YOURSAY 'Mahathir is right on one thing - until a crime is committed, you can't do anything to prevent it. Therefore, why do you need EO?'

The price of freedom is more shootings, warns Mahathir

your say LittleGiant: And so former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad thinks that less freedom means less shootings. He is either too naive or simply stupid to have blabbered something like this and there is nothing logical in his statement.

Taking away freedom by enforcing some draconian laws such as preventive detention without trial will only increase abuse of power by the authorities. There is no guarantee that it will reduce the number of criminals or their illegal activities.

Most criminals could be "guided and protected" by corrupt officials in the country's law enforcement agencies.

It is as simple as that. It is the government's utmost responsibility to ensure that its administration of the country is free of corruption and there is no abuse of power by its authorities.

It is the government that should safeguard the freedom enjoyed by the people and not find excuses to hide its inefficiency and its lack of commitment to tackle rising crime rates.

Absalom: If "the price of freedom, of liberalism, of being free to say what you like, the price is people get killed", then I guess we should aim for less freedom, more authoritarianism and more dictatorial leadership.

People should not question anything the leaders do or the government does.

They should just accept the corruption and abuses as a lesser evil (than getting shot). The authorities should be able to detain anyone and his neighbour if they like, no need for trials.

Is that what Mahathir wants? Maybe we should go one better. Detain everyone (except Dr M, of course) and you would have cut crime altogether.

Maplesyrup: It is not enough that Malaysians have to put up with 22 years of rule under this man, where public institutions such as the judiciary, police and Election Commission are 'privatised' by BN.

After his exit as premier for almost 10 years, Malaysians still have to put up with his nonsense and meddling in  the ruling government.

Hah Thiam Khean: Deal! Today, I'll accept more killings in return for more freedom.

Tomorrow, I'll use the freedom I get to elect a government capable of reforming the police and reducing crime within the context of a fair and just legal system that requires due process and evidence.

Chipmunk: Mahathir, why is it that when the nation moves forward, people like you move backward? Where in the world did you come up with an opinion that if the nation asks for more freedom, than more killings would happen?

You really proved that you have gone senile and who are you to meddle in the current affairs of the government?

Remember that you are no longer PM and you should stay that way. Only fools like you will come up with such stupidity.

Moontime: More irrational venom from this dinosaur. The older he gets, the more I'm inclined to believe he really wants to be PM again.

Why? Because he believes that only an autocratic government disguised as democracy is good for this country.

What Malaysia needs right now is a strong leader who can reassure its citizens that the government is taking all the necessary steps to reduce crime through an effective and efficient police force. Sadly, I don't see this happening.

What we have here is a PM who maintains an elegant silence over serious issues and an imbecilic plus moronic home minister who only knows how to pick a fight and act like a gangster.

One of the greatest mistakes Dr M did when he was PM is this: He reinforced the perception that only he can lead this country and destroyed many political careers of people deemed to be better than him as a leader.

We, Malaysians, are now paying the price for this mistake every day of our lives.

Telestai!: When a retired judge called him the devil incarnate, I initially thought that was harsh. With the recent shenangans, I am convinced that the judge was right.

Having wreak havoc for 22 years, this bitter old man will not stop until the country is completely and utterly destroyed. Much of the ills we have today in Malaysia carry the fingerprint of this mad fool.

Malaysian Born: This man is only capable of fear mongering and manipulation. He still hasn't realised the the damage his foolishness has caused the country. To blame the recent violent acts on the removal of the Emergency Ordinance (EO) is not logical.

This man's idea of justice is being able to imprison people without any evidence and with no checks and balances, which is nothing short of insane. In his case, his megalomania has no limits so innocent people being jailed is not an issue for him.

From all indications many of his political enemies have also been treated to his idea of justice and incarceration without cause. It's high time we stop listening to him and let him retire into obscurity.

Cantabrigian: There is no such thing as "more freedom" here in this case because the removal of EO does not in any way give "more freedom" for people to shoot others point blank.

The existing criminal laws are there to deal with murder cases; what you need is a better enforcement and investigation system by PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police).

Mahathir is right on one thing - until a crime is committed, you can't do anything to prevent it. Therefore, why do you need EO in the first place when you know you can't prevent crime from happening?

DapKu: Mahathir should remember what Abraham Lincoln said, "You can bluff some people all the time; all the people some of the time but not all the people all the time."

Mahathir's dictatorial era is over. We want peace and stability but not at the expense of tyrannical laws.

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