‘It is appalling that a public figure like Najib should ask the people of Malaysia to ‘respect' politicians, when they are the ones who are the servants of the people.'

On Hindraf-bashing 'politically motivated'

Sree Sudheesh: Najib Abdul Razak has urged Malaysians to respect leaders ‘...as rude behaviour targeted at those in power could lead to economic losses and national instability'.

This is an obvious reference to some Hindraf supporters' decision not to greet the PM, his deputy and his cabinet ministers during the Hari Raya Open House at PWTC. Maybe Najib is already looking forward to his time as the most powerful man in Malaysia and envisaging adoring, doting followers kissing his hand as he walks by imperiously, as if often the case in our country.

It is appalling that a public figure like Najib should ask the people of Malaysia to ‘respect' politicians, when they are the ones who are the servants of the people. Their duty is to serve the rakyat , to take care of the people's concerns and to ensure this country develops and fulfils its inherent potential.

And yet we have people like Najib who seem to forget that the only reason they are in those chairs today is because of us. Malaysians respect and honour the royalty, our Agong and the Malay Rulers.

We do not have to bend over and kiss the feet of corrupt politicians who are often implicated in scandals, corruption and even murder cases.

The signs from Najib, who is on the brink of becoming the country's next PM, are ominous. Here is a person who is more concerned about the people being subservient to him than in honestly and sincerely serving the people, the rakyat .

Dear PM-to-be, please change your attitude now or you will face even more opposition from the rakyat than your predecessor ever dreamed of.

Please be a servant of the people, worthy of the honour of the chair of PM - the highest servant in Malaysia.

On PM not contesting, to quit in March

Cetepe:

With the PM having decided to vacate by next march, an unhappy chapter in the country's management will come to an end.

The unfortunate episode of having elevated to the premiership a man who is of good character but clearly unsuitable for the job glaringly showed us that the country cannot afford to place just any man at the helm.

We need a man who has the ability to guide the country through a new world that is full of different challenges. We cannot afford to waste any more time here at the bottom of the well doing unproductive and non-progressive things, totally disregarding the demands and changes in the country and in the world.

Being nice is not good enough. To hold the helm and lead the country, the man must be of reasonably high leadership quality, be of worldly knowledge; visionary; fair and reasonable; open and clear minded; be firm and able to grasp issues and act fast and decisively. He must also be of good moral standing and integrity.

The country's future must come first before individual interests. Let's hope all politicians will soul-search themselves before any contemplation. Let the most capable man helm, not because one is there by default.

KS Kok:

It is gratifying to note that Pak Lah had promised to revamp the Public Complaints Bureau under a Special Complaints Commission Act before he officially retires.

It is common knowledge that the present Public Complaints Bureau under the Prime Minister's Department has no special enforcement powers, literally speaking a ‘tiger without teeth'.

To enable the Public Complaints Bureau to function effectively, it should be placed under the Public Services Commission whereby government servants' performance will be closely monitored for promotion, increment, transfer or dismissal.

We are an educational institution approved by the higher education ministry. In January 2008, we applied for a signboard licence with the Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya. For the past nine (9) months, our application was put on hold and we could not launch our project with a proper signboard.

We made an official complaint to Public Complaints Bureau in May 2008 but no enforcement action can be taken against MPSJ. To-date, we are still unable to obtain approval for our signboard licence, as a result of which we incurred heavy losses.

We firmly believe that there are many cases of abuse of power by officers at the local authorities.

Therefore, a Special Complaints Commission Act proposed by Pak Lah is urgently needed to address the many grievances and complaints by consumers, the business sector and the general

public as a whole.

Ahmad Shahir Abdul Aziz:

Pak Lah has decided to step down from his post and is willing to withdraw from the Umno contest on March 2009. In my opinion, he took a responsible decision by acknowledging the people's will of the last general election.

Even though he gained massive support in the 2004 general election, he took it for granted and failed to perform very well particularly on how to solve people's woes with regards to the fuel price increases.

Malaysians voters, regardless of race and religion, finally had no choice but to swing their votes and support the opposition parties.

Meanwhile, how about Najib? Do you think that he is the best replacement of Pak Lah as prime minister and Umno president? I don't think so. In fact, he should also take responsibility for what had happened in the last general election.

For me, if Umno really wants to regain the people's trust, they have to elect Muhyiddin Yassin to replace Pak Lah as he is quite clean and better then Najib.

Actually, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is also a leader who has a good reputation to guide Umno but he is quite irrelevant and too much a veteran in the competition.

For Umno's deputy president post, in my view, it should be given to the ‘reform leaders either Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or Shahrir Samad.

Whatever decisions made, it will be up to the Umno delegates. The power is in your hands, just change it if you are really want to reform Umno.

On Najib for No 1, Mat Taib for No 2

Timo Finian: Will someone please tell me this is a bad dream. Mat Taib for No.2? Tell me it's a joke. Someone up there must definitely have a warped sense of humour.

You mean this guy with a smattering of the English language? The same guy who married a sultan's daughter then called it quits when the sultan came after him?

The very guy caught for carrying large amounts of currency through Australian customs? (Okay, so he was acquitted. Big deal).

Isn't he the same guy who needed interpreters when answering charges in an Australian criminal court?

Have we come this far only to put up with a DPM (if elected) who's been considered a political has-been? Will he be needing an army of interpreters when dealing with foreign correspondents and dignitaries? The butt of jokes when Aussie dignitaries come a-calling?

In retrospect, he'd be the perfect face for Umno when the party is relegated to the opposition bench when the curtains come down on BN.

Densemy: There is a term that often comes to mind when contemplating Umno politics - ‘Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic'.

Dian Abdullah:

Now everyone is rushing for the Umno number two post. Why bother when you already know the outcome? Muhyiddin will win the number two hands down.

Now we will see who is more powerful and strong - Rosmah or Mahathir. It would be interesting for once to see these two fight it out in the ring. My money is on Rosmah. This woman will thrash Mahathir.

Rosmah will run this country like her own household and poor Najib who has to take orders from both Rosmah and Mahathir must remain docile and obedient to them as he has too many secrets in the closet.

But will the premiership go to Najib? Don't be too sure as yet.

On Nothing 'unethical' about Anwar's 916 plan

Meng: If we feared the Khairy and Pak Lah team, I think we will see worse in the Rosmah and Najib team.

For those of us who live in areas which have BN MPs; please consider uniting to petition your BN MPs to crossover to Pakatan thereby saving Malaysia from the brink of economic and social collapse.

While many have said that Anwar's crossovers were unethical, the rakyat who elected the MPs have every right to speak in unison that they want their MPs to crossover or submit to a vote of no-confidence in Parliament.

We must walk up to these BN MPs at public venues, send SMSes and e-mails and visit their offices to let them know how we, the rakyat , feel.

BN is beyond repair. Look at the component parties. A generation of leaders have been raised in the last 20 years who have no clue about the rakyat 's welfare. Many have been too busy enriching themselves.

No doubt there are honest and upright MPs and leaders still in BN and they must be nudged to be bold and to end race-based politics once and for all. Let's start the campaign now - petition your BN MP to jump!

On Group lays bare palm oil claims in report

Li Wenjie:

The palm oil industry is not a green industry. Besides the clearing of forest land and burning of peat, the effluents from crude palm oil mills are up 50 times that recommended by WHO for BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) content.

The burning of EFPs (Empty Fruit Bunches) for the boilers of the CPO mills contributes to greenhouse gases emissions. Therefore Malaysia should not put all the blame for the haze problem on Indonesia.

Palm oil plantations also destabilise the environment by disturbing both the native flora and fauna.

Malaysia should look to other plants for edible oils of the future. After years of denial by the palm oil lobby that palm oil is not high in cholesterol, it is now accepted that it is. It is contributing to heart diseases and obesity.