YOURSAY | 'Human rights are a concern of all of us.'

M'sians dressed in black gather in solidarity with HK protesters

Rick Teo: Why are these 50 or so Malaysians showing solidarity for a cause they don’t seem to have the first clue about? Hong Kong belongs to China, and Beijing has every right to legislate an extradition law for criminals. What’s so wrong with that?

These Malaysians should be supporting China, and not the protesters.

Jonah 2: Rick Teo, yeah, it’s always the ‘evil West.’ And China is an absolute angel, right? That’s why Taiwan has to arm itself to the teeth.

Anonymous 3fe1: Rick Teo, should we also support China’s claim to all of the South China Sea, to within swimming distance of Tioman?

Southpaw: It seems China agents have invaded Malaysia and are trying to manipulate local sentiments on issues deemed unfavourable to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Anonymous_1520132749: Southpaw, you mean the 50 or so protesters outside the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH)? China and communism are two different concepts. Don’t get manipulated by the West.

China has more than enough people, they don't need more Hong Kong people to be sent back there. They only want the criminals – those who subvert China but are hiding in the administrative region.

Furthermore, any extradition will first need to go through the Hong Kong court system to prevent any abuse. Do the people of Hong Kong not even trust their own country's court system?

Korkor: This is purely a China-Hong Kong affair and matters not to Malaysia. We better not get involved.

Hong Kong police are more tolerant about demonstrations and had to be attacked by demonstrators before taking action. Remember how our police acted during our very own Bersih demonstrations?

Let's leave Hong Kong’s business to its people, and we should mind our own deteriorating racial harmony, which is being undermined by Umno and PAS leaders.

Tun Fang Tong: Korkor, people are scared of a country that does not respect the rule of law. Human rights are a concern of all of us.

China hides the truth and suppresses its own people. If people are sent back, do you think they will receive a fair trial?

Anonymous_1557752654206.01151557751733664: How about what happens in Hong Kong stays in Hong Kong? It’s none of our business here.

Tembikai: Anonymous_1557752654206.01151557751733664, yes, we should also not protest for Palestinians, Rohingya and the Uyghurs.

Kangkung: It's wonderful that Malaysians are showing solidarity with their comrades in Hong Kong to protest against the extradition bill.

China has no respect for human rights. The people of Hong Kong would be subject to arbitrary detention, unfair trial and torture under China's judicial system if the extradition bill is passed. Did our police receive a call from the Chinese Embassy to stop the solidarity protest?

We should all rise above gutter politics

Proarte: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang should not blame Malaysians for their concern and interest in the sex video scandal.

It was not a work of neutral porn, but one which allegedly depicted a senior minister engaging in gay sex. The issues surrounding this 'tawdry' revelation involve human sexual rights, rights to privacy, honesty and the hypocrisy of homophobic politicians. These are not trifling concerns.

The issue is of enormous interest, not least because sodomy brought down the then-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, when Dr Mahathir Mohamad used Section 377A of the Penal Code for carnal intercourse against the order of nature against him in a show trial which brought shame to Malaysia's judicial system, police and media.

Section 377A raised its ugly head yet again when Anwar was incarcerated by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who used the same Mahathir script in 2015 in another show trial.

Will Lim be calling for the repeal of Section 377A in the statute books because it is a 'gutter’ law which encourages gutter politics?

Does Lim seriously think it is right to have a law that criminalises consenting oral sex between a husband and wife, which is what Section 377A does? Isn't this a law which flouts the basic fundamental human right of sexual expression in private?

Why is Lim silent over this horrendous piece of 'gutter' legislation which belongs to a bygone and ignorant age?

Lim was so moved by the Hong Kong peoples' defiance in colossal numbers over China's attempt to ride roughshod over for their sovereign rights, but would he be equally moved to know that, as far back as 1991, the Hong Kong Legislative Council agreed to decriminalise private, adult, non-commercial, and consensual homosexual relations?

It is a sobering thought to realise that if Section 377A did not exist, Anwar would not have been cruelly treated and jailed by his political enemies. The show trials which Section 377A engendered have done horrendous damage to the rule of law, judicial independence, police professionalism and media independence in Malaysia.

It stands to reason that if Section 377A was not in the statute books, Najib would not have been prime minister, thus saving Malaysia from the world's greatest kleptocrat.

Thanks to Section 377A, Mahathir was able to fulfil his cowardly desire to destroy his political rival, Anwar. It is about time Mahathir made amends for his role in damaging Malaysia by calling for the repeal of the provision.

If Malaysia aims to be a modern and civilised democracy, then outdated and cruel laws have to be repealed. Otherwise, self-righteous calls for the end of 'gutter politics' will be nothing more than hypocritical claptrap.

Anonoymous_1538808416: Lim, if you don’t want Malaysians to waste time on unproductive gutter politics and rise above it, then Pakatan Harapan should be more efficient and effective in governing the country – cease all internal fights, stop going against the election manifesto and deliver the promises.

Just take the promised institutional and judiciary reforms. It is terrible. While the police force is showing some signs of improvement, it is still not there yet. So too MACC, which just a few weeks ago cited a lack of manpower as reason not to probe former attorney-general Mohamad Apandi Ali and former chief secretary Ali Hamsa.

The judiciary is the worst – nonsensical judgments on Election Commission officers' conduct, ridiculous trial dates, messy firefighter death inquest, et cetera.

Even you yourself highlighted that "out of the nine Malaysians named in 1MDB ‘rogue’s gallery’, only MO1 is undergoing trial while the other eight are still scot-free – with quite a number becoming international fugitives of justice."

One year on and we still cannot arrest businessperson Low Taek Jho and his associates, while countries like US and Singapore have already jailed rogue bankers implicated in 1MDB scandal. Why?

True Malaysian: The rakyat are sick and tired of the 'New Malaysia' politics. Instead of focusing on economic recovery, racial unity and religious harmony, politicians from both sides of the divide are on the verge of destroying our future with their dirty politics and schemes.

More of these racial, religious and royalty issues are meant to destabilise the country before GE15.

In the meantime, in the midst of a global economic downturn caused by trade wars and cyber wars, the world is facing enormous challenges on economic and political fronts.

Malaysia, together with the rest of the world, will be ensnared and sucked into such power play.

The future indeed looks bleak and sad for our generation. Hopefully, Malaysia, my beloved country, can withstand the direness that lies ahead. Malaysia boleh!

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