correlation between Umno's ineffectiveness and decadence and the mushrooming of new saviours for Islam and the Malays.

Hope: I am sad to hear this. Aziz is not my favourite person and he is partisan, but then these things should not be happening in Malaysia. This is not the way to stop people from exercising their freedom of speech.

Anonymously: Abdul Aziz, be brave for you are not alone. Don't let such criminal intimidation get the better of you. Like what PAS vice-president Husam Musa rightly said, you have become an icon of the rakyat.

Geronimo: Should any harm come to the good professor, Umno will face an uprising like it never seen before and this time, it will not be from Bersih but from the students themselves who will take the leading role.

Ferdtan: The sending of bullet/bullets in the mail has occurred too frequently. The message of these cowards is trying to put fear into the receivers to cow them from making anti-establishment statements or actions.

Most victims are mainly from the opposition members and the outspoken human rights NGOs. Many police reports had been made and not even one culprit had been caught - much less charged in court.

The police's inability to successfully investigate the crimes, and the accusation of the police's 'deliberate lack of enthusiasm' encourage the increase in such mischief-makers.

The crime has now become a norm - no one bats an eye to the threat, but life should not go on without the usual indignation. It is wrong to condone crime - any crime.

It is time the police should look seriously into such infractions before such threats turned real with victims losing their lives. Police, show us that we are wrong to misjudge you - give us some results.

Keturunan Malaysia: Our country is so full of daily shocks until nothing shocks us anymore, except that if a day passes us by without having a single one.

The deafening silence of the silent majority is indeed an ominous sign and indeed, when the time comes, the seething rage that keep piling up will explode and translate into votes against the few strong and powerful.

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