‘There are many cases in Malaysia where rulers/royalty think they are above the law and have taken their positions for granted. Royalty be on their best behaviour at all times.'
Dian Abdullah: Negeri Sembilan Regent Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar argues, ‘It really becomes nonsensical that a sovereign ruler can be taken to court for trying to protect the best interests of the nation.
‘He must also be protected at all costs from pecuniary embarrassment so that his sovereignty is not tarnished or undermined. To put it another way, can we afford to have a ruler incarcerated or even made a bankrupt?'
My opinion is ‘yes'. A ruler can be made a bankrupt from a bad business deal. There are many cases in Malaysia where rulers/royalty think they are above the law and have taken their positions for granted.
History has shown many incidents like shooting, killing and not forgetting the recent fight at a KL nightspot between the Negeri Sembilan and Johor princes. Everything has been swept under the carpet.
Basically, we the people are fed-up when confronted with this kind of sordid behaviour. Royalty must know their position and be on their best behaviour at all times.
We the people must show our displeasure and not allow the rulers to do God knows what and get away with it.
So far, the only senior ruler I have the most respect for is the Sultan of Kedah. Followed by the Regent of Perak, the Sultan of Selangor and our present Agong..
My question to Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar is, ‘What does he mean by ‘protecting the best interests on the nation'?
His father, the ruler of Negeri Sembilan, has been ordered by the courts to pay a bank RM1.5 million.
So there is absolutely no doubt on everyone mind's that this country cannot afford to give the rulers back their full immunity.
Baiyuensheng: Absolutely not!
Whilst appreciating the Malays rulers as a pillar of justice and strength and a source of sanity in our otherwise chaotic political situation, reinstating their immunity is not the way forward.
Too much 'power' and knowing that their actions wouldn't require accountability frighten me.
And beside, the royals have not really demonstrated enough to win the hearts of the non-Muslims in that they are not biased towards one race.
The truth is this institution may seem very detached from the non-Malay world. My vote? ‘No'.
G-man: I think it would be a really bad move by the government to re-instate immunity for the monarchy as we are all well aware of how they used to abuse this rights for their own personal gain and benefit in the past.
The royalty should also not use this non-reinstatement as an excuse not to carry out their constitutional duties.
I believe the rulers should do what the people expect them to do and I must admit I have nothing but admiration for the conduct of the Regent of Perak as well as Sultan of Selangor, who seem to be have their people at heart.
In short no one should be above the law, regardless of whether they are royalty or a commoners. I think this is one of the Mahathir legacies that I am proud of.
On Can PKR lead Pakatan to deliver M'sian dream?
MS: I do hope that the forthcoming PKR congress spells out their vision of governing the country and set out their mission statement.
They and DAP were given a huge mandate at the last election but have been very slow to state their policies.
For example, the bumi quota for housing in Kedah is a disappointment which the PKR has not seen fit to comment on or make clear whether it is against their policy.
The only party with a manifesto in Pakatan Rakyat is PAS and they claim they are committed to it and hence keep being a thorn in the side by bringing up issues like the housing quota in Kedah and the alcohol ban issue in Selangor.
By stating their stand, PKR must force PAS and DAP to iron out their differences and give voters a clear, unmuddled choice.
History is in the making and it is bigger than DSAI. The party, too, should show how it is bigger than DSAI and wants to shape history. This congress is a first big step.
On Vell Paari: Let me clean up Maika first
Vijay: ‘Like father, like son' - both would like to clean up their acts before stepping down. But when they had the opportunity, they failed to do so. If people have put trust in us to manage, we should do it with a full heart.
If we fail, then the most right thing to do is to step down and give an opportunity for our successor to do the clean up. For Maika Holdings, the money entrusted to them was from the Indian people's sweat.
The CEO of Maika must accept that not only do they hold the responsibility for effective management of the company but was also the future of the Indians' advancement in the country.
The CEO has failed to deliver both. The wise thing to do is to give way so that successor can do the clean up and bring Maika back onto the right track. The investors of Maika must make this happen.
Fed-up Of MIC: Was there a typo error in the heading of the above report? Shouldn't it have been ‘Vell Paari: Let me clean out Maika first'?
Every Indian in the country knows that he was put as CEO to help his father rob all the Indians of their wealth. Who is he trying to convince?
His father ‘stole' from the Indians and kept most of them poor so that it was easier for him and his gangsters to control them.
Vell Paari has been CEO of Maika since 1999 and did not do anything to improve the living standards of the Indians and now he wants a little more time to do what he didn't want to do for so long.
Actually, what is Vell Paari's qualification to assume the post of CEO of such an important investment arm?
Last I heard, he ‘obtained' a diploma in architecture from an unheard of college in Australia that his father has donated a lot of the money to.
Will Vell Paari return the Telekom shares that was allocated to Maika for the Indians but which the Indians never saw?
If not, I suggest he resign now before the Maika investors come to their senses and charge father and son for criminal breach of trust.
Ragunathan: This says very much about a father and son pair living in a state of abject denial. The announcement by Vell Paari is at best a laughable matter. He must be out of his mind.
To begin with, the man has hardly made it as a corporate figure. He has absolutely no business acumen, and neither has any level of savvy required of contemporary corporate chieftains.
A sandiwara to manage a lost cause best describes this latest announcement. The point is Maika is beyond redemption and cannot be ‘cleaned up'.
Even accounting for the RM100 million investment is at best a herculean task and one that will not be entertained by Samy Vellu himself. His son is merely there to conceal the years of mismanagement.
Maika is in the abyss and hopes of a recovery is at best dim. Like MIC it needs to be re-branded and re-engineered. And what must follow is a fundamental shift and change in everything within Maika.
First on the list? The top management team must take a hike. Only then will some hope of recovery appear.
On MP reveals Tajuddin's 'sexual innuendos'
Ms Leo: The way the MPs behave, especially the BN MP's, is very childish. They don't know how to speak professionally in either good BM or good English.
The rakyat chose you as our MP so at least speak politely with proper language rather than using vulgar words.
If the opposition were to use those words for sure the speaker will suspend them but not BN MPs.
The rakyat is not stupid. We can see. Please, Mr Speaker. Be fair to all. God is watching you from above.
Barathi Tamil: This is what Umno has taught their MPs in Parliament. Tajuddin has used many vulgar words in Parliament. He's still using racist words against others.
The word keling is a sensitive word. How would it be if we called Malay MPs with a different name? Can they accept it? No, Umno or PAS will be doing their street protests again.
This Tajuddin doesn't know human respect and abuses his position in many ways. Yet the speaker doesn't take any action against him.
Chan CK: I think it's fair to say that the current crisis of the capitalist system is expressing its fundamental contradiction - severe class imbalances between accumulation and consumption (the extreme inequalities in income and wealth that have been neoliberalism's legacy).
Keynes saved the ruling class from itself by taxing them (and others) to finance state expenditures and investment (demand management), in order to counteract the systemic tendency towards crisis in capitalist economies.
Having abandoned Keynesianism, the ruling class (some segments of them, at any rate) are losing their shirts, with disastrous knock-on effects on the rest of us, and the spectre of systemic collapse has now spread worldwide.
Following Keynes, a minimum wage (ie, redistribution of economic benefits to buttress aggregate demand) would be a more orderly way to stabilise capitalism, if that is the intention.
Whether you call it social democracy or Islamic welfarism, politicians and policymakers should take note - the tide has truly turned against neoliberalism. Your survival (along with ours) is at stake.
On Petrol: Malaysian paying even m ore than Americans
Scott South: A number of your readers have complained about gasoline prices in Malaysia. The above letter has compared US prices.
Just an update for you - near my house in Houston, some of the lower prices at the pump are US$1.67 per US gallon, which at 3.78 litres per gallon and at RM3.6 per dollar, translates to RM1.59 per litre.
On Alcohol ban: Trouble brewing in Pakatan
PT Tan: Maybe it is time for PAS to know that alcohol is integral to some religious worship. Restricting it means restricting religious worship. So, at the next election, we all say ‘goodbye Pas'?
On Maid abuse: Housewife gets 18 years
John Johnson: The sentence for this housewife who abused the maid is still too lenient. She deserves to feel the full wrath of the law.
This is the lowest that any human being can go in hurting someone to this degree. The damage caused emotionally and physically is beyond comprehension.
This housewife should be given six strokes of the rotan to know what kind of pain she delivered onto that young maid.
I thank the justice system for being impartial in passing this sentence to deter such abhorrent acts in the future. ‘Well done' to the judge.
On I'll respect your turf, you respect mine
Jaspal Singh: I wish to set the record straight as far as the connection between Sikhism and yoga goes.
The writer said: 'Indeed, many of the saints and religious leaders of India like Mahavira, Agathiyar and even from the Sikhism angle were ardent followers and practitioners of yoga'.
I must state that this is wrong.
Beginning with Guru Nanak and his nine spiritual successors (1469-1708), the teachings of whom are today in the form of Guru Granth Sahib (the Guru-Scripture of the Sikhs), the idea, practice and doctrine of yoga have been rejected in its entirety.
In short, yoga - either its physical, spiritual or recreational element - is inconsistent with the injunctions of Guru Granth Sahib.
