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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE WAKE UP D.O.E?
Indonesia starts cloud seeding operations
Haze: API in Muar spikes at 746
What is wrong with Islam today?
Haze update: Indonesia names eight companies investigated for burning
Thousands rally in Malaysia for polls reform
One more person arrested for sedition
Anwar: We will continue with rallies
Crowds desert ‘boring speeches’
Husam arrested while heading to Black505 rally
Three Chinese ships in disputed waters: Japan
Black 505 rally may turn violent, warn police
The Chinaman's REAL dilemma
Occupy Padang Merbok move
Police advises people not to be involved in Black 505 rally as organisers want to create chaos
Rafizi will sue City Police Chief for saying rally organisers had ordered protesters to create chaos
Putera Mahkota Baru Dunia Niaga
‘Take action before Anwar destroys nation’
Will today’s 505 rally be the bloodiest?
Pergeseran Wahbi-Syiah dalam PAS

Posted: 22 Jun 2013 12:56 PM PDT

I visit the website twice daily and guess what - more often than not, the 11am API readings is not updated until 3 pm in the afternoon and the 5 pm API readings do not come online until 8 or 9pm or sometimes the next day. Very often the information is not updated until the NEXT DAY!

Totally Fed-Up

Is the government serious about the haze? Just how accurate is the information given at this website owned by the Dept of Enviornment?

http://www.doe.gov.my/apims/?

You really have to wonder if the staff at DOE is serious about getting information out? Do they know that parents use this information to plan their day for their children? People use this information to decide on their outdoor activities. Even the first reading at 7am does not appear on time, what more can I say?

So what is the use of having a website when it's the typical civil service mentality about doing things on time? Don't they know how serious the situation is? Or is it another "tidak apa" attitude?

If the DOE cannot even do a simple thing like updating their own website on API readings, maybe they should sub-contract the work to a private company? And why not, almost all government functions in Malaysia are done by private firms - do you know the private security companies have more people working for them than PDRM? We rely on private security because we have given up on PDRM.

And where is PEMANDU? Should there be a NKRA on API?

Can PMO please wake up DOE? Can G Palanivel please wake up?

Indonesia starts cloud seeding operations

Posted: 22 Jun 2013 12:47 PM PDT

(Asia Report) - Indonesia yesterday began cloud seeding operations and water bombing of raging fires on plantations in Riau, after declaring a state of emergency in the area.

Three helicopters, a Cassa aircraft and an air force Hercules took off from Pekanbaru Airport in Riau at 5pm to begin those operations, said Mr Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's disaster management agency.

"The operations will continue today, until enough rain is successfully induced," he said.

As of 9pm, no rain had been reported in the Dumai and Bengkalis regencies - two of the three areas reporting hot spots.

But the water bombing had apparently helped improve conditions in Singapore.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to take over fire- extinguishing efforts in Riau, the agency's emergency response director Tri Budiarto told The Jakarta Post.

BNPB also said it had deployed two helicopters last Friday to spray water and one aircraft for cloud seeding.

The measures came as Singapore and Malaysia moved to address concerns over haze.

Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan travelled to Jakarta last Friday as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's special envoy to discuss the crisis. Malaysia has said it would send its environment minister to Jakarta on Wednesday.

Earlier yesterday, several Indonesian ministers and officials visited hot spots in Bengkalis, Rokan Hilir and Dumai city.

"Fire in Rokan Hilir regency and Dumai city continued unabated yesterday, with the wind above these areas blowing east, towards Singapore," said Mr Sutopo.

Haze: API in Muar spikes at 746

Posted: 22 Jun 2013 12:40 PM PDT

Muar town at API of 453 on Saturday.

(The Star) - The air pollutant index (API) in Muar has spiked to 746 as of 7.00am, which is more than twice the standard hazardous levels according to the Department of Environment website on Sunday.

Johor Health Department director Dr Mohd Khairi Yakub said that health officials including ambulances were on standby in case of any emergency due to the haze.

"We have no absentees in Muar today and we are ready for any incident including accidents which may occur due to poor visibility on the roads.

"In the meantime, I advise all residents to stay indoors, no excuses," he said when contacted on Sunday.

He added that heading outdoors even with facemasks on was not advisable.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE), any API reading above 301 is considered hazardous.

The last reading as of 4pm on Saturday showed that Muar had an API of 453.

All other areas in Johor also recorded API readings above the unhealthy level.

This includes Kota Tinggi at 137, Pasir Gudang at 127 and Larkin Lama at 117.

What is wrong with Islam today?

Posted: 22 Jun 2013 12:36 PM PDT

"Muslims are the trouble with Islam today," says Manji. "We have allowed tribal culture to colonise the faith of Islam. It's the behaviour of Muslims that defines, in every generation, what Islam is."

(Al Jazeera) - The controversial Canadian author Irshad Manji discusses Islamophobia and the need to reform Islam.

Is there really a problem with Islam today? Critics see Muslim women as downtrodden and sectarian conflict dominates the headlines, but for many Muslims this is a gross misrepresentation.

In this episode of Head to Head at the Oxford Union, Mehdi Hasan challenges controversial Canadian author Irshad Manji, writer of The Trouble with Islam Today and also Allah, Liberty and Love on the need to reform Islam, the notion of Ijtihad, the problem of Islamophobia and what Muslims need to own-up to.

Manji is an author and broadcaster, but also the director of the Moral Courage Project. She strongly believes that Islam needs reform. Mehdi Hasan challenges Irshad, asking where the problem lies, and whether critics sometimes encourage Islamophobia.

"Muslims are the trouble with Islam today," says Manji. "We have allowed tribal culture to colonise the faith of Islam. It's the behaviour of Muslims that defines, in every generation, what Islam is."

And joining the discussion are: Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra who was elected as an assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain in 2008 and who is also the chair of the Inter Faith Relations Committee, and serves as an imam and scholar in Leicester; Halla Diyab, an award-winning Syrian writer, filmmaker, broadcaster and women's rights activist, and the author of controversial TV dramas such as Beautiful Maidens and Your Rightful Disposal; and Myriam Francois-Cerrah, an academic and journalist focusing on Islamic movements and political culture.

Watch the video at: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/2013/06/201361091619207870.html

Haze update: Indonesia names eight companies investigated for burning

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 11:52 PM PDT

Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has identified eight Malaysian-owned companies that are being investigated for burning in Riau and Jambi that led to the haze.

JAKARTA - Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has identified eight of the companies that are being investigated for burning in Riau and Jambi that led to the haze.

The eight companies are:

1. PT Langgam Inti Hiberida

2. PT Bumi Rakksa Sejati

3. PT Tunggal Mitra Plantation

4. PT Udaya Loh Dinawi

5. PT Adei Plantation

6. PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa

7. PT Multi Gambut Industri

8. PT Mustika Agro Lestari

As is the custom in Indonesia with naming those under investigation, he only gave their initials for the media to infer from.

Speaking at a press conference in Pekanbaru on Saturday, Dr Balthasar said all the eight companies are owned by Malaysian investors, and fires were discovered on their concessions.

"If there is enough evidence, we will take them to court," he added. "Our investigators are still on the ground for further investigation."

More companies are expected to be named in the coming days.

Earlier on Saturday, Dr Balthasar told reporters that another 14 companies are also being investigated for burning, but he did not identify them.

Thousands rally in Malaysia for polls reform

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 11:47 PM PDT

About 20,000 Malaysian opposition supporters gathered in the capital Saturday demanding the resignation of the country's Election Commission in the wake of contentious polls.

(AFP) - About 20,000 Malaysian opposition supporters gathered in the capital Saturday demanding the resignation of the country's Election Commission in the wake of contentious polls.

The opposition claims bias by the commission cost them a historic win against Malaysia's 56-year-old ruling coalition and has filed petitions challenging results in some areas, claiming fraud.

The rally in central Kuala Lumpur was the 15th since the May 5 elections, in which the Barisan Nasional clung to power despite losing the popular vote in its worst showing ever.

"We have won the elections," opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told the crowd.

"So we will continue our protests in parliament and outside."

The rallies had raised the spectre of political instability but fears have ebbed as the opposition has tempered its demands after initially refusing to accept the results.

Turnout on Saturday was far lower than what opposition officials had predicted, perhaps in part due to a recent spike in pollution from forest fires in nearby Indonesia that has also blanketed Singapore.

"The momentum is dying down," rally participant Faisal Ooi, 55, told AFP.

The government, led by Prime Minister Najib Razak, has rejected charges of cheating. Ruling party figures accuse Anwar of risking instability out of sour grapes over the election result.

Parliament opens Monday and the opposition has said it will not boycott.

The opposition says voter rolls for May's elections were full of irregularities. Supposedly indelible ink introduced by the Election Commission to prevent multiple voting also easily washed off.

Barisan developed Malaysia's economy over the decades but many analysts say the country is losing its competitive edge. The opposition has blamed corruption and repressive tactics by Barisan, and pledged to free up society and improve governance.

The opposition says the Barisan-constructed electoral system unfairly favours the ruling bloc.

Anwar points to the May 5 polls -- in which the opposition won the popular vote, but Barisan won more seats thanks to the layout of constituencies -- as proof.

One more person arrested for sedition

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 11:23 PM PDT

(Bernama) - One more person has been detained by police today to be investigated for sedition.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Hadi Ho said a former Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) graduate was detained under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 in front of his house in Klang, Selangor.

He said the former UiTM student was detained at 5.30pm in connection with a posting on his blog instigating the people to attack the security forces at the rally organised by the opposition at Padang Merbok here today.

Today, police also detained PAS vice-president Husam Musa to be investigated for sedition.

Anwar: We will continue with rallies

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 11:00 PM PDT

The heavy haze was blamed for the poor turnout as Pakatan Rakyat had originally targeted 300,000 to attend the event.

Anisah Shukry, FMT

Anwar Ibrahim vowed today that Pakatan Rakyat will continue to protest alleged electoral fraud and call for the resignation of the Election Commission officers, even as the turnout for today's Black 505 rally was lower than expected.

Speaking to a crowd of about 20,000 rally-goers at Padang Merbok, the opposition leader blamed the poor attendance on the haze that has smothered the nation the past few days.

"I received many requests from our friends to postpone this rally because of the haze. In Brickfields, Nurul Izzah (Lembah Pantai MP) requested that mothers take their children home.

"Many have made the decision to not join us because of the weather. To those who are here, who understand the meaning of freedom, I salute you," said Anwar, amid cheers and applause from the crowd .

The PKR de facto leader was adamant today that the opposition would continue protesting, amid criticism from Barisan Nasional that support for the Black 505 rallies among the rakyat was waning.

"We have won the elections, we have a clear mandate. If there was no massive rigging and fraud everyone knows that we would have received 60% of the popular vote from Malaysians," said Anwar

"This is why we will continue our protest, outside and inside the parliament, within the country and on the international arena," he said.

Anwar also mocked those who urged him to accept the 13th general election results and allow the government to do its work.

"What work? Cheating the rakyat, increasing petrol prices, enriching their cronies?" asked Anwar.

"Is there change? Is there good governance? Is there an attempt to clean the government of corruption and abuse of power? No. So the rakyat must rise up." he said.

He said if the government was serious about changing itself for the better, it would not be defending Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and his deputy, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.

"Why defend them? Aziz admitted that he failed in handling the indelible ink. He is more stupid than a primary school student.

"Wan Ahmad is a liar, he is arrogant, he insults the rakyat. He should be hauled to court," he said.

But Anwar urged supporters today to protest only through peaceful means.

"Regardless of what action we take, we must ensure we do it peacefully, without provocation and fighting, so that we bring change through peaceful means," he said.

He also thanked the authorities for allowing them to gather in the field peacefully.

Crowds desert ‘boring speeches’

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 10:53 PM PDT

Despite an enthusiastic march to Padang Merbok, hundreds leave Pakatan's rally an hour into the speeches which many described as boring

Lisa J Ariffin, FMT

Despite an enthusiastic kick off to Pakatan Rakyat's Black 505 rally, participants were seen leaving as early as an hour following their convergence at Padang Merbok.

Hundreds of participants were seen walking away from Padang Merbok as early as 3.30pm, with many of them citing "heat, haze and boring speeches" as reasons for leaving.

When approached by FMT, one participant who gave her name as Lee said that she was "tired" and "sick from the weather".

"I'm very tired-lah… We are all very tired. We have been here (at the rally) since this morning, we have made our point. We just want to go home now," she said, when asked why she was leaving so early.

Another participant who gave his name as Murugan mirrored Lee's sentiments and said: "It is time to go home now".

"We have come here and shown our force. It's very hot and the people are tired. We are all going home now," he said.

Friends Syah and Zamri from Kuala Lumpur blamed "hijacking of the rally by opposition leaders" as their reason for leaving.

"This was supposed to be a gathering for the people, but Pakatan have turned it into a political platform to criticise BN (ruling coalition Barisan Nasional). We are not here for that," Syah told FMT.

"Many of us were put off by speeches bashing BN and the SPR (Elections Commission). Their speeches belong to pre-election ceramahs, not at a rally for the rakyat," he added.

When pointed out that the rally was organised by opposition political party PKR and that its agenda included speeches by Pakatan leaders, Zamri said he had hoped the leaders would air the rakyat's grievances instead of pursuing their own political agenda.

"For instance, they should have spoken to us or nominated a member of the public to convey what the people want, instead of constantly bashing BN and SPR," he said.

"Moreover, most of them only criticised their rivals but did not come up with solutions to solve the problems faced by majority of the people. I think this is not right," he added.

However, both Syah and Zamri said they would not refrain from attending political rallies in future, but hoped Pakatan would speak out for the rakyat instead of themselves.

"They were only speaking of their own problems faced in their constituencies, and how dirty the election was… We want real change, and real change has to start by solving the people's problems."

Husam arrested while heading to Black505 rally

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 05:51 PM PDT

Chua Sue-Ann, fz.com

PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa has been arrested by police while he was making his way to Padang Merbok to attend the Black505 rally.

In a text message to fz.com, Husam confirmed that he is currently held at the Ampang police station.

"The police gave the excuse that the Kelantan police gave instruction to arrest me.

"But I think the real reason is to stop me from going to Padang Merbok," Husam said.

According to Husam, he had given a ceramah in Kelantan two days ago but there was no moves by the police there to approach him or arrest him.

Husam had contested the Putrajaya parliamentary seat in the May 5 polls but lost to Umno strongman and incumbent Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. Husam, however, managed to successfully defend the Salor state seat in Kelantan. The opposition politician is also the frontman for pressure group Royalti, which is pushing for more oil royalty payments to Kelantan and other oil producing states.

At today's rally, a group of Royalti activists were marching alongside other rally participants.

Three Chinese ships in disputed waters: Japan

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 03:42 PM PDT

(AFP) - Three Chinese government ships sailed into waters around disputed islands controlled by Tokyo on Saturday, the Japanese coastguard said.

The maritime surveillance vessels entered the 12-nautical-mile zone off Uotsurijima, one of the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea shortly after 9.30am (8.30am Singapore time), the coastguard added.

Ships from the two countries have been involved in a stand-off as Beijing and Tokyo jostle over ownership of the strategically important and resource-rich islands.

A territorial row that dates back four decades reignited last September when Tokyo nationalised three islands in the chain, in what it said was a mere administrative change of ownership.

Black 505 rally may turn violent, warn police

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 03:12 PM PDT

TMI) - Police have warned people to stay away from the Black 505 rally tomorrow, saying it could turn violent. They claimed that the rally organisers are planning to ignite clashes with the authorities.

In an immediate response to this claim, PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli expressed shock, as he is one of the main organisers of the event. He strongly denied these allegations, which he said were seditious.

City police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said police have received intelligence that the organisers of the rally have ordered protestors to "provoke" the police and cause chaos at all seven meeting points and at the main gathering place, Padang Merbok.

"The organisers want to see clashes between the police and the protestors," Mohmad said in a statement sent to the media.

Police claimed the rally organisers are expected to create chaos in the city to make waves on social media when the police quell the riots, presenting the cops as the bad guy.

The police chief insisted that tomorrow's event is an illegal gathering as it would breach the Peaceful Assembly Act.

The warning about violence came a day after the Federal Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Salleh Mat Rashid had said that police will seek the help of the army, if necessary, for crowd control.

Mohmad's statement raised eyebrows as earlier today, PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli, appeared optimistic that police will ensure that the rally proceeds smoothly.

Rafizi had said that the organisers had been unofficially informed by Dang Wangi police that they will assist, as long as there was no damage caused by the protestors to public property.

"We received this assurance from ASP Ananthan Rajoo from the Dang Wangi district police headquarters, who said that he received instructions from the top to 'help'," Rafizi said in a statement.

"We remain positive that we will get all the help we need," he said.

READ MORE HERE

The Chinaman's REAL dilemma

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 03:03 PM PDT

KTemoc Konsiders

RPK has published a letter in his Malaysia-Today titled The Chinaman's burden, which came up with lovely neat motherhood statements on what DAP as a political party should do in the light of virtually continuous anti-Chinese diatribes coming from UMNO sources, even down to childish nonsense that romanization of Bahasa Melayu was done as a favour for the 'ungrateful' Chinese but an accusation which failed to mention the much earlier death of Jawi-script Malay newspapers.

Be that as it has been from a former judge who has lost his moral direction, we know that there'll be further 'incoming' for the Chinese - 'incoming' being an American military word for enemy artillery barrage which for the Chinese Malaysians would be UMNO sources and their politicized anti-Chinese rants.

Let me tell you what has been and is the real Chinaman's dilemma. But to do so, I need to step back a few decades in time, at least briefly.

Because Chinese like Jews all over the world have had pogroms against them from time to time, they (the Chinese, not the Jews) prefer to lie low amidst the political landscape of wherever they sought domicile.

This political evasiveness or if you prefer, political abstention manifested in the notorious all-day-all-night long mahjung games on Malaysian election days wakakaka, is quite the opposite of what Indians do.

My Unc who studied in UK for many years told me at one time, around the 70's, there was strong anti Indian feelings among Britons just as there was recently in Melbourne, Australia, but relatively nothing much against the Chinese, both in Britain during the 70's and Melbourne, Australia at the time of the anti-Indian outbreaks.

Maybe it's because Indians have been and are very politically conscious and active (could this be linked to the domination of Indians in the field of law?) that they brought themselves to public prominence which gained for them the full attention and force of local bigotry?

Incidentally, pogrom is a word of Yiddish-Russian origin, testifying to the regular and frequent persecution of the Jews in Europe (particularly in Russia, Poland, Germany, etc) that such a word worked itself into the English vocabulary.

Similarly, the overseas Chinese, also a race frequently bashed around by the majority ethnic groups in various countries, have such a tragic word to describe the regular anti-Chinese pogroms. That word is p'ai-hua meaning 'The Driven Out'.

Oh, now that we have mentioned p'ai hua, someone who was once in UMNO, wakakaka, was very vocal in telling his Heartland crowd that the Chinese should balik Tiong Sun (China).

Okay ... back on track, Chinese Malaysians had been lying (politically) low for decades because of two factors: firstly, as mentioned they didn't want to bring the attention of the mainly Malay local authorities to themselves, and secondly, I believe there could be an atavistic belief among at least the older Chinese Malaysians that Malaya-Malaysia was/is not their land, a subconscious impression enforced through regular drilling into their barb-wire haired head by UMNO that they were/are pendatangs (despite sacrifices of Chinese soldiers and policemen), so why would/should they bother to participate in local politics. Aha, the allure of mahjung becomes more pronounced, wakakaka.

Politically, they quietly worked out a voting strategy of sending federal opposition parties like the Socialist Front and (from 1969 onwards) DAP and its late 60's to early 70's allies (PPP, Gerakan) to federal parliament to 'make mucho noise' for Chinese interests while voting Perikatan-BN into the state Assemblies to ensure continued federal-founded developments for their state.

The strategy had been employed for years except in the 1969 general elections but ceased since 2008.

Prior to 2008, when push comes to shove, they preferred a BN-UMNO government, hence 1999 and 2004 saw Chinese tsunamis for (not against) BN-UMNO.

I have to say that someone saved by these Chinamen in 1999 has been terribly ungrateful, while having the brazen thick-skinned face to condemn the Chinese today. It's the same volte-face treachery practised against the Malay rulers, who were slapped in their royal face in 1991 but Godzilla-ishly ampu today by the same group of treacherous traitors.

Anyway, I believe two principal reasons convince the Chinese Malaysians today to cease the strategy of 'making noise in the East while behaving with decorum in the West'.

READ MORE HERE

Occupy Padang Merbok move

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 02:57 PM PDT

The occupy activity is done to pressure the members of the Election Commission to resign.

K Pragalath, FMT

Activists from a coalition of NGOs called Suara Rakyat 505 are making efforts to occupy Padang Merbok and the compound of Parliament once the Black 505 rally ends later today.

A poster posted on social activist Haris Ibrahim's Facebook page stated that the members of the public are invited to join the protest by camping in front of the Parliament House. Some participants have already set up their tents at Padang Merbok.

Supporters are encouraged to bring or rent a tent for RM25.

"We will not give up until the Election Commission gives up (their positions). On June 24 (Monday), in the run up to the swearing in ceremony we will show the world that the election and democracy was stolen from the people. The people will not allow this," said a group called Suara Rakyat 505 in the poster.

Suara Rakyat 505 is a coalition of 50 plus NGOs that are championing democracy and clean elections in Malaysia.

The coalition of NGOs also accused that the Election Commission is also conducting its redelineation exercise to ensure BN continues to win elections with less than 16% of votes.

Police advises people not to be involved in Black 505 rally as organisers want to create chaos

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 02:41 PM PDT

(Bernama) - Police today advised members of the public not to be involved in the rally tomorrow following information that claims the organisers deliberately want to see clashes between the authorities and the rally participants.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said based on the tip-off, the organisers had told all protesters to create provocation against the authorities tasked to control the crowd at Padang Merbok, here and seven other locations in the city.

"The provocation is intended to create police anger at the demonstrators and thus create chaos at these places," he said in a statement here today.

He said that according to the tip-off, the organisers were also expected to spark chaos in Kuala Lumpur, in order to show to the world the 'violence' caused by authorities.

Mohmad also stressed that the rally was against the law because it was in conflict with the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

He said the police would not hesitate to take stern action against any person who willfully violated the act and any other law enshrined in the constitution.

Rafizi will sue City Police Chief for saying rally organisers had ordered protesters to create chaos

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 02:37 PM PDT

ABN NEWS) - PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli will be suing the City Police chief Datuk Mohamad Salleh for saying that the organisers of tomorrow's Black 505 rally have ordered protesters to provoke the police and cause chaos.

Mohamad Salleh had said police have received intelligence reports that the organisers of the rally have ordered protestors to "provoke" the police and cause chaos at all seven meeting points and at the main gathering place, Padang Merbok.

Rafizi said he was shocked by the statement and said the allegations were not true and had smeared his image as the rally organiser.

"I have instructed my lawyer to take legal action against Mohamad Salleh," he said in a statement.

He said he had a good working relationship with the police chief of Dang Wangi ACP Zainuddin Ahmad.

Putera Mahkota Baru Dunia Niaga

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 02:31 PM PDT

Eswaran: Daripada pekerja kepada tauke

A Kadir Jasin

TIDAK sampai dua bulan selepas Barisan Nasional menang tipis dalam Pilihan Raya Umum 5 Mei, seorang lagi putera mahkota sektor korporat dinobatkan.

Bukan alang kepalang nobatnya. Pada 1 Jun dia dijadikan Tan Sri dan pada 8 Jun dia muncul sebagai taikun baru dunia penyiaran Malaysia.

Mohd Najib dan Eswaran di majlis pelancaran ABNxcess

Dia tidak akan menjadi Tan Sri tanpa persetujuan Perdana Menteri, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, yang pada 8 Jun melancarkan saluran televisyen kabel digital bernama ABNxcess dengan mengisytiharkan yang ia akan membantu menyempitkan jurang digital antara masyarakat Malaysia.

Dengan lesen yang diberikan oleh Suruhanjaya Multimedia dan Telekomunikasi itu, ABNxcess berpotensi melancarkan sehingga 500 saluran TV kabel digital – mengatasi berkali-kali ganda apa yang kini ditawarkan oleh Astro milik T. Ananda Krishnan dan HyppTv milik Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM).

Daripada Pemandu Kepada Tuan

Orang istimewa itu adalah K.K. Eswaran yang sehingga baru-baru ini lebih dikenali umum oleh kalangan korporat dan politik sebagai Kenneth Eswaran.

Tidak banyak orang di luar dunia korporat dan politik kenal Eswaran. Tetapi sesiapa saja yang mengenali isi rumah Mohd Najib dari dekat pasti tidak akan terlepas pandang siapa Eswaran. Keakrabannya dengan Mohd Najib dan isterinya, Rosmah Mansor adalah luar biasa dan bukan rahsia lagi.

Dalam masa yang singkat dia naik dalam dunia perniagaan dan dipilih menjadi Presiden Dewan Perniagaan dan Perindustrian India Malaysia. Dia adalah antara pelopor pekan "Little India" di Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

Sesiapa saja yang kenal dan menyaksikan transformasi Eswaran sejak pembunuhan kejam majikannya, Francis Clement D'cruz di Johor Baru pada tahun 2003, tentu takjub dan teruja.

Apa yang dia lakukan selepas pembunuhan bosnya bolehlah ditakrifkan sebagai "memangku" aset korporat dan peribadi yang ditinggalkan oleh mendiang D'Cruz.

Seorang peniaga dari India, yang berupa rakan kongsi D'cruz, disyaki melakukan pembunuhan itu dan tidak pernah ditangkap.

Tetapi Eswaran tidak muncul dalam radar perniagaan dan politik Malaysia sehinggalah dia menjadi sangat akrab dan sering menjadi tetamu isi rumah Mohd Najib dan Rosmah.

(Saya membilang beliau sebagai antara penyokong Mohd Najib yang hadir di rumahnya di Pekan pada hari penamaan calon PRU 2008).

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 02:17 PM PDT

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is leading the country to chaos and the security forces should act before it is too late, says a Malay NGO.

Athi Shankar, FMT

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's post-election politicking has reached a dangerous level threatening to disrupt racial harmony and public order and the security forces should take action, a Malay NGO here said today.

Penang Malay Congress (PMC) president Rahmad Isahak urged the country's security forces to stop Anwar from ruining the peace before it was too late.

He accused Anwar of being less concerned about national unity and nation-building, but rather being too obsessed and single-minded in grabbing federal power at all cost.

He added that Anwar was now stirring up public sentiments through 505 rallies merely to achieve his selfish political goal.

"The authorities should stop him before it's too late," Rahmad said in a statement.

He said the people should know by now that no matter how many 505 rallies were conducted, the results of the 13th general election would not be changed nor the polls held again.

He said the people should reject any attempts to overthrow a democratically-elected government by creating chaos and violence.

He stressed that there were no reasons for the Election Commission (EC) officers to resign as called on by Anwar.

He questioned why Pakatan election petitions were not furnished with solid evidence of electoral frauds that Anwar and Pakatan leaders had claimed in 505 rallies.

If it was true that a sure Pakatan victory was denied by EC through illegal means, he questioned on why Pakatan MPs decided not to boycott the swearing-in of Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

He also asked on why Pakatan so hurriedly formed their state governments in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan if the election was tainted with irregularities as claimed.

Will today’s 505 rally be the bloodiest?

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 02:01 PM PDT

FMT LETTER: From Stephen Ng, via e-mail

Judging from the trend and the way things have been going these past two weeks, it appears to me that the Blackout 505 rally will be one of the biggest in the country since Bersih 3.0 on July 28, 2012.

This also may be one of the bloodiest if things go the way I predict it. Now that the general election is over, a few lives may be sacrificed on the ground, with the objective of quashing the voices of dissent and to create fear so that future rallies will not grow even bigger in numbers.

It may take the form of an amok, or something of that nature. During the acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim, they have already experimented with home-made bombs which until today, investigation has never revealed who were the culprits behind the blast.

The blame game would begin. It would of course be pointing towards the Opposition, as this rally is seen as a PKR-led protest, involving not only Pakatan supporters but also those who had gone for Bersih events in the past.

A repeat of Operation Lallang may then happen, to cripple Pakatan Rakyat, as Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak tries to solidify his position within Umno Baru. Either way, it is not going to strengthen him in his position.

Zahid Ahmad Hamidi, as the new Home Minister, has not realised that he is being used as a pawn. Najib has moved his cousin, Hishamuddin Hussein to a new ministry, until such time when he has fully used Zahid to quash the Opposition. To further strengthen his position, Najib would place his cousin back into the powerful position as his Home Minister.

The new Inspector-General of Police, with his new zeal, would not hesitate to use whatever means to do his job, but if he chooses this path, he will walk down into history as someone considered most unpopular as a man in the blue. I hope the IGP would be a lot wiser than this – not to be used by politicians in their quest for more power.

In Malaysia, it is now a war between the people and the elite few. You will either remain neutral or you will be quashed at the end of the day, when the people gain the upper hand. This is something I believe former IGP, Musa Hassan has seen.

The Government, under Umno Baru and Barisan Nasional, has never learnt to be wiser in the way it deals with the rakyat. To go to war with the rakyat will mark the end of a quickly collapsing regime. The more you lash out at the people especially in a harsh manner like what Ahmad Zahidi had done in the past one month, the worse things will get.

If Blackout 505 turns out to be a bloody event by any means, and even if one life is being sacrificed before the end of the day, I dare not imagine how another Bersih 4.0 event would turn out.

Mahathir the cause of Umno's weak position

The rakyat's disappointments with the Mahathir's regime have reached an all-time high during the late 1990s, but now, it has reached an even higher temperature. If Dr Mahathir Mohamad had not stepped down, the rakyat – especially the Malays at that point in time – would have given the senile old man the biggest blow by kicking him out of the government. In short, he would have tasted what he did to Tunku Abdul Rahman in the early seventies.

The 1999 general election results have clearly shown that Umno Baru was in fact at the lowest point of its history, and if not for MCA, Gerakan and MIC's help, Barisan Nasional would have been wiped off during the tenth general election.

Now, the two biggest ingrates, Mahathir and Utusan Malaysia are again asking, "Apa Cina mau lagi?" This is exactly the reason why the Chinese have opted to vote for PAS than for MCA or Gerakan in GE13, because a vote for MCA or Gerakan would have been a vote for Umno and a regime that has outlived its hospitality as the ruling political party in this country.

The biggest mistake that former premier, Abdullah Badawi and now, Najib, have made is by keeping quiet over the voices of extremism within Umno. Abdullah Badawi with the Ahmad Ismail's 'pendatang' remarks, and now, Najib with Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Noordi and Mohd Noor Yaakob.

This is why, despite being given a bigger mandate to rule the country, Barisan Nasional under Abdullah Badawi had failed to maintain its2004 mandate in a subsequent general election in 2008. Najib is no better, with a worse result in the recent general election. Instead of capturing back Selangor, Umno has lost another two state seats, and in total Barisan Nasional had lost seven parliament seats to Pakatan Rakyat in 2013.

If not for the gerrymandering and the malapportionment of the constituencies, BN would have to pack its bag and vacate Putrajaya for a new government to take over under the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim.

The solution

With the evidences and the number of police reports lodged against the Election Commission's duo, Abdul Aziz and Wan Omar, it appears to me that Blackout 505 will continue on. If today's rally becomes a bloody event, there will be more of such rallies called, and each time it is called, it will be even bigger and more ad hoc.

No one will believe that Anwar would harm his own supporters, but all fingers will be pointed towards the Barisan Nasional Government without a doubt no matter how you argue until the cow comes home. Losing one supporter for Anwar means losing one precious vote, and not only one vote, but the votes of people around him; therefore, Anwar has no reason to create any harm to the rally goers. The people know that Anwar would not be that stupid as to see even a single person being killed, as it would then mar his Blackout 505.

The indelible ink is one of the biggest lies that no one can dispute today, not to mention that EC's Abdul Aziz claiming that the Ministry of Health had instructed the EC not to use anything more than one percent silver nitrate. This has made Abdul Aziz himself, and probably the entire EC council, to be guilty of criminal breach of trust since some RM6 million of people's fund has been used to purchase an ink that can be easily removed.

Both the chief and his deputy have not been able to deny the fact that the ink was in fact a way to hoodwink the nation, and it was, in many people's opinion, done to deceive the people, while opening a door for double voting to take place undetected.

How is it that Barisan Nasional can continue to rule the country when it no longer enjoys the mandate of the people? Not dismissing the possibility of a 'hop over', what BN has become today, is nothing but a minority government as the May 5 polling results show.

The solution to Blackout 505 rally today is for the EC duo to immediately step down at the 11th hour, or for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to step in and sack the duo and the entire council members at the 11th hour to prevent a major showdown by the rakyat today.

The sacking of the duo should also immediately be followed by an urgent meeting to discuss the revamp of the new Election Commission.This would leave Blackout 505 with no reason for the rally, but I doubt that BN leaders have the guts to call the shot, not forgetting that the entire polling system has been designed to keep BN in power for so long. This is the first time that the rakyat has seen, that with even 47 percent popularity vote, it is possible for Umno and BN to retain power in Putrajaya.

In fact, based on a chart drawn up by a Mr CN Ng, BN can and will always still remain in Putrajaya by a simple majority (or 112 seats),even with a 19 percent popularity vote. The figure is obtained from a chart that showed the number of constituents in every parliamentary seat across the nation. The rural seats are eventually what it takes for BN to remain in power.

READ MORE HERE

Pergeseran Wahbi-Syiah dalam PAS

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 01:55 PM PDT

Pergeseran yang sedang berlaku dewasa ini bolehlah disifatkan seperti bibit-bibit perpecahan kerana kalau tidak dibendung segera maka ianya berpotensi untuk mencetuskan api permusuhan.

Zainal Abidin Nor, FMT

Silap hari bulan, pergeseran di antara ahli-ahli PAS yang menyokong fahaman Wahbi dan ahli-ahli PAS yang pro-Syiah, boleh mencetuskan konflik dalam PAS, na'uzubillah min zalik.

Mungkin para pembaca akan bertanya kenapa penulis tidak menggunakan tajuk "Pergeseran Sunni-Syiah dalam PAS". Penulis sengaja memilih tajuk ini kerana perkataan Wahbi lebih tepat digunakan kerana Wahbi menganggap para pengikut Syiah sebagai "musuh" sedangkan umat Islam secara keseluruhan atau lebih tepat umat Islam bermazhab Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah tidak bersikap sedemikian.

Pergeseran yang sedang berlaku dewasa ini bolehlah disifatkan seperti bibit-bibit permusuhan yang muncul di peringkat awal kerana kalau tidak dibendung segera maka ianya berpotensi untuk mencetuskan api permusuhan.

Pucuk pimpinan PAS perlu melihat perkara ini dari sudut yang neutral, tidak memihak dan berfungsi sebagai timbangtara (arbitrator) atau penasihat dalam menangani isu ini, sebaik-baiknya sebelum berlangsungnya Muktamar Tahunan PAS kali ke 59 di Kuala Lumpur pada November depan.

Kita khuatir jika ada pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab yang akan memainkan isu ini untuk melaga-lagakan dua kumpulan 'kecil' ini dalam PAS bagi kepentingan politik mereka dalam parti.

Timbulnya perbalahan di antara golongan Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (waktu itu belum ada golongan Wahbi) dengan Syiah atau dikenali sebagai pengikut Ahlul Bait (pendokong dan pencinta keluarga Rasulullah SAW) sebenarnya dapat dikesan sejak zaman baginda masih hidup lagi.

Namun perpecahan umat Islam menjadi lebih ketara selepas baginda wafat dan berlakunya pemilihan pengganti Rasulullah SAW di Saqifah Bani Saidah, Madinah di mana umat Islam pada ketika itu terdiri daripada golongan Ansar (Aus dan Kazraj) berkumpul dan kemudian disertai oleh golongan Muhajirin.

Satu golongan dari umat Islam berpendapat jawatan khalifah perlu dilantik oleh umat Islam sendiri manakala sebahagian kecil yang lain menganggap jawatan khalifah telah ditetapkan dan dipilih oleh Allah.

Maka terbentuklah dua golongan umat Islam; yang satu memilih Saidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq sebagai khalifah yang pertama dan satu golongan lagi para pengikut Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib yang menganggap beliau adalah pengganti Rasullah SAW yang ditunjuk oleh baginda sendiri.

Golongan yang menyokong Abu Bakar disebut sebagai Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah dan golongan yang lebih kecil bilangannya disebut Syiah. Namun begitu, perkataan Ahli Sunnah atau Sunni itu diwartakan semasa pemerintahan Muawiyah bin Abi Suffian.

Fahaman Wahbi ini muncul kemudian yang diasaskan Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab yang membawa reformasi dalam Islam di Arab Saudi pada abad ke 19 dan berkembang dengan pesat di negara yang kaya minyak itu.

Beliau menggali ilmunya daripada Ibnu Taimiyyah (meninggal tahun 728 Hijrah) dan Ibnu Qayyum Al Jauzi (meninggal tahun 751H) hingga kepada Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (meninggal tahun 241H), salah satu pendiri mazhab yang empat. Para pengikut Wahbi juga disebut sebagai golongan Salafi.

Bermusuhan

Berbalik kepada pergeseran di antara dua golongan, Wahbi dan Syiah dalam PAS, perselisihan mereka ini sebenarnya memang wujud dan kita khuatir ianya berkembang hingga boleh menyebabkan ahli-ahli PAS bermusuhan sesama sendiri.

Kewujudan puak Syiah dalam PAS yang lebih kecil bilangannya berbanding Wahbi, telah menimbulkan kerisauan bukan sahaja di kalangan ahli-ahli akar umbi tetapi termasuk juga beberapa pemimpin PAS.

Seorang ustaz yang bertugas sebagai pensyarah di universiti tempatan yang berasal dari Kedah memberitahu, pengikut Syiah dalam PAS di Kedah semakin bertambah dan suasana ini amat membimbangkan.

Menurut sumber, beberapa pemimpin PAS di Kedah cuba menyekat perkembangan ajaran Syiah dari merebak dengan lebih luas dan pelbagai usaha telah dijalankan untuk menghalang dan menyekat perkembangannya.

Masalah yang mendepani PAS ketika ini, jika kita menganggapnya sebagai satu masalah, ialah beberapa pemimpin PAS juga tertarik dengan fahaman Syiah yang dianggap lebih tepat dan pragmatik untuk dianuti.

Kalau pengikut Ahli Sunnah menganggap mazhab yang mereka anuti adalah mazhab Islam yang sebenar maka orang-orang Syiah juga menganggap mazhab mereka adalah mengikut Islam yang sebenar.

Kalau Ahli Sunnah mempunyai bukti dan dalil yang kukuh berhubung pegangan aqidah mereka maka pengikut Syiah juga mempunyai bukti dan dalil yang kukuh untuk mempertahankan aqidah mereka.

Usaha untuk menyekat pengaruh Syiah dari terus berkembang adalah satu usaha yang sia-sia kerana Syiah juga merupakan sekte dalam masyarakat Islam walaupun tidak dikira termasuk dalam golongan Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah.

Bagaimana untuk menyekat perkembaangan Syiah kerana terdapat lebih 200 juta umat Islam yang berfahaman Syiah di peringkat global walaupun mereka masih merupakan golongan minoriti berbanding Ahli Sunnah di kebanyakan negara Islam.

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Sabtu, 22 Jun 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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