| WIKILEAKS: Malaysia's 2008 Budget: Pork Sold Separately Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
The issue the Prime Minister isn't bringing up for this election-year budget is the problem of declining oil revenues. Petronas provides 35 to 40% of the GOM's budget. However, Malaysia is projected to be a net importer of oil within the next several years, based on a continued trajectory of 4% annual increases in domestic demand. This is a major problem because Petronas is obliged by the GOM to provide oil and gas for the domestic market at subsidized prices and it is responsible for covering the price gap between international and domestic prices. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 
1. Summary: On September 7, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi unveiled his 2008 budget proposal. Billed as a "fiscally responsible" budget, it projects a deficit of 3.1%, down from 3.2% in 2007. Although spending is up, the GOM projects higher GDP growth will generate more than adequate additional revenue flows to compensate for it. The Prime Minister (PM) also announced that he expects the private sector, including foreign investors, to help fund government-initiated development plans. While the budget contained some important new tax provisions including a welcomed decrease in corporate tax rates, simplified tax collection on dividends, and enactment of additional tax preferences for the Islamic financial sector, the most important tax reform measure, implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) proposed in 2004, was missing. In a panel discussion following the release of the budget, Ministry of Finance officials insisted it was still on the table. However, absent up-front support from the PM and with elections just around the corner, the GOM is unlikely to submit a GST proposal to Parliament in the coming year. This leaves the GOM without an answer to how it will reduce its dependence on revenues from the oil sector, even though depleting oil reserves imply this revenue stream will shrink in the near future. Absent tax broadening measures like the GST, the GOM, which currently gets 38 percent of its revenue from the national oil company, will find it increasingly difficult to maintain its fiscal deficit within manageable bounds over the next decade. End summary. First, what the budget didn't do: 3. For an election year budget, many Malaysians were surprised by what it did not do. A widely anticipated voter-friendly cut in the top individual income tax bracket did not materialize, but neither did any additional "sin" taxes (on tobacco or alcohol) which the GOM tends to increase every year. Consistent with its billing as a "fiscally responsible" budget, no large new development projects were announced as part of the budget. However, the Prime Minister already had announced plans to invest heavily in three regions on the peninsula, including the "Iskandar Development Region" bordering Singapore, plus Northern and Eastern Corridor Regional Development Plans. Similar regional development projects are rumored to be in the works for East Malaysia as well. The Prime Minister announced that he is relying in large part on the private sector to finance these government initiatives. Reducing the deficit? A closer look at the numbers: 4. A closer look at the numbers shows that the GOM's formula for lowering the deficit is a result of two underlying assumptions, both of which have been received with some skepticism by local analysts. The first assumption is that real GDP will grow by 6 percent to 6.5% - a projection that analysts find somewhat optimistic. (Currently GDP is growing at approximately 5.7%.) The second assumption is that the private sector - particularly foreign investors - will provide the lion's share of the funding needed for the three regional development plans laid out by the Prime Minister. Spending up 2.5% from last year 5. Total budget expenditures (operating and development) for 2008 are RM 168.8 billion ($ 48.2 billion) in 2008, up 2.5% from RM 164.7 billion ($ 47 .1 billion) in 2007. Operating expenses up: 6. Operating costs will grow 4% to RM 128.8 billion ($ 36.8 billion) in 2008. Salaries comprise 28.1% ($ 10.3 billion) of operating expenditures and fixed charges and grants 49.6% ($ 18.3 billion). $ 11.4 billion for development: 7. Gross development expenditure is budgeted at RM 40.0 billion ($ 11.4 billion), 2.1% lower than the revised allocation of RM 40.9 billion ($ 11.7 billion) in 2007 as the government intends to count on the private sector to drive economic growth. This 8% reduction came as a surprise to many analysts, some of whom had projected an allocation of RM 48 to 50 billion ($ 13.7 to 14.3 billion) for 2008. However, the Ministry of Finance also may tap into its supplementary allocation of US$ 2.35 billion when the government does a mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysian Plan in mid-2008. 8. The biggest slice of the $ 11.4 billion development budget will go to education and training with $ 2.1 billion (18.4%), transport $ 1.9 billion (16.9%) and security $1.4 billion (15.2%). Trade & Industry and agriculture will receive $ 1.1 billion (9.7%) and $ 1.05 billion (9.4%) respectively. Plans to cut subsidies? 9. Subsidies will constitute 7.9% ($ 2.9 billion) of operating expenditures, declining 15.8% from 9.8% ($ 3.5 billion) of operating expenditure in 2007, indicating the government will possibly reduce fuel subsidies (perhaps on gas) in 2008. Fuel subsidies are about three quarters of the total subsidy payment. So far, the government has kept its promise not to raise domestic fuel prices this year as crude oil prices continue to rise. High oil prices to keep a lid on deficit, for now: 10. Despite the increase in public spending, the government announced that it expected the fiscal deficit to remain under control at RM 20.9 billion ($ 6.0 billion) or 3.1% of GDP in 2008, down from an estimated RM 19.9 billion ($ 5.7 billion) or 3.2% of GDP in 2007. The government projected revenue to increase 3.7% to RM 147.1 billion ($ 42 billion) in 2008 from RM 141.8 billion ($ 40.5 billion) in 2007, based on an assumption that oil prices will average $ 74 per barrel in 2007 and $ 75 per barrel in 2008. Oil-related revenues are expected to contribute $ 15.9 billion or 38% of total revenue in 2008, up marginally from $ 15.3 billion or 37.9% of total revenue in 2007. (Comment: As the petroleum income tax collection is based on preceding year's income, the government can be confident of its oil revenue in 2008. National oil company Petronas' dividend payment to the government will accelerate to $ 6.9 billion in 2007 from $ 5.1 billion in 2006.) New tax provisions: 11. Following are the most significant changes to the tax code proposed in the 2008 budget: -- Corporate tax, reduced from 28% in 2006 to 27% in 2007, will be reduced further to 26% in 2008 and 25% in 2009. This compares favorably to most countries in the region, with the exception of Singapore (18%) and Hong Kong (17.5%). Vietnam, China, Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Philippines all have higher corporate tax rates, ranging from 28% to 35%. (Taiwan's corporate tax rate is also 25%, but there is an additional 20% withholding tax on dividends.) -- Tax on dividends will no longer be adjusted to meet the recipient's tax rate. Currently, taxpayers in brackets above the corporate rate are required to pay the difference; taxpayers in brackets below the corporate rate are eligible for a refund. (Dividend payments are not subject to double taxation in Malaysia.) Companies may opt for a six-year phase-in of this new provision. -- Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) will be exempt from filing monthly tax estimates and paying monthly installments for the first two years of operations. Tax for the full two years will be liable upon filing at the end of the two years. A SME is defined as a company with ordinary paid-up share capital of less than RM 2.5 million (US$ 727,000). -- Information & Communication Technology (ICT) companies will be required to locate within specified geographic areas to retain current tax incentives. ICT companies will qualify for an exemption of import duties and sales tax for broadband equipment not produced in Malaysia. -- Income derived from trading of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates will be tax exempt. -- Tax relief will be provided for post-graduate studies, sports and exercise equipment, children's educational accounts, computers, broadband subscription fees, and some retirement benefits. -- Expatriate income tax will be calculated according to the number of days physically present in Malaysia. -- A 7% cap on deductions for approved charitable contributions will be extended to individual taxpayers as well as companies. (Currently only companies are subject to the cap.) -- Companies located in the Labuan Offshore Financial Center can make an irrevocable election to be taxed at the regular Malaysian rate, allowing them to benefit from bilateral tax treaties that otherwise would exclude them. -- Taxpayers will be permitted to make mortgage payments out of their retirement savings accounts. -- A number of new incentives will be enacted for companies engaged in Islamic finance, including Islamic insurance (reftel). Comment: 12. The issue the Prime Minister isn't bringing up for this election-year budget is the problem of declining oil revenues. Petronas provides 35 to 40% of the GOM's budget. However, Malaysia is projected to be a net importer of oil within the next several years, based on a continued trajectory of 4% annual increases in domestic demand. This is a major problem because Petronas is obliged by the GOM to provide oil and gas for the domestic market at subsidized prices and it is responsible for covering the price gap between international and domestic prices. This of course eats away at its profits and its taxable income which is so essential to government revenue flows. While Petronas increasingly expands its operations overseas, it is unlikely to be able to do so rapidly enough to compensate for lost revenue when oil imports exceed exports. The problem of preventing a ballooning fiscal deficit when that happens is the elephant that everyone pretends not to see. KEITH (September 2007) |
| Anwar the unsinkable Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:45 PM PDT 
Chua Jui Meng warns BN that prison will not erase Anwar's political appeal. Chua, who became a political activist when he was studying law, joined MCA in 1976. He was elected as MP for Bakri (Johor) in 1986 and retained the seat for five consecutive terms. He became Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister in 1990 and Health Minister in 1995. G. Vinod, Free Malaysia Today Inside or outside of prison, Anwar Ibrahim will always be a force to reckon with. That is the view of a lot of people, whether they like or hate the opposition leader. But Chua Jui Meng, who repeated the statement in a recent FMT interview, is an admirer. "I've never seen a man so touched by God ," said the former health minister who is now a vice-president in Anwar's PKR. Some may say that is a tad too effusive, even coming from a comrade in arms. But Chua insisted that he had "seen it all" in decades of active politics. "Anwar is touched by God in a very special way. Despite the persecution he is suffering, he is still as bold as ever." One manifestation of that boldness, according to Chua, is that Anwar is never shy, even when addressing a predominantly Malay crowd, of articulating his belief that all races can thrive in Malaysia without anyone having to deprive anyone else. "That's extremely rare," coming from a Malay politician in Malaysia, he said. He cautioned his former colleagues in Barisan Nasional that having Anwar behind bars would be politically detrimental to them. Imprisoning him on "fabricated charges of sodomy" would only help Pakatan Rakyat win more seats in elections, he said. "And I believe Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not unintelligent to know that putting Anwar behind bars will make a martyr of him. Remember what happened in 1998. Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it." Chua, who became a political activist when he was studying law, joined MCA in 1976. He was elected as MP for Bakri (Johor) in 1986 and retained the seat for five consecutive terms. He became Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister in 1990 and Health Minister in 1995. He joined PKR in July 2009, citing Malaysia's need for a strong two-party system.
Game changer Chua believes that BN leaders know how strong Anwar's political influence is and will continue to harass him. But Anwar would always "bounce back strongly", he said. "I always tell the non-Malays that it took 50 years for Malaysia to have a man the stature of Anwar." Speaking about Pakatan's chances in the coming polls, Chua said the government's crackdown on Bersih 2.0 last July had swung fence-sitters to the opposition's side. He dismissed the notion that the hudud controversy had caused a dwindling of support for the opposition bloc, saying that many non-Malays, especially the Chinese, had warmed up to PAS. "The Chinese and Indians may not support hudud, but they respect PAS' views on it. They know PAS is a game changer in the current political landscape." In addition, Chua said, the non-Malays were aware that it would be tough for PAS to legalise hudud in Malaysia without it occupying two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. "And Umno should realise that it can no longer use hudud as a spectre to frighten the non-Malays like it did in 1999. People are more politically savvy these days." In the aftermath of Anwar's sacking from the Cabinet in 1998, the Malays abandoned the ruling coalition but Chinese and Indians voters kept BN in power out of fear of racial riots and the hudud provisions of Islamic law. Chua said the main challenge he was facing as PKR's Johor chief was to get Pakatan's message across to the rural areas. "Umno is going all out to prevent us from reaching out to Johoreans." READ MORE HERE |
| Projek Hospital Shah Alam: Kerajaan tanggung lebihan kos RM70 juta Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:13 PM PDT 
(Merdeka Review) - Akhirnya, Gadang Holdings Bhd yang "direstui" Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) memperolehi projek Hospital Shah Alam, mungkin dilihat sebagai tanda noktah kepada kemelut yang berlaku sekian lama. Namun demikian, di sebalik kemelut ini, timbul pertikaian ketidaktelusan dalam kementerian kerajaan, di mana KKR menyerah projek ini kepada Gadang tanpa melalui Kementerian Kewangan dan Jabatan Perdana Menteri, dan mengakibatkan kerajaan perlu menanggung lebihan kos setinggi RM70 juta.  Dalam satu kenyataan di Bursa Malaysia pada 10 Oktober 2011, Gadang Holdings Bhd mengumumkan bahawa anak syarikatnya Gadang Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd telah memperolehi projek Hospital Shah Alam, dengan kontrak bernilai RM410.87 juta. Projek ini akan disiapkan dalam tempoh 24 bulan.
Pernah dalam satu laporan eksklusif, MerdekaReview (edisi bahasa Cina) melaporkan bahawa terdapat enam syarikat yang menyertai perbidaan semula projek ini, dan Gadang Holdings Bhd yang "direstui" KKR telah berjaya memperolehi projek tersebut. Sebagaimana yang diketahui, harga bidaan asal yang dikemukakan Gadang Holdings Bhd adalah RM431.66 juta, namun telah dikurangkan kepada RM410.87 juta kemudiannya, dan disiapkan dalam tempoh 24 bulan.
Masalah ketidaktelusan
Menurut laporan sebelum ini, setelah perbidaan tamat pada Disember 2010, KKR mengesyorkan Gadang Holdings Bhd kepada Kementerian Kewangan. Namun demikian, Kementerian Kewangan mengeluarkan surat perintah pada 22 Mac 2011 kepada KKR, menyatakan bahawa cadangan Gadang sebagai kontraktor projek Hospital Shah Alam tidak diluluskan, malah meminta agar KKR mengadakan perbidaan semula.
Walaupun KKR membuat rayuan kepada Kementerian Kewangan pada Jun 2011, agar Gadang Holdings Bhd yang berjaya dalam perbidaan dipertimbangkan semula oleh Kementerian Kewangan untuk mengambil-alih projek Hospital Shah Alam. Namun demikian, bukan sahaja Kementerian Kewangan menolak permintaan KKR dalam surat balasnya, malah cuba menyenaraikan Frontier Structure Sdn Bhd yang tidak berkelayakan ke dalam senarai perbidaan semula.
Bukan itu sahaja, lebihan kos untuk projek Hospital Shah Alam melebihi RM70 juta selepas perbidaan semula, mengakibatkan nilai kontrak baru melebihi nilai kontrak asal yang diluluskan, malah di luar bidang kuasa Kementerian Kesihatan untuk meluluskannya. Kementerian Kesihatan perlu mendapatkan persetujuan Unit Perancang Ekonomi (EPU) sebelum mengeluarkan surat kelulusan. Oleh yang demikian, Kementerian Kesihatan menangguhkan kelulusan yang diminta oleh KKR.
Dengan kata lain, walaupun Kementerian Kewangan telah mengeluarkan surat untuk tidak meluluskan Gadang Holdings Bhd daripada mengambil-alih projek Hospital Shah Alam, namun KKR bukan sahaja tidak menurut perintah Kementerian Kewangan, malah terus mengumumkan bahawa projek ini diserah kepada Gadang Holdings Bhd tanpa melalui Kementerian Kewangan. Sebagaimana yang diketahui, bukan sahaja Kementerian Kewangan, malah Jabatan Perdana Menteri tidak mengetahui keputusan KKR ini.
Lebihan kos yang ditanggung
Lantaran daripada penyerahan projek ini kepada Gadang Holdings Bhd, ia bermakna kerajaan perlu menanggung lebihan kos lebih daripada RM70 juta. Menurut dokumen Kementerian Kesihatan, kos projek melonjak kepada RM556.51 juta selepas perbidaan semula, mencatat lebihan kos sebanyak RM74.91juta berbanding nilai kontrak asal.
Ia sebenarnya menunjukkan bahawa kerajaan BN masih mengekalkan budaya ketidaktelusan dalam perbidaan. Ia bercanggah dengan program transformasi kerajaan yang disarankan kerajaan Najib, dan menyebabkan dasar pembaharuan dalam bidang perkhidmatan awam ini menjadi hanya satu retorik semata-mata.
Lebih penting, masalah lebihan kos projek Syarikat Hospital Shah Alam mungkin tidak dapat diselesaikan dengan pengambil-alihan oleh Gadang Holdings Bhd. Isu pokoknya, walaupun Gadang Holdings Bhd berjaya memperolehi projek ini dengan sokongan KKR, namun projek Hospital Shah Alam ini juga berdepan dengan risiko kegagalan atau lebihan kos sekali lagi.
Ini kerana walaupun Gadang Holdings Bhd memiliki rekod membina hospital, namun pada hakikatnya ia tidak memiliki pengalaman yang sebenar dan profesional yang khusus. Menurut maklumat yang diperolehi MerdekaReview sebelum ini, Gadang Holdings Bhd walaupun pernah memperolehi satu projek Hospital Rehabilitasi Cheras pada tahun 2008, namun syarikat ini terpaksa mendapatkan bantuan luar, iaitu perkhidmatan rundingan yang berkenaan dengan peralatan perubatan - kerana tidak memiliki pengetahuan dan pakar dalam bidang yang berkenaan.
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| Dangerous precedence in Sultan’s involvement in DUMC case Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:52 PM PDT 
DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN The decision to use the Sultan of Selangor with regards to the incidence of alleged proselytizing at the Damansara Utama Methodist church dinner has set a dangerous precedence because of several reasons. The people of Malaysia, regardless of the ethnic background and creed, are all directly involved and affected by this historic case in which the Sultan, as the head of Muslim affairs in Selangor, made a legal decision on the very sensitive matter. While I doubt that the Sultan was truly informed on all aspects, implications, ramifications and potential repercussions of the case, what has been done has been done, and we have to proceed to deal with it, possibly for many years to come. The king may reverse the situation if he rescinds his ruling but this seems unlikely to happen. So the first question that needs to be asked is why hasn't the syariah court given the opportunity to contribute to the solution of the case? Since the case also involves non-Muslims, shouldn't the civil court also be involved? We realize of course that if the two courts joined the tussle, it would lead to confusion about which law to apply on whom. Should the Muslims be dealt with with syariah law and the Christians be dealt with by applying civil law? But how would one settle the case with two laws clashing on a case that could potentially result in differing judgments made on two different parties, or both parties becoming affected by ruling of laws that shouldn't apply to them? It would be a classic case of religious rights and freedom in which two irreconcilable laws try to dominate without any acceptable resolution! All it would do would be to cause an international embarrassment and shame to the country's ridiculous two-layered legal system! So now we have a situation in which the Sultan has been used as an instrument of solution, which immediately results in many people raising issues about what's right and wrong. The royal ruling was made without any legal basis because he made it only as the leader of Islamic affairs in the state. There was no trial to decide who was guilty or not guilty. As a result the ruling in which the Sultan supported the raid by JAIS but assuring all that none would be charged, although the 12 Muslims who attended the fund-raising dinner would be given counseling, is spurious. The immediate assumption is that DUMC is guilty and that there was an attempt to proselytize. This then makes DUMC appear guilty, and so is in a defensive position while it is expected to keep silent and let the whole thing cool down. But it is not to be. Various parties are voicing out their unhappiness. The response from Sarawak is that one's religion is one's personal affair with God and none has the right to interfere in it. The other issue is the question of JAIS' right to flagrantly enter a church and disrupt its activities. Ng Kam Weng, of The Micah Mandate writes that "the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion…. There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows Jais officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by Jais are Sections 12 and 13, which specify that 'an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence.'" By this, clearly JAIS is in the wrong and should be judged for a contravention of provisions of the Federal Constitution and the Propagation Enactment. I agree with Bob Teoh, an online commentator, that JAIS "cannot hide behind its spurious actions and be exonerated from its controversial intrusion into a charity dinner held at a church…. It must be held accountable for its actions because it strikes at the very heart of criminal jurisprudence, law enforcement, and administration of justice — Islamic or otherwise. Jais cannot (be)…allowed to get away with it through flawed reasoning…. Jais descended upon a charity function…without invitation, permission or due authority…. Conducting a search without a warrant or an order from the court is considered an extra-judicial action. Is Jais, therefore, exempt from due process? And if so, why?" The simplistic method of using the Sultan to supposedly settle the whole thing down is clearly illegal and is a denial of the due process of law. What should have been done was to allow the due legal process to be carried out, especially because this is a test case for the country's dual legal system. Such a process may be protracted and expensive but it is necessary to give our judicial system a sense of honesty and transparency, and an opportunity for clarification and resolution for the long term legal benefits of all Malaysians. Unfortunately, because of the simplistic approach, we are all left hanging with the doubt and dissatisfaction. Because of this the civil-syariah dilemma will continue unresolved, and several questions will continue to haunt us. Will any church building be safe from raids by Islamic enforcement teams from now on, with or without reasonable cause? Which law should now precede in cases involving proselytization, or cases in which Muslim voluntarily joins a church to become Christians (without the church being aware that they are Muslims)? The other danger in this precedence is the now questionable position of the Sultan as the king of all the people of Selangor. He is installed as people's king, not merely the king of the Muslims. By taking sides in a religious issue, he has established an unwanted position as a king who is a protector of Muslims and no longer favouring the Christians. By making the decision he has also entered into the soiled realm of politics. Royals are supposed to be above politics being the patron and protector of all his people regardless of their race and religion. Sadly, in the case of Selangor, this may no longer be the case. |
| What’s the beef? Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:32 PM PDT 
Now, the Christians condemn Islam for being barbaric (in particular reference to Hudud). But these are the same laws in the Bible. And the fact that Christians and Christian countries no longer follow these laws does not mean that the Bible has abolished these laws. These laws are still in the Bible. In fact, it says very clearly in the Bible that you are to kill your own children if they become apostates. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin I remember back in the 1980s (if I'm not mistaken) when Malaysia introduced the RM1,000 fine for littering. We joked that if you smoke a cigarette during the fasting month of Ramadhan and you see a policeman, keep smoking. If you were to throw the cigarette onto the road you would get fined RM1,000 for littering. If you keep smoking you would get arrested for smoking in public when you are supposed to be fasting. The fine is only RM300 -- so it is cheaper. What has that joke got to do with what I am going to say today? Nothing, really, I just wanted to get your attention. Well, actually it is linked in some small way. I wanted to demonstrate that Islamic laws or Shariah laws have existed for a long time in Malaysia. It is not something new or something that is just about to be implemented. And there are many laws under the Shariah, the only one that is yet to be implemented would, of course, be that very controversial law called Hudud, which deals with 'serious crimes' (at least from the Islamic perspective). However, Shariah laws have always been imposed only on Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims or suspected to have converted to Islam: hence the body snatching cases). Non-Muslims are exempted or immune from these laws. We once discussed a hypothetical situation. What if a man (or woman) was arrested for khalwat (close proximity: which means being in a secluded place with someone you are not married to) and he (or she) was dragged before the Shariah court to face charges? The charges are read to him/her and he/she responds by asking the court to prove that he/she is a Muslim. You see; close proximity is only a crime if you (or both of you) are a Muslim. If you are not a Muslim then no crime has been committed. So this man (or woman) asks the court, "How do you know that I am a Muslim?" That is a valid question. He/she may have been born from Muslim parents and may even have a Muslim name on his/her birth certificate and identity card. So, 'constitutional speaking', he/she is a Muslim. But what are the criteria for one to be regarded as a Muslim? Aren't there certain doctrines you have to believe in (beyond any shadow of doubt) to be a Muslim? And aren't there certain fundamentals you have to believe in plus certain rituals you have to perform to be a Muslim? What if you doubted that Prophet Muhammad was really a Prophet? What if you suspected (but are quite not sure) that he learned 'Islam' from Khadijah's cousin Warakah Nawfal, who was a Christian Ebionite priest -- considering that there is a lot of overlapping between Islam and the Old and New Testaments? (Khadijah was Prophet Muhammad's first wife). What if you suspected (but are quite not sure) that the Koran may not have come from God but was actually drafted by Prophet Muhammad from what he had learned from Warakah? If you start thinking like this then never mind if you were born from Muslim parents and have a Muslim name in your birth certificate and identity card. You are NOT a Muslim. You doubt the prophethood of Muhammad and you doubt that the Koran is God's word. That means you are not a Muslim. So, if you were to tell the Shariah court this -- about your doubts and that you do not think what Islam says about Prophet Muhammad and the Koran are correct and maybe are just myths -- then the court cannot try you as a Muslim. And since the Shariah court can only try Muslims, then it would have to stand down. Of course, then the religious department can arrange to send you for 'religious rehabilitation'. But that is another matter. The point is, they can't try you for khalwat since you have professed to not believing in the doctrine of Islam and that you doubt its veracity and suspect that these stories are mere myths and old wives' tales. Say, after many months in the detention camp and they still can't 'rehabilitate' you. You still insist that you do not believe in what you consider myths. Well, they can't put you to death because Hudud laws have not been implemented yet in Malaysia. So they will eventually have to let you go (which is what happened to one of my friends after two years of detention). Now, if they had implemented Hudud, and if the Hudud law for apostasy is death, then they can cut off your head. Actually, if you were to analyse the Hudud laws carefully, you can see that they are actually similar to the old Judeo-Christian laws. So one would not be faulted if one were to say that Islam was 'hijacked' from earlier religions (although Muslims would get very upset with you for saying this). Now, the Christians condemn Islam for being barbaric (in particular reference to Hudud). But these are the same laws in the Bible. And the fact that Christians and Christian countries no longer follow these laws does not mean that the Bible has abolished these laws. These laws are still in the Bible. In fact, it says very clearly in the Bible that you are to kill your own children if they become apostates. This is still in the Bible and has never been amended. And the fact that Christians and Christian countries today no longer implement these laws is for no other reason other than that Christians are bad Christians. The Christians have defied God and have rejected the Bible. There are very few Christians who still listen to God and follow God's word as laid out in the Bible. If they were true Christians, they too would kill apostates -- people who leave Christianity to become Muslims. Anyway, some Muslims want Islamic laws to be implemented. I am of the opinion that we let the Muslims work this out amongst themselves. Today, hardly any Christian would agree to be subjected to 'barbaric' Bible laws although this would mean they are violating the Bible. I suspect that the majority of Muslims would also decide to do the same. But it is up to the Muslims to decide this matter, not for non-Muslims to decide on behalf of the Muslims. The only thing the non-Muslims should be concerned about is that these Islamic laws would only be imposed on Muslims and not on non-Muslims, like what has been the case thus far. How these guarantees would be put in place is a matter that can be discussed and agreed upon. And once the non-Muslims are satisfied that they would be immune or exempted from ALL forms of Islamic laws, then let the Muslims do what they want. After all, in a democracy, everyone has a right to his/her religious beliefs and practices as long as it does not affect other people. |
| Saya serah kepada polis - Aziz Bari Posted: 13 Oct 2011 05:15 PM PDT 
(Harakah Daily) - Pakar Perlembagaan, Prof Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari menyerahkan kepada polis untuk melakukan siasatan terhadapnya berhubung laporan yang dibuat, mendakwa beliau mempertikai titah Sultan Selangor dalam isu pemeriksaan terhadap Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama (DUMC). Beliau berkata, semua orang mempunyai hak untuk membuat laporan polis jika tidak berpuas hati terhadap tindakan mana-mana pihak dan polis juga berhak melakukan tugas mereka.
"Hak orang nak buat laporan polis...saya tak boleh kata apa...terpulang kepada polis untuk ambil tindakan," katanya kepada Harakahdaily hari ini.
Aziz berkata demikian ketika diminta memberi respons kepada lima laporan polis yang dibuat terhadapnya semalam.
Satu laporan dibuat oleh bekas ketua Pemuda PKR Ezam Mohd Nor manakala empat lagi oleh NGO yang kritikal terhadap kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor Gabungan Anti Penyelewengan Selangor (GAPS).
Dalam laporan masing-masing, mereka mendakwa, Aziz tidak sepatunya mengeluarkan kenyataan itu kerana kuasa Sultan dalam hal ehwal Islam termaktub dalam Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri.
Namun Aziz mempertahankan tindakannya itu dan menafikan beliau mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mencabar kuasa Sultan.
"Saya rasa apa yang saya sebut itu tak ada masalah dalam ruang lingkup yang kita boleh komen.
"Ada lagi kenyataan yang lebih teruk tapi tak ada pulak laporan polis dibuat terhadap mereka," katanya.
Malaysiakini Selasa lalu melaporkan Aziz sebagai berkata, tindakan Sultan Selangor campurtangan berhubung isu DUMC bukan tindakan yang lazim.
Menurutnya, walaupun sebagai ketua agama Islam negeri baginda mempunyai hak itu, tetapi ia perlu dijalankan selaras dengan ajaran Islam. |
| Selangor dances the limbo for JAIS Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:29 PM PDT 
The Sultan's decree does not resolve important issues raised by the farcical raid on DUMC and has left many with bottled up feelings of resentment and discontent Officials of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid. Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today The principal parties involved in the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raid on a Methodist church function last August have officially endorsed the sultan's solution, and the matter is deemed closed. The Sultan of Selangor's brief statement said that "….there had been attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims" during the dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) organised by the NGO Harapan Komuniti during Ramadan. Despite this, many issues remain unresolved and the rakyat is more perplexed than ever because his statement raises more questions than answers. How much involvement has Umno in the affairs of an opposition led state, do state religious authorities think that they are above the law and had abuses of power by JAIS been swept under the carpet? The statement did not allude to any evidence uncovered in these "attempts" at proselytisation, neither did it make reference to the Christians. However, it mentioned that no further legal action could be taken because of insufficient evidence and that JAIS had acted correctly in conducting the search. Sultan Sharafuddin said: "Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by JAIS and after obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, we are in agreement that there would be no prosecution against any party. "We are satisfied that the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any law enforceable in Selangor. We command that (Islamic officials) provide counseling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the religion of Islam." Officials of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid. Perhaps, the most disquieting statement was when the sultan said that he was "gravely concerned and extremely offended by the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims." Malaysians have remarked that they are just as offended because nothing has been done to check high-handed officialdom and the mistrust which the officials have in the rakyat. Firstly, they are offended that Malays are perceived to be of weak faith and an even weaker constitution, that their presence in a largely Christian flock, when hymns are sung or prayers said, could make them denounce their faith. Secondly, the notion that any multiethnic event, be it a funeral, Christmas party, celebration of a festival or something as innocuous as a dinner, is seen as an attempt to convert the Muslim brethren. As defender of the faith, the sultan had also directed his subjects to stop questioning the actions of JAIS and that activities which spread other religions to Muslims should cease. He said: "The religion of Islam as practised in Selangor is one of tolerance. Muslims are always encouraged to respect the believers of other religions. However, persons or parties cannot take the opportunity to spread other religions to Muslims." What if a similar raid was on a mosque? But disgruntled non-Muslims have remarked: "It is all right for you Muslims. But who speaks for us, when members of our community undergo forced conversions? "Families are torn apart, children are separated from their mothers, bodies are snatched from graves, marriages cannot be registered. Where is the freedom to practise our religion as provided in the constitution?" A Malay resident of Petaling Jaya living beside a Church said: "No one questions JAIS for wanting to do its job. The issue is how JAIS conducted itself when it carried out the raid. "Did JAIS have any respect of the sanctity of a place of worship? Did it even follow procedures when conducting the raid? Are there any standard procedures in the first instance? "If a similar raid were to be conducted on a mosque, wouldn't there be a Muslim backlash? Without search warrants or strict adherence to guidelines to raid, do you think anyone will have any respect for authority if they simply bulldoze their way in? "Where is the respect for another person's religion?" Where is our tolerance?" READ MORE HERE |
| OWC sex book a cheap stunt, says SIS Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:20 PM PDT 
(Malaysian Digest) - Women's groups have hit out at the Obedient Wives Club' for its "explicit sex book" which called on a Muslim husband to have joint sex with all his spouses, reported The Star. Sisters in Islam (SIS) acting executive director Ratna Osman called it a "cheap stunt" to get its name in the local and international media spotlight. She said the group failed to look at the demands of society, which called for gender equality and progress in education.
"Apart from talking about a woman's subjugation to her husband and how to give him the best sex, they do not have anything concrete to contribute to society when we are facing many problems," she said.
The 115-page book titled Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam kepada Dunia (Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World) had, among others, encouraged Muslim husbands to have sex simultaneously with their wives.
The Obedient Wives Club was formed by Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd, an organization founded by former members of the banned Al-Arqam.
Ratna stressed that "nowhere in the Quran does it talk about marriage as just about sex and serving the husband as a master. It talks about love for one another, about kindness to each other."
She questioned the source of the book, which quoted research claiming that women only gave their husbands 10 percent of what they wanted from their wives' bodies.
Ratna said SIS research showed that 64.8 percent of first wives said they were not informed when their husbands took another wife, thus leading to a feeling of betrayal and pain, and 53% of them cited an increase in domestic violence.
"How would OWC respond to this in their mission to teach good sex? Will OWC's book help these women in their problems?" Ratna asked.
Meanwhile, Empower executive director Maria Chin Abdullah said the stand by Obedient Wives Club was "a slap in the face to women".
"Women have contributed greatly to the nation but they (OWC) have diminished us to being mere sex objects," she said.
The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) said it would restrict the distribution of the book, which it viewed as "shameful" and "nonsensical".
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said they would investigate the contents of the book.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the ministry believed that the club and what it stood for had undermined the important gains made towards gender equality in Malaysia.
"Should this publication be in contravention of the law whether civil or syariah, then the law here will take its course," she said.
Leaders of the club could not be reached for comment. |
| Demonstrations continue at Jakarta embassy Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:08 PM PDT 
(Bernama) -- The Malaysian embassy in Jakarta continued to become a target for demonstrations since yesterday when another group known as Laskar Merah Putih (LMP) staged a demonstration claiming Malaysia had illegally taken over more than 1,000ha of Indonesian land in northern Kalimantan. About 70 LMP members who gathered with banners and hurled abusive slogans outside the embassy had tried to affix a flag on the gate but were prevented by police. Before leaving the leader of the group Adek Erfil Manurung handed a note to a security personnel on duty at the gate and announced that there would be a bigger demonstration on Oct 28. They also wanted the Malaysian government to resolve the border issue between both countries. Yesterday, a group calling itself Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR) numbering some 650 people hurled hard objects at the guard post and perimeter lighting and also at the policemen, also on a similar claim. The Indonesian Parliament's defence and foreign affairs commission deputy head Maj Gen (Rtd) T.B. Hasanuddin had told the local media on Saturday that Indonesia had lost 1,490ha in Camar Bulan to Malaysia and that the country's sea boundary in Tanjung Datu waters had moved 800m in favour of Kuala Lumpur. However, several Indonesian Cabinet ministers had rejected the lawmaker's claim that Malaysia had "illegally taken over" more than 1,000ha of Indonesian land in northern Kalimantan. In Kuala Lumpur, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Indonesian counterpart Dr Marty Natalegawa said after the 11th Joint Commission for Bilateral Commission Cooperation Meeting on Tuesday that the border markers at the Kalimantan border, removed either by mischievous individuals or natural disasters, could easily be replaced by their joint survey teams. The issue emanated over a claim that Malaysia has seized 1,000ha of land belonging to Indonesia along the Malaysia-Indonesia border in West Kalimantan. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had also said Malaysia and Indonesia had a special mechanism namely the Joint Border Committee (JBC) to resolve any border issues and added that it was doing a good job in resolving such issues when they cropped up. |
| Delhi says Astro deal illegal gratification for Maxis plans, companies deny charges Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:58 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - Indian police have alleged that Astro's "highly inflated" purchase of shares in Sun Direct TV contributed RM351 million in illegal gratification to former Indian telecommunications minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi. India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the minister had denied telco company Aircel seven licences and other facilities, forcing its owner C. Sivasankaran to sell a 74 per cent stake to telecommunications giant Maxis. However, The Star reported today that Maxis and Astro, both controlled by tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan (picture), sent a letter to the CBI denying the allegations. Astro said it has had dealings with the satellite television broadcaster since 1996. But it also said the purchase of a 20 per cent stake in Sun TV from Kalanithi was proposed in March 2005, just months before Maxis expressed its intention to acquire Aircel. India's The Hindu reported today that the CBI accused Dayanidhi of "abusing his official position" after deliberately causing "undue delays and denials of legitimate requests of Dishnet DSL (Aircel)," paving the way for Maxis to acquire Aircel Televentures from Sivasankaran. "Enquiry has also revealed that Mr Dayanidhi Maran and Mr Kalanithi Maran, apart from being brothers, also have business associations for long," the Indian newspaper quoted the CBI as saying. The CBI said that after the "change of ownership to Maxis Communications... undue favours... were [done] for mala fide considerations." "An illegal gratification of Rs549,96,01,793 was accepted as a quid pro quo through his brother Kalanithi Maran in the garb of share premium invested in Sun Direct TV by South Asia Entertainment Holdings (a fully-owned subsidiary of Astro All Asia Networks Plc.)," it added. The CBI had filed the graft case against Ananda Krishnan, his trusted executive Ralph Marshall and the Marans on October 10 but both Astro and Maxis have denied the allegations. READ MORE HERE |
| MalaysiaKini confirms talks with Malay Mail Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:54 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - News portal MalaysiaKini confirmed today it is in talks to sell content to Umno-linked newspaper The Malay Mail, with its founder defending the deal and saying it made good business sense. The Malaysian Insider reported yesterday that the English tabloid is negotiating a deal with the 12-year-old news site to swap a stake in the newspaper for content. MalaysiaKini editor Steven Gan denied today in a commentary on his website plans to own "a single share of Malay Mail or to surrender the ownership of Malaysiakini" but confirmed that talks are ongoing for "a simple content arrangement." Gan was forced to defend the deal and talks with The Malay Mail after receiving flak from readers over suggestions that his company would be going into bed with a company controlled by Umno interests. The Malay Mail, which first began in publishing in 1896, is now under the Redberry Media group, a subsidiary of listed Ancom Berhad spearheaded by Datuk Siew Ka Wei. Redberry is controlled by Siew and his partner Mohamad Al-Amin Abdul Majid, who is known to be a confidant of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The remaining shares in The Malay Mail are held by businessman Ibrahim Mohamad Nor who had originally bought the newspaper from the New Straits Times Press. It became a free afternoon newspaper in May 2008 but recently announced plans to revert to being a paid daily. READ MORE HERE |
| BN fails to kill with a borrowed knife Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:44 PM PDT 
The BN government has lost a golden opportunity to finish off Pakatan in the battle of the budgets. The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called "Killing with a Borrowed Knife" or "Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife". Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today Barisan Nasional's (BN) strategists for the 2012 Budget presented on Oct 7 really got it wrong this time. While there were gifts and goodies galore for civil servants, and pensioners as well, the private sector's low wage-earners and its retirees were neglected. Pertaining to the private sector's low-income group, the minimum wage figure was the bone of contention. The sector's low-wage earners were anxiously waiting for this figure to be announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as Pakatan Rakyat was the first to fix the floor wage at RM1,100 in the Pakatan budget unveiled on Oct 4. If Najib had set the figure as RM1,200, Pakatan would have been blown out of orbit because there would have been a great swing of support from Pakatan to BN. Instead, BN budget strategists, for whatever reasons best known to themselves, chose to ignore the private sector low-wage earners. The minimum wage figure is a much-needed benchmark upon which wages will be decided but BN has chosen to ignore this fact at its own peril. Therefore, BN has certainly lost a golden opportunity to gain support from the private sector employees, especially those who work in blue-collar jobs in factories or those lower-ranked office staff such as general or administration clerks. See, all it takes is just RM100 to blow Pakatan away! The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called "Killing with a Borrowed Knife" or "Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife". If BN chooses to announce the minimum wage figure now, the impact will be lost and the public will know that BN is insincere or worst still, it is an election gimmick to garner votes from the low- income group. This terrrible blunder represents a great failure by the BN federal government to improve the earnings of Malaysian citizens. And it just goes to show that it is the government which is depressing the wage market and this means that all this talk by the government about improving workers' rights is merely hot air. Concerning the private sector retirees, theirs is a case of double tragedy. They, too, should have been entitled to the bonus payout of RM1,000 (RM500 paid out in August this year before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and RM500 to be paid this coming December). This is because in their heyday, they too have worked hard, paid their taxes and contributed to the development and progress of the nation. It is a travesty of justice that they have been so poorly neglected time and time again by the BN government. As for those old-timers, aged 70 and above, their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings would have most probably run out as the salary was small in those days. Thus, in this present day and age, their savings would have shrunk tremendously due to inflation and they would have no choice but to rely on their children to provide for them. That is all well and fine if their children are earning well but what if their children fail to make it in life? And what about those who are single? 1Malaysia slogan empty rhetoric The government's generosity towards the civil servants and pensioners has irked the low-wage earners who are clamouring for fair treatment to be meted out to them, too. It is extremely amazing that the government deems it fit to ignore the pleas for minimum wage from the low-income group in the private sector. This clearly shows that without a doubt the 1Malaysia slogan of "People First, Performance Now" is empty rhetoric to dupe the public. Ditto for the much-hyped up slogan of "BN is a caring government". Caring indeed but perhaps caring only for its own stranglehold of power in Putrajaya? READ MORE HERE |
| Copycat judge in a copyright case! Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:34 PM PDT 
While serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000 Abdul Malik had allegedly committed the offence of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright infringement. When the respected retired judge N H Chan called certain judges in the appellate courts "imposters", "intellectual and legal frauds", "incompetent", "inane", "ignoramuses", "inconsistent" and even an "idiotic" bunch, little did he realise that he was being very mild. Now it has come to the public's notice that crouching amongst the growing company of judicial clowns and court jesters in the Palace of Justice is a copycat judge who allegedly plagiarised chunks of a judgment of another judge – in a copyright infringement case! Former Law Minister Rais Yatim has confirmed that the government had known about the plagiarising judge, but Rais tries to take the rakyat for a ride by blaming it all on the then Chief Justice (CJ), and that it was left to the latter to investigate and to take appropriate action. Recently, veteran lawyer Karpal Singh, with the support of close to 60 Pakatan Rakyat MPs, submitted a motion to the office of the Parliament speaker against Justice Abdul Malik Ishak, to have him placed before a tribunal and be removed. While serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000 Abdul Malik had allegedly committed the offence of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright infringement. Malaysiakini highlighted two news reports in Singapore's Straits Times -- 8 March and 13 April, 2000 which were referred to by Karpal Singh. The newspaper quoted then CJ Eusoff Chin as having written to his Singapore counterpart, Justice Yong Pung How, asking for more information on the allegation of plagiarism. A month later, Eusoff told journalists that the matter was resolved and that it had arisen out of a "misunderstanding". He however did not elaborate. (By the way, this is the same CJ, whom a former CJ Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah had described as one who "kept lying to him" when the latter was a Federal Court judge and Eusoff was his boss! (Star, 30 Jan. 2008). The Straits Times also reported that Rais Yatim had promised an investigation. Rais was ridiculous enough as to add that it was not easy to establish plagiarism because it was normal for judges to quote one another extensively and that: "Quoting another judge is not plagiarism." The Straits Times report of 8 March, 2000 reduced Rais' "rescue bid" of the judge to pure rubbish when it quoted the former Singapore judge (Selvam) accusing the Malaysian judge of having obtained a copy of his (Selvam's) judgment through a lawyer and "having copied chunks from me without acknowledging". (Rais sat on the case for four long years and did nothing about it!) Selvam was also quoted to have said the Malaysian judge backdated his judgment so that people "will think I copied from him!" The naked truth appears each time Rais speaks through his rear end. After the Singapore judiciary got the cat out of the bag, the copycat was transferred out of Johor Baru and kept in cold-storage for a while. Seven years later the plagiariser would be promoted to the Court of Appeal (16 July, 2007)! This can only happen in Bolehland! Karpal Singh has described (on several online news portals) Malik's alleged plagiarising as a "judicial scandal", "misconduct of a very serious nature", "a source of embarrassment for our judiciary" and one that warrants "stern disciplinary action" by a Royal Tribunal. Will Justice Abdul Malik Ishak have enough honour left to resign on his own accord? Is there any remaining sense of decency and self-respect in him to acknowledge and accept the fact that his position as a judge has become clearly untenable. Will the Chief Justice save the judiciary and the country from further embarrassment or has the judiciary entirely lost its sense of shame and the CJ prefers to continue in his elegant silence? Meanwhile, taking the easy way out like Rais, Minister in the PM's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government could not take action against Abdul Malik as it was a matter for the current judiciary to settle. Asked why the judiciary had not censured Abdul Malik until now, he said: "I don't know, you have to ask them." Strange, coming from a man who had once proudly and loudly declared himself as the "Minister for the Chief Justice"! Malik's other "achievements" On 10 Oct. 2009, the Court of Appeal, with Malik as the presiding judge, struck out Anwar Ibrahim's RM100 million defamation suit against Dr Mahathir on the technicality that the memorandum of appeal was not in Bahasa Malaysia. Malik stressed the supremacy of the national language as he delivered his 31-page written judgment in English! On 5 Oct. 2011, the Federal Court allowed Anwar Ibrahim's application to expunge portions of a written judgment made by Malik on 6 July in the Court of Appeal related to the Sodomy II trial, that were deemed disparaging of the politician and his lawyers. Karpal Singh (Anwar's lawyer) complained to the judges that Malik had "without jurisdiction and for an apparent purpose invoked a non-existent jurisdiction to maliciously and scurrilously (go into the merits and) embark on a relentless attack on Anwar and the lawyers (in the written judgment)". "This amounts to judicial assassination of the worst kind ... (and) to make matters worse, the appellant and the lawyers were not given an opportunity to defend ourselves... as the appellate court had allowed the preliminary objection. "The remarks were uncalled for and put the Judiciary in bad light. If the case was allowed to be heard on its merits, we (would have been) prepared to defend ourselves. However, we were not allowed to do so as the court allowed the preliminary objection." Karpal also questioned as to how Malik produced the written 40-page judgment on the day the appeal was heard at the Court of Appeal. Various law journals had reported that the judgment was produced on 6 July, but lawyers for Anwar only received it on 15 Aug. Malik had also scurrilously written: "This case will fall in history. It will be chronicled as the only known case in our country or for that matter within the Commonwealth enclave where the appellant as an accused person persistently and consistently filed one application after another in an attempt to recuse the learned trial judge from hearing and continuing to hear the sodomy trial which is ongoing." Very ironically, it is the case of Abdul Malik which will fall in history and be chronicled as the only known case in our country or for that matter within the Commonwealth enclave where the one found guilty of plagiarising in a copyright infringement case was the judge himself! |
| Angry poetry Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:27 PM PDT 
A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman Shouldn't have I been angry and write this cranky grumpy poetry T's the state of the world so sorry That has made my brain cells fried and my emotions so roller-coastery Cool me off by writing poetry Dip me in Loon Lake or the one where Loch Ness have its weekend party I am cranky grumpy angry And I am not sorry ... Thought of taking a walk to Ben and Jerry's OD'ed me on a gallon of Chunky Monkey Started thinking of Malaysia's Bersih Rally Give me that gallon of Yellow Mellow, Ben and Jerry! I want it now or you won't like to see me cranky You capitalist ice cream maker colonialist imperialist ice breaker! I am cranky and sweaty And I am not sorry for this cranky poetry Yellow Mellow hot potato Yo' Malaysians you are so cranky You masses are angry I'll spray you with sambal tumis aplenty Stupid rallies they say Disturbing the peace of this country that is in harmony Shut up masses Hush and shush! While we steal diamonds, submarines, Twin Towers, golden yachts, and smuggle them out of the country Don't be cranky now Don't be grumpy It's all a game of who's mighty! The heat Intensity Relativity Hiroshima Nagasaki Humans are crazy Radioactive crazy Terrorists aplenty Suicide bombers spirituality gone Lucifer-crazy Purgatory Black Sabbath Fender Stratocaster Hell-Raising guitar-ripping crazy Grumpy cranky sweaty I am in the heat of New York city Country roads take me home Sin City Jay Bee My body's sweating with indescribable beauty Blood sweat tears of industry Like the workers of the world uniting in harmony March on walk on carry on In the heat of the summer night Bring down the corporate imperialists down to their knees Globalization ain't apple pie and cream cheese A billion served a billion more starved McJihad McTerror McModern Slavery Aaargh...hot sweet summer beauty this heat is making me write cranky poetry Stop me Take away my pen before I march alongside Wise Old Man Samad Said in his next BERSIH Rally (DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.) https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/ |
| Why the hudud controversy will not die Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:13 PM PDT 
The politicians, mullahs and kings do not know all the answers or what's best for society. The Muslims must be able to evaluate and decide on hudud free from social pressures and political or religious brainwashing. This includes the notorious 'bad Muslim' stigma that could prevent them from saying 'no' to hudud when 'no' is what they truly desire. Pak Sako, Free Malaysia Today PAS and DAP's decision to 'agree to disagree' on hudud must be taken for what it really is: a politically-motivated temporary ceasefire. It does not resolve the hudud controversy. The controversy can never be resolved as long as the fundamental questions of the hudud debate continue to be avoided. The questions are: - What goals are hudud meant to achieve?
- What are the pluses and minuses of hudud?
- Do all Malaysian Muslims as well as non-Muslims want hudud?
A national dialogue on implementing hudud must exhaustively probe these questions before anything else. An open and critical exploration of these questions will help the public learn and decide about whether hudud is necessary, worthwhile, appropriate or out-of-date. It will enable policymakers to discover whether the informed public desires hudud or not. Without full public discussion and public consent, it is immoral for policymakers to presuppose the value of hudud and speak about its implementation. It is also wrong to assume that a simple parliamentary majority (which is all that is needed) is an automatic mandate to incrementally amend the federal constitution to accommodate hudud. The public on their part should not leave it the politicians, the religious scholars or the royalty to decide matters for them. The politicians, mullahs and kings do not know all the answers or what's best for society; they have a personal or biased interest in the matter; and it is undemocratic to allow the preferences of these vested interest groups to influence a decision that should be in the hands of the people. Special obligation to explain
The politician's role should be confined to satisfying the independently determined wish of the people. If after careful deliberation the people choose to reject hudud, this decision must be respectfully accepted. The Islamic theologians are useful insofar as they can provide the evaluating public with technical input, such as the scope, workings and other details of hudud. Likewise with the political scientists and other relevant experts. All members of the public including interest groups and civil society organisations should thrash out the questions about the purposes and worth of hudud. The Muslims must be able to evaluate and decide on hudud free from social pressures and political or religious brainwashing. This includes the notorious 'bad Muslim' stigma that could prevent them from saying 'no' to hudud when 'no' is what they truly desire. As for the non-Muslims, they are not free to wash their hands of the issue; they are responsible parties to any law that the politicians they had elected might enact and administer upon their fellow citizens. PAS and all other proponents of hudud have a special obligation to explain the explicit and implicit aims they believe hudud is to serve and the rationales for these. They must engage in discussions about the value of hudud and the problems and concerns associated with it. The burden of proof is on the shoulders of the proposers of the law. READ MORE HERE |
| WIKILEAKS: Islamic Finance in Malaysia Part 2: Obstacles and Opportunities Posted: 13 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT The concept of the time value of money is ignored, and the difference between the purchase and resale price is attributed solely to risk. A blind eye is turned to the fact that compensation for "risk" is equal to what a conventional bank would charge in interest, and this "risk" even can be compounded daily. Practitioners acknowledge this and other "impurities" in how Islamic finance is carried out, but hope that someday the industry will grow big enough to establish its own benchmarks. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
1. (U) Summary: Malaysia is determined to become a global hub for Islamic Finance, and already accounts for two thirds of outstanding Islamic bond issuances (reftel). However, at a recent conference in KL, financial experts discussed a number of obstacles holding back development of this niche market. Chief among them was the inadequacy of the secondary market and the lack of Islamic derivative products. Higher legal fees and complications arising out of the need for Sharia compliance were a burden as well. Nevertheless, the Malaysian government remains optimistic and content to have a pragmatic approach to development rather than get hung up on the need for a "purist" approach to Sharia compliance. End summary. Central Bank Governor Claims 40% Annual Growth in Islamic Bonds 2. (U) At the 2nd Malaysian Islamic Finance Conference in Kuala Lumpur last month, Central Bank Governor Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz announced that Malaysia accounted for about two-thirds of outstanding Islamic bonds throughout the world, amounting to roughly US$47 billion in 2007. High savings rates in Asia and the Middle East were driving demand, she said, resulting in an average growth rate of 40% per year in the scale of the Islamic bond market. How to Build the Industry 3. (U) While Governor Zeti focused largely on Malaysia's success with Islamic bonds, other speakers at the conference focused on what needed to be done to build the industry. Malaysia's RHB Islamic Bank chairman Vaseehar Hassan urged Malaysian Islamic banks to venture overseas and establish links with Middle Eastern markets, while also calling for non-Malaysian banks to issue Islamic bonds in Malaysia. Still a Developing Capital Market 4. (U) Investors at the conference complained that the Islamic derivative market was inadequate, and that there was almost no secondary domestic market for Islamic products. There are simply too few players and intermediaries, they commented, so most investors prefer holding their investments. Moreover, few Islamic derivative products exist. Some investors also accused banks of not being transparent in risk management due to the lack of Islamic derivatives for hedging purposes. Similarly, international rating agencies have noted the difficulty in rating Islamic products as there are few products for benchmarking. In the case of Islamic REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust), Moody's Representative Director Christina Maynes said it was very much a conventional REIT in Malaysia's case. However, she commented that Middle Eastern investors generally preferred to invest in real estate directly. Double the Legal Fees 5. (U) Issuers complained about the difficulty and higher cost in coming up with Sharia-compliant products. Legal fees essentially double with the added layer of a board of Islamic scholars who must adjudicate Sharia-compliance. Sharia-compliance a high bar to meet 6. (SBU) In addition, Sharia compliance is stringent: in addition to the basic prohibitions, like alcohol, gambling, etc., income from interest and debt to asset ratios must be below certain thresholds. Ed Teather, Executive Director and Senior Economist for ASEAN Research, told ECONOFF that these kinds of requirements made Islamic finance theoretically viable for refinancing existing assets, but nearly impossible to finance a new initiative that exists only as a blueprint or a business plan. In addition, he pointed out that with the current excess liquidity in the market it simply did not make economic sense for corporations to go to the added trouble and extra expense of issuing Islamic products. Shortage of experts 7. (U) Yet another barrier is a lack of skilled Islamic finance professionals. Banking professionals are seldom proficient in Sharia, while Islamic scholars are seldom proficient in finance. The GOM is providing scholarships to Malays who want to study Islamic finance and has established a training entity funded and coordinated through the Central Bank. The 2008 budget proposes to exempt expatriate Islamic finance professionals from paying income tax in an effort to attract more talent from the Middle East. Working Towards Becoming "Purely Islamic" 8. (U) Islamic finance, as it is currently practiced, is not regarded as "pure" by many practitioners and scholars. However, there is a general consensus among these experts on the need to build the industry until it can become independent of the global conventional finance system. Until then, interest rates remain the fundamental benchmark for pricing and the mingling of Islamic and conventional assets will continue. 9. (U) Islamic finance, which forbids charging interest, uses an underlying asset to structure a "trade" as a substitute for a loan. For example, a contract is written to buy a specific amount of wheat and then re-sell the wheat at a specified later date at a different price. The price difference can be used to finance an entirely unrelated transaction. The concept of the time value of money is ignored, and the difference between the purchase and resale price is attributed solely to risk. A blind eye is turned to the fact that compensation for "risk" is equal to what a conventional bank would charge in interest, and this "risk" even can be compounded daily. Practitioners acknowledge this and other "impurities" in how Islamic finance is carried out, but hope that someday the industry will grow big enough to establish its own benchmarks. 10. (SBU) The concerns of some practitioners go further. Rafe Haneef, Citibank's Head of Islamic Finance for Asia, told ECONOFF that in order to truly practice Islamic finance, one had to be concerned about what the next customer did with the wheat even after the Islamic bank no longer held title to it. The wheat could be sold for consumption, but once it had been used in an Islamic transaction, it should not be used in any interest-bearing transaction. He said this would be "like selling grapes to a winemaker." 11. (SBU) Because the market for Islamic finance remains small, some mingling of funds is inevitable, as there simply are not enough Islamic financial products available. "All roads lead to U.S. Treasury bonds eventually," explained David "Daud Abdullah" Vichary, a longtime Islamic finance practitioner and British national. As the same money gets circulated, it is impossible to shelter it from conventional finance, he told ECONOFF. Comment 12. (U) Whether or not Islamic finance will overcome its obstacles and become a major global industry remains an open question. The vision of its promoters is to tolerate a bit of un-Islamic "impurity" for now out of necessity, but to gradually move toward a "purer" form as the industry grows. In Malaysia, with the government in an activist mode, the approach to Islamic finance is more pragmatic than pure, and it appears to be a growing reality. KEITH (September 2007) |
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