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Sarawak, Sabah must stand up to schoolyard bullies

YOURSAY | ‘Arrogant ministers exist when there is no real leadership to guide them.’

S'wak withdraws from Tourism Malaysia after tax spat

Vijay47: Every time there is a tiny display by Sabah or Sarawak of standing up to the schoolyard bully, there would be much sounding of trumpets and beating of drums by all of us, believing, hoping, that the state has finally discovered some pluck and pride, that the fixed deposit is losing interest. But we know how the movie ends.

There will be loud pious exclamations by Umno of how Putrajaya acknowledges and shares Sarawak's or Sabah's aspirations and that the prime minister would commission studies on the two states' needs and implement them as soon as possible.

There would be much cheering and waving of flags and even beating of drums. The local leader will claim he did not take Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz’s words as an insult but as the advice of an affectionate elder brother; MCA and MIC will add that these little differences can occur in any solid family.

Yeah, at the final fade-out, the villain will continue to violate the innocent village damsel. Don't bother with the tissues.

Mosquitobrain: Round One: Sarawak government withdraw representatives from Malaysia Tourism Board. Score: Sarawak 1, Umno 0.

Round Two: Sarawak to exert more pressure by warning Umno not to "mess" with the state. Sarawak 2, Umno 0.

Round Three: PM Najib Razak will visit and pacify Sarawakians with goodies and cash. All is well that ends well.

Real winner: Najib and 'samseng-samseng' Umno laughing all the way to the bank.

Clever Voter: Sarawak MPs were asleep when such proposed tax was tabled in Parliament. This should teach them a lesson for taking things for granted.

In hindsight, they should have been better prepared. It's pointless making noises now and create unnecessary tensions. Nazri has reasons to be annoyed.

Anonymous 2465861491622056: It is time Sarawak BN MPs decide what is best for Sarawak rather than blindly supporting BN and lose all their rights and state revenues.

Worried Sick: Kudos to the Sarawak government and its chief minister for standing up to a great bully. All this talk about Sarawak benefiting from the tourism tax is nothing but nonsense.

Sarawak can do jolly well without ‘samsengs’ telling them what to do.

Restless: It’s brave of the chief minister to put his foot down. Next time, they will respect your request for higher oil royalty out of fear of the prospects of Sarawak seceding.

Caripasal: Sarawak should withdraw if they cannot agree with the policies of Putrajaya. There have been many issues such as the "Allah" issue, English as a medium of instruction, among other violations of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

NNFC: Yes, Sarawakians should take control of their own destiny. They have been too tolerant of the corruption from since the old days.

Now is the time to think whether this is the type of life they want. They should tell people like Nazri to get lost. Sarawakians should stop supporting the BN period.

Anonymous_1397613657: The rakyat should speak up. We are being taxed left and right. Besides new taxes, the existing taxes have also been increased. How long can we tolerate this? Cost of living is already very high.

SusahKes: There are days where you think that Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) wishes he could shut the trap of some of his ministers who are good at letting their mouth wander off ahead of their brain.

But that is the price one pays when leadership is missing, and survival is instead dependent on how 'kuat' (strong) each person wants to 'kipas' (fan) the boss.

I can't help but now think that Nazri would display the same blurred look that he had when his debate with former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad was... err…"cancelled".

Pride comes before a fall, for Shafee

Aries46: The treatment meted out to jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim following his conviction is unheard of anywhere in the civilised world and cannot be justified in any circumstances.

Strictly speaking, Anwar's alleged crime was not only consensual but confined within the four walls with little or no bearing on anyone or anything. But the people who put Anwar up to it decided that incarceration, to be compounded with his total public humiliation, is the extent of the punishment he deserved.

If we used this as a yardstick of crime and punishment, what ought to be the extent of the penalty deserving a leader that stands exposed and accused of a litany of alleged abuses that has brought infamy and financial instability to the nation and untold hardship to the people as a result of his alleged wrongdoings?

This is all the more pertinent in the context of the latest claim that RM9.5 million was paid to the person who prosecuted Anwar.

Worried Sick: It will be good if the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigates the judges concerned and gives them the all-clear sign to soothe the emotions of Malaysians with regard to this matter.

Of course, the lawyer involved must be investigated too. Otherwise, the trust of the people will be eroded as far as our judiciary is concerned.

I am very sure the judges will welcome this suggestion. The ball is in MACC's court.

Not Convinced: Yes, MACC should take this as the cue to check the judges involved in the Anwar trial to see if they and their family members are living beyond their means.

Kingfisher: The ongoing drama concerning Najib's association with the 1MDB scandal, Anwar's conviction and the alleged payment of millions of ringgit to lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah are symptomatic of an environment where the indulgence in money has become the single most overriding value in socio-economic and political discourses.

This is obviously an aberration in a post-independent nation which was well poised for development with a reasonable national constitution. During the "tenure" of the founding fathers of the nation and up to the duration of Hussein Onn's leadership, there was hope and optimism.

The foundations for present day aberrations perhaps can be speculated to have had its enabling motivation some 30 years ago when leaders like Mahathir initiated, obviously unaware of possible adverse consequences, a form of governance value framework based dominantly on race and religion.

This perhaps is the fault-line trap as some may speculate that has ensnared the nation into a miserable plight.

Anonymous_1400076912: So cash is king and the innocent is behind bars. All filth, dirt, decadence and revulsion oozing out in this holy month of Ramadan.

Many may have lost hope for a turnaround with a new clean government in Putrajaya come GE14 because of the depraved majority, helped by the alleged cheats in the Election Commission.

But not if indeed the Almighty opposes the proud, there is hope yet and good humble men and women rise to such trying times as these for the sake of our beloved land.


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