VOXPOP 'Does Rosmah have to provide Parliament with a report on her trip? Did the taxpayers receive value for money for this Rosmah junket?'

Shahidan: MPs 'thank' Rosmah for 'fruitful' trip

Slumdog: Since he has got so much to praise Rosmah Mansor's trip, we should be asking Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim how much her trip had cost the Malaysian taxpayers, how many officials or hangers-on accompanied her to Qatar and what were the tangible benefits of the trip?

Does Rosmah have to provide Parliament with a report on her trip? Did the taxpayers receive value for money for this Rosmah junket? Have we ever heard of the wives of the Australian or British prime ministers representing their respective governments on taxpayers-funded junkets?

Changeagent: Shahidan, it's not that we are not "proud" that Rosmah had been invited by other countries. It's just that we don't even know why she went to Qatar in the first place, similar to the many other times she travelled to exotic locations around the world using taxpayers' hard-earned money.

We could be as proud and thankful as you if we at least knew what her official duties were, as well as the tangible benefits of her trips. We would also be even more thankful if she didn't add to the taxpayers' burden by using the government-funded executive jet.

LKT: Rosmah is only the wife of an MP who happens to be PM, which means she is the wife of the PM (the law does not give the wife of PM any executive power or authority to represent the government no matter how much she craves for it).

It is obvious this is an abuse of power. If she wants to be the PM, she should first get herself elected as MP then seek the support of the other MPs in Parliament.

Simon: Can we also use the private jet if we are invited to present papers at conferences? After all, this is for the good of the country.

Shahidan is making statements that do not seem to make any sense. This is why I have always stated that one must have a minimum IQ level to qualify for any cabinet position.

Mushiro: If a man cannot control his wife, he should not be in politics. It is humiliating to see Rosmah running wild with the government's money and the whole cabinet united to defend her, while Najib is keeping his elegant silence.

Onyourtoes: There is no need to talk long and wide here. If the trip is so fruitful, just cite to us one or two benefits in concrete terms. Of course, concrete benefit is not "better relation" between Malaysia and Qatar or Malaysia is now "more well-known" internationally.

ACR: I would love to hear Rosmah brief Parliament on the fruitful trip she had. And Shahidan, as a minister, you ought to know that the government money is public money.

'Something rotten in Najib's best democracy'

Mushiro: It is so easy for a foreigner like Nottingham University Media and Communications associate professor Tessa Houghton to see the drastic imbalance in the way news is reported in Malaysia.

But currently 52 percent of our population is aware of this. If ever the BN government were to do anything about this, it will be to negate things. It will be an impossible effort for Pakatan Rakyat to reach the older generation and kampong folks.

Unless this is done, it will be tough for Pakatan to win in the next GE.

Kee Thuan Chye: Well said, Ms Houghton! You are absolutely right, there must be a distinction made between publications like PAS organ Harakah and mainstream newspapers like New Straits Times and The Star .

And the sooner the shackles are taken away from the mainstream media, the more egalitarian will our media landscape become, paving the way for less polarisation in the views of those who are tech-savvy and those who are not.

You do us Malaysian critics of what's happening in Malaysia proud. There's nothing like an informed external voice reaffirming what we believe.

Dizzer: It's interesting that this comes from Nottingham University (Najib's alma mater) which has always had very, very good relations with the powers-that-be.

But the fact that we have a biased MSM (owned by political parties or cronies) is hardly groundbreaking news. Everyone knows this already.

More interesting is the subtle and far more insidious bias to be found in the United Kingdom and United States. I can't watch the BBC/CNN/Sky/Fox news without screaming at the TV.

Kim Quek: Public opinion as understood in a democracy is non-existent here, due to the complete manipulation of the mass media (other than Internet) to function as propaganda instruments for the authoritarian regime - not unlike repressive governments under Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein.

On this score alone, democracy in Malaysia is a figment of imagination, not to mention the thoroughly flawed and fraudulent electoral process conducted by an arm of Umno, camouflaging as an election commission.

Thanks Houghton, for highlighting the truth about Malaysia; your view and analysis is particularly valued, since it comes from a foreign academic who has no stake in local politics.

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