Jul 15, 08 9:29am
On Police roadblocks cause gridlock in KL
23PSI: The extensive road blocks demonstrate the BN government's paranoia and/or its desire to inconvenience all Malaysians and to create a sense of hostility towards the opposition just as they did for the Bersih and Hindraf rallies.
But the reality is that all right-thinking Malaysians know what the real motivation is and that such actions only serve to make the government even more unpopular.
If the government truly had the interest of the people at heart they would not have inconvenienced ordinary citizens going about their day. Indeed, there maybe some who require immediate medical attention only to find themselves caught in a massive crawl.
This also goes to show just how much the police force is used as a pawn in the battlefield of politics.
ACR: It is amazing that a self-proclaimed stable government, run by Abdullah Badawi at the helm, is afraid of the shadow of one man - Anwar Ibrahim - and is willing to inconvenience millions of city-folk over the weekend and into the new working week by putting in place 12 roadblocks throughout the Klang Valley.
This is a mockery of democracy and a gross abuse of the police force to further a political agenda. Pray tell me what is the threat to public security for Anwar to attend parliament to follow proceedings from the observation gallery?
As reported, Pakatan Rakyat had never intended for a rally to be held. This entire hyperbole was created via abuse of the mainstream media and misuse of the police force.
In a nation grappling with runaway crime rates, the frequent use of the police for political expediency is in itself telling as to the priorities of the Barisan government.
Who is going to be held responsible for the deaths or complications suffered by critical care patients whose doctors were held up for hours in traffic jams? Or for the millions lost by traders in the investment markets? Or for the thousands of appointments, exams, interviews and meetings missed by the citizenry?
It is in order for the authorities to be held accountable for the way they are running the nation - like their backyard.
Consumer groups, resident associations and NGOs should initiate a criminal negligence suit against the person/s who authorised the setting up of 12 roadblocks, besides claiming for liquidated damages for losses suffered in the instances aforementioned.
GMan: I'd say enough is enough from the police with all these road blocks. They seem to use this method of childish intimidation to try and restrict people from their right to assembly.
Worst of all it affected working-class people who were stuck in the ensuing traffic chaos, and this I am sure affected productivity.
In short I suppose if people want to gather, no number of roadblocks is going to deter them from doing so. This is simply unjustifiable from the government and no apology is going to make up for it.
Therefore to Syed Hamid Albar and the police, please stop all these roadblocks as you incur the wrath of the common person because the traffic in the capital is bad enough. The police force is better off serving the people, rather than at unnecessary roadblocks.
Maniam Sankar: I suppose we all like to see an efficient government at work. The action by the police to have 600 personnel manning road blocks at the hint of trouble should help the people feel safe. Did it ?
No, sir, it did not. It was a blatant abuse of power designed to cause havoc on the streets. All that the police did was reduce multilane roads into single lanes to slow traffic while they themselves stood under a shade some distance away (this was the scene at Jalan Damansara).
When such havoc is caused by the authorities and not agitators, something, surely, must be very wrong in the state.
I would strongly recommend that since the police can act with such speed and in numbers, can’t they instead direct their energies to reduce snatch thefts and burglaries which continue unabated with increasing loss of life, limb and material?
Dominichenrychin: The police force really have nothing better to do and they are displaying this lepak attitude while roadblocks are being set up.
The last time, roadblocks were set up to prevent gatherings organised by Hindraf, and just recently to prevent hearsay actions by PKR members. Members of the public have really suffered.
Take for example the one set up along Jalan Damansara, in front of the petrol stations from the Damansara toll. From four lanes, motorists have to merge into two lanes. The irony is that some motorists are actually able to 'escape' this roadblock by taking the road leading into the petrol station and then merge back into the main road!
Then, we can also see the lepak attitude of the police officers manning this roadblock.They sit on chairs under an umbrella chatting and having drinks.
What are you guys in uniform doing? Ensuring the security of the nation? Bull! Robberies, car jacking etc are on the rise and here we have these police officers causing inconvenience to the public. Bravo!
On Final 2 years: PM vows to fight graft, reform judiciary
Kaisim: At last, the PM means business by giving the ACA a free hand to go for the big ‘fish’ in corruption. This is what the people have been waiting for all these years.
For many years, the top officials have been making use of the bureaucracy to make big money for themselves at the expense of the people and nation. Corruption is rampant in Malaysia.
Many of them have escaped when the ACA dragged the net and are now retired and live comfortably in the ivory homes. The ACA should open up the files of these people and make them accountable for what they have earned all these years.
The previous government talked about ‘Bersih, Cekap, Amanah’ and posted the slogan everywhere but no one ever bothered. So, corruption becomes a culture in Malaysia, spreading to business, politics and organisations.
These people are subversive elements in our mist but the authorities turned deaf ears to the complaints of this nature. So, our integrity rating goes down, down to the bottom. If the government has the will it’s never too late to change for the better.
Give the ACA sufficient powers to deal with these crooks, then in two years, Malaysia will be recognised as a clean, efficient and transparent nation in Asean.
Mooshie Mooshie: The PM said he needs two years to fight corruption. What he doesn't know or don't want to know is - what was discovered is only the tip of the iceberg.
Between the tourism ministry, sports ministry, defence ministry, those cronies of his, his son, and his son-in-law, the insider trading in the stock market and the who-knows-who to make money from government contracts, all the directors and heads of departments from the local authorities to the department of transport, we do not know how else to continue.
Is two years a decoy or is it to buy time to further allow your cronies and those related to you to get away? How much more do you and your cronies want to from the rakyat? Please enlighten us by your great plans.
Vincent d'Estaing: These last few years have shown PM Abdullah's leadership in allowing democracy to blossom. There are disagreements with his achievements. The fact that he acknowledges the problems of not achieving the promises is a sign of a leader.
The fact that he allows so many dissents and takes on the humiliation of losing the 2/3 majority is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. There is no perfect leader who can please everyone. There will be mistakes and a leader will have the courage to correct them.
Look at recent events - 13 days to campaign; ACA nabbing senior government servants; ACA questioning big guns; compensation to past judges, etc. Are these are a wayang? Would the previous leadership have allowed these?
Which leadership is better? An iron hand that shows semblance of ‘leadership’ or an open arm that shows semblance of ‘weakness’? This is not a mathematical problem of right and wrong. It is an ongoing journey to make Malaysia a better place for all of us.
Yes, by all means, weed out the corrupted and the abusers of power. Don't neglect the rakyat, especially those who need help, regardless of race or religious beliefs. I am thankful now there is a strong opposition to check and balance, and many things are on the way of being corrected. It will be a very long journey.
Keep the peace and carve out the path to a better nation that can compete. The world is not waiting for us to build a competitive country. It will crush us. Just look at Proton as a good example.
Be proud but don't be stupid. The world does not care. We need to do that.
Om Prakash: The PM alone is not responsible for the rot of Umno. Traitors are abound within for posts and power. Muhyddin Yassin is no leader outside of Umno. What credible contribution has he laid for the nation and the Asean region?
Tengku Razaleigh is a disgrace and he has no right after his failure to help Umno capture Kelantan. His excuse, he was not asked! Now he wants democratic rights in Umno for a free-for- -all contest.
Had it not been for the PM Abdullahi, the country would not have the 'cleaning' that it is getting. His open-policy has threatened opportunists and selfish politicians and their respective cronies.
In fact his open policy is also the reason Umno and BN had their majority reduced in the last election, which is a good thing because too much power breeds corruption of many kinds.
He is a leader of moderation, fairness and goodness but those in Umno have taken advantage of the losses to mount a campaign to remove him. Accordingly he has defaulted and deviated from his many original plans.
Mistakes are also made due to his slowness in the delivery of rejuvenation for the long-troubled civil service and his unpopular son-in-law. His fight with corruption is a lone fight but until today in his cabinet no one has shown zeal and support for the fight.
This good man and clean politician has been smeared of unproven and unfair accusations when all that he wished to do was undo the past political and social atrocities. Given time I am sure he would have dismantled the ISA too. Glasnost as brought by Gorbechev is a good reference to Abdullah's regime.
The future politics of Malaysia is very blurred and the developments taking place now are going to determine the fate of the nation soon.
On No-confidence motion rejected, walkout staged
Ranjinath: I am a very disappointed voter. If each time the Pakatan Rakyat don’t get their way they are going to walk out, I might as well have voted in a spoilt election.
They went in very well knowing that what they asked for would be rejected. Can I ask that we get proper governance?
Also, why is DAP silent on the request by PAS Youth on implementing syariah rulings in the Pakatan states? For me silence is consent.
On Poll: Readers' views on flip-flop Bala
J Bao: Judging the truth is very easy. Everyone can do it. Just read the actions in sequence (or the body language) rather than the verbal/oral statements.
In P Bala’s case, see how the police bend backwards to record his statement. Since when did the police start a ‘home delivery service’ for the common people? Even Raja Petra (a royalty) had to go down to the police station to have his statement recorded.
Why search all over the world and the need to seek Interpol’s help to locate Bala? Just issue a warrant of arrest if Bala does not turn up to have his statement recorded.
Why all the sandiwara and the sudden ‘extension of extra-friendly police service’ to a common man? By answering these simple and obvious questions, one can come to the truth of the matter.
But can the truth be accepted? That is the question. In Anwar’s second sodomy case, the same questions can be asked. If there are no links between Saiful and Najib, why would Najib see Saiful before he lodged the police report?
There are seven rape/molestation cases every day in Malaysia. You mean all of them have to consult with the DPM before they lodge their reports? If not, then why the exception to Saiful? So there again the truth is established in double quick time.
On Lawyer: Police asked for privilege information
Chuacj: Interesting, very interesting. Which do you believe now? The first SD or the second SD? This whole episode tells us that the first SD holds more water and it is the truth (nothing but the truth). Otherwise, why are the police more interested in the first one?
I believe the government wants to know what else we know and what other proof is in our hands.
I suggest the police should check with themselves (if they want to know about the disappearance) as Bala went missing after meeting up with them.
On 20 nabbed so far in visa scam sweep
Ibrahim Musa K: Time after time, we have been hearing about the ACA detaining government officials suspected of corruption or bribery. Investigation after investigation, the end result would be insufficient evidence or unfounded grounds of suspicion.
Even when brought to court, hardly anyone had been really convicted as charged (let alone fined or jailed), and more often than not it would end in case dismissed. Our judiciary system is degrading, our law enforcers are equally demoralising.
One would wonder how Pak Lah in his final years in office could improve the situation.
To vow to fight graft and bolster the judiciary is one thing, but to take actual action leading to ultimate punishment will be quite a different thing.
Most Malaysians are already disgusted with the ongoing dirty political bickering, we do not want to hear any more empty words or hollow noises.
Will some one just do something concrete to bring back our confidence in the pathetic government? Does anyone still want to believe in ‘Malaysia Boleh’?
On MIC's 'rebranding' assembly tomorrow
Disney Fan: ‘MIC will hold its 62nd general assembly tomorrow with the main agenda being the re-branding of the party's ideologies following its catastrophic loss in the March 8 general election.’
In view of the dismal image of MIC and BN in general after March 8, it is appropriate that they look at crafting a new image for themselves that is more positive, reflecting the future role they will play in Malaysia. May I suggest…
M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e!
Goofy, Donald Duck, and all the others are available to lend a hand to Umno, MCA and all the other BN guys badly in need of an image make-over. All of them know that it’s a small world after all.
Chris: With reference to MIC s re-branding, I would like to question all marketing experts if there is any record of products or services that were successful after a re-branding. It might be that our MIC is creating a new glossy term to disguise their failure and convince the public that they are a new ‘party’.
Instead re-branding, MIC should constructively admit their failure and analyse the causes of their failure and improve them.
They should seek cooperation from their enemies, foes and rivals. They should openly admit their political arrogance and apologise to the public. They should take the interest of the people and not the party.
However, it seems like that they have never realised this fact at all. By calling it ‘re-branding’, it does not constitute an improved product or service. Samy Vellu, you are old-fashioned and ignorant of the fact of modern marketing concepts. Thus, ‘brand’ is just a non-physical value of a product or service.
If you really want improvements for your party, think of the core product of MIC and analyse how to improve to add on more value for the product or service it is offering instead of re-branding.
This is the 21st century, we Indian Malaysians are not naive to accept the re-branding that you are bragging about. Re-invent would be a better option. Give the people what the people need and not what the party needs. Start people-based politics and terminate racial-based politics.
In short, we Indians do not need MIC to protect our interests. Dont ‘re-brand’ a bad product. Re-invent, re-design, re-produce, re-make but don’t re-brand.
On Tamil schools: Whose responsibility? MIC's or government's?
Prasad Pillai: Samy Vellu was a picture of consistency - not once did he give a straight answer.
On Shutters down on Uthaya's law firm
Peter Ooi: I am really saddened that Uthaya has to close his law firm. This is really an unkind cut to a man who selflessly and tirelessly championed for the rights of the poor Indians. Just because he was able to harness a few thousand supporters who are mostly helpless, the authorities find him a threat to the society.
If the powers-that-be could find overwhelming evidence that this man and friends are truly going to cause chaos or violence in the country, do charge him in an open court. Till today no evidence was furnished to show his link to the Tamil Tigers. It is a shame on the authorities that these people are detained for a crime that is not in existence.
He really touched my heart when he refused help from some good Samaritans to keep his firm afloat on the excuse that public funds are meant for the public use. Such is a man who places the interests of others first before self.
My hats off to you, Uthaya. As a simple layman with limited means, I can only offer my sincere prayers for your good health and for your safe return to the family who miss you the most.
The nation need more men of integrity like you and your colleagues who are languishing in detention camps so that the poor can lead better lives.
Rekha: It's good to know that Uthaya is in good spirits. Many, many people are praying for his release.
On The Fourth and Fifth cousins
Churchmouse: Marina Mahathir’s newspaper column and blog says all the politically correct things but do you notice that her memory and voice are selective?
She has been as silent as a church mouse over Anwar Ibrahim to the extent of ‘going on strike’. And as before, we heard nary a squeak from her during the reformasi days when Anwar faced the first round of sodomy charges.
PY: I have observed this lady's writing. Ninety percent of our troubles today can be traced to her father's doorstep and yet she blithely chooses to ignore it.
Instead she goes on about blogger strikes, how attitudes are the cause of our problems and pious platitudes that make for good sound bites. And of course, her high-society group laps it up.
She should do us a favour and continue her strike indefinitely.
On M'sia a vibrant democracy? Bah, humbug!
Takeda Shingen: Manjit Bhatia is always quick to point the finger at Asia. He demonises and shuns us but offers no solution. As an academic he should be trying to offer wisdom and solutions to help the situation but instead all he does is complain.
He is like a person who barks consistently about how bad the government is but when asked if he voted it's revealed he was too lazy to register. All bark and no bite.
Democracy is still not perfect, even in America and the fact that we could elect a viable opposition this time round without the zombies of May 13 rising from the dead to bite us, shows progress.
Today in Malaysia, we can badmouth politicians and not get sued for millions like in the Mahathir days. (In fact it’s the opposition that is suing the government for 100mil...ah, the irony).
It took over 200 hundred years and a civil war for America to achieve the democracy it has today. We're only 50 years old and by the results of our last election, we are improving.
Manjit Bhatia may have abandoned Asia as his home and may continue to demonise the region that gave him life instead of helping it. That is his character. I am a Malaysian. Malaysia is not perfect but I will not abandon her.
Shiek Yerbootay: Once again Manjit Bhatia graces us with his monotonous pro-west/anti-Asian dribble.
Lets not forget his hateful rant against Jackie Chan supporting the Beijing Olympics but silence on the subject that Visa sponsored the advertisement Chan appeared in. In fact where was his criticism of Coca-cola, UPS or the other 'Western' corporations sponsoring the event?
Bhatia would rather have us believe that the recent elections count for nothing. That there was no democracy that DAP won Penang, that PKR won Selangor, PAS Kedah and that no race riots broke out.
Malaysians should be proud that no matter which side we voted, democracy prevailed. Bhatia, as one blogger put it, is ashamed to be Asian and therefore wants the rest of us to feel bad for our heritage.
On Unbridled ignorance, courtesy of Bernama
RT Chang: Enough already. I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the Bernama writer for being assigned to write the so-called feature, ‘Homosexual's Life Of Moral Decadence’.
The writer obviously has no grasp of writing an essay. It is blatantly biased, boring and has the reasoning of a Malaysian Form 3 (at most) student brought up on a stringent diet of government propaganda such as Bernama's.
Even so, any person worthy of being called a ‘news editor’ would have told the reporter to interview sources who actually knew the subject, for balance, and edit it to read as if the writer had some depth of thought and intelligence.
Instead, you wasted the poor reporter's time and did a disservice to her and your readers by publishing nonsesne, and robbed yours and her dignity in the process.Why don't you guys just get another job elsewhere instead of apple-polishing for the politicians who tell you what to do?
Why not run articles with value to real people, e.g. about the ‘tentacles’ of moral corruption in the government, instead of prostituting yourself? Otherwise, just come out of the closet and work without pretense as a speech-writer for the assorted lowlifes running the government.
Meenachi Indian: I read the said article and almost wept in despair. As someone born in the very early 60s, I have been privy to how our society has slowly become shallow, prejudiced and downright ignorant.
People do not choose to become homosexuals – they are born such. For a nation which has spent billions sending a poster boy to the moon, it's baffling how many cannot grasp this simple biological reality.
I was also shocked with Malaysian Hindu Sangam president A Vaithilingam's comment that 'even the Hindu religion does not accept homosexual practices'.
As someone heading the MHS, he should not have misled the poor ignorant Bernama reporter with such a statement, as Hinduism does recognise homosexuality as well as the transgender community.
The highly revered Lord Siva takes the form of Ardhanarishvara that shows him with one half of the body as male, and the other half as female. Furthermore, according to Hindu religious scriptures, Lord Vishnu took the form of Mohini the enchantress and seduced Lord Siva and both had a son, Lord Ayappan.
There is also a goddess to represent the homosexual and transgender communities. In fact members of the Hindu transgender community gather in July every year at a temple in Port Klang to celebrate their goddess known as Bahuchariya Mataji.
So, Datuk Vaithilingam please does not paint a false picture of Hindusim and say the wrong things simply because that is the politically right thing to say. Hinduism does not discriminate and has a place for every gender and sexual orientation.
On Consumers' vote of no confidence against Proton
Yih Feng Low: Proton is one of the biggest shame of the nation. After 25 years of spending countless amounts of tax payers’ money supporting them (both directly and indirectly), the last thing any Malaysian could have hoped for is that they can at least stand on their own two feet.
But no, as soon as the protective measures were even talked about being removed, they
fell flat on their bum and have struggled to get up since. Syed Zainal found it convenient to blame vendors for poor quality components, but guess what? That is still entirely Proton's fault.
You don't see any other vendor swallow billions of dollars in government handouts and then blame other vendors for their own incompetence! The management of Proton owes the Malaysian public a huge apology, an explanation and a place in Malaysia's all time hall of shame for their sheer incompetence.
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