‘This by-election can be a referendum on how many people believe the sodomy allegation and act as guide on whether the authorities should proceed further on this case.'

On Permatang Pauh's favourite son 'returns'

KB: Obviously, BN is the underdog in the coming Permatang Pauh by-election. BN will need a candidate who can garner a lot of sympathy votes to win.

May I respectfully suggest that Umno field Saiful Bukhari as their candidate?

Here is someone who can cry to the voters that he, a strapping 23-year old youth has been forcibly sodomised by a 61-year-old man with a bad back.

How much more sympathy can you get than that? Another advantage is that this by-election can be a referendum on how many people believe the sodomy allegation and act as guide on whether the authorities should proceed further on this case.

Hakim Omar: Since the by election for the Permatang Pauh will be held soon, I would like to take this opportunity to resurrect the issue of the indelible ink once again.

SPR purchased the ink costing RM2.4 million of the taxpayers' money. Rather than letting it go to waste, we might as well use it for this by-election.

It would be most fitting that this election, which will most likely propel DSAI back into parliament, will make history as the most transparent ever.

I would like Pakatan Rakyat to raise this issue in parliament on behalf of the rakyat .

The rakyat would also like to know what action will be taken against the EC chairperson, the attorney-general and the police chief for misleading the public into believing that there was credible evidence of sabotage, which prompted SPR to cancel the use of the ink.

Being civil servants, their partisan action should not go unpunished.

On 'Pak Lah, why don't YOU take on Anwar?'

Maugham:

In all honesty, as PM and as son of the soil of Pulau Pinang, Abdullah should take on Anwar. Abdullah is Mr Clean and Anwar is a jail-goer, and as such Abdullah has advantage and should be gentleman enough to take the challenge.

Alternatively, Najib should take up the challenge.

Abdullah and Najib have been national leaders, ie, the PM and DPM, serving the people of Malaysia, while Anwar is just a PKR leader. Please take up the challenge, both of you. Can you?

Anson: Our ‘beloved' PM says that they do not fear Anwar? Do you believe this? Not me!

I can tell you, they fear him to death, as you can see by how quickly there was an the announcement of possibly lowering the petrol price in September, just before this by-election. What is this, if not a tactic to buy votes out of fear of losing?

Another loser is Ezam, who also remarked that Anwar is no warrior. So what? He isn't either, in fact I deem him as a traitor.

If I was out of favour from within, for whatever reason, I would just quit and hold steadfast to my principles instead of going back to the party, Umno, I had condemned before.

Let the process takes its due course, instead of the unfounded allegations of sodomy, which, after five weeks, have still not been disclosed to the accused in a police report.

When the federal government changes hand and Anwar is elected as the new PM , things will change, policies will change and the heads in the current train will roll. There should be a clean-up process in many of the corrupted and dirty departments.

All collaborators should be brought to book, and the real justice should take its due course

Jeremy Tankh: I choose to disagree. Pak Lah should be spared from any further politicking in the nation and be made to focus on governing Malaysia, especially on reforming (the judiciary, the police, anti-corruption, etc.) as he promised in 2004, and to straighten the economy as much as he can before his planned stepping down in 2010.

In fact, he should just ignore Anwar (and even Najib and the rest of the Umno gang, since there is obviously no more possible challenges from within Umno for this year's general assembly); totally bulldoze through his wishes of reforming the nation; and leave behind a legacy for himself (instead of a question mark in Malaysian history, along with his name as prime minister).

I would rather suggest Najib take on Anwar in Permatang Pauh. Then, not only it is truly the mother of all by-elections, in fact it would be the first ‘presidential race' in our nation, since the winner would most likely be the next prime minister.

Just as in the case of the US, while Obama and McCain rough it out, George Bush continues to hold down the fort and rule the nation for the sake of all Americans, even though he knows his days are numbered. But we all know that Najib would never risk it.

On Anwar is no warrior, says Ezam

Kenny Gan: Anwar has little choice but to contest in a safe seat. A by-election is a very focused event where the full might of the BN machine and resources will be brought to make sure he does not win.

Faced with a juggernaut of unlimited resources and with all the levers of government under its control, Anwar would be unwise to contest in anywhere but a safe seat.

There are some who accuse him of using a by-election to divert attention from the sodomy allegations. Again, he has little choice but to go for it before he is arrested and held without bail.

To wait for the case to be settled before he makes a move would take years, and he does not have the luxury of time.

Anwar knows he is facing imminent arrest and by taking part in a by-election now, he has astutely thrown the conspirators a curve ball. If they arrest him now, they risk handing him victory on a platter. This is probably why he is still free.

Anwar cannot afford to lose this by-election any more than BN can afford to let him win. If he cannot win a safe seat, his political plans will be seriously derailed. If he wins, he may go all the way to Putrajaya.

An epic battle will be fought on the padi fields of Permatang Pauh. It is a battle for the political future of the country, of Anwar's multiracial politics for the good of all against BN's racially divisive politics for the benefit of a few.

The people of Permatang Pauh will decide the future direction of the country. Never in the field of political conflict has so much been at stake, for so many depending so few.

Dorai Dubai: Mr Ezam, I agree with you that ‘Anwar is no warrior". However, he is a fighter who can question BN government's wrongdoing. If not, who do you think is a warrior - Najib?

Please understand the new terminology of warrior, which is anyone who can speak out and fight for the basic rights of the nation. In this century, we don't carry a sword for a war. We want Anwar and the newly formed Pakatan to throw out the BN government.

Let's start with a new era of building a new Malaysia. In any time, a traitor like you should not be recognised by anyone, even the enemy should avoid a traitor like you.

You are desperate for power. Wait and see on Sept16 - where will you be?

On PM: No one will stop him from running

My View: To me, it was not fair for the PM to say no one will stop Anwar from contesting in a by-election.

In the first place, why select the date of March 8 for 12 ^th general election? You were actually preventing Anwar from contesting, weren't you, Pak Lah?

CG:

The more you try to portrait a negative image of Wan Azizah, the more the rakyat will see how unjust you are.

We have eyes and ears. We know who is Wan Azizah. We know what she has done in fighting for justice.

Pak Lah, I am so sad to have you as our PM.

On Wan Azizah ... the real hero

Norhayati Abdullah: Wan Azizah is indeed a unique role model that the modern Malaysian woman ought to emulate. She is intelligent, steadfast, humble, 'aggressive ' in her own way, as well as a dutiful wife and mother.

She encompasses attributes that make her stand out shining from the rest of the ladies who fought for one cause but lost their balance on the other end.

She, on the other hand, embraces all the characters praiseworthy of true 'modern Islamic lady' identity.

On Saiful blogs about overseas trips

Dorai Dubai: Saiful, a 60-year-old man who has back problems can sodomise you. Don't you think that you would be stronger and tougher than him? As mentioned by you, you have been sodomised several times.

Why didn't you make a police report on the first time, or even make a public statement about your former boss's wrong behaviour?

By keeping quiet, you meant that you agreed to his wishes or you are a guy who liked to join him.

If it's true, why did you need to wait for such a long time? You must be very grateful to have a chance to meet our DPM to reveal such an unlawful event.

I have another theory - that you were planted in Pakatan to make an artificial claim to smear the name of the PM-in-waiting.

On Law yer: Saiful to come out of hiding 'soon'

Concerned Agnostic: My argument on the issue of swearing by the Quran is a very simple one: I believe that only people who have no compunction about lying and cheating will be the first ones to jump at the chance of swearing by the Quran.

After all, if one has already committed a crime (be it murder or lying or cheating) what is the big deal of committing yet another sin by swearing by the Holy Book? Liars will have no scruples about doing this.

I think it is absurd to suggest that people should swear by the Quran to prove their innocence. If that is so, criminals in Malaysia (and all Islamic states) will have a field day - they will get away with murder (literally) since all they need to do is swear their ‘innocence' by the Quran.

I think representatives of the Malaysian government, including former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, should desist from insisting that Anwar should swear his innocence by the Quran. It is bringing down the Quran to the lowly and the profane.

Islam should not get in the way of anybody's political manoeuvring. And if Saiful, Anwar's accuser, swears by the Quran of his alleged sexual assault, I would be ashamed that the Quran had been allowed to be debased by his so-called guardian of morality.

Millionth Citizen: ‘Saiful also entitled to justice in the law' says the PM, commenting on Anwar 's sodomy trial.

But what happened to Altantuya, the boys and girls who have died during national service, those detained and have died in custody, those people detained or are being investigated for telling the government about the wrongs committed by the authorities under the BN government, the people who got beaten up by the police in the Bandar Mahkota Cheras road incident, the Batu Buruk incident in Terengganu, and lots more?

What happened to all these cases? Does our constitution allow selected prosecutions (i.e. prosecutions only when it suits the interested parties)?

Where is the country going from here?

On Missing doctor fails to show up for work

Concerned Citizen: I don't understand, can anyone make it clear? Whatever or whoever implicates a high-ranking minister, it would seem they will be go missing.

Earlier, PI Bala was reported missing and now the Pusrawi doctor is missing. How come?