YOURSAY 'True to form, Mahathir has not let us down with the kind of answers he comes up with when it comes to all the scandals under his premiership.'

'Senile' Dr M mum on Nor Mohamed's promotion

Just Sp: Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad has now drawn his trump card. If he is charged for graft or corruption, he can now proclaim to be senile.

He cannot, and will not, answer why he promoted Nor Mohamed Yakcop, the then Bank Negara deputy governor who was responsible of Malaysia's forex losses.

I believe (you may say I am a conspiracy theorist) there is more to the losses. Did it all get lost in the market or did some of it get diverted to certain accounts?

If that did happen, Mahathir will again not remember anything. Did you recall when he resigned during the Umno assembly? It was an award-winning performance.

Swipenter: True to form, Mahathir has not let us down with the kind of answers he comes up with when it comes to all the scandals happening under his premiership. It is only a matter of public perception that he has done anything wrong.

FellowMalaysian: Of late, Mahathir's mental condition vacillates between the 'psychotic' and 'neurotic' state and this invariably stems from his extreme 'superiority complex' state of mind.

Mahathir believes that he was never wrong in his 22 years rule as the PM. There's little doubt that he will claim it was the right thing to dabble in currencies then in order to safeguard the ringgit even though it cost the country RM5.7 billion.

Tan Kim Keong: Nyanyuk! Strange that you are able to recall in detail about former transport minister Ling Liong Sik's corruption case. I mean in minute details, based on your answers to the questions posed by the prosecutor. How very strange indeed.

You are not pulling wools over peoples' eyes anymore. Show me a new trick, will you please?

Onyourtoes: You can said all you want - ‘nyanyuk', old, or going to die soon, but your answer shows you are contemptuous of the people of this country. We shall see whether you have to answer all the unanswered questions someday.

Bid for charges to be dropped in light of Dr M's testimony

Anonymous_rb345: A testimony from a ‘senile' old man should not be a reason for a charge to be dropped. In fact, the concept of a collective decision of a cabinet should also implicate this old man for deceiving the taxpayers. He should also stand trial.

Anonymous_3e86: Is Dr M's words always taken as the truth? So if he says Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is guilty, then he must be guilty? If he says Ling is incapable of cheating, then it must be so?

In that case, we don't need the courts to decide. Let Dr M be the judge. We don't need any defence lawyer or any prosecutor either.

All we need is Dr M to decide if one is guilty or not. It saves taxpayers' money too. What a sandiwara !

Kee Thuan Chye: Why should the attorney-general review the charges, not to mention withdraw them, just because of Mahathir's testimony? Who is Mahathir? God?

This is laughable - for the defence to make an application because Mahathir told a cop he didn't think Ling cheated the government. And because Mahathir thinks Ling is an honest man.

What a mockery! What a circus! Hasn't the world been laughing at Malaysia enough?

Jean Pierre: If the land was paid by cash, it was RM21 per square feet. If payment was deferred, it was RM25. And yet BDO Chartered Accountants executive director Mok Chew Yin insisted the RM4 difference was not interest.

Playing with semantics? And the DPP (deputy public prosecutor) didn't bother to question further. And I thought there was only one senile man.

Telestai!: "Ling's lawyer, Wong Kian Kheong, informed this to Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Ahmadi Asnawi and asked the court to vacate the dates this week.

"‘We will send a representation to the chambers in light of the evidence by D4 (Mahathir) and we will await the outcome. Meanwhile, we apply for the dates to be vacated until December pending the outcome of the representation,' he said.

"Normally, when representations are sent it is for the purpose of the prosecution to reduce or drop the charges. Justice Ahmadi then fixed Dec 4 for mention. Originally, tomorrow was fixed for cross-examination of Mahathir by the prosecution."

And strangely, the prosecution did not object and meekly conceded to the request of the defence team.

Wira: Yes, drop the charges. I wonder why it was even brought to court in the first place since the CEO, ie. Mahathir, already mentioned to the police that PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) was a collective cabinet decision and that Ling did not deceive them.

Perhaps this is a stellar wannabe show by the BN government to portray some semblance of fairness by prosecuting lesser past BN ministers that Umno know will not stand in court, something we wish can be extended to those federal and state ministers who obviously live beyond their means.

The remedy of punishing a cabinet for stupidity, incompetence and grand negligence is not through the court process. It is through the electoral process.

Vijay47: I hope somebody is taking copious notes for the forthcoming review of all books and commentaries on Malaysian law.

First, we have the judiciary's required consideration for the bright future of child rapists whose victims consented to being raped. Now, in an even more sophisticated development in local legal process, we have the curtain being drawn on the prosecution after the witness's examination-in-chief, even before the cross-examination.

No doubt such liberties can be extended in Ling's case since the witness, a person of impeccable quality and reliability when his memory does not fail him, is one Mahathir of Ottapalm, Kerala.

Just a passing thought by silly me, meanwhile back at the ranch, what was the prosecution doing during the application by the defence? Applauding in sheer adulation?

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