PRIME Minister Najib Razak is being cavalier with taxpayers’ money in making MIC president G Palanivel a full minister. His promotion from deputy minister will incur increases in Palanivel’s salary, perks, claims and pension – and the rakyat will be paying for them. Is it justifiable?

WHAT the Bersih 2.0 rally of July 9 has shown is that Malaysians of all races are willing to risk arrest to speak up for their rights; that Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali is nothing but hot air and the media should no longer give him any attention; that Umno Youth is just a directionless bunch of brats; and, above all, that the Government is the biggest loser for mishandling the entire issue.

WHAT is this country coming to? Many Malaysians are asking this question in view of the numerous actions taken by the police over the past week.

MANY people have come to regard Ibrahim Ali as a clown, including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz. One hopes Ibrahim was just talking like a clown when he recently announced that his organization, Perkasa, would oppose the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 by staging a counter-demonstration. “That means,” as he himself says, “on that day, there will be confrontation.”

PAS has never been so appealing to non-Malays as it is right now. Its just concluded muktamar (general assembly) has seen the rise of the progressives, and PAS president Hadi Awang has redefined the party’s goal of setting up an Islamic state to that of a welfare state. In essence, they mean almost the same thing, and Hadi himself has acknowledged that the difference is merely semantic, but “welfare state” has a friendlier ring to it to non-Muslims, and even some Muslims. It also connotes concern with earthly matters, which in these days of rising prices and inflation are more pressingly relevant to most Malaysians, especially those whose income is low.