YOURSAY | ‘The wager is on... that the matter will conveniently die a natural death.’

Lawyer to seek instruction on Ling from 'busy' Najib

Quigonbond: Let's do a simple calculus. PM Najib Razak sues former MCA chief Ling Liong Sik. He'll need to show up in court. Ling, too, will be in court.

Ling is entitled to fair comment because that's the law here. The judge can decide against him at Najib's behest, but not before the whole story is out.

It will all be reported in media because it's a high-profile politician against a high-profile ex-politician. And this time, the story isn't about not getting answers on 1MDB anymore, but on inferences of corruption against the PM.

Najib's lawyer Hafarizam Harun is just warming up the media to the reason that Najib will eventually use - that he's too busy and not worth his time to go after the MCA ex-president.

Anonymous_4031c: Finally, we can see the busy PM take the stand to testify against Ling to clear his good name. Perhaps some questions that have been left unanswered for far too long can now be clarified.

I am guessing in advance that PM's lawyers will strongly object to the relevance of the questions posed under cross-examination by Ling's lawyers or even to strike out certain parts of the defence as part of the legal manoeuver.

Res Ipsa: The wager is on... that there will be no more fireworks and the matter will conveniently die a natural death. So enough of the sandiwara and focus on more constructive issues.

Justine Gow: Why did the RM2.6 billion man give the seven-day deadline if he was not serious about suing? Several days ago, well before the deadline, Ling has already replied that he will not be apologising.

So what is the RM2.6 billion man waiting for? Is he hesitating now after realising that he might be walking right into a trap if he proceeds to sue?

Anonymous_1421806811: Still need to get instructions from client? After the expiry of the seven-day period, shouldn't the suing process automatically commence?

It is shameful to have a PM who does not take his own words seriously. Isn't lawyer Hafarizam worried about the reputation of his legal firm in representing this type of client?

Gggg: I thought the instruction is crystal clear. No apology within seven days then commence suing Ling. What now? Another letter from Najib’s lawyer asking what defence Ling is going to put up?

The 'naivety' or 'essentialism' of Singapore’s diplomat

Eyespye: You've got to understand, it's in Singapore's geopolitical interests that the status quo remains. That's always been Singapore's position in Asean, especially with regard to its closest neighbour, Malaysia.

It's a common jibe down south that Singapore will maintain its dominance if only Umno-BN remain in power - the corollary of which, I will leave you to guess.

What is strange is that someone from Lee Kuan Yew's School of Public Policy insists on defining the current political turmoil in Malaysia in terms of an iconoclastic view of Malaysian society. This sort of blood-tinted view of Malaysia is redolent with the stink of the 1970s and 1980s.

The truth of the matter is, Malaysia is in generational transition, just as Singapore was in the early part of the 21st century.

The ruling PAP has had to contort itself to allow more political parties and greater freedom of expression because of this shift. A failure to recognise the same phenomenon in Malaysia is quite astonishing.

All for Malaysia: Singapore’s ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan is perfectly right.

The Chinese have done well, the Malays were not jealous until DAP came along in 2008 and brandished a new card, Anwar Ibrahim.

He helped DAP capture the Chinese votes, and in return, the DAP gave hope that Chinese will have the cake and eat it, too.

Eighty percent of the goodwill before 2008 has been lost, and it’s up to the Chinese to decide. Remember, Najib will not rule forever.

AkuMelayu-tetapi ABU Jugak: Singapore had benefitted tremendously at the expense of Malaysia and its other Asean neighbours and will continue to do so.

How apt is the title of Kausikan's article - Singapore is not an island - but this so-called ‘roving’ ambassador is writing to pit Chinese Malaysians against Malay Malaysians - an agenda so similar to Umno, MCA and MIC.

The acceptance of Chinese of the Malay majority and its dominance in Malaysia is something that Singaporeans can never understand.

Hamzah Paiman: If a foreign ambassador of a reputed nation can’t read ground sentiments, it speaks volumes of that so-called reputed nation.

This is actually a second slap for Chinese Malaysians within the past few weeks.

Buttman: Kausikan is a career stuffed-shirt, an intellectual-for-hire who serves the vested interests of the PAP regime in Singapore which would, in typical kiasu fashion, prefer that nothing changes because it's so easy to work with a bunch of corrupt and incompetent men who are susceptible to blackmail or bribery.

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