‘I am certainly very surprised that 'liquid in the lungs' can be listed as the cause of death of a police detainee. Any self- respecting doctor will not put up with such rubbish.'

On Cops to quiz deputy ministers over morgue barging

Worried Malaysian: ‘Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said today that the post-mortem results showed that Kugan Ananthan died because of 'liquid in his lungs'.'

I am certainly very surprised that 'liquid in the lungs' can be listed as a cause of death. Any self- respecting doctor will not put up with such rubbish.

The 'liquid in the lungs' is a probably a finding. When a person drowns, there is 'liquid in the lungs' but the doctor will not put that as a cause of death.

If the doctor finds 'liquid in the lungs' in this case, he has to probe further to find the cause of the 'liquid in the lungs'.

As the youth was not found in the sea or river, drowning can be ruled out. Was water forced into his lungs? What about the bruises and lacerations found all over his body? Did the doctor comment on those injuries?

The Selangor police chief's statement actually raises more questions on the cause of death.

Milton Yap: It looks like there is something is so terribly wrong that the police are trying desperately to cover-up. Like they say, it must be that they must have something on their hands and it is stinking.

Why are they so afraid of the family of the deceased gaining access to his body? After all, it is only a corpse and a corpse cannot talk.

Why would the police not volunteer to have an independent party perform the autopsy?

If they have done nothing wrong, what is there to hide? If the police were not responsible for his demise, there is nothing to fear.

The police are supposed to protect the people. But who is to protect the people from the police?

We need a very good explanation from our IGP. I wonder what our PM and our home minister have to say about this.

Are were turning into a police state?

Rajakumar Thiyagarajan: Even if the victim had committed a crime certainly it does not merit his death.

It is not as if he had committed murder or dealt with drugs. If he had been sentenced by a court it would have been only jail term and a fine but to lose his life like this?

Our PDRM is now the judge, jury and and executioner. Until when are we going to tolerate this?

And to the government - stop preaching to the world about the atrocities in Palestine. Watch your own back yard first for we have an ‘Abu Ghraib’ here.

On Horror flight: MAS regrets incident

Fathima Idris: I find John Low’s explanation on MAS’s handling of its bigoted passenger a total cop-out.

The passenger’s behaviour was intolerable.

It is not enough to say that it is ‘unfortunate’, ‘kept a close watch’ and ‘only allowed to leave the airplane after all the other passengers’.

I would have thought that MAS would have immediately handed him to the police and lodged a police report for breach of peace and for threatening and insulting behaviour.

Besides this, the awful character should be banned from travelling on any of MAS’ flights.

However, in fairness, I think it was probably right of the cabin crew not to have tried to reseat him as dealing with such a character might have exacerbated the situation.

After this, MAS should come up with effective and tough measures in dealing with such situations. There is no place for being shell-shocked and meek and letting a bully off scot-free.

Kimren: The details provided by MAS do not tally with those provided by the victim.

According to MAS, ‘They are currently in discussions with her to reach a mutually agreeable solution' and claim to have ‘provided service recovery beyond the norm'.

Why was no action taken against the culprit for the use of threats and vulgar language? Why was victim kept in the airplane's pantry area?

Why was there non-removal of the passenger from the plane for being a physical threat?

Any airline would remove any passenger if he or she was threat to the safety of other passengers. Was this made known to the authorities at KL or Karachi?

Come on MAS, do not try to hoodwink us over your crew's ineffectiveness. That passneger could have been violent to other Hindus who were on board.

Why was their safety compromised? As stated by the victim, the bully got off like a normal passenger.

I now fear to travel on MAS should there be another bully on the plane with crew not knowing what to do. Anyone's life could be in jeopardy.

It is a sad day for Malaysia and MAS when such things could happen with no action being taken against such bullies.

Marion Tharsis : MAS’ explanation about the traumatic experience faced by the woman passenger is seen to be a cover-up of its own failures and incompetency.

From the woman's account of this incident, it seems this bigot was very aggressive and boisterous. His unsound behaviour could have easily led to someone being seriously hurt or even killed and all the cabin crew did was to leave him freely seated.

This person could have easily moved around to further torment and even hurt the poor, helpless and defenceless woman or any other passenger he felt like attacking.

Normally in situations like this, the captain is alerted and he will personally take charge and supervise how the matter is handled. However, there is no mention for why the pilot was conspicuously missing.

I am sure this incident will now deter air travellers from patronising MAS. It may seem as an isolated case but nevertheless a very dangerous one.

I hope MAS has learnt a good lesson and bucks up. It is time they had an air marshall on board like other airlines.

On Corruption report lodged against S'gor MB

Kenny Gan: If this is the so-called ‘dirt' that Gerak can dig up, I suggest they stop wasting their time. Gerak should concentrate on cases of real corruption or disband itself.

Otherwise it may become a vehicle to serve BN to dig up irregularities on opposition politicians while turning a blind eye to real cases of multi-million ringgit corruption among BN politicians.

May I ask Gerak to investigate whether the prime minister's open house was paid for by the PM himself? How is this different from this Selangor MB's case?

CH Siew: I am now finding the behaviour of BN to be more ridiculous than ever. Are they that desperate to sabotage Pakatan Rakyat?

In this case involving the current MB of Selangor, the cattle were donated by companies to the rakyat. If MB was the one who distributed the meat to the people, it does not constitute corruption at all.

Unless, of course, our MB took some of the cattle home and put them in his garden.

If Gerakan is so enthusiastic in curbing corruption, they should look at BN, which has a good number of ‘candidates' around.

I would suggest they start with the previous Selangor MB Khir Mohd Toyo.

G-man: This is a classic case of not knowing where the priorities lie and Gerak chairperson, Mohd Nazree Mohd Yunus is one prime example of someone who has got it all wrong.

Instead of looking at bigger cases of bribery and corruption in the country, he chooses to initiate action against a politician who used state funds to help the poor.

Seriously now Nazree, I don't think you deserve your position which is best handled by someone who can see the bigger picture and bring the real culprits to book.

It's painfully obvious where you get your instructions from and if this keeps up, Gerak, too, is going to lose its credibility in the eyes of the public.

The same goes for our anti-corruption agency, which seems bent on bringing to book those who took a few hundred ringgit in bribes as compared to those who plundered millions from the country's coffers.

On Ministry to probe Herald's use of 'Allah' despite ban

John Johnson: Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew said this week's edition uses the banned word and that he intends to continue doing so until the courts rule on the issue next month.

Now let's look at this from the legal perspective. One is proven guilty only after the courts decide. In the same way, there is no law that prevents this publication from using the word ‘Allah' as a case on this matter is still pending in the courts.

For the minister to say that one is trying to challenge the issue and show ‘strength' is uncalled for. What is there to show strength when it is clearly a court case that is still pending?

As there is no verdict issued yet by th courts who does this minister think he is when he says it is a government decision?

We all know the government is of the people by the people and for the people but one can see that this government is biased and corrupt.

Do not mix politics with religion. I for one believe that Malaysia is a secular and not an Islamic country.

MH Choy: The Bible is recognised in the Quran. Are we not speaking of the same God?

Many of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are Christians. They also happen to be educated in Bahasa Malaysia and worship using the term ‘Allah'.

Now, suddenly, by a political decree, they find their God has to be addressed by another term. What a cruel twist of fate (or faith?)

Incidently, our political and religious leaders could do more by using use the word ‘respect' more frequently instead of ‘tolerant'.

This would require a change in their outlook and attitude. Are we, the ordinary citizens, asking for too much?

On And Obama spoke about Malaysia...

Munti Dann:

Obama's remark on Malaysia's less-than-desirable human rights standard is neither new nor alarming.

Former US vice-president Al Gore made a similar, astonishing insinuation during an international conference in KL about a decade ago.

He incurred the wrath of the then prime minister who went all out to defend the infamous ISA.

Instead of keeping silent to reflect on the matter, our former leader chose to incessantly bombard the West for poking their noses into the nation's internal affairs.

But why has our country been singled out when there are a good number of others having a despicable (or worse) human rights record?

I believe the main reason is because our political leaders have always (and arrogantly so) claimed that Malaysia to be a fully democratic country.

In the eyes of the West, the cardinal principle of democracy is to uphold all human rights (never mind if the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay continue to be harshly exploited).

For the sake of a better tomorrow, it is never too late for our politicians from all parties to think about this seriously. They ought to.

Vlazern: When the US government expressed concerns over the oppressive use of the ISA in Malaysia, our government, in particular our home minister, was only too quick to point out Guantanamo prison and similar US detention-without-trial practices.

President Obama has now ordered all military trials in Guantanamo to be put on hold, with the possibility of shutting down the facility altogether.

I can only wonder what will our home minister say now if the US government was to comment on the ISA again.

I believe Malaysia is the only country in the world whose leaders benchmark their economic performance by comparing us with poorer, less developed nations.

This is the only country where leaders can say things like ‘Our economy is better than Mauritania's' and ‘Our economic transparency is better than Togo's'.

And when they do compare with the more developed nations, it'll be to show how much more affordable living our country is, such as ‘Our petrol prices are cheaper than Singapore's'.

Somehow, they always manage to not mention ‘...and for your information, an average Singaporean makes double the money an average Malaysian makes'.

They forget that the rakyat are now a more intelligent bunch and getting smarter by the day...

Paneir: The people of the US are celebrating because old draconian thoughts have been eroded by the 'New Hope'.

The aspirations of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Martin Luther King to have an equal society have finally been fruitful with the election Obama. It has opened up a new spectrum to the world in terms of hope.

Whether that hope will be fulfilled or not in the near future, I have no say but this 'New Hope' at least, is giving some breathing space for the 'unselected' people'.

Probably you will be wondering why am I using this phrase. ‘Unselected people' are whoever exist in the denial of the majority.

This 'New Hope' driven by the American people will create a domino effect throughout the world in the near future. Let's us hope this 'New Hope' flourishes without any fear or favour.

On Dead man's family lodges report

Sunil Kumar: I wonder whether our great leaders Hishammudin Hussein Onn and Syed Hamid Albar would organise nationwide campaigns to protest against police brutality in Malaysia.

I am sure such campaigns would be successful just like the ones organised for Palestinians.

On Procession route mars Thaipusam joy in Penang

Gnanajhothy Krishnan: I been reading regarding the chariot procession route for Thaipusam, for which some Indian NGOs are claiming that the state government is interfering with.

I'm quite curious; don't these Indian NGOs know that all this while Thaipusam has been a state-run affair?

The Hindu Endowment Board (HEB) which manages the Thaipusam is a board that was directly established by the state government to manage the Hindu affairs in the state.

And even though the whole religious activities of Thaipusam are managed by the HEB, the Chettiar community have been given the privilege of conducting certain aspects of thos religious observation.

I think it is great honour for the Chettiar community. They have done a great job so far in maintaining this tradition. My concern in this matter is why are the NGOs so adamant

that the route change for the Thaipusam procession this year is a such major issue?

The only change is that the chariot will now make a stop at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Queen Street.

I would like to make a plea to the Penang Indian community - please stop bickering over trivial matters. Our community faces great challenges now such as the lack of education, unemployment, lack of business opportunities etc.

These are some of the more pressing issue which need our immediate and coordinated attention.

Let's gather as one and put aside our differences for the sake of the community.

On Matter of time before Sri Lankan army retreats

Elayavan: I strongly rebuke the comments Proud Malaysian Tamil . Firstly, one should understand the history of Sri Lanka which includes the Buddhist monks and the freedom fighter.

One should not talk without knowing the history. They Tamil Tigers are not terrorists as TV3 often describes them (whether they understand what is the meaning of terrorism is another matter).

As a Tamil, I would proudly call Velupillai Prabhakaran a true Tamil hero of our generation.

The entire world is talking about Palestine and Israel. And our government provides humanitarian support and urges private companies to do so too.

Has anybody cared about the suffering of the Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka? Has any country urged the UN or Asean to take action against the government of Sri Lanka for the crimes committed by their army?

One thing we all must accept is that as Tamils, we sadly don`t stand as one when it comes to support for our fellow Tamils.

Believe me, the Sri Lankan army is never, never going to win this war. Catching Velupillai Prabhakaran is only a wild dream of theirs.

On Plasma and LCD TV buyers beware!

Boon Hee:

With regards to the above topic, I've just bought a 32" LCD TV but had a minor accident.

However, Samsung Malaysia's Parts Department quoted me RM3,802 for a replacement LCD screen.

This for an LCD TV which was bought for RM1999 plus a DVD Player! And mind you, RM3,802 is exclusive of the RM120 labour charges!

By the way, I'm told that apparently, LCD TV screens need a replacement every four to five years. This is a pure con job.