YOURSAY 'There are still unanswered questions such as how did the figure of RM24,200 for the number came about.'

Liow finally gives up WWW15 number plate

your say Wira: In all fairness, the issue is not with Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai, even though he did 'lai' as in his name.

He probably indicated that he wanted the number and left it to his staff to handle. The issue is with the system in JPJ (Road Transport Department) and the BN government.

The government allows a strange practice that instead of blanking out those numbers reserved for government cars, they also allowed ‘friends' of the transport minister or higher authorities to take a peek at the bids after the close of the bidding process.

Then the numbers will be awarded to those ‘friends' if they can outbid the highest bidder.

This is like showing your friend the tender amount after the close of a tender and asking your friend to out-tender it by a little so that he may be awarded the contract.

Thus, the gist of this problem is with the corrupt mentality that permeates all levels of government. The JPJ numbers game is just one such sorry case.

Kalui64: Liow, so you mean to say that the JPJ officers did not follow proper procedures during the tender exercise?

Did the JPJ officers look at all the tenders for WWW15 and decided to offer you the number based on the highest bid? Or was the second highest bid?

Will be JPJ be offering the number to the second highest bidder? Or will there be a re-tender exercise for this number?

Boiling Mud: I have nothing more to say about this misadventure of lies, cover-ups, self-gratification and worthless vanity, except that it reflects so badly on the minister's gross lack of competence as a public servant.

Abasir: Liow, you should have done this on day one, instead of all that stuff about your grandfather's number and relying on MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek and his 'right pocket-left pocket' stories.

What this episode also did was to highlight the utter imbecility in the Transport Ministry, whose failure to provide reliable public transport after 50-plus years of existence is scandalous.

If all these MCA ministers (since Tan Siew Sin) had any sense of shame, they would commit suicide. But since this bunch is as shameless as its Umno sponsors and overlords, we are where we are - in the pits.

Bamboo: Liow, as in the issue of tear gas being sprayed into Tung Shin Hospital during Bersih 2.0, if you are not good at lying, don't do it. Just tell the truth and save yourself the blushes.

My1Boleh: Now, how is JPJ going to refund the RM24,200? Liow said he didn't pay for the bid. He claimed he had no idea who or where the payment came from.

But Chua Soi Lek said it was from "left hand to right hand". So Mr JPJ is going to reverse it from right hand to left hand?

Artchan: So who put in the 50 percent for the bid? You did not bid and you did not tender. So your grandfather did it?

As JPJ has said, you must put in 50 percent before you can bid. Now it is getting stranger and stranger.

Wayang Kulit Observer: You never made a bid? Why did you mention in a Chinese paper that your grandpa actually liked this number?

In order to clarify this, it's very simple; no need for CSI (crime scene investigation).

Let the JPJ reveal to the public who signed the application form. Whose IC copy was it? If there was no IC, no application form, then JPJ had broken the law. Liow could sue them.

If someone is setting up Liow by signing the application form, he should lodge a police report.

And last, if it was Liow's signature on the application form, and the bank draft was from him or a friend, then we all know the real story.

Paul Warren: Liow, you are rambling again. All you needed to do was to say, "Yes, I bid for it with my money because I want that number." Story finished and you would shut us all up.

But you would rather show how stupid you can really get. Now you are upsetting your own MCA colleague, the transport minister.

KitaAkanSiasat: Liow, just giving up the number plate is not enough. You have left far too many questions unanswered.

Either you clear your name by revealing who paid for the bid or run away like a coward whenever we ask about it.

Ben-ghazi: Well done, Liow. It's the most honourable thing to do, something we haven't seen for a very, very long time, by a BN minister.

While the act is a bit late, it's better late than never. If you did not bid for the number, then why was it given to you?

By giving it to you, the government (read: rakyat) lost a potential income of over RM24,000. While it is not much compared to your salary, it can sustain a poor family for a year, sir.

Anonymous #18452573: Isn't it so nice to be one of the privileged BN politicians where you can just wave a wand and pretend nothing happened.

Like requesting for a free meal at a fancy hotel. When the hotel obliges because they know you are a minister and then other clientele make a fuss about it, and you don't want to look bad, so you just have to wave a magic wand and make them take back your free meal.

This is so third world. In a first world nation, ministers would pay for what they order, no matter who they are. You don't take advantage of your position. Help others and not yourself. Politicians like you should be fired.

Gen2: There is so much turning and twisting and misleading information put out for a RM24,000 bid. Imagine what effort BN leaders will go to hide the truth about the Scorpene's corrupt payments of millions of ringgit.

SMC77: Liow, can you tell me whether you are going to get a new official car? May be you should put that on hold as the probability of you being re-elected as a MP is as good as zero.

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