YOURSAY ‘Perhaps this is indicative of which side of the bread receives the butter.’

 

Obama: It doesn't mean we don't care about Anwar

         

Vijay47: US President Barack Obama, this is a classic cop-out. You made the right soundbites but in the face of reality, your words mean zilch. 

 

Obviously and ultimately, every country thinks of its own interests. But not every country preaches to the world about freedom, human rights, and that all men are created equal. 

 

Shame on you, Mr President. Former US ambassador to Malaysia John Malott, do you have anything to say?

 

Cry, My Beloved Country: "The fact that I haven't met with Mr Anwar (Ibrahim) is not indicative of a lack of concern....," said Obama.

 

Perhaps it is indicative of which side of the bread receives the butter. The history of American involvement in countries in South America over the years speaks for itself. Remember what happened to Chile?

 

In the final analysis, it is the warlords that matter where ‘I help you and you help me’ has currency.

 

Cogito Ergo Sum: By not meeting the leader of 52 percent of the population, you have displayed that you pay niggardly attention to facts and have endorsed the deception that was GE13.

 

You have done more harm to the legitimate cause of democracy by your inaction than all the platitudes you spew across the world.

 

Abasir: "It is an action taken by an individual, who happens to be his former employee, who has taken up a case against him," said PM Najib Razak.

 

And he did not mention that he met with the individual in his house late at night before the police report was lodged.

           

UBA: I know, I know, Obama. You represent the vested interests of powerful super-corporations and the defence industry - you only have time to hobnob with the criminals who hold the national purse strings and whose only interest is maintaining the corrupt status quo.

 

Proarte: Pakatan Rakyat is a marriage of convenience purely to challenge a common enemy BN.

 

PAS unconstitutionally wants to introduce hudud, which is an affront to civilisation and decency. The secular DAP nonchalantly remains in the coalition without its senior leaders giving PAS the ultimatum that it will be kicked out of the coalition if it does not abide by the common manifesto which rejects hudud.

 

Why should Obama lend support to an opposition which betrays its people? Recently, Anwar criticised former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is a Muslim, for his objection to hudud.

 

He also criticised Mahathir for supporting Kassim Ahmad's right to openly re-evaluate the hadith. So much for Anwar's commitment to freedom of speech in Malaysia.

 

Anwar allowed the Allah scam to fester and did give unequivocal support to Christians. Dartmouth College professors identified Anwar as the man in the sex video exposing his brazen lies.

 

Obama is here primarily to promote US interests and not to puff up an unprincipled politician like Anwar.

 

Zen: Indeed, choosing Anwar will put the Malays back into poverty. Other races will use him to take away Malay rights. Remember he is a very clever man. See his stand on hudud.

 

We still don’t know his stand on this issue since he is very, very quiet on this over the past few weeks. Good luck to the Malay's economy if he rule Malaysia.

           

Gerard Lourdesamy: Sadly, the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and the strategic relationship with Malaysia vis-a-vis the Chinese threat in the region, trumped any meeting with Anwar.

 

The White House missed a huge opportunity to align itself with the forces of democracy, freedom and human rights in Malaysia.

 

Najib is being facetious in his comments. The public prosecutor answers to the government. The evidence against Anwar has been circumstantial at best and even the DNA evidence is in doubt and yet the attorney-general, who is the public prosecutor, saw it fit to proceed with a charge.

 

The speed at which the Court of Appeal convicted and sentenced Anwar and the vindictiveness of the government in the cross-appeal on the sentence points to a conspiracy to send Anwar to jail at all costs.

 

Is Obama willing to suspend relations with Malaysia if Anwar is sent to jail again? Most likely no. In the eyes of the 52 percent of Malaysians who voted for the opposition in GE13, the US has turned out to be a great disappointment.   

 

Zen, despite Umno being in power for nearly 60 years, the Malays are still in poverty going by the government's own statistics.

 

How can Anwar and the non-Malays take away Malay rights when the constitution has entrenched the position of Islam, the Malay rulers, the Malay special position and the Malay language whereby even with a two-thirds majority in Parliament these rights cannot be amended or repealed without the consent of the Conference of Rulers who are 100 percent Malay and Muslim?

The Malay economy is already precarious given the huge intra-ethnic income disparity, leakages and wastage in the implementation and management of affirmative and pro-Malay economic policies by the government largely due to corruption and Umno cronyism.

 

With plunging growth rates, creeping inflation, the huge budget deficit, dwindling foreign investment, middle-income stagnation and uncompetitiveness, the Malaysian economy is in trouble. That does not benefit any race.    

 

Fair Play: Gerard Lourdesamy, here is how I see it. If you engage people like Zen, you would lose more than a few brain cells. You might even lose your sanity entirely.

 

When hard times come, I mean really hard times when there is nothing else to take, guess who would suffer the most? Poetic justice, right?

 

Armageddon: Obama would gain lots of respect as a true democratic world leader if only he had spent 10 minutes of his time to meet up with Anwar.

 

He must realise that Anwar had the support of 52 percent of Malaysians, and democratically, he is Malaysian choice as the leader, but lost this position on technicality.

 

Speechless: Although it is Obama's right to choose who he wants to meet when he comes to Malaysia, by snubbing Anwar, he is indirectly snubbing 52 percent of Malaysians.

 

I am sure he is fully aware of the erosion of rights and increased oppression of the minorities in this country.

 

As a leader of the free world who has so frequently and eloquently espoused the importance of democracy and human rights, Obama has proven to be a president who does what is politically expedient and not what he claims to represent.

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