Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Berjalan Bersama AMK Demi Kebebasan, Keadilan dan Demokrasi
- ‘Empress Dowager’ to decide polls date?
- ‘Country’s fate in your hands’
- ‘Najib has the edge over Anwar’
- In tea leaves, economist sees slender Pakatan win
- Changing national flag akin to hating own country’
- NUBE disappointed with Pakatan on floor wage policy
- Remember our February 2008 agreement?
- The complexities of the 'Allah' issue
- Royal fatwa on Allah word - has HRH been let down by advisor(s)?
- Nizar dedah dokumen RM207 bilion
- Kalimah Allah: Penjelasan Ketua Dewan Ulamak PAS
- Who is Khalid Ibrahim batting for?
- Selangor MB: Not wrong to use ‘Allah’ but don’t abuse it
- What comes first for Anwar?
- Mat Zain: Musa trying to save himself
- ‘Sultan cannot make rules for non-Muslims’
- Prejudice and the ugly face of BN in Sabah
- ‘Allah’ ban against court order, Cabinet decision, Selangor told
- Who can lead BN's move to reclaim Selangor?
- #KL112: Res Ipsa Loquitur!
- Deep despair in BN corridors
- In the spotlight again over ‘Allah’ issue
- Haron: I’ll never agree to allow non-Muslims use 'Allah'
- Don’t politicise God
- Ahead of polls, Putrajaya tells local media to ‘soften people’s hearts’
- When Yong is hungry like the wolves
- Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat 112
- DRB-HICOM to go private?
- So it’s settled then
- Explain RM207 billion compensation, says Anwar
- Don’t repeat past mistakes, Jerit tells Pakatan
- MCA man sits on fence over ‘Allah’ row
- Despite royal decree, Protestant churches say will keep using ‘Allah’
- Ambiga: TI-M’s refusal to watch polls disappointing
- ‘Japan did not pay RM207 billion’
- Zahid to sue Rafizi for alleged defamation
- Mat Sabu: We expect trouble-free rally
- English murdered in a murder story
- IPF plans mammoth rally on Jan 12
- Senior lawyer sees red over judge-bashing
- Curse of No. 13 to usher the end of Sabah BN?
- Perkasa Lawan Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat 112
- Big problems, small solutions
- What value our degrees?
- Are Malaysia’s law-enforcing institutions paralysed?
- Mustafa: Hudud application impossible for now
- Minimum wage
- Five contradictions in restricting the use of 'Allah'
- Questions over ‘fatwa’ effect on non-Muslims after Selangor Sultan’s ‘Allah’ decree
| Berjalan Bersama AMK Demi Kebebasan, Keadilan dan Demokrasi Posted: 10 Jan 2013 11:20 AM PST
Angkatan Muda Keadilan Malaysia (AMK) mengalu-alukan keputusan untuk membenarkan Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (HKR) berlangsung di Stadium Merdeka pada 12 Januari 2013. Keputusan yang bersejarah tersebut merupakan kejayaan kuasa rakyat yang sentiasa berjuang untuk berhimpun serta hak untuk mengguna ruang awam untuk bersuara sejak zaman Reformasi lagi.
AMK menyokong sepenuhnya Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat serta 8 tuntutan rakyat yang melibatkan seluruh aspeks kepentingan rakyat tanpa mengira kaum, agama dan jantina. HKR akan menjadi satu detik bersejarah di mana seluruh rakyat Malaysia bangkit dan semangat kemerdekaan daripada penindasan, kezaliman serta kemiskinan.
Dengan itu, AMK akan mengadakan Berjalan Demi Kebebasan, Keadilan dan Demokrasi pada Sabtu ini sempena HKR. AMK yang diketuai oleh Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin akan berjalan dari Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya (PJ), depan Amcorp Mall ke Stadium Merdeka bersama-sama dengan anak-anak muda.
Berikut adalah perjalanan yang akan dilalui oleh AMK pada 12 Januari 2013 (Sabtu):-
8.00am – Berkumpul di Padang Timur, PJ (Depan Amcorp Mall)
9.00am – Berjalan menuju ke Masjid Ar-Rahman Universiti Malaya (UM)
11.00am – Bergabung dengan mahasiswa dan anak muda di UM di Masjid Ar-Rahman
12.30pm – Bergabung dengan peserta HKR di Stesyen Monorail Tun Sambahtan, Brickfield untuk berjalan ke Stadium Merdeka
1.30pm – Sampai di Stadium Merdeka untuk gegarkan #KL112
AMK mengajak orang ramai untuk menyertai Berjalan Demi Kebebasan, Keadilan dan Demokrasi pada Sabtu ini. Dengan berjalan kaki ke Stadium Merdeka, semangat perjuangan bersama rakyat serta tekad kebangkitan rakyat untuk menuntut 8 tuntutan rakyat dapat ditunjukkan.
Sementara itu, tiga Pasukan Pertolongan Kecemasan akan bersedia untuk membantu semua peserta di sepanjang perjalanan. Semua peserta diseru untuk mengikut arahan penganjur serta pasukan keselamatan. Jangan terperdaya dengan pelbagai maklumat dan propaganda hitam yang disebarkan oleh pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab.
Keselamatan peserta serta perjalanan yang lancar adalah diutamakan untuk mencapai matlamat yang ditetapkan. Dengan sikap yang disiplin dan tertib, AMK yakin HKR akan berjaya dilangsungkan dengan semangat kebangkitan rakyat yang mengubah lanskap politik serta mencatat sejarah di Malaysia.
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| ‘Empress Dowager’ to decide polls date? Posted: 10 Jan 2013 10:56 AM PST
There is some talk that Najib would not be the only one to decide when the next general election will be called. Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today According to one of this columnist's journalist friends from the alternative media, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the "Empress Dowager" are involved in a date-tussle. In political terminology, the term "Empress Dowager" is applied to someone who is actually holding the reins of power and it can be used to refer to either a man or a woman. But first here is some information about the real Empress Dowager. In Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was the one wielding power "behind the curtain" for half a century. She was born into a Manchu noble family and became a palace lady at the age of 17, becoming the favourite of Emperor Xiafeng. When he died in 1861, she put her six-year-old son on the throne as Emperor Tongzhi. Tongzhi died in 1875 at the age of 20 but without an heir. Cixi then put her four-year old nephew, Zaitian, on the throne as Emperor Guangxu. During the reign of these two emperors, Cixi was the real power behind the throne. Being shrewd and cunning, she manoeuvred her court officials against one another so that her power would never be threatened. She also had a fiery temper and loved extravagance and was a spendthrift . Back to Malaysian politics, there are rumours that the "Empress Dowager" wants the 13th general election to be held before March 8. Why March 8? Well, this was the date of the previous general election in 2008. And the "Empress" thinks that any date after March 8 will give the impression that BN leaders are afraid and cowardly besides being lacking in confidence. Therefore, by hook or by crook, the polls must be held before March 8. And here comes the tricky part as the Water Snake enters into the equation because the Chinese Lunar New Year is from Feb 10 to 24. This means that the Snake has effectively sealed off those two weeks in February as polls-campaigning and polling itself cannot be held on those dates. To hold the polls before March 8, Parliament has to be dissolved by mid-January for the election to be held in early February or else BN will miss the boat and the earliest date available is March 9. The Pakatan rally The only thing that can stop the dissolution of Parliament next week is to have a massive turnout for the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People's Uprising Gathering) on Saturday (Jan 12), also known as KL112. This will then push the dissolution of Parliament to Feb 25 as BN may get jittery because of the huge crowd. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/01/11/empress-dowager-to-decide-polls-date/ | ||
| ‘Country’s fate in your hands’ Posted: 10 Jan 2013 10:53 AM PST
(The Star) - MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that with the general election coming, the people should know what was best for the nation and endorse leaders who had been able to steer the economy away from uncertainties. Although Malaysia's economic fundamentals are backed by strong reserves and the country is free of any debt crisis, the present Government needs the mandate to rule for the next five years to ensure continuous growth. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said that with the general election coming, the people should know what was best for the nation and endorse leaders who had been able to steer the economy away from uncertainties. He added that the Government was optimistic that 2013 would be another good year and experts, both local and foreign, had vouched for this. "Several sectors of the economy, such as construction, tourism and manufacturing, are expected to continue to do well despite the economic uncertainties in many parts of the world. "But despite the good indicators, the country's destiny is in your hands," he said at the Air Kuning Kim Lan Association annual dinner on Wednesday night. Dr Chua said the Government had introduced sound policies to ensure the nation registered a growth of 5% last year, at a time when many developed nations in Europe as well as the United States were experiencing problems. "This goes to show that the Government's well thought out economic transformation programmes have yielded results and we expect the coming years to be good as well," he said. Dr Chua said the Opposition was not capable of managing the nation as they neither had the experience nor the ability to do so, and the fact that they were constantly at loggerheads with one another was also detrimental to the people's wellbeing. "Until today, the Opposition has been unable to produce a convincing and comprehensive economic and social development plan for the nation. "Whatever they propose such as abolishing the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) and giving every household RM4,000 a month will bankrupt this country in a matter of months," he said. Citing another example, Dr Chua said some PAS leaders were against non-Muslims using the word "Allah" but there were others in the party who said Islam allowed this. "The Opposition has been raising petty issues to hide their own weaknesses. They have been unable to even agree on who would be their choice of Prime Minister. "Such uncertainties will be bad for business," he said, adding that investors would shy away from Malaysia as there would be no political stability. "The first to be affected would be the businessmen, especially the Chinese," he said. Dr Chua said some Malaysians might be impressed with the promises made by the Opposition but they should do their homework to see if these could be realised. "Has any of you given a thought where Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will get the money to fund the programmes he has promised to carry out if they are elected?" he said, adding that the Opposition's proposal to abolish PTPTN scheme alone would cost taxpayers RM43bil. Dr Chua later donated RM10,000 to the Air Kuning Kim Lan Association while Tampin MP Datuk Seri Shaziman Abu Mansor gave another RM5,000 to enable the body to carry out its programmes.
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| ‘Najib has the edge over Anwar’ Posted: 10 Jan 2013 10:50 AM PST
(Free Malaysia Today) - "It's not an overstatement to say Najib has transformed himself from being seen as a Malay leader to a Malaysian leader," said Sivamurugan, a lecturer at the School of Social Sciences in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Academician Sivamurugan Pandian believes the Najib factor will prevail and pull BN over the finishing line in the next general election. For the first time in Malaysian political history, Barisan Nasional will face the most serious challenge to its 55-year-old political supremacy. But political analyst Sivamurugan Pandian believes the Najib factor would eventually prevail and pull BN over the finishing line in the next general election. He, however, was unsure if the Najib factor can help BN regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority. Since taking over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009 as the prime minister, he said Najib Tun Razak had managed to come out from the Umno's racial political sphere to become a Malaysian leader for all. He pointed out that Najib had enhanced his reputation via his walkabouts to reach out to various communities and young voters on his own. He said Najib was now perceived to be addressing problems faced by various communities on his own, rather than depending on third party, or BN coalition partners. He said Najib's direct approach and personal touch had convinced the grassroots, including young Malaysians, that the prime minister has come of age. "He has managed to erase initial scepticism on his leadership capabilities. "It's not an overstatement to say Najib has transformed himself from being seen as a Malay leader to a Malaysian leader," said Sivamurugan, a lecturer at the School of Social Sciences in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Anwar's political strength
He said one cannot deny that Anwar's political strength was instrumental in the emergence of Pakatan Rakyat as an alternate government-in-waiting in the national political landscape. "Anwar, apart from Hindraf, was a major factor behind the unprecedented results in the 2008 general election. "He is a major factor keeping Pakatan together," said the academician. Sivamurugan has no doubt that the Najib versus Anwar factor would be decisive in the forthcoming election. Although both have good oratory skills and strong support, he believes that the prime minister has an edge in the race, and this is not just because he was helming the BN federal government. "Comparatively, Najib had delivered better than Anwar," claimed the academician. He said Najib had enthusiastically driven through his transformation plans and managed to unite and enhance cooperation among BN component parties. He said Najib had managed to standardise the administrative operations of all BN-led state governments and delivered successive people-oriented budgets to allay public fear on bread and butter issues. "Malaysians wake up each morning without having to worry about their daily meals and shelter," said the lecturer. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/11/najib-has-the-edge-over-anwar/ | ||
| In tea leaves, economist sees slender Pakatan win Posted: 10 Jan 2013 10:47 AM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will notch a slim victory over the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in Election 2013, according to calculations by Bank Islam Malaysia's chief economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin. In a report by The Straits Times of Singapore, Azrul's computations found that BN was likely to win only between 97 and 107 of the 222 parliamentary seats — insufficient to reform the next administration. But the result would also mean that PR will only gain a shaky hold over Parliament and far from the supermajority once enjoyed by its rival. The outcome was considered the most probable during the banker's presentation at the Regional Outlook Forum in Singapore yesterday, and took into account factors such as race and demographics. Later, Azrul forecast that fallout would result from the PR win, with the stock market set to respond in "knee-jerk" fashion as well as an extended period of perceived instability. He also did not rule out the possibility of "economic sabotage" by businesses and the civil service that are aligned with BN. The ruling BN government has ramped up efforts to secure a victory against its most organised opposition in the general election that must be called by April 27. In Budget 2013, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a smorgasbord of handouts and benefits in an effort to court electoral support ahead of polls. These include a second round of RM500 cash handouts to lower income families, dubbed "BR1M 2.0", as well as an expansion of the programme to include payments of RM250 to single youths earning below RM3,000 monthly. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/in-tea-leaves-economist-sees-slender-pakatan-win
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| Changing national flag akin to hating own country’ Posted: 10 Jan 2013 10:44 AM PST
(Bernama) - In the latest incident, banners urging the people to choose flags other than the Jalur Gemilang were seen in several areas in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, including at the Abdullah Hukum LRT station in Bangsar. Azman said it was possible that this was deliberately done by certain quarters to cause disunity among the people in order to serve their own political agenda.
The attempt to change the national flag with another indirectly symbolises the hatred towards one's own country, said National Unity and Integration Department director-general, Datuk Azman Amin Hassan. He also described the attempt as unhealthy and should be viewed seriously and stopped immediately.
"The Jalur Gemilang should be proudly flown and protected by Malaysians on national occasions," he told Bernama, here, yesterday. He was commenting on attempts by certain quarters to change the national flag which symbolised national unity, with other flags.
In the latest incident, banners urging the people to choose flags other than the Jalur Gemilang were seen in several areas in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, including at the Abdullah Hukum LRT station in Bangsar. Azman said it was possible that this was deliberately done by certain quarters to cause disunity among the people in order to serve their own political agenda.
At the last national day celebration, a group of "People's Flag" activists was seen promoting another flag and earlier in 2011, Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M. Manoharan of DAP in his Facebook said the opposition would change the national flag if it comes into power in the coming general election.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth exco member Datuk Sohaimi Shahadan said the action should be stopped immediately so that Malaysians were not influenced by the craftiness of certain parties to poison the minds of the younger generation. "There is no need for us to change our national flag. Only people who are blind to the country's history and don't love the nation would try to do this," he said. In another development, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib when contacted by Bernama said DBKL had issued orders to remove all such banners. He also advised the organisers and participants of the public rally this Saturday to abide by the rules set for the well-being and safety of the people.
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| NUBE disappointed with Pakatan on floor wage policy Posted: 09 Jan 2013 07:24 PM PST
Bank employees union says rejection of RM1,500 wage proposal is disheartening and urges the opposition coalition to be consistent in its policies. Lisa J. Ariffin, FMT The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) today said it was disappointed with Pakatan Rakyat for rejecting the RM1,500 minimum wage proposal. NUBE general secretary J Solomon said Pakatan's rejection of the proposal was very disheartening to workers and urged the opposition coalition to be consistent when it comes to workers' welfare. He pointed out that the Selangor government had already implemented RM1,500 as the minimum wage in all government-linked companies last year. Soloman was responding to assertions by several Pakatan leaders that the Malaysia Workers Network's demand of RM1,500 as the base salary was not applicable at the moment. PKR director of strategy, Rafizi Ramli, had said the country could only afford a minimum wage of RM1,100, otherwise it would have adverse impact on industries. Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad also said the RM1,500 proposal was not sustainable as it would be counter-productive to workers in the market. Base salary criteria taken from ILO Solomon in a press statement today said: "We believe RM1,500 is an appropriate figure for the minimum level of sustenance for anyone anywhere in the country." He explained the criteria used to arrive at RM1,500 was from the International Labour Organisation's Convention 131, which protects disadvantaged groups of wage earners.
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| Remember our February 2008 agreement? Posted: 09 Jan 2013 05:45 PM PST
After the success of that first Bersih march of November 2007, a few friends and comrades, mostly new ones made over the previous year or so, decided that it was time to 'cement' our perjuangan or struggle. And we would cement it by coming out with a very explicit document that we called The Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin The world has a memory of only 100 days, said the Russians in response to the criticism regarding the shooting down of Korean Airlines flight KAL007. In 100 days everything will be forgotten or something else will crop up over the next 100 days to distract the people. Hence, said the Russians, they do not need to respond to the criticism regarding the shooting down of that passenger airline. Today, do any of you remember that tragedy that so outraged the entire world? How many people died? When did it happen? Why was that plane shot down? Unless you Google the information or search on Wikipedia, very few of you will be able to reply to my questions from the top of your head. And this best describes Malaysians, never mind which side of the political fence they may stand on. Malaysians are fickle, have a short attention span, respond to issues off the cuff, think short term, forget easily the original objective, change course mid-stream, and much more. Do you want to know something very ironical? I have kept to the course that was decided more than eight years ago back in 2004 soon after the general election disaster in March that same year. And that was the reason why Malaysia Today was launched in August 2004, five months after the 2004 general election -- to serve this agenda that had been decided. In 2004 it was a lonely battle that we fought because not many shared our vision and mission. It was not until two years later in 2006 that some joined the cause and only by 2007 that many Malaysians 'woke up'. By 2007, three years after the birth of Malaysia Today, I found many new friends and comrades who stood by my side and walked with me, especially in the first Bersih march of 2007. After the success of that first Bersih march of November 2007, a few friends and comrades, mostly new ones made over the previous year or so, decided that it was time to 'cement' our perjuangan or struggle. And we would cement it by coming out with a very explicit document that we called The Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat. We met a few times at Uncle Lee's house, the late Tunku Vic's house, and so on. In case some of you are wondering who the late Tunku Vic was, maybe you can see the following link: In loving memory of Vic: only the good die young. The late Tunku Vic, in fact, was supposed to have taken over the leadership of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM). This was agreed in our meeting in Chiengmai, Thailand, which was attended by (Sam) Haris Ibrahim and some of the other 'movers' of MCLM. Unfortunately, Tunku Vic died soon after MCLM held its first AGM to elect a whole new set of office bearers in May last year. Anyway, back in 2007, Tunku Vic and about ten or so of us formed an ad hoc committee to draft The Peoples' Declaration. This document was finalised in the meeting in Tunku Vic's house. It was then agreed that we would write to ALL the political parties in Malaysia from both sides of the political fence and invite them to endorse The Peoples' Declaration. Only six of the two dozens or so of the political parties responded, three of them from Pakatan Rakyat. A couple of the non-Umno political parties in Barisan Nasional 'whispered' that they would support the ideals of The Peoples' Declaration but they cannot officially endorse it for obvious reasons -- they do not want to make it appear like they are 'breaking ranks' with Umno. Nevertheless, the fact that they support it 'off the record' was good enough for me. At least their heart was in the right place although I cannot say the same for their guts. It is nice to know that there is a 'silent' group within Barisan Nasional, and even in Umno itself, that support the ideals of The Peoples' Declaration although they wish at this stage to 'remain in the closet'. Who knows, one day they might come out of the closet and declare that they are pro-reform and proud of it. At that time, The Blog House at Damansara was non-partisan. People from both sides of the political fence supported The Blog House. Even Umno Bloggers plus people like Mukhriz Mahathir, Marina Mahathir, etc., went to The Blog House. It was a place where we could leave our politics outside the gate and enter The Blog House as Malaysians united for change. I thought that Malaysian politics had finally arrived. At last there was a place we could meet as supporters of change and not supporters of the government or supporters of the opposition. And it was at The Blog House that we decided to officially launch The Peoples' Declaration under the umbrella of Barisan Rakyat. (See more here and note the personalities in the photographs: The PEOPLE'S VOICE and the PEOPLE'S DECLARATION officially launched today.)
BARISAN RAKYAT WAS FORMED EVEN BEFORE PAKATAN RAKYAT CAME INTO EXISTENCE That was almost five years ago on 23rd February 2008. About two weeks later, on 8th March 2008, Malaysia held the 12th General Election. And, because the six political parties endorsed The Peoples' Declaration on 23rd February 2008, three of them from Pakatan Rakyat, we spent the next two weeks campaigning for Pakatan Rakyat. During the election campaign we made it very clear to the voters that we support Pakatan Rakyat because Pakatan Rakyat supports our reform agenda as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration. However, if after winning the election Pakatan Rakyat does a U-turn and betrays us, we would withdraw our support for Pakatan Rakyat. In my speeches during the election rallies all over Malaysia, I even openly declared that if we can make Pakatan Rakyat then we can also break Pakatan Rakyat. Basically, what the lord giveth the lord can taketh away. We are going to give Pakatan Rakyat a chance to rule for one term, I said. And if they fail us then no second term for Pakatan Rakyat. If we can give power to Pakatan Rakyat we can also take back power from Pakatan Rakyat. Therefore Pakatan Rakyat had better remember that they rule at the pleasure of the rakyat. It is peoples' power, kuasa rakyat, or makkal sakti that gives power to the politicians. Hence we, the voters, and not the politicians, are the boss. And if the politicians ever forget this we are going to punish them come the next general election in 2013 or so. The crowd cheered and clapped. They gave this declaration a standing ovation (most of the crowd was already standing anyway). They agreed with this covenant. We the rakyat will vote for those who support the rakyat's agenda and if those we vote into office forget this or betrays us then they are going to suffer the wrath of the rakyat. Since March 2008, The Peoples' Declaration is as forgotten as Korean Airlines flight KAL007. I raised this matter in a talk in London on 2nd October 2010 where Anwar Ibrahim was one of the participants of that talk (see the videos below). Anwar, however, responded in his talk in Australia later on that they would not always listen to what we want. In other words, they no longer support the agenda for change as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration although they had agreed to support it in February 2008 two weeks before the 12th General Election. The deal is now off. And since the deal is now off and they no longer support the agenda for change as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration then I too am no longer obligated to support Pakatan Rakyat. A deal is a deal. And a deal must be bilateral, not unilateral. If one side reneges on the agreement then the other side is not obligated to stick to the agreement. But my friends and comrades, who together with me pushed the agenda for change through The Peoples' Declaration, have sold out. They have turned traitor and have abandoned The Peoples' Declaration. They have agreed to support Pakatan Rakyat for the sake of supporting Pakatan Rakyat and not support Pakatan Rakyat because Pakatan Rakyat supports The Peoples' Declaration. As I said, Malaysians are fickle. Malaysians have a short attention span. Malaysians think short term. Malaysians forget easily the original objective. Malaysians change course mid-stream. And what makes this even more ironical is that while I am unwavering and hold firm to the original objectives of February 2008, they allege that I have changed course and have done a U-turn whereas it is they who have turned traitor and have sold themselves to the very politicians who have betrayed the cause. Yes, in February-March 2008 I campaigned for Pakatan Rakyat. But I did so with terms and conditions attached. And this primary term and condition is that Pakatan Rakyat will support The Peoples' Declaration. And the other term and condition is that if Pakatan Rakyat withdraws support for The Peoples' Declaration then I too will withdraw support for Pakatan Rakyat. I have kept to this agreement. I have been very consistent in my stand. It was quid pro quo. And just as Pakatan Rakyat has every right to withdraw from any agreement, so, too, I have the right to do the same. My friends and comrades, however, decided to break ranks with me. They abandoned the cause. They are prepared to cast aside The Peoples' Declaration and support Pakatan Rakyat even if Pakatan Rakyat reneges on its word. In other words, my friends and comrades have become turncoats and have sold out. I suppose, as they say, everyone is for sale. The only question is: at what price? And the price here is power. Since they believe that Pakatan Rakyat is going to form the next federal government they want to be amongst the winner. Hence they will support Pakatan Rakyat even if Pakatan Rakyat no longer supports The Peoples' Declaration.
Friends of Pakatan Rakyat October 2010 talk in the UK lCvdagYlR98 SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCvdagYlR98 W403AOQqJnc SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W403AOQqJnc Toe-77-TtT4 SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toe-77-TtT4 FsSRTVo29BY SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsSRTVo29BY | ||
| The complexities of the 'Allah' issue Posted: 09 Jan 2013 03:15 PM PST
But just as the issue seemed to be resolved, another development has prolonged it. The Sultan of Selangor has decreed that 'Allah' may be used only by Muslims. The Council of Churches of Malaysia (an umbrella body representing Protestant churches) announced that all churches will continue to use the phrase as it is within their constitutional right to do so. Oon Yeoh, Harakah Daily Just like the hudud issue that keeps cropping up every now and then, the 'Allah' issue has hit the headlines again. This is why to many Muslims and other non-Christians, it is puzzling why some Christians are so adamant about using 'Allah' to denote God in the BM Bible (especially since the BM word for God is 'Tuhan'). So, it does seem that there are indeed other faiths that use that phrase. That said, it cannot be denied that to the average person, 'Allah' is associated with Islam. If you doubt that, do a random survey with 10 people and ask them which religious group has 'Allah' as its God. I'd be surprised if anyone actually said, "Christians in Sabah and Sarawak", "Bahais", "Sikhs", "Mizrahi Jews" or "pre-Islamic, pagan Arabs". * This article first appeared on Malaysiakini.com
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| Royal fatwa on Allah word - has HRH been let down by advisor(s)? Posted: 09 Jan 2013 02:47 PM PST
KTemoc Konsiders The often referred to 3 'R's has been about the fundamental skills of education involving 'rithmetic, 'riting & reading, In Malaysia, there is undoubtedly a lack of the third, namely, reading skill as can be observed from the comments at blogsites, wakakaka. RPK has lamented on this, which I detected in one post of his where a visitor challenged him on issues he had actually explained comprehensively in that post, wakakaka. Given the experts' etymological and historical clarifications on the Allah word, I am in no doubt that Father Lawrence Andrew is on strong legal grounds to use it ... and indeed we know that the court has supported his stand. […] Legally, High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan had ruled as unconstitutional the Malaysian government's ban of the use of Allah as the Bahasa equivalent of the word God in the Catholic Herald. […] I'm afraid on a personal basis, kaytee isn't all that supportive of the Church's insistence on using the Allah word to represent/indicate/describe their Christian God in the Malay language. […] But I have always believed that religion is about faith and morality and not legality or for that matter, political approval. Thus I find it unfortunate that the Father Andrew and the Catholic Herald had taken the issue to the courts. Surely on a matter of religious faith and knowledge, there are numerous other names of God it could have use beside Allah. I view its arguments for the use of Allah as seemingly based on obduracy and legality rather than any plausible unavoidable reason. I then went on to detail my challenge to Father Lawrence Andrew's arguments. Apart from shooting down Father Andrew's arguments that the Allah word is vital because the Tuhan word is inadequate for serving the message in some biblical passages, I also voiced my sympathy for the Muslim community's concerns for the reason I know the Christian Church has an evangelistic mission ... ... and endowing it with a Bahasa version of the Bible (al Kitab) which uses the Allah word to refer to the Christian god would be akin to asking lil' Johnny to mind the cookie jar to ensure it's not raided, a totally unrealistic expectation. I have been and still am deeply concerned that the potential (and actual realization) of the issue of Christian proselytizing of Muslims, will destabilize further the already shaky politically-affected inter-communal relationship, with all its attendant unpleasant consequences, ... ... of which we obtained an ugly glimpse of when a mufti sms-ed his followers to stop a fabricated case of a church in Perak proselytizing Muslims. On New Year's day I had a chitchat with my matey, Ong Kian Ming whose Malaysiakini article Allah row - what's the name of the game? I had challenged. Kian Ming was his usual gentlemanly self where he kindly took on the task of explaining to me the logistical problems involved in switching from al Kitab's Allah word to what I have suggested, to wit, Yahweh, Elohim and a host of other Hebraic appellations that the Christian god is better known by in the Christian world. I've been impressed by Kian Ming's masterly grasp on the logistic issue, though it must be noted too both of us didn't touch on the Church's evangelistic angle. Unfortunately due to pressing prior engagements I was not able to continue discussion with him on the topic. But nonetheless, the point I wish to make is that while I didn't and still don't support the Church's intention to use the Allah word, I have never questioned its legal rights (thus far, until the government's appeal is known) to use that word in its newsletter, the Catholic Herald, and al Kitab. I am taking the trouble to reiterate this because (a) of the poor reading skills of some visitors wakakaka, and (b) the thrust of this new post. This new post refers to an article in The Malaysian Insider, namely, Non-Muslims must not use 'Allah', says Selangor Sultan. MAIS informed us HRH Sultan Selangor has decreed that the word Allah is a sacred word specific to Muslims in a fatwa gazetted 3 years ago, and thus must not be used by any non-Muslim religion in Selangor. Look mateys, there must be no doubt that while HRH is a constitutional monarchy, he has a role which entitles him to issue direct decrees, that is, those on Islamic affairs in his state of Selangor, as he is the head of the Islamic religion in Selangor. And on such Islamic issues, it has been claimed that he would be advised by the Menteri Besar (MB). It has been precisely this factor, that of the MB of a state or his deputy advising HRH on Islamic affairs, that in March 2008, immediately after the general election, we saw Khalid Ibrahim, then appointed MB of Selangor, tap dancing away from appointing his deputy. DAP, the second largest component of the informal (winning) coalition in Selangor, had nominated sweetie Teresa Kok to be the deputy MB. But Khalid Ibrahim did not deal courageously with the triple political whammy (to him) candidate proposed as his deputy, one who was/is a Chabor (woman), Chinese and a Christian (all rolled into one), a triple-C factor which sh*tted him ... ... whilst the neighbouring State of Perak also saw HRH Regent sidelined Ngeh Koo Ham of DAP (the Pakatan party with the most number of ADUNs) and picked instead Nizar Jamaluddin of PAS (the Pakatan party with the least number of ADUNs) to be the state's new MB. Mind you, HRH's choice, for whatever reason, turned out to be a serendipitious one for us. It was alleged that Muhammad Munir Bani, the Selangor sultan's private secretary, had advised Khalid Ibrahim about the palace's 'preference' for a Malay (and, alas, not a Malaysian) deputy MB. However, Muhammad Munir denied reports that HRH wanted 'a deputy from a particular race' (meaning 'Malay'), although he added the sultan was the religious head for Islam and Malay culture, and thus the MB has the task of assisting in these duties, which in his absence would also have to handled by his deputy. In that most unbelievable zigzagging explanation, Muhammad Munir, after denying HRH wanted a Malay deputy MB, in the same breath averred that it was only proper a Malay (not a Malaysian) be the deputy MB. Following that, Malaysiakini reported in Expert: No legal need for Malay deputy MB that Prof Abdul Aziz Bari, a constitutional expert who lectured law at the International Islamic University Malaysia, was consulted on the matter. Prof Abdul Aziz dismissed Muhammad Munir's claims that the deputy MB should ideally be a Malay to assist the MB in Islamic and cultural duties. The Prof said: "The Sultan of Selangor does not need the menteri besar or the deputy menteri besar in matters pertaining to religion and Malay custom." According to the Prof, the sultan, as the head of Islamic matters and the Malay adat, is the person in charge of such matters in the state, and not the MB or his deputy. He said: "Matters cited by the palace are entirely within the sultan's jurisdiction. As the sultan may act on his own discretion on these matters, the constitution provides that a council may be appointed to assist him. This is what is commonly known as religious councils or majlis agama, which looks after the religious department or the jabatan agama. In the other four states and federal territories, the Agong will have the same establishment." Prof Abdul Aziz also commented that a prolonged delay in the appointment of a deputy MB was unnecessary and might even be unconstitutional. But when asked whether the appointment of a Deputy MB had been postponed or scrapped altogether, Khalid Ibrahim side-stepped the issue by stating the need to explain the matter (what?) properly to the people (who?), and that he would do this after the executive councillors had been sworn-in (why?).
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| Nizar dedah dokumen RM207 bilion Posted: 09 Jan 2013 02:38 PM PST Nizar menunjukkan dokumen yang diedarkan kepada wartawan pada sidang media. (Harakah Daily) - AJK PAS Pusat, Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin hari ini mendedahkan beberapa dokumen penting yang menunjukkan kerajaan Malaysia memang telah menerima wang sebanyak RM207 bilion dari kerajaan Jepun sebagai pampasan kepada rakyat Malaysia yang terlibat dalam pembinaan landasan keretapi maut Jepun.
(Surat dari Kementerian Kewangan kepada Persatuan) Dokumen itu berupa surat permohonan dari Persatuan Kebajikan Bekas dan Warisan Buroh Binaan Landasan Keretapi Siam ke Burma 1942-1946 (Persatuan) yang jelas menyatakan jumlah RM207 bilion yang dituntut itu. Surat permohonan ini dibuat oleh Persatuan kepada Perdana Menteri pada 27 Julai 2011. Pendedahan ini dibuat Nizar dalam sidang media khasnya hari ini. Beliau meminta agar pihak kerajaan membuat penjelasan terhadap semua dokumen itu dan menjelaskan di mana wang itu sekarang jika ianya benar-benar wujud. (Surat dari Jabatan Peguam Negara kepada Persatuan) Nizar juga menunjukkan kepada media dokumen pengesahan dari pelbagai kementerian dan jabatan serta pejabat Peguam Negara mengenai tuntutan itu. Antaranya, Bahagian Pengeluaran, Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia dalam suratnya kepada Persatuan berkata, "Sukacita dimaklumkan bahawa tuntutan pengeluaran berjumlah RM207 bilion telah diangkat untuk tindakan dan kelulusan Kerajaan di mana prosesnya telah dimaklumkan ke Peguam Negara dan peringkat Kementerian Sumber Manusia." Nizar sebelum ini ketika berucap dalam Dewan Rakyat meminta Perdana Menteri menjelaskan tuntutan Persatuan ini namun tidak ada sebarang penjelasan dibuat mengenainya. Baru-baru ini, beliau ke Kedutaan Jepun untuk berbincang mengenainya. Wakil kedutaan mengesahkan beliau pernah mendengar mengenainya tetapi hanya mengesahkan pembayaran pernah dibuat tetapi tidak menyebutkan angkanya. Beliau akan merujuk balik kepada Tokyo mengenainya. Wakil Kedutaan kemudiannya menafikan wang RM207 bilion itu yang dirujuk.
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| Kalimah Allah: Penjelasan Ketua Dewan Ulamak PAS Posted: 09 Jan 2013 02:34 PM PST
(Harakah Daily) - Saya ingin menjelaskan bahawa laporan berita bertajuk 'Ulama PAS tetap tidak setuju bukan Islam guna kalimah Allah' yang dikeluarkan oleh MStar pada 9 Januari 2013 adalah telah memetik secara salah apa yang saya sebutkan. Demikian penjelasan Ketua Dewan Ulamak PAS Pusat, Datuk Harun Taib berhubung laporan Mstar, semalam. Berikut ialah penjelasan penuh beliau. Saya ingin menjelaskan bahawa laporan berita bertajuk 'Ulama PAS tetap tidak setuju bukan Islam guna kalimah Allah' yang dikeluarkan oleh MStar pada 9 Januari 2013 adalah telah memetik secara salah apa yang saya sebutkan. Kenyataan awal saya yang berkenaan adalah ketika saya diminta memberi komen terhadap permintaan pihak-pihak tertentu supaya dibenar penggunaan terjemahan Allah dalam Bible berbahasa Melayu beberapa minggu yang lalu. Tajuk itu sepatutnya berbunyi seperti ini 'Ulamak PAS tetap tidak setuju bukan Islam guna kalimah Allah di dalam kitab mereka bagi menggantikan perkataan God'.
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| Who is Khalid Ibrahim batting for? Posted: 09 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST
Lucius Goon, The Malaysian Insider Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has to figure out if he is a Pakatan Rakyat leader or is he the Selangor Sultan's spokesman. He cannot have it both ways. If I remember correctly, he was elected on a PKR ticket and PKR is part of Pakatan Rakyat and the Pakatan Rakyat leadership announced that non-Muslims had a right to use the word "Allah". So like any loyal Pakatan politician, you would expect Khalid to accept the coalition's position. Instead, you have him regurgitating the rubbish story about how the religious enactment of the state prevents others from using Allah in an undignified manner. That by the way is the position of the Umno-friendly Majlis Agama Islam Selangor. The point is the Selangor Sultan is the head of Islam in the state but he has no say over the matters pertaining to Christianity or Sikhism. Matters on religious freedom are enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and not to be decided in Selangor. Incidentally, the High Court has interpreted the constitution and allowed the Catholic Church to use the word "Allah". The government has appealed the decision but until the appeal court overturns it, the decision of the High Court stands. So Khalid, here is a reminder: you can't have it both ways. You can't ride on the coat tails of Pakatan Rakyat when it suits you and decide not to accept the consensus of the coalition when it doesn't. If Malaysians wanted feeble politicians, they would have kept Umno in power.
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| Selangor MB: Not wrong to use ‘Allah’ but don’t abuse it Posted: 09 Jan 2013 02:13 PM PST
(The Star) - It is not wrong for non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" as long as it is not intended to ridicule or abuse the term, said Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. He said this was clearly stated in the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Selangor) Enactment 2003. "When you are singing the Selangor state anthem, it is not an act of ridicule. But if someone is using the word to preach and convince Muslims to convert then that is wrong," he said when asked if it was appropriate for non-Muslims to sing the state anthem, as one of its verses contained the word "Allah". On the state Government's stand regarding the use of "Allah" in Malay Bible, Khalid said Islam and its relevant laws were under the authority of the Sultan. "His authority is accepted by the state government because the laws had been passed by the state legislative assembly," he said.
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2013 01:58 PM PST
Is it the reformist agenda he has touted all this while or him being the prime minister courtesy of Lajim Ukin and Taib Mahmud? CT Ali, FMT Today we ask ourselves what is the responsible way to vote while our politicians are still focused on retaining or taking power by doing whatever is necessary to do so. We know that politics is not a job for life but judging from Barisan Nasional's tenure in office, it can be a highly lucrative vocation. How goes Pakatan Rakyat against an embattled Umno? Umno has its fixed deposit votes: the Malay votes, the rural votes, the votes from the armed forces, the "religious factor" votes, the "pendatang" votes, the "I scratch your back, you scratch mine back" votes and, of course, there is their impregnable fortress – Johor. Everything that money can buy, Umno already has. Pakatan has to earn every single vote it takes take from Umno. Pakatan may have their "diehard" and "berani mati ABU" supporters, but they are cancelled out many times over by BN diehard supporters. Pakatan has no vote bank worth talking about. What it has is the goodwill of Malaysians who are hopeful that the reformist agenda it espoused will be implemented once it is in government. This enlightened but volatile group makes up 40% of the electorate. In the main, they are young adults, newly eligible voters, the urbanites and the educated. Their weapon of choice is the Internet and their intellect. Their votes are crucial and will decide who will form government after this 13th general election. The challenge of securing their patronage and allegiance is still a work in progress for BN and Pakatan. Anwar's politics in Sabah, Sarawak Saudara Anwar Ibrahim, let us recap. Pakatan's agenda is to reform. It means to make changes in something (typically a social, political or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it. The operative words are "change" and "improve". I have watched with trepidation the opposition leader's flirtation with Sabah's veteran politician Lajim Ukin. I do not know Lajim as well as I know Anwar but yet I do know something of Lajim. What Anwar, Najib and Lajim know about the politics in Sabah would be "interesting", to say the least. For now, I will give Anwar the benefit of the doubt in as far as Lajim is concerned. The benefit that I give Anwar is because I want to think that he is "talking" to Lajim because he has promised change and reforms. And Lajim, being the wily old fox that he is, knows that the people of Sabah wants change and reform too. But here is where the "doubt" starts. I hope Anwar's talk with Lajim is not in the "I scratch your back and you scratch mine" format. We know that will be Najib's approach for he knows of no other. That is Sabah. And now it would seem that in Sarawak, Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and Anwar are also holding each other's hands. Najib too is in there somewhere. So now in Sarawak and in Sabah, everyone is holding on to each other, hanging on for their dear own political life. They are quite understandably more preoccupied with their own comfort than the comfort and wellbeing of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. It is a bad choice of preoccupation because there are only three votes among the three of you. The people of Sabah and Sarawak have the rest. Platform of reforms What about reforms? I do not have to pose this question to Lajim in Sabah or Taib in Sarawak because we know their political survival and personal fortunes depend on the deals they will make with the one first past the finishing line after the votes are counted in the 13th general election. They care not if it is BN or Pakatan.
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| Mat Zain: Musa trying to save himself Posted: 09 Jan 2013 01:54 PM PST
Former KL CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim says that former IGP Musa Hassan is attacking his successor to cover up for his own admission of guilt in fabricating evidence in Sodomy 1 trial. G Vinod, FMT Accusations and counter -accusations by two former high ranking cops have still not abated. This time around former KL CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim is accusing former IGP Musa Hassan of being involved in a cover up. Mat Zain said all Musa Hassan's allegations against the current Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar and the police force was an attempt to divert from his own errors and misdeeds. In an open letter to Ismail, Mat Zain claimed that Musa was trying to divert people's attention from his own controversial admission of guilt made in an interview with Malaysiakini in May last year. "Without realising, Musa admitted in the interview that he had fabricated DNA evidence against former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in the Sodomy 1 trial. "In an afterthought, he is now attacking the incumbent IGP in order to divert public attention from his mistakes," alleged Mat Zain. In recent months, Musa had criticised Ismail for being a "weak" IGP and claimed that several top brass officers are working in cahoots with underworld figures. He also accused Ismail of being behind the arrest of Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng in 2008 under the Internal Security Act (ISA). In addition, Musa alleged Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein of interfering in police affairs, and that he (Musa) was forced to retire after he had voiced his reservations on the matter. Hishammuddin had since denied Musa's accusations.
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| ‘Sultan cannot make rules for non-Muslims’ Posted: 09 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST
The vocal Bishop Paul Tan says that the Sultan's role is merely to protect Islam. He also underscores the fact that Malaysia is not an Islamic state. RK Anand, FMT The Sultan of Selangor's decree that non-Muslims in the state are forbidden from using the term "Allah" has drawn the ire of a senior clergyman, who felt that the ruler has acted in an unfair manner. Bishop Paul Tan, who heads the Johor and Malacca diocese, said the Sultan's role was to protect Islam and not to make rules for those of other faiths. "We non-Muslims have our own heads. Besides, our country is a constitutional or parliamentary democracy not a theocratic state i.e. Islamic state. Our Federal Constitution protects the rights of all our people, not only Muslims," he told FMT. Tan also pointed out that the matter was still pending appeal after the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled on Dec 31, 2009 that the ban on non-Muslims using the word "Allah" was illegal. "As said many a time, historically the word is pre-Islamic and therefore cannot be claimed as a creation of Islam. We also have documents that in the early 17th century, translations of the Bible into Malay, the word 'Allah' was used. "In all countries, except Malaysia, including Arab countries and Indonesia, there is no ban on Christians using the word 'Allah'," he said. "If the Malaysian government forbids people of faiths other than those who profess Islam from using the word 'Allah', we would be the laughing stock of more enlightened people in other countries," he added. Tan also questioned if the faith of Malaysian Muslims were so fragile that it had to be protected because the use of this word by others would endanger their belief. "I personally do not think so. How many leaders of this country have been educated in Christian schools and remained faithful to their Islamic faith? Many. By trying to forbid people of faiths other than those who profess Islam from using the word 'Allah' on the pretext of protecting the Muslims is actually casting aspersion on Malaysian Muslims for having a weak faith," he said. Furthermore, the bishop noted that there were at least three Surahs in the Quran – Surah 2:62,(the Cow), Surah 5:69 (The Table) and Surah 22:17 (the Pilgrimage) that say Jews, Christians and Sabeans believe in "Allah". "Sikhs have also clearly declared that their holy scriptures use the word 'Allah'. There is only one God who created everyone and everything, there are no two Gods. It is only human beings who understand the Almighty in different and variegated ways," he added. Responding to a question, Tan, who was the immediate past president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, blamed politicians for the imbroglio.
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| Prejudice and the ugly face of BN in Sabah Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:49 AM PST
(Free Malaysia Today) - Yet another leader of the Sabah chapter of the State Reform Party (STAR) has cried foul over religious discrimination against the native Christians in the state. Sabah STAR women's wing chief, Melanie Annol, said there had been increasing reports and claims that both the federal and state governments are willfully sidelining native Christians in job opportunities and promotions in public service and government-linked bodies in the state. In supporting STAR leader Daniel John Jambun's recent call on authorities and politicians to stop harrasing Christians in Malaysia, Annol stressed that victimisation in Sabah is real and that the native Christians had chosen to keep it to themselves until now. "I would like to direct the world attention to this systematic racial discrimination against native Christians especially the Kadazandusun – Murut groups, the original people in Sabah. "These natives were supposed to lead the state and be as dominant but what had happened was they had been willfully left behind and sidelined by the ruling Barisan Nasional in almost every spectrum of opportunity in government offices," she said in a statement issued here today. Annol who is also STAR head for Penampang, claimed that in some cases of new recruitment of staff, certain departments were taking in only Muslim applicants and no Christians, no matter how well qualified. "There had been reports where the entire intake of staff were always Muslims and only one or two from the Kadazandusun natives managed to get in, even that was because they were Muslim Kadazandusuns. "I stand proud to be able to highlight this discrimination now before it gets out of hand and as we look ahead to seek a fair treatment from a fairer government. "What I am saying is the truth and its happening in Sabah. "We never envisaged it to be like this bad. The late Tun Mustapha Harun and Tun Fuad Stephens must be cringing in their graves seeing the unbelievable now is happening in Sabah," she said. Annol also pointed out that even in institution of higher learning like Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) one can see the overwhelming "imbalance" in term of opportunity for the Christian natives staff. "I don't believe that race and religion were not a criteria when the authorities recruit or promote officers in their departments. It just defies logic that Kadazandusun Christians find it is very hard now to get employment in public services and those once inside find it even more difficult to get promotion. "In UMS I only see two prominent Kadazandusun names – Prof Felix Tongkul and Prof Marcus Jopony – among the most senior officers," she said based on what was printed in the university's book for its recent convocation weeks ago. Marginalised by Muslims and Malayans She said according to latest record all the top seven officials of UMS are from one community. Currently the vice-chancellor is Prof Mohd Harun Abdullah, three deputy vice chancellors Prof Shariff Abdul Kadir Shariff Omang, Prof Shahril Yusof, and Associate Prof Kasim Md Mansur, the registrar is Abdullah Mohd Said while the Bursar is headed by Rizal Othman. The chief Librarian is Dayang Rukiah Awang Amit. The 32-member UMS Senate are all from the same community except for one Indian, one Chinese and Dr Jopony and Dr Tongkul. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/09/prejudice-and-the-ugly-face-of-bn-in-sabah/
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| ‘Allah’ ban against court order, Cabinet decision, Selangor told Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:41 AM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - Lawyers in the "Allah CD" case have formally written to tell the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) that the Selangor Sultan's latest ban on the usage of "Allah" by non-Muslims is disrespectful of a 2009 High Court order and in conflict with a 2011 federal government decision on the matter. In a letter to MAIS yesterday, the lawyers affixed documents to both decisions to remind the council that a settlement to the controversy had long been reached, despite the latest religious storm over the same issue. "MAIS's action, which is inconsistent and contrary to the order of the court, appears to belittle and disrespect the court decision," the lawyers said in the letter signed by Annou Xavier, who is also a member of the Kuala Lumpur Catholic Lawyers' Society (CLS).The first document attached to the letter is a copy of the 2009 court order where Jill Ireland, a Sarawakian Christian, was granted permission to challenge the government's previous confiscation of several of her religious CDs which bore the word "Allah". The second document is a April 2011 circular to Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing that was signed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself, stating that Christians and those of other faiths can import and use bibles in any languages including Bahasa Malaysia. In the run-up to the heated Sarawak state polls, the federal government had on April 2, 2011, issued a 10-point solution to the "Allah" controversy, allowing the publication and distribution of the AlKitab, the Malay-language Bible that it had impounded due to its usage of "Allah" to refer to the Christian God. As such, Annou said that by suddenly banning non-Muslims in Selangor from using "Allah", MAIS had not only contradicted both the court and federal government's decisions, but had also contravened Article 11(3) of the Federal Constitution which, he said, stipulates that those of all other faiths in Malaysia had the right to conduct their religious practices freely. "We hope MAIS will not prolong this issue of non-Muslims using 'Allah' in the media and instead respect the court decision as well as every individual's right to freedom of religion," the lawyer wrote. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/allah-ban-against-court-order-cabinet-decision-selangor-told/
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| Who can lead BN's move to reclaim Selangor? Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:32 AM PST
The Barisan Nasional (BN) faces a major predicament in its battle to reclaim Selangor in the next general election - it lacks a clear choice of commander to lead its political machinery. Pathma Subramaniam, fz.com This is evident from the state of limbo in Selangor Umno, the senior partner in BN, which has been under the stewardship of Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak since he took over as the prime minister in 2009 and appointed himself as the state Umno liaison chief soon afterwards. It also reflects the lasting effect of the BN's shock defeat in the 2008 general election, when the ruling coalition lost control of the country's most-developed state for the first time. Political analyst Professor Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia bluntly states that the BN, which has to deal with a full array of unresolved leadership issues, will be unlikely to win the state back from Pakatan Rakyat, despite having held it for more than 50 years before the damaging defeat five years ago. "Leadership is one very significant issue here and, what does Umno have?" asked Mohd Agus. "It has money and (control of the) mainstream media. But in a place like Selangor, the online media plays a big role in the dissemination of information and it is not enough that BN can exploit the mainstream media. "A majority of the electorate in Selangor is bound to gauge a party depending on the leadership of the party and its image, as well as the unity it shows and the personalities who are vying to be candidates," said Mohd Yusoff to fz.com. In the 2008 general election, BN only managed to win 20 of the 56 seats in the Selangor state legislative assembly. Of that, 18 were won by Umno and two by MCA. In at least nine of these constituencies, BN won by less than a 5% majority, while Pakatan Rakyat held an unassailable 36 seats prior to the defection of two of its assembly members and the death of another. It was the worst ever defeat for BN in the state. In contrast, during the 2004 general election, BN controlled 54 of the 56 seats in the state. This reflects the force of the political tsunami that swept the nation in 2008. The defeat took the party's divisions by storm, resulting in a massive shake up in its ranks, with Najib taking over control of the state Umno apparatus from former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo. '1,000 generals' Mohd Khir, who was largely blamed for the BN's loss in the state in the 2008 election, however retained the Sungai Panjang seat with a comfortable majority. He was also dropped as the state's BN chairperson, a position he had held since 2000. He now leads Umno's state-level think-tank. His credibility was put to the test again, when he was charged with graft, upon which he resigned as the leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly. In the case, he was sentenced to a 12-month prison term two years ago for corruption involving two plots of land in Petaling Jaya. Mohd Khir has appealed against the decision. Nevertheless, according to Mohd Agus, although Mohd Khir had left office in disgrace, the former menteri besar is seen as a force to be reckoned with in the state, along with several prominent personalities including his predecessor Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib and Selangor Umno deputy liaison chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar. These leaders are well connected with their electorate and are able to move the ground support in favour of the candidate they back. For a while, speculation was rife that Sri Serdang assembly member Datuk Mohamad Satim Diman would be the candidate of choice after taking over from Mohd Khir as the leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly in July 2011, but the appointment of former works minister and Sepang MP Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed as BN coordinator in the state early last year, gave life to rumours that Mohd Zin stood a better chance as he was seen as Najib's choice. Reports have also emerged that the BN is looking at fielding corporate personalities to take on Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who is frequently cited for his skills in managing the state's coffers. One such personality, whose name was bandied about, is property tycoon Datuk FD Iskandar, the chief executive officer and managing director of Glomac Berhad, after his appointment as the party's state treasurer but, the lack of resounding support for the political newcomer put the brakes on such speculation. Despite repeated calls for Umno members to close ranks, discord remains ostensible with "too many warlords" wanting to take the lead, noted Mohd Agus.
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:24 AM PST
Najib Razak has now been drawn into a corner (yet again) in his pussy-footing over calling for the 13th Malaysian General Elections. If Najib Razak deals with this rally with force as was what had happened in BERSIH 3.0, he would face another big, big backlash among the young voters, of whom believe that freedom of assembly should not be curtailed. Hikayat Putera Kemuning To be very, very honest I was quite gobsmacked and was in confusion when I heard from one of my favourite maestre Tukar Tiub Hishamuddin Rais that there was a sequel to the already massive BERSIH 3.0 to be held this Saturday, 12 January 2012, namely for a mega-rally dubbed #KL112. Coupled with his obvious disdain for apocalypse that makes the Mayan Grand-Witch doctor fume with rage, Tukar Tiub went on the offensive against his arch-nemesis the United Malays National Organisation (of which he stubbornly refuse to dub otherwise) by enlisting the NGO, opposition parties, the punks and skinheads; to be honest everything under the unfalling sky that is 'Anything But UMNO' or more affectionately known as ABU; in joining forces (again) to pressure Najib Razak into a position that would make the late Bobby Fischer, Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov blush with admiration. For here are the facts: (1) Najib Razak has now been drawn into a corner (yet again) in his pussy-footing over calling for the 13th Malaysian General Elections. If Najib Razak deals with this rally with force as was what had happened in BERSIH 3.0, he would face another big, big backlash among the young voters, of whom believe that freedom of assembly should not be curtailed. On the other hand, if he gives in and allows the demo to proceed, he would obviously be regarded as a reformer, though would be at loggerheads with the far-rightist in his right wing organisation including (but not limited to) PERKASA, who is UMNO's step-sister on his stepdad's side twice removed. (2) All these very tall tales of UMNO and BN's 'transformation' would again be rendered bland if heavy-handedness were to prevail. All BRIMs, KRIMs and stuff would be effectively neutralised and Najib would be left trying to salvage his efforts through ANOTHER round of an mandatory but improved BRIM etc with maybe a RM3000 payout financed by IMF loans this time around and blaming it to Anwar Ibrahim. (3) Malaysia has high domestic and extra-terrestrial debts for which is well documented which runs to more than a couple of hundred billion Ringgits - nothing much. But Najib Razak knows that corruption of the citizenry has a very high price - that is the Rakyat will feel that they deserve it and that the next handout MUST be more than the previous. At the rate he is going by labelling everything under the sun as being 1Malaysia, we will have a very difficult time finding out what is NOT 1Malaysia. Desperation has seen that even recycled bread is now fielding that name, no matter how ingenius the idea was. Read more at: http://puterakemuning.blogspot.com/2013/01/kl112-res-ipsa-loquitur.html | ||
| Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:10 AM PST
Although I am convinced that former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hasan and carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan are telling us the truth, I doubt their sincerity. I believe they are doing this because they were short-changed. They are revealing the truth in instalments in the hope that the big pay day will come. Toffee Rozario, Free Malaysia Today For the Barisan Nasional government to fall, the majority of the Malays must vote the opposition and that is the definitive trend today. The signs are there, it is just too many. The next general election is going to deal a huge blow to the Barisan Nasional government and it will be a blow that will take BN at least 20 years to recover. The recent revelations, coming in spurts, are a typical Umno strategy, which Dr Mahathir Mohamad used so often and that explains the succession he has passed on. Although I am convinced that former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hasan and carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan are telling us the truth, I doubt their sincerity. I believe they are doing this because they were short-changed. They are revealing the truth in instalments in the hope that the big pay day will come. That's when they will decide whether to keep quiet or spill more. But when and if that big "pay day" comes, then I believe they will wait for yet another bigger pay day; after all, isn't the current "strategy" just pay, pay and pay? I doubt Deepak's claims that he will tell all. He is waiting for the big payouts and he wants it as soon as possible. He knows as much as Najib Tun Razak, Rosmah Mansor and Mahathir that the end is near and that the BN government is going to be dumped. In fact, they all know that and are trying their level best to intimidate the people. But this time it will not work. Slow revelation of truth Before this government falls, all these players must collect their ill-gotten gains promised to them by the big boys. And they must leave the country quickly less they get caught for all the bad things they have done in concert with the BN. Thus the slow revelation of the truth. Notable is the fact that for the government to fall, the majority of the Malays must vote the opposition and that is the definitive trend today. All polls have have indicated that, so there is this feeling of deep despair among the top brass in Umno. Thus they can't give in to every private investigator, carpet man or cop. There simply won't be enough left to pay the Umno division chiefs if they win the election, and if they do not deliver, then all hell will break loose in Umno itself. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/01/10/deep-despair-in-bn-corridors/ | ||
| In the spotlight again over ‘Allah’ issue Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:03 AM PST
It was quite obvious Guan Eng was sealing in the DAP support in Sarawak and Sabah where there is a large Christian population. But the issue is a perception disaster for PAS which is seen as having lost its original ideals. Joceline Tan, The Star Religion has moved to the political centrestage again with the revival of the kalimah Allah' controversy. POLITICS runs through Lim Guan Eng's veins and his speeches at almost every event, including religious occasions, is about politics, politics and more politics. The Penang Chief Minister's Christmas message last month was no different - he mentioned Lynas, the AES issue and money scandals. But it was his call for the term "Allah" to be used in Bahasa Malaysia Bibles that landed his Pakatan Rakyat partners with a giant headache. It has made him a hero among the Christians but the matter stunned many Muslims who are not comfortable with the development. Religion has once again moved to the political centrestage with the revival of the "kalimah Allah" issue. On Tuesday, PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang appeared at a press conference with PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang where Hadi read from a brief statement that appeared to endorse Guan Eng's Christmas message. Basically, Hadi said that Islam does not forbid non-Muslims from using the term "Allah" although it may not be equivalent to the actual meaning of the original Quranic word. The three leaders looked rather tense and seemed in a hurry to get it over with. None of them were really comfortable about the subject matter and who can blame them? The press conference was taking place on the same day as a no-nonsense statement from the Selangor Palace reminding everyone in the state that there is a fatwa decreeing that the term "Allah" is sacred and exclusive to Muslims. The Selangor fatwa was gazetted on Feb 18, 2010, shortly after the controversy over the Bahasa Malaysia language Bibles. The Pakatan leadership appears to be going against the Palace and the state fatwa, whichever way one looks at it. For instance, a Malay daily had the following headline: "Sultan larang, Hadi benarkan" (the Sultan disallows, Hadi allows). Actually, Hadi was being consistent in the sense that he had said more or less the same thing at the height of the issue in 2010. His problem is that a number of the leading ulama in his party do not agree with him. Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the party's Pahang chief and the man seen as Hadi's likely successor, had just a couple of weeks ago said that the "kalimah Allah" was meant only for Muslims. The view is shared by Dewan Ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib and the party's leading theologianDatuk Dr Haron Din. In 2010, when Hadi was being hailed by Christians as an "accommodating leader," many in PAS had disagreed with his stand but they kept their peace. The mood has shifted and the conservatives are less willing to hold their tongue this time around. Hadi's latest statement has not gone down well with the party and the deafening silence on the part of Harakah daily on the issue says it all. It has to be remembered that this is a party some of whose members are not even comfortable with wishing Christians "Merry Christmas" and which has protested against Muslims celebrating Valentine's day on the grounds that it has Christian connotations and encourages proximity between the sexes. PAS leaders are against cinemas which are seen as venues for vice activities and the unisex hair salon issue in Kelantan is still hanging in the air. Some in Pakatan are upset with Guan Eng for stirring up this polemic issue so close to the general election. Even the Sultan of Selangor had expressed "shock and regret" over Guan Eng's Christmas message. They said DAP was already assured of the bulk of the Chinese and Christian votes and there was no need to hurt PAS on the Malay ground. "PAS loses votes every time the Pakatan Rakyat Council makes a decision," said a Selangor PAS member. Read more at: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/1/10/nation/12554144&sec=nation
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| Haron: I’ll never agree to allow non-Muslims use 'Allah' Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST
(The Star) - PAS deputy mursyidul am Datuk Dr Haron Din says he will never agree to any decision allowing the use of "kalimah Allah" by non-Muslims. "Kalimah Allah dominates every surah in the Quran, while the word Allah cannot be found anywhere in the Bible," he said. He said this in response to the resurfacing of the contentious issue after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said recently that Christians should be allowed to use the word "Allah" in the Malay version of the Bible. The PAS Syura Council meeting on Saturday is expected to be highly charged as many of the religious scholars in the party are not agreeable to Pakatan Rakyat's consensus to allow non-Muslims to use "kalimah Allah". Some members of the Syura Council were caught by surprise over the decision that was made without consulting the supreme body of the Islamist party. PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said on Tuesday that Islam did not forbid non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" but it should not be abused. Dr Haron described as kufur (disbelievers) those who allow non-Muslims to use the word "Allah", as it could lead to syirik (shirk) when the word is used on the cross and other prayer paraphernalia. PAS Ulama chief Datuk Dr Harun Taib had also expressed shock over Pakatan Rakyat's claim that a consensus had been reached. In an immediate response on Tuesday, Harun said that as far as he could remember, the Syura Council had never made a decision on the matter. PAS mursyidul am (spiritual leader) Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz was quoted in a Malay daily as saying that on a personal basis, he believed non-Muslims should be allowed to use "kalimah Allah", as it could be the first step to preach Islam to them. However, Nik Aziz said he would abide by the Syura Council's decision. Meanwhile, Selangor Barisan Nasional coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed hit out at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for defying the Selangor Sultan's advice to abide by a fatwa barring non-Muslims from using "kalimah Allah". Mohd Zin said Anwar, who claimed to be adviser to the Selangor Government, should be ashamed for being ignorant of the fact that the ruling prohibiting the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims for the propagation of other religions apart from Islam was stipulated in Section 9 of the Non-Islamic Religion Enactment (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) 1988. "What kind of message is he trying to send? "Is he trying to instigate Pakatan supporters to commit sedition?" he asked.
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2013 10:55 AM PST
Why is it that this so-called affliction only affects Muslims in West Malaysia? What is the rational explanation? Are the Muslims in East Malaysia made of sterner stuff that they are not afflicted by this confusion? Could it be a case of Muslims in East Malaysia being better educated and instructed in Islam that nothing will shake them from their faith? P. Ramakrishnan When God is politicised we are in big trouble. That is what is happening in Malaysia. And that's why we are in such a big mess.
Religious zealots have come out with edicts that defy logic and override the supreme law of the land, the Federal Constitution. They have paid scant attention to the High Court ruling way back in 2009 that the word "Allah" can be used by the Christians. The government has appealed against this decision. But nothing has happened for more than three years. Seemingly it is meant to be so! There is no urgency to solve this matter as soon as possible. Most people think that the delay is deliberate and politically motivated. The claim by some members of certain organisations who had aggressively demonstrated on the premise that Muslims and Christians will be confused if "Allah" is used by non-Muslims is ridiculous and laughable. There is no merit in their claim. There is no justification for this view. What is the basis for this ridiculous claim? Why is the word "Allah" confusing? And confusing to whom? What is so confusing about the word? It had been in use for thousands of years; yet we have not come across anyone in any part of the world who was ever confused because the word "Allah" was commonly used by Muslims and non-Muslims. Have the ordinary, average Muslims, who are the majority in this country, ever complained that they are confused when Christians use the word "Allah"? Until this controversy, which has been recently created deliberately by the religious zealots, the word "Allah" has been used widely and commonly in Malaysia by the various communities without anyone getting confused or upset! It would appear that the only ones who are confused must be the minority of narrow-minded religious zealots! Are they really confused – or are they, for political reasons, desperately trying to confuse the majority of people who are sane and sensible and comfortable with the use of the word "Allah"? The word "Allah" has been used all along in Malaysia without causing any problem or creating any unrest – until some religious zealots came along and suddenly claimed exclusive right to the use of the word. For heaven's sake, this is an Arabic word used freely and universally without any problem or confusion in the rest of the world! Muslims throughout the world have understood this word and what it refers to. Locally Muslims, Hindus, Chinese, Sikhs, the Peranakan community in Malacca and the Orang Asli have used the word comfortably and freely and they have understood what it stands for and represents. We have never ever had confused zombies walking around like lost souls and going astray. Yet, it is argued that the use of "Allah" by non-Muslims can cause confusion. Why is it that this so-called affliction only affects Muslims in West Malaysia? What is the rational explanation? Are the Muslims in East Malaysia made of sterner stuff that they are not afflicted by this confusion? Could it be a case of Muslims in East Malaysia being better educated and instructed in Islam that nothing will shake them from their faith? What has gone wrong in West Malaysia for the religious zealots to claim that the Muslims here will be confused? Are the Muslims in West Malaysia that weak and gullible to the extent that they are not capable of thinking rationally and discerning what is right and wrong? Are they really confused? Or is it a case of causing confusion where there is no confusion? What is the political agenda for creating this controversy? The word "Allah" has been used for centuries. It has been around even before Islam came into being. Where Islam originated, there has been tolerance and accommodation. Both Christians and Muslims have used the same word freely in their daily conversation and prayers without upsetting any religious sensitivity. No prohibition was imposed because they understood the core value of their respective faiths. Islam was not founded on denial. It is a compassionate religion whose tenets exhort Muslim to be tolerant and caring, to stand up for justice, to protect the rights of others, and to be accommodating and to never deny what is rightfully others. These religious zealots seem incapable of living up to the demands of their faith. Their doctrine is one of denial. Is the faith of the Muslims in West Malaysia that shallow and precarious that they can be so easily led astray? Isn't it an indictment that after all that has been done to protect and preserve Islam and to educate the Muslims into becoming better human beings with so much effort, it has been a total failure? Shouldn't these religious zealots be directing their attention and anger to the more serious malaise plaguing the Muslim community and deserving their wholehearted attention? It is a fact that teenage pregnancy, incest, baby dumping, drug abuse, HIV infection and many more ailments are rampant among the Malay community. Seriously, these are the areas that the zealots should be involved in. There is wide-spread corruption, abuse of power, human rights violations, injustice, deaths in custody, racism, co-habitation, rape, murder, discrimination, wastage and many more wrongs which should be the concern of these religious zealots. But there are no earnest attempts to resolve these issues. But strangely, the uttering of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims consumes their entire attention. The Penang Mufti, Hassan Ahmad, has reminded all parties not to challenge the National Fatwa Council's decision that "Allah" can only be used by the Muslims in the country. The Kuala Lumpur High Court had ruled in a landmark decision in December 2009 that the Home Ministry's blanket ban on the use of the word "Allah" is illegal. Would he care to rage and rail against the Malaysian judiciary for that ruling? Would he now state that the judiciary has no right to adjudicate on this issue? The Perak Mufti, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria has declared that if non-Muslims want to use the word "Allah" they must convert to Islam. There is no logic in this baffling statement. Would he dare to declare that the entire world is subject to his 'ruling'? The rest of the world wouldn't care two hoots for his views. He would become the laughing stock of the Muslim world. Going by their logic, Islam must be insulted throughout the wide world on a daily basis because many adherents of different faiths utter this word in their prayers and conversations. What are these religious zealots going to do about this? Now, what happens to the Holy Book of the Sikhs which has the word "Allah" in it? Are the religious zealots suggesting that it should be rewritten, dropping the word "Allah" to reflect their views? Mizrahi Jews (descendants of the Jewish communities of the Babylonian era in the Middle East and the Caucasus) also use the term "Allah". Are the religious zealots declaring that from henceforth the Mizrahi Jews have no right to use this word? How ridiculous can one get. In the view of many thinking Malaysians, it is these religious zealots who are confused – not the rest of the Muslim community. It is time we settle this issue once and for all. Now is the real test for these religious zealots. We hope that they will be brave enough and honest enough to be consistent in their narrow-minded views. There are some state anthems that have the word "Allah" in the lyrics. Will they now declare that the non-Muslims in West Malaysia should not sing these state anthems? That should be the case, going by their warped reasoning! Will they be consistent in their stand by declaring that the Rukun Negara, the national code of conduct for all Malaysians, should not be observed by Muslims because of the word "Tuhan"? Will they have the guts to say that we sideline the Rukun Negara because, in their lopsided view, it can confuse the Muslims in West Malaysia? And likewise, will they also forbid the Muslims of West Malaysia from singing the national anthem, Negaraku, which has been sung spiritedly since our independence, because in the lyrics there is the word "Tuhan"? Will they say that we must abolish the national anthem in West Malaysia? Now, it is really confusing to all of us. The religious zealots must be genuinely and thoroughly confused as well!
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| Ahead of polls, Putrajaya tells local media to ‘soften people’s hearts’ Posted: 09 Jan 2013 10:51 AM PST
File photo of the Bersih street rally in Kuala Lumpur in April last year. BN has told the local print media to play up objections to street rallies organised by the opposition for various causes. One such rally will be held this weekend. (The Malaysian Insider) - Putrajaya has told the local media to "soften people's hearts" and provide more good news before this year's general election to showcase the ruling Barisan Nasional's (BN) administrative record, say executives who have attended a series of hush-hush meetings since New Year's Day. The Malaysian Insider understands that newspaper and television news editors have also been told to play up positive economic stories and businessmen's objections to street rallies such as this weekend's Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (HKR) rally in Stadium Merdeka. "The minister wants us to 'soften people's hearts' with positive news and programmes," said a media executive who attended a meeting chaired by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim."The focus is more on the Chinese and Indian communities as BN feels they are not getting enough support from them," the executive added. BN suffered historic losses in Election 2008, ceding four states and more than one-third of the 222-seat Parliament to several opposition parties that later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR) under sacked Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The swing has been attributed to widespread discontent among the Chinese and Indians, who form a significant minority among the country's 28 million population. But the opposition pact has found it difficult to expand its influence through the mass media as the government controls national radio and television broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), state news agency Bernama and its broadcasting arm BernamaTV and Radio24. Rais's ministry is also in charge of licensing private broadcasters such as Syarikat Televisyen Malaysia Bhd (STMB), Astro, TV AlHijrah and private radio stations. It is understood the minister had asked for a list of positive programmes to be aired in the next few months ahead of Election 2013 which is now expected to be held before the first week of April. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ahead-of-polls-putrajaya-tells-local-media-to-soften-peoples-hearts/
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| When Yong is hungry like the wolves Posted: 09 Jan 2013 10:46 AM PST
The political signal coming from Yong Teck Lee in the last few months indicate that he is trying to sail on two boats — Barisan National and Pakatan Rakyat — at the same time. His shifting statements to keep both the major political parties in good humour may end with a backlash. Selvaraja Somiah President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Taiko Yong Teck Lee's romancing of the Barisan National may end his love affair with the Sabah opposition front soon. But this new love story bring up the moot question as to why he is so desperate when the Barisan National has hardly given any indication to warmly accommodate him under its fold. Sources in the Barisan National say Yong Teck Lee can't be trusted. How can they depend on a leader who was willing to ditch the Barisan National — his decade-old senior partner — when he felt the relations between both were strained because of one man Pak Lah? Earlier too, Yong Teck Lee parted ways with Pairin Kitingan and formed the SAPP. The gainer of this triangular game being played in the state may be Shafie Apdal a good friend of Yong Teck Lee who is waiting and watching in the wings to take over as chief minister from Musa Aman. Remember when Yong Teck Lee was chief minister he together with Shafie Apdal milked Yayasan Sabah until it nearly when dry? However, thanks to Musa Aman,he saved the day for Yayasan Sabah. Even Lajim Ukin, Sabah's famous party hopper and old buddy of Yong Teck Lee from the Party Bersatu Sabah (PBS) days where both began their political career and where both plotted to destroy PBS are seen regularly together nowadays. If recent gathering in the meetings of SAPP is any indication, then Yong Teck Lee being adamant to go for a majority of the state seats (60 in Sabah) this coming looming 13th general election on what he termed as "the principle of Sabah autonomy" is all about splitting the opposition votes and helping Barisan National win big. The political signal coming from Yong Teck Lee in the last few months indicate that he is trying to sail on two boats — Barisan National and Pakatan Rakyat — at the same time. His shifting statements to keep both the major political parties in good humour may end with a backlash. At the same time, Pakatan Rakyat camp specially The Democratic Action Party (DAP) feels that Yong Teck Lee is not dependable and his track record for the last couple of years shows that he is more committed to divide and split the opposition votes. It is a known fact that despite poor governance Yong Teck Lee ruled this politically vibrant state for 2 years but a lot say he worked 4 long years (pun added because he worked day and night 24hours a day making hay while there is sunshine with his partner in crime Joseph Ambrose Lee). Read more at: http://selvarajasomiah.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/when-yong-is-hungry-like-the-wolves/
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| Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat 112 Posted: 09 Jan 2013 10:39 AM PST Phm3VanIF9E Merdeka Heritage Trust dalam kenyataan berkata antara syarat bagi Stadium Merdeka ialah penganjur mesti memastikan jumlah pengunjung/peserta tidak melebihi 30,000 orang. Or watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phm3VanIF9E Jan 12hb suatu perhimpunan mega akan dijadikan satu perhimpuan yang bersejarah, aman tenteram sebelum pilihanraya umum. Perhimpunan bersejarah ini telah dibenarkan oleh pengurusan Stadium Merdeka. Selain itu pihak PDRM berhasrat untuk kerjasama, menurut sekatariat HKR menganggarkan sejumlah 1 juta pengunjung akan menghadiri perhimpunan bersejarah ini. - Merdeka Heritage Trust dalam kenyataan berkata antara syarat bagi Stadium Merdeka ialah penganjur mesti memastikan jumlah pengunjung/peserta tidak melebihi 30,000 orang. - Kehadiran pengunjung ke Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat ini dipercayai melebihi demo BERSIH 3.0, anggaran kehadiran ini sudah pasti mana-mana stadium di Malaysia tidak berupaya memuatkan sejumlah bilangan yang sedemikian besar.
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2013 05:13 AM PST
FIRST QUARTER TARGET: Tycoon Syed Mokhtar may make standalone offer, says source (Business Times) - Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary may make a standalone offer to privatise DRB-HICOM Bhd, the country's biggest automotive company, people working on the plan said yesterday. Business Times understands that the plan is being helmed by privately-held Meridian Solutions Sdn Bhd. Meridian is a unit controlled by Syed Mokhtar's top financial aide, Ooi Teik Huat. | ||
| Posted: 08 Jan 2013 07:57 PM PST
Malaya or Malaysia did not attend the conference because Malaya and Malaysia did not exist yet at time. Malaya was created only in 1957 and Malaysia in 1963. Hence Malaya/Malaysia is not a party to that treaty or a recipient of any compensation. The recipient would be Britain, the colonial masters of the non-existent Malaya/Malaysia at that time. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin So it's settled then. Pakatan Rakyat allows non-Muslims to us the Allah word. Barisan Nasional does not allow non-Muslims to use the Allah word. MCA, the lead partner in Barisan Nasional after Umno, has no opinion about the matter. You use or don't use the Allah word they don't care. They are not going to comment about it. MIC does not want to comment whether they are going to comment. They are just going to maintain an elegant silence. So you do not know whether MIC agrees or does not agree to non-Muslims using the Allah word. And MIC will soon be known as MINC, the acronym for 'May I Not Comment'. His Highness the Sultan of Selangor does not agree to non-Muslims using the Allah word. The Church does not agree to His Highness the Sultan not agreeing to non-Muslims using the Allah word. Some people in Pakatan Rakyat agree with Pakatan Rakyat's stand. Some people in Pakatan Rakyat do not agree with Pakatan Rakyat's stand. Some people in Pakatan Rakyat do not want to take a stand regarding Pakatan Rakyat's stand. Some people in Barisan Nasional agree with Barisan Nasional's stand. Some people in Barisan Nasional do not agree with Barisan Nasional's stand. Some people in Barisan Nasional do not want to take a stand regarding Barisan Nasional's stand. So it's settled then. Malaysian politics can no longer be divided between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. Because there are supporters, opposers and abstainers from both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional, Malaysian politics must now be divided between the pro-Allah word and the anti-Allah word grouping. Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional plus their 13 or so component party members will need to be disbanded and a new grouping of pro-Allah word and anti-Allah word be created to face the coming general election. The voters will then be able to vote along the lines of whether they support or oppose the use of the Allah word. Once either the pro-Allah word or the anti-Allah word grouping wins the general election and gets to form the new federal government, Malaysians can expect to see brighter days ahead of them. Maybe corruption, abuse of power and wastage of public funds will still be a problem and we will still not see transparency, accountability and good governance, but at least Malaysians would have resolved one extremely important issue -- whether the pro-Allah word or the anti-Allah word grouping gets to run the country. With either the pro-Allah word or the anti-Allah word grouping running the country, foreign investors will flock to Malaysia and will pour billions into the country. More jobs will be created and no Malaysian will face unemployment. There will, in fact, be a huge problem of labour shortage, which will allow a few million Indonesians to migrate to Malaysia to fill up the many job vacancies. These Indonesians can then be given Malaysian citizenship and they will be able to vote in future Malaysian general elections. Malaysia can then increase the minimum wage to RM1,500 a month, as what some people want, which can be further increased by 10% a year so that Malaysians can be ahead of the inflation rate and not find it hard to make ends meet. In time, Malaysia's minimum wage can match that of the UK, which is roughly RM35 an hour. Then the one million Malaysians living and working overseas can return to Malaysia and seek employment at home since Malaysia is facing a shortage of workers and is paying high wages, comparable to that of the UK. Malaysia's political culture would also see a revolutionary change that it much needs. No longer will politics be about who makes a better Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak or Anwar Ibrahim. It will also no longer be about Ketuanan Melayu, the New Economic Policy, Article 153, Bahasa Malaysia, Malaysia's poor education system and poor health service, etc. It will be about whether you support or oppose the use of the Allah word. Malaysians of all races and religions will no longer be divided like they are now. Malaysians of whatever race and religion will be united under one of two umbrellas. And these umbrellas would be either you support or you oppose the use of the Allah word. Now, on the second issue of the so-called RM207 billion from Japan, the Treaty of San Francisco or the San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers was officially signed by 48 nations on 8th September 1951 at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, United States. It came into force on 28th April 1952. The countries that attended the Conference were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam. This treaty served to officially end World War II, to formally end Japan's position as an imperial power, and to allocate compensation to Allied civilians and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes. This treaty made extensive use of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to enunciate the Allies' goals. Malaya or Malaysia did not attend the conference because Malaya and Malaysia did not exist yet at time. Malaya was created only in 1957 and Malaysia in 1963. Hence Malaya/Malaysia is not a party to that treaty or a recipient of any compensation. The recipient would be Britain, the colonial masters of the non-existent Malaya/Malaysia at that time. So that is also settled then, just like the use of the Allah word has been settled. And the Japanese Embassy has just confirmed that the RM207 billion does not exist just like Malaya/Malaysia did not exist when the treaty was signed. So now Malaysians can get back to the business of choosing their next government in the coming general election. And you will choose your government not on whether you support Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional but on whether you support or oppose the use of the Allah word. And once the election is over and the winning grouping gets to form the next government, Malaysia is going to prosper and is going to grow in leaps and bounds and in no time at all Malaysia is going to move from the bottom of the list of ASEAN countries to the top of the list, beating even Singapore and Indonesia, who are yet to resolve the issue of whether non-Muslims can or cannot use the Allah word. Malaysia is going to be remembered as the first of almost 200 countries all over the world that has officially decided on the matter of whether non-Muslims can or cannot use the Allah word. Malaysia has made history and in time will be hailed as a world leader poised to take over the leadership of the United Nations. Malaysians who used to be ashamed of their country will now be proud to be Malaysian. The United Nations may even consider shifting its headquarters from New York to Putrajaya in honour of the great progress the country has made in resolving the issue of the use of the Allah word. PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN mAV7OM7jVac SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAV7OM7jVac | ||
| Explain RM207 billion compensation, says Anwar Posted: 08 Jan 2013 05:04 PM PST
(Anwar Ibrahim's Blog) - PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is taking the BN government to task and wants it to explain what became of the RM207 billion compensation allegedly paid by the Japanese government to surviving victims and the heirs of over 30,000 Malayans used as forced labour for the infamous Death Railway from Siam to Burma during World War II. He has claimed that the money was not transferred to the Treasury when he was finance minister back in the 1990′s. "I have said that this money was not dispersed to the Treasury. This RM207 billion is something which the present BN government can't stay silent." "Like the issue brought up in the transfer of suspected illicit funds following the report by the Global Financial Integrity group, where over RM190 billion was unaccounted for. So far, there has not been any comment from the prime minister or the Treasury on this issue. There is a clear neglect of the country's finances," he said. Anwar was asked to comment on the revelation by former Perak menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin that the Japanese government had allegedly paid the compensation to the Malaysian government in the 1990′s. Nizar had said that he does not know if the money is still in the keeping of the government or had already been disbursed to the victims. "There were 30,000 who had survived to come back to Malaysia, though some had died, they have heirs who formed the Association of former labourers and heirs of the Siam-Burma 1942-1946 railway construction," Nizar was quoted saying in a Harakahdaily report.
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| Don’t repeat past mistakes, Jerit tells Pakatan Posted: 08 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST
Workers are furious that Pakatan has rejected its 'reasonable' floor wage proposal of RM1,500. Anisah Shukry, FMT Non-governmental organisation Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) has flayed Pakatan Rakyat for using "lame excuses" and "unsound judgment" in rejecting Malaysian workers' recent RM1,500 minimum wage proposal. Jerit said Pakatan's outright rejection of the RM1,500 minimum wage was "not of sound judgment or justified", especially since the Wold Bank Report was prepared on the advice of the Malaysian government and classified as "not for citation". "The PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli's sudden dependence on the World Bank Report, a document used by the BN government, is really baffling us," Jerit said in a statement today. On Sunday, more than 20 workers' union under the coalition of the Malaysian Workers Network (MWN) had proposed a monthly a minimum wage of RM1,500 ahead of the 13th general election. But the following day, several Pakatan leaders told FMT the figure was not applicable for the time being and maintained that the floor wage should be set at RM1,100. Citing the classified World Bank report, Rafizi had said anything higher than the rate Pakatan had proposed in its alternative budget would have an adverse impact on the economy. PAS MP Dzulkefly Ahmad also told FMT that RM1,500 would not be sustainable as it would be counter-productive to workers. But Jerit today questioned whether Pakatan had truly done its research before making such statements, and cited the nation's per capita income as proof that RM1,500 was reasonable. "Taking into account the income per capita figure which is RM RM26, 420 per year per Malaysian citizen, which means each Malaysian roughly should be taking home RM2,291 as a wage, the demand for RM1,500 minimum wage is very reasonable and has a basis," said Jerit "Thus, for PKR to reject outright the RM1,500 demand for minimum wage without knowing the rationale of the workers is akin to the pot [PKR] calling the cattle [BN] black." Jerit was referring to the fact that Pakatan has continuously slammed BN for setting the country's minimum wage at RM900 for the peninsula and RM800 for Sabah and Sarawak. Jerit also cited Indonesia as an example that implementing a minimum wage of RM1,500 was possible. "Indonesia, our neighbouring country, just in November 2012 gave its minimum wage a 40% increase from 1.5 million rupiah [about RM472] to 2.2 million rupiah [about RM692]," said Jerit. "Even then, the Jakarta Globe on Nov 6, 2012 reported that 'despite hefty minimum wage increases across the country next year, Indonesia remains an attractive destination for foreign companies due to the solid pace of its economic growth, global banks UBS and Deutsche Bank say.'." RM 1,500 not viable? Jerit also questioned whether "Rafizi and the Pakatan leadership" were aware of the rakyat's cost of living and whether Pakatan's proposed minimum wage of RM1,100 would suffice.
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| MCA man sits on fence over ‘Allah’ row Posted: 08 Jan 2013 04:39 PM PST
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider An MCA leader refused today to make a stand on the Selangor Sultan's decree banning non-Muslims from referring to their gods as "Allah". When asked if non-Muslims should be allowed to use the word "Allah", MCA deputy publicity chief Loh Seng Kok (picture) evaded the question by saying: "I'm not making a statement." He noted, however, that many state anthems contained the word "Allah". "Are we being barred from singing the state anthem now?" asked Loh, who is also an MCA central committee member. Muslim-majority Malaysia has 13 states and three federal territories. More than half the state anthems contain the word "Allah" in their lyrics. The Selangor Sultan instructed the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) and the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) yesterday to take firm action against all groups, including non-Muslims, who continued to question the state fatwa (edict) and a 1988 state law restricting use of the Arabic word. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was unavailable for comment. Former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has said that the royal ban would force many states to create a "special" version of their anthems. Christian church leaders have questioned if a fatwa could be applied to non-Muslims. Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM) secretary-general Rev Hermen Shastri also pointed out that the High Court's 2009 ruling, which said that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to Muslims, was still in effect pending the Home Ministry's appeal against it. CCM president Bishop Datuk Thomas Tsen has highlighted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 10-point agreement, issued in April 2011, that allowed Christians in Borneo Malaysia to use the word "Allah" in their worship.
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| Despite royal decree, Protestant churches say will keep using ‘Allah’ Posted: 08 Jan 2013 04:02 PM PST
Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider An umbrella body representing Malaysia's Protestant churches said today Christians nationwide have been calling their god "Allah" in their worship for centuries and will continue exercising their constitutional right to do so, notwithstanding a Selangor state decree barring the term from them. The heads of churches of the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) said it had noted the current discourse over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims. The church leaders who are meeting in Ipoh, reiterated that they have been using "Allah" in Malay-language bibles "for centuries" and that many indigenous communities here have incorporated the word that was of Arabic origin as part of their everyday language. "That being the case, we shall continue this practice ― a right guaranteed to us in our Federal Constitution (Article 11) ― and call on all parties to respect this fundamental right," they said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider. The CCM clergymen's statement comes on the heels of a similar statement issued yesterday by the umbrella body for all Sikh temples in the country. The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) added that any move to stop non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" in a religious text would be a restriction on Sikhs from practising their religion. "The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) is saddened to note that a decree has been issued by His Highness the Sultan of Selangor that non-Muslims in the state are banned from using the word Allah as it is a holy word exclusive to Muslims. "The MGC is further dismayed that no exceptions have been made in the decree," MGC president Jagir Singh said in a statement. Sultan Sharafuddin has called for an emergency meeting with state Islamic religious officials to bar non-Muslims from using the Arabic word for god, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) said yesterday. The statement from the state's highest Islamic authority came despite a High Court ruling in December 2009 that the word "Allah" was not restricted to Muslims and the Catholic Church had the right to publish the word in the Malay section of its weekly newspaper, Herald. Despite the Selangor Sultan's latest decree banning non-Muslims in the state from using the word "Allah", Pakatan Rakyat (PR) confirmed today its stand on the controversy, insisting that Islam does not prohibit others from using the word.
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| Ambiga: TI-M’s refusal to watch polls disappointing Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:57 PM PST
(The Star) - Bersih 2.0 steering committee co-chairperson Datuk S. Ambiga says Transparency International-Malaysia's (TI-M) rejection of the Election Commission's (EC) invitation to monitor the general election is "disappointing". She said this was because accredited bodies had the advantage of gaining access into polling stations. However, she deemed most of the EC's conditions as "ridiculous", and urged the commission to review its conditions if it was truly committed to inviting independent bodies to monitor the elections. In an immediate response, TI-M secretary-general Josie Fernandez said she was "surprised" by Ambiga's criticism, adding that it was the executive committee's unanimous decision to reject the offer. She said this was because some conditions were not agreeable. "I hope Ambiga realises that for us to take part, we must first address issues such as a limited number of observers permitted in each constituency and limitations such as not being able to speak to the press," Fernandez said. She said TI-M also faced financial and human resources constraints and would not be able to deploy the several hundred observers required. Meanwhile, Ambiga introduced the new election monitoring campaign launched by Bersih 2.0 in partnership with Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections and Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat. Called the Pemantau Pilihan Raya Rakyat (Pemantau), she said the body hoped to get 10,000 volunteers to serve as observers, adding that they would have to sign a pledge and code of conduct. "Those who have not adhered to the code of conduct will have their reports devalued," she said.
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| ‘Japan did not pay RM207 billion’ Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST
(The Star) - Japan never paid RM207 bil to the Malaysian Government as compensation for victims of the Death Railway project in the 1940s, according to the Japanese Embassy. Its Second Secretary Takaharu Suegami, responding to PAS working committee member Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin who was reported to have said so, said the latter's claim was "outside the involvement and knowledge of the Government of Japan". "All questions arising out of the unhappy events with regard to Malaysia have been fully and finally settled under the San Francisco Treaty which entered into force in 1952," he said in a statement yesterday. Nizar was quoted by Harakah Daily as saying that the embassy had confirmed that the money was handed to the Malaysian Government in 2004. The report stated that the money had yet to be distributed to families of the estimated 30,000 Malaysians who were forced labourers of the project between 1942 and 1946. Suegami said both countries had also signed an agreement on Sept 21, 1967, whereby Japan agreed to supply services and products to Malaysia totalling RM25mil. The grants, he said, had been used to build two ships, among other projects, but there was no transfer of an undisclosed amount of money. "Malaysia agreed that any question from the events of the Second World War that might affect our good bilateral relations would be fully and finally settled with the agreement. "All the supply in accordance with the agreement was completed by May 6, 1972," he said.
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| Zahid to sue Rafizi for alleged defamation Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:36 PM PST
(The Star) - Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will sue PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli for alleged defamation. He said Rafizi had gone overboard by accusing him of abuse of power over the acquisition of a company and land by Boustead Holdings Bhd, which is a subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT). Boustead in a filing with Bursa Malaysia last month stated that it would acquire an 80% stake in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd, linked to controversial carpet businessman Deepak Jaikishnan, through subsidiary Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd. Zahid said Boustead, as a public-listed company, did not take instructions from any minister or individual. "They (Boustead) did purchase the company for RM30mil and land for RM130mil but Rafizi should be aware that the market price was more than RM300mil. "The said transaction is fully commercialised and does not involve the Defence Ministry or me. "Not a single sen of LTAT's money was used in the transaction... LTAT takes care of its contributors," he said yesterday after announcing plans for the Lang- kawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima) in March. Zahid challenged Rafizi to lodge a police report against him if he was "man enough" and to issue an open statement, adding that the latter should not destroy the trust contributors had in LTAT. "We will see each other in court. I hope he stops the lies. "He should get his facts right and not play such politics," he added.
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| Mat Sabu: We expect trouble-free rally Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:33 PM PST
(The Star) - Organisers of the gathering at Merdeka Stadium on Saturday are expecting a trouble-free rally. Organising chairman PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said that there would be no marching to Merdeka Stadium and participants were expected to make their own way and gather at the venue from 2pm to 5pm. He told reporters after meeting Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar to discuss the Saturday gathering yesterday. Mohamad, however, said that the organisers had yet to receive official notification from the stadium management on whether they would be allowed to use the venue for the gathering or otherwise. He said that they would wait until 1pm today for the green light to use the stadium, failing which, they would make an alternative plan. "We will make the final decision tomorrow and announce it by 4pm," he said. Meanwhile, city police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohmad Salleh said police were finalising their preparations for the gathering. "We will inform road users on the traffic situation and road closures as soon as a plan has been formulated," he said. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that the Opposition pact must ensure that the assembly they propose to hold on Saturday does not develop into a riot. "They should apply to Stadium Nasional, Bukit Jalil, if they wish to organise the assembly there and ensure that the capacity stipulated was complied with," he said. He said everyone must ensure that the assembly did not turn into a riot as had happened during the "Bersih" gathering last year.
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| English murdered in a murder story Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:16 PM PST
Black Rose - the much-hyped tell-all - falls short of expectations but provides enough inside jokes and hints to keep its readers gripped. Anisah Shukry, FMT By this time, avid followers of The Confessions of the Carpet Man have no doubt winced and chuckled through every misspelt word and thinly-veiled nicknames in the book The Black Rose, presumably written by the Carpet Man himself. Never mind that Deepak Jaikishan, the star of the real-life saga, has denounced the free e-book as being a fake – such a fact makes for even more salacious reading and adds further intrigue to the unfolding drama. And what a drama: By reading the first paragraph alone, the reader can guess just how complex the issue is – and the bad language certainly doesn't help. "This is a true version of the events leading to the 2nd SD by LABA on the instruction of Black Rose, on the day the first SD was announced by LABA flanked by the head of the opposition, Black Rose called me in the same evening, she wanted KAPEED to help solve the SD issue as the repulsion was very severe, she explained to me that LALA's people were going to see the SD by LABA to convince a direct participant in the 4C incident to come forward and make a SD and confess that he had been instructed by whom to initiate 4C and that ABCD instructed him and ABCD was instructed by BIJAN." And that's just the first sentence. But whether the writer intended this or not, there is a plus side to the run-in sentences and disregard for punctuation – it makes for a hilarious book that just cannot be put down. For example, the Selangor Umno Wanita chief Raja Ropiaah Abdullah land deal is just that more gripping when described so eloquently in the following manner: "…Raja Popiah was a very strong person in state politics, she was very chauvinistic and greedy and unlike popiah stall owners who once they have sold their popiah to one person will never dare to sell it to another, Raja Popiah darest do the unimaginable…" This unintentionally humorous writing is especially useful since readers will find that the book holds nothing new in terms of information. But on the down side, the writer's brutal murder of the English language makes it very difficult for the reader to take the contents, and the writer himself, seriously. Content-wise, for those who haven't read the book, you don't miss out on anything except for a lot of laughs, because it is just a (bad) re-telling of information Deepak previously divulged to the press. Analysing the symbolism From the Raja Ropiaah land deal to the events leading and following the second statutory declaration by P Balasubramaniam, everything appears to be recycled from Deepak's interviews and press statements. Even the documents included in the PDF file, which make up half the book, were apparently already available on PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli's website. Regardless, those who have free time should definitely give this book a try; the nicknames the writer came up with alone are worth it.
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| IPF plans mammoth rally on Jan 12 Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:06 PM PST
The gathering is to show support for BN's attempt to retake Selangor in the 13th general election. B Nantha Kumar, FMT As Pakatan Rakyat prepares for a mammoth rally dubbed "Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat" (People's Uprising Rally) on Jan 12 at Stadium Merdeka, a BN-friendly party is also scheduled to hold a massive rally on the same day. The All Malaysia Indian Progressive Front better known as IPF confirmed that the party was planning a rally on Jan 12, at Dataran Tesco, in Semenyih where Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is expected to be the guest of honour. Speaking to FMT, party president M Sambanthan (picture), who is also director of the rally, said the gathering was to show support for BN's attempt to retake Selangor in the 13th general election. "The peaceful assembly is really important to IPF. It is the time for us to show our adherence to the prime minister and BN," he said. He said IPF would mobilise 20,000 people to attend the rally and this would send " a strong message to Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor that Indians were unhappy with the opposition coalition." "We have informed all our branches to mobilise support for the rally. We hope the rally would be peaceful," he said. Sambanthan also quashed speculation that the IPF rally was to counter Pakatan's Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat also planned on the same day at Stadium Merdeka. "This is not something we planned just last week. We started planning for it since last year and the prime minister gave the date some three months ago. Some Pakatan leaders are going around saying our rally is to counter their rally. IPF's rally does not have anything to do with their rally," he said.
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| Senior lawyer sees red over judge-bashing Posted: 08 Jan 2013 03:01 PM PST
Sankara Nair wants action to be taken against those responsible for the incredulous and vile attack on Justice VT Singham. RK Anand, FMT The scathing attack against a high court judge has left a senior lawyer seething with indignation and demanding that action be taken against the perpetrator. Referring to an article published on the Perkasa website yesterday, Sankara Nair told FMT that he was both outraged and appalled by the incredulous and vile statements. "The writer is incredibly moronic and his allegations are scurrilous, vilifying and wholly unwarranted. The writer has gone on a vicious, baseless, and defamatory personal tirade against the judge and it is prima facie contempt of court. "The writer is clearly politically motivated and as such incapable and not qualified to give substantial, constructive and reasonable criticism of Justice VT Singham or any judicial officer for that matter," he added. Sankara said that if the Attorney-General's Chambers did not direct the police to lodge a report, he would be more than willing to file a police report on this matter. The lawyer also urged the chief justice as head of the judiciary to call upon the AG Chambers to act against the individual or individuals of Perkasa who were involved in this matter. "Judges are always vulnerable and it is most unfortunate that they are unable to defend themselves personally against attacks against them. Thus, it is the public duty of all lawyers and the Bar Council to guard against such attacks on judges and to protect the sanctity and integrity of all judges in performing their judicial duties. "It is reiterated that it is the legal and bounden duty of the Attorney-General's Chambers to take a stand and to come out strongly against such atrocious behaviour by this writer and institute contempt proceedings and also order the police to commence investigations by issuing an Order to Investigate (OTI) with a view to prosecute the writer," he said. The article penned by Zainuddin Salleh had questioned Singham's impartiality, his past judgments and also insinuated that he could be a homosexual due to him being a bachelor. Singham is the presiding judge in the RM50 million defamation suit filed by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim against Utusan Malaysia. He is scheduled to deliver his judgment on Jan 22. 'Article aims to intimidate him' Commenting further, Sankara, a former Anwar lawyer, said the judge had yet to deliver his verdict and the contents of the article was clearly premeditated and timed as such with an intention to intimidate him and to interfere with the administration of justice. "This amounts to a clear commission of a criminal offence under Section 228 of the Penal Code, the objective of which is to preserve the prestige and dignity of the court by punishing any person who intentionally insults in any way the court administering justice," he added.
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| Curse of No. 13 to usher the end of Sabah BN? Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:26 AM PST
Jason Matius There is now serious talk spreading among the Sabah opposition parties concerning the effect of numbers in the political fortunes of political parties in Sabah. And to the opposition parties' delight, the numbers appear to point to the death knell of the Barisan Nasional in the next general election. A series of text messages and excited conversations concerning the number thirteen, prophesying BN's supposed impending fall, have been making their rounds among mainly opposition supporters here. These messages remind Sabahans of the fact that USNO, Sabah's first government, was defeated by Berjaya in 1976 (7 + 6 = 13), Berjaya was defeated by PBS in 1985 (8 + 5= 13), and PBS was toppled from power by BN in 1994 (9 + 4 = 13). Also interesting is that each of these three governments ruled for exactly nine years! Whether you are superstitious or not, you'd admit it's not easy to simply brush aside these uncanny series of 9s and 13s which marked the length of life and sensational deaths of three past governments. Many even believe this is Sabah's equivalent to Malaysia's strange RAHMAN prophecy, the arrangement of initials of the names of all the past prime ministers from the beginning to the present one. Many of those who believe these are not mere coincidences, are also convinced the Sabah's series of 13s will continue at least to the next general election. This belief is reinforced by the fact that for the forthcoming polls, the number 13 is not even hidden like in the past in which the last two digits of the year had to be added to come up with the jinxed number 13. In GE13 the number is wholly and clearly written, not once but TWICE, i.e. the last two digits of the year, and in the number of the times the general elections will be conducted! One clearly written 13 is bad enough, but twice? In the past, many observers were expecting the Sabah BN to fall in 2003, i.e. nine years after 1994, but when it didn't happen, BN supporters had said BN had successfully broke the nine-year jinx. But now some can argue for the interesting fact that the nine-year series has not been broken, but simply doubled to 18 years, i.e. to 2012, plus a few month to reach 2013, the year which ends with 13. Other than these numbers, it has been mentioned in the biography of the late Tun Fuad Stephens that when he won his state assembly seat in Kiulu in 1985, his majority was exactly 1,111. To the Chinese observers it was a bad omen because 1111 added to four and four in Chinese is pronounced the same way as the word for death. Shortly afterward Stephens along with many others died in a plane crash which is now called the Double Six Tragedy because it happened on the June 6. Many people, however, say it should have been called the Triple Six Tragedy, to include the year 1976, the year it happened; hence completing it to 666, which is the number of the devil. Will the jinx of the number 13 really see the end of Sabah BN in the hands of the opposition? Many people can't wait to find out.
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| Perkasa Lawan Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat 112 Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:17 AM PST
Himpunan Rakyat112, satu himpunan raksasa yang dikendalikan oleh pihak yang menuntut keadilan, rakyat boleh melepaskan kemarahan mereka terhadap parti pemerintah dengan aman tanpa rusuhan. Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat 112 juga dapat sokongan NGO.
Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu bersalaman dengan CP Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri bin Mohd Zinin, Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah PDRM, gambar di atas menceritakan Mat Sabu, Pakar perancang demo yang mewakili komiti NGO ini berjabat tangan dengan pegawai atasan PDRM.
Sumber Fb Polis Di Raja Malaysia "Pihak polis meminta kerjasama yang baik dari penganjur dan orang ramai dan mereka sendiri akan bersama-sama memastikan himpunan 12 Januari ini akan berlangsung dalam keadaan aman dan damai. "Polis dan kami sama-sama berazam untuk menjadikan himpunan ini sebagai rekod himpunan paling aman sebelum PRU dan polis juga berkata inilah perubahan sejarah pentadbiran polis dibawah akta baru," katanya kepada media
Walau bagaimanapun PERKASA, satu pertubuhan anti-demokrasi, anti-perpaduan rakyat dan NGO racist ini berkeras dan mahu menghalang kebangkitan rakyat. Mereka memainkan peranan seolah-olah bertentangan dengan perlembagaan yang diwartakan, hak dan kebebasan perhimpuan rakyat. Perkasa membuat laporan polis terhadap Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (HKR) anjuran Pakatan Rakyat pada Sabtu ini. Timbalan Ketua Penerangan Perkasa Abdullah Mansor membuat laporan itu di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Dang Wangi di sini hari ini. Abdullah dalam laporan polisnya berkata, pihaknya bimbang pembangkang sengaja mengadakan himpunan itu sebagai cubaan untuk menghidupkan suasana seperti di Dataran Tahrir, Mesir kerana mendapat maklumat kumpulan itu akan berkumpul di Dataran Merdeka. Perkasa sebuah NGO yang pro UMNO. Amat takut dan risau periuk nasi mereka pecah akibat UMNO kalah dalam PRU13. Perkasa masih tidak sedar dalam Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat 112, ramai peserta yang menyertai HKR 112 adalah terdiri dari bangsa Melayu yang beragama Islam. Mereka ini juga perjuang dan pembela Melayu.
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| Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:13 AM PST
Compared with Anwar's ideas to solve the nation's woes, Najib's 1Malaysia This and 1Malaysia That are but small painkillers providing short-term relief Selena Tay, FMT Soon 10 million Malaysian citizens will be able to enjoy the 1Malaysia Privilege Card and do online shopping at the 1Malaysia Privilege Portal. This may be a way of enabling the rakyat to obtain a bit of discount benefits but this is not solving the problem in the long run. A friend of this columnist mentioned that 5% discount is given for purchases at a fast-food outlet but the discount is only limited to purchases of less than RM20. Do your math and see how little the discount comes up to! Frankly, all these 1Malaysia ideas are not solving the problems at all. They are just little ideas yielding tiny gains for the rakyat. One of the biggest problems faced by the nation is corruption. Is there any major effort by the relevant authorities to curb this crime? Forget the NKRAs (National Key Result Areas) and the KPIs (Key Performance Index) but has there been any real reduction in corruption? Zilch, nil, tiada. Another major problem is the ever-rising crime rate. Any reduction? Not really. Snatch thefts and house break-ins are rampant and rife. Instead, the Najib administration comes up with 1Malaysia This and 1Malaysia That. These are not problem-solvers but small painkillers that provide short- term relief. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not doing the big things to solve the big problems. Is there any idea or plan on how to curb the massive illicit fund outflow? Again zilch, nil, tiada. In fact, in the first place there is no effort being made to acknowledge that there exists big problems such as corruption, rising crime and illegal fund outflow. Instead, attention and action have been diverted to giving small discounts and small cash aid here and there. Clearly, Najib is not a man of big ideas when it comes to benefiting the rakyat. Just compare with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim who has ideas such as abolishing road tolls, reducing petrol prices and giving out taxi permits. Now these are big ideas. In regard to taxi permits, so far the Najib administration has only handed out four new tyres. This gift amounts to only RM520 whereas the taxi permit costs nearly three times that amount at RM50 per day, which comes up to RM1,500 per month. That is the reason why the prime minister does not really understand the situation on the ground. Making up for lost time As for the RM500 cash aid handed out under the BR1M programme, curbing inflation is the better move in the long term. And curbing inflation can only be done with good management of the economy. By handing out cash aid, Najib is only applying the painkiller solution of instant but temporary relief unlike Anwar's ideas which solve the problem once and for all. In respect of this, Pakatan Rakyat's promises are the better deal and we should put Pakatan in power to see if the better deal becomes the real deal. Let us see how Pakatan performs as the federal government and how BN performs as the opposition. Then and then only can real comparison be made between the BN era and the Pakatan era. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/01/09/big-problems-small-solutions/ | ||
| Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:05 AM PST
As the government continues to provide more funds for education under the PTPTN scheme, more young people look forward to a tertiary education and a degree. But in the eagerness to create more graduates, some universities are closing an eye to the weaknesses and shortcomings of students. R. Nadeswaran, The Sun "Citizen is a special status held by the people who have the right to be in a country. For example, people deserved to choose their own life such as individual freedom, freedom of workship, and citizenship through marriage. It was the important thing to be the advanced country and also decrease the poor people. Moreover, Malaysia is a wonderful city. People have to choose their own minister to be right choosed after 'Pilihan Raya'. In Malaysia also they have no age limits to their want to get studies. It was a good thing to us and also to be the advanced city in 2020. Malaysia also have their own systems and also rules. Malaysian Constitution is the most important things in Malaysia it is because Malaysia was the most beautiful country. Besides, the Yang DiPertuan Agong has the highest positions according to the constitution. Other than that, people in this country deserved to choose their own choice for example their Prime Minister. It is shown that Malaysian was a great city than others. In Malaysia also they have no war it is because Malaysia was a calm country. Moreover, Malaysia also trying to together with the other country to move forward to be the advanced city in the eyes of the world." NO, the above are not the work of some foreign students trying to learn English. Neither are they of primary school pupils attempting their Standard Three English language test. No, they have not been edited and are reproduced as they were written and submitted. The creators of the above are final year students of a multiple award-winning university. These are excerpts of their essay on Malaysian studies. Despite the poor language and content, they will be "passed" by the university and perhaps given an "A" for their efforts. Will these students be able to word a job application? Will they be able to go through a job interview? Will employers want to give jobs to this category of students who cannot string two sentences without five mistakes? Will these students be prepared to face the outside world? Later this year, they will "graduate" complete with gowns and mortars in front of proud parents and relatives. They will receive scrolls from a VVIP and pay a small fortune for the ceremony and photographs. In short, they are the end-products of production lines that have been set up to churn out graduates, irrespective of their skills, knowledge or ability. To enable these production lines to function, a whole load of people get licences or permits to set up "tertiary institutions". There is no quality control and the end result is that some of them are absolutely useless and make money from the National Higher Education Loan (PTPTN). As the government continues to provide more funds for education under the PTPTN scheme, more young people look forward to a tertiary education and a degree. But in the eagerness to create more graduates, some universities are closing an eye to the weaknesses and shortcomings of students. In 1997, the PTPTN scheme was launched at a time when private colleges were starting to bloom, and foreign universities such as Monash University and Nottingham University were invited to set up their campuses in Malaysia. The PTPTN was supposed to be a rolling fund to provide loans to students who could not afford tertiary education. Today, the PTPTN scheme, as one observer remarked, is no different from or maybe worse than the "sub-prime" loan scandal in the US. You lend money to people (children) who are "not qualified" to "buy" a degree that is worth very little, on the belief that the value of the degree will keep increasing. When the value appreciates and there is a regular income, the loan can be settled and therefore everybody will be happy. But the bitter truth is that the degree is not a guarantee of regular income and hence the loan defaulters. Under these circumstances, will the government be able to recover the loans or will they be written off? R. Nadeswaran has met several "graduates" who cannot hold a simple conversation. Comments: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com
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| Are Malaysia’s law-enforcing institutions paralysed? Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:48 AM PST
The 200 acre land is designated for a building military camp, and Awan Megah is prohibited from conveying it to any third party. In addition, the Selangor State government, which is the administrator of all lands in the state, has also declared that it will not approve any transfer of the said land unless it is used to build the military camp. Hence, Boustead is effectively barred by law to acquire the land. With this land transaction being a castle in the air, Boustead is, in truth, paying out RM160 million for which it gains nothing. Kim Quek The total impotence of law-enforcing institutions across the full spectrum of the Malaysian polity to deal with high corruption and criminal activities of the ruling elite is mercilessly exposed through the serial unfolding of scandals by Deepak Jaikishan – one time close associate of the Prime Minister's wife.
First, it was the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) and the Attorney General who have remained steadfastly silent despite a series of swirling exposes for more than one month of Prime Minister Najib Razak's family's alleged acts to cover up the PM's alleged link to the murder of Mongolian beauty Altantuya.
In addition to accusing the family of committing bribery and criminal coercion in order to come up with a false statutory declaration to protect the PM, Deepak also accused the family of having accepted bribery from him for facilitating his participation in a scandalous Defence Ministry (Mindef) project – the construction of the RM100 million National Defence Education Center (Puspahanas). The PM and his family have also remained strangely and inexplicably silent.
Now, even the Securities Commission, watchdog of the securities market, is also found wanting in protecting the integrity of the Malaysian Stock Exchange when it fails to haul up a Defence Ministry-linked company embarking on a dubious deal, which was apparently designed to quell the politically explosive Deepak-Najib scandal. Listed company Boustead Holdings Bhd, an investment arm of the military pension fund entity (LTAT) under Mindef, is playing Santa Claus to dish out millions of ringgit in cash to silence whistle-blower Deepak and the Mindef project recipient, Selangor Umno women wing's chief Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah, who was sued by Deepak over alleged breach of trust in their ill-fated partnership in the project.
MINDEF TO THE PM'S RESCUE
Boustead is buying up Deepak's company Astacanggih Sdn Bhd for RM30 million, and at the same time also buying the disputed 200 acres of land from Ropiaah's company Awan Megah (M) Sdn for RM130 million. Upon this announcement by Boustead, Deepak instantly withdrew his law suit against the Umno leader, presumably appeased and refrained from further blowing his trumpet.
However, behind the Boustead maneuver that resulted in this lightning development are facts that are perhaps stranger than fiction – the goods that Boustead are chasing after are in truth illusionary to its shareholders. For Astacanggih is but an asset-less shell company that has never filed its accounts with the Companies Commission, and the 200 acre land, which was intended as Mindef's part payment to Awan Megah for undertaking in 2005 to complete the Mindef project, is still vested with the government, as the project was never constructed.
Furthermore, the 200 acre land is designated for a building military camp, and Awan Megah is prohibited from conveying it to any third party. In addition, the Selangor State government, which is the administrator of all lands in the state, has also declared that it will not approve any transfer of the said land unless it is used to build the military camp. Hence, Boustead is effectively barred by law to acquire the land.
With this land transaction being a castle in the air, Boustead is, in truth, paying out RM160 million for which it gains nothing.
So shouldn't the Securities Commission as well as the MACC have stepped in to probe the directors of Boustead and LTAT respectively over this outrageous fraud and betrayal of the welfare of military personnel and veterans, who have obviously become sacrificial lambs at the altar of political expediency of the political masters?
And shouldn't the Defence Minister, who has apparently initiated such a political move to save Najib's skin, be also investigated by MACC over such abuse of power, corruption and bribery on his part?
PM ABUSED POWER TO GRANT PROJECT
As a further blow to the image of PM Najib, he happened to be the Defence Minister who approved in 2005 the award of the project to Awan Megah, which is now found to be a company that has remained dormant since 2003, certainly without the wherewithal to design and construct the RM100 million Mindef facilities. This is clearly an act of abuse of power and corruption.
In any democratic country where the government is popularly elected, the prime minister would have stood up to face these serious and unyielding allegations by either denying or acting to reclaim his dignity; and the law-enforcing institutions would also have swung into action – one after another – to uphold the law. But in Malaysia, we have only eerie silence, save the noises made by the opposition, mainly through the Internet, as the relative news are blacked out in the mainstream media.
Obviously, our institutions, including the mainstream media (all newspapers and TV channels), have either been neutered or reduced to serving as lapdogs of the political masters; and unless these institutions are thoroughly reformed, the plundering and breach of law by the ruling elite with impunity will only get worse – a path that will lead eventually to state bankruptcy and national catastrophe. For peace-loving Malaysians who yearn for the restoration of rule of law, what alternative do they have other than to seek a change of government by granting a new mandate – through the coming election – to the opposition alliance, whose corruption-free leadership has demonstrated the ability to administer the state governments under its control with integrity and prudent financial management? | ||
| Mustafa: Hudud application impossible for now Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:45 AM PST
(fz.com) - Hudud, the Islamic system of criminal law, is destined to remain entangled in a series of legal, political and administrative processes that will prevent its application for a long time to come, says PAS Secretary-General Datuk Mustafa Ali. At the mention of the complexities that surround Hudud - ranging from the implementation issues that it entails, the differing stances on the subject taken by Pakatan Rakyat coalition members and its incessant appearance in the headlines since 2008 - Mustafa chuckles. "But you have never seen Hudud being implemented," he responds, drawing attention to the contrast between all the talk over the matter on the one hand, and the lack of any legal or practical steps taken to implement such laws. Speaking to fz.com in an interview recently, the Islamic party strongman says that he would not be surprised if the issue makes another comeback just as the general election approaches. He says that although the Pakatan parties - PAS, DAP and PKR - have "agreed to disagree" over the issue, it will not just go away as it is close to the heart of any Muslim and it was a matter of principle for followers of Islam to uphold. "No Muslim, whether in PAS or Umno, can say that Hudud is not in Islam or that it is against the teaching of Islam. But if you speak to an Umno person, although they would agree with this, there are so many "buts" and "buts" (to justify its lack of implementation)," he says. Hudud, says Mustafa, must be discussed in a broader perspective, as it is a "very small" portion of the Islamic justice system. "It is more of a deterrent than a form of punishment... more to instill fear in the people. It is just a small part of all the different systems of life in Islam such as economics, education and social well-being. Hudud is a very small part of criminal law," he said. In what (for now) appears to be the last word on the issue, Pakatan decided in September 2011 that DAP will stick to its opposition to the issue and PAS cannot be forced to abandoned its principle to implement the law. Flanked by 20-odd top Pakatan leaders, the coalition's head Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said then: "Pakatan respects the PAS initiatives and aspirations (to implement the Hudud in Kelantan), but we have to reach a consensus… DAP is opposed to that and PKR and PAS respect that decision". He also said that the matter was a non-issue as the existence of the Second Syariah Kelantan Criminal Enactments 1993 and the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactments 2003 required amendments to the Federal Constitution. Referring to these state laws, Mustafa reiterates, as he has done many times before, that the passage of any laws containing elements of Hudud must follow the democratic process. "Even in Kedah (where PAS holds 16 out of 36 state seats), we don't have the numbers to implement Hudud (or pass any related legislation)," he says, noting that the state laws passed in Kelantan and Terengganu were voted for by a two-thirds majority in their respective state assemblies. | ||
| Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:41 AM PST
YT Teh Top Gloves just announced its foreign workers' salary will increase from RM1200 to RM1800 (inclusive of overtime) due to implementation of RM900 minimum pay. RM600 represents a fifty percent increment for these workers. Just assuming two million foreign workers in Malaysia, the increment is going to cost Malaysian companies RM14.4 billion. Why are we increasing minimum pay which will mainly benefit foreign workers? Instead of the RM900 minimum wage, can we ask companies like Top Glove to set aside a compulsory contribution of RM100 per foreign worker which would be distributed to its local work force earning below RM1500 as special subsistence assistance for poor Malaysians? Prices of goods are already going up rapidly. Low income Malaysian workers will suffer most. Beware, the opposition's simple solution of RM 1200 minimum wage is even more disastrous. We need a solution that truly benefits and builds up the local work force. Just my honest contribution of ideas.
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| Five contradictions in restricting the use of 'Allah' Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:38 AM PST
There are major contradictions in the claim that the word 'Allah' belongs only to Muslims and Islam and does not apply to non-Muslims and other religions (JAKIM), and in the insistence that non-Muslims must convert to Islam to use the word 'Allah' (Perak's mufti Harussani Zakaria). Pak Sako, CPI The contradictions are as follows. 1. If we disallow non-Muslims from using the word 'Allah', are we implying that Allah has no relation to the non-Muslims, that Allah did not create the non-Muslims, but to whom Allah must belong if He is the Creator of all things? 2. If we say Allah is not the god of the non-Muslims, does this not imply that besides Allah there must exist a second god specifically for the non-Muslims, the former god of Muslim converts? Does this not clash with the Islamic concept of tauhid, which proposes that there cannot possibly be another god apart from Allah, and that no being can perform the work of a god other than Allah? 3. If we maintain that 'Allah' has no relevance to other religions, who then ultimately created these religions if not Allah, the Creator of all things? Are we suggesting that Allah got it wrong before unveiling Islam? But if tauhid is to stand and Allah is the sole Creator, and if Allah is infallible, perfect and all-knowing, does it not mean that Allah happily created, with no games intended, all the variety of religions and religious philosophies including Christianity and Hinduism? Read more at: http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2465&catid=219&Itemid=189
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| Questions over ‘fatwa’ effect on non-Muslims after Selangor Sultan’s ‘Allah’ decree Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:27 AM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - Christian church leaders have expressed concern over the effect of the Selangor Sultan's royal decree banning followers of faiths other than Islam from using the word "Allah" to describe their gods. The state Ruler had also instructed the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) and the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) yesterday to take firm action against all groups, including non-Muslims, who continued to question the state fatwa (edict) and a 1988 state law restricting use of the Arabic word. "Can a fatwa be applied to a non-Muslim?" asked Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the country's sole Catholic newspaper, Herald, when contacted by The Malaysian Insider yesterday. In December 2009, the High Court ruled that the word "Allah" was not restricted to Muslims and the Catholic Church had the right to published the word in the Malay section of its weekly newspaper, Herald. The priest declined further comment, saying he would leave the question to be answered by legal experts, after pointing to a key issue raised in the Herald's court challenge three years ago. In her 2009 ruling, High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan found that "a non-Muslim could be committing an offence if he uses the word 'Allah' to a Muslim but there would be no offence if it was used to a non-Muslim". Rev Hermen Shastri from the Methodist Church told The Malaysian Insider that the High Court's judgment is still legally in effect pending the Home Ministry's appeal to ban non-Muslims using the word, which it had argued in court was a security threat. "Until overturned, Christians have the right to use it," Shastri, who is secretary-general of the Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM), an umbrella body representing all the Protestant churches nationwide. CCM president Bishop Datuk Thomas Tsen told The Malaysian Insider he was worried about the consequences of the decree on Sabah and Sarawak Christians living in the state. "Of course I am concerned about the effect on our people who live here, especially when Najib talks about 1 Malaysia and we want to speak in one language," the Lutheran bishop said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's remarks. Like Andrew, he declined comment on the Selangor sultan's statement, but highlighted a 10-point agreement issued by the Najib administration in April 2011, allowing Christians in Borneo Malaysia the freedom to use it in their worship, ahead of the Sarawak state election.
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8 rally points for #KL112 
And there are common stories in the Bible and the Quran that relate to the Old Testament. Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham - they all appear in both books. Even Jesus appears in the Quran, although in that context he is a prophet rather than the son of God.
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