YOURSAY | ‘They should have commented on the greatest violation – forcing a by-election.’

Bersih: Harapan used tactics ‘similar to BN’ in Seri Setia, Balakong polls

ABC123: If MCA and PAS were giving out goodies, it would be suicide if Pakatan Harapan didn’t do the same in the Balakong and Seri Setia by-elections. Can you blame them?

In a contest, when your opponent gives our goodies, do you only give out words and smiles? Wake up – this is real world, not la la land. The root cause must be nipped in the bud. All such goodies must be banned by Election Commission and enforced strictly.

Roger 5201: We need an EC that is independent, clean and bipartisan with clear guidelines and ground rules. It is also important to set limits of how much a candidate can spend and keep an account of all political donations.

Fairplayer: Bersih doesn’t have teeth these days. They only report offences. What for? Harapan candidate for Port Dickson Anwar Ibrahim showed up at an army veteran ceremony, was given a VIP seat and accorded VIP treatment, and declared future prime minister by Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu. And not a peep from Bersih.

Anonymous: Bersih are quickly becoming a waste of time. If BN and PAS were throwing goodies to voters, Harapan would simply be stupid for trying to be ‘clean’ if it did not follow suit. Voters don't care.

Why can’t the EC have a law to ban such activities – full stop. Any party involved in such activities will be disqualified. No need to have Bersih screaming for decades without any effect.

Myviews: Bersih, be practical. You want everything to be cleaner than clean, and whiter than white. Yes, you can do that provided everyone is educated and the citizens have attained a high moral standard. Until that happens, one must be able to accept small nuances of departure from this moral high ground.

It's like saying, "the constitution does not specify that the prime minister must be a Malay and therefore a non-Malay can be a prime minister." That may be true, but the practicability of it at present time is that the citizens have not reached that level of acceptance yet. It took the United States more than 200 years before it voted in its first black president.

Education is the key to achieve this high moral standard that you have set. Therefore, small departures like goodie bags, T-shirts, food and drinks (hey, you need to eat and drink on any given day) should be acceptable.

Arriving in official cars should also be acceptable as long as these VIPs do not come with police outriders accompanied by government TV crews. So Bersih, be practical whether these so-called "wrongs" were committed by Harapan, BN, or PAS.

Mano: The DAP candidate in Balakong also committed election offences? What happened, DAP? We expect them at least to set a higher standard. You have disappointed us.

Plus, now we have Anwar appearing at a Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Council function, Anwar at army function in a PKR shirt. We did not expect this from Anwar.

Anonymous_1527925538: Bersih should have commented on the greatest violation, the act of engineering and forcing a by-election in Port Dickson.

Ruben: Dear Bersih, were there any incidents of money being given? No. Also, all parties concerned, like PAS and MCA, also went overboard right? How come this article’s headline only states Harapan? It should also include MCA and PAS.

Better Malaysia: Bersih's report reminded me of my newly appointed class monitor in Form One – recording and reporting every single detail to teacher: shoelace not tied, hair not combed or shoes too dirty! Bersih, focus on the big picture: distribution of cash, free petrol, hampers and lucky draws that will definitely swing the voters.

Anonymous_1537370890: Bersih, kudos. Continue the good work, highlighting the malpractices by all, regardless of party. Harapan should be ashamed of itself, if the allegations made by Bersih are true.

Jeez: Good job. Keep highlighting all wrongdoings whether it is Harapan or not and they will come around. I am sure the leaders will be concerned about losing support if there is enough exposure by Bersih.

Kookie: It is very difficult to change a 61-year-old culture of bribery and corruption. Harapan is also guilty as most of its members cannot rid themselves of the BN DNA they were indoctrinated with before.

The only way to show that the Harapan is serious about cleaning the government is to prosecute offenders, whether they are with the government or the opposition. Favouritism will render Harapan's credibility shot to pieces. The choice is yours, Harapan.

Royal Salute 21Y: We appreciate your efforts for clean and fair elections. This was a prevalent problem for decades. Don't expect to right all wrongs overnight, give more constructive suggestions on righting the gerrymandering and malapportionment of the electorate.

The Malays will support Umno again, says Ismail Sabri

Mosquitobrain: Once a racist, always a racist, it would seem. The Bera MP Ismail Sabri Yaakob can talk till the cows comes home. What has BN-Umno – then led by a kleptocrat ex-prime minister and warlords like Ismail – actually done for their own race? The rich become richer and the poor became poorer.

Ismail Sabri should be ashamed to talk about Article 153. He is seen instilling fear and fooling his own race, saying their rights are being threatened by minorities. But behind the scenes, he was complicit in all the financial scandals with his silence.

Frankie: These rights and privileges are from taxpayers’ money contributed by all Malaysians.

Anonymous #69337042: Ismail Sabri can never change. He wants the corrupt and incompetent to make use of race and religion to bid for support from the uninformed electorate. Malaysia will definitely fail and go bankrupt if Umno is returned to power.

Anonymous 2413471460628504: Ismail Sabri is like a parent who spoils a child to the point that the child is unable to be independent and take care of himself. He then tells the child that he is the best parent because the child does not have to work as he provides for everything. Meanwhile, this parent does not mollycoddle the stepchild who works hard to fend for himself. Imagine when the parent dies. Which child do you think will survive?

The Wakandan: It is a bad idea. The racist model does not work. As Umno has shown, it only led to corruption and the abuse of power. This kind of policy will feed the greed that is within us.

It will not prosper us, nor will it make us competitive people in the long run.

It will only stagnate the population’s growth in term of intelligence and independence that it won’t be able to compete in the international arena. When you are in a comfort zone, you will not want to get out, and the result can only be a deterioration in the people’s will for self-determination.

Such a suggestion by Umno is really a disservice to the Malays. Umno members only serve to enrich themselves through corruption without any care for the well-being of the country.

Newday: Well done Ismail Sabri. Your Umno Online live performance has only increased the distance between Umnoputras and the rest.

By you saying this is a right of Malays, you miss the point. Malays may have been disadvantaged at the time Article 153 came into being. In theory, this no longer holds true with over 60 years of Malay agenda by the ruling party. How much more help do they need to assert themselves?

The so-called second-class citizens (i.e.: non-Malays) have done quite well without the benefit of said article, and indeed have succeeded in many areas where the Malays (for some unknown reason) have not gone. Is it because a person has to work hard and put in long hours to achieve success?

Too much of the easy path leads to complacency and no work ethic, Ismail Sabri. Everything you say is tinged with racism. Otherwise, why would you sprout this drivel about second-class citizens running the economy (our current finance minister is the obvious reference)? These Malaysians are indeed first class: they work hard, are innovative and reap the rewards.

Why do you even choose to reference the rest of the world in your comment about "Where in the world would second-class citizens control an economy…Now, they have started to control the politics as well?”

Nowhere to my knowledge – because the vast majority of developed countries by nature have classless structures. Well, Lim Guan Eng and others like him certainly do a first-class job even with (your terms) the anchor of second-class thrown at them. They certainly knew how to uncover the vast corruption money trail in the 1MDB fiasco.

So, stop the superior and “special race” hollow chest thumping as there is nothing left in the old school Umno tank.

You say there are “Malay youths who feel there is no longer a need for Article 153.” Listen to them. They have a point – they want to ensure future harmony and national enrichment for all in the future.

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