vox populi big thumbnail PAS Terengganu should do the right thing - simply invite Ahmad Said to join PAS or if Ahmad Said doesn’t want to join PAS, support him to form the new Terengganu government.

Noor Yahaya Hamzah: So Ahmad Said, you have been kicked out of Umno because you defied the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Kudos to Ahmad Said, you are my hero. You know where your loyalty should lie, to the Sultan, first and your country, as written in the Rukunegara. As long as the ‘ titah perintah Tuanku ’ is not against Allah's laws and commandments. Your loyalty is absolutely not to the prime minister for the Sultan’s word takes precedent.

Now that Ahmad Said is the Sultan-appointed Menteri Besar, without support from his Umno colleagues, I can see only one solution to this problem, and it depends on PAS Terengganu.

Here I call on PAS Terengganu to do the right thing - simply invite Ahmad Said to join PAS or if Ahmad Said doesn’t want to join PAS, support him to form the new Terengganu government. For the sake of Terengganu.

The Healer: How absurd! When Lim Kit Siang lashed out at the Sultan of Perak, he was dogged about it but Lim was humble enough to apologise to the Regent. And now, we have 22 Umno leaders lashing out at not only the Sultan of Terengganu, but also at the Agong (although Sultan of Terengganu would be more relevant as it is a state matter). Should not these leaders be seen as insulting the Sultan just as Lim Kit Siang was criticised for? Not only that, even the PM, DPM are together in this.

To Your Majesty the Sultan of Terengganu, be firm of your decision and not be wavered by these hypocrites. Be assured that the rakyat fully support Your Majesty’s decision to appoint Ahmad Said as the MB of Terengganu. Do not be afraid! Stand for righteousness and for justice!

And to Ahmad Said, you have been terminated as an Umno leader unjustly, as it is, Umno has yet to learn their lesson that should be learnt during the latest General Elections, and yet they continue to show their arrogance and ignorance, even towards the honourable Sultan! Take comfort, for justice will prevail!

Batmanm: Umno wants to boycott the swearing in ceremony of the new Terengganu Menteri Besar, Ahmad Said by the Sultan of Trengganu today. For good measure, Ahmad Said was also sacked from the party.

As the Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan Agong, Tuanku must have some strong reasons why Tuanku decided to appoint Ahmad instead of Idris Jusoh. From what we have heard, Umno Terengganu members support the appointment but the top brass still wants Idris. Surely something must not be right.

Before this crisis, Umno put on a strong display that they support and protect the Sultans. Now, Umno has shown that they are insulting the Sultan of Terengganu who is also the Yang Di Pertuan Agong. As the saying goes, what goes around, comes around.

The self-claimed protector and the defender of the royal houses, the NEP and the Malays has become irrelevant to the very people that they claim to champion.

Sbj: The Sultan of Terengganu has exercised his right in accordance with the state constitution. The prime minister on the other hand should accept the fact that the power to appoint a menteri besar is the prerogative of the state ruler.

If he can tolerate the Sultan of Johore's refusal to accept his candidate as a menteri besar he should be consistent with other states when the rulers disagree with his choice In the case of Terengganu, he should have gracefully withdrawn candidate of his choice. Normal practice should not be allowed to take precedence over express constitutional provisions.

It's high time that the PM knows the limit of his power. After all, he has accepted the reality that even as a PM, he doesn't have any say in the appointment either MB/ CM in the five states which have fallen to the Barisan Rakyat.

Pro-Palace: Politicians should not downplay the constitution for their own ends. The Sultan has the absolute right to appoint a menteri besar of his choice. So please don't ever mix politics with palace affairs. As loyal citizens of this country we must respect the palace.

Dark Justice: Umno has upgraded themselves from being a sour loser to the biggest hypocrite as shown in the Terengganu MB tussle. Not only they disrespect the Sultan of Terengganu but they also stopped a fellow Umno member from taking up the MB’s position by stripping him of his Umno membership.

What is wrong in him taking up the MB’s position is he is trusted by the Sultan? Does this mean that Umno has disrespected the Sultan of Terengganu?

HL Ooi: May I ask for the opinion of persons who are well-versed in these matters as to whether the 22 BN representatives in Terengganu will commit an act deemed to be disrespectful to HRH the Sultan of Terengganu when they boycott the swearing-in session for the Regent’s nominee for Mentri Besar?

One can’t help seeing parallels in this case with the recent one in Perak. What would be a solution to this crisis that both respects the dignity of the Terengganu palace and the will of the people of Terengganu?

On Anwar says he is moving toward forming a new gov't

Pride: The ‘frog’ culture that gave Sabahans a bad name in 1994 and in many other instances should never be allowed to happen in national politics. Politicians must, therefore, refrain from hatching the idea of forming the federal government through ‘katak’ manipulation for the sake of Malaysia. .

Lets accept the elections result and let the rule of law and constitution operate normally. I do not think the number of cabinet seats given to East Malaysian states matter to majority of us. What we Sabahans need is delivery of timely and quality services, fair development allocations, constitutional promises and equal opportunities in every field - all this devoid of manipulation of worst degree, as happened prior to the last elections.

True Malaysians must not let electoral ‘betrayal’ be taught as something that is okay for our younger generations, whatever the reasons be.

Ceejay: This is not musical chairs. Please respect the votes of the people. It is a corrupt practice to lure MPs away from their respective parties in order to realise one's ambition. We voted for a government that is accountable, responsible and free of corruption.

How can any responsible party or coalition form a good government if it consists of turncoats and their partners in crime? We must never ever have a repeat of the 1994 Sabah elections where the PBS MPs were paid to desert their party en masse.

Sabahan: Much as I dislike ‘frogs’, (being from Sabah) I consider accepting them at this time a necessity for the following reasons. The Election Commission, judiciary, police and Anti- Corruption Agency need to be cleaned up and that can only be done if the Barisan Rakyat is the government of the day.

If we wait another 4-5 years for the next elections, God knows what new tricks the BN government will have up their sleeves to ensure that their minority vote is enough to be the government. Another five years under BN will also ensure that the corrupt leaders get richer.

Arjunaidi Jamaludin: I find it rather disturbing that Anwar Ibrahim has not ruled out attempting to make some BN elected representatives to cross-over to the DAP-PKR-PAS loose coalition.This is being considered on the premise that instead of controlling five states now, the coalition could muster enough seats to defeat Abdullah Badawi's BN govt and form an national DAP-PKR-PAS government. I object to to this cross-over strategy for the following reasons:

1. The BN representatives won because their party/ideology/ideas appealed to BN supporters. It is morally wrong to tempt them to switch allegiance to DAP-PKR-PAS. It would tantamount to betrayal of the voters' trust.

2. BN representatives who switch allegiance may want rewards in the form of cabinet positions, etc. It would be unfair to DAP-PKR-PAS stalwarts who have unselfishly struggled for their parties.

3. The strategy would condone party-hopping. If I am not mistaken, DAP's elected representatives have pledged to vacate their seats if they switch allegiance to another party.

4. The DAP-PKR-PAS coalition should focus on setting good governance in the five states and working towards delivering their election promises.

Flaneur: BR should not just accept party grasshoppers. If such people feel very strongly about switching camps, then they should do the honourable thing for Sabahans and Sarawakians who voted them in by resigning and standing again as BR candidates. Then only will we know if they are genuine representatives of the people or opportunists who practise lallang politics.

Granted that there will be extra expenses etc but it's a small price to pay for true, clean democracy. We hope that maestro Sdr Anwar who so won the hearts of Malaysians with his multiracial approach will not succumb to the temptation of becoming PM by default as a result of these defections (if any).

Let him also advise those who are contemplating deserting the BN ship to do so by resigning from their party and position as MP and standing again as BR candidates in a by-election. The whole world will applaud if the new government comes about through this morally and legitimate way

On Shahrir: We need more aggressive ministers

Azhar Victor: My view is that Shahrir would not be any different from the rest of his buddies in the great cover-up. There were many reports submitted to him as PAC Chairman on corruption and misdeeds. People have personally seen him at his office with evidence and signed statements. There was not even an acknowledgment not to mention any sort of follow-up. The people who lodged the reports were not contacted or informed of the status of the reports. Can he be expected to do any better as a minister?

On MCA leader: BN singing same old tune

OneView: We have known it all along but now there is confirmation from the horse's mouth. I am sure that we shall be hearing more and more of the truth as people shed their fears of intimidation and share the truth with all Malaysians. At the least, telling the truth will set their souls free. I know of at least one case where a former state assemblyperson blatantly made provocative race-based remarks.

The ex-assemblyperson was asked to help with an application for a vendor's license for a neighbourhood vegetable seller. The vendor was being harassed weekly by the local council's enforcement officers. He had to ‘settle’ the matter each time they came around. When asked why he did not get a license, he replied that he tried several times but was not successful.

This was told to the ex-assemblyperson. His reply was ‘You do not understand. He will not be able to get a license because of his colour’. He made some other racial remarks which is best not repeated here.

That was the game. It is wrong but their thinking is: ‘I close one eye and you close the other and all the people will be in the dark’. The people, however, have seen the light.