vox populi big thumbnail ‘It has shown the public that it is unable to rise above partisan politics to serve the people irrespective political affiliation.’

Kenny Gan: So another Gerakan member, Tan Kee Kwong has agreed to take up a non-political post in a Pakatan Rakyat state government. Najib insists that he should resign from BN. Gerakan dutifully issues a show-cause letter to Tan which practically guarantees that he will be forced to resign from the party. Gerakan has driven another nail into the coffin of its impending political irrelevance. It has shown the public that it is unable to rise above partisan politics to serve the people irrespective political affiliation.

Even worse, it has given the impression that it is firmly under Umno's thumb with its leaders dancing to Umno's tune. Gerakan, forget about re-branding and rejuvenating the party. You have missed yet another chance to gain valuable goodwill from your electorate. By this act you have annulled the effect of a hundred re-brandings.

Stephen Ng: I read with interest the story about Dr Tan Kee Kwong being issued a show cause letter on why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for taking up a post with the Pakatan-led Selangor state government to look into land-related issues. As a member of the public and following the political news in the country closely since the last general elections, and having dealt with land issues in the past and present, I have one strong answer to give on behalf of Dr Tan. Gerakan and the Barisan-led government has to buck up when it comes to individual land titles. For the past 50 years that it had been in power in Selangor, issues relating to land titles had never been solved.

For a number of housing projects where purchasers have bought the houses and in some cases, even paid up the loan, the house buyers have not seen their individual land titles. Complaints have been made by residents to the local members of parliament and the state assembly persons, but no one has looked into the complaints on a macro-scale. Taman Daya is one housing project in Kepong which has no individual land title for the past 20 years. Complaints were raised to the former member of parliament and state assembly person but until now, the individual land title has not been issued.

If Dr Tan has the knowledge and ability to serve the people, why should he be deprived of the position? After all, the well-liked Tan was dropped from being the incumbent for Segambut, a constituency which he had held for so many years. Barisan Nasional parties should stop all the political bickering and move on with their job to serve the people better if it wants to continue to be in power. This instead of throwing around show-cause letters.

On Transit Malay nationalists wait and see

A Malaysian Chinese: Reading the English language analyses of the current political climate would have one believing that Malaysia is on the threshold of a new era with citizens rejecting racial politics. Nothing can be further from the truth. Malays who voted opposition are now regretting it - even those who voted PAS (doesn't help that the press if making it seem like there are more demands from non-Malays). If a snap election is called, this regret will translate into:

1. Umno retaining all seats

2. PAS and PKR to lose big in Malay seats. PKR wiped out in Malays seats

3. MCA/ MIC and Gerakan to be voted back in mixed constituencies. The Chinese, who have nothing to complain about in 2008 will vote

4. DAP to win all overwhelmingly Chinese seats.

Hey! This is how we started out. There is a reason why the ruling coalition is the way it is.We made it that way. March 8, 2008 was a fluke. Why do you think ‘Malaysia Today’ is less than enthusiastic about a snap election? All the PM and the leaders of MCA and MIC have to do now is to stay in power long enough for the next elections.

On Mukh riz wants 'referendum' on Pak Lah's leadership

Scarlet Pimple: I find this Umno drama getting into a ridiculous popularity contest. It is totally unprecedented that you have regular party referendums for the popularity of a leader. An EGM or AGM is the correct way to do it. Is this some kind of beauty contest or Malaysian Idol contest? Is Mukhriz grasping at straws? Hardly the stuff of an Umno leader but then Umno has been short of intelligent leaders recently anyway. I would think his father would feel absolutely horrified about such popularity contests in his time.

Antony: The recent suggestion by Mukhriz Mahathir for a referendum in establishing the popularity of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi must be a first in Malaysia politics. He suggests this by way of a secret ballot-styled approach. If this approach had been used when his father helmed the reins of power, we would have had a new prime minister in 1999 when Anwar was sacked. Tengku Razaleigh would probably have taken over the leadership of the country when there was a battle for Umno supremacy in 1987 had the membership at large voted.

It is time Mukhriz starts becoming his own man and stop propagating the views and agenda of his father. Malaysian politics and society would be better off when we see to the end of the politics of race and divisiveness which had been the mainstay until it was buried in the recently concluded general elections. A resurrection is only ever known to happen once so let us keep it that way.

On Dreams for scholarship shattered by PSD

Richard Teo: The Public Services Department has pointed out that ‘there is a fairer distribution of PSD scholarships for all races for degree studies abroad from this year, with 1,100 going to bumiputeras and 900 to non-bumiputeras’. In spite of this, the PSD received 3,000 appeals from post-SPM students who failed to get scholarships for studies abroad. Perhaps what the public would like to know is on what basis are the students being selected? The 45% for non-bumis and 55% for bumis seem to imply that selection is solely based on a racial quota and not based on meritocracy. If the selection is based on merits then it is incumbent upon PSD to be transparent and reveal the methodology by which the bumi students are selected. The scholastic achievements of all the successful 1,100 bumi and 900 non-bumi students should be published in order to dispel any doubts that the bumis are selected based on race rather than on merit.

But the statement by PSD Director-General Ismail Adam that those rejected (3,000 students) received low marks for their interviews and for below active extracurricular records raised more suspicions than adequate justification. His statement seems to imply that the 1,100 bumis who were successful had received high marks for their interviews, had high extracurricular records and on top of that, all had 9As and above in order to qualify for the benchmark. It is rather hard to believe that all the 3, 000 rejected students had low marks for their interviews and low marks for extracurricular activities whereas the successful 1,100 bumis students all had high marks for interviews and extracurricular activities.

Perhaps the PSD should be honest and let the public know whether the selection criteria is solely based on racial quotas for the bumis while for the non bumis, the selection is based on merit. If it is true that the selection by the PSD for the bumis is based on a racial quotas, then it certainly explains why many of the unemployed graduates are bumis. It should be apparent by now that simply churning out unemployable below par graduates is not the answer to our human resources problem

On Anwar: Ezam gave up on PKR struggles

Ezam The Truth: Ezam's reason for rejoining Umno is to fight the corruption from within. This is similar to a crime-fighter joining the underworld to fight crime. The crime-fighter, when he does that, is either in there as an undercover agent or he has joined them for good. Now we must decide for ourselves which one is Ezam's objective.

Worried Citizen: Ezam’s move to re-join Umno is no surprise. Politicians who seek shelter to achieve personal goals is common everywhere. He is just one of those. If BN was able to secure a two-thirds victory in the 2008 elections, this event will certainly not have happened. The reason is simple: Umno does not need him.

I really don’t see why media should give prominent coverage for this category of news. The BMC story was a hundred times more important than this minor change in an individual’s political stand. Ezam has every right to switch camps. This is his prerogative. But will this bring any constructive changes to our daily life? The rakyat knows better. The petrol price will still go up. Cost of rice escalates. The commodity price index is expected to skyrocket in the near future. His action is pointless to the betterment of our people. It is just a political gimmick.

Let us work extra hard to make our living more meaningful and pray we can overcome this round of an economic recession. Look at what happens in London and New York. We don’t want this to happen here, really.

On Was it a 'politically motivated' move by DBKL ?

Upset Citizen: Dear DBKL, on my way to Wangsa Maju LRT station, I saw something that upset me very much. All the illegal extensions from certain corner shoplots (mainly restaurants) were torn down by DBKL. Everything is dismantled and destroyed inclusive of the concrete paved floor.

What is left looks like the aftermath of an 8.0 scale earthquake. Except it was done by DBKL, not nature. What upset me the most is DBKL targeted only certain shops. Others with such illegal extensions were left alone. This is heartbreaking and it makes me very, very, very upset and angry. Nature is fair but DBKL is not. Could you give an explanation?

On Gov't ready for 'tussle' over Sabah

CTW: When we looked at the lawyers at the ICJ, it is all too obvious that we were going to lose Pulau Batu Puteh. In fact, I bet with my friend that we were not going to win this time. On the one hand we see all the best legal brains in one country, and on the other hand, we see lawyers who cannot even manage their own departments. Yes, we can handle a country like Indonesia to win back our beautiful islands with ease but to challenge country like Singapore, well, we are still way off the mark. We were so confident that we even had a direct telecast. What a shame.

On No fuel stop for foreigners at the border

P Kesavan: The move to ban petrol stations from supplying fuel to foreign vehicles within a 50- km area from the Thai and Singapore borders will be a bonanza to locals living in the areas concerned as it opens up an opportunity for them to make money by filling their vehicles with petrol or diesel and then transferring it to foreign vehicles for a small fee, thus nullifying the government’s aim of preventing foreigners from getting large amounts of subsidised fuel. It will also involve in a large outlay of manpower to monitor the numerous petrol stations in the 50 km area.

A better method of addressing this issue is to implement a quarter tank rule. Foreign-registered vehicles exiting the northern or southern borders with more then a quarter tank of fuel as registered on the fuel gauge will charged a fee based on the vehicle’s engine capacity. Spot checks can be made on the amount of fuel in the fuel tank versus the fuel gauge reading to deter fuel gauge tampering. Plain clothes personnel posted at selected petrol stations close to the border can also help detect foreign registered vehicles filling up on large amounts of fuel.

Although a small amount in subsidy will be lost, the quarter tank rule is much simpler to implement and more cost effective then banning the sale of subsidised fuel to foreign-registered vehicles in the 50-km area.

NK Khoo: I would like to rebut the argument that Malaysians working in Singapore are entitled to subsidised fuel. Our fellow Malaysians working in Singapore are paying tax to the Singapore government under the double taxation agreement with Malaysia. Therefore legally and morally speaking, they have no right to enjoy a subsidy paid for by the tax money of Malaysians working in Malaysia. If you earn Singapore dollars, then you shall pay for your petrol in Singapore dollars.

On AirAsia posts 86% profit increase in first quarter

Garry Khoo: MAS has been in the market for so long and they have yet to post such a large profit. But AirAsia now claims they have made an 86 percent profit. It sounds like a miracle.

On How does Citrawarna actually help?

ASW: The Tourism Ministry is going overboard with Citrawarna. It is a waste of money but who exactly is listening to the nay-sayers? And there are only a few tourists actually attending the grand launch, with half the seats empty. So don't believe what you see on TV.