If Abdullah is a good prime minister he would value the concern of all comments from Malaysians in Malaysiakini website and act on them.

On Open letter to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Siew Hwa: The open letter to the prime minister by Beth Yahp is a complete waste of time as Abdullah Badawi would not be bothered to read letters from Malaysiakini readers.

If Abdullah is a good prime minister he would value the concern of all comments from Malaysians in Malaysiakini website and act on them. Sadly his administration is a "half-past-six" cabinet of deadwood ministers who have outlived their usefulness.

The only way is to continue to press for reforms is to vote out the current administration.

On Nov 10, the skies wept for the rakyat

AB : Ever since the blackout of news in 1987's infamous Operation Lallang, I decided to stop buying any of the local newspapers and I have not in any way lost out very much. During my conversations with friends, they would look at me with surprise and their usual, "you didn't see it in the papers, ah?"

I'd tell them I get my news from the Internet and sometimes from the local newspapers - the latter which I only read specific information such as on health issues. My suggestion to the wiser Malaysians is to discard reading the local newspapers and hopefully that may change the truthfulness of their reporting when their business is down!

Right now, all those who support buying local newspapers are simply adding to the coffers of the ruling Umno party.

HL Too: I first heard on TV news (BBC, Starnews Asia and Al Jazeera) that tens of thousands of people took to the streets in a rally organised by Bersih. Then, I read in our local newspapers that there were about 4,000 people in the rally. Our local media has a strange way with arithmetic. If 4,000 people had attended a BN rally, it would be 40,000. However, if 40,000 people attend a rally not approved by the BN government, then it will become 4,000. It is all about a decimal point.

On PM: NEP targets still not achieved

Loh: PM Abdullah said NEP target had still not achieved and he cited the list of the richest individuals in Malaysia, who are still mostly non-Malays even after almost 40 years of the New Economic Policy.

When the NEP was established 38 years ago, it was not stated that the target should have Malays to lead the list of the richest individuals in the country. Now the PM has conveniently chosen a target which was never the original intention of NEP, and claims that the failure of which indicates that NEP target has still not been achieved.

That statement shows that Umno-led government has no intention to honour the promise made by the party's forefathers, since the PM can add conditions to claim that NEP target has not been achieved as and when he likes. It will be simpler for the PM to just say plainly that might is right, and Umno can choose to bully non-Malays as it pleases.

George Yap: The NEP was, and still is, being hijacked by some members of the ruling elite. The common citizen got absolutely nothing. Going by the way it is, the target of the NEP will never ever be achieved. The non-Malays will somehow learn to overcome the obstacles put before them by working better and smarter. How then can the Malays catch up, without changing their mindsets of forever dependent on handouts?

Make the NEP work by overhauling its management and implementation - otherwise, discard it. It will be much, much better for the common Malays. Ever notice who wants to keep the NEP? Not the common Malays!

On Pak Lah signals fuel price hikes

Bill01: We must fight to get more from Petronas. Why is Petronas one of the top companies in the world but cannot help subsidise oil for the people? We are still a developing nation, not a developed nation.

On M'sia may buy Russian space rocket

JTB: I am fully in agreement with Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Jamaluddin Jarjis that we must buy the space capsule from the Russians - the one which carried our Angkasawan to space. It will make a fine piece of exhibit at our National Science Centre. It will be a tremendous tourist attraction in our region and a boost to space science for our country. I can envisage people queuing up to see this rare exhibit.

I am sure it will attract more people than the paranormal exhibition of ghosts, goblins and genies at the Shah Alam Museum held not too long ago. Malaysia is 50 years old and it is timely for our tourism minister to showcase that Malaysia has gone to the final frontier. We even have the space capsule to prove it.

Since the space capsule is non-recyclable, we should get it for a song for it is of no use to the Russian space programme and will be condemn as scrap metal. May I suggest that the Auditor-General's office be involved in the negotiations for the price of the capsule and its transportation charges. I am sure the Malaysian rakyat would like to know the costs of this purchase.