‘After all, almost every right-thinking Malaysian is fed up with the way you have led the government. Why not prove them wrong?'
On PM: No one will stop him from running
Peter Ooi: PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi commented that Wan Azizah was most irresponsible to resign as MP for Permatang Pauh since the voters there had chosen her.
Pak Lah, I think it is the other way round. You are most irresponsible to make such an uncalled for remark.
If the voters in Permatang feelthat they had been let down by Wan Azizah, they can always show it in the by-election.
They can vote against Anwar to show that they are disgusted by her action.
But I fear that the voters would vote for Anwar in greater numbers since almost every right-thinking Malaysian is fed up with the way you have led the government.
Pak Lah, why not prove them wrong? Why not you pit yourself against Anwar in Permatang Pauh to prove that you are still very popular with the rakyat ?
Luk: Abdullah described the resignation of Wan Azizah ‘as most irresponsible and said it ignored the choice of the voters in the constituency'.
As a law abiding family man, I beg to differ with the prime minister.
The party that has been the most irresponsible is the government that has thrown Anwar Ibrahim in jail, seriously injured him and deprived him of a career and freedom to be a political leader.
Therefore, forcing his responsible wife to take his place instead.
Wan Azizah has been the most responsible wife, mother and opposition leader. She has held the torch for all. She has suffered a lot while her husband was incarcerated.
She has been an exemplary mother who brought up her family while her husband languished in jail. She has kept the stunted democracy alive, preventing the dictator from eliminating it entirely.
She has been the most responsible and has done a great job for the country. It is a lie for any husband to say ‘My wife would do the same' as Wan Azizah.
We are proud that while Philippines has Corazon Aquino, we have Wan Azizah.
On Did the police cover all angles?
Anonymous: I am a doctor working in a private institution. I just cannot understand why the government has contributed so much of its resources to the Anwar case and so little to the morbidity and mortality of viral diseases or dengue cases that have swept through the southern regions of peninsular Malaysia.
Almost all the private hospitals are now full of dengue cases in those states.
Since the rakyat are the ones choosing the government of Malaysia, may I ask the rakyat why do you choose such a government that is more interested in toppling the opposition or finding out who has sodomised whom rather than supporting your health and a healthy environment?
I can now understand why RPK uses those foul words in his stories - there are just no better words to describe how it feels to be in this situation.
Ong LB: I read with great concern over what is happening. The medical report of Saiful at Pusrawi Hospital has confirmed that Saiful was not sodomised by DSAI or by any object.
What preliminary evidence do the police have, which they claim to have been scientifically obtained, that can justify investigation? I demand that they show it. The medical report is whistle-blowing on the police.
This whistle-blower, whoever he is, has to be protected against both the wrongdoers and the corrupted police.
Do not let the IGP and his cronies distract you from the issue by saying the report is not authorised to be released.
PM Abdullah is responsible for all this and the disgraceful state of our police.
The PM says he wishes to bring in protection for whistle-blowers to encourage whistle-blowers to come forward and expose corruption and abuse of power.
Well, this is a classic example of whistle-blowing. The rakyat owe you a debt. We must support these people and expose corrupted leaders, politicians and civil servants.
Our nation would have been a great nation if not for corruption in all aspects of our society.
Oh God, expose them. Protect the whistle-blowers.
Time For Change: There have been so many lies leveled at Anwar that even the leadership in government is believing them all. If you believe one lie, you believe a thousand lies (old Tamil proverb.)
The world is having a good laugh at us and the investors are saying ‘Forget about Malaysia.' I think that we were a model nation in the seventies. What has become of us?
Eugene Morais:
Everybody knows that the allegations are false.The objective is to keep the grip on to power because that means they get to keep whatever means of side-income that is coming their way by virtue of being in power.
Meantime, we, the people who voted them in, suffer.
On Cops wrap up sodomy probe, up to AG to act
Weng Soon Loh: Funny how the police, who are so busy with ‘no comment' and can't even divulge Saiful's police report, but can suddenly ‘wrap up' Anwar's sodomy case as soon as Wan Azizah steps down to make way for a by-election.
The police have lost all perspective of what they've sworn to do, which is to protect the people - not act on the behalf of the government. They're supposed to be apolitical. This is ridiculous.
Mooshie Mooshie:
So the investigation has been completed by the police. The big question is, how independent were these investigations?How is it that the IGP cannot tell the country that his job has been completed? Why has the news got to be revealed by a minister?
Maybe the government has got a hand in the investigations. Better for the minister to reveal than to let another party do so for fear that the matter will be brought up again. Now we know why.
On Anwar to contest Permatang Pauh
John Johnson:
It is indeed touching, and also and indication of sheer responsibility, for Wan Azizah to give up her seat for her husband and the future prime minister.It show her sacrifice of dedication of so many years for her beloved country.
I'm sure she has suffered a lot over the years with her husband in prison. The anguish she must have felt cannot be imagined by any one of us (this also goes to the Hindraf Five). She has upheld the party supporters and the party and this is no easy feat.
It has been many years, but the loyalty she and her husband had for the rakyat has never flinched.
This is to let her know that we are truly grateful to a wonderful lady who has selflessly dedicated her life to champion the rights of the people.
I'm sure she will not leave the political scene until she is sure she can spend some quality time with her hubby, or maybe just take a stroll in the park with Malaysia being a peaceful and prosperous nation.
Let the world see how people can make a change and destroy cronyism, nepotism, and corruption.
On PAS' delicate balancing act
Adcin:
With Abdul Hadi Awang ruling out a possible cooperation with Umno, Pak Lah's latest attempt to win support from the Malays has spectacularly backfired.It was a long shot to begin with, fueled by power-greedy leaders of Umno and PAS, but this has been spreading like wildfire because of its clandestine nature and misinformation.
Now that it has seen the light of day, we can see clearly now how desperate Pak Lah has become to cling on to power.
The rest of us are more worried as we watch our beloved country slowly going to the dogs. The sudden spike in inflation figures confirms that this government knows not what it is doing nor can foresee the results of its actions.
Surely a leader who claims to have the peoples' interests at heart would not have the heart to subject his people to such suffering and discomfort.
And yet, Pak Lah refuses to acknowledge his failure to lead, refuses to go quickly and feels that the Malays need to be united by him!
If he is so concerned about this, I urge him to stop the persecution of Anwar for it is severely disuniting the Malays like it did in 1998. I
It may buy him and his cohorts some time, but it effectively ends Umno's claim to be a party that is going to reform in order to be relevant.
Cukup la tu (enough is enough), you have used your last joker, Pak Lah, we have called your bluff, and it is to all intents ‘game over'.
If somehow Anwar is stopped, one hopes Umno members will rise above communal and money politics and show Pak Lah and his band of merry men the door, for this is not about Malay supremacy, it is about running a country competently.
On PM rules out emergency rule
Teo Chuen Tick: Coming from the present PM, that statement is hardly reassuring. He has shown many times he's not a man who will stand by what he has said.
When the Umnoputras reign is on the line, I believe they will resort to that.
So, Saiful cried for help and the whole weight of the government's enforcement and prosecution agencies are brought to bear down on Anwar.
Millions of Malaysians have been crying out to the government to improve on the peace and security of our living environments so that our families can live free of the criminal elements so rampant in our cities now.
The result? Nothing that can be reported with pride.
Percy Chan: This prime minister has no ethics. By citing rumors of Anwar bribing BN MPs, he is first of all rumor-mongering.
This is one thing he has said many times before that people should not do, and if I remember rightly, he has even threatened to arrest rumor-mongers.
Paying for votes and bribing people to switch allegiance is an Umno trademark. So what is he trying to say? ‘It's okay for Umno and me, but not okay for others'?
In the same breath he is trying to tell us that Saiful deserves equal justice with Anwar, yet what he preaches and practices is clearly unequal justice.
This man isn't fit to be a PM.
Kenny Gan: Dr Ooi Kee Beng said it would take a Herculean effort to transform Malaysians' mindset from one deeply entrenched in communal thinking to non-sectarian thinking.
He goes further in saying that: ‘For this to change it would take years. It may not occur in our lifetime'.
I beg to differ. Multi-racial politics has taken a hold on Malaysians' thinking and aspirations since the twelfth general elections.
The Herculean effort is only on the part of the political parties deeply entrenched in sectarian politics like Umno, MCA, MIC and Gerakan, who are unable to change, while the people are ready to embrace it.
Ooi's opinion that this change may not occur in our lifetime is overly pessimistic as the country is already moving in this direction with voters abandoning race-based parties such as MCA, MIC and Gerakan, who are losing their relevancy.
These race-based parties can hasten the process towards non-sectarian politics by unilaterally changing their philosophies to embrace multi-culturalism instead of giving the excuse that ‘Umno must change first'.
However, the country's political future does not depend on these parties changing.
They will either adapt or be wiped out by the opposition. It can happen as soon as the next general elections.
