'Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would do well to change his mindset that by throwing some crumbs to the Chinese electorate, they would in return be obliged to vote for him.'

On Unwise for Umno to scapegoat non-Malays

Richard Teo: Muhyiddin's statement clearly shows that the mentality of Umno leaders have not changed despite the March 8t electoral debacle.

By throwing monetary assistance to Chinese schools during election times, Muhyiddin naively thinks that the Chinese electorate should be grateful and give their votes to BN.

For the last 50 years that strategy worked because the Chinese people trusted their MCA representatives who told them that it was the correct thing to do. But MCA betrayed the Chinese people.

MCA leaders failed to elevate the position of the Chinese and were merely contented with their ministerial posts and the honorific titles that went with it.

And that certainly explains why MCA can no longer claim to represent the Chinese people.

With only 15 Parliament seats in mostly Malay majority areas as opposed to DAP's 28 Parliament seats in Chinese populated areas, it would be correct to say that DAP is the voice of the Chinese people.

Chinese schools had to survive mainly on public donations and once in a while, if there was a by-election in their area, they were given token donations in order to secure Chinese votes.

Muhyiddin should be aware by now that such political bribery to obtain votes by giving donations during election time is now no longer tenable.

The money disbursed are from taxes collected from the tax payers and Mahathir himself acknowledged that 90% of the taxpayers are Chinese. So giving back the money to Chinese schools is not something they should be grateful for.

As a matter of fact, such allocations for Chinese schools should have been mandatory and given without any strings attached. The Chinese are now wiser. They will take whatever that is given but there is no guarantee that they will give their votes in return.

There is no trickery on the part of the Chinese as claimed by Muhyiddin. They just merely accepted what was given and voted in accordance with their belief as to who deserved their votes.

Muhyiddin would do well to change his mindset that by throwing some crumbs to the Chinese electorate, they would in return be obliged to vote for him.

The Chinese people have no interest to be king-makers or to have any political power. All they want is to effect some political change so that all Malaysian citizens irrespective of race and religion can have an equal stake in this country of ours.

Michael: It is totally irresponsible and ridiculous to call the non-Malays 'ungrateful' purely because the majority of the Chinese and Indians voted for the opposition.

This remarks has a hidden agenda, ie, to provoke hatred among the Malays and to install the false belief that Malays no longer holding the final say in Malaysia politics. It also contradicts the concept of 'One Malaysia' proposed by the PM

The ‘non-Malay', a term that should not even exist after 50 years after independence, has been used as an excuse to cover BN's own weaknesses.

We had voted for BN to form the federal government for the past 52 years. We also had voted for PAS which is predominantly Malay political party.

To say the non-Malay are not grateful and are anti-Malay is just not true. Mind you, BN is a multiracial coalition unless some leaders want to think that it is a purely Malay.

But it is also losing the support of the Malays. It is not purely rejection by non-Malays but by Malaysians as a whole.

The non-Malays and a good proportion of Malay voters will have no choice but to vote for the opposition if the attitude of BN leaders remains unchanged, this even if the economy recovers.

On Muhyiddin denies making 'ungrateful' remark

Anti Supp: A check with the thesaurus for ‘unappreciative' or in the DPM's words ‘macam tidak ada penghargaan' shows it means:

1. Ungrateful;

2. Showing no gratitude;

3. Unthankful

Which US/UK/Queen's English dictionary is he using? DPM, don't insult the rakyat's command of English!

Yum: In what is the beacon of truth in Malaysia, Utusan Malaysia, Muhyiddin purportedly said:

‘Walaupun kita fikir bila mereka hendak sekolah Cina dibantu, kita bantu, sepatutnya mereka membalas budi...macam tidak ada penghargaan terhadap apa yang kita lakukan'.

Po-tay-toes, po-tah-toes. Muhyiddin is splitting hairs. You expect the Chinese to repay that assistance through votes?

Saying MCA president Ong Tee Keat had found nothing wrong with his statement is disingenuous. Most don't regard the MCA as the representative of the Chinese voters.

I would think that all these statements amount to vote-buying. Isn't this against some election law?

Timmy Say: Our new DPM claims that the press had twisted the facts about his interview.

What's wrong with our press today, or probably someone should ask, ‘What's wrong with our politicians' speeches these days?'

Well, as we all know, listeners do not necessarily get the real meaning of the speech-makers.

It is the speakers responsibility to ensure that listeners do not misunderstand by making their statements clear.

Were those speeches full of sarcasm that the reporters took it as real, or was there a message to be sent without really saying it?

Poor reporters and the press. Whenever something goes wrong, it is never because of a slip-of- the-tongue by the politician but rather it would be the press ‘twisting' the facts or ‘misquoting' the politician.

But believe me, the rakyat knows who to trust in events like this.

Alex C: Everyone was hoping for the best but seriously, barely one week into office and now this comment.

So Muhyiddin, tell me, what is the difference between 'tak menghargai' versus 'seolah-olah tak menghargai'? Does it mean anything different?

To my understanding, it means the same. Do you think it the people whom you criticised would thought less of it if you said 'seolah-olah'?

The citizens' intelligence is just not that shallow. To the reporters, why don't you guys put up a recording of the conversation for download by the public?

Let us then see how he would claim that the reporters misconstrued him. Of course, the BN is never wrong and as usual, the reporters are to blame.

On 'Najib, here's what you should do first'

Wilfred Lim Sheh Ping:

Until real reform measures are put forward, I do not believe the present leaders in Umno are capable of any reform.

If the BN government is sincere about change and wishes to bring Malaysia to the same level as other developed nations, then I think the following must be considered.

1. End race-based political parties and policies by first abolishing Umno, MCA and MIC but form a BN party instead.

2. Stop telling the bumiputera that they are weaker and poorer than the other races particularly the Chinese and therefore need protection and help.

They can be just as strong and or richer than the Chinese if they can overcome this negative state of mind. The bumiputera's greatest obstacle in improving themselves is their negative state of mind which has been planted by the government over the years.

3. Stop the practice of stating our religion and race on all official documents. Why should we be recognised and treated based on our religion and race?

4. Abolish the bumiputera quota for universities. Why should some capable Malaysians be deprived of opportunities to study in university and some of those less qualified be given the chance?

What is the point of putting a weak student to study medicine if he or she cannot cope with the demand in that field?

5. Abolish the bumiputera ownership requirement in companies. Why should they be given shares and directorship if they are not capable of managing the company or help the company to make a profit?

If the government wants the poor to own company shares, then they should be encouraged to get loans to buy shares. But the current bank practice will only make the poor poorer and the banks richer. A total revamp is needed.

6. Stop putting political appointees to head GLCs. Appoint only those who are capable irrespective of their race, religion and origin.

Why do we allow those who are not capable to lead GLCs to only to lose more money year in year out?

CEOs should not be allowed to run GLCs as though they are not liable for the losses made by the companies.

They should be made accountable and liable and pay for every sen that the company loses. Only then they will be more responsible.