Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Posted: 07 Jan 2013 12:14 PM PST
The Jakarta Post The plan to regulate how women sit as pillion riders on motorcycles in the city of Lhokseumawe in Aceh is not only stupid, it is also grossly indecent. The mayor of this gas town, Suaidi Yahya, may have cited sharia (Islamic law) in support of his plan, but the very idea itself is discriminative and indecent. Stupid is something some of us can live with but indecent is something we have to stop. Talk about stupid, one solution for female pillion riders, who find themselves on a motorbike with a man who is not driving safely, is to take the helm — to be the one wearing the pants — except that would probably be seen as even more indecent by the mayor especially if the man straddles behind her. His suggestion that women should sit sideways with their legs dangling off to one side is neither safe nor comfortable. Perhaps the mayor could try riding that way for a day to experience it. For good measure, someone should choreograph an accident and watch him fall off the motorbike. Just be sure that he wears a helmet, we don't want anything bad to happen to him. Stupidly enough, Mayor Suaidi actually has plenty of supporters, although not surprisingly from the city's ulama, supposedly the guardians of the people's moral standards. Seriously, you have to have a dirty, sick, indecent mind to find it improper for a woman to straddle pillion: Forget her safety, she is displaying her curves and look — her legs are apart. Aceh leads Indonesia in pushing the implementation of sharia. It is the only province that practises sharia side by side with the national laws and has come up with the most sharia bylaws, some of which are extremely discriminative of women. Outside Aceh, there are more than 50 mayoralties and regencies that have formally adopted sharia through the local political processes, and they in turn have also come up with their own stupid bylaws. The central government appears to have washed its hands in the name of regional autonomy, despite many of these sharia bylaws, which are clearly discriminatory against religious minorities and women, running counter to the Constitution. Aceh, for example, has introduced canning as a means of punishment for certain types of offences. Some towns, including the capital city of Banda Aceh, hold weekly public spectacles after Friday prayers to whip sinners. Not surprisingly, most of those punished are women. As evidenced by the planned ban on straddling motorcycles, almost all sharia bylaws target women. There is the ban on wearing jeans, the ban on riding in the same car with a man who is not her spouse as well as the ban on walking the streets alone after night curfew — which if broken can lead to the woman facing accusations of prostitution. What is most indecent about Suaidi's proposal is that it is carried in the name of Islam, and in doing so the mayor lends credence to the view that Islam represses women. That is certainly one interpretation of Islam that many ulama and men like Mayor Suaidi would not deny (and probably wholeheartedly agree with). It is really up to decent Muslim men and women across Indonesia, whom we hope make up the majority, to stop all discriminatory practices that not only go against Islamic teaching but also tar the good name of their religion.
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| No more feel-good factor for BN Posted: 07 Jan 2013 10:48 AM PST
With the surprise of an early election now gone, Najib will find out soon that his polls date will no longer be a secret. Amir Ali, Free Malaysia Today A stale Barisan Nasional, with its image tarnished and its glitter diminishing, is in desperate need of a new image and a new face to get back its traditional "feel-good factor" in Malaysian politics. With the general election nearing rapidly, BN is finding itself cornered with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak failing to cash in on numerous chances to regain popularity. The missed opportunities, since June last year to hold early polls, have pushed BN to the limit of its capacity. The 2013 Budget – seen as a popular, electoral budget – was one of BN's attempts to shore up its crumbling base. The small handouts (as provided for under the budget) came in trickles and did nothing to boost BN's image. There was no real feel-good factor after the budget was unveiled. A flurry of accusations against Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, further eroded BN's image. Besides, people have been treating Najib with disdain for delaying the announcement of the polls date. The fact that Najib is undecided over the polls date shows that BN is worried it might suffer a defeat. Najib had had his fair share of feel-good factors when he took over the helm of the government from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009. Since then, it has been an uphill battle for BN to regain the high ground. Moreover, Najib's hesitation also showed up his weaknesses – his indecisiveness and lack of tact in outplaying his opponents. With the element of surprise gone, the polls date can no longer be kept a secret. It has been reported in many blogs and online news portals that BN is facing a silent revolt that could lead to the downfall of Najib even before the polls are called. While this seems to be a long shot, is BN seeking to push forward new faces as leaders in order to regain its lost glitter? Nevertheless, it is clear that BN has failed to outwit the opposition given the blurry situation over the election date. But BN is hoping that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim might lose his patience over the delay and commit some tactical mistakes. Yet again, the BN strategists have failed to try Anwar's patience to its limits. Opposition seems well prepared There have been many times when BN showed it was gearing up for early polls in 2011 and 2012. This kept the opposition on high alert, forcing Pakatan Rakyat to campaign literally on a daily basis in order not to be caught napping when Najib dissolves Parliament. By constantly pushing back the election date, the BN hopes Pakatan will eventually run out of money and patience. This did not happen. On the contrary, Pakatan seems well prepared for the 13th general election, based on its rallies and its constant highlighting of controversial issues linked to BN throughout the year. The fact that the opposition is warning the regime not to delay the polls beyond April, and to stop any race-based campaigns, is seen as unhealthy for BN. However, some local pundits believed that BN is wary of calling for polls before April 2013. The theory that has been floating around for some time now is that BN will eventually call for polls in April, thus forcing the four Pakatan-led states to hold the state polls at the same time. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/01/08/no-more-feel-good-factor-for-bn/ |
| Posted: 07 Jan 2013 10:26 AM PST
The party has lost much of the clean, accountable and transparent image it has been trying to build over the last 40 years. Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star SOMETHING has changed in the way voters now perceive DAP, arguably the strongest of the three parties in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition which is selling itself as a government-in-waiting. Perception is everything in politics and voter perception of DAP, once deemed to be a clean, transparent and accountable party, has now taken a hit in the wake of two scandals hogging the headlines in recent weeks. The scandals – a Kelantan land controversy involving two Perak DAP leaders and an election fiasco that saw a defeated Malay candidate elevated as a winner – have shaken the party to its core with even members beginning to question the party's credentials. While the election fiasco can be explained as a "technical error", the land scandal involving over 10,000ha of reforestation, is more difficult to explain because of the public perception that a small man's party should not be involved in land deals. The land scandal has hit the party hard because, as one member puts it, new towkays are beginning to take root in a party that had fought for – and always represented – the simple man. While party elders - adviser Lim Kit Siang and chairman Karpal Singh - have openly admitted the election fiasco and blamed it on a technical error in computing, critics argue that the "technical error" is a convenient ruse to "elect" a Malay candidate – Zairil Khir Johari – to the CEC after the entire slate of eight Malay candidates were wiped out in the Dec 15 party election. "The election foul-up saw votes being realigned, with some leaders getting more votes and others getting less. In the process, a Malay candidate who initially lost was later declared a winner. "It's hard to buy this because the party has a long experience and prides itself as being open on election matters," said a Selangor DAP member, who is a lawyer. "It is a simple process of counting 1,800 votes for the first 20 winning candidates," the member said, requesting anonymity because of a gag order on all members. "Another fact is, although the foul-up was known to leaders almost immediately, it took them nearly three weeks to bring it to the attention of the CEC. This delay is inexcusable and is the reason there is now so much speculation." One frequently asked question is, how could such a foul-up happen when the party had conducted elections for over four decades without anybody questioning the results? "This is the first time in DAP history and its embarrassing," admitted Karpal, but this is not enough for the party grassroots who want the leaders to explain the foul-up. The Kelantan land controversy, involving Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham and state secretary Ngar Kor Ming, is equally weighing on the minds of members as the party gears up for the big electoral battle ahead. More than the election fiasco, the land scandal will surely test the voters' patience with the party and its CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) credentials. The two party stalwarts, who are elected CEC members, were found involved, with other shareholders, in a venture involving nearly 10,000ha of reforestation land. Their involvement is legal but public perception has it that they should not have been involved in the scheme. "Are we transparent and accountable or are we doing the same thing that the people had rejected?" asked a Perak DAP leader who requested anonymity. Perak DAP is already badly divided between the Ngeh-Nga faction on one side, and a faction led by Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran on the other. Kulasegaran triumphed in the contest despite not having the Foochowsand their supporters openly backing him, said an insider. "In the general election, their fight will divide DAP and give Barisan Nasional a chance to retain the state," the insider added. Given the long years DAP has existed and the fact that it is part of a government-in-waiting with other allies, it is inexcusable for DAP to make such an election counting blunder and later offer excuses party members perceive as lame. Nor is it advisable for two of the party important lawmakers in Perak to involve themselves in land deals that the public perceive as not entirely above board. On both scores – the land controversy and the election fiasco – DAP has blundered badly, especially among the urban and upward mobile voters who are unhappy with how matters have turned out with the party.
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