‘He claims that ‘to rule out' sodomy does not mean anything. I have been pondering the meaning of his statement but still come to the conclusion that it simply means sodomy did not take place.'
Peter Ooi: Dr Ismail Merican has suddenly become English specialist just as Pak Lah had turned DNA specialist.
Ismail claimed that to rule out sodomy did not mean anything. I have been pondering over the meaning of his statement for about 10 minutes but still come to the conclusion that it simply meant sodomy did not take place.
With my limited understanding of English, I decided to ring up my English specialist teacher with a degree in English Language. He, too, gave the same answer too but with different wording.
To confirm that both of us are correct, I referred to the online dictionary which states that ‘to rule out' means to prove to be unrelated or not for consideration; eliminate; exclude.
Based on the meaning , I take it from there that when Dr Mohd Osman ruled out sodomy, it meant that he had excluded or eliminated sodomy had taken place.
Maybe Ismail Merican is much more proficient in the language and thereby should elaborate further on the meaning of ‘to rule out'.
On 'Najib, remember Port Dickson?' Free To Swear: I'm sure all Malaysians are rather annoyed with the many swearing on the Holy Book recently, so much so that it has become an up and coming trend in the country. First, you have Saiful and now, Najib.
But then, all of them have one thing in common - they are all swearing on matters that we Malaysians do not want to know about. These are red herrings, and they intentionally deviate from the truth, which is what we all want to know.
For example, in the case of Saiful, we Malaysians want to know if sodomy has actually been committed as per what he claimed. Why didn't he swear that he did it knowingly and willingly with his partner?
If not, why didn't he swear that he was abused and that force was used? This was totally ignored in his swearing on the Holy Book.
We Malaysians can't comprehend that Saiful just laid down and let someone sodomise him without physically rejecting the advances and, after the event, putting on his pants and swearing that he was sodomised!
As for Najib, why didn't he swear that he did not benefit financially, either directly nor indirectly via his cronies, since he became a minister?
In the minds of all Malaysians, these issues are more important and pertinent for the above individuals to swear than on irrelevant and petty matters.
Since swearing on the Holy Book is the latest Malaysian trend, the prime minister should have made it mandatory under law that all civil servants swear on the Holy Book every morning, before they start work, that they will not participate in any corrupt activities.
This would substantially reduce corruption and bribery in this country. PF: Along the lines of Martin Luther King, Gandhi, etc, DSAI, has proven without doubt that he is also championing the cause of ‘democracy' in its true literal meaning.
Unlike the present regime which has become so obsesssively corrupt that they have become blind to the truth.
Swearing in the name of God regardless of your religion is taking God's name in vain.
As a practising Catholic of the Roman Catholic faith, I have always respected every race, colour and creed. I strongly believe that as mere humans, we do not have the right to swear in God's name.
Adcin: Our DPM Najib has a big problem in convincing Malaysians that he has nothing to do with the murdered Mongolian Altantunya - and he knows it.
He also knows that this is the major single factor stopping him from becoming the next PM.
Unlike Saiful's case, where most Malaysians do not believe Anwar did it, the opposite can be said of Najib's involvement with the murder case. His claims and protests of innocence have fallen mainly on deaf ears.
He has a huge credibility problem, and so what does he do? He goes to a mosque and swears.
He was, however, quick to add that his actions did not amount to an ‘official swearing ceremony' and that it was a personal matter between him and God.
I am not too sure whether there is an unofficial way to swear, but if it was a personal matter with God, then what was the need to swear in public? And as we all know, he is not on trial for the murder.
Come on Najib, obviously its more of a personal matter between you and the Malaysian public. Unashamedly, however, you have chosen to use Islam as a tool to further your political aspirations and win over public opinion.
That may fly with some, but the majority will see it as it is - a naked, last-ditch attempt by a desperate, politically bankrupt leader whose credibility has been shot and will soon become irrelevant.
On Cops raid RPK's house over doc's SD A Very Sad Malaysian: How low can they go, the Putrajaya mob? Do they not realise that the more dirty tactics they use, the more negative feelings they will create against themselves?
Do they really think the rakyat are shallow enough to be cowed by their bully-boy tactics and succumb to their terrorism?
It is about time that the 'bribe givers', 'bribe-eaters' and managers of the terrorist regime be brought to their knees and to justice for their non-democratic practices and for not following the rules of law for everyone.
Let the PKR government rule and bring sanity to this lovely country of ours. Save the rakyat from the greedy, self-centred, half-gila politicians who are running the country.
Merdeka numbor dua for Malaysia!
Peter Ooi: I am disappointed once again with the police raid on Raja Petra for the action by the latter that was purportedly not favourable to the powers-that-be.
Whenever any report that does not favour the powers-that-be is made, investigations are on the originators of it.
I believe that the police now suspect that Raja Petra must be the brains behind the statutory declaration.
Again, the police have failed the public. Instead of finding the doctor to personally verify the truth, they go about witch-hunting. And the doctor has not been heard of since.
How is the public ever going to have confidence in the police? As for me, I have none at all.
Benjamin Tan: It was reported that the teacher who allegedly uttered racial slurs against a group of Indian students in Banting, Selangor will be transferred out of state next week.
Apparently she was initially transferred to another school that happened to be near her home (which certain quarters deemed it as a promotion), the reason for such a move citing safety concerns rather than punishment meted out against her.
The authorities who made such an arrangement initially should also be punished because their actions seemed to be condoning, rather than correcting, the incident.
I hereby condemn both the teacher and the authorities who made the initial ‘promotion' to this teacher, and suggest that these people be sacked for the good of the nation.
Clearly, these people - who are supposed to be at the forefront in promoting national unity - have taken a step backwards by promoting ‘anger and distress' among Malaysians, especially minorities.
Since these people (teacher, authorities) do not have values, it would be for the nation's sake that they were sacked immediately.
Lum Weng Keong: The Education Bureau of Gerakan Selangor expresses disappointment and anger over the slow action by the ministry of education on the teacher that has been bombarding Indian students in school with racist insults and derogatory remarks.
Action must be taken quickly to show the people that the BN government means business when it says that national unity is of paramount importance for the country to progress.
It is meaningless for the government to spend so many resources setting up a department of national unity and the National Service programme if such outright cases cannot be dealt with efficiently and adequately.
The government must not take such issues lightly, as we have received similar reports of unfair treatment of non-Malay students in government secondary schools, especially where non-Malay students form a minority group.
In the long term, this is not a solution if the country is serious about promoting Bangsa Malaysia and Malaysian patriotism. (The writer is chairperson of Gerkan Selangor.) Peter Ooi: I simply cannot understand how the authorities concerned can stand by and let the issue drag on. The Minister of Education Hishamuddin was so silent on this issue, whereas the authorities should have come down hard on the teacher concerned.
Please do not say that the teacher has been issued a stern warning and deem that the problem was closed and solved.
This is the standard solution of issuing warnings that reflects poor leadership from the minister concerned.
If they were not aware of such fundamental requirements, they are not fit - I repeat, not fit - to be teachers. They should be sacked outright with any benefits.
Giving warnings is outdated, and the public is fed up with this standard practice.
Falconeye: I respect the author's opinions. However, has the author ever considered whether the economic and social status of the poor bumiputera have been raised through the affirmative policies?
He/she has not touched on this issue. No continued bumiputera affirmative policy is ever going to raise the economic well-being of the poor bumiputera, as seen in the many years of waste of the country's resources to fund and finance bumiputera-centric affirmative policies.
What is wrong, then, about the affirmative policy? It has resulted in a complacent attitude amongst the bumiputera that the government will forever be protecting them as they are the majority.
On Tunku Aziz joins DAP, appointed party vice-chair A True Malaysian: Irrespective of what other people say, I have always regarded DAP as a multiracial party and, most importantly, a party that doesn't mix religion with politics.
I believe many Malays, who are also Muslims by definition, are of the same opinion that Islam should not be mixed up with politics, and that that is the reason why we have seen Tunku Abdul Aziz deciding to join DAP, though he has not expressly said so for obvious reasons.
I wish to see more Malays, especially the technocrats and professionals, join DAP.
On Stop dishing out datukship to kids XXX:, I would just like to point out that no fuss was made when Siti Nurhaliza was made a Datuk two years ago when she was only a year older than what Lee Chong Wei is right now.
And honestly, who has made Malaysia prouder on the international scene, our two most talented sports people or a singer who makes money by singing? Nimalan D: Since when did age matter when bestowing titles? Nicol David and Lee Chong Wei are the pride of Malaysia - they put us on the map in sporting terms. They should definitely be honoured for their achievements.
Just because previous legendary sports people have not been rewarded does not mean we should keep repeating our mistakes.
If our spaceman can be made a Datuk because he was just a mere passenger on a Russian spaceship, it is even more clear that the two great sports people above should be honoured for their continuous achievements for which they actually worked hard, as opposed to just sitting on a spaceship. What's so great about that?
Now, winning continuous titles in your respective field, that's something great. Regardless of their ages, Lee Chong Wei and Nicol David fully deserve their titles, as opposed to Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.
On a side note, when are M Magendran and N Mohandass going to be awarded Datukships?
If being a passenger on a Russian spaceship earns you one, then surely climbing to the peak of Mount Everest more than deserves it, especially as it's been about ten years since they've achieved that amazing feat.
Why the discrimination? One Malaysia: Let's look at the US - the Americans truly believe that no person is above the next person.
All of these titles create classes of people, and what normally happens in Malaysia, the worst crimes - like swindling rakyat's money - are committed by Datuks and Tan Sris.
This artificiality and vanity only irk the common people. This practice of awarding titles was carried over from the colonial days. After Merdeka, the practice is continued by Umno under the Ketuanan Melayu agenda.
Even those opposing Ketuanan Melayu and feudalism see the economic value of carrying titles.
I smell hypocrisy and greed. Prophet Muhamad did not put this sort of practise in Islam, yet we Muslims in Malaysia foolishly adopt this foreign idea.
The Americans are smart - they gave two fingers to the British over this matter. Even today, it is illegal for an American to carry an honorific title.
This is the extent of their abhorrence to this unintelligent artificiality.
CH Ong: The footnote said ‘Francis Paul Siah has a ‘personal' problem - he feels it's very awkward and rude too to call someone younger than him 'Grandpa'.'
I am sure he would feel even more awkward and rude if he had to address an under-25 year old woman as 'grandpa'.
On Perak excos charged Law Abiding Citizen: Just when I thought I had seen and heard everything, I now read that the PKR reps in Perak are suing the ACA for false arrest and detention.
This is after they where charged in court!
What is PKR going to do next , please tell me? As I see it there is already probably tens of cases in the courts related to PKR.
Sue here, sue there, what is going on? Do their reps have nothing else to do?
Christopher K Birch: It has been good for all Malaysian Avril fans to know that the concert will go on. Kudos to the those who not only have sense, but also gave the green light for the August 29 gig to happen.
A friend of mine in England wondered how could Avril Lavigne be considered ‘indecent' or ‘a bad influence' to the point of being banned.
She said that Lavigne is one of the few female artists who truly uses her voice and talent rather than relying on her looks or dance moves.
That the Canadian star's concert was given the green light for August 29 shows that there is still a ray of hope for talented foreign acts from different musical genres to perform on Malaysian soil in the future.
I hope this incident will not repeat itself again, otherwise it will only drive away good foreign acts from us and force them to perform in other places in Asia.
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‘He claims that ‘to rule out' sodomy does not mean anything. I have been pondering the meaning of his statement but still come to the conclusion that it simply means sodomy did not take place.'
