VOXPOP 'Ong Kian Ming and Yeo Bee Yin, both Cambridge graduates, will be a formidable asset to DAP and Pakatan Rakyat.'

Ong: MCA, Gerakan didn't have ear for policy work

Lover Boy: Ong Kian Ming, you may not be the turun padang type of MP and we Malaysian do not expect people of your calibre to turn padang and deal with the people's problems with blocked drains.

It matters not if you hold a seat in Parliament or a state assembly, but certainly when Pakatan Rakyat comes into Putrajaya, you have a big role to play in cleaning up the mess left behind by the BN government.

We want you to know that your analyses all these years did not go unnoticed by the rakyat.

Anonymous #19098644: It is not easy to be Ong Kian Ming (OKM) now as hell hath no fury like the BN spurned. Already the character assassination is starting.

The bottom line is that OKM is joining a growing list of thinking and caring people, be it from the private sector or the civil service, from East Malaysia or Semenanjong , Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Iban, Murut, Orang Asli, Indian or Malay who are now standing up and saying enough is enough. It is time to remove the corrupt BN government.

Jimmy Ng: Ong Kian Ming, we salute you for choosing to making such a huge sacrifice (politics for the betterment of our nation versus academia).

A lucrative fellowship position in the United States is not something trivial to forsake. This is indeed reflective of a true patriotic spirit. Not like those deplorable BN despots who are mostly all crony talk (and slogans) but no action nor results (unless lining their own pockets).

Lie detector: Ong Kian Ming and Yeo Bee Yin, both Cambridge graduates, will be a formidable asset to DAP and Pakatan Rakyat. Both are willing to sacrifice for a better Malaysia. May there be many who follow in their path.

Cannon: "MCA don't have an ear for policy work," said Kian Ming. Let me flesh out a real example. In early 1997, the Education Ministry introduced Arabic classes as a pilot programme in selected primary schools across Malaysia.

Five schools in Wilayah Persekutuan were selected, including the school where my child was attending. The teaching of Arabic was done during school hours. It was taught for two hours in place of four periods of BM lessons weekly. It violated the requirement of the national curriculum gazetted for the teaching of Bahasa Malaysia in national-type primary schools.

The requirement by law for teaching of BM is 450 minutes per week for Standard 1 to 3 and 300 minutes per week for Standard 4 to 6. Teaching of Arabic at the expense of BM reduced the BM teaching time for Standard 1 pupils to 330 minutes per week.

It represented a 27 percent reduction from the mandated requirement, a serious deviation from the national standard set for the teaching of BM for Standard 1 pupils.

As a parent, I viewed the matter with concern. I sent my child to a national-type school for him to interact with children of other races and for him to speak BM. Diluting the teaching of BM was going to have an adverse impact on the learning of children - Muslim and non-Muslim alike -and weaken their command of BM.

Based on a school year of 41 weeks, our children would be deprived of 82 hours of BM teaching time. It was clearly unfair to our children who would be required to sit for the common Standard 6 examination.

A group of us, concerned parents, requested a meeting with the minister of education (Najib, then was the sitting minister) and we were directed to meet with his deputy, who was from the MCA.

We made our case and requested that the pilot Arabic classes to be offered as an elective and conducted during after-school hours. The MCA deputy's reaction was an incredulous: "This is a sensitive matter. I rather not know what is happening."

Anonymous_rb345: Yes, MCA and Gerakan didn't have an ear for policy work. They have sub-contracted these jobs to the Umno supreme council and Perkasa.

Video showcases Jho Low's glitzy 'proposal'

Little Hantu: Low class... Spending 1 million pounds sterling pun tak boleh dapat 33-year-old Taiwanese songstress. Better spend money for grooming, weight-loss programme and etiquette training first.

Conmen: Moral decadence is a man descended to the depths of depravity. If he really has a heart and a soul, he should take the singer to a local Malaysian orphanage and old folks home so she can sing to them to her heart's content and he can write a cheque for the sustenance of the poor kids and the poor old souls. That kind of money is not easy to come by.

Anonymous #07443216: Some people think money can buy them what they want. The Taiwanese singer has got plenty of dignity, money cannot tempt her. Jho Low should take a good look in the mirror.

Blind Freddo: It seems like money can't buy everything, especially when it's thrown around in such a tasteless manner. Ugh!

Mushiro: I hope it is not our money again.

We The Rakyat: This is newsworthy? Malaysiakini must be truly bankrupt for ideas in marginalising the BN government.

Changeagent: We The Rakyat, I agree that this isn't newsworthy. But Malaysiakini doesn't need any ideas on how to paint BN in a bad light.

BN is doing a very good job in constantly shooting themselves in the foot with their endless gaffes, scandals and pure incompetence.

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