‘This way, we'll cultivate tolerance, not confrontation; understanding, not animosity; unity, not disharmony.'

On Blogger apologises over controversial remarks

David: Frankly, I think Sammy's blog posting was distasteful and her apology, however you view it, was long overdue.

But suing her over a blog posting doesn't seem right to me. We need to ask ourselves where are we taking ourselves as a nation? Where are we going if we keep suing people if they hold views we don't agree with?

Would we be imitating the Umno/BN's half-decade rule of fear and intimidation?

I still don't like this innate mindset of ‘our-race-against-your-race' but if Hindraf and the Indian community at large should respond at all, I think they should respond with kindness and at the risk of being corny, with love.

That way, we'll cultivate tolerance, not confrontation; understanding, not animosity; unity, not disharmony.

On Furore over racist blog posting

Spirit Fox:

People who have been busily criticising the concept of ‘freedom of speech' will have a ball with this one.

This gives a beautiful excuse for the old guard to quash any talk about liberalising discussion on sensitive issues; regardless of the fact that this girl is the result of just such aversion to discussing these issues in the first place!

Worst of all, the Chinese community will again be the scapegoat. It's bad enough that we're portrayed as scheming and money-minded without being painted as a arrogant, racist and elitist as well. And her apology only made things worse (My god, how dare she call it an apology?)

She has almost single-handedly undone the hard work of so many to heal the wounds of this tortured society we've made and painted herself and her community as the real enemies, instead of the divisive policies of the ruling coalition.

I wonder if she realises what she has done. I doubt it. Having read her apology, I get the feeling she regrets her posting only as far as she herself is concerned.

She does not regret her opinions, she does not regret the hurt and grief, the rifts and suspicion and the damage to the cause of democracy that she's done. And I somehow don't think she even realises that, as far as her own future goes, she's finished as a Malaysian.

One can only hope that the authorities (for once) - and the masses - exercise some restraint and decorum over this matter. Hers is the opinion of just an individual, one that she is fully entitled to and has the absolute right to make known to the world.

Remember what Voltaire said - ‘I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.' That is, after all, part of what we're fighting for.

While utterly disagreeable, I hope the authorities will take no action against her and that people will refrain from vigilante acts of revenge.

We should instead, just tell her exactly what we think of her and be done with it. Lend her opinions no further credence by reporting on it and just move on.

Joe Fernandez:

I agree with blogger Sammy that many of the Indians who move to the towns from the estates are involved in the kind of petty crime that grab headlines.

But actually, these are the small fry. Like those stealing a handphone, for example.

The big crooks are the ones in politics and in the corporate world who ‘steal' millions and ‘billions' right under the very noses of the rakyat .

These are the Ali Babas and the white collar criminals. Best of all, they get away scot-free most of the time.

Perhaps blogger Sammy knows some of them and admires them.

Firdaus:

I am disturbed by the remarks by this blogger. The racist remarks is are totally unfair. I am running a business, I have many customers from all walks of life.

Not all Indians are robbers. What about the Chinese ones?

What about the Malays? Did not the British label them as ‘lazy' people? Not all but a few. Do we need to generalise this issue when we live in multiracial society ?

I also have been cheated many times but should I generalise? Where is this going to lead? It will only destroy the country's multiracial make-up.

I hope people will be more careful on what they say next time because we are all not perfect. Look at ourselves in the mirror first before we judge others.

JK:

When the nation is moving towards a Malaysia for all Malaysians Sammy's posting is really one step backward. Malaysians should promote themself as non-racist for being racist will never take one far in this country.

A crime basically happens due ones negligence. When one is negligent, the blame should not be passed on to another for then one would not learn. Crime prevention is the best method to cut down crime.

Every hand phone owner will certainly have experienced losing their phone - it's common, the main reason being carelessness.

When people like Sammy have lost one or have been robbed of a phone, they should be pragmatic rather than labelling Indians, Malays and Indonesians as are common thieves.

Certainly this does not fit well with the ethics of blogging especially in a multiracial society.

KSN: I wish to recommend to Sammy that she does the following as many negative perceptions are formed from ignorance. Do some research on immigration to the Federation of Malaya by the Indians.

Can she imagine the deplorable conditions they lived under, how they brought up their children with no education, no health facilities, no training, no skills, no means to make a living honestly?

The thieves and robbers that are Indians for Sammy are the direct result of their neglect and marginalisation from the mainstream development of our country for the last 50 years.

These Indians are the descendants of those people from the rubber plantations who with sweat, labour and lives laid the foundation for our economic prosperity.

The responsibility for their current state is the doing of our BN government and the which MIC sold them out. What did BN and MIC do to uplift their condition?

Having done that trace the positive and negative roles the Chinese and Malays played during the same period to get a proper perspective. Sammy, publish your findings on your website as an eye- opener for our young people.

Good luck, Sammy.

Kana S : Sammy, If I had a job why would I steal your phone? I can’t get a decent job even if I tried because my home address on my IC says: KTM Rumah Panjang, Kg. Medan, Bandar Sunway.

Do you know what that means? It means that I am already a ‘drunkard and robbers’ in the eyes of employers even before the opportunity of an employment. In 2001, Kg Medan was the center of an ugly period in Malaysian history where innocent lives were lost.

The media made it clear that the residents who were ‘drunkards and robbers’ from a certain community were responsible for the bloodshed. Your words are proof of what has influenced this perception and that there are many that share your ignorance.

So, is every Indian a drunkard or robber? I am not denying that alcohol is a problem in the Indian community but so is ecstasy for the Chinese community and dadah for the Malay community.

Substance abuse and addiction is a social problem affecting all communities - it does not only affect that one race that you seem to think has chosen not to do honest work.

Why am I here without a job in Kg Medan if I had schools, hospitals and decent housing provided for my families three generations ago?

Sammy, I hope that you will think before you let yourself divagate when expressing your expressions of unhappiness. We live in a world where we are connected 24/7 and there are enough mentally-starved people looking for objects of expressions.

Annabelle: The Internet should be uncensored, period. Is it not hypocritical to say RPK's blog is okay and this is not?

People blog for many reasons and they should be entitled to have their say in cyberspace.

I am not condoning this woman's views but we should not set precedents and have double standards. If the Internet is to be free from censorship then people will have to be matured enough to let other people have their two sen worth, no matter how stupid or derogatory they sound.

When you demand that action be taken by the authorities, you are just feeding into what they want and they will qualify what you say and not say. Is that what we want, really?

It really takes all sorts. So live and let live and let the bigot have her say.

On Is Zahid a check on Muhyiddin?

Sheikh Rizal Housein Housien: Ahmad Zahid's decision to contest the deputy president's post in the next Umno general assembly does not spring a surprise. In fact this is an ongoing agenda orchestrated on the ground.

Ahmad Zahid had previously been the political secretary to Najib Abdul Razak, and is often seen as a Najib loyalist.

Najib is facing tremendous credibility problems, with allegations linking him to the to Altantuya murder and though he has many times said he is not involved, his credibility is still shaky.

With Ahamd Zahid as his deputy, he will have a loyalist who will support him through thick and thin. Muhyiddin, on the other hand, is seen as the ‘harsh' leader on the ground now.

And there are hidden hands working on the ground to make sure he is not elected as deputy president of Umno.

Muhyiddin recently and for some time now has been very critical of the leadership, however he does not seem to have a ‘backbone' on his own. He speaks with vigour and sounds brave, but often lets himself down by his lack of courage.

He has been a senior leader for years, yet lacks the courage to go further, often waiting to see what happens first.

Well, the fact is, this could be his Waterloo. He is made by certain people to go against the leadership, but sadly Muhyiddin does not realise that there is a larger plot working in the background to deny him a place in the top echelon of the Umno leadership.

Muhyiddin looks certain to be the loser in this plot, unless of course, for once in his career he invokes his courage to stand up and be counted.

However this is a doubt for as always Muhyiddin only ‘talks' with no ‘walk' when faced with pressure from the party itself.

So it looks like the first part of the plot has begun with Ahmad Zahid's intention to contest the Umno deputy president's post.

On Hindraf open house visit: 'We informed them'

Alex C: So there are groups who are offended with Hindraf going for the open house. Are they speaking for themselves only or for the organisation that they are representing? What is the definition of 'open house' when certain groups of people cannot attend?

Even the PM said they were welcome, so case closed. Why still harping?

Why celebrate Hari Raya at all when one can't even forgive? Did anyone even think about RPK who has to 'celebrate' his Hari Raya behind bars?

Does anyone care how all the ISA detainees' families feel? How it would impact their young children? Or how the Hindraf champions who have been detained for more than a year missed their Deepavalli and Thaipusam?

Fact is, none of them even deserves to be there in Kamunting the first place. Time to call for an end to the ISA - No ISA, no Hindraf at open house!

JK:

If I heard right, during the PM's Hari Raya speech to the nation, he did say `kalau ada apa apa kesilapan kami minta maaf ' and I could see he was sincere in saying such humble words which were heard by millions of the rakyat.

The Hindraf ISA detainees next-of-kin and their team felt that the PM's Hari Raya open house was the best platform to to wish him as well as convey their request, so why are some quarters are making a fuss?

Isn't Hari Raya a day to listen to the rakyat 's problems too? Whilst we celeberate with joy we should also not forget some rakyat who have mega-problems.

Even during a war there is a cease-fire so why are some quarters - including a mainstream media - making a fuss over Hindraf's oopen house visit?

Tolerance is best seen in Malaysia we should preserve it and stop being arrogant. I wonder who was the actual host of this national event.

On What Pak Lah and we must do

Lim Keat Hoe: I am surprised Chandra's analysis is still centered as if Umno is still all-powerful.

Yes, as matters stand at the moment, after Abdullah is forced to step down, Najib is slotted to take over.

If Chandra is to take the moral high ground and demand legislation be passed to make switching parties illegal, why doesn't he consider the morality of Umno treating the PM's and DPM's posts as their personal property?

And for the record, as was reported that it was several Gerakan members who put up multilingual roadsigns for a few roads in Penang and not DAP members [the road signs were later torn down by the city council]

An analyst of Chandra's stature ought to check that his facts are correct.

On MP shares surname, address with F ilipino

Timo Finian: Hallmark of a corrupted government. This piece of news is as old as the hills.

This illegal issue has been so rife, it has unknowingly become embedded in the legacy of the state govenrment which, incidentally is also reflective of the 'close-one-eye' culture of the federal government..

The MP in question, who is pleading ignorance, should cut the pretence. Instead of crying foul in the media, he should go down to the ground and rectify the sutuation.

I mean, isn't that why he was elected in the first place?

The report seems to imply that this is a new phenomenon which, in actual fact, it is not. Sabah's notoreity is world-renowned and has been for ages but it appears that the very people who are entrusted to keep such issues in check are always 'conveniently in the dark'.

It looks like having the tallest mountain in South East Asia isn't enough. Now, they need MPs who resort to tall tales in the media when unable to confront issues head-on.