Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

---

• PAS Syura Council gives Nasha the boot
• Soi Lek: Johor's development will soon overtake Selangor
• Malaysia a ‘coward nation’
• Pakatan won’t submit polls candidate list to MACC
• 30 days clause is ‘reasonable’, says EC
• JAKIM sermon to unite Muslims, not spark hatred, Islamic leader says
• Forced into extinction
• Perkasa ready to meet churches over bible-burning threat
• ‘Futile’ effort by anti-Bible group
• Please, please don’t discuss RCI testimonies
• Petra: Blame Mahathir all you want, but look yourselves in the mirror
• PM: Non-Malays okay with fair affirmative action
• Najib: Social media a double-edged sword for Umno
• Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on
• PAS: Friday sermon an attempt to spread religious hatred
• Allah stand: PAS grassroots unhappy
• Overseas voting process has several defects, says DAP
• Friday sermon: ‘Enemies’ of Islam staking claim over ‘Allah’ to confuse Muslims
• Perkasa is outsourced by Umno, says Anwar
• Waytha under fire for silence over temples
• Preacher argues the ‘Allah’ case
• Free education ‘possible’, say economists
• Anwar: Not Lembah Pantai-bound, but certain on Permatang Pauh
• Ibrahim Ali called up by cops
• Batu Caves temple claims they’re being punished for protesting
• Xavier points finger at Public Complaints Bureau
• Burn the Bible, and you burn the church
• Perkasa says it has no role in Sunday’s Bible burning
• ‘Enough with the warnings, haul up Ibrahim’
• Penang goes all out to stop ‘fiery’ festival
• Abbas rejects Malaysian PM visit to Gaza saying it divides Palestine
• PM explains Gaza visit
• Under fire, Perkasa says bible-burning threat meant to prevent violence
• 'The Act of Killing' and Indonesia's Dark Past Nobody Talks About
• Man gets 5 years for insulting Islam on Facebook
• Remember your roots, Mahathir
• Jeffrey: Tell RCI the truth, Anwar
• Malaysia’s judiciary is independent, says retired judge
• Prosecute Ibrahim Ali over bible-burning call, Bar Council urges
• Citizenship-for-votes probe stirs outrage
• Subpoena Dr M, Anwar, Sabah RCI told
• Allah issue: ‘Pakatan stands by Hadi’
• Kelantan – Myths and Realities
• G5 states to jointly battle for oil royalty?
• ‘GE’ to be held in 81 NS camps
• BR1M to stay for long if people support BN
• Hamas Paints Malaysian Premier’s Visit as a Stand Against Israel
• Priest lodges police report over ‘Bible burning pesta’ notice
• Pakatan fears PAS puritans putting non-Muslim vote at risk
• MACC says Deepak postpones interview on Bala’s SD2 again

PAS Syura Council gives Nasha the boot Posted: 26 Jan 2013 10:46 PM PST   (The Malaysian Insider) - Former PAS vice-president Nasharudin Mat Isa had his PAS Syura Council membership revoked as part of disciplinary proceedings, Sinar Harian reported today. Sinar quoted the council's secretary Datuk Nik Zawawi Nik Salleh saying that Nasharudin was found to have broken several of the body' regulations. The decision was said to have been made last 13 Jan at a meeting chaired by PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Among Nasha's infractions included non-attendance of council meetings, but Nik Zawawi declined to elaborate further. Nik Zawawi also said that a letter confirming Nasharudin's dismissal was sent out after the meeting was held. Nasha did not contact the council for any further clarification, he added.   Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pas-syura-council-gives-nasha-the-boot/

Soi Lek: Johor's development will soon overtake Selangor Posted: 26 Jan 2013 10:44 PM PST   (The Star) - Dr Chua, however, cautioned that the positive development would come to a stop if Pakatan Rakyat's dream to make Johor its front line state came true.  Johor is set to overtake Selangor in terms of development in the next five years, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. He said the development in Iskandar and Pengerang were the biggest contributors to the state's development. Tourism in the state was also improving quickly, and expected to surpass that of Malacca, he said. Dr Chua said about 50% of tourists to Malaysia passed through Johor, which was a gateway to the country. There were major tourist projects in the pipeline as well as completed ones like Legoland to fast-track tourism development in the state, he added. Dr Chua, however, cautioned that the positive development would come to a stop if Pakatan Rakyat's dream to make Johor its front line state came true. "I hope the people, especially those in Johor, have realised by now how PAS-led Kelantan and Kedah have been lagging in development; from investment, new jobs to tourism. "PAS, being the dominant party in Pakatan, is not keen on economic development, but more on imposing its religious values on non-Muslims ," he said after opening the 64th MCA anniversary celebration here Sunday. Dr Chua urged the Chinese voters in particular not to fall prey to DAP's gimmicks. "The DAP boasts of sending its national figures to wrest seats in Johor. "If they were to win, they will leave the voters, and at best, will only have an assistant to represent them," Dr Chua said. He noted that Malaysia was still a developing country, and elected representatives had to always be on the ground to help the people.

Malaysia a ‘coward nation’ Posted: 26 Jan 2013 10:41 PM PST   (Free Malaysia Today) - Taslima Nasreen, a controversial writer has sent out a scathing twit about Malaysia's move to ban Vishwaroopam. Controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has described Malaysia as a "coward" nation following Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein's decision to suspend the screening of Tamil movie, Vishwaroopam. "Malaysia banned Vishwaroopam. Coward countries will ban it, coward cinemas will not show it. "This fear of Muslim fanatics is just plain stupid," said Taslima on Twitter after news of the suspension was reported by the Indian media yesterday. Taslima courted controversy in 1993 after a book that she wrote entitled Lajja criticised the implementation of the sharia law. Muslims in Bangladesh called for her death and this led to her decision to live in exile in India. Taslima is not the first to criticise Malaysia's decision. Yesterday, Malaysia's National Laureate A Samad Said questioned the rationale of the suspension by the Film Censorship Board (LPF) since it saw no harm in allowing Hindi film Race 2 from being screened. Vishwaroopam was suspended last Friday after cinemas began screening the movie. The movie has also been banned in Singapore and several other countries Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/27/malaysia-a-coward-nation/

Pakatan won’t submit polls candidate list to MACC Posted: 26 Jan 2013 05:17 PM PST (The Star) - Pakatan Rakyat has no plan to submit its list of election candidates to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for vetting. PKR vice-president Tian Chua said this was because the coalition felt MACC should not be involved in the general election and its processes. Tian Chua said Pakatan leaders believed that MACC should be free from politics and should not have a say in who was eligible to be a candidate for any party. "By getting involved in the election process, MACC had compromised its integrity and this shows that the commission is siding with the Barisan Nasional government," he said after a PKR lunch and ceramah in Taman Sentosa here yesterday. Tian Chua, who is also Batu MP, said Pakatan disagreed with the move and found it pointless. It was reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said that it was a standard practice by Barisan Nasional to submit names of potential election candidates to the MACC to be vetted. Najib was responding to a suggestion by the MACC's Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel chairman Datuk Johan Jaafar that all political parties send their list of candidates for vetting by the commission. On another issue, Tian Chua said Pakatan member parties would not sabotage each other by having three-cornered fights in the coming general election, especially in Johor. He was confident that there would be no such fights for seats, including the Johor Jaya state seat. "Three-cornered fights are old news. But I cannot speak for those who might contest as independents," he said. When asked about PKR's candidate list, he said it was being finalised and the announcement was expected to be made before Chinese New Year.

30 days clause is ‘reasonable’, says EC Posted: 26 Jan 2013 05:08 PM PST The pre-condition for overseas Malaysians wanting to register as postal voters is comparative to similar clauses in Australia and Canada. (Bernama) - The new clause imposed by the Election Commission for Malaysians residing abroad to have spent at least 30 days in the country over a five year period is a reasonable condition, according to EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar. The clause is a pre-condition for overseas Malaysian who wanted to register as postal voters. Wan Ahmad said the condition was simple and appropriate and had also been adopted by other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada while Singapore had a minimum three months condition. "Thirty days in a period of five years, not 30 days consecutively. Voting is not just a right but a responsibility to the country. "EC also looks at it as showing love for country and still having a link with the homeland," he said. Wan Ahmad added that the condition was proposed to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reforms which approved it. He said, however, that the decision to set the condition of five years and the minimum 30 days stay was set by the EC, as provided for under the Election Laws and Regulations. "As a constitutional organisation, the EC has the authority to set certain conditions and procedures," he said, dismissing claims by certain quarters that the condition was not discussed at the committee stage at Parliament. Earlier, Rasah MP Anthony Loke from the DAP had urged the EC to review the condition, contending that it was unfair and would unnecessarily impede the election process. Anthony had also claimed that the EC had delayed registration of outstation voters for almost 13 months from the date the PSC raising doubts on its preparedness and commitment to ensure a fair and clean election process. Replying to Loke, Wan Ahmad said thorough preparation was necessary because the EC needed to discuss with the Foreign Ministry on the election process for outstation voters as it would involve Malaysian embassy staff who would represent the EC. Apart from that, he said the cooperation of the Immigration Department was also necessary to check the records on the outstation voters' return to Malaysia. He added that the embassy staff too needed to be trained and assigned. The regulation to allow Malaysians abroad to vote via post was gazetted on Jan 21 this year based on certain conditions. The key condition was that they must have been in Malaysia or returned to the country for 30 days in a period of five years before the dissolution of the current parliament or state legislative assembly. This does not extend to Malaysians living abroad in southern Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Kalimantan. They have to return to Malaysia to cast their votes. Prior to this, only fulltime overseas students, and civil servants and their spouses were allowed to vote through the post as absentee voters. Meanwhile, Wan Ahmad said since Jan 21, the EC had received 500 applications from Malaysians living abroad to become postal voters in the 13th general election. He expected the applications to increase with the simplified process of sending back the form to the EC via email. "The opportunity for Malaysians to be outstation voters is a political transformation and a paradigm shift in the democratic process," he opined.

JAKIM sermon to unite Muslims, not spark hatred, Islamic leader says Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:42 PM PST Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider The federal Islamic authority's sermon last Friday was not meant to incite hatred against the Christians but to remind Muslims of the sanctity of Islam, a Muslim leader has said amid the ongoing "Allah" row. In the sermon, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) had labelled non-Muslims who use the word "Allah" to describe their God as "enemies of Islam" and warned that this was an attempt to confuse Muslims into thinking all religions share the same God. "Why is it lately that we are too afraid of the non-Muslims, too apologetic, and too humble when facing the non-Muslims?" Islamic Da'wah Foundation Malaysia (Yadim) founder Datuk Dusuki Ahmad (picture) was quoted as saying today by Malay-language daily Berita Harian. "The Muslims need to believe that Islam is the highest religion, true, and accepted by Allah. Lack of confidence in JAKIM's actions as a religious authority will split apart values and create confusion in the Muslim community," he added. After the sermon, several PAS leaders accused JAKIM of stoking religious hatred, an act that they called "inappropriate and irresponsible". But Dusuki stressed that JAKIM's Friday sermon was more of a call towards goodness, than to foment religious hatred. Church leaders, however, were displeased with the sermon, saying that JAKIM was blatantly inciting suspicion and intolerance between Islam and Christianity. Last week, Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali called on Muslims to burn the Malay-language bibles that contain the word "Allah" and other religious Arabic script. A priest lodged a police report on Tuesday in Penang over the distribution of anonymous pamphlets advertising a "festival" to burn the Malay language bibles at a field there today. The police have called up Ibrahim, who is also the Pasir Mas MP, to record his statement, following calls by the Bar Council to charge him under the Sedition Act. A Sabah church group said last Friday that the religious freedom of Christian Bumiputeras was under attack, pointing out that most adherents of the faith in Malaysia came from East Malaysia and use the Malay language. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday, however, refused to condemn Ibrahim's bible-burning threat, and instead called on people to stop blowing up the issue. The "Allah" dispute, which first erupted after the historic 2008 general election, remains a controversial topic in the run-up to this year's polls that must be held by April. Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya to lift a ban on Malay-language Bibles in Borneo Malaysia. Several state rulers and Islamic religious authorities then reminded non-Muslims of state laws banning use of the word, despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled "Allah" was not exclusive to Islam.

Forced into extinction Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:39 PM PST   (The Economist) - LIKE much that moves in Twitter-mad Saudi Arabia these days, it started with a single message. A lady in Dammam, the hub of the oil industry on the kingdom's Gulf coast, tweeted a complaint from a local shopping mall. Agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), she said, were causing an unpleasant scene. The government-salaried vigilantes, a bearded auxiliary police force familiarly known to Saudis as the Hayaa, had marched officiously into an educational exhibit featuring plaster models of dinosaurs, turned off the lights and ordered everyone out, frightening children and alarming their parents. It was unclear precisely why the religious police objected to the exhibit, which apparently had been innocently featured at shopping centres across the Gulf for decades. Malls are one of the few public spaces where Saudis mix socially, and so often draw the Hayaa's attentions. Gone, however, are the days when its agents can go about their business unchallenged. Within minutes of the incident, a freshly minted Arabic Twitter hashtag, #Dammam-Hayaa-Closes-Dinosaur-Show, was generating scores of theories about their motives. Perhaps, suggested one, there was a danger that citizens might start worshipping dinosaur statues instead of God. Maybe it was just a temporary measure, said another, until the Hayaa can separate male and female dinosaurs and put them in separate rooms. Surely, declared a third, one of the lady dinosaurs had been caught in public without a male guardian. A fourth announced an all-points police alert for Barney the Dinosaur, while another suggested it was too early to judge until it was clear what the dinosaurs were wearing. Not a few tweets cast the incident in political terms. "Why close the show?" asked one. "It's not as if we don't see dinosaurs in newspapers and on TV and in the government every day." "They should go after the dinosaurs who sit on chairs," suggested another, seconded by a tweep who advised that dinosaurs in gilt-trimmed cloaks, the garment of choice for senior sheikhs, would make a better target. Read more at: http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/01/saudi-arabia?fsrc=scn/tw/te/tr/forcedintoextinction

Perkasa ready to meet churches over bible-burning threat Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:38 PM PST Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Malay rights group Perkasa has suggested a roundtable discussion with local church leaders to explain its president's recent threat to torch Malay-language Bibles. The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) had called the threat "vile", stressing that all religious scriptures are sacred books. "Perkasa is willing to accept any church's invitation to get an explanation," Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali was quoted as saying today by Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia. "Perkasa is always working on building up the muhibah (goodwill) spirit between races and religions in this country. Perkasa only strongly opposes anyone who tries to challenge the sanctity of Islam and the faith of its followers," he added. Last week, Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali called on Muslims to burn Malay-language bibles that contain the word "Allah" and other religious Arabic script. A priest lodged a police report on Tuesday in Penang over the distribution of anonymous pamphlets advertising a "festival" to burn the Malay language bibles at a field there today. The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) upset church leaders with its last Friday's sermon that warned Muslims nationwide of "enemies of Islam" that would try to confuse them into believing that all religions are the same. Muslim and Christian leaders here have been at loggerheads over use of the Arabic word "Allah", with the former claiming that it refers exclusively to the Islamic God. A church was firebombed after the High Court ruled in 2009 that Muslims did not have an exclusive right to the word "Allah". Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya to lift a ban on Malay-language Bibles in Borneo Malaysia. A Sabah church group said last Friday that the religious freedom of Christian Bumiputeras was under attack, pointing out that most adherents of the faith in Malaysia came from East Malaysia and use the Malay language. A Buddhist group urged today the National Unity and Integration Department, which is under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department, to resolve the drawn-out dispute over the usage of "Allah".

‘Futile’ effort by anti-Bible group Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:25 PM PST Nobody participated in the controversial Malay Bible-burning event schedued this morning in Penang.  Leven Woon, FMT Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi today described the contentious Bible-burning event as "futile" after the venue remained empty hours after it was scheduled to start. The controversial event was scheduled for 9.30am at Dewan Ahmad Badawi, Butterworth,  but nobody showed up until 11am. Police were seen patrolling the place since early this morning. Speaking at a press conference here, Abdul Rahim said: "It was a futile attempt by the organisers. "I am thankful that the event did not happen. I thank the people, especially the Malay Muslims, for not participating in the event. "As CPO responsible for the security here, I urge everyone not to bring up religious and cultural issues that can undermine the harmony in the country." Earlier this week, pamphlets were allegedly distributed by a little-known group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti-Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Bible Action Force) urging Muslims to join in the Malay Bible-burning festival fixed for today. The pamphlets were distributed in the wake of a call to Muslims by Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali during a convention here to burn the Malay and Jawi versions of the Bibles containing the term "Allah" and other Islamic Arabic terms. Ibrahim's call was in response to allegations that Bibles were being distributed to students in a school in Jelutong. The call, police reports and subsequent "invitation" by the Anti-Bible Action Force sparked another round of heated debate and police reports with many accusing Ibrahim of inciting hatred. Others blamed Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for stoking an "old" issue by insisting that it is the right of Christians to use the term "Allah" in the Malay version of the Bible. Before the start of the no-show event, Abdul Rahim had warned the public not to participate while Lim had pledged to ensure that the event did not take place.

Please, please don’t discuss RCI testimonies Posted: 26 Jan 2013 03:22 PM PST 'Negative discussions' and comments will discourage witnesses who are yet to give evidence from coming forward, claims Upko.  Queville To, FMT A frazzled United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) has urged the public to refrain from gossiping and making comments about the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) hearing on illegal immigrants until it is completed. The plea comes as the Sabah Barisan Nasional  coalition partners come under increasing scrutiny by their supporters over their collusion with Umno to form what many now believe to be an "illegal" government. The Sabah BN component party along with counterparts Parti Bersatu Sabah, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah and the Liberal Democratic Party are all struggling to explain their presence in the coalition in the light of damning evidence that they all benefited from a government-sponsored citizenship-for-votes scheme implemented in the 1990s. Upko's plea is the umpteenth overt call from the state government to stifle public debate and reports of the ongoing inquiry. Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has also called in newspaper editors and warned them against "sensationalised" reporting of the proceedings. Local and national English and Bahasa Malaysia language newspapers have largely obliged. Upko's deputy secretary-general Lucas Umbol has justified the call, saying that "negative comments" could discourage the witnesses who are yet to give their evidence from coming forward. He was responding to the scepticism expressed by some quarters on the integrity and independence of the RCI to investigate the extraordinary increase in the population of Sabah by the BN administration. "Witnesses who have testified so far have been giving their evidence and statements with ease without fear or favour. "Therefore all quarters should withhold their comments as their comments could intimidate incoming witnesses and prevent them from giving evidence without fear. "No one should make any conclusion at this point in time because there are still many more witnesses to come and members of the RCI need to be given ample space and time to complete their investigation," said Lucas, a member of the party's Tenom division. He said comments and opinions should only be given after the RCI had completed its public inquiry and the report was written and made public. Damning evidence Witnesses giving testimony at the RCI, many of whom were senior federal civil servants, have startled the country with their disclosures that the federal government had a hand in the massive population explosion of the state, especially in the 1990s, which was mainly done to ensure Umno and the BN would take and keep control of the state. Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was in power at the time, has since declared that "there was nothing wrong" in giving tens of thousands of immigrants in Sabah citizenship as long as it was done legally. However, witnesses have revealed that in many instances the operation to grant citizenship and voting rights to immigrants and operating out of Kuala Lumpur did not seem to follow legal procedure and was done in a furtive way. READ MORE HERE

Petra: Blame Mahathir all you want, but look yourselves in the mirror Posted: 25 Jan 2013 05:41 PM PST (Harakah) - Prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (pic) has chided Malaysians for being more quick in pointing fingers when things go wrong in the country, and urged them to see how they contributed to the current mess by voting in Barisan Nasional without fail. "You want to blame (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) for your stupidity. You do not want to admit that it is you who are stupid. So you blame BTN. You blame UMNO. You blame the mainstream media. You blame PAS. You blame the Islamic State. You blame Hudud. You blame the fact that Dr Mahathir has Indian blood in him. You blame the fact there was no Internet. You blame your parents who did not know any better. "If you could, you would also like to blame Prophet Muhammad -- except that you are not quite sure how to do this," said the plain-talking Petra in his most recent posting on his news portal Malaysia Today. Petra said Malaysians had been supporting BN despite its clear abuses over the past 12 general elections, adding that the BN were their choice even at a time when opposition parties were rising such as in the 1990, 1995 and 1999 elections. According to Petra, the opposition parties had fared only slightly better - over 1 per cent of popular votes in 2008 compared to 1990 - the year UMNO was at its weakest following the failed challenge by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to oust Mahathir in the party's presidential election. "So, can the excuse that BN did well because there was no Internet yet at that time hold water? In 1990 there was no Internet. In 2008 the Internet had already fully matured. But in 2008 the vote improvement was only 1 percent over 1990," he wrote. Petra's comments came in the wake of widespread public anger especially among netizens against Mahathir for his role in granting citizenship to foreigners in Sabah in a bid to retain power. The Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry has revealed shocking details how foreigners were given temporary Malaysian identity cards for voting purposes. But Petra said blaming Mahathir was easy, as is making the former UMNO strongman a scapegoat for all the problems faced by the country. "Ultimately, you are to blame. And pinning the blame on Dr Mahathir is your way of shifting the blame so that you need not kick yourself," added Petra, predicting yet another victory for BN at the coming polls due to a repeat of the same attitude among voters.

PM: Non-Malays okay with fair affirmative action Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:27 PM PST Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Non-Malays do not oppose pro-Bumiputera affirmative action as long as it is fair and transparent, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday. The prime minister also said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland yesterday that the government was moving towards an affirmative action policy on the basis of needs instead of race. "By and large, the non-Malays in Malaysia, non-Bumiputeras in Malaysia don't actually oppose affirmative action," said Najib at an interview with CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria at the WEF yesterday. "But what they want to be seen, is the way you implement the policy (that) should be done in a more transparent and fairer way. And what they deserve as Malaysians, the non-Bumiputeras, they should also get what they deserve," he said at the forum that saw the participation of some 3,000 international leaders from government, business, civil society and media. Najib pointed out that entry to universities was now based on merit. "That has increased the percentage of Chinese Malaysians into universities. But interestingly, the Malaysian Indians have fared badly. So they want a quota system. "Because (in) the previous system, they got 7 per cent, but now, it's down to 3 per cent. But that goes to show that it's based on merit," said Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional chairman. Asked about government contracts, Najib said: "But even government contracts, quite a bit of it is based on open bidding. Some of it, of course, there's some preference for Bumiputera." As the 13th general election draws near, Najib said last week that the best way to protect Malay and Bumiputera interest was to expand the economic pie and ensure equal distribution of wealth by merit. He stressed that non-Malays could accept merit-based wealth distribution and called for an end to the rent-seeking culture. READ MORE HERE

Najib: Social media a double-edged sword for Umno Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:18 PM PST Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Social media is both a boon and a bane for Umno as it caused Barisan Nasional (BN) to lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday. The prime minister told CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland yesterday that voters were getting more educated and critical. "I see the advent of ICT, social media as both something good, but also our bane. Could be our Achilles heel as well," said Najib in the interview with Fareed. "We need to realise that people are not going to give their vote to you based on how much you've done in the past," he added. Najib and his delegation are at the annual international forum that saw the participation of some 3,000 leaders from all around the world, including heads of state, as well as business, civil society, spiritual and media leaders. "Nobody can deny the fact that Umno and Barisan Nasional, we're the people who fought for independence. We're the people who developed the country. "But people today are saying that's in the past," the prime minister said. BN lost two-thirds parliamentary majority in the historic 2008 general elections that saw four states - Perak, Penang, Kedah and Selangor - falling to the loose coalition of PAS, PKR and DAP, that later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Najib stressed that voters at the coming 13th general election were more concerned with what the government could do for them in future. "That's important for us to realise, that the level of expectation has increased by leaps and bounds," said Najib, who is also the BN chairman. There are currently about 13.6 million Facebook users in Malaysia out of a 28.3 million-strong population, which is a 48 per cent penetration of the population, according to monitoring website socialbakers.com. A total of 29 per cent of Facebook users in Malaysia are aged between 25 and 34 years. READ MORE HERE

Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:12 PM PST Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Local clergymen are unhappy that federal Islamic authorities appear to be bent on "waging a war" between the country's Muslims and Christians over the protracted dispute on non-Muslims' usage of "Allah" to refer to their God. When contacted for their response to yesterday's Friday sermon by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), church leaders sighed in disappointment that the religious authority was so blatantly inciting suspicion and intolerance between the two most dominant religions here. But they refrained from condemning Jakim, noting that the authority reserved the right to preach to all Islamic followers like how church leaders could preach to parisioners, adding that it was time to lay the matter to rest. "The emphasis is unfortunate, because all religious places should be teaching people to live in peace and harmony with others, instead of cultivating a culture of suspicion," said Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri (picture). Treading carefully, the leader said that religions should always foster togetherness and acceptance, and should prevent from creating a society of fanatics. "But that is all I can say at this point," he added. Catholic priest Rev Fr Simon Labrooy was more forward with hs words, asking if the individual or individuals who penned the sermon in Jakim had unity or division in his mind. He said it was not the Malaysian Muslims who were "waging a war" on the Christians, but suggested that it was the person who wrote the sermon who should be investigated for his intention. "Never that the Muslims are to blame for doing this. But who has the right to write this? He should be hauled up because it shows that in his mind, he is already inciting religious tension. "Next, we have already provided a lot of facts o why and how 'Allah' has been used by Christians... why do you want to commit yourself to a blatant lie like this? "How could you judge the Arab-speaking world, particularly the Christians who use 'Allah' there?" he said. When asked if Subang Jaya parisioners in his flock have been affected by the ongoing polemic or feel animosity towards Muslims, Labrooy said Christians are aware that the ordinary Muslim is not the one responsible for the dispute. "They (Muslims) too do not want tension or trouble... this is just the work of a few bad apples," he said. Our Lady of Lourdes Church parish priest Rev Fr Michael Chua said the latest Friday sermon would warrant another discussion among CFM members on whether they should issue another response to the issue. "This is not the first time... there have been many other occasions and we cannot be responding to every single thing. "Let us stick to our last stand on this issue... for the sake of not prolonging this," he said, referring to CFM's remarks on the threat by Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali to burn Malay language Bibles. READ MORE HERE

PAS: Friday sermon an attempt to spread religious hatred Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:05 PM PST Md Izwan, The Malaysian Insider Several PAS leaders have blasted Malaysia's Islamic authorities for allegedly stoking religious hatred during yesterday's Friday prayers for Muslim by calling labeling those who insist on using "Allah" to describe their God as "enemies of Islam". According to the few leaders contacted by The Malaysian Insider, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which had prepared the sermon, had failed to portray Islam as a religion od peace and understanding, and had instead shown intolerance. "Jakim's move was an attempt to incite the sentiment of hatred towards the Christians. "This attitude is inappropriate and irresponsible," Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said. In Jakim's Friday sermon yesterday, the religious authority had warned Muslims nationwide of attempts by "enemies of Islam" to confuse them into believing that all religions are the same. Muslims here were also told that being too open-minded and allowing Islamic rights to be abused by other religions was a "dangerous" act. "It is very clear that today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community's faith. "They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of 'Allah' in their scriptures," the sermon said. Jakim insisted that "Allah", a word that millions of Arab Christians and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God, belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam as it is clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused, doubtful and mistaken over the true identity of the Muslim God. Citing an unnamed academic research, Jakim said that the word "Allah" was never found in the Bible as God, to these users of the holy book, exists in the Trinity concept as "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The general term for the Holy Trinity, said the religious department, is "The Lord". As such, Jakim insisted that the National Fatwa Council's 2008 decision on the matter was accurate in stating that "Allah" cannot be used by those of other religions and cannot be likened to the Gods of others. The authority also warned that painful punishment would await disbelievers in the afterlife, noting that these "symptoms" if Islam's collapse would only destroy the glory and prestige of Muslims here. But Khalid said Jakim had not furnished proof to back its claims and was merely pointing fingers to drive a deeper wedge between the country's Muslims and Christians. "But why speak ill of the Christians, not all of them are bad. In fact, Islam is no advocate of this prejudiced behaviour to those of other faiths," he added. Instead, the lawmaker accused Jakim of being the reason why some Muslims are confused over their religious beliefs, arguing that the authority had failed to strengthen the faith of Muslims here. He said if Jakim believed that the faith of Muslim here has weakened, it should have used the sermon to differentiate between Islamic and Christian teachings, instead of condemning followers of the latter faith. PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub agreed with his party colleague's views, adding that JAKIM had become Barisan Nasional's (BN) tool to flare hatred at a time when religions tension was already at a high. "I'd like to ask, what is Jakim's role and responsibility when preaching to Muslims? "Jakim has become BN's tool... in fact, they had also twisted he statement made by the PAS Syura Council earlier this month," he added. READ MORE HERE

Allah stand: PAS grassroots unhappy Posted: 25 Jan 2013 03:42 PM PST Anwar Ibrahim's stand on the matter, says a PAS man, shows how much regard the former has for the Islamic party's religious credentials. Hawkeye, FMT BUKIT MERTAJAM: PAS grassroots are getting disillusioned with Pakatan Rakyat over the opposition bloc's inability to resolve the issue of allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah, claims former Penang PAS Youth head Mohamed Hafiz Nordin. Alleging that he has come to represent the voice of the PAS grassroots here, Hafiz said many members are not coming out openly to express their anxieties out of respect for the party leadership. Nonetheless, they are expressing their grievances through him, Hafiz told a press conference. "PAS members including me are a discipline lot. I would never exit from PAS as my struggle is Islam. It is only that I am the outspoken kind and would not relent in speaking my mind. I am willing to represent the feelings of those who are unhappy in PAS," he added. He said the insistence from Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim that non-Muslims are allowed to use the word in Malay-language bibles runs contrary to the PAS Syura Council's stance on the matter. "It shows how much regard Anwar has for PAS' religious credentials. We are disappointed with his decision," he added. Secondly, DAP's lack of sensitivity towards PAS is another thing which has undermined the ties down the line in Pakatan, Hafiz said. He said there is no harm for Anwar to seek for the Pakatan leadership council to review their earlier stance that non-Muslims can use the word. It is also good for DAP to allow PAS to explain things, especially on how the council arrived at the decision to extol that it is best that non-Muslims refrained from using the word Allah. Hafiz said the grassroots members foremost loyalty is towards PAS, and not Pakatan, as their membership is based on Islam's struggle. READ MORE HERE

Overseas voting process has several defects, says DAP Posted: 24 Jan 2013 04:21 PM PST Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider DAP leaders today said there are defects in the overseas voting process and this could see Malaysians abroad denied the right to fair elections and possible vote manipulation. Four key issues were listed, among them being the Election Commission's (EC) delay in allowing those living overseas to vote, a problem that left many Malaysians abroad with little time to register as voters. "It took them so long to implement it and many Malaysians who are trying to vote now can't do so because they are not registered," DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke (picture) told reporters here, saying that the EC had also done nothing to encourage those abroad to register while the overseas voting process was being deliberated. Loke noted that a parliamentary select committee on polls reform in its preliminary findings had asked the EC to allow overseas voting more than a year ago. The polls regulator, however, only announced the decision to carry it out early this month. With Election 2013 expected to be held in March, those who register now cannot exercise their right to vote in this election. Then there is the new rule that requires overseas voters to be in Malaysia for a minimum of 30 days anywhere between April 2008 to the time Parliament is dissolved. The problem was raised last July by the My Overseas Vote (MOV) movement which said Malaysians abroad would not be able to vote if the EC does not amend the rules on voter registration and postal voting. "As long as EC does not amend the regulations, it is impossible for 95 per cent of Malaysians abroad to register as voters," MOV co-ordinator Andrew Yong had told The Malaysian Insider, saying that "there are now one million Malaysians working overseas with the majority being private sector employees." "What this does is it filters out a lot of applicants. It's just not possible. Those abroad often only come back for a few weeks at the most. Why are they adding new restrictions; that could be a hassle," Loke charged. READ MORE HERE

Friday sermon: ‘Enemies’ of Islam staking claim over ‘Allah’ to confuse Muslims Posted: 24 Jan 2013 04:01 PM PST JAKIM cited "scientific" research to back its assertion that Christians have no legitimate claim to the word "Allah".  Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Federal religious authorities warned Muslims nationwide today of attempts by "enemies of Islam" to confuse them into believing that all religions are the same, prolonging the debate over the usage of "Allah" by Christians even as it drives a deeper wedge between the country's two most dominant religions. In today's Friday sermon prepared by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) here, Muslims were told that being too open-minded and allowing Islamic rights to be abused by other religions was a "dangerous" act. "It is very clear that, today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community's faith. "They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of 'Allah' in their scriptures," the sermon said. JAKIM insisted that "Allah", a word that millions of Arab Christians and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God, belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam as it is clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused over the true identity of their God. Citing unnamed academic research, JAKIM said that the word "Allah" was never found in the Bible as God ― to Christians ― exists as the Trinity of "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit." The general term for the Holy Trinity, said the religious department, is "The Lord" which is the English translation of biblical text. As such, JAKIM insisted that the National Fatwa Council's 2008 decision on the matter was accurate in stating that "Allah" cannot be used by those of other religions and cannot be likened to the gods of others. "We would like to say that as Muslims who believes in Allah and his messenger, then it becomes our responsibility to preserve the sanctity and defend the word 'Allah' in the best way possible, and should there be elements of insult and abuse, it should be stopped in accordance with provisions in the Federal Constitution. "Muslims must be firm in protecting the sanctity and the identity of their religion," JAKIM said in the sermon. The authority also warned that painful punishment would await disbelievers in the afterlife, noting that these "symptoms" of Islam's collapse would only destroy the glory and prestige of Muslims here. The "Allah" dispute, which first erupted after the watershed Election 2008, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year's polls. Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya in his Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo Malaysia. READ MORE HERE

Perkasa is outsourced by Umno, says Anwar Posted: 24 Jan 2013 03:56 PM PST Zurairi AR, The Malaysian Insider Perkasa can get away with racial slurs and religious insults because it is backed by Umno, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim alleged today. Malay rights group Perkasa and its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali have been playing up racial and religious issues as Election 2013 looms, without any rebuke from the government or the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN). "(Perkasa) is an organisation outsourced by Umno to fend racist and religious bigotry at the behest of Umno," Anwar (picture) claimed here. During Perkasa's convention in Penang last weekend, Ibrahim had urged Muslims to unite and burn all Malay-language bibles that contain the word "Allah" and other religious words in Arabic script. "We have not yet found a tough response by the Umno leadership nor the prime minister, nor the home minister," said Anwar. "This is, to me, disturbing ... you may have differences between PKR and Umno, Pakatan Rakyat and BN, but you have to draw the line." Anwar said that parties on both sides of the political divide can continue their political battles, but should never resort to defending racial and religious bigotry. On Wednesday, Anwar had called for Muslims nationwide to condemn Perkasa's threat to burn all Malay-language bibles. The opposition leader, a Muslim, said those who profess Islam and claim to protect "Allah" and the Quran should also defend their faith and morals by preventing the spread of racial insults, which were discouraged by the religion. Yesterday, Perkasa insisted that its president's words were actually a "wake-up call" to prevent possible violence against distributors of bibles containing the word "Allah" and other religious words in Arabic script. The group's secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, said Perkasa was merely protecting Islam and its position, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and this included rejecting those who insult the religion and who try to spread their own faiths to Muslims. Ibrahim's remarks had immediately sparked furore among Christians and politicians across the political divide and invited calls on the government to cite him for sedition. The "Allah" dispute, which first erupted after the watershed Election 2008, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year's polls. Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya in his Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo Malaysia. Hot on the heels of the DAP leader's remarks, several state Rulers and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws banning use of the word despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled "Allah" was not exclusive to Islam.

Waytha under fire for silence over temples Posted: 24 Jan 2013 03:47 PM PST A MIC Youth leader has also questioned Hindraf's plans to 'take down another Indian' via contesting in MIC allocated seats.  B Nantha Kumar, FMT Hindraf pioneer P Waythamoorthy has come under fire for his deafening silence over the Selangor government's handling of two temple issues in the state recently. Accusing Waythamoorthy of "pretending to be in the dark" over the issue, Selangor MIC Youth chief M Shanker Raj Ayanger said the Hindraf man's silence showed that he was an opportunist. "While the Malaysian Indian community is upset that the Selangor government through the Sepang Municipal Council barged into a house and broke a shrine there recently, Waythamoorthy has kept mum on the matter. "Would he have done the same if the Selangor government was run by the Barisan Nasional? "It is surprising to note that Hindraf, which claimed to safeguard Indian rights, has remained silent on the two temple issues involving the Pakatan Rakyat government" he said. He was referring to the recent case where the enforcement officers from the Sepang Municipal Council demolished a private shrine built within the compound of a house. As soon as the issue subsided, the Kajang Municipal Council issued summons and fines to the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kajang, for excessive noise during prayer sessions. The council has since rescinded the summons and compounds. "It looks like Waythamoorthy has deliberately overlooked these two incidents. "There were also reports that seven temples have been demolished in Selangor after Pakatan's rule began in 2008 but Hindraf has disregarded the issue. "It seems quite clear Hindraf only makes noise if it is the BN. "But if Pakatan does anything, it is silent. When you fight for the community, you must be fair and just. You must fight even if the opponent is your friend. "You are fighting for the people. But now it looks like Hindraf is only there to criticise the BN and nothing else," he told FMT. READ MORE HERE

Preacher argues the ‘Allah’ case Posted: 24 Jan 2013 03:34 PM PST An Islamic preacher argues why he disagrees with Christians using the word Allah and reprimands Muslims for not understanding their own faith. G Vinod, FMT Amid threats of burning Malay-language Bibles due to the use of the word Allah, one Islamic preacher reasons why he disagrees with Christians using the Arabic holy word to refer to God. Saba Islamic Media preacher Shah Kirit Kakulal Govindji, in a YouTube video, said the generic word for God in Arabic is not Allah, but Ilah or Rab. The 22-minute video, taken during a ceramah session at the Al-Azim mosque, shows Shah Kirit saying that he disagrees with Christians using the word Allah to refer to God as the holy word is a unique name conferred in the Quran. "When you say in English, 'man is a thief' and translate it into Malay it becomes 'lelaki itu seorang pencuri'. "But can you translate that same sentence into 'Shah Kirit itu seorang pencuri'. Does it reflect the same meaning as the English sentence earlier?" he asked. Shah Kirit then quoted the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 28, where Jesus has said that," For my Father is greater than I." "So can I change the word Father to Allah and say, for Allah is greater than Jesus? Would the Christians agree to it?" he said. Shah Kirit also disagreed with arguments that it was all right for Christians in Malaysia to use the word Allah as even Indonesians do it. "We are talking about Bahasa Malaysia here, not Indonesian. If that's the case, the Indonesians call their primary schools as Pancasila. Shall we change the names of our schools then?" he asked. While he agreed that Christians in Arab countries use the word Allah to refer to God, Shah Kirit said that it was due to the cultural factor. "Besides, they are referring to Bibles in the Arabic language. We re talking about Malay Bibles, not Arabic," he said. READ MORE HERE

Free education ‘possible’, say economists Posted: 24 Jan 2013 11:30 AM PST   (The Sun Daily) - "If the government wants to do it, they just need to stop wasting money on things like BR1M, free tyres, RM100 for school children, petrol subsidy, and divert the money to tertiary education" Free tertiary education is possible if we cut down on "unproductive" spending, Malaysian economists have suggested. Their comments were solicited by theSun in the wake of national debate on the issue that has been stirred by an exchange between undergraduate K.S. Bawani, and Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) president Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, at a forum in Universiti Utara Malaysia. The video of the exchange has gone viral on the internet. Chief Executive of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Wan Saiful Wan Jan said the current government is capable of reducing the cost of tertiary education. "If the government wants to do it, they just need to stop wasting money on things like BR1M, free tyres, RM100 for school children, petrol subsidy, and divert the money to tertiary education," he said. He noted that the recent "free tyres and cash rewards" seemed to take precedence above cushioning the cost of tertiary education. It is only a matter of re-juggling priorities and putting tertiary education as priority above other "unproductive" spending, he said. "The cost will be removal of the wasteful spending and we will not receive the cash handouts and subsidies anymore," he added. The national education budget has been slashed from RM50 billion in 2012 to RM37 billion in 2013, which is a drop from 20% of the total national budget to 15%. Economist, Khoo Kay Peng, speculated that this is largely associated with government cash handout programmes such as BR1M and BR1M 2.0, and the RM200 rebate for smartphones. "The cut is unnecessary. Funds spent on one-time cash handouts and rebates do not create a lasting impact on the economy," he said. Ideally, Khoo sees that education funding should occupy 20% to 22% of the GDP. Another suggestion by economists to fund free tertiary education is to cut the defence budget. The director of Centre for Policy Initiatives, Dr Lim Teck Ghee, said the expenditure used in defence can be cut back to cushion the cost of tertiary education. "If we cut back expenditure in sectors such as the defence sector where the rationale for large budgets is not sustainable and reduce the cost of doing business due to rent seeking, patronage and opaque government procurement, it can generate tens of billions annually," he said. While it woud be great to have blanket tertiary education, economists argue that it is not a civic obligation to provide free tertiary education for all, neither is it economically-wise in the long run. Wan Saiful pointed out that we already have a deficit budget and blanket free tertiary education will increase the deficit. "I must add at this point that making tertiary, or any other level of education free, is not a good move in the long term. It may not have a disastrous adverse impact now, but in the longer term the country will not be able to afford it. "The deficit spending incurred by the Najib administration will be a burden on society long after Datuk Sri Najib (Abdul Razak) and his ministers have left us," he argued. On civic-responsibility, he said education is ultimately the responsibility of parents and individuals. "It is immoral to pass that responsibility to others through the machinery of government and taxation. If we want society to help each other, than we must encourage voluntary help, not coerce people through taxation. "Our society today has become overly reliant on government so that voluntary help is diminishing," he said. Dr Lim does not favour blanket tertiary education as he said not everyone cannot afford university fees. "Students from rich families can afford to pay a portion of the tuition fees and they should be made to do so," he said. Along with easing tertiary education fees, Lim also suggested reform of the higher education sector. He noted that 10% of government expenditure is presently allocated to higher education. "We have to ask if we are getting value for our tax money being spent on higher education," he said. He highlighted large numbers of unemployable graduates, the low academic standards, and the poor quality of research especially in public colleges. Instead of free tertiary education for all, funds can be used to enhance the quality of public tertiary education system. "Free tertiary education should be for those whose parents earn a low income," said Khoo Kay Peng, who is also a political commentator. He highlighted that the government allocates RM200 million annually to retrain unemployed graduates. "It speaks volumes of a need to revamp the tertiary education system if an undergraduate has to be retrained after just spending four years on his education," he said.

Anwar: Not Lembah Pantai-bound, but certain on Permatang Pauh Posted: 23 Jan 2013 03:23 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Denying plans to swap constituencies with daughter Nurul Izzah, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim nevertheless conceded that he was not guaranteed to contest in his Permatang Pauh stronghold. The opposition leader was responding to rumours that he may instead run for the Lembah Pantai federal seat now occupied by Nurul Izzah, who is expected to face stiff challenge there from Umno's Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin. "Why Lembah Pantai? I wasn't informed of this," he was quoted as saying in a Sinar Harian report, adding that Nurul Izzah will berate him if he decides to contest her seat. "God willing I will contest, but most probably there will be requests for me to consider contesting in one or two other seats," Anwar told Malay-language daily yesterday. Anwar held Permatang Pauh from 1982 until 1999, when he was convicted and jailed for corruption. The conviction was subsequently overturned. His wife, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, contested and held the seat during his absence, before making way for Anwar in 2008. Election 2013 must be called by April 27, after which Parliament will automatically be dissolved and polls initiated.

Ibrahim Ali called up by cops Posted: 23 Jan 2013 03:08 PM PST (The Malay Mail) - Penang police have called up Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali over his Bible-burning remark and will call him again to record a statement in two days time. Ibrahim confirmed in a short text message to The Malay Mail that the police were following up on a police report lodged against him. Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali also DAP can 'go ahead' to obtain a court order to comple the attorney-general to act against Ibrahim over his statement calling for Muslims to 'seize and burn'  copies of the Bible which contained the word 'Allah' or other Arabic words. He was responding to a report in The Malay Mail yesterday in which the DAP national chairman Karpal Singh gave the attorney-general two weeks to act against Ibrahim. However, Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail had said police must investigate actual incidences of Bible0burning in order for any action to be taken. "It is their (DAP's) right to proceed with such actions. As a lawyer, he (Karpal) should be patient and should be aware of how such procedures are," said Syed Hasan. "If indeed Karpal is so concerned about such things, why doesn't he address other issues that may disrupt the nation's harmony such as with Patrick Teoh's remarks on Facebook, or the spreading of hatred by other religions towards Malays?" Syed Hasan was referring to Teoh's FB which ridiculed the Muslims, after which he posted an apology.

Batu Caves temple claims they’re being punished for protesting Posted: 23 Jan 2013 03:03 PM PST (The Star) - The Batu Caves temple committee claims it is being victimised by the Selangor government for staging a protest against the construction of a condominium near the limestone cave site last year. Sri Maha Mariamman Devasatha­nam committee chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah alleged the state government, through the Selayang Munici-pal Council (MPS), had made bizarre requests, including asking for a building plan of the iconic staircase that leads into the main cave. "After we protested against the condominium, MPS sent us a barrage of letters, and one of them was to dispute the safety of the staircase. "The staircase has been around since the 1930s. Millions of people have been going up and down it and there has never been a problem. "And now they want a building plan for the staircase?'' Nadarajah said here yesterday. He alleged the state government was also punishing him by scrapping his plans for an Indian cultural centre as well as made him face a lot of bureaucracy over the Batu Caves cable car project. Nadarajah claimed the development order for the cable car was approved on Dec 31 last year, but MPS was asking for the building plan again. "That will take us another year of waiting. People are already asking about the cable car,'' he said. The cable car project was announ-ced in 2011 and was expected to be completed in 2012. He reiterated that the problems began after he started speaking againt the condominium project. "I protested and they are now coming after me,'' alleged Nadarajah. Nadarajah had led a protest against the 29-storey condominium project, located just 120m next to the Lord Murugan statue, in October last year, saying the development was too close to the limestone hills. He added that he would be revealing more next week as well as showing the letters from MPS.

Xavier points finger at Public Complaints Bureau Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:55 PM PST (The Star) - Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar has alleged that the Public Complaints Bureau is responsible for the issuance of notice to the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Pekan Bangi Lama, Selangor, to tone down the excessive noise. He said the bureau directed the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) to issue the summons to the temple in February last year and on Jan 8. "The bureau had directed the council to go ahead with the summons," he said. But bureau director-general Mahani Tan Abdullah denied that it had instructed MPKj to act against the temple. "My department has no authority to instruct a local council to issue summonses," she said. She said the bureau had received a complaint from a resident in Pekan Bangi Lama, who claimed that the problem of loud noise from the temple persisted despite lodging a complaint to MPKj. "We sent a letter to MPKj enquiring about the complaint made by the resident," she said. The temple was first issued a notice on Feb 17 last year and another notice was issued on Jan 8 which directed them to reduce the noise level and cease all religious activities after 6pm. MPKj has rescinded the notice. MIC Youth chief T. Mohan said Dr Xavier was attempting to shift the blame to others. "The bureau does not have the authority to dictate terms. It is very clear that the MPKj acted on their own," he said, adding that Dr Xavier should release the letter from the bureau so that everyone will know the truth. PKR Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam said Dr Xavier's statement was ridiculous as there is a directive that all issues related to places of worship had to be referred to the state government first. "The 22 councils in the state come under the purview of the state government and is he (Dr Xavier) implying that they are taking orders from the Federal Government," he said.

Burn the Bible, and you burn the church Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:48 PM PST Pentecostal Churches of Malaysia representative Bishop Robert Judah Paul also expresses resentment against Perkasa chief's Bible burning plan. Priscillla Prasena, FMT Perkasa's plan to burn the Malay edition of the Bible, which carries the word "Allah" to refer to God, is equivalent to burning churches, the Pentecostal Churches of Malaysia representative Robert Judah Paul said today. "Burning the Bible is equivalent to burning churches and the churches have every right to bring it to their highest authority. Churches which are linked to international non-governmental organisations will seek the international voices to air their grievances… and this would reflect badly on the country," he told FMT in an interview. He said Pentecostal Christians will stand by the Catholics in protecting their religious rights if it comes to that. "Churches are united and we strongly feel it is a political move rather than a social threat," he said. Recently, Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali announced that the organisation will seek out Malay Bibles which carries the word "Allah" and burn them. This caused a furore among Christians in the country. While the issue is more religious in nature, politicians have not missed the bandwagon, especially with the general election just around the corner. About 9% of the country's 29.1 million population are Christians, practising various denominations of Christianity. "Ibrahim made a wrong statement which incites anger and hatred among Malaysians. We, as Christians are against the statement and totally abhor what he said," he added. Robert said if Ibrahim proceeds with the burning of the Malay Bibles, the Churches will initiate legal proceedings against him. He said there are various reasons why the Malay Bible was being targeted by the ultra-Malay group. "The Sikh holy book also refers to God as Allah while some Hindu scriptures also do the same. Why target just Malay Bibles? I feel that it is because Christianity is the closest to Islam. Maybe they see Christianity as a threat to Islam. "Christians will take to the street if our voices are not heard legally. Ibrahim and whoever are behind him are very narrow-minded and are not looking at the bigger picture", he added.

Perkasa says it has no role in Sunday’s Bible burning Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:44 PM PST It denies knowledge of Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu. Anisah Shukry, FMT Perkasa today distanced itself from this Sunday's Bible burning in Butterworth, saying it had no knowledge of the group behind it. "Perkasa knows nothing of the group that intends to burn Bibles this Jan 27. That is not Perkasa's programme," Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali told FMT. The programme, planned by a group calling itself Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu, comes hot on the heels of Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali's controversial call for Jawi-scripted Malay Bibles with the word "Allah" to be burned. The previously unknown group refers to Sunday's programme as a "festival". Its flyer reads: "Our children and grandchildren will end up being apostates if you want to wait for our impotent government to act. "To Muslims who have copies of al-Kitab, bring them over to make our Bible-burning session merrier." Commenting on this, Syed Hasan said: "Perkasa will leave this so-called Malay Bible-burning event to the police." Syed Hasan also said Perkasa was worried that physical clashes would erupt over news reports of the alleged distribution of Jawi-scripted Bibles containing the word "Allah" to Muslim pupils in Penang. "For the record," he added, "Perkasa's online membership has surged dramatically in the past three days." He claimed he had received many phone calls over the alleged distribution of the controversial Bibles and said this was why his group was stern against those attempting to proselytize among Muslims. But Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi told national news agency Bernama that all the Bibles were in the English language and did not contain the word "Allah".

‘Enough with the warnings, haul up Ibrahim’ Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:41 PM PST MIC Youth wants stern action against Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali, who has called on Muslims to burn the Al-Kitab.  K Pragalath, FMT MIC Youth has urged Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to stop pussy-footing around the contentious call by Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali, to burn the Malay Bible and instead take immediate action against him. "MIC Youth wants Hishammuddin to take action against Ibrahim. "Ibrahim's irresponsible action of inciting hatred against another religion can lead to this nation's instability," said the party's Youth secretary, C Sivarraajh. He was reacting to Ibrahim who urged Muslims to burn Malay Bibles known as the Al-Kitab which bore the term"Allah". Ibrahim, who is also Pasir Mas MP, made the call on Saturday in reaction to reports that the Al-Kitab is being distributed to Muslim schoolchildren. He said this at a Perkasa convention held in Penang. Following that call, DAP chairman Karpal Singh and a group of individuals have lodged police reports. Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, meanwhile, told FMT that action will be taken only after the law had been breached. Describing Ibrahim's call as "outrageous", Sivarraajh said that it is time Ibrahim is brought to book since he has raised racial and religious sensitivities in the past. "Even though he has been warned many times, but he's still walking the same way and using the same old tune which made other people hate him," said Sivarraajh. In a related development, a little known group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Malay-Bible Action Force), urged Muslims to join in the "Malay Bible burning festivities" on Jan 27 in Penang.

Penang goes all out to stop ‘fiery’ festival Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:38 PM PST The chief minister has asked the state police chief and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council to take action to stop the Bible-burning event.  Athi Shankar, FMT Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today gave an assurance that his administration will explore all ways and means to stop the Bible-burning festival from taking place in Butterworth on Jan 27. He said that such a shameful act, if allowed to take place, would not only disgrace Penang but also the country. "The state government will do all it can to ensure this vile and abhorrent act will not take place," Lim, who is also the Bagan MP, said in his blog posting. He also urged all peace loving Malaysians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to pray together for peace, harmony, religious respect and goodwill to prevail this Sunday. Early this week pamphlets were allegedly distributed by a little known group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Malay-Bible Action Force) urging Muslims to join in the Malay Bible burning festivities at the Dewan Ahmad Badawi's municipality field in Butterworth. Lim said he has issued a directive to Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) president Maimunah Mohd Shariff to bar anyone from entering into the field to burn Bibles or any other religious documents. He has also asked state police chief DCP Abdul Rahim Hanafi to take steps to stop the festival and ensure that the image and dignity of Penang is protected. Lim and the Christian Federation of Malaysia have also received the alleged pamphlets, which had emerged following Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's call on Muslims to burn the Malay and Jawi versions of the Bibles containing the term "Allah" and other Islamic holy terms. Ibrahim, the Pasir Mas MP, made the call in wake of police reports lodged on alleged distribution of Bibles to Muslims pupils outside a school in Jelutong here early last week. At a press conference held after a Perkasa convention on "Economic and Education Transformation of Penang Malays" held at UiTM campus in Pematang Pauh last Saturday, Ibrahim called on Muslims to "seize and burn" such copies of the Bible if distributed to them. Police reports have been lodged against Ibrahim, the alleged distribution of the pamphlets and the alleged distribution of the Bibles to Muslims. Police have recorded statements from many people, including journalists, in connection with all three cases. Lim, the DAP secretary-general, also criticised Gerakan for joining hands with several federal government agencies to organise the Penang Run on Jan 28, which falls on Hindu grand festival, Thaipusam. READ MORE HERE

Abbas rejects Malaysian PM visit to Gaza saying it divides Palestine Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:26 PM PST   (Al Arabiya News) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced on Wednesday the Malaysian prime minister's recent visit to Gaza, saying that it "enhances division and does not serve the Palestinian interests," reported local news agency WAFA.  "The Palestinian presidency announces its rejection and condemnation of the Malaysian prime minister's visit to Gaza," a statement said. Abbas's bureau called on the Malaysian government to provide "clarification," saying that Prime Minister Najib Razak called Abbas earlier and told him that Malaysia was going to provide humanitarian aid to the strip, and that he will meet a Palestinian delegation in Cairo afterwards.  "[The visit] undermines Palestinian representation and reinforces the division and does not serve Palestinian interests," it continued. The bureau considered the visit a contribution to a conspiracy aiming to "divide the Palestinian land;" one that "serves Israeli plans to keep Jerusalem isolated from the Palestinian state," the agency reported.  On Tuesday, the Malaysian prime minster pledged solidarity with the Palestinians on his first trip to Gaza, throwing his support behind reconciliation efforts between Hamas and Fatah. Najib, who entered via the Rafah crossing from Egypt with Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and other officials, was met by Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya. Read more at: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/01/23/262086.html

PM explains Gaza visit Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:24 PM PST   (The Star) - "Fatah was uneasy with my visit to Gaza but we explained to them that I had to make a stand to visit the area. The issue of the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza is something very close to Malaysian hearts," he said. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said his visit to Gaza was a humanitarian gesture of solidarity with the plight of the people in the occupied territories and should not be misconstrued as an attempt to interfere in domestic Palestinian affairs. The Prime Minister said he had explained this to Palestine's WaqafMinister Mahmoud Habash in Cairo on Tuesday evening after returning from Gaza, following criticism over his visit by the Fatah faction of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is opposed to its Hamas-led rivals who control Gaza. "My trip to Gaza was based on humanitarian grounds and to show our strong support for the struggle of the Palestinians. "It must not be misinterpreted as interfering with the internal affairs of Palestine but to show our concern to Palestinians especially during the eight days of violence committed by Israel in its attack in Gaza late last year," Najib told Malaysian reporters here yesterday before departing for Davos, Switzerland, where he is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum. Hamas and Fatah have been in dispute since 2007, resulting in Gaza being controlled by Hamas and the West Bank, the other territory, which also makes up Palestine, under Fatah. Najib said besides conveying Malaysia's position to the Palestinian Minister, he had also contacted PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas by telephone on Monday night to explain the reasons for his Gaza visit before he went to the Palestinian territory the following day. "Fatah was uneasy with my visit to Gaza but we explained to them that I had to make a stand to visit the area. The issue of the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza is something very close to Malaysian hearts," he said. The Prime Minister said his original intention was to visit both Gaza and the West Bank. He explained that he was unable to go to the West Bank because unlike the Egyptian controlled border into Gaza, the entry points into the territory under Fatah were under the purview of Israel. He said Israel would have only allowed him entry if Malaysia accorded Israel official recognition, something that was against Malaysia's policy. Najib said his visit to Gaza and his meeting with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi also allowed him an opportunity to express Malaysia's support to the Egyptian initiative to bring Hamas and Fatah closer. The rival groups signed an agreement in May last year to discuss the aim of setting up a unity government in Palestine. "Hamas and Fatah need to set up a unity government as soon as possible for their common struggle to succeed. In all my meetings, I stressed the point repeatedly that accord between the West Bank and Gaza was a precondition for the Palestinians to achieve their goal," he said. On a separate matter, Najib expressed his condolences to the family of the Malaysian killed during the hostage drama in Algeria. "I sympathise with the family. This is something that can happen and is very hard to predict. I hope his family remains strong in facing this tragedy," he said. Najib said there had been discouraging reports about the fate of the second Malaysian hostage reported missing, adding that Wisma Putra was keeping a close watch on the developments.

Under fire, Perkasa says bible-burning threat meant to prevent violence Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:18 PM PST   (The Malaysian Insider) - Despite facing heat for Datuk Ibrahim Ali's bible-burning remark, Malay rights group Perkasa have insisted their president's words were actually a "wake-up call" to prevent possible violence against distributors of bibles containing the word "Allah" and other Arabic scripts. The group's secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, said Ibrahim has no problem facing the consequences of his remarks, including being questioned by the police due to the reports lodged against him. "To the Perkasa president, he is sure not worried about these reports... because the investigation will surely be based on truth and justice," he said in a statement sent to The Malaysian Insider. But Syed Hassan maintained that Ibrahim's statement was more to prevent possible physical violence and other untoward incidents, should these Malay-language bibles get into the hands of Muslim students. If this is seen by Muslims who view this as an attempt at apostasy, the Perkasa leader said violence could be used against the book's distributor. "I very much understand my president's statement because it is as a 'wake-up call' to all parties to prevent these untoward incidents. "This is what the president fears because then there would be a physical attack between those of different faiths... this is not good for the nation," he said. Syed Hassan also confirmed that Ibrahim has been contacted by the police over the reports lodged against the latter by several parties, including DAP chairman Karpal Singh. Investigations will commence in another day or two, he added. Karpal lodged the report on Tuesday in a bid to press Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to kickstart an investigation against Ibrahim, who came under fire after making the remarks in Penang over the weekend. The fiery Malay rights leader had called on Muslims to burn Malay language bibles that contain the words "Allah" and other religious Arabic scripts should it come into their possession. But when continuing his defence of Ibrahim's remarks here, Syed Hassan said that Perkasa has never in the past attacked Christianity. He said the group was merely protecting Islam and its position, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and this includes rejecting those who insult the religion and who try to spread their own faiths to Muslims. "Before this, all other races lived in peace. But today, simply because there are parties using this for political expediency, they are willing to flare the sentiments of others," he said. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/under-fire-perkasa-says-bible-burning-threat-meant-to-prevent-violence/

'The Act of Killing' and Indonesia's Dark Past Nobody Talks About Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:01 PM PST   In the gangsters' role as the political bosses of North Sumatra (a province of 14 million people) they have continued to celebrate themselves as heroes, reminding the public of their role in the massacres, while continuing to threaten the survivors – and they have done so even as governors, senators, members of parliament, and, in the case of one prominent veteran of the 1965-66 genocide, as the perversely named, "Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights". DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT By Joshua Oppenheimer http://theactofkilling.com/?page_id=52 Beginnings In February 2004, I filmed a former death squad leader demonstrate how, in less than three months, he and his fellow killers slaughtered 10,500 alleged 'communists' in a single clearing by a river in North Sumatra. When he was finished with his explanation, he asked my sound recordist to take some snapshots of us together by the riverbank. He smiled broadly, gave a thumbs up in one photo, a victory sign in the next. Two months later, other photos, this time of American soldiers smiling and giving the thumbs up while torturing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners, appeared in the news (Errol Morris later revealed these photographs to be more complex than they at first appear). The most unsettling thing about these images is not the violence they document, but rather what they suggest to us about how their participants wanted, in that moment, to be seen. And how they thought, in that moment, they would want to remember themselves. Moreover, performing, acting, posing appear to be part of the procedures of humiliation. These photographs betray not so much the physical situation of abuse, but rather forensic evidence of the imagination involved in persecution. And they were very much in my mind when, one year later, I met Anwar Congo and the other leaders of Indonesia's Pancasila Youth paramilitary movement. Far away or close to home? The differences between the situations I was filming in Indonesia and other situations of mass persecution may at first seem obvious. Unlike in Rwanda, South Africa or Germany, in Indonesia there have been no truth and reconciliation commissions, no trials, no memorials for victims. Instead, ever since committing their atrocities, the perpetrators and their protégés have run the country, insisting they be honoured as national heroes by a docile (and often terrified) public. But is this situation really so exceptional? At home (in the USA), the champions of torture, disappearance, and indefinite detention were in the highest positions of political power and, at the same time, busily tending to their legacy as the heroic saviours of western civilisation. That such narratives would be believed (despite all evidence to the contrary) suggests a failure of our collective imagination, while simultaneously revealing the power of storytelling in shaping how we see. And that Anwar and his friends so admired American movies, American music, American clothing – all of this made the echoes more difficult to ignore, transforming what I was filming into a nightmarish allegory. Filming with survivors When I began developing The Act of Killing in 2005, I had already been filming for three years with survivors of the 1965-66 massacres. I had lived for a year in a village of survivors in the plantation belt outside Medan. I had become very close to several of the families there. During that time, Christine Cynn and I collaborated with a fledgling plantation workers' union to make The Globalization Tapes, and began production on a forthcoming film about a family of survivors that begins to confront (with tremendous dignity and patience) the killers who murdered their son. Our efforts to record the survivors' experiences – never before expressed publicly – took place in the shadow of their torturers, as well as the executioners who murdered their relatives – men who, like Anwar Congo, would boast about what they did. Ironically, we faced the greatest danger when filming survivors. We'd encounter obstacle after obstacle. For instance, when we tried to film a scene in which former political prisoners rehearsed a Javanese ballad about their time in the concentration camps (describing how they provided forced labour for a British-owned plantation, and how every night some of their friends would be handed over to the death squads to be killed), we were interrupted by police seeking to arrest us. At other times, the management of London-Sumatra plantations interrupted the film's shooting, "honouring" us by "inviting" us to a meeting at plantation headquarters. Or the village mayor would arrive with a military escort to tell us we didn't have permission to film. Or an "NGO" focused on "rehabilitation for the victims of the 1965-66 killings" would turn up and declare that "this is our turf – the villagers here have paid us to protect them." (When we later visited the NGO's office, we discovered that the head of the NGO was none other than the area's leading killer – and a friend of Anwar Congo's – and the NGO's staff seemed to be military intelligence officers.) Not only did we feel unsafe filming the survivors, we worried for their safety. And the survivors couldn't answer the question of how the killings were perpetrated. Boastful killers But the killers were more than willing to help and, when we filmed them boastfully describing their crimes against humanity, we met no resistance whatsoever. All doors were open. Local police would offer to escort us to sites of mass killing, saluting or engaging the killers in jocular banter, depending on their relationship and the killer's rank. Military officers would even task soldiers with keeping curious onlookers at a distance, so that our sound recording wouldn't be disturbed. This bizarre situation was my second starting point for making The Act of Killing. And the question in mind was this: what does it mean to live in, and be governed by, a regime whose power rests on the performance of mass murder and its boastful public recounting, even as it intimidates survivors into silence. Again, there seemed to be a profound failure of the imagination. Within Indonesia more generally, such openness about the killings might be exceptional. But in North Sumatra, it is standard operating procedure. For there, the army recruited its death squads from the ranks of gangsters. Gangsters' power derives from being feared, and so the thugs ruling North Sumatra have trumpeted their role in the genocide ever since, framing it as heroic struggle, while all the time taking care to include grisly details that inspire a constant and undiminished disquiet, unease, even terror of possible recurrence. (In East Java and in Bali, the death squads were recruited from religious groups, while in Central Java and elsewhere they were members of the Indonesian special forces. Unlike gangsters, those groups' power is not necessarily based on their being feared.) In the gangsters' role as the political bosses of North Sumatra (a province of 14 million people) they have continued to celebrate themselves as heroes, reminding the public of their role in the massacres, while continuing to threaten the survivors – and they have done so even as governors, senators, members of parliament, and, in the case of one prominent veteran of the 1965-66 genocide, as the perversely named, "Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights". Read more at: http://theactofkilling.com/?page_id=52     ---------------------------------------- 'The Act of Killing' and Indonesia's Dark Past Nobody Talks About I was 10 minutes late when I quietly sneaked in to a room crammed with people sitting tightly to their chairs. Their eyes fixed to the screen. I have been to many independent film screenings, but this one was not like any other. There was no sign whatsoever to indicate that there's a film screening inside. It was meant to be clandestine due to the nature of the film, entitled "The Act of Killing," an award-winning documentary by British-based American filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer. From the invitation I received, it clearly said the screening is a closed event and not to be passed around. Prior to the screening, the attendees were asked not to spread the word on social media to avoid unwanted difficulties. "The Act of Killing" contains materials that are prone to disturb viewers, not to mention the historical facts that are still hard to accept to some people in Indonesia.  "The Act of Killing" follows the life of Anwar Congo, who unashamedly claimed himself as a fearsome executor in Medan, North Sumatera, following the alleged abortive coup by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).  As written in the history — or unwritten — the failed coup resulted in the witch-hunt against PKI members and alleged sympathizers. Many of them were captured, tortured and killed without legal trial. Once these alleged communists were detained, they would soon be handed to Anwar and his accomplices who would perform some of the gruesome executions ever imagined by mankind. I'm not an expert in cinematography, but what is so interesting about "The Act of Killing," apart from the obvious topic which remains untouched for a long time, is the way Anwar's story being told.  Instead of the orthodox way of making documentary by combining interviews and footage, Oppenheimer creatively re-enacted what Anwar did in the past and shot them in the film. Anwar starred and acted in a film where he re-enacted all his mischievous deeds. It's like making a documentary about Adolf Hitler and asked Der Fuhrer to act as himself in a staged scene.   Read more at: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/talkback/the-act-of-killing-and-indonesias-dark-past-nobody-talks-about/557471

Man gets 5 years for insulting Islam on Facebook Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:47 PM PST Members of Indonesia's Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) rally on the streets in Jakarta July 30, 2011. Members of the FPI are demanding the government to disband Ahmadiyah sect. Indonesia's Assembly of Indonesian Muslim Clerics (MUI) considers the Ahmadiyah sect to be 'heretical' for believing that Mohammad was not Islam's final prophet. — PHOTO: REUTERS (The Jakarta Post) - The Bandung State Court has decided to add one more year to the prison term of Sebastian Joe, who was sentenced to four years imprisonment for blasphemy of Islam by the Ciamis District Court in West Java. The state court decided on Tuesday to slap a higher sentence as it used the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law as a lex specialis (special law), instead of the Criminal Code (KUHP) used by the district court, said Sebastian's lawyer, Anang Fitriana, as quoted by tempo.co on Wednesday. Sebastian was reported by the Ciamis chapter of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) last year for a Facebook status he made, which they considered insulting to Islam. Anang said that he planned to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Remember your roots, Mahathir Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:31 PM PST NGO tells the former premier that he would not have been a Malaysian if Tunku had not granted citizenships to non-Malays during Merdeka G Vinod, FMT If Tunku Abdul Rahman did not grant citizenships to non-Malays during Merdeka, Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not have been a Malaysian, claimed an NGO. Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (Mipas) chairman A Rajaretinam made this known during a protest in Brickfields against Mahathir's call to probe citizenships given during Independence. The former premier said this in reaction to the damning revelations made in the Sabah RCI, which implicated his administration in granting citizenships to foreigners to reside in Sabah. Rajaretinam was hinting at Mahathir's Indian heritage, where the latter's father was an Indian Muslim immigrant. Rajaretinam said that not only did Mahathir insult the Tunku with his statement but also the entire Indian community. He added that the Indians in Malaysia got their citizenships by sacrificing their blood, sweat and tears for the sake of national development, as opposed to the immigrants in Sabah. "Our ancestors were not refugees. We were brought in by the British government to Malaya to build the country. "When you talk about plantation, railway and building roads, you will see our ancestors' sacrifice for the country," said Rajaretinam. READ MORE HERE

Jeffrey: Tell RCI the truth, Anwar Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:25 PM PST The Sabah strongman says Anwar, being the second most powerful leader in Umno then, could not have been ignorant of what was happening in Sabah. K Kabilan, FMT Sabah's veteran politician Jeffrey Kitingan today expressed hope that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim would "tell the truth" if he ends up testifying in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the "Project IC" in Sabah. "I am glad he has said that he has no problem in testifying in the RCI probing into citizenship granted to immigrants in Sabah. "However I do hope he would tell the truth about his own role in the citizenship fiasco," Jeffrey told FMT today. "From what I know, he was indeed in charge of Sabah [for Umno]. He was the director of operations and was involved actively in the citizenship project," he added. "I am very sure he was in the know of what was happening in Sabah at that time." Earlier today, Anwar told reporters that he was ready to testify at the RCI but quickly added that he was also in the dark about the project. "I have no problem whatsoever. I knew for a long time the project was under the prime minister, that it did not involve a Cabinet process, so it is the full responsibility of the prime minister and finance minister. "When I was there, even I was not briefed on the issue [of providing citizenship to immigrants]," Anwar said. He also said that the RCI had not summoned him because "they know I have nothing to do with it". Yesterday, Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak had challenged Anwar to tell the truth about the illegal immigrants to the RCI tasked with looking into the long-standing problem in the state. He said that Anwar was duty-bound to do so as he was deputy prime minister at that particular period, adding that "he was a powerful man and knew what was going on in Sabah". In recent weeks, various quarters have asked for both former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar to be summoned by the RCI to testify on the citizenship-for-vote issue. READ MORE HERE

Malaysia’s judiciary is independent, says retired judge Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:10 PM PST (Bernama) - Despite criticisms and accusations on the transparency and independence of Malaysia's judicial system, a retired Federal Court judge, Datuk Seri Panglima Sulong Matjeraie, said never in his years in service did anyone try to influence him in his decisions. "I have been working as a judge for 15 years and not on one occasion did any of my bosses said: 'Sulong, you decide this way and not that way'. It never happened. "In the Federal Court, there are five judges and one of us will write the judgment and then pass it to the rest of us. If we don't agree, we will be dissenting. There is no such thing where you have to follow. "Definitely, we uphold the independence of the judiciary," he told Bernama here recently. Sulong, 66, the first Sarawakian appointed as Federal Court judge, clocked out for the last time at the Palace of Justice last Friday. "To be able to administer justice according to the law is something we hold dear." As a judge, you must make sure you serve justice and ensure justice is achieved. I think we have done that," he added. Sulong said the transformation of judiciary in the country had also reduced the backlog of cases in courts. "We have been working hard. There was too much of a backlog that we had to sacrifice our personal time to clear these cases. We have to ensure justice is done expeditiously. All of us work our guts out to make sure we finish our cases," he said. Sulong was born to a humble family in 1947 in the rural town of Saratok, about 140km from Kuching. As a boy, he used to help his father to tap rubber trees and sell "kuih" in the village to earn extra pocket money. "My late father always wanted me to be an agriculture assistant where I could get 'free uniform'. I never dreamt of becoming a lawyer or a judge. "My late father always said: 'Sulong, learn to plant rubber trees. when you get older, you will have your own plantation'. "As a judge, I get free uniform too," he smiled wryly. The fourth child in a family of nine, Sulong started his working career at the tender age of 17 when he was appointed a probationary Sarawak Administrative Officer (SAO) in the Sarawak Civil Service. That was in 1964. When he was 23, Sulong was appointed the District Officer (DO) of Bintulu -now an oil and gas town. The appointment gave him the distinction of being the youngest District Officer in Malaysia. Sulong started his career in the judiciary when he was appointed a Judicial Commissioner in September 1998 in the High Court of Malaya in Johor Baharu. Two years later, he was a High Court Judge in the Kota Kinabalu High Court, Sabah. In 2007, he was a judge of the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya and in April last year, he was appointed a Federal Court Judge at the Palace of Justice, here. "My only regret was not having my father around when I was made the Court of Appeal and Federal Court Judge. He passed away few months before I was appointed as a judge," he said. Sulong's interest in law was stirred when he was in the civil service, where one of the requirements for an administrative officer to be considered for promotion was to pass the law exam. From there it was all history. To read law, Sulong went to London on a Sarawak government scholarship to study at the Inns of Court School of Law in 1971. "I am always grateful to the Sarawak state government for giving me that opportunity to further my studies. Otherwise, I don't think I could become a judge. I'm lucky. But then again, all you need to do is work hard and you can achieve any dreams you have," he said. Sulong obtained his Master of Law Degree in Mercantile Law at the University of Southampton in 1977 where the law study was made possible by his wife who supported him financially. "I'm thankful to my wife who supported me to do my Master. She was working and I was studying," he added. Sulong served the state government in various capacities, including as General Manager of Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation from 1979 to 1980 and as the General Manager of Bintulu Development Authority from 1980 to 1983. Sulong left the civil service in 1983 and set up his own legal firm under the name of Messrs Sulong Matjeraie & Co. in Kuching the same year. On his future and what he would like to do, Sulong said he would like to sit back first before deciding what he would like to do. "I will take a break first before beginning to do something else. Actually I have no future plan yet. First thing I will do though is rest. It has been a long journey. It has been 49 years of working," he said. His words to the Malaysia's judiciary: "They are doing a good job. I'm sure the judiciary of Malaysia will be second to none in years to come. The people here are very dedicated."

Prosecute Ibrahim Ali over bible-burning call, Bar Council urges Posted: 22 Jan 2013 02:11 PM PST Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali should be charged under the Sedition Act for his remarks advocating the burning of bibles, Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee said today, backing an similar call by an opposition lawmaker. Lim said that although the Bar maintains the law deemed a political weapon to silence dissent, should be repealed, it must be impartially applied against Ibrahim given that authorities have charged opposition leaders under the same Act. "If sedition charges were brought against Karpal Singh, equally charges should also be brought against Ibrahim Ali ... Whilst the Bar calls for the repeal of the Sedition Act, if it were to be applied, it must be applied fairly and without discrimination. "This incident together with the contemptuous statement by another Perkasa leader against a judge and the judiciary suggest that Perkasa is allowed to behave with impunity," Lim said in a statement. Karpal, who is DAP chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP, in on trial for sedition over remarks made pertaining to the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009, for which he was accused of making statements challenging the authority of the Sultan of Perak in dissolving the Perak state assembly. He had earlier been acquitted of the charge by the High Court in 2010, but the Court of Appeal subsequently ordered him to enter his defence upon a successful appeal brought by the Attorney-General's Chambers.  Lim added that if the authorities do not wish to charge Ibrahim under the Sedition Act, the Penal Code may also be applied on the Perkasa chief. "This statement by Ibrahim is an incitement or abetment to commit criminal offence under Section 107 of the Penal Code, whilst the seizure and burning of bibles is an offence under Section 441 of the Penal Code," he said. Section 441 of the Penal Code states that "Whoever enters unto or upon property in the possession of another with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property; or having lawfully entered into or upon such property, unlawfully remains there with intent thereby to intimidate, insult or annoy any such person, or with intent to commit an offence, is said to commit 'criminal trespass'." "The public must be warned that this is probably a criminal offence," Lim said. READ MORE HERE

Citizenship-for-votes probe stirs outrage Posted: 22 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST The opposition and election-reform advocates allege massive fraud in voter rolls nationwide and have seized on the testimony as proof of government vote-tampering. By Julia Zappei, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: For years, charges have swirled that a secret Malaysian scheme gave citizenship to huge numbers of illegal migrants in a politically important state in exchange for votes for the ruling coalition. Now, an inquiry is finally airing detailed allegations that have the government on the defensive ahead of elections that pose the greatest threat yet faced by the ruling bloc that has controlled Malaysia for 56 years. A Royal Commission of Inquiry opened last week with ex-officials admitting they gave citizenship to Filipinos and Indonesians in resource-rich Sabah, one of two Malaysian states on jungly Borneo island. One former official said some 100,000 identity cards (ICs) were handed out in 1993 ahead of a crucial state election, Malaysian news reports said. Another admitted signing hundreds of thousands of ICs in the 1990s. The testimony has revived accusations of treason against former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is alleged to have masterminded the scheme to shore up support for his government. As head of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, Mahathir dominated Malaysia for 22 years with his famously hardball political tactics until he resigned in 2003. Current prime minister Najib Tun Razak is now battling to rally support for the BN ahead of polls he is expected to call within months, in an era when the coalition's power grip has slipped. But outrage over "Project IC", as the alleged scheme is widely known, is undercutting his claims that the national electoral roll is free of fraud. The opposition and election-reform advocates allege massive fraud in voter rolls nationwide and have seized on the testimony as proof of government vote-tampering. "What we are concerned about is that this is still going on. That's what we want to stop," S Ambiga, head of the clean-elections activist coalition known as "Bersih", or "Clean", told a press conference Tuesday. The outlines of "Project IC" have been whispered about for three decades and have bolstered the view of Sabah as a reliable "fixed deposit" of votes for the BN to help it weather challenges elsewhere. The government allegedly targeted Muslims from neighbouring Indonesia and the predominantly Muslim southern Philippines. Sudden growth in population More than half of Malaysia's 29 million people are Muslim ethnic Malays, but indigenous tribes, many of them Christian, predominate in Sabah. They have bridled at the foreigners, blaming them for crime, drug abuse and economic competition, and alleging their homeland was being stolen. Najib last June gave in to calls for an inquiry, but the move could backfire, said Ibrahim Suffian, head of independent polling firm Merdeka Centre, calling the revelations "explosive". "It probably will create a wave of resentment and dissatisfaction among native Sabah voters. This confirms their worst fears," he said. The population of Sabah, a region of rugged mountains and powerful rainforest rivers that is about the size of Ireland, has surged from some 600,000 citizens in 1970 to more than three million — more than double the national growth rate. READ MORE HERE

Subpoena Dr M, Anwar, Sabah RCI told Posted: 22 Jan 2013 01:48 PM PST It will be an invaluable opportunity to uncover the black operations behind elections in Malaysia, says Suaram's Kua Kia Soong.  Lisa J. Ariffin, FMT Suaram today called on the Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to subpoena Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim in its ongoing probe into illegal immigrants. Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong said the RCI "must spare no effort" in revealing how citizenships had been given out clandestinely to illegal immigrants and refugees under the Mahathir administration. Anwar was then in charge of Sabah operations. "This RCI on immigrants in Sabah is an invaluable opportunity for us all to uncover the black operations behind elections in Malaysia," Kua said in a statement. "The perpetrators of this electoral deceit must be brought to justice," he added, reiterating the need for the RCI to subpoena Dr M and Anwar. Kua then claimed the current Najib administration had only acceded to Sabahans' demands for an RCI for political mileage ahead of the 13th general election. "The RCI had been demanded by Sabahans for years… Umno just couldn't evade their demand anymore," he said. "Sabahans have had it up to there. And that is why (Najib) had to accede to their demand for a RCI if he was to try and keep his 'fixed deposit' in Sabah," he added. Implement recommendations Kua cautioned the failure of the RCI to bring this inquiry to a satisfactory conclusion "will forever bring into question the legitimacy of elections in Malaysia". READ MORE HERE

Allah issue: ‘Pakatan stands by Hadi’ Posted: 22 Jan 2013 01:26 PM PST   Anwar Ibrahim is firm that Pakatan Rakyat will allow non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah'. Anisah Shukry, FMT Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said that Pakatan Rakyat was firm in its decision that non-Muslims were allowed to use the word "Allah". "Pakatan Rakyat in the past meeting looked through the statement made by PAS president [Hadi Abdul Awang] carefully and we took the stand that we agreed to give room [for Allah to be used by non-Muslims], but to also remind people to not misuse it," said Anwar. "So we follow what the PAS president says. And if he does not revise that statement, then that is Pakatan's decision." He was referring to a statement by PAS president Hadi Awang after the opposition pact's presidential meeting on Jan 8. Hadi had said that "Allah", which is written in the Quran, is special and cannot be translated properly to other languages. "That's why Muslims of all races refer to God as Allah. So non-Muslims can use the holy word although it may not reflect the original meeting," Hadi had said. But the PAS Syura Council said last week that non-Muslims should prevent the use of the word "Allah" in translations of their religious text. "Translating the word God or Lord from any non-Muslim religious texts to the word Allah cannot be allowed because it is wrong from the aspect of meaning…. therefore, it has to be prevented," PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said in a statement. Commenting on this, Anwar said: "I've read the PAS Syura Council's statement. Its concern is the problem of the term 'Allah' used for other purposes, and that is probably where there is a difference of opinion…" But he said the difference of opinion was small and the issue as a whole had been interpreted differently by various Muslim scholars. READ MORE HERE

Kelantan – Myths and Realities Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:51 AM PST   Is Kelantan a backward state filled with restrictions imposed on its people as commonly believed? The Rocket (Chinese Edition) reporter Alice Tan took a tour to the state and witnessed for herself why Kelantan folks' lives are as described in its namesake, 'Darul Naim' (pleasant abode). Report by Alice Tan. Translated by T.K Tan Some Myths To many people, Kelantan seems mysterious and remote from the rest of Malaysia, both physically and metaphorically. A car journey to Kota Baru (to the locals, simply 'KB') from Kuala Lumpur takes about 8 to 10 hours. As a result of PAS's long rule in Kelantan, many outsiders believed that Kelantan is an Islamic state through and through. BN's scaremongering of Kelantan as a theocratic state has caused many to view its non-Muslim population with pitiful and sympathetic lenses, deprived of their freedom to practice their lifestyles ('no pork, no booze, no music, no fun' goes the quip). No discrimination, please Kelantan's non-Malay population forms about 5 percent of the population, with the Chinese being the biggest group, at 3.6 percent of the population, while Malays form 95 percent of the total state. Kelantan's Chinese are mostly concentrated in and around KB, primarily engaged in commerce and trading activities. Many of the Chinese restaurants here still display Chinese signboards and liquor advertisements prominently on their business façade. Aside from the many Jawi language signboards, KB is no different from any Malaysian towns. As dusk sets in, its eateries -Muslims and non-Muslims- are just as packed and lively as other places. There are many Chinese restaurants, coffee shops and pubs that dot KB, except that they are strictly for non-Muslims. My tour guide, Teoh, explains that Kelantan folks are a harmonious lot. "We are pretty much racial blind; Kelantan people see each other as brothers and sisters. Due to societal factors, many Chinese can speak the Kelantanese dialect fluently. Kelantan folks, Malays or non-Malays, use the Malay and Kelantanese dialect pervasively. In the Malay restaurants, the races often mingle with each other easily." Kelantan folks are a friendly lot too; I often saw them smiling at strangers. The non-Malays are conversant with the local Malay customs; the non-Malays often greet each other in the traditional Malay pleasantries. The Kelantan society truly lives out a one Malaysia spirit. In this opposition-run state, the ethnic groups are treated fairly and have equal standing. It is easy to see why Kelantan folks interact and embrace each other easily. All to one's faith Kelantan has the biggest sitting Buddha statue in the entire South East Asia. To many outsiders, women are perceived to have no status in Islam. In Kelantan however, the womenfolk more than hold up their own. In KB's biggest wet market, the Siti Khadijah wet market, women are the ones running the businesses. Kelantan women are gentle yet capable, as evidenced from their thriving entrepreneurship and ability to take care of their families. Another common misperception about Kelantan is that due to strong Islamisation, there is forced segregation of the sexes in public areas. However, on my observation most people ignore this ruling in their daily lives. In many supermarkets and shops, there are signboards being hung requiring the people to line up according to their gender. There are also queues for families. However, for the other queues the people line up without regards to the regulations. Even the Malays don't have much regard for this regulation. Rich people, poor government Another common myth about Kelantan is because it is governed with a theocratic bend by PAS, it lacks development and as result has a lot of poor people. Hu Pang Chaw, PAS Supporters' Club (DHPP) chairman countered that the people in some of the other states that have oil and gas resources that are under BN's governance are even poorer than Kelantan. According to the official statistics released in 2009, the states with the highest poverty rates are: Sabah, Perlis, Sarawak, and Kedah at third place and Kelantan, fourth place. Terengganu is fifth. "It is the state government who is poor, not its people. Many Malays have land to till; some are even wealthy enough to buy properties with cash." Kelantan Chinese Assembly Hall (KCAH) advisor Lau Chit Fang said that even though Kelantan produces oil, its state government has not received any oil and gas royalty from the federal government. "Even though Petronas's oil rigs are located within 140 km of Kelantan's shore, its oil is transported 300 km to Terengganu. What is their motive for doing so? This is why the state government is launching a movement to demand back the RM 10.4 billion oil and gas royalty due to Kelantan," Lau said. Read more at: http://www.therocket.com.my/en/kelantan-not-what-it-seems/

G5 states to jointly battle for oil royalty? Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:38 AM PST   (fz.com) - The combined electoral weight of the five states - Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak - is enough to make their wishes heeded, Husam argues. The five states have a total 92 parliamentary seats with over 3.5 million voters.  From championing solely Kelantan's bid for oil royalty, PAS leader Datuk Husam Musa plans to expand the crusade to all five oil-rich states to leverage on their collective political clout. Mooting a grouping of five resource-rich states, or G5, Husam aims to get them to present a united stand when negotiating on oil royalty issues with the federal government, he told fz.com in a recent interview.   The combined electoral weight of the five states - Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak - is enough to make their wishes heeded, Husam argues. The five states have a total 92 parliamentary seats with over 3.5 million voters.   "People from these five states must unite if they understand their rights and object to what the federal government practices now," he says.   "They can use their standing during the general election. Certainly, 92 seats is a very large force," said Husam, who is Kelantan's state executive council member. That makes up a substantial 41.4% of the 222 seats in Parliament.   Of the five states, only Kelantan is currently governed by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) while the other four states are ruled by the Barisan Nasional (BN).   Still, the federal opposition hopes that issues like oil royalty payments can help it gain ground in these states.   Husam plans to tour the five states to introduce his G5 concept and to push for higher oil royalty payments of up to 20% of the value of the oil produced in the respective states.   It is unclear how much traction Husam and Pakatan can gain with the demand for 20% in oil royalties since the agreements signed with the national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has set payment at 5% of the value of the oil produced in the states.   Petronas pays the federal government another 5% for production of the liquid gold.   Both Petronas and Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad have warned that increasing the royalty payments could strain Petronas' economic viability and impede future investments.   Scepticism over new territorial law   Using the G5 platform, Husam plans to warn chief ministers and menteris besar of the potential danger of the Territorial Sea Act 2012 which parliament passed last year.   In particular, Section 4 of the Act provides for the sovereignty of the territorial sea, in respect of its bed and subsoil, to be vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.   Husam fears that Section 4 can be invoked by the federal government to lay claim to resources under the sea bed, thus undermining the states' claims to oil and gas resources.   "I have drafted a letter to all the states so that they are aware that this Act will undermine their state's position. I suggest that they reject the new law.   "If you want to alter any boundary, you need to go through the state assembly and Council of Rulers. This Act is not applicable until the state assembly approves it," said Husam, who is Salor assemblyman.   The new legislation was introduced to specify Malaysia's territorial sea limit of 12 nautical miles after the 1969 Proclamation of Emergency was annulled in December 2011.   Previously, the Emergency Ordinance No 7 1969 had set three nautical miles as Malaysia's territorial sea limit.   The federal government has hitherto relied on the Emergency Ordinance to strengthen its argument that Kelantan can lay no claim to the petroleum produced off the state's shore as the resource was found beyond three nautical miles.   But Kelantan disagrees.   "The Emergency Ordinance is purely on the administration of the sea in case of external threats. It has nothing to do with petroleum," Husam said.   Fairness between states   Apart from securing oil royalty payments for Kelantan, Husam's mission is to ensure that Petronas pays oil royalty directly into the states' coffers so that there is more transparency in the way the funds as spent.   There appears to be little uniformity when it comes to oil royalty payments to oil-producing states.   Read more at: http://fz.com/content/g5-states-jointly-battle-oil-royalty

‘GE’ to be held in 81 NS camps Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:25 AM PST   (The Star) - National Service (NS) trainees will hold mock elections in all 81 camps this year, mimicking the general election. Calling it an "election simulation", NS Department director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said the programme would mirror that of university polls. "We're going to use the camps as a platform to show how the political process works," he told a press conference at the Setia Ikhlas NS camp. He added that trainees would be divided into two "political" groups, carry out campaigning and even nominate and vote for their peers. Abdul Hadi said the programme was not designed to create young political leaders but to educate the trainees on Malaysia's election process. "We're worried that youths today forget or aren't aware of the democratic process of how leaders are appointed," he said. Camp supervisors, he added, would be trained by the Election Commission to oversee these polls. Abdul Hadi also said that more youths today were interested in the NS than before. "The perception is changing. People now don't see NS as a burden, but as an opportunity," he said. He added that 2,000 people had applied voluntarily to join the first NS batch this year, of which 867 were approved. In comparison, he said that 4,000 had applied voluntarily in 2012, with more than 500 youths getting in. NS volunteer Himuneswary Subramaniam, 18, said she applied because of her ambition to become a police officer. "I hope that the NS can be a stepping stone and for me to get some experience," she said. Yesterday, Abdul Hadi oversaw the opening ceremony for the first of three NS batches for 2013. This year also marks a decade of operations for the programme. A total of 140,000 trainees are involved in the NS this year.

BR1M to stay for long if people support BN Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:23 AM PST   (Bernama) - The people will continue to benefit from the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) programme if they give their support to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in the 13th general election (GE). Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the aid, introduced last year, had given a huge impact in helping to ease the burden of more than four million households nationwide.   "I believe Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak sees this (BR1M) as something which has to be continued, and I believe when the people see it as something good, their hope would be to have it implemented for a long period of time.   "I do not expect it to be a one off or two off. I expect it to be implemented for as long as BN is given the trust to be the government after the 13th GE," he told reporters after a 1Malaysia people's feast which was attended by about 10,000 people at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Haji Abdul Malik here today.   Also present were Muhyiddin's wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman and Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.    Muhyiddin said the RM500 aid given to the BR1M recipients would possibly be increased if the country's revenue increased in future.   Besides BR1M, he said, other forms of aid, like the early schooling aid, would also be continued because of the huge impact it had given in reducing the people's burden.   "What we are hoping is for the people to evaluate this contribution (by the government) and if they think it is good, we hope they will continue to give their support to the BN government," he added.   Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin said the opposition pact was not capable of continuing with efforts to develop the country as had been done by BN since 55 years ago because there was no consensus among them.   "Until today, PAS and DAP are still at loggerheads, while PKR failed to bring them together at one table to discuss their problems. When there is no consensus, it can weaken the government," he added.   He said BN's success in preserving the country's harmony and peace, developing its economy and providing comfort for the people should be maintained in an effort to make Malaysia a developed nation.   "A strong government, like the BN government is capable of fulfilling its promises," he added.   At the function, Muhyiddin announced an allocation of RM250,000 for upgrading of the surau at SMK Tun Haji Abdul Malik and RM4.5 million to build a hall for the school.

Hamas Paints Malaysian Premier’s Visit as a Stand Against Israel Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:21 AM PST   (The New York Times) - Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia visited the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday on what he called a humanitarian mission but Hamas portrayed as a defiant stand against Israeli restrictions on Gaza. "This is an Islamic declaration for breaking the Israeli siege on Gaza," said Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of Hamas, the Islamic movement, who received the Malaysian premier, his wife and his foreign minister at the Rafah crossing point between Gaza and Egypt. Although the restrictions have been eased recently, most exports from Gaza are still banned. The visit came as Israelis headed to polling stations for parliamentary elections. Mr. Haniya said he considered Mr. Razak's visit "a Palestinian, Arab and Islamic response" to a visit on Tuesday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Mr. Haniya said the Western Wall, known to Muslims as Al Buraq, was "an Arab and Islamic wall," and added, "Jerusalem is Islamic."  Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/world/middleeast/hamas-paints-malaysian-premiers-visit-as-stand-against-israel.html

Priest lodges police report over ‘Bible burning pesta’ notice Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:18 AM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - A Christian priest has lodged a police report after he found a notice purportedly by an Anti-Bahasa Melayu Bible Action Group calling all Muslims to join in a 'Bahasa Melayu Bible burning pesta'. Reverend John Kennady, from St Mark's Church, was shocked to find the notice typed on a plain piece of paper with the title 'Jom Bakaq! Pesta Bakaq Bible Bahasa Melayu' (Let's burn! Bahasa Melayu Bible burning fest) in his post box this morning. He had immediately informed the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) before he lodged a report at the Butterworth police station at about 3pm today. The notice, written in Bahasa Malaysia, invites all Muslims to join the 'Anti-Bahasa Melayu Bible Action Group' in a 'pesta' to burn the Malay version of the Bible 'for the sake of the future generations'. It further proclaimed that the group already has in its hands several Malay versions of the Bible and it urged all Muslims to join in the 'pesta' to burn the Bibles at a field in front of the Ahmad Badawi Hall in Bagan Luar here this Sunday morning. It also stated that the reason they had chosen Sunday was because it is the day that Christians are in churches praying and it ended with a sentence proclaiming 'Let's Teach 'Em A Lesson'. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/priest-lodges-police-report-over-bible-burning-pesta-notice

Pakatan fears PAS puritans putting non-Muslim vote at risk Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:16 AM PST   (The Malaysian Insider) - There is concern among Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) rank-and-file that PAS risks losing the pact's non-Muslim vote in Election 2013 due to the Islamist party's puritanical restrictions for the word "Allah" and its gender-segregation policies in Kedah and Kelantan. Several PR leaders and lawmakers have admitted the controversies are hurting the pact's image ahead of the polls due by June, but hope discreet dialogue will blunt the conservative Islamists' influence in PAS policies. DAP national chairman Karpal Singh asked PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang over the weekend to get the party's top policy-making body ― the Majlis Syura ― to reverse its ruling that the Arabic word "Allah" could not be translated to or from other languages as it is specifically used by Muslims to refer to God. "The recent ruling by the council that the word 'Allah' cannot be used by non-Muslims contradicts the position taken by the leadership of Pakatan component parties," Karpal had said, adding it would affect his fellow Sikhs as the word appears in their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. Pointing out that elections are around the corner, the Bukit Gelugor MP said the PAS-led Kedah government should stop "rocking the boat" by issuing guidelines on dress codes for women as it did recently for Chinese New Year celebrations in the state. The ruling has since been modified for cultural events but caused some ripples among the non-Malays and has become a campaign issue for Barisan Nasional (BN) parties. DAP Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching had slammed PAS over the Kedah Chinese New Year guidelines, saying the policy would sabotage PR's polls preparations by alienating Chinese support. A PAS leader who declined to be named admitted that the party's conservative stance would have an effect on support from the non-Muslim electorate. "There is an impact and we have to mitigate it," he said, adding the conservatives held sway as they controlled the party's top leadership. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pakatan-fears-pas-puritans-putting-non-muslim-vote-at-risk/

MACC says Deepak postpones interview on Bala’s SD2 again Posted: 22 Jan 2013 02:05 AM PST Md Izwan and Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) confirmed today that controversial businessman Deepak Jaikishan had again postponed his interview with the anti-graft body. Last Saturday, the MACC said that Deepak had claimed he was "not in the (right) state of mind" to be questioned over his claims regarding private investigator P. Balasubramaniam's second sworn statement in 2008 over the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuyaa Shaariibuu. Deepak said he did not appear at the MACC's office today. "No, I didn't come. I spoke to them at 4pm. I'm meeting them at 5pm tomorrow," Deepak told The Malaysian Insider in a text message today. When contacted, a MACC official confirmed that Deepak had told them that he would not be coming today. "Yes, Deepak did call to tell SPRM that he cannot make it today," the official wrote in a text message to The Malaysian Insider. Both Deepak and the MACC official did not state why the interview was moved to tomorrow evening. Last Friday, Deepak told The Malaysian Insider that he expects to reveal everything to the MACC after he had recently admitted that he helped to get Balasubramaniam to repudiate his earlier statutory declaration on the matter, including finding two lawyers to draft the new statement. But later that day, Deepak had said that MACC officers had asked him to return at a later unspecified date with documents to back up his allegations. MACC then responded with a statement last Saturday saying that Deepak had asked to have his interview postponed to today. "Deepak was greeted by one MACC officer (yesterday) and he subsequently told the officer that he was supposed to be at the MACC office because he had made an appointment with a reporter. "When asked if he was ready to give his statement, Deepak told the officer that he was 'not in the state of mind' to have his statement recorded and requested that he does so on January 22, 2013, at 5pm," the commission's Deputy Chief Commissioner, Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull, said in a statement. The Bar Council is currently investigating the identity of lawyers and possible misconduct in the drafting of Balasubramaniam's second sworn statement about the murder of Altantuya. A cloud of mystery has hung over the identity of the lawyer who drew up Balasubramaniam's second SD, dated a day after his first on July 3, 2008, regarding Altantuya's 2006 murder, for which two elite police commandos have been convicted and are facing death sentences. Balasubramaniam's lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu had previously said M. Arunampalam's role as the lawyer who had drafted the investigator's second SD had been dispelled by well-connected businessman Deepak, who is also in the centre of the controversy surrounding Balasubramaniam's two SDs. READ MORE HERE

You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net