'Pit such an idealistic philosophy against a united BN, and this will be the best guarantee for BN to rule for another 50 years.'

Haris Ibrahim: We are not the third force

Wira: Dear Haris Ibrahim, a third force will only benefit BN. If you want to change Pakatan Rakyat, join one of its component parties. Otherwise within MCLM (Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement), participate in the next GE under the umbrella of Pakatan.

The opposition is still not strong enough to topple BN and statistically speaking, using historical data, there will be a swing towards BN in the next GE following a strong showing from the opposition in the last elections. Don't fail to learn the lessons from Galas and Batu Sapi.

ONG: Haris emphasised that the movement is not a political party, had no plans to be one, and yet it is going to select candidates for the next elections.

Either he mistook general elections which are definitely political in nature for a social club election, or they are indulging in double talk or are just giving us a puzzle to solve as a pastime.

The political philosophy of the MCLM, he said, is that candidates selected for a general election would only need to have allegiance to the rakyat. It is amazing that a normally very intelligent person can believe that such idealism can work in present-day Malaysia, where allegiance to the rakyat can, and most likely will mean that every individual rakyat will lay claim to a piece of his ‘wakil' (representative).

We have already seen how the Malaysian rakyat, even Pakatan supporters, makes individual and personal demands on their ‘wakil'. Pit such an idealistic philosophy against a united BN, and this will be the best guarantee for BN to rule for another 50 years.

Kee Thuan Chye: If neither coalition wants the MLCM candidates, they should not stand as Independents. This will take the votes away from Pakatan and merely help the BN cause.

Proarte: MCLM will have to be radical by Malaysian standards and that means conforming to international norms of democratic governance and being unashamedly secular as per the constitution. It should reinforce the idea of equality of all citizens before the law.

Affirmative action will be based on need and not race. Islam will have its official role however all religions will be accorded equal respect and dignity. Freedom of worship will be emphasised.

There will be no 'Muslim agenda' which has been a disaster and has led to unnecessary division and strife in our country. The fact that Lina Joy's lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar has been co-opted as the first prospective candidate is encouraging.

MCLM will have to ensure that 'ketuanan Melayu' and ‘ketuanan Islam' as a political philosophy will be unequivocally confined to the dustbin of history.

Paul Warren: Easily said, but doable? I'm rather sceptical about that. Unfortunately the Malaysian voter has still not grown up and looking for the wrong things in their politicians. They would find people like Malik Imtiaz rather difficult to understand, although it would be people like him who we need in Parliament.

Umno needs more of people like Bung Mokhtar Radin. But his usefulness is limited to putting his hands up when needed. Both he and his Umno patrons know that is all he is good for, anyway.

Drop charge against Zunar, PM urged

ABIL: This just proves why Singapore perceives Malaysian politicians as incompetent when Zunar's cartoons are perceived as seditious and how our politicians are scared of the truth and accountability.

In today's world, all politicians will have to be open as WikiLeaks has shown that countries cannot hide behind the Official Secrets Act.

Lesungbatu: Hishammuddin Hussein, will you listen? As the home minister, you should improve the living standard in Malaysia by providing a homely environment for all citizens.

Allow citizens to criticise and make suggestions to improve the government. If you put your pets too long in the cage, they will become crazy and may bite you. The same goes with human beings.

But, I wonder, why are you afraid of cartoons anyway? Do you not have any sense of humour?

History syllabus furthering political interests

Yobama: Can the BN politikus name a country in the world that has made history a compulsory subject to obtain a school certificate? I don't think so. Malaysia has actually made history!

OMG: If I can afford it, my kid is doing O levels after Form 3. Otherwise, I will just tell him that ‘History' is a fictional subject and to just answer by rote what the book of fiction states.

Ramakrishnan: History lessons has been turned into BTN indoctrination. BN, which is struggling to reconcile with political and economic realities, will lead innocent minds to be narrow and closed. Save our students by getting rid of Umno and its cronies from the government.

Let's write the truth about history no matter what it takes. Malaysian students, in particular Malay students, will become non-competititve and naive if they follow the current history being taught, which is irrelevant.

We must save Malaysian history from Umno and its cronies.

CM raps developer's plans to demolish village

Justice Kini: The state government is elected by the people of Penang and entrusted with power to help the people. A developer cannot be doing things beyond the approval of the state. What can RM20,000 do to rebuild a house. Even a low-cost house costs more.

Louis: The power is in your hands, Lim Guan Eng. Teach those stubborn developers a lesson. They have been getting things done the easy way during Koh Tsu Koon's term of office. Now make them realise that they have a social obligation to the house occupants who are being bullied most of the time.

Anonymous: What are the names of the directors in KL Metro Land Development Sdn Bhd? Do they have political connections?

Pity Him: RM20,000 compensation is rather low. The state government is admirable in its stand to protect the residents' welfare.

Jeffrey says Putrajaya cheating Sabah, S'wak

Gunner: Yes, Sabah and Sarawak have been cheated for a long time. Now this the right time for Sabahans and Sarawakians to wake up and think wisely.

Patriot: Well said, Jeffrey Kitingan! Malaysians especially those in the peninsular must be reminded that Sabah/Sarawak did not join Malaysia because there was no Malaysia at that time. Sarawak and Sabah together with Singapore and Malaya came together with the concurrence of the United Kingdom to form a new country called Malaysia.

Singapore pulled out later and Brunei was even smarter, they did not even join as they pulled at the last minute. As they said, it is now history and Umno through Dr Mahathir Mohamad's diabolical plan to increase the number of Muslim votes to outnumber the Christian Kadazan votes, gave blue ICs to thousands of illegal migrants from Mindanao (Philippines) and Indonesia.

This great injustice must be rectified. Sabah and Sarawak, which have been Christian-majority states, are now controlled by a Muslim Melanau (Sarawak) and a Muslim Pakistani (Sabah) through Umno's gerrymandering.

Jimmy Ng: Syabas, Jeffrey. Although a bit late, but nonetheless, you have done the right thing. It's best tread carefully from here lest you be charged and detained under our infamous ISA by the BN regime. Going by the current political weather, this is a possibility that should not to be dismissed.

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