'The Home Ministry made a mockery of itself by creating an unnecessary 'drama' out of a straightforward piece of news or information published by the China Press .'

Home Ministry: No action against China Press

Teh: When the press announces the retirement of the inspector-general of police before the home minister has a chance to do so, it shows that the minister is not fully in control of his portfolio.

Either he is sleeping on the job or his subordinates do not have any respect for him and wants him to look bad in front of the public. Either way, Hisham is ineffective and incompetent.

Yuvan: The Home Ministry made a mockery of itself by creating an unnecessary 'drama' out of a straightforward piece of news or information published by the China Press .

As always, it was just typical of how the Home Ministry reacts to some real and truthful news. I wish it had taken some action on the China Press and incurred the wrath of the Chinese community.

Brij Jayaram Kathiravelu: It is irrelevant whether the explanation given by China Press over its report on IGP Musa Hassan was satisfactory. Home Ministry aka Umno 'had' to be satisfied with the daily's written response, considering the upcoming MCA elections on March 28.

Any action taken now would be a 'disaster' and will certainly be reflected in the election results. Umno would not want to cause more damage. MCA, already looking like a very obedient lap dog.

Amaso: BN is kind not to take action against China Press ? BN knows that the rakyat will deliver them a bigger lost in the next general election if action is taken against China Press because BN takes no action against Utusan Malaysia over its racist reports.

Between the IGP resignation report and Utusan Malaysia's racist reports, which one is causing tensions among the public?

Cala: At least Home Minister Hishammuddin Hisham is capable of doing the right thing under supervision. To be fair to our home minister, he is at least capable of making the right decision under pressures from all sectors of society.

Whether China Press is acting correctly or not can be viewed from another angle. In a court of law, a defence lawyer must be treated with respect. He is deemed a court official.

A defence lawyer is there to assist the court so that no man is guilty until and unless proven guilty. In the same vein, the press ought to be taken as a party that assists all of us (the stakeholders) to ensure democracy flourishes in this land.

For that to happen, the necessary condition is to allow a liberalised freedom of press environment so that there is transparency and accountability in governance from the executive. Hence the press is our friend, our partner, and our comrade- in-arms in our quest to uphold democracy in this land. They contribute towards ‘rule of law'.

Nil: The fact was that the news (of impending resignation) concernig the IGP was somehow leaked before an official announcement. The BN or the Home Ministry should have focused on finding the person who leaked the news. It was an inside job... someone inside seems eager and glad to see the chief go. Who?

Karma: Thanks to Lim Kit Siang for his bravery to bring up the matter to the press. It does help to tell the world on how we treat our press. I think Hishammudin is satisfied because China Press could have provided proof of information. It is a mystery why the IGP was said to have resigned and after denials, he is said to have been involved in a re-shuffle exercise.

Azmil Tayeb: Thank you, LKS (Lim Kit Siang) for speaking out on the China Press issue. All Pakatan Rakyat leaders, keep checking BN performance.

Singa Pura Pura: Good move. Hopefully, you (Hishammuddin) won't lose too many Chinese votes. But you might have lost a few ‘ultra-putra' votes. So, you're back to square one.

Artchan: The home minister got no guts to suspend the Chinese daily. Try and see and you will regret losing Chinese votes at the next election. Chinese dailies readers are not Star readers.

Sugumaran Rajaram: Times are changing for the better in Malaysia. The voices of the nation are being heard, and no longer the government can act as a bully into cowing the nation with its whimps and fancies. March 8, 2008 has made a change to the country for the better, and better things are yet to come. Bring on GE13!

Victor Johan: Can we know what is the full explanation provided by this popular Chinese daily, or is it classified OSA (Official Secrets Act)?

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