vox populi big thumbnail ‘He had no standing to hear the Perak crisis case especially when he knew full well that at that material time, his tenure had expired.'

Peter Yew: The judicial commissioner is no judge. He had no standing to hear the case especially when he knew full well that at that material time, his tenure had expired.

He should have just stepped down and let any other judge take over. Woe to the Malaysian judiciary under the BN government.

Raj: I am appalled by the way justice is shunned in the Silver State. It is obvious in the manner Chan has explained the constitution what the fair decision should have been.

Perhaps a learned judge like Chan would have made a world of difference should he have heard this particular case.

The judicial commissioner who was a ‘probationary' shouldn't even have heard this case in the first place because of his inexperience and also because it involves the legitimacy of a resolution made in the august house that concerns the people of Perak.

The impartiality of judges is so vital and when that is compromised it leads to nothing but to the death of justice. I hope and pray Perak has not lost her soul yet.

JTB: You do not need a man of Chan's calibre to point out to you the state and federal constitutions.

This issue is not a grey area where it is open to several interpretations and I am quite sure within Zambry's team there are some smart lawyers who can see that the whole cause of action is totally misconceived.

I think there some truth in the rumours that a team was despatched to London to seek the assistance of a Queen's Counsel to interpret the constitutions.

As for the learned judicial commissioner, I doubt he knows what amicus curiae means. After this fiasco, he will now be confirmed as a full judge.

The issue that I would like to pose is how can the Sultan of Perak sit by and watch this whole charade being played out in his state and do nothing about it?

On Nizar vs Zambry: Case goes to Federal Court

Malaysian: As the fiasco in Perak gets more and more complicated, several things will become a foregone conclusion and I list them here:

Regardless of which court it goes to, BN will eventually win in the end. The judge will eventually declare Zambry as the legitimate MB. Niza will lose his case. Ditto for Sivakumar.

The three state assembly persons will win their case. Siva wanting to sue the state legal advisor? He will lose this one as well. While this happens, the rakyat will grow to be more disillusioned of BN.

The rakyat will witness the BN using every mechanism of the government to ensure that they win. The police are a foregone conclusion. So is the judiciary. The civil servants are actually ‘BN servants'.

The end justify the means. The whole nation is watching helplessly while BN wrecks the constitution, the principle of the separation of powers and plain common sense. The end result leaves a bad taste in many mouths, but the BN doesn't care. It just wants to win.

This reminds me of a parasite. Where it controls all it wants to ensure that the end justifies the means. BN is becoming like a mind-altering parasite - where it takes control of the host's important functions and steers them towards its means.

The parts that are taken over lose their function and logic. Their real function does not matter anymore - they just serve the purpose for the parasite.

Alas, in real life there is a life cycle to be completed. But in BN's case, once this nation has gone to the dogs, there aren't any new hosts to infect.

SH Huang: Last week saw several twists, turns, somersaults and double-somersaults in Perak which only clowns in a circus could perform with agility, ability and alacrity.

The judicial commissioner had decided behind the tree (in chambers per se) that the speaker should be speechless, hold his tongue and not utter a single word.

Undeterred, the ‘speechless' speaker with his ceremonial gown and songkok pulled out his tongue and pronounced under the tree that the sssembly was in session.

After the briefest assembly session, the judicial commissioner ( preferring to work behind the tree and not in front of it), proceeded with the court case, with the state legal adviser (who appointed him to represent the speaker?) and rejected the lawyers appointed by the speaker.

If the anointed MB (Zambry) was the true one, why didn't the state legal adviser represent him? Two, why was the case heard in chambers?

Was the JC too shy to show his face because his two-year term had expired on Feb 28? Then the PM announced in Parliament that the JC's term had been extended? Who extended it? The PM was out of the nation!

Other puzzling points to note. Was the circular to close the stat secretariat building in Ipoh signed or not signed? It appeared that it was not signed. As such, was it valid?

If it was invalid, how could the police make use of an unsigned circular as instructions that roadblocks should be put up and people barred from entering the building?

Was this act an obstruction to the ordinary functioning of the assembly? Shouldn't the OCPD be charged for this obstruction? Further, is the state secretary a servant to the speaker ? Or is he the master?

On PM troubled by ministry's dilly-dallying over English policy

Sayyed Alif Khan: Moving away from English as a medium of instruction in schools was an insane act by the government.

The government fails to recognise that the founding fathers of this nation had an excellent command of English and each and every prime minister of this country since independence has an excellent command of English which includes the future prime minister.

This command of the English language is what brought international recognition to this country.

Our ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir who introduced the Look East policy should know very well the enormous investment the Japanese made in the seventies to acquire this language in order to promote their trade internationally.

They knew very well that without the command of the English language and the etiquette that goes with it, they will not make much headway.

We were blessed with an excellent education system where the medium of instruction was in English and it is this education system that gave this country outstanding leadership.

We are now witnessing the type of leadership the revised education system has produced - pathetic, which is putting it mildly.

Enough damage has been done and let us not head for doomsday. Lets get English back on track as the medium of instruction, not just for science and maths.

In this day and age, a wide spectrum of knowledge can only be acquired with a good command of English and not Malay, Chinese, Hindi, French, Tamil etc.

An industrialised country without matured, knowledgeable citizens will have no strength in the future. So lets do away with the politicking and get realistic.

Baiyuensheng: I personally hope that the government does not succumb to the pressure and changes the policy.

There are a majority of us, even though silent, who are supportive of using English for science and mathematics.

Not that I don't want my child to be good in Malay. By the way, she is quite good because all the other subjects are taught in the national language. And she is also able to converse in English.

I am totally supportive of the initiative to use English as the medium of instruction in our schools.

On One year later, lessons for Pakatan

Kenny Gan:

Ong Kian Ming should rest assured that Pakatan Rakyat will not become as arrogant or as corrupt as BN as the two coalitions are structurally very different and exist in different political landscapes.

The structure of BN is one dominant party surrounded by subservient satellite parties who have no say in the decision-making process of government while PR is a partnership between equals.

Hence the parties in PR can act as a check and balance on each other while no such mechanism exists in BN.

The common ideology of PR is social justice while the ideology of Umno is rooted in feudal patronage and racial supremacy which transmute easily to corruption and arrogance.

In other words, corruption must come to the house of PR while it is already a resident in the house of BN right from the start.

More importantly, BN has existed for the past 50 years in a political environment of absolute dominance where it is the only coalition capable of winning the elections while a two-party system was created when PR was born.

PR knows well enough that it can be voted out if it does not perform while BN never had that fear. Even today, BN's resistance to change is symptomatic of the fact that it is still in complete denial that a two-party system already exists.

In any case, should PR gain power, it will be voted out long before it approaches the level of corruption, abuse and arrogance of BN. There is really no chance for it to grow into another BN.

On A construction company for submarine rescue?

Abdulaziz Hussain: The choice of a construction company contracted for the navy's submarine rescue operations is very odd indeed. The decision smacks on total disregard for human life and assets.

The construction company will not have the right equipment and trained personnel for submarine rescue and salvage operations. For that matter, hoisting a stricken sub over the jetty side is a massive operation in itself.

Submarine rescue and salvage operations is usually initiated when a sub is stricken on the seabed and is unable to surface on its own power.

In the above scenario, a rescue ops or mission is launched. This invariably will involve a submarine tender - a vessel specially built, equipped and manned by well-trained men for the operation.

Please don't send our sub and its crew to their grave.

On French daily reveals grisly details of Altantuya's death

Billy Joe: The issue only can end if someone can come up with a concrete and solid evidence that shows Najib knew Altantuya.

Why must Najib be dragged into the Altantuya issue when he already swore by the Quran that he didn't know her or meet her.

As for the 114 Euros paid as commission for the submarine deal, as long as there is no black and white evidence to prove that the amount went into Najib's account or his companies' or cronies, then its only a theory that he took the money.

How can a Mongolian girl help in the buying of submarines for a country that she barely lives in?

Is she internationally known as a superb negotiator? If I were her, surely I would've asked for more that just US$500,000

And why out of a sudden this French paper is interested in this Mongolian girl's case? Hmm, I smell something fishy here...

Caretaker: Yes, I agree 101 percent that DPM Najib should be suspended pending clearance of all these matters related to the Altantuya murder case.

If he is clean and innocent then becoming the PM soon is no risk but what if he had a part in the the case and he becomes the next Malaysian PM soon? Pak Lah, what are you doing about the accusations?

Pak Lah, you are equally responsible for putting someone up there to run the country when he still has a big question mark in the eyes of the public.

So Pak Lah, you better do something right before handing over the baton or you will be equally guilty and responsible.

On 'Najib must ask Samy to go'

CA: There is no way any MIC candidate can ever get the support of the Indians if Samy Vellu is still the president of MIC. If Najib wants to win the Indians he must:

1.Get Samy to step down.

2.Engage the other leaders including Hindraf's in a meaningful dialogue to understand the actual problems the Indians are facing. Their problems are real and should not be brushed aside as being politicised.

3.Empathesise with the pathetic state of the Indian Malaysians.

4. Release the Hinraf Five - they are the true leaders for the Indians, not the MIC.the IPF or any other party

5. Provide a concrete plan to uplift the socio-economic status on the Indians and ensure the authorities carry them out effectively

CH Ong: If MIC members really want Samy Vellu to go and they need Najib to get rid of Samy Vellu for them, then surely MIC members are useless.

It will more dignified for the MIC to simply close shop rather than depend on Najib to decide on their leadership.

On MCA on road to recovery or oblivion?

Former MCA supporter: Before the last general elections, BN (or Umno) had been winning by huge margins. They became arrogant and they even bashed their partners - MCA and MIC - when they did not get their way.

I remember many years ago, one Umno candidate told his election supporters, ‘We do not need the Chinese votes to carry this seat'.

These days with the slim margins, Umno has turned to PR bashing and has no time to find fault with their partners in BN. MCA and MIC, please consider your future political survival.

The signs are clear. If you want to survive and be relevant in the future, consider leaving the BN otherwise we, the voters, may turn our backs on you.

On MCA: Mahkamah syariah 'terlalu ghairah agama'

S Ahmad: I have not read the judgment of the Syariah Court in question. The issues should be dissected in order to isolate the main concern which both the Syariah legal system and the civil law system has to address.

Both civil and syariah law systems support the principle of ‘the best interests of the child'. Both systems would view that very young children be placed with the mother which in this case is Siti Zubaidah Chew. The confusion is the conversion of the child.

The law in Malaysia still renders the father as guardian of the child in both systems - an unfortunate relic which the BN government has not sought to change.

This law offends both civil and sharia principles. Reformative civil and sharia principles have not taken root in Malaysian soil.

However, in view of the current Malaysian law on guardianship, the father of the child should be the person to decide on conversion. This is still the law, I believe, after Susie Teoh's case.

A high court judge in East Malaysia did decide in another case that both parents must decide on the conversion under an interpretation of the federal constitution. I am not privy to the laws cited in the Chew's case.

If the Syariah Court was given the power through a specific law which vests guardianship in the Muslim parent, that law should be tested for its consistency with the federal constitution.

On Asean neatly sidesteps Rohingya issue

Tcranmer: I fear that the bigger and more important issue is being missed - and that is the widespread discrimination against people according to their nationality.

Both Islam and Christianity are clear in making no distinction between the rights of people based upon their race or nationality. Further, the two religions agree that the whole world belongs not to man but to God.

So on what basis can we turn back the Rohingya people from making their home here when the land itself is not ours to restrict? How quickly we forget that the Prophet Muhammad was a refugee following the flight from Mecca, or the years of oppression that Israel suffered in Egypt.

Does not Islam teach that for one to save a life is as if one has saved the life of all people; and does not Christianity require the unconditional love of one's neighbour as one's self?

We are a people so selfish and blind that we talk of even peaceful foreigners and immigrants as a threat and never once see the sin therein. If we are richer; it is to our shame.

Therefore, let us not ask each other whether or how much we should help the Rohingya but rather ask forgiveness for usurping God's authority in judging the Rohingya as less entitled to live here and share God's bounty than we ourselves.