On Abdul Razak Baginda acquitted
Jasper: I find it unbelievable that the court can acquit Razak Baginda. The Malaysian justice system is a joke.
BJ Fernandez: This is a case whereby the whole world is watching us. Now that Abdul Razak Baginda has been acquitted, I assume he cannot be charged again and the only avenue is for the prosecution to appeal this decision.
Whether he is innocent or guilty, the man in the street can’t help but come to a conclusion that the elite, with the proper connections, can get away with anything
Mark Wong: What a joke and an expected one too. Your Malaysian justice system. I rest my case.
Dian Abdullah: Yes, the verdict was expected. Who would dare challenge’s Najib’s right-hand man? He or she might disappear like Balasubramaniam too.
But I truly believe the real evidence will eventually come out in the open jeopardising Najib’s premiership.
So now it is up to God and the late Altantuya to prick the conscience of those involved for life and for us to pray for justice to be done.
Jesmine: I was shocked when I heard of the acquittal and following suit was my sadness for Altantuya's father Setev Shaariibuu.
There must be a terrible pain in his heart for failing yet again to find justice for what had happened to Altantuya.
How can the only person who knew Altantuya in Malaysia, Razak Baginda, be acquitted? Wonder if it has to do with him being a close associate of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak?
Is it because too much might be revealed if Razak testifies? And is this also the reason why top blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been detained since last month under ISA?
On PKNS - 'Get the best person for the job'
RRN: It is really saddens me to read all the negative comments regarding the PKNS acting general manager's appointment.
Almost 98% of the top government jobs in this country are filled by the bumiputera. Is it too much for the non-bumi to ask for some of the top posts for which they are qualified?
I believe that Umno will only learn their lesson when they are stripped of their power.
John Johnson: I must say all this hue and cry is baseless. For any company to succeed, it must have a capable MD or CEO. Take Ananda Krishnan for instance or Tony Fernandes and the late Lim Goh Tong.
From what I see, they worked hard and overcame all obstacles. Some of these obstacle were even created by the government. But when these people’s companies started to make big money, guess who jumped aboard?
Right you are, the Umno cronies. Where is the ordinary hardworking rakyat in this picture? Syabas to the government.
Look at our transportation woes. Look at the flood issues. Look at the traffic jams. Look at the illegals being given citizenship.
These issues will never be solved until we have capable leaders and in choosing them we should not be bound by racial discrimination, religious backgrounds or the colour of our skin.
Free Reader: Why compare Low's appointment to Nissan’s employment of a Brazilian as its CEO?
I believe the Malays won't have a problem with a Brazilian as he or she won't have a preference over the race as a Chinese has in Malaysia.
We can see a trend that a Chinese employer will most likely employ Chinese employees as opposed to Malay employees and vice-versa, and that is what the Malays fear.
On Zaid: Ketuanan Melayu has failed
Mohan: Dear Datuk Zaid, what a great letter. I wish you were the prime minister.
As for me, I don’t think I will be staying in Malaysia too long as nothing that you mentioned in your letter will be happening any time soon. Thank you
On Justice Chin to resign on Dec 1
Fade2Grey: With regards to Mahathir alleging that the boot camp was in fact 'just' a Tata Negara Work Camp (BTN Camp), has anyone checked what happens in a BTN camp?
Ask anyone who's been in one. It is a big boot camp of which the sole purpose is to brainwash people. When one is registered, your phones and potential recording devices are confiscated under the guise of the BTN camp being part of the OSA.
Then the brainwashing commences (with racist taunts and ethnic warmongering among other things) with no one being able to record evidence.
Not many people dare to come out as witnesses for fear of losing their jobs/scholarships. It isn't surprising that someone such as Justice Chin would elect to expose this ‘boot camp’ farce.
On Wrong Eurocopter price now 'academic'
Boey KS: People are concerned over this Eurocopter deal as it represents billions but now we are told the figures are just ' academic'? Our concern is whether academic or not, these figures have to be paid by the people and these are not small amounts!
Nobody will grudge if this multi-billion amount is well-spent and there is value benefitted but this is doubtful going by past cases where money spent for military purchases included huge commissions for third parties.
Until today, we have very little information on what value, services and benefits we are getting for the billions we spend on our arms procurement.
Coming back to the Eurocopter deal, why was the figure RM2.3 billion quoted? We read of helicopters of similar capability costing less than RM1 billion. There must be reasons to justify the higher cost.
Since this issue is ‘academic’ now, perhaps the government is willing to reveal the correspondences, reports etc showing the due diligence that had been done and that there was no hanky-panky.
On Soi Lek's comeback 'too soon' after sex scandal?
YD Yang: Aside from their well-known hospitality, Malaysians are well known for their tendency to forgive and forget past misdeeds. The notion time heals, however, doesn't bite in the case of disgraced leader Dr Chua Soi Lek.
The reality is that Malaysians are not so forgiving as the MCA central delegates that voted Chua back into power within the party.
I fail to fathom how a mere 1,000-odd vote for Chua can be translated to mean that a majority of the 26 million Malaysians have forgiven him.
Many view Chua's background as the 'ying' of the MCA that runs counter to the positive 'yang' that president Ong Tee Keat and the other team members in the party are trying to project.
Chua's apparent unpopularity doesn't just cut across races but age as well as polls indicate. There is a yawning gap between the perception of the public and the decision of MCA central delegates that voted Chua into power.
This may thwart Chua's attempt to gain a foothold in the cabinet. It's one thing to buy into the confidence of 1,400-odd delegates but it is another to regain the trust and forgiveness of the majority of Malaysians.
On PRS: Umno is a bully, so is PBB
P Sritharan: Lately, several ruling coalition parties have been accusing openly that Umno and PBB have been and are bullies. If you ask me, if a party controls more than 50 percent of any assembly or parliament will obviously have an upper hand over the others.
In matters related to the passing of a bill or a resolution (where a simple majority is required), Umno could succeed even if all the other coalition parties’ MPs opposed it.
So, anybody in that capacity would automatically show their dominance and ‘power’. If they do not do so, then they are not a prudent political party. This should not be taken to mean ‘being a bully’.
It should be assumed as a ‘big brother and small brother’ relationship. The ‘big brother’ guides the ‘small brother’ and at times (not always) it needs to use pressure if the ‘small brother’ does anything wrong or unwarranted.
What is intolerable is that sometimes the ‘big brother’ goes one level higher than dominance and becomes a bully. This might happen with or without the knowledge of the ‘big brother’. This then might strain the relationship.
The same applies to the parties in the ruling coalition. While Umno is, of course, the dominant party, most of its seniior and middle-level leaders are aware when to draw the line.
However, from what I read and hear, this is not the case when it comes to grassroots leaders. It is these who need to be oriented and reformed.
In order to become a developed nation by 2020, what we need are united citizens. Above all, we need to have mutual trust and respect regardless of our racial background.
On PAS Youth warns MCA not to harp on NEP
Frustrated Malaysian: Why are they afraid of the abolishing of the NEP? It is year 2008 now, people. Where is the competitive spirit? This spoon feeding should stop and everyone should earn on merit.
This has been going on too long and many of the recipients are so dependant on the ‘crutches’ they are not competitive anymore. They only rely on government projects and there are so many Ali Baba businesses.
One particular crony gets a mega-job, he passes it on to his good friend, that guy passes it to the Chinese contractor. So the crony makes money for doing nothing while the best friend makes10%.
So if we look at it, the NEP actually benefits only a certain group - those who have good connections while the actual poor Malays get nothing.
Please my Malay brothers, let’s change the system and help all the deserving be they Malay, Chinese or Indian or the others in all fields.
On Gov't cuts petrol, diesel prices by another 15 sen
Concerned Citizen: I'm very pleased to hear that petrol and diesel price are down, it is certainly a good news for Malaysians.
But now that fuel prices are down, I don’t hear of prices being reduced for consumer products pharmaceuticals.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad should deal with this. There is no point in reducing fuel prices but consumers still have to pay high prices for daily products and medicines.
What about the bus and taxi fares? What about transport companies, have they reduced their transport fees? I think the minister will have to talk to these companies, asking them to reduce their prices.
On Food vendor wins biggest lottery payout
Goh Soon Leng: The people are suffering and it is high time the government take action to stop number forecast companies (Magnum 4-D, Sports Toto, Da Ma Cai) from having special draws.
Three times a week is already too much, so why increase the number of draws with special draws? Do you want the people to gamble away their hard-earned money in spite of the high cost of living?
When their money is gone due to punting, they then borrow money from the banks, loan sharks etc and in the end, they and their families all suffer.
Come on, don't tell me these number forecast companies and the government are not at fault. If there are no lotteries or special draws, people won't be able to punt or bet.
Likewise, if there are no drugs on the streets, there won't be any buyers. The root source must be terminated to prevent the outspread of any disease.
On Why no Datuk-ship for Yogi B?
Phoenix: Firstly, I would like to make myself clear to everyone that I do not think that a Datuk-ship should have been conferred onto Bollywood actor, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK).
But reading the above letter, I think the writer’s conclusion is so shallow in that the he or she has used religions and blamed the majority of Malays for SRK getting a Datuk-ship.
I do not watch Hindi movies nor am I an SRK fan and this has got nothing to do with whether or not he is of the same religion as I am.
The writer is so trapped in his or her own Tamil-centric world. Mind you the actors/actresses from that Tamil state in India he mentions do not carry weight and have no commercial value internationally. And not locally either.
Look around you and try asking them whether non-Malaysian Tamils are familiar with those names.
Try the same with SRK and to your disbelief the other prominent race in the country plus your ‘largest ethnic race’ in Malaysia will easily recognise him. Open up and get a life!
