VOXPOP ‘We are constantly under threat. The latest is that a dead communist's ashes may be brought here for burial.'

M'sia worsens in international defence corruption study

Dingy: The Defence Ministry is a gold mine, starting from Najib Abdul Razak's tenure until now. Using the excuse of security reasons, military procurements were not reported. Those in authority siphoned out public funds legally through over-priced procurements.

Instead of buying from the source, the government would get their crony company to buy and then sell it to the government at several times the original prices. The excess would be shared as profit to the company and commissions to those in power.

Podeh: What defence is Malaysia interested in? It's the corruption part that we're interested in. How much can our politicians get out of this or that purchase? The country can rot in hell as far as they are concerned. Money and Mongolian girls, that's the name of the game.

Neutral stance: Hooray, we Malaysians are so proud that we are in the same band with Singapore! Malaysia Boleh. The problem is that Singapore will improve but Malaysia will join Syria, Algeria and Angola soon.

Slumdog: Give it 24 hours before the defence minister, pro-Umno NGOs and retired and current armed forces chiefs begin their spin, excuses and discredit Transparency International UK. Malaysia under Najib, is racing to the bottom of every international index.

Brahman: The tanks bought from Britain, the submarines from France, the ammunition, even the food supplies for the armed forces... can anyone check whether it was procured fairly? This cannot be checked. Non-transparent defence procurement is a major leak to the country's economy and its savings would be huge.

Gen2indian: We used our military might in excess when 300 "armed people" walked into Lahad Datu giving the government more reasons to spend on "upgrading" our weapons.

Who really is our enemy? The two (giant) neighbours north and south of us will swat us like flies if they wanted to, so why spend billions of ringgit to "protect our sovereignty"? The answer is oh-so-obvious, isn't it?

Doc: I think it is important that Malaysia spends more on defence. We are constantly under threat. For example, the latest threat is that a dead communist's ashes may be brought into Malaysia for burial. Malaysia needs superior firepower to repeal threats like this.

Anonymous #59879079: Yes, the Defence Ministry (Mindef) is now scouring the world for an ash scanner. It must also be able to analyse and ascertain whether it came from a communist or not. Anybody knows where to get one? Am sure you can get a nice big cut.

Armageddon: I hope they dont have to introduce another category for Malaysia, "very critical".

The Abdullah recrudescence

Clearwater : Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's (Pak Lah) achievements were not recognised because too much was expected of him by a voting public that gave him a thumping majority to carry out much-needed reforms. Unfortunately, he was only human and subsequent political realities dictated his downfall.

JustAMalaysian: Once the judiciary of any country is no longer independent and bows to the political leaders in power, there is nowhere to go but down, down, down.

For freeing the judiciary of "shackles", Abdullah Badawi has earned my respect. I can stoop and touch this man's feet to show my deep respect for him. May God bless Pak Lah with long life, good health, great strength and profound happiness!

Fair&Just: There you go. By slow degrees good shall triumph over evil. His good deeds finally shone brightly against the black, evil, dark schemes of his predecessor and successor. Poor Pak Lah was ousted by the greedy, power crazy and corrupt bigots in Umno aided by the evil, treacherous ICs traitor.

Fogbom: Pak Lah is characteristic of all that is fine and good about many Malays, the true bedrock of Malay society - kindness, honesty, sincerity and spiritual depth. Dr Mahathir Mohamad represents the coarser mentality, cunning intelligence, manipulative methods, amorality. That he held Malaysia in his grasp directly for 22 years means he has created a few generations of like-minded minions.

That Mahathir still exerts a powerful influence 10 years after stepping down shows that a substantial number of people are still in his thrall, entranced by his words. But his days are numbered. After he goes, we'll remember his evil deeds and his cynical face.

By the way, he announced his desire to step down at the May 2002 Umno general assembly and cried bitterly then. This was soon after US lobbyists got him a meeting with George W Bush, in February 2002. Did Bush give him an ultimatum - no more "Most Favoured Nation" status for Malaysia unless he left? His timing surprised everyone.

Fair Play: What Pah Lah has achieved without any effort of his own post-retirement is something his predecessor could not achieve in this lifetime and maybe the next one, too. As always, history will be the final judge, despite any effort at 'tampering'.

James Dean: Ex-premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stands head and shoulder above his predecessor. Pak Lah may not be our best PM, but he definitely is a decent one.

Siang Malam: Hey Terence Netto, are you writing for William Shakespeare or for Malaysiakini readers? I have to check in dictionary words like "obfuscation" and "recrudescence" and "vertiginous". Can you write properly, please?

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