‘I have been to Sabah near Semporna and these people there are very poor and even they take their showers using sea water every day.’

On BN: No action against Sapp for now

Manjit Gill: I salute the Sapp for voicing out on their concerns and that of Sabahans to the PM. The question is why hasn’t the Umno-ruling government not fulfilled the Sabahan demands? I have been to Sabah near Semporna and this people there are very poor and even they take their showers using sea water every day.

I only want to say one thing to all Sabah and Sarawak politicians - if I'm in your shoes, I will make Sabah and Sarawak an altogether new country on the world map. You politicians who run the federal government had everything after collecting all the revenue from oil, gas and timber from these two states but have not bothered to help them.

Sabahans and Sarawakians, think of your people first. Even Pakatan Rakyat may not be able to help you. Get international help and be like Singapore. No point begging at Umno’s door every now and then. I have seen Sabahan and Sarawakian beggars on the street but now I realise that even their politicians are beggars too.

On Sapp backs party boss on anti-PM move

Layman: By announcing that the ACA is going to investigate Yong over a case in 1996 only when Sapp announced its no-confidence motion, both BN and Abdullah clearly show that the present government is selfish.

The law is used for their convenience. Why wasn't Yong investigated earlier? Are these (BN and Pak Lah) the crooked leaders we want?

My View: At this stage, I opine that a fresh general election should be held for the federal level so to obtain a fresh mandate from the rakyat on who should lead Malaysia. This election should be organised in fair and transparent manner so there will be no dispute from those who lose.

After all, Malaysia belongs to all of us - not to BN only.

On PM unfazed by no-confidence vote

LJ: Am I the only one who can see the big sacrifice that Pak Lah has made for Umno, his successor and the country? He could have left office coolly to his successor and be the ‘Mr Nice Guy’ and not taken any difficult decisions like the fuel price hike, and left it to his successor to deal with in due course.

But no, he did not. Knowing fully well that his position is untenable, he took all the poison on himself so that the future leadership has a fall guy to blame eventually; and so give it a chance to start anew. Am I right or am I the most na V ve person in world?

Charles Gregory: It there were no TV or cinemas, I believe Malaysians will still be entertained by Malaysian politics. The main actor, of course, will be Pak Lah with his Chipsmore slogan, 'Now you see it, now you don't'.

He is famous for his flipflop decision involving major issues. In the US, we know sometimes the president uses a doppelganger during public meetings for the fear of a terrorism attack or assassination, but here in Malaysia, I sometimes believe our prime minister is two different persons.

Of course, our next local superstar swill be Dr. Mahathir and Samy Vellu. This is like a love story gone bad. During the tenure when Mahathir was the PM, they synergised together, each speaking praises of one another and pledging loyalty. However like a marriage, divorce happens and now Mahathir is blaming Samy Vellu as being a racist and the latter saying Mahathir should retire gracefully.

Of course, as in any movie, we must have a leading female star. So we have our own superstar that goes by the name Rosmah Mansor. Why is she a superstar? Simply because wherever she goes, she demands given beomh given a royal welcome and loves shopping and having an entourage. Amazingly also, she was given a honorary doctorate from a local university for an outstanding contribution that one of us can remember for what.

With all these ‘superstars’ in our country, why do we need to look to Hollywood or Bollywood for quality productions? We have all the ingredients to make a local movie a blockbuster worldwide.

On Palanivel: Dr M should remember his own roots

Barathi Tamil: Mahathir is telling the truth about Samy. Samy is racist. Hindraf was formed because of Samy’s failure to bring up the Indian Malaysians’ living standard.

Why are the Indian still considered the poorest community in Malaysia? Because Samy and his MIC cheated the poor Indians’ money by forming Maika Holdings. Where has all the money gone too?

Mahathir has the every right to have his say about the selfish and arrogant of Samy. Hindraf is now fighting for the Indians. Samy should stop his sandiwara . The Indians are fed-up of watching Tamil drama serial. We don’t need another serial by Samy.

Tun, you keep on banging Samy. We want to know more about him. You know better about Samy’s attitude.

On Politicians squabble as country goes down the drain

Beno Ji: The statements that came out in the newspapers are really disconcerting. Many of our politicians make better actors than Hollywood or Bollywood can ever produce. The nuances that they display are just so typical of a cobra that is either backing off or waiting to strike or spit. Are these the mature politicians that we have voted into office? History has shown that most of the insidious crimes are committed by those who are leaders in their own land or country.

When are our politicians going to grow up to the fact that they are to minister and not to be ministered. Or Yang Berkhidmat instead of ‘Yang Berhormat’.

To many, their job is a one-way ticket to wealth. A few are serious, but they are soon crowded out by the din of the majority.

As a common rakyat of this great country, my advice to our politicians is if you mean ‘yes’ than say ‘yes’ and if you mean ‘no’ then say ‘no’. Anything in between is a deception. Either you are deceived or you are trying to deceive.

On Your say: 'Where's public transport blueprint?'

Lilian Tan: I think it should be evident to all by now that we have a government that has virtually no action plan, capable of only responding with spin in the hope that the rakyat can be placated long enough for them to buy time and create more damage.

About 10 years ago, I worked on a project involving a major highway toll operator who lamented that any new highway in the KL/PJ area would only ease the congestion temporarily.

He said that it was simply not in the interest of the government (Dr Mahathir being the prime minister then) to develop a sound and efficient public transportation system for the people. Keeping the national car industry profitable was its first priority.

Just think – even our neighbour Thailand, long famous for having the worst traffic jams in Asia (so much so that taxi drivers have to pee into plastic bottles sitting at the wheel), has got its act together with a light rail transit system that connects the heart of the city to the edges of Bangkok.

Patrick Yong: I am referring to Peak Oiler's comments on the above. To a minor extent I do agree with him on the density rationale, but isn't a housing area like Subang Jaya and PJ a fine reflection of a quality living environment with good density ratio of people to the surroundings?

I think when we develop a public transport system, we should take into consideration the other aspects of living conditions as well, like blending into a good living environment. Under this situation, the government can actually develop an efficient and good inter-station transportation network to connect all the cities, towns, housing estates, villages and etc.

The people can then easily move from these places and when they disembark at their destinations within these housing areas. These places will be well-serviced by taxis, local town buses or they may even walk if the distance permits.

I believe that if we plan our transportation well to be in synergy with each respective designated city, town, housing estate, village etc and if we can provide taxis and mini-buses at these places, we should see a well-distributed population with a good housing environment like in PJ or Subang Jaya.

This instead of a congested city or town always packed and jammed with cars due to poor transportation system. We should notice a trend where people who own cars will choose to drive within their own towns, park their cars at each commuter station to travel between the towns.

As a result there will be less cars in every city, less pollution, more savings on petrol, toll and parking costs. Sigh. I believe we can achieve this if only the selfish politicians stay out of this and not view this as another money-making goldmine!

Very Concerned: Over the last 50 years have you heard of anything like this? We have gone through eight Malaysian plans but you just look at KL’s traffic condition.

Why have we not learnt from cities like Singapore, Hongkong or even Bangkok? Bangkok’s BTS is so convenient and is linked to most of the strategic points in the city. You hardly need to drive in the city.

We can all assess the performance of our past transport ministers. I need not have to elaborate. If they have played a leadership role we will not be suffering like today.

Someone say the new transport minister is the ‘new political star’ of the MCA(?). He is diligent and very committed to his duties. True or false, time will tell.

The ministry should sit down and brainstorm on what has gone wrong. What has to be done for the benefit of all the rakyat . Organise special task forces and include local experts to see if something constructive can be arrived at to improve the country’s public transportation. This is your priority, Mr Minister. Please look far ahead. This is what we expect from you.

On Blockade: Arrest warrants for natives in remote Baram

Concerned Citizen: I read with interest the above issue affecting the lives of natives in Ulu Baram due to logging encroachment into the un-surveyed native areas. As we know, they have been staying there for generation after generations.

The government should look into this issue seriously. How would you feel when a company apprears and suddenly starts to clear the area? This is the only area left for them to search for food and also is their hunting grounds.

Their complaints always fall on deaf ears because there are so many politicians and businessmen involved. What can SFC do when the company or natives complain to them? They are not experts to handle this matter.

Moreover, they don't have the power to arrest or remove any blockade. Arrest warrants issued by the magistrate to the natives by SFC may not be valid. Hopefully, somebody will find out whether SFC enforcement has the authority or power to carry out its duties.

The company also should be more humane when dealing with this very poor and uneducated natives. They also have their rights in protecting the unsurveyed areas. The goverment should stop logging activities from destroying this lovely forested area.

We need some NGO to carry out an investigation and find out why the natives complaints fall on deaf ears. Ask the saying goes in this country, ‘the rich become richer and the poor become poorer".

We hope that our next PR government will seriously look into this problem and terminate the licence of any company involved in unauthorised surveying of native forest areas.

On Set ministers' pay according to performance

A Malaysian Malay: In relation to the above report, I feel we should not only scrutinise our elected representatives' pay/ allowances, but we should also look at our royalty’s privy allowances. At the moment I do not have any figures, but I think it must be considerable.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning the sovereignty or authority of our royalty as it may be seditious, but in times like this, no entity should be exempted from public scrutiny especially when it involves taxpayer's money. If a cross-section of the rakyat has to cut down on the basic necessities, the least they could do is to cut down on the unnecessary luxuries, as a gesture of sympathy with the rakyat .

Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, The Raja Muda of Perak, is a shining example of a prince who has the people's interests at heart. For his wedding, he politely declined state allocation and instead, advised the state government to spend the money for development projects to meet the needs of the people.

The expenses for the feast for the common folk were also borne by him. But, alas, a royalty like him is a rare breed and appears only once in a while.

A legislated reduction on royalty’s allowances will definitely be more beneficial to the rakyat as the quantum saved will be substantial in the long run. Furthermore, I think most of the royalty have their own businesses and are self-reliant without much need for taxpayers' money.

Again, I wish to reiterate that I'm not questioning the institution of our royalty, but merely to put the rakyat' s interest at heart in these desperate times. The royalty are assured of a comfortable life as their special position is embedded in the constitution as opposed to the rakyat who are exposed to the vagaries of the times.

Therefore I hope, some berjiwa-rakyat parliamentarian can take this matter up for debate to ensure that the rakyat 's interest is given priority.