vox populi big thumbnail ‘Why would he put his reputation on the line and make these accusations? Let him have his day in court. BN's days are numbered.'

KK: All you fellas out there are real losers. Shame on you! Now you all come out raining lawsuits on RPK? If indeed you were chastised and victimised, why did it take you all so long to file a suit?

Rosmah had the cheek to say that she has better things to do than to respond to RPK's allegation. So why are you suing him now? Is this going to be another Perwaja Steel, Altantuya or Anwar case?

We Malaysians are not that dumb. With education comes wisdom. Why would RPK put his reputation on the line and make these accusations?

Obviously he has the proof. Let him have his day in court. The way I see it, BN's days are numbered. Good will always triumph over evil.

Ian Teh:

The raft of lawsuits brought against Raja Petra, all at the same time, smells of a coordinated effort to stop ‘Malaysia Today' in its tracks.

However, his past experience suggests these wouldn't work.

Neither would most things they try, be they against Raja Petra, Anwar Ibrahim or anyone else exposing the muck that surrounds those in power.

Until and unless the powers-that-be are given a right and clean flush, the rakyat will see these actions - lawsuits, police reports, allegations of sexual impropriety - as what they are, namely tools to silence their accusers.

On Court rejects application to call Najib as witness

Disgusted: To be fair to Najib, counsel should seek the views of the international media and human rights organisations since they are outsiders and their opinions will be unbiased.

They will tell us whether it is necessary or not that Najib take the stand. This judge seems to have made up his mind and can't wait to sentence the arrested three.

CG:

As long as the court rejects calling Najib as a witness, the rakyat will assume that Najib is somehow linked to the murder.

There are no two ways to clear the DPM's name. Go to the court. What are you afraid of, Najib? Or rather, is the judge afraid of the DPM?

On Karpal: Najib must testify in Altantuya murder trial

KK: Yes, we want Najib in court because we need to know who authorised the release of the C4 explosives? Who deleted the immigration records?

Why were Rosmah's bodyguards involved? What is the connection? Where is the photograph of all of them in Paris?

Why did the PI retract his statements? Why was the prosecution changed at the last minute?

Who interfered with Sirul's first lawyer? Why did he back out? Why was the judge changed?

Why did both the prosecution and defence rise and object what Boomirang had to say about Najib?

A whole load of unanswered questions. You bet we want Najib in court!

On No more waffling, we want the police report NOW

Yap Choi Yin: Let it be said from the very outset that the first information report made by the complainant to the police is the most important document for the defence of the accused person because it frames the charge and therefore limits the evidence that will be allowed in the case.

It is not a joke that if there is no first information report, then it has to be concluded that no report was made, and that being the case, there is no case to meet.

In this respect, public utterances of BN ministers and the PM himself raise very serious suspicion that the police and the Barisan Nasional government are not clean and that the pressure that is brought to bear on Anwar has an ulterior agenda and it is not a good one.

I say to DSAI that he must not give in to police request for his DNA.

The law requires the police to give to an accused person a copy of the first report. That being the law, now that DSAI has been questioned, he is by law entitled to obtain a copy of the report.

I have had a similar experience and can say that the judges, police and the whole apparatus of law enforcement in Malaysia believe they have power to act with impunity.

The case of the Anwar's entitlement to a copy of the first information report and the police's rejection of Anwar's right is a classic case of police abuse of their powers.

The right of Anwar in law is provided for in the rules of evidence and criminal procedure.

Yet, he is still improperly obstructed from enforcing his rights. What does that say of our Malaysian apparatus of law ?

Mickel Raj:

In Anwar's case of sodomy, why has Saiful not been arrested and charged for a similar case as he is not a minor?

If its true of what he says, he must be arrested and charged under the same case.

If found guilty, he should be given rotan and jail if the law says so. It would be very strange if he knew the consequences of the law and still reported it, unless he has some thing more rewarding than the jail term he is going to receive. From where?

As I see it, there is no smoke without fire.

Meng:

You sometimes wonder how many times the government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi can shoot themselves in the foot before they realise what is going on.

As in 1998, the many who were apolitical and apathetic became reformasi supporters simply because of the injustice heaped upon Anwar Ibrahim. Even if many did not turun padang, many became sympathisers.

Its happening again, and if the government of Abdullah has to call fresh elections in light of a no- confidence vote and many will simply vote the Pakatan Rakyat into power because of sheer disgust over the way the police and the government are out to get Anwar.

Even if those few who voted BN in March were not convinced then, I believe they will be now. I believe Malays, especially the many conservative ones, will not tolerate the way Anwar was treated during his latest incarceration.

Being stripped, probed and poked before spending the night on a cold cement floor is very inhumane.

If the last elections saw a shift in Indian and Chinese voters, this time we shall see a shift in Malays as well. Good bye to the elitist BN government.

On Non-bumis need more scholarships

Arbibi Ashoy: I disagree completely. The issue is not about race and never was. The issue is about the availability and affordability of education and the missed opportunities suffered by those with ability and determination but without funding.

Scholarships should be given to students from poor families who need financial assistance desperately without which would have to forgo their studies and seek employment at an early age.

It is simply unacceptable when parents who live in houses worth over RM1 million and drive luxury cars valued at RM500,000 have children whose education is being sponsored by the government.

Scholarships should be provided to those who genuinely need assistance irrespective of race or religion. I would suggest 50% of scholarships be awarded to students from families where the net total income earned (after deducting taxes and EPF) is below RM1,500 and the other 50% to students from families where the combined incomed is below RM5,000.

On Nauseating news of new Mercedes purchases

JTB : Finally there is someone out there who dares to call a spade a spade. The menteri besar of Terengganu spends RM3.34 million on some Mercedes Benzes and everyone gets riled up, accusing him of wasting state funds.

Those of you who condemn the actions of the Terengganu menteri besar from both the Barisan and the Pakatan are nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites.

Look at it objectively. They are there for the use of the councillors in his state government, and safety is paramount.

Do any of you hypocrites in both the Barisan and Pakatan dare to come out and make a statement that the V6 Proton Perdana is safer than a Mercedes C 200?

Do any of you hypocrites dare to say that the Proton car is more reliable that the Mercedes Benz? It is a known fact that for in past years we've heard that the Malaysian public has been complaining about Proton cars.

The long and short of it is, how do you expect the Terengganu government to compromise on safety? Seriously, what is RM3.43 million compared to the nonsense that has been happening in Terengganu under the last menteri besar?

There is nothing patriotic about this issue. It is known fact and public knowledge that Proton cars generally are unreliable.

I find it very objectionable to find both the Barisan and Pakatan politicians now bashing the Terengganu menteri besar for choosing the Mercedes Benz as the car for his state councillors.

As for the DPM's statement, your statement may be politically correct, but do you dare to claim that you do not have a Benz in the fleet of cars parked in your garage?

On A government without humanity

Teoh Boo Siew: Is this government of ours so full of itself that it has lost all sense of decency and humanity? Are ministers so preoccupied with politics that they are blind to the plea of the citizens, even in the name of God, decency or just plain humanity?

Have we allowed an oppressive, callous and cruel regime to rule from Putrajaya?

After reading the above incident, surely your heart must bleed for ISA detainee Shahrial Sirin, whose daughter's impending death was treated with such indifference by the Kamunting authorities and ultimately, the home minister himself, whose total delay of nearly 20 hours prevented Aina from seeing the father one last time before her untimely death.

What kind of country has Malaysia become and what kind of monstrous people have we let in to rule as Ministers? I say:

1. Get rid of the ISA!

2. Demand the resignation of the Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar!

3. Remember the above story the next time you vote in the elections!

4. Do not vote for BN, which produces the kind of ministers as above!

On Roles swapped in Penang, but not mentality

Stephen Ng: On the debate whether road signs in Penang should be in several languages, including Arabic, I think racial politics has to be put aside to give way to some tourism initiatives.

Shaharuddin had claimed that if the Malays can compromise by not having road signs in Jawi or Arabic, so there is no reason why the other races cannot practise a something similar.

My contention is that Shaharuddin should go and live somewhere else where all the signs are in the local language and see if he would feel the welcome as a tourist.

When I was living in Mozambique for almost a year, the feeling is the same. Everything was in Portuguese. The country is handicapped in many ways because of the language barrier, while the other neighbouring countries are all English speaking.

In a world that is becoming smaller everyday, language should no longer be a major barrier to communicate with the rest of the world. If the signs can be done in a tasteful manner in all languages in the world, I am sure the Penang State Government would do it.

As Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng pointed out, look at the announcements made at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is a great achievement for Malaysia to project its image as an advanced, newly industrialised nation with a global outlook.

Let us not go backwards, Shaharuddin!

On 'Recycled' questions bring on the brickbats

Tan, Joseph K: There is a quote, ‘It is always good to learn even from the enemy'. Those who say DAP is a copycat government are totally insane and stupid.

Unless it is copyright, any word/question can be uses by anyone.

Looks like BN has nothing else to say and they continue to live in state of denial.