Tunku brought independence, Dr M brought illegals

YOURSAY 'The two are as different as day and night. Mahathir, please don't insult the public's intelligence by trying to make a comparison.'

Tunku gave out ICs in broad daylight, Kit Siang tells Dr M

Unspin: The one million non-Malays (and their descendants) who were given citizenship by first PM Tunku Abdul Rahman - to comply with one of the conditions of independence from the British - have contributed immensely to make Malaysia one of the richest countries in the world.

The same cannot be said about the hundreds of thousands of citizenships given out unilaterally by fourth PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad because Sabah remains one of the poorest states in Malaysia.

Kgen: Tunku gave citizenship to qualified non-Malay residents in Malaya as part of the agreement with the British for independence.

What has that got to do with Mahathir's evil Project IC which was meant to subvert the democratic process in Sabah by using foreigners to vote for BN?

FairMind: Tunku is known to have brought independence to Malaysia while Dr M is known to have brought illegal immigrants to Malaysia. The two are as different as day and night.

Please don't insult Tunku and the public's intelligence by trying to make a comparison.

Anak, Bangsa, Malaysia: Mahathir has always somebody else to blame. He is saying that giving one million Chinese and Indians citizenship is evil and therefore Tunku is worse than him.

With that, he has shown himself to be a racist. The Chinese and Indians must reprimand him for uttering such things.

Onyourtoes: I have long lost my respect for Mahathir. Indirectly he was questioning the citizenship of non-Malays given during Tunku's time.

You are an idiot; without the granting of those citizenships, do you think Malaya would have gotten its independence? You drink water, but you never know the source.

Disgusted: What has MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP and other BN component parties got to say about Mahathir's statement - that all their members should not have been given citizenship and he is equating them to the citizenship given to illegals in Sabah, including terrorists.

MCA chief Chua Soi Lek and son, what are your comments? Are both of you afraid of Dr M and his gang in Umno?

ABU, Don't Play Play: DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, you have made a very good point. Tunku gave citizenships in broad daylight to those who had been in the country for decades amongst other conditions, such as jus soli (a right by which citizenship is given to an individual born in the territory of the related state).

While Dr M gave citizenship to any foreigner who is a Muslim to support Umno in Sabah. That is the difference. By the way, it is not just to Filipinos from Mindanao and Indonesians from Kalimantan.

Remember the Rohingyas from Burma and the Chams from Cambodia? Dr M must be the only leader in the world who gave citizenship based on religion.

MCA, MIC and PPP, what do you have to say about this? Did your friends in Umno inform you about it?

Bluemountains: If the Project IC or Project M was legal, why was there a need to detain the National Registration Department (NRD) officers under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for issuing blue ICs to illegal immigrants?

Were they detained under the ISA so that Umno-BN's clandestine project would remain a secret? And were they made scapegoats for Umno-BN's act of treason?

Be Fair: Clearly Mahathir is defending the indefensible. This Project M or citizenship for votes is a betrayal of the rakyat's trust and country's sovereignty.

Why must the process of IC (identity card) registration be done in a place other than the NRD office?

We are talking about thousands of foreigners who became citizens literally overnight so that they could vote in time for the Sabah election.

The government has misled the rakyat, Agong and the country. They must not escape the law for they have committed a serious crime against the nation.

Erinyes: Putting aside the 'treasonous' aspect of the instant IC fiasco for a minute, it is criminal what Mahathir and Umno have done to downgrade the calibre of our human capital.

On one hand, they have done everything possible to discourage and drive away the country's best talents by their misgovernment, corruption and racist policies.

On the other hand, they have bumped up our population figures by making citizens of foreigners with no or mediocre professional qualifications. What a brilliant recipe for economic success!

And not to forget, Prime Minister Najib Razak is now pouring millions into the Talent Corp to lure back those who had fled this country for greener pastures.

Sabahan: The walls have begun to come crashing down on Mahathir, who at one time envisioned himself to be a world leader, fighting for the rights of the developing nations.

Unfortunately, time has shown him to be a bully, a dictator, a corrupt leader who plundered his own country and led his country to ruin, so much so that handouts have become a common occurrence.

Now he has also been proven to be a traitor to his own country. It is a great fall, especially when his rival, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, is still much admired, respected and sought after as a speaker at world forums.

Anonymous_3ec6: Mahathir, what will your family and billionaire sons say about you? This is the true Malay dilemma. - Malaysiakini