Readers generally welcome the Sarawak state election results which saw the opposition making considerable gains at the expense of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. "The reason the opposition made big gains," says one reader, "was the complete absence of social justice cutting across racial and religious lines and the failure to keep promises made. The run-up to the MIC elections also gets the attention of readers with the focus on the ongoing tussle between the party's deputy president S Subramaniam and its supremo S Samy Vellu. "It is time for Samy to go," notes one reader.

On BN retains power, opposition shines and When the Chinese decide to humiliate BN ...

Sufi: Bravo to all in the opposition! This is the sign that the Sarawakians are waking up from their nightmare.

It is the most courageous and wise move for those who voted for the opposition. The people in West Malaysia should also give a chance to the opposition in the next election.

Let the voters be brave enough to vote for a change.

Luk: In the rural areas, the voters can be bought by just a generator to provide electricity to a longhouse. That's all is needed to win over their votes.

The voters in the urban areas are more sophisticated and not easily bought. Thus, the election result shows that the more informed ones are telling Taib Mahmud that enough is enough, please step down.

Like in most urban areas, most of them are Chinese and this allows BN to interpret the result as that the Chinese are fed up with Supp. This is not true.

The true message is that the well-informed Sarawakians are fed up with the whole of BN. If you throw in other parties such as Snap, BN will meet its Waterloo in the urban areas as well.

The writing is on the wall. Read it carefully.

Wabu Sibega: I like your title 'When the Chinese decide to humiliate BN ...' Perhaps the Chinese-based parties in the peninsula should learn something here. Many issues that caused the collapse of the Supp are common to all non-Muslim based parties.

It is not that their people did not work hard but that they really did not have an effective voice in the government being partners in BN. They are more like beggars hoping to pick up some scraps that fall off the dining table.

If these politicians continue to close one eye to all the crap that is going around, they will hear from the voters sooner or later.

Idin Votu: My babysitter said she and many from her longhouse were not going to cast their votes on Saturday. The reason? Supposedly their customary lands around the longhouse have been taken over by Taib's crony who paid the 'tuai-rumah' (house chief) some money to sign over the lands while the other families in the single longhouse did not get any compensation.

Apparently, this is a common practice since it's easier to convince just one man to sign, and cheaper to pay good money to one man than pay reasonable compensation to 30 families. But of course that is just hearsay.

But I heard that many did not vote for the Supp because it is seen as ineffective in representing the people's views in the state legislature, and the Parliament, over issues including Taib's cronyism, monopoly of state development funds, native customary land, short land leases (60 years), the oil price hike, Malaysia's proclaimed an Islamic country status, corruption etc, etc.

KSN: The reason the opposition made big gains was the complete absence of social justice cutting across racial and religious lines and the failure to keep the promise made when the NEP was introduced ie eradication of poverty regardless of race and religion.

BN, do not attempt to put the blame on Supp, not that they are blameless in not articulating and delivering on the promises to the Chinese community. The BN state government should take full responsibility.

If you dare call for a general election in Semenanjung, the BN will face a disastrous result for the same reasons the opposition won big in Sarawak..

Dear PM, if you want to be the leader of all Malaysians, as you have proclaimed many times since becoming PM, then you have a lot of work to do to convince our people to vote for the BN the next time. Good luck to you.

Frustrated Peninsular: This is the price you have to pay if you stay too long in politics. Even the great former PM knew about it but there are still some hanging on - even after more than 20 years - under the protection of BN umbrella.

Either you leave gracefully or get embarrassed. Perhaps our PM knows what to do with them. The citizen who is 25 years old today knows no other leader in MIC, Gerakan and some in Umno.

Are we saying that this country has no other capable leaders? I'm waiting for next election to show my frustration.

Vbsmb: Lim Kit Siang should stop asking for a review or a White Paper on the recently concluded Sarawak state election. It is pointless as his plea would fall on deaf ears.

It now time for DAP to start working with PKR to galvanise more support and better service for the people in Peninsular Malaysia.

Concentrate on the MCA, Gerakan and MIC-controlled areas. The Sarawak election results was a barometer for a need to check and balance.

JT: In my opinion, if the state assembly members are to represent their people's voices, I believe the right thing to do is not use physical administrative boundaries, but base the representation on population and their ratio to the overall number of seats in the assembly.

For example, if one doctor should serve a hundred patients, the same formula should be applied to the state assembly members. A densely populated area should be represented by more state assembly members.

The Election Commission, rightfully, should explain to the public what the justification was for them to introduce 11 new seats. DPM Najib Razak said on the night of the election victory, 'We introduced 11 new seats, and we lost nine to the opposition and won 62'.

Of course, the existing government is thinking of the long term. But not for everyone's benefit and only for the prosperity of their own children, grandchildren, their cronies and the like.

Ivan Tugoholidae II: Who paid for Najib's trip to Sarawak to stand beside Taib? I hope being a DPM in squeaky-clean Pak Lah's cabinet, he knows better than to spend the people's money on travel campaigning for BN.

Even if he was carrying out some 'official' duties. His travel cost should be pro-rated so BN can pick up its share of the bills.

Pak Lah has another chance to show us that his cabinet is operating on a new higher standard of ethics and transparency.

Zeb Johnson: As usual the crooked and corrupted politicians won the election and until the end of the time, they will live happily along with their relatives and cronies shopping in Paris, dinners in London, summers in New York and vacations in Acapulco.

For all this, Malaysians should be thankful to the SPR (Suruhanjaya Penipuan Rakyat). If only one day, aliens from outer space put these crooked and corrupted politicians into soup cans.

On Subra: Is Samy's salvo orchestrated? and Samy: I will expose Subra's shares in Nanban

K Narayanasamy: The MIC deputy president, and for that matter no other MIC leader, has been allowed to act independently by its present president. The president's hold on the party is almost absolute that there is no chance for the growth of any proactive leader with any dissenting views.

The deputy president, despite not being fielded in the general elections, has been calmly holding onto his position. The president probably expected him to kick up a row and get himself thrown out of the party!

Close control of the supporters of Subramaniam - including the suspension of branches perceived to be the supporters of him - has been a clear strategy, and the latest controversy on the news report is being taken up as another chance to discredit the present deputy president.

If the deputy president has been found to have been involved in any subversive activities, the CWC surely has enough powers to deal with it. But as the president seems to want to build his own empire with only his devoted followers - in the name of party unity and cohesive leadership - he is waging a war of attrition to remove other factions that could pose a problem to his followers once he vacates his position in the future.

Maybe this is his reward to his devoted followers as, on their own, they might not be able to survive!

K Arumugam: It's ironic. Instead of praising Samy Vellu for his alleged fair comments about Mahathir's regime, there seems to be an anti-reaction by MIC members. I praise Samy Vellu for his courage, for being instrumental in creating the debate with regard to the status of Indians.

The present state of the majority of the Indians of the working class is pathetic. The increasing social issues are symptomatic of its state of marginalisation and being out of mainstream development.

The children and youths of the Indian community are in real danger of becoming victims of neglect to search for their own identity and direction. Samy's courage to state the truth is nothing new.

Ten years ago on the Aug 5, 1996, The Star reported, 'I apologise, says Samy Vellu'. In that report, Samy Vellu said that the community relied on empty promises. As such, for 17 years (then) he could not do much for the community.

Further the report quotes Samy Vellu having said that during British rule the Indians were treated like dogs and dirt, it is the same now (then), only that we are not called dogs.

Political Observer: I just can't understand Subramaniam. Why is he still hanging around in MIC and allowed to be abused by Samy Velu? If there is any pride left in Subramaniam, he should resign and walk out with his head held up high.

If politics is still his passion, he can join one of the opposition parties and contribute to nation- building. His continued presence in MIC is so, so, so pathetic, and honestly, I don't feel any sympathy for this man at all.

Robert: It is time for Samy to go. He has made plenty, thanks to Mahathir but other than the select few, not much has reached the grassroots.

Shame on Samy for allowing the Indians of Malaysia to reach such a low station in life.

Watch Out: I find it hard to accept that two Tamil newspapers have reported the same news about what Samy Vellu wrongly. Both made the same mistake?

It does not take a statistician to tell us that this is highly improbable.

Today Samy attacks and belittles our Tun Mahathir. Tomorrow when our beloved Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is no longer the minister, I know who Samy will attack. Watch our for him, dear prime minister.

On MPF: Sensitive issues breed overreaction

KN: MPF founding director Dr. Sheikh Johari Bux has a point when he mentioned that "sensitive issues as proposing to amend constitutional provisions on Islam will most likely lead to emotional overreactions and manipulations by irresponsible quarters".

Thus, in this respect , it would be marvelous if organisations like MPF could work together, for example, with the Article 11 coalition in order to create awareness about Islam in the constitutional aspect so that there is no 'emotional overreactions and manipulation by irresponsible quarters' including by politicians, political parties , NGOs, religious zealots and etc.

Let us ponder what Allen White, American writer and newspaper editor (1868-1944) once said : 'Peace without justice is tyranny'.

On Gomez: NGOs must do more in S'pore

Singaporean Abroad: Gomez has a point. However, regional and international NGOs require local groups to also raise local concerns before they can lend support.

Bloggers are fine but they are not organised pockets of support for civil society voices. Organised groups like the Thinkcentre are too few and far between.

Perhaps in this light, Singapore should be taken as an exception for regional and international groups. Concern or appeals should be stepped up in situations where it is much needed such as the last general election where opposition members were singled out for PAP persecution.