'Hypocrisy of the highest order'

‘When the T’ganu sultan went against Umno, Pak Lah said it was unconstitutional. But now when the tables are turned in Perak, he says the opposition is disrespectful of royalty. Come on, PM.’

On PM: They've disrespected sultan's decision

Vivian Lim: The Perak state assembly speaker’s name was unfamiliar to me until recently but now I salute V Sivakumar for his courage and strength in standing up for what is right.

It must be a very difficult time for him but we, the ordinary Malaysians, are rooting for him, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin and Pakatan Rakyat.

Umno thought that Pakatan would slink away with their tails between their legs, but they have stood firm so far and fought back with what little they have.

Umno will try their best to dislodge them with their corrupt lap-dogs and dirty money. We pray fervently for divine strength and intervention for Sivakumar and Pakatan Perak.

The evil oppressors belittle the rakyat ’s anger. They think they can do anything they like to Sivakumar and Pakatan. But our anger is growing.

When the time comes, our collective fury will unleash itself and then no corrupt cops, courts nor kings will be able to put Umno-dumpty back together again.

William D: This is truly hypocrisy of the highest order. When the Sultan of Terengganu decided to appoint an MB of his choice, this very man said it was unconstitutional. And if this is not enough, Umno members went on a demonstration and called the sultan names.

What I would like to know is, and so do many Malaysians, which part of the Terengganu constitution does it state that it is wrong for the Sultan to appoint an MB?

Come on, prime minister, you can't have it both ways. When a ruling is made against Umno by the royalty, you guys label the sultan with all sorts of names. But when it comes to the opposition, you change you song entirely and try to act pro-royalty which you all are not.

You can fool some people some of the time, but certainly, you cannot fool all the people all the time.

Mathuri Subramaniam: It is very interesting to note that BN politicians, including the PM, are hiding behind the royalty for personal benefits.

At one stage, they were the ones who almost stripped the royalty of all power including cancelling the practise of sembah and ensuring that bills are passed automatically even if a ruler were to withhold his consent.

If we really look at the crisis in Perak, it will be very clear that BN has totally disrespected the law and the sultan. A simple matter has been made into a complex issue by them.

Frank Xroy: Abdullah's advice to Zambry to report his suspension to the police is typical of Umno politics. What have the police to do with what happens in the assembly?

The police should only step in if called by the speaker when suspended assembly persons refuse to listen to his orders to get out of the house as was the case regarding Karpal Singh at the Penang state assembly some years ago.

That the police are beholden to Umno is no secret. It is so blatant that Umno members can openly stir up racial hatred and get away with it. I suppose the IGP must be an Umno member.

So whenever the going gets tough, Umno gets the police in on the act as was seen in the Hindraf case and in the recent rallies by the people in Perak.

Abdullah has been politically brought up with the mindset that a leader has to force his will on the people. Does he not know that the only answer to the Perak crisis lies in taking the whole issue back to the people and that means the ballot box.

Shouting ‘treason’ and saying people have disrespected the sultan will not solve the issue. A clear look at the case will reveal that it is Umno that is wrongfully involving the royalty for their own benefit.

AZ: It can be seen that BN is very loyal and respectful to the sultans.

This is because in Mahathir’s time, the BN government withdrew some of the powers of the sultan as well as capped their allowances. We really can see how they respect the sultans.

I think the Sultan of Perak has forgotten what had happened during Mahathir’s time. I really hope that the sultan can still recall the way the BN government treated them during Mahathir’s time.

I think Mahathir was a real sultan in Malaysia...

Maniam Sankar: Sultans are above partisanship but are also not accountable. To accept their edicts unquestioningly has been unwise since the Magna Carta , if not earlier. And the Perak sultan has maintained an inelegant silence on his actions thus far.

Pak Lah’s continued insistence, therefore, that the Perak sultan’s and, by inference, all other sultans’ directives, should hold sway over elected speakers and representatives actions, is a dangerous game he plays for short-term benefit.

In the longer term, his unwillingness to be accountable to the rakyat will certainly be his downfall. And the fall will be hard. Just know that you brought it onto yourselves.

Lee Kim Seng: Right from the beginning, BN/Umno had shown disrespect for Perakians elected government. Probably, they have even misled and deceived the sultan into making a wrong decision.

We have always upheld the very fundamental rules of democratic constitutional monarchy with the government elected by the people and for the people with our Royals always acting for the people and being non-partisan.

Time and again, Perakians have voiced their desire to let them decide as to whom they want to be in governance of their state.

If the BN/Umno politicians think that they are here to serve the people better than the others and not for their own political gain, why be afraid to get a fresh mandate from Perakians?

If the royals really have the people at heart, why have the repeated appeals from the people fallen on deaf ears?

Let the Perakians decide on their choice as to whom to form their state government. We need to move on to prepare for the economic tsunami that has swept across the world.

On Please migrate if you can't respect the sultans

Yapcs: I presume the writer also knows how the sultans came about in the first place? Or where they came from? I believe that the writer also knows how the Umno led by Dr M had decimated the powers of the sultans?

I am neither a pro-PKR or BN but what the Perak people are trying to do is to get back their right to elect the government they want. It is as simple as that.

The writer also mentioned that the Malays are the ‘host’. Is there a cut-off point in the time line for those who came to this land of opportunities that they can declare themselves as ‘host’? Three generations back, five generations back?

On Nizar vs Zambry: Fireworks at Jalan Duta court

Selvaraja: Eureka, I found out who will our next PM - it is none other than Nizar, the embattled MB of Perak. This finding is line with the ‘Rahman’ theory under which the next PM's initial must start with N.

Nizar has character, is clean, is intelligent, has good looks and is steady. And most of all, he is acceptable to all Malaysian folk ie, the Malays, Chinese and Indians.

He is the right candidate to be in Parliament and lead the opposition while Anwar should remain as king-maker in the background.

Jeremiah Liang: Now with the latest Perak crisis, doubts are emerging about Anwar's effectiveness as the opposition leader. However, the mystery of who is the real Anwar is should be analysed from the fox and the hedgehog context.

Philosopher and historian Isaiah Berlin said that foxes know many cunning tricks to survive while hedgehogs know only one single thing.

My instincts indicate that Anwar pretends to be a fox who can fix many of Malaysia's social and economic challenges. However, he may actually be a hedgehog with only one real talent.

Is it his oratory skills? His ability to hold the PAS-DAP dichotomy together or his anti-NEP and anti-corruption principles (which very few Malays have the intellectual bravery to champion)?

For most Malaysians, all they want to see is a shadow cabinet, sound economic policies and a new set of values that will unite the secular and the non-secular sentiments of the citizens.

Since the former premier Mahathir, who seemed to be more of a fox than a hedgehog, failed to move the country out of its handicaps, the public may now clamour for a hedgehog-type of leader, a man of integrity, humility and vision who only knows how to carry out one great idea that will solve many of the country's problems.

Unhappy Voter: When Anwar declare that Sept 16 would see defections taking place, no one cried foul. People said it was the will of the rakyat .

Guess what? BN played the same game and now the people cry foul, and want justice. Where is the fairness?

We, the rakyat , want a fair goverment whether BN or PR. If you can accept ‘frogs’ from BN, whether by invitation or otherwise, accept that BN can do the same to your people.

I do not support any party that supports party-hopping for whatever the reason. I know who I voted for in the elections and if the same party welcomes party-hopping, it would mean you don’t respect my vote and don’t deserve it.

Please enact the an anti-hopping law now.

On Scandal-hit firm likely to get water tunnel deal

Kolble Kelvin: Here we go again. Another mega-project coming to disrepute.

It begs the question why the Malaysian government awards a contractor, Nishimatsu Construction, with a lucrative contract in Malaysia when the Japanese government has actually prohibited them from tendering for their own public works for a certain time period.

What is Nishimatsu alleged to be guilty of? Using slush funds to win contracts through bribery of politicians and project professionals. Does that sound rather familiar?

Back in 2004, after receiving a resounding fresh mandate from his first election as prime minister, Pak Lah declared that from then on that all government procurement will be through an open and transparent tender system.

Five years later, that declaration sounds hollow and bordering on untruth.

Here we have an internationally acclaimed bidding process, the Japanese, and it is unbelievable that the government seems intent on going against the principles of transparency and fair play which they purportedly subscribe to.

But to include an allegedly corrupt company in the construction of one of the large projects in a time of recession takes the cake.

Moses Lim: It is public knowledge that PM Abdullah has said many times that he will revert back to the time-tested mode of open tender to carry out high-value public projects.

Recently, it was announced that our old Subang Airport would have a new lease of life as an airport terminal when a RM40 million renovation project is completed sometime in the middle of this year. But where was the public invitation to tender for this project ?

As part of a scheme to alleviate the chronic daily and hourly traffic jam in the Klang Valley, the PM Badawi also confidently announced a few years ago that the present LRT network will be expanded to cover high density population areas.

Until now, we have not seen any public invitation to tender for this multi-billion urgently required project. But we have seen reports that certain companies like Gamuda Bhd are already lobbying for the job. What is going on ?

As a representative rakyat and an ordinary representative contractor of our society, we have to conclude that what we heard about open tenders was merely an election gimmick.

How to get rid of money politics? No need to disband Umno Youth or the Puteri wing. Just go for open tender by an independent professional body.

We do not need men with brains of rocket scientists to get rid of money politics. We need men who will pay the price to carry out their noble and honorable intention.

We have now another piece of the mass of convincing evidence that BN will not reformed. Any reason why we should not support PR ?

On 'Anjing, keling': Student files report

Branchis Simon: It is sad to hear that the teacher whose is supposed to cultivate the right attitude and mind for nation-building is cultivating hatred and increasing the racial divide.

In my opinion, these teachers are not fit to be called teachers. There are musuh dalam selimut who work silently to instigate racial issues.

The education department must take stern action against these culprits and once and for all put a stop to issues of this nature.

Previously, the action taken against a teacher who made racial slurs against students involved just transferring her to another school.

This is a joke. I think the best punishment is to fire them so that others get the message.

On Hypocritical moral outrage?

Vijay Kumar Murugavell: There are now more pictures of Nazri Junior on the Internet, these even more telling than the ones circulated that I have seen previously.

When opposition MP Elizabeth Wong's voyuer photos were exposed recently, I was pleasantly surprised with minister Nazri Abdul Aziz being one of the few who offered solidarity and support to her from within Umno.

Whether it was a sincere gesture or a case of ‘those living in glass houses should not throw stones’, we can only speculate.

His son’s name is Nadim and there is nothing wrong with the Internet pictures actually - just a young man discovering his hormones. But it would put his father in a quandary if the good minister were to participate in discussions that border on piety and morality.

By the waay, minister in charge of Islamic affairs Zahid Hamidi (also the architect of the Perak coup d'etat) says Wong's ex-boyfriend can be charged in the Syariah Court for zina (adultery) if proven.

Makes one think why Zahid and the sanctimonious people at the religious affairs department did not take action against Abdul Razak Baginda, since he is a self-confessed adulterer who clearly said that he did not murder Altantuya but admitted having an affair with her.

What has the religious affairs department have to say about this ?

Disappointed Malaysian: I write this in disgust at the recent turn of political events in our country that has never before been seen. Our country has never been in such a state of mockery before.

Parliament representatives can switch parties, state governments can change within 24 hours, suspicions of bribes are rife, and the personal lives of politicians are violated. This is really sick. I am disgusted.

In the current state of the economy when the whole world is sinking deeper into recession and people are losing their livelihoods, all our government can think about is spending money to win over states controlled by the opposition.

What upsets me also is that our country has a lot of poor, under-privileged and discriminated people that desperately need help but what the government is more interested in is openly collecting donations, even at toll plazas for the Palestinians.

The cause is noble and the Palestinians need all the help they can get but what about our own people right here in our own country that need help?

And will this money really go towards the children in Palestine that have lost their homes and parents or will most of it go into the pockets of some local VIP or be diverted by to the Hamas government for weapons instead (they have done this before)?

Our priorities seem convoluted and shallow. We are not using our resources wisely to address the root issues that are plaguing our nation.

If we are not careful, this global recession could be the worst Malaysia has ever faced. I cannot wait for the next general election when I will once again cast my vote for the opposition.