The people have been tolerating MIC’s poor representation of the Indians for years now.Hindraf is just a symptom of the inability of the community to tolerate MIC’s passiveness.
On Turmoil in MIC Batu Caves over candidate
Chris: A quote by our former PM: ‘Here you have only one (Indian) political party and nobody else is allowed to come in and that is what is making the Indians really unhappy’. It was a slip of the tongue by our former prime minister on MIC’s inadequate representation of the rakyat Malaysia India . It clearly indicates the exclusivity of the party with it members caring for themselves instead of caring for the majority.
Our former PM, having been the head of the government for years, surely knows better than us with regards to the Barisan Nasional component parties and their agenda of ‘service’ for the common people.
Hindraf is just a symptom of the inability of the community to tolerate MIC’s passiveness and crookedness. The people have been tolerating the poor representation of the majority for years now.
For all those who say that Hindraf is a misguided group and that we should let the MIC have another go in the coming general elections, kindly re-read the words of the former PM on his former ally, the Mice In the Corner!
Subra: YB Fong is one of the most vibrant MPs that we have had. It's such a pity to lose her. DAP should not just look at their leaders needs but the nation’s needs too. She has tackled women issues in a very professional manner to the extent that many Umno bigots fear offending women in general due to her.
Michael Ng : I read with disappointment the announcement by the incumbent Batu Gajah member of parliament Fong Po Kuan that she won't be offering herself as a candidate in the March 8 general election. Fong was definitely one of the rising stars of the DAP and it is really unfortunately that she decided to give it all up at a relatively young age. I do hope her party will make a serious effort and persuade her to stay on for one more term.
The DAP, apart from PAS, is about the only formidable opposition party that the country has known. Though it has been fighting an uphill battle, it still remained relevant in the local political scene. Therefore, it is rather perplexing to read about internal squabbles within the party just before a general election when it needs to portray itself as a united front to challenge the might of the BN government.
Parties who still have to deal with some internal disagreements within its ranks, should solve them quick otherwise your chances to make a difference will not materialise and you will have to wait for another few years.
On Spunky graduates to take on Goliaths
Dr Raj: The best candidate for Kepala Batas will not be a university graduate or Abdul Hadi Awang. Dr Mahathir Mohamad should re-enter parliament and to do this he must take on Abdullah in Kepala Batas. Dr M must come in and clean out all the trash.
I hope Mahathir will do this for God, King and Country.
Pak Lah and Khairy can decide if Mahathir should be an Umno delegate at the Umno general assembly, but the rakyat will decide if Pak Lah is fit for parliament.
On Rose violence: Global demo against M'sia
Priya: ‘I am PM of all races’. We already had enough from you, Pak Lah. You can go for a rest now - you can continue sleeping. Your golden words will be very encouraging to those who follows you blindly like Samy Vellu. After using tear gas and water cannons on hundreds of Indians by locking them inside the Batu Caves temple intentionally and again by detaining innocent kids, you have certainly proved us ‘you are PM for all races’.
You can find more and more words to decorate your statement. none can console us. Kita dah cukup kenal perangai kepala otak politik . And wow! the latest news is BN offering election goodies for Chinese and Indian votes. Hello BN we’re not hard-up for your goodies.
Vaalgge Makkal Sakthi: All the while, the Indians were under pressure as their needs were not fulfilled for the past 28 years by the MIV under a man called SV. So we had peaceful rally to talk to the PM and give him some roses.But what a surprise. The higher authority broke up the crowd with teargas and some were arrested. In fact, some were also beaten by the police which is not fair. The government has really forgotten what the Indian’s grandfather, grandmother did for the country. Is this how they (BN-PM Abdullah) treat us? Well, God is there to judge. Wait and see.
Dr Raj: Post-Sept 11, when European countries tightened their security and targetted Muslims as prime suspects of terrorism, Malaysia voiced that this was an unfair practice and discriminatory.
Now post-Nov 25, 2007 in Malaysia, whenever we hear there is going to be a Hindraf rally, the Malaysian government targets Indians in the same manner as was done by the Europeans post- Sept 11.
Now isn’t this an example of practicing double standards by the Malaysian government? Malaysia always feels compelled that it should give its comments on issues effecting the world and criticise other governments. However when the world criticises Malaysia, our leaders become very sensitive.
On Stop the police pressure, cries Hindraf detainee
Vetrivel: We Hindraf supporters have decided that as long as the five Hindraf leader are under ISA detention, none of their purported statements are to be taken as true. We know the ISA is a form of mental and physical torture. How can we be sure any of the statements from the Hindraf 5 including Uthaya himself was given with 100% consent?
We have reason to believe that even Uthaya could be turned 180 degrees away from Hindraf due to methods used under ISA to make him denounce this struggle which was started by him. Look what happened to Ashaari Mohd from Al Arqam - when he came out and gave speeches announcing his delusion.
So, unless and until the 5 Hindraf leaders are out, neither Waytha nor Thanenthran can confirm to us if the five are speaking out of fear or they actually mean what they say.
On Do we possess the will to make change?
Hopeful Malaysian: That the BN will continue to rule this country is a foregone conclusion. The question is how many seats will they win? If they continue to get 2/3rds majority, then we can expect more of the same – the same crony corruption, incompetence, economic mismanagement, corrupt judiciary and the arrogance of Lingam ‘looks like me and sounds like me’ and his ilk.
Due to the gerrymandering, as long as the Malays continue to blindly vote for BN, we can expect very little change. For the sake of the nation, I appeal to the Malays to vote against BN. They will still form the government but we can make sure that they will do so with a reduced majority. Then and only then will the BN wake up and realise that Malaysians are not the fools that they take us for. Or are we?
Velusamy: The BN government leaders who collectively struggled and achieved independence from the British for Malaysia namely Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Sambanthan and Tun Tan Siew Sin would be ashamed to note the many ill-doings of the present BN leadership. It must be remembered that the British would not have given us the independence if the above three communal leaders had not shown their solidarity. Umno being the captain of the Barisan government should realise this.
Our General Election is on March 8 and it is our absolute right to show our displeasure to the ruling Barisan government by voting in more opposition candidates and depriving the Barisan government of their 2/3rds majority. By giving a 2/3 majority to Barisan in the past we have learned a bitter and hard lesson.
Bangsa Malaysia: As usual before every election, the government will be giving out tonnes of money for the 'deprived communities', and of course, hoping to get a good favour in return i.e. votes for the ruling 'so-called coalition'. For 2004, my vote went to the BN for their18-point manifesto. Alas, after 4 years, none of it was fulfilled.Instead, we had Zakaria Deros’ issue (no action taken), Mohd Khor Toyo's land-clearing at Cherakah (environmental impact), Lingam 'looks like me, sounds like me’ scandal, a Mongolian woman blasted to bits, a RM1.4 billion loss at Pulau Indah, a sex video by a ministe', ISA detentions etc, etc.,etc.
Please - take whatever is given by BN, it's not wrong. But vote with conscience. Your vote counts.
Shoba: My fervent wish is for my homeland Malaysia at this moment of time to have a change.
A change in policy and a change of management. A change in our thinking. A change for the future of our children. No matter what the so-called bumiputeras say, I am a bumiputera myself born and bred in Malaysia - a proud child of Indian Malaysians I deserve my rightful place here.
No-one can take that away from me - especially arrogant politicians who lie and mislead the public by projecting a clean image but in actual fact are the worst criminals of the day. Vote for a change - give them a run for their money. They are not Gods and don't let them think otherwise. At the end of the day remember - we, the rakyat, rule.
Give PKR and the other opposition parties a chance. Deny the BN the two-thirds majority. Let us all make this change happen to show them that they do not have absolute power over us.
Mike: As long as our corruption level goes up and up, each and every individual (no matter who you are or what you are) will be affected. It is time for Malaysians stop supporting the BN and give a chance to opposition to take over. Is any wood save from termites? The answer is ‘no’ and the same goes for corruption (termites).
I also wonder if BN leaders know the meaning of democracy. Our DPM says whoever opposes the government, can be blacklisted. Is this democracy? All over the world people challenge their governments and change their governments and nobody has been thrown out of a country for that. Malaysia is the only country in the world that disallows a change of government but still calls itself ‘clean’ and ‘pro-democracy’. What crap.
It is enough that BN has taken the people for a ride for 50 years. Nobody is safe in Malaysia, unless a new government takes over.
Damocles: Some have pointed out that those who will most probably reject the BN will be the educated ones residing in the urban areas, with the rural, mainly Malay populace, voting for the BN incumbents. So, in order to swing the latter to vote for the opposition, I suggest that they be informed of the abuse of the BN government through word-of-mouth or personal contacts.
The sooner this is done, the better it is.
Many have also written that the BN be denied a two-thirds majority. Denying them a two-thirds majority may not be the panacea that the voters may wish for. Because with the track record of the present government, there is nothing to stop them from ruling as though they have such a majority. If they were to act contrary to one who does not have a two-thirds majority, who or what is there to stop them?
Michael Ng : In Malaysia, people may be excused for having great difficulties in telling others whether our parliament is a circus or a zoo. We have had parliamentary sittings marred by childish antics from our ‘honourable’ members of parliament, saying the silliest things and behaving in an even sillier manner. Who can forget the sexist and even seditious remarks made by a couple of these ‘honourable’ gentlemen?
Playing to the gallery seems to be their favourite pastime, and all this silliness makes the news the next day. In the past, we only got to read about what happened in parliament.
But nowadays, with YouTube, one can view some of our MPs’ ridiculous and abominable behaviour. I always have a good laugh when I view these videos and consider them my prime time entertainment.
Hence, it is hardly surprising that the government has steadfastly refused live telecasts of our parliamentary proceedings. Not only would we see some jokers in action, we would also see ‘sleeping beauties’. We want to achieve First World status in all categories but with regards to our Parliament, we definitely have a long way to go towards achieving it.
New Malaysian: Umno-BN is losing its own intrinsic strength. Its fifty years of dominance, without a chance to self-evaluate its political worthiness, has led the party to natural decay. Fifty long years of taking power for granted, Umno-BN is finally succumbing to the onslaught of social forces that is now assailing it from within and without.
Malaysia does not need Umno-BN. It needs efficient country management based on truth, justice and fairness. It is time Umno-BN be relieved of this heavy responsibilty. It has become too corrupted to clean up itself so the only remedy is to remove its power, and let it go through a natural cleaning process.
All Malaysians who love the country must take the wise step to save Umno-BN , by giving it a rest, so that it can think and recover. So let us all vote for a new party or a group of parties which can help heal Umno-BN from its contagious corruption .
