Perhaps speeding ministers should start work at 4am to beat traffic

YOURSAY | ‘Do as I say, not as I do. It reminds me of that book ‘Animal Farm’.’

Nur Jazlan: No fines for speeding ministers

Negarawan: “Who's the police? Government. Who are the ministers? Government. If on government business, it's an internal matter to be solved within us," said Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

This is utter nonsense and is contemptuous of the law. The law applies equally to all citizens.

Umno is setting two sets of law: one for ordinary citizens, and the other for Umno. If Umno cannot be trusted in small matters, then they cannot be trusted in big matters as well.

Very soon, perhaps Nur Jazlan will say that Umno can steal, rob, rape and kill all in the name of "government business".

The Malaysian cabinet is full of dud ministers. The Umno government is already labelled by the international community as a rogue state, and Nur Jazlan's statement makes it very clear.

Ministers and those in positions of authority must set a good example for the rakyat in abiding by the law.

In fact, ministers who do not plan their work well are not fit to be ministers in the first place, as it reflects badly on their competency and responsibility.

Kee Thuan Chye: Indeed, whatever happened to "No one is above the law"?

Nur Jazlan says the government are the police, implying therefore that the government is above the law. Now we know what kind of government we have.

Senyum Kambeng: My friends in Aussieland are laughing at the quality of Malaysian politicians. On reading Nur Jazlan's statement, they say that the VIPs such as BN politicians are clearly way above the law.

It was only a few days ago that the chief police officer of the state of Victoria was caught speeding by his own men, about 10kph above the limit.

He promptly and publicly apologised for breaking the law. No excuses. On top of paying the fine, he also donated the equivalent amount to charity. Can you imagine our VIPs and senior police offices doing that?

Inquirer: He is right. No one should be above the law. Not even ministers on official business. But he is wrong on two counts.

1. Police - not government. They should be independent law enforcers and not beholden to anyone, including the government.

2. No trade-offs, as implied. It does not mean that in some cases the users go as low as 50kph they are entitled to charge along at more than 110kph when it suits them, i.e. when they are late for official events. I hope this is not what he implies.

Ipohcrite: Nur Jazlan is dead wrong on this issue. If ministers speed, they should be liable to at least double the fine imposed on ordinary folk.

Bad Head: The ministers should leave their homes at 4am or earlier in the morning to avoid the jam as recommended by Abdul Rahman Dahlan. Do you think normal Malaysians are not rushing to work?

Hopeless: In most, if not all, cases if the minister is late, everyone will have to wait for his/her arrival. For us who are earning a living, being late may get us fired from the job.

So like the Kota Belud MP said, the ministers should start early, probably 5 or 6am, to beat the traffic.

Abasir: Clearly Nur Jazlan has not learned anything from the minister who advised the rakyat to get up earlier and avoid the traffic jams, and the need to speed.

And by the way, who will be responsible when a speeding government vehicle hits and kills a member of the rakyat?

Anonymous_1394546275: It looks like the leaders of the nation are now exempted from time management, because mismanaging time is the only reason why they should rush from one place to another (and this with having administrators to manage their meetings, etc).

Yvoon: The law does not allow exemption for ministers. Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi just said that the law doesn't allow house arrest for jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. Are we following the law or not?

Telestai!: Nur Jazlan, you said, “Who's the police? Government". Allow me to correct you. The police are not part of the government and in case you have forgotten, they are known as the ‘Royal Malaysian Police’.

The police and ministers are not on the same side of business. In fact, they are on the opposite side as ministers do break the law and hence we have the police to take care of that. No one is above the law, not even the police.

Goldee: When the ministers themselves approved any laws they should be the first to abide by the law endorsed by them.

What a stupid argument that they should not pay fines for speeding because they are on official duty. It is the joke of the century.

We might as well spell out in the law that ministers are exempted from paying fines for speeding above the speed limit. This is the kind of mentality of our ministers - they think they are above the laws.

Odysseus: Mr Deputy Minister, we are all being told that speeding kills. Do you mean to tell us that ministers are licensed to kill?

Please remember they are put there by the rakyat who voted. Please don't turn around and kill us. Please appreciate the rakyat who put you in that position.

Well Thats Fantastic: Being a politician is the most important job in the world. Just ask any politician, they will tell you.

Do as I say, not as I do. It reminds me of that book ‘Animal Farm’. -Mkini