YOURSAY ‘A lackluster performance in both by-elections, and he is history.’

End 'Emperor' Najib's reign, Zaid tells M'sians

Kingfisher: Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim is one of the very few Malay/Malaysian voice of truth on the failure in national leadership by the present PM.

However, going by the general apathy of many leaders to the people's grievances against bad governance, one is left wandering if the rot from the top has been too pervasive and widespread to do a clinical amputation now.

No wonder, there prevails an atmosphere of chasing one’s tail round and round without arriving at a concrete solution. It is disconcerting to hear a number of veteran leaders appeal for support not to challenge national leadership despite overwhelming allegations of abuses in the government.

One is also left wondering if efforts in the past to plug failures and corrupt practices are a major contributory factor for the national undoing. History is full of good examples how despotic emperors have been curtailed and brought to justice for the good of the nation.

Saphire: Millions of Malaysians could see Najib as a pathetic PM, but surprisingly Umno leaders are blind, or pretend to be blind, to it.

It’s time to think of the country's interests first. Najib is riddled with allegations of scandals and thus far he has not convincingly rebutted even one of these allegations.

No leader worth his salt runs away from controversial issues. A good and fearless leader does not restrict questions from the public. Quite often Malaysiakini journalists are barred from his events for fear that they would question him on these allegations.

A leader on the run is no leader. The only hope is for Umno leaders to come to their senses.

Versey: Zaid, if Umno wins the Permatang Pauh by-election, the prime minister will gather strength and has more support from BN, and you'll have to accept the "emperor" till he's sick and have had enough "fun" and get bored with the "job".

Abu Iman: Rompin and Permatang Pauh shall determine Najib’s survival. A lackluster performance in both by-elections by Umno, and he is history.

Fair Play: Zaid, you are thinking with your heart. If Umno refuses to act, we can only act in GE14. And even then, the cards would be stacked against us through the skewed delineation of parliamentary seats.

Teachers yawn, nod and sleep at DPM's speech

Negarawan: "Realising that the audience did not clap again, he said: ‘Ah... please clap lah. I'm speaking to intelligent people […] I'm not lying’," said DPM Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin is right that he was speaking to intelligent people. That is why nobody wants to clap. If anyone wonders why the Malaysian education system is in shambles, here's the reason.

Puzzled: I wonder if those teachers in attendance were made/instructed (terima arahan) to be there. In Malaysia, teachers or civil servants were required to attend functions, especially when a minister is supposed to grace the event.

If given a real choice, many of those teachers and other "pegawai kerajaan" would not bother attending but they have to choose between going against "arahan" and possibly facing disciplinary action and a lot more paperwork justifying their non-participation.

Standing firm on principles is never a norm in Malaysia’s feudal paternalistic cultural milieu.

Cantabrigian: Muhyiddin, this is not the 70s where people nod their head to whatever the politicians said. If they don't clap for you, it means they won't vote for you.

Ablastine: You want people to clap, answer their questions first. Why is the ringgit depreciating so fast. Where did all the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) money unaccounted for go?

Why the judges, prosecutors and defence did not ask the obvious question - who paid Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri to kill Altantuya Shaariibuu? Who provided them with C4?

Why is Anwar in jail? For raping and sodomising somebody two times his size, two or three times younger than him and a good pal of the PM? Come on, you got to do better than that. There are millions of gays in town. Why are they not in jail?

EmLaw: Why must a civil servant be loyal to the government of the day? ‘Loyal’ is a wrong word to use - loyal means blind following.

Civil servants are there to help implement the policies of the government of the day. A civil servant is never obligated to give the government of the day his/her vote.

More civil servants understand that now but many may still be stuck in that "must be loyal" mentality.

Roar For Truth: Yes, Malaysians should always be loyal to Malaysia but not necessary to the same political party or politician.

Government servants must to loyal to carry out the policies of the government of the day but that does not mean they have to vote for the government of the day.

Ipohcrite: I think the writing is on the wall. Muhyiddin is clearly out of his league in running the Education Ministry, and even the teachers, who traditionally threw their support behind the BN-led government, now find it hard to swallow (dare I say, the lies?) what the DPM dishes out.

Mushiro: Like others, the teachers are also made to pay the 6% Goods and Services Tax (GST), but prices of almost everything have gone up by 15% to 20%.

Do the teachers still want to support the government of today, Umno, or is it better to support the government of tomorrow, Pakatan Rakyat?

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