Yoursay: Overseas M’sians, make Nur Jazlan eat his words

What about other countries’ elections, Nur Jazlan asks Cathay Pacific

Quigonbond: I wonder why Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed is displeased with Cathay Pacific for its willingness to defray some of the cost of Malaysians flying back to vote at the upcoming general election.

It exposes the deep insecurity of his party that overseas voters will vote against Umno/BN, and give rise to suspicion how the Election Commission (EC) has been working hand in glove with Umno to defraud overseas voters of their votes by making it difficult for them to vote and that their votes will be counted, at the right constituencies, and not delayed, lost, misplaced or replaced.

Instead, he should be happy that a foreign company has taken an interest in the democratic process of Malaysia. His message to Cathay Pacific should have been “thanks guys, hope you can do that for other nations too”.

And Nur Jazlan’s reaction to Cathay Pacific’s offer is actually good news for Malaysians. Despite the passage of the ‘gerrymandering’ bill and the Anti-Fake News Bill, this government remains insecure of its ability to win the elections.

There is hope after all.

Speechless: I find it strange that Nur Jazlan’s immediately assumes that all Malaysians who come back to vote are voting against BN and therefore accuses Cathay Pacific of supporting regime change.

I thought the government should encourage all overseas Malaysians to come home to vote, as it is their duty to do so.

Perhaps Nur Jazlan truly knows the sentiments of Malaysians. But perhaps he should also try to understand why they feel that way.

Anonymous 2413471460628504: Nur Jazlan, Deepavali, Hari Raya, Chinese New Year are dates known in advance and there is no necessity for travellers to change flights at the last minute.

As for elections in other countries, I wouldn’t be surprised if their dates are known well in advance too. I know it is so in the US.

Unlike here where the government does not care to let its citizens know until perhaps a few weeks before polling day. I could never understand why such a short notice is given for such an important event.

Surely the government should encourage its citizens, and give ample opportunity for them, to exercise their constitutional rights. But no, our government has other more important considerations than that.

I wish, for a change, our ministers would talk logically. Aren’t they tired of justifying the unjustifiable and be told that they are illogical, or worse, that they treat the rakyat as if we are all idiots?

RM2.6 Billion Turkey Haram: Indeed, why didn’t Cathay Pacific offer such deal to other countries? Simple. In other countries, especially in developed ones, the general election date is not a guessing game.

It is made known much earlier. As such, voters have ample time to prepare their trips. Anyway. why are you afraid of the good intentions of Cathay Pacific?

Simple Malaysian: Wow, such intelligence! Festive holidays are fixed in any given year, with Hari Raya probably moving by a day at most. However, national elections are called by the respective incumbent governments or when the situation warrants it.

As for Cathay Pacific providing this service to citizens of other countries, I reckon it has a lot to do with commercial interests.

Knowing well that this GE14 is going to attract more than usual flow of citizens back home compared to previous GEs, why shouldn’t Cathay Pacific encourage citizens to purchase their flight home while guaranteeing them that no fees would be charged if they change it at the last minute?

Anonymous 2436471476414726: Nur Jazlan, you are just another dyed-in-the-wool deputy minister who refused to admit that he had made the wrong assumption.

The basis for the waiver offer from Cathay Pacific is because GE14 date has yet to be announced by the PM. The general public are not privy to the date and therefore they may have made earlier travel reservation which clashes with the election date.

On the other hand, Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas are celebrations which dates are already known. So, the airline does not see the need to make a similar offer.

Rather than whingeing about the initiative taken by Cathay Pacific, why don’t you as a minister convince Malaysian Airlines (MAS) to do likewise? The rakyat would very much appreciate your efforts.

Anonymous 428911434555133: Why would Cathay Pacific care about regime change? Why would they care who is PM in Malaysia? Please don’t be paranoid.

Also, the honourable minister should be happy with a bigger voter turnout and should applaud, not criticise, the airline’s actions.

Spinnot: This deputy home minister has got nothing better to do? The number of Malaysians who would be flying on Cathay Pacific around the date of GE14 at most will just be a few hundred people.

And by the way, Cathay Pacific though based in Hong Kong is not Chinese. Like other British “hongs” in Hong Kong such as HSBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Jardine Matheson, they are managed and majority-owned by the Brits.

Clearwater: In for a penny, in for a pound; Nur Jazlan’s stupidity knows no bounds. Give it a break, man, Cathay Pacific is just doing business.

If MAS was more business-like, it wouldn’t have failed several times over and gone private to hide its failings.

Anonymous: When you realise that you have made a stupid statement, the best you can do is to just keep quiet, and hope that it will pass.

Anonymous_1371488694: In some countries, the government tries to help the voters to vote. Ours complain when someone else tries to help. Very odd indeed.

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