YOURSAY | ‘Stop giving Najib the celebrity status he craves.’
COMMENT | DAP should stop giving ammo to its political rivals
Kit Siang: Does nobody in Umno dare to call Najib out over corruption?
MP SPEAKS | I'm prepared to go to jail for warning M'sia, is Najib?
Segamatdoc85: I agree with Malaysiakini columnist S Thayaparan that the DAP should stop giving ammunition to its political rivals. But I feel it's also about publicity.
Some Malays won't see what the DAP and Pakatan Harapan have done to help the person on the street because the person on the street isn't going to put all that up on social media. All the good stuff happens behind the scenes, so voters won't know.
On the other hand, a national debate is aired on TV and social media, and those in villages who are BN fixed deposits will get to hear directly from the horse’s mouth.
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is smart – he knows how to win support. With that and RM50 per voter on election day, BN is the party all the poor and uneducated people will vote for come the 15th general election.
So, maybe Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim has a point about him going head-to-head with Najib to show what DAP really does on the ground.
Sun: Do not give Najib the celebrity status he craves by debating with him. Beating him in a debate achieves nothing. Please Lim Kit Siang or Sim - avoid him like the plague.
Please learn from Najib’s debate with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim. The opposition achieved nothing while Najib enjoyed the limelight he no longer deserves.
When Najib was in power, he ran away from debates because he had much to lose; now he wants to debate for his five seconds of glory.
Fair Play: Lim, just move on. You have served your duty to the nation. You were elected to Parliament in 1969 at 28 years old and you just announced your retirement.
I suppose after more than 50 years in national politics, you still didn’t get it, did you?
In the psyche of the ‘ketuanan’ politicians, there are no such things as corruption, breach of duties, etc. They only know power, entitlements, privileges, control, and authority over everything under their jurisdiction.
Their continuous rein at the federal level, save for a short period after GE14, make them believe they are now almost invincible in the political arena.
That’s why they are in a hurry to push for GE15. And the word “corruption” is the last thing on their mind.
VioletGoose0930: But Lim asking whether Najib is prepared to go to jail is a good question. Much of the local public deems Najib a shameless fraud, a shameless charlatan, a shameless sham.
Is Najib really that hopeless? Let's rephrase this: Is Najib shamelessly hopeless or hopelessly shameless? And a pretentious fraud too?
Let's get to the bottom of this: Never before in the history of Malaysia has so much damage and chaos been suffered by so many because of the solitary greed of one man. Are we speaking here of Najib?
The Wakandan: It is so predictable; it is stale but nevertheless will not go away. The recurring pattern is always the same.
To stay in power, Malay leaders keep their supporters enthralled by perpetuating a siege mentality and finding them a scapegoat. The racial rivalry in the country is always perfect fodder to be exploited for this. It is simple primary school arithmetic.
For those with a siege mentality, somebody has to create an issue. Our sensitivity makes that very easy indeed. It can be khat, or a Malay purportedly killed by an Indian, the Hindu temple or Thaipusam.
When such issues surface, people will naturally take sides; it does not matter who’s right or wrong. It is about “us versus them”.
Lately, some smart-alec threw a seemingly harmless issue - the dress code for customers in government departments. He knew what he was doing. Sure enough, as expected, the Umno president made his stand. Who are they going to kid?
Similarly, predictable too, Lim/DAP would come out to react. Their hardcore supporters expected them to, as the Malays expect their leaders to do the same.
It is the devil’s trap, an enslaver that neither protagonist can escape. It is like a curse. As long as the cycle is not broken, we will keep seeing this in our political scenario until kingdom comes.
Existential Turd: When a Malay politician raises the spectre of Chinese overtaking the country, it is not inciting a riot, but defending Malay's dignity.
But when a person from a minority group warns against the country sliding down the drain, it is perceived as inciting a riot and disturbing harmony.
As I have written before, the Malays need to be spooked. Look, if they so want, even a tissue paper can incite a riot. And if they so want, even an impending tsunami won't raise an eyebrow.
If not Lim, who's better to raise the warning? After all, he has retired from active politics. Let them sue him. He is just doing his duty and exercising his right as a citizen to raise his concerns. Just as you and I are writing.
Optimus: The fact that Najib and others called on the police to investigate Lim for sedition and incitement when the latter warned of the country's pathway of self-destruction led by these self-serving politicians aplenty in Malaysia, only goes to show the immaturity of democracy practised in this country.
Politicians aren't able to accept any sort of criticism in a constructive manner for the betterment of the country's future.
RedWolf4463: The Lims are prepared to go to jail and indeed both Guan Eng and Kit Siang have gone to jail for standing up and speaking out for what is right and good for Malaysia.
On the other hand, Najib has been desperately trying to stay out of jail despite being convicted of a great heist of the century for his own personal gain.
Therein lies the difference between the two icons of Malaysian politics. Unfortunately, some people can’t see the difference.
