'If Protons are good enough for the prime minister and ministers, they should be more than adequate for the Terengganu exco.'

On Nauseating news of new Mercedes purchases

Dato Dr S Vijayaratnam: It is quite unnecessary, not only extravagant, for the Terengganu government to purchase brand new Mercedes cars for its exco members. It smacks of power abuse.

From personal experience, the Proton V6, if serviced regularly and driven carefully, is not expensive to maintain.

Mercedes, on the other hand, incurs much more costs. It is a lame excuse for indulgence in luxury. People have not voted you in to arrive in style on taxpayers money.

This is the kind of arrogance that cost the BN dearly in the last election. If Protons are good enough for the PM and ministers, they should be more than adequate for the Terengganu exco.

This sort of nonsense has to stop. ( The writer is Gerakan vice-president ).

Angry Citizen:

Do you not fume when the Terengganu MB announced the purchase of Mercedes Benzes as official cars? I am even more infuriated today looking at a picture in the newspapers of a Terengganu official stepping out of his Mercedes Benz.

I am again reminded of why we voted against the BN government on March 8 and have resolved even more that they must not continue in government.

While they preach that the rakyat must change their lifestyles, they continue to live luxuriously, as if the money is theirs.

They forget that the money is the rakyat 's and whatever resources, such as oil and minerals, belong to the rakyat . The BN government is there merely as a caretaker and administrator of such wealth.

If he administrators squander and plunder without second thoughts and shamelessly spend money while the rakyat suffer, then we must teach them for good.

The ACA should also get involved, as Proton has come out to say that the Perdanas, which the state government purchased, have a four year warranty.

Why then have they spent so much money in this four-year warranty period? We want answers.

It is meaningless to tell us to change our lifestyles when petrol, food, electricity and basic needs go up by 20 to 40%, while leaders live in such pompous luxury.

Lim Leong: Terengganu MB Ahmad Said is completely being disingenuous by claiming that Mercedes Benz has a good reliability record and it is cheaper to run in the long run.

I suggest Ahmad Said open his eyes and do just a little research on car reliability. Major consumer organisations in the US ( Consumer Report ) and UK (Which?) maintain a historical database of car reliability going back many years.

Both organisations have consistently rated Mercedes cars among the most unreliable and expensive to maintain in the long run. In fact very few, if any, of Mercedes Benz cars on their recommended list.

In fact the Proton Perdana V6 - being a copy cat of an ancient Mitsubishi design - probably has a better reliability record given its Japanese heritage.

Having said that, Mitsubishi is still no where near Honda or Toyota in terms of reliability.

My point is if Ahmad Said were to come out and say Mercedes Benz is much more prestigious than Proton and politicians deserves prestigious cars, then at least there is some logic behind what he said.

However, please don't use the reason of reliability for wanting to go with Mercedes as there is not an once of truth in what he is saying.

One Malaysia:

JTB: wrote ‘Finally, there is someone out there who dares to call a spade a spade.

The menteri besar of Terengganu spends RM3.34 million on some Mercedes Benzes and everyone gets riled up, accusing him of wasting state funds.'

The writer should realise a Mercedes is not the only car that can be used. Look at the prices of those Mercedes Benzes.

You can buy a Toyota Fort Runner, which is better in terms of utility and ruggedness.

Hey, those councilors need to go to the kampung to see the realities there. So a 4WD makes more sense. A 4WD is also better than a saloon for safety.

Better still, buy an Isuzu D-MAX truck - more utility, and tough. Personally, I don't recommend any Proton products. It is the curse of Malaysian motorists - expensive and of low quality.

The writer said: ‘They are there for the use of the councilors in his state government, and safety is paramount'. This a laughable statement. Princess Diana died in a Mercedes!

Get real. A transport is for what purpose? Remember, many of us pay taxes and not at all are happy to see our hard-earned money wasted!

Chuacj: The Terengganu goverment spent RM175,299.97 and RM132,375.76 to maintain the two Perdanas due to frequent breakdown. Didn't the cars come with warranty?

If theydid, why should they pay for the repair? I suggest the ACA should investigate to find out where the money landed and in whose pocket.

On the same note, Proton should investigate as this has put Proton Perdanas in the bad light.

Else, we should stop buying Perdansa.

On Resident: I can recognise handsome cop

Nafas Baru: The Malaysian police behaved like thugs, beating up the rakyat .

In Malaysia, the rakyat are not safe from the police, which is ironical, given that police are paid by the rakyat to protect the rakyat .

It should have dawned upon the police that they are bashing up unarmed and defenceless people who didn't even retaliate.

It is not a case of excessive force, but an abuse of force which shouldn't have happened.

On Siblings narrate BMC fracas to Suhakam

Very Unsafe Malaysia: This is a very worrying development in Malaysia. If the police are found to be in the wrong, the due punishment must be nothing less than the maximum allowable by law.

They should also be charged with abuse of position and power and criminal breach of trust to the public.

The order to attack must be traced, if possible, to the person responsible and that person should be removed from the police force and be charged as a criminal in court for acting like the mafia.

If the harshest punishment is not given out, then who is to protect the public the next time we see a policeman?

These sort of police are criminals and must be treated as such nothing less. Justice be done.

On DNA mania

Koh CL:

DNA from an individual can be easily extracted from a biological sample (eg, cheek cells will do, rather than blood) of the individual.

DNA typing is then carried out with the DNA sample to create the individual-specific DNA type (or erroneously termed DNA profile or DNA fingerprint) of the individual.

The DNA type of a person will not change with age.

The Chemistry Department in PJ must already have a record of Anwar Ibrahim's DNA type in its DNA database. So why are our PM and his cabinet members playing incompetent DNA scientists?

On Hospital: He was not 'forced' to strip naked

Dr Chris Anthony: Stripping is part of a proper medical examination that was requested by the police. Anwar, as an ordinary citizen, had to comply.

The stripping and the subsequent examination that follows is done with respect for the patient's chastity and dignity.

The question here is not whether Anwar was stripped naked to be examined, but whether the procedure was necessary at that particular time in the first place.

Why the need to rush in for an ‘emergency' medical examination at night on a person suspected of sodomy that is believed to have taken place more than two weeks before?

Medical examinations of those involved in sexual crimes are part of routine police investigations, but they should be carried out professionally and fairly regardless of social status or political ideology.

There should be no interference and influence from outside parties. It would be morally wrong to use medical examinations and procedures for desired political motives.

On Court rejects bid to call Najib as witness

Hermann: It is indeed a shame that the Malaysian judiciary is always siding with the rich and influential like in this case.

When Najib's name crops up now and then, and he is implicated to some extent, it must be squashed at all costs.

Where is the justice (if there is any) in the Malaysian courts? Malaysia is a great country. If only it had better leaders.

Maugham:

I wonder why the courts are funny in that they don't call important witnesses back to answer on new emerging facts in an effort to seek the justice that we are desperately awaiting now.

Mengchai:

If there is no smoke, there will be no fire. It is very evident that someone is behind the rejection, as expected.

Keep on appealing until you get the green light with international pressure.

It appears the foreign diplomats are not too receptive of Syed Hamid's clarification - just obliging and lending their ears to listen - but deep down they known the story behind it.

Wait for the court case against RPK for him to open the box of worms. In 2010, with all these nightmares hanging over him, you think the international community will have confidence in our PM?

On Inflation hits 7.7%, highest in 26 years

SL Lim:

I read with amazement the EPU is giving a grant of RM20 million to property developers to promote their projects overseas.

The developers have been pricing their houses at unbelievable new highs for the past 10 years. A double-storey house now costs more than 200 times a graduate's monthly pay.

With the present economic situation, we had a small hope that they will be forced to cut down their excessive profits and make house ownership a more realistic target for the majority of citizens.

This generous act of the EPU has now dashed our slim hope. The developers now have it doubly good. They have been reaping fantastic profits and now in bad times, they manage to get the government to subsidise them to the detriment of ordinary citizens.

Developers are private businesses and should be responsible for their own business. They should not lobby to be protected.

The government should have been on the side of citizen-consumers. The citizens' money should not be used to support business.

It seems that the government is more interested in keeping developers happy by maintaining the high property prices. They should be more people oriented.

What has happened to the house ownership policy? Does maintaining the high house prices help the country?

This habit of bailing out businesses has got to stop. I call on the cabinet to rescind the EPU's generous act. The RM20 million can be used to better the ordinary Malaysians.

On Non-bumis need more scholarships

Sarjeet Randhawa: Of course the non-bumis need more scholarships. The bumis, in fact, almost all of them get scholarships if they do well. Mara scholarships, along with others.

Sometimes a few scholarships chase a bumiputera who has done well. Not so in the case of non-bumis. Quite a few non-bumis have to chase one scholarship.

I wouldn't be surprised if the ratio 55:45 includes the 9A students in the case of non-bumis. Why can't there be transparency?

The irony is that those who can afford to holiday abroad are given overseas scholarships. Who are they?

Children of corporate figures and multi-millionaires, yet the PSD has the cheek to say 10% of the scholarship qualification marks come from family income.

How would a child feel when those scoring lower get the scholarships? We all know the scholarship interviews are a sham.

It evaporates into thin air and lies set in. It leaves no proof. The standard of the perfect crime. What is our future?

On MCA: Big guns draw up battle lines

A Malaysian Chinese:

The MCA is just not relevant anymore.

It is supposed to represent the Chinese community, but it has very much failed to defend and protect the rights and dignity of the community they're supposed to protect.

Where was Ong Ka Chuan when Khir Toyo makde seditious racist remarks the other day? He loves to take pot shots at DAP, accusing them of joining with PAS, on Islamisation yadda, yadda, yadda.

But when his master wants to make the same pact with PAS, why doesn't he jumps up and accuse Umno of playing the same game?

MCA should be dissolved (like the MIC) because race-based politics is nearing its end and they're still in slumber.

If they have any dignity left, they should resign and follow the footsteps of some of the other MCA leaders who are now going to join Pakatan Rakyat ( I salute them for their bravery and conscience).

With 15 MP seats in hand, MCA should use this to join Pakatan Rakyat and made it easier for Anwar and the PR to take over this country from the clutches of Umno.

On 'Recycled' questions bring on the brickbats

Cheah: Let me add a bit more to Joseph Tan's message regarding the ‘copy cat' issue. Gerakan had all the chance and time to do what the DAP is trying to do now, but they had no courage (to put it nicely).

Trying to put up the road signs now is their childish way of realising their dreams. Frankly, I have not met a Gerakan member yet, and if I do, I will give them a piece of my mind.

On Road signs, road science and road s ighs

DRSS: I beg to disagree on Penang Mandarin signboards being a tourism initiative. Especially when those signboards refer not to the actual street name but to virtually obsolete colloquial names used by the local Penang Chinese.

I was in China recently and was impressed to note that the street signs are both in English and in the Chinese script - something very helpful indeed for tourists.

If our government is serious about making our street signs tourist friendly, perhaps it should make them bilingual - ie in BM and in English.

All signs that is except for the actual street names. After all our street names are in the Roman script and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what Jalan/Lorong mean. (Just like I immediately figured out what rue means when in Paris.)

Shame we can never discuss these practical issues without both sides of the debate hysterically defending their linguistic heritages - as if they were ever under threat.