Very few dare to step on the toes of the powers-that-be. Mohamad Ramli Abdul Manan did, and one reader salutes this bold and courageous act.
On Ramli: Thank you for the support
Peter Ooi: Ramli said this,"It isn't that I don't want to accept (help), but I don't think it would be proper since this is my personal action against (the relevant parties)."
You are such a gentleman, Ramli. I, for one, really appreciate and salute you for your bold and courageous act. Very few (and it's extremely rare in this nation) would bother to step on the toes of the powers-that-be, but you dared to do so. Let us hope Pak Lah would act on it as you have stated openly that the ACA is corrupted.
I do not agree with your statement that yours is a personal action against the relevant parties. I believe your crusade against corruption is every citizen's business. Thus a small fund to help you out in your fight is appropriate.
On Dr M: I thought ACA chief was clean
Munn Zie: In life, silence is often golden for it speaks louder than empty words. More so, in politics. It is always advisable to remain silent under certain circumstances, lest the ugly truth surfaces accidentally.
It is not that Mahathir is suffering from the post-prime-ministerial syndrome, he is just aging a bit too fast than he would have wished.
Mahathir's recent comment on corruption can only further reveal his imprudent actions during his premiership. Indeed, the remark could only aggravate further the uneasy feelings of his cronies and unwittingly let the skeletons out of the closet.
He ought to learn to contain himself for his own good. Instead, as a widely known and accomplished politician, he should offer elderly advice to support the current government instead of playing his rhetoric.
On Gov't mulls longer national service
Robita T Abdullah: The National Service training system is neither here or there. It's an improvised system inferior to the scouts' jamborees. The food is appalling and there is always a shortage of water. The dormitories and the bedding are dirty.
The aim of the National Service is to provide contracts to Umno cronies and you cannot complain against their inferior logistic and supply provisions as manifested by the sacking of the camp commandant. If you complain against the bad food, you are told to eat out or starve. It's blatant corruption.
The whole programme is a waste of taxpayers money. It's stupid. We must stop this Umno nonsense before more of our children get hurt.
Omar Abdul Aziz: I noticed that the NS intake has been increased almost three folds since it started, I begin to wonder if this is a money-making machine for certain people. I think the original budget was around RM400 to RM600 million when it began. If the numbers are multiplied by the increase in trainees, it could be well over RM2 billion.
The guy who supplies the drinks alone will make a ton of money. With that kind of budget, it is much wiser to allocate the money directly to schools to hold a programme specially tailored for integration. That will be more meaningful and everybody will be involved.
All the bad stories about the quality of food, water facilities, etc, could indicate that the contractors are giving the NS cheap and basic supplies. I don't think that the whole objective of NS is meaningful despite the expense.
On Can we sue EPF for buying RHB?
Erika Stone: As we all know, there is a big difference between operating a company - whether it is a bank or the local keow teow stall. The former requires hands-on experience and a person who is well-versed in the financial markets, especially a bank as diversified as RHB Bank. EPF CEO Azlan Zainol was a senior banker from Arab Malaysian Bank Berhad and he should know this already.
Like frying keow teow, one must know what ingredients to put in or else it will go black with all the oil and salt already in the wok before the noodles could go in. This is where the chef has got to be able to clean the wok properly before your keow teow goes in.
The parallel is there for all to see. In today's globalised world, are we going to apply modern management and get rid of the deadwood so that the millions of EPF investors can proudly say that 'I am a shareholder' or are they going to rue the day that such a decision was made?
What is EPF's role here? Are they going to get hands-on bankers or are they going to rely on the old hands there? If it's the latter, there is no reason why EPF should stay only as an investor. Finally, the many investors in EPF will certainly want to be served with the best keow teow in town.
