P Patto was and always will be ‘a man of substance’

What my father P Patto taught me

Dont Just Talk: You are blessed, YB Kasthuri Patto, that your late father P Patto has left you a legacy of honesty and not stealing from the rakyat.

He has taught you to be principled and not to ‘lompat’ like a frog, practise humility and moderation in life, not be a hypocrite, have regular self-reflections, and not see the speck of dust in other people’s eye but not the planks in yours.

Your late father P Patto will be remembered by most Malaysians as a hard working, hard-hitting and above all, an honest politician, who worked for the rakyat, especially the poor. May his soul rest in peace.

Anonymous_1401675508: My dear young lady, he was and always will be “a man of substance”.

Desperate for Change: Very well written, Kasthuri. Your father would be proud of you if he was still around. Continue your father’s legacy. Malaysia needs people like you.

Sound Mind: I know he was a great politician at the time he moved on to the next realm. Today, after reading this article, I learnt that great things done never die.

DAP may gain sympathy votes in Penang snap polls – but should it?

Liew Lean Kut: One thing people must understand is that politicians are there to win elections for their party so that they can rule or continue to rule.

If this is the right time to strike and the possibility of winning is very high, why not? Pakatan Harapan will have another five years to implement its policies, as of now they have the sympathy vote.

I say secure the government of Penang first, and if Lim Guan Eng is found guilty, elect another chief minister so that the rule of Penang will continue under Pakatan Harapan.

The people have eyes to see and can compare the government under Gerakan and Pakatan Harapan. Remember, people come and people go, government stays.

Fair Play: Who are these political ‘analysts’ who think they have the answers as to what is right or wrong? To begin with, the political playing field is never level.

In legal jargon, there is a world of difference between prosecution and persecution. And the thinking rakyat only know too well which is which.

Martha: Whoever can say whatever they like about Guan Eng, but it’s best you just stay put, turn a deaf ear and continue governing Penang.

As long as your partners and the people of Penang are happy with the way you are running the state, why bother?

The Malaysian Citizen: Of course, analyst James Chin, like the ‘tokong’, believes and maybe quite rightly that the snap polls is good for DAP. Frankly, the point is, is it good for Guan Eng and how?

Will it save his hide from going to jail, will the big win for DAP in Penang make it worse for Guan Eng and his jail term?

DAP really is exploiting their fixed deposit in the Chinese vote, and if this fixed deposit fails, and it might, all is lost.

Spinnot: “This is from a political angle. From a moral angle, DAP and Pakatan Harapan, as a whole, would be very upset if Umno or BN were to do something similar if any of their leaders are being investigated by the authorities,” he (Wan Saiful Wan Jan) told Malaysiakini.

From a realistic or practical angle, Umno leaders would not be investigated by an independent agency while they were in office, let alone be prosecuted. So the question of Umno calling a snap poll in such circumstances does not arise.

Ace: Wan Saiful is right in saying that, “regardless of the outcome of the election (if there is one), the persecution will still go on.

However, political, security and international cluster head of the National Council of Professors, Mohamed Mustafa Ishak’s contention of allowing due process to take its course is childish. He said, “If you say you have strong grounds, then you defend those grounds…”

This will only apply in a country where there is genuine rule of law. We have not forgotten the “irrelevant, irrelevant…” judge in Anwar Ibrahim’s case and we have also not forgotten the mattress that was taken in and out of court.

We have also not forgotten the sperm specimen that was allegedly tampered with by the investigating police officer and yet used as a basis for the sodomy charge – a 10-year-old will be able to tell you that this is not fair or proper.

Drngsc: Professor Mustafa, what the charge sheet says does not fit any definition of corruption at all. House below market value, a re-zoning process that failed. By which stretch of imagination is that corruption?

These are trumped-up charges to persecute the opposition, cripple them, keep them busy and occupied, and also provide news cover for 1MDB.

They did that to Anwar. They could not make Guan Eng into a ‘sodomiser’, so they will try and make corruption stick, when there is none.

You want to look for corruption? The elephant in the room is staying in Putrajaya and his allegedly corrupt practice is documented by the government’s own agencies, including the auditor-general.

Now, that is real corruption, but no one cares. That is why we call it persecution.

RCZ: I say why not? Politics is dirty and BN has no problem with playing dirty games. For heaven’s sake, they put an inexperienced widow to stand in Kuala Kangsar and she won.

Babylon: When you are clean you do not need sympathy votes to win. Neither do you need to bribe.

Ninety-nine percent of the population will vote for genuinely clean candidates.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.