Kisah Cina Haram Tak Sedar Diri Posted: 20 Jun 2013 01:06 PM PDT
Dalam sebuah majlis, seorang usahawan berbangsa Cina yang juga bergelar Tan Sri sedang ditemuramah oleh seorang wartawan. Duduk berdekatannya adalah 2 orang jurutera, anak beranak berketurunan India yang bekerja dengan syarikat Tan Sri tersebut. Berikut adalah perbualan mereka, Tan Sri: Kerajaan perlu bertindak adil dalam pengagihan kek ekonomi negara. Ti dak boleh ada diskriminasi terhadap kaum bukan Melayu. Kontrak antara orang Melayu dan bukan Melayu mesti diberikan sama rata demi keadilan. Lagipun bangsa kami banyak menyumbang kepada kemajuan negara walaupun kami digelar sebagai kaum pendatang. Setelah bersusah payah semenjak sebelum merdeka, maka wajarkah kami dinafikan hak sebagai warganegara. Orang Melayu perlu lebih berkompromi dengan kaum lain untuk maju. Liberalisasi perlu dilaksanakan dengan meluas dalam semua sektor demi mencapai kesamarataan antara kaum.
Wartawan: Tan Sri, boleh saya tahu sudah berapa lama 2 orang jurutera ini bekerja dengan Tan Sri?
Tan Sri: Oh...sudah lama. Praba ni dah bekerja dengan saya hampir 30 tahun sejak syarikat ni ditubuhkan lagi. Malah anaknya pun sekarang bekerja dengan saya lebih 10 tahun. Mereka ini adalah pekerja saya yang paling berdedikasi dan banyak menyumbang kepada kemajuan syarikat.
Wartawan: Kalau begitu, apa kata Tan Sri berikan sebahagian saham syarikat ni kepada mereka berdua. Lagipun mereka sudah lama bekerja dengan Tan Sri, malah banyak menyumbang kepada syarikat sepertimana kata Tan Sri tadi.
Tan Sri: Eh..mana boleh! Ini syarikat saya. Lagipun saya dah bayar gaji yang mahal kepada mereka berdua dan saya tak pernah halang pun jika mereka nak kumpul harta. Mana boleh senang-senang saya nak bagi saham syarikat saya pada mereka.
Wartawan: Macam tu jugalah perasaan Melayu. Tanah ini asalnya milik orang Melayu. Milik raja-raja Melayu. Lepas tu orang bukan Melayu macam Tan Sri pulak nak mintak hak sama rata dengan alasan kerana telah banyak menyumbang. Tan Sri rasa wajar atau tidak permintaan tu?
Tan Sri: ............ ......... ......... ......... ........ (malu oooo...cakap x serupa bikin...modo punya olang...) |
Face to Face: Ambiga plans to step down after people's tribunal Posted: 20 Jun 2013 12:46 PM PDT
(fz.com) - Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan plans to step down from her position in the NGO coalition when Bersih has successfully conducted the People's Tribunal on the results of the 13th general election. Speaking to fz.com during an exclusive interview on Face to Face, Ambiga, whose name is synonymous with Bersih, said that the whole team will step down after the tribunal is over. "I think our whole team is going step down after the People's Tribunal, I've been saying this… We believe in rejuvenation, we believe we shouldn't hold on to leadership. We believe the younger generation and the new people should be given a chance to come in and take over," she added. Ambiga sees many promising candidates that can helm Bersih. "And you will be surprised at how many will become synonymous with Bersih, because it's a people's movement." Although she will remain with Bersih, Ambiga doesn't see herself as one of the leaders. "It has never been about me... You will only know that a person is capable of leadership when you give them a chance." Read more at: http://www.fz.com/video/face-face-ambiga-plans-step-down-after-peoples-tribunal#ixzz2WosHTjJI |
Is Islam a More Radical Religion? An Inside View Posted: 20 Jun 2013 12:34 PM PDT
Would you consider Rick Santorum radical enough? OK. Now, what if he had the exact same beliefs but he was a Muslim? Then, he would be a moderate. How do you define radical, when it comes to an Islamic context? Do you define a radical Muslim the same way you define a radical Jew or a radical Christian? Kaveh Mousavi "Kaveh Mousavi" is the pseudonym of an Iranian atheist. He is a student of English Literature, a part-time English teacher, an aspiring author and an avid video gamer. He still lives inside Iran and therefore would like to keep his identity a secret. What follows is a necessary examination of Islam's place in the gamut of radical religions from a unique perspective. Enjoy. If you'd like to leave a comment for Kaveh personally, please send it to me and I will certainly pass it along. - Kyle Van Son kyle@theproudatheist.com Is Islam a More Radical Religion? An Inside View When it comes to Islam, there is a controversy among the atheists regarding how they should deal with it. There are those like Sam Harris and Bill Maher who say not all religions are the same, and some are worse than the others, and then there are those who say that it is wrong to single out Islam as all religions are equally bad. There are those who even accuse people like Maher and Harris of racism. Now, in this controversy former Muslims rarely speak up. The dialogue is usually between Muslims – or their defenders – and people who have been born and raised in a different culture. That is understandable to some degree, because being a former Muslim somehow doesn't improve your resume when you live under a theocracy. But I believe someone with a more intimate knowledge of the religion should weigh in. I believe I have the right to do so. I am familiar with the faith more than other people, because once I planned to be a "perfect Muslim", and I studied the religion in depth. I was not pleased with the result and ended up an atheist instead. I am an Iranian living inside Iran. I have been the victim of a theoretical totalitarian regime which bases its laws on Shiite sharia law. I have seen Islam from every angle – from the inside as the firm believer, and from the outside as the non-believer. So this is the question: is Islam more radical than other religions? Is it particularly violent? Read more at: http://blog.theproudatheist.com/is-islam-a-more-radical-religion-an-inside-view-by-kaveh-mousavi/ |
Love as a Pedagogy and Malaysia’s Philosophy of Education Posted: 20 Jun 2013 12:25 PM PDT
There is no point imposing ethical and moral policies in economic sectors and community living for adult Malaysians, when we have not been trained that we have the capacity to love beyond our family and our lovers since young. Anas Alam Faizli Love. What a loaded word. As simple as what its literal meaning suggests, and as complicated as its many kinds of connotations and expressions. Every soul must have been affected by love, whether we are prepared to comprehend it or not. Some of us might seek to analyse it, while some prefer to simply immerse in its ambiguity. But, "at the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet", so says Plato.
Thus, the subject of love could not have escaped philosophical scrutiny of the Classical Greek époque. Plato's breakthrough work Symposium, characterized love as a series of elevations; love firstly takes form of the animalistic desire (eros), progresses to an intellectual experience (philia), and lastly to be overtaken by a theological vision of love (agape). Religion too provides resources to help conceptualize love, more holistic than those offered by philosophy and science (psychology or chemistry) given that they are either revealed or had stood the historical test of time. Christian teachings propagate love as emanation from god, manifested by the sacrifice of Christ to free his people of sins and reciprocated by Christians through acts of faith and devotion. Meanwhile, Buddhism was founded on love itself, of Buddha for mankind from destruction and self-inflicted impediments to freedom. The Quran, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., the call to da'wah and centuries of exemplary way of life that preceded Islamic revelation provide Muslims with guidance and clues of how wide-encompassing the scope of love may be; that love for god, oneself, and one another underpin Islamic teachings and way of life. Thus, the premises for interpreting love cannot only be limited to the carnal connotations of the lower self that is often associated with it.
Since Friedrich Schiller's Aesthetic Education of Man in 1794, Maria Montessori's Il Metodo della Pedagogia Scientifica in 1909, Ivan Illich's Deschooling Society in 1971 and a host of other defining works in the field of education, mankind and its civilizations have been in search of the best pedagogy applicable to the formal schooling system. But the answer that we have been looking high and low for could be something simple and right in front of our eyes.
The Role of The National Philosophy of Education
Empirical evidence has shown that the lack of a definitive national philosophy of education has been a disadvantage to a nation's education and development. Proclaimed by the education world as the best education system, the Finnish education is developed around the philosophy of inclusion. There is no such thing as streaming. Children are individually supported to complete basic education and better-performing children are expected to help their slower peers.
Meanwhile, Japan sees very low dropout rates, because focus on morality and discipline as national education philosophy propagates that staying disciplined in education is the path to a good life. Despite being endowed with relatively less national resources than its counterparts. Korea is where it is today, due to having Confucianism embedded within its philosophy. Education is to enhance character, rather than simply expressions of moral worth and stature. The Americans focused on pragmatism as backbone to its philosophy of education and life. Academics believe that this was the secret to America's success in science, technology, and putting a man on the moon. Therefore, re-focusing our attention on the national philosophy of education is very important. It casts a wider net than we initially imagined; cascading down to all aspects of life and sectors within the nation.
Our National Philosophy of Education or the Falsafah Pendidikan Negara (FPN) aims to broaden the potential of the individual holistically to create a human being that is balanced and harmonized intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, so that Malaysians are knowledgeable, morally virtuous, responsible, presentable and skilled, able to attain self-harmony and contribute to the well-being of his family, community and the nation.
Based on this, we can already conclude that the national education system is not scoring in its own goalposts. While its desired outcome for a holistic and useful human being is clear, the philosophy of broadening individual potential is vague, hardly permitting it to truncate through to the conduct and incentives within the national education system. It is producing individuals that are devoid of many of the non-intellectual aspects it itself stipulated. Worst still, students in the bottom rung of the current system do not even fare well on the intellectual aspect.
Hence, Malaysia as a developing nation, there is need for us to review the Falsafah Pendidikan Negara (FPN) and make them more focused. The philosophy of education will then found the framework and becomes the over-arching strong foundation that will provide Malaysians with the best education in the world.
Do We Have An Education Crisis?
Of late ordinary Malaysians have grown to be very vocal about national education. With hindsight post NEP, we criticize the emphasis on exams, the politicization of educational policies, strict measures of success using revered-but-feared grading systems, and excessive focus on employability in the job market. But, what exactly constitutes a "crisis" in education?
An education system is in crisis, when the society that is produced out of it, including those that are deemed successful by its measurable standards, is devoid of the true spirit of education. Of course, the true spirit of education in itself is a problematic starting point because different societies have different ideas about what is the end of an education system.
There are several ways how this could have happened.
Firstly, teaching has been teacher-centred and not learner-centred. The teacher is the focal point in teaching; a figure who "tells" the students sets of information. In a recent forum entitled Pedagogi Pendidikan Berasaskan Cinta hosted by Teach for The Needs (TFTN), author Hasrizal Jamil highlights a potent observation; that even successful straight-A students can be failures of the education system in their own definitions. There are three dimensions to education; while the education system has been successful in the first two, namely establishing institutions of educations and designing syllabi, it is at the pedagogical dimension that it has failed its true "clients", which are the students. This failure is in re-humanizing humans, from becoming robots that achieve academic and economic goals, but whose souls are empty, lack of empathy and virtues, and ability to appreciate humanity in general. Malik Bennabi espoused the same when he argued that the end of education must be to humanize humans.
However, these are merely symptomatic to one root cause; love is the missing element in the FPN and our pedagogy. The design of the formal education system has arrived at the conclusion that a professional and emotionless distance between teacher and student is required. Children become incentivized to mind only themselves, not in solidarity with their peers. Friends are to play with at break time, but competition at class time. Love is left out of formal pedagogy, and remained in informal contexts such as at home where parents teach children.
We apply this template of distance between teachers and students that we experienced in school to the wider context of our lives, impeding our connections between one another in the larger society. This has very large implications on how we perceive ethics, moral behaviour, civil consciousness and communal living. This is exactly where the education system can fail even the straight-A students. In the case of unfortunate less-performing students, this formal schooling will leave them totally deprived of the love factor in their pedagogy, because their families are unable to provide them the necessary love and care at home. In school, teachers and peers continuously side-line them. Unsurprisingly, they enter society as individuals completely devoid of every single aspect that the FPN aspired.
Why Love As Pedagogy and Philosophy Will Work
Paulo Freire proposed love as the solution to his landmark framework in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Students are the oppressed and the teaching system is the oppressor because the teacher-student relationship is dichotomous, instead of a single unit together in the search for the end of education. Frantz Fanon too puts akin society's intellectuals as the colonized, from a colonizing system. But how will love revitalize formal pedagogy to mitigate problems of the current education system?
Robert Sternberg's popular 1986 triangular theory of love theorizes that love constitutes intimacy, passion and commitment. Although this is applied to love and interpersonal relationships in general, it explains well the potential of love when applied in pedagogy in helping children develop their IQ.
Intimacy, through bonding and connection, forms a foundational preclusion to the process of imparting of knowledge from the teacher to the student. It eases communication so students do not fear asking questions. It provides psychological comfort, which produces sense of aspirations, such as "I want to be with my teacher discovering this answer", or "I want to be like my teacher".
Next, passion supplements pedagogy through its motivational force in the quest for learning. Passionate love injects exuberance into academic experience. Zeal for learning and doing well in school becomes a propelling force much stronger and longer-lasting to other incentives, such as rewards from parents, recognition by the school, or entry to top universities. "Burning-out" from studying thus becomes less likely.
The third component of love, commitment, will then inject the permanence aspect to learning. Once a student decides that he loves learning and he loves the teacher, he undertakes an intention to reach the end of education with a sense of loyalty. It goes without saying that staying true to the course of education, even into old age, is the aspiration of every pedagogic system.
What about the role of love in the EQ context? Since school, children are taught to compete, to be streamed into top classrooms, and incentivized with material things. As a result, they may deliver their A's but they are emotionally empty without love. They compete unhealthily through school and into their working professions; carrying the notion that winning is to always put oneself ahead of another. But when the seeds of love, kindness and empathy are planted within them, they will develop a sense of responsibility. The able pupils guide the weaker pupils. Brotherhood, camaraderie, compassion and humility are thus effectively "taught" at school!
Revisiting Malaysia's Philosophy of Education: A Proposition
Founded on love, TFTN teacher-ambassadors identify and help pupils within the national schooling system who lag behind peers, in academic performance and in motivation, as a result of inadequate tender loving care at home. But, this small group of volunteers can only do so much. Change needs to also come simultaneously top-down to encourage bottom-up responses. The education system and its outcomes are rooted from the philosophy of the national education system itself. Policies are designed around it and implementations are incentivized by it.
Malaysia is a melting pot of differences. To manage these differences and tread the path of development together, unity must come from within every individual Malaysian. There is no point imposing ethical and moral policies in economic sectors and community living for adult Malaysians, when we have not been trained that we have the capacity to love beyond our family and our lovers since young. Therefore, I am proposing that the FPN be more focused and put love as its overarching pedagogy to achieve its own end goal of humanization.
At the end of the day, it is not love in and for itself that is our goal, but the values that we can extract out of it such as passion, sense of purpose, and commitment in the learning process as well as kindness, empathy, charity, devotion, and respect in the context of life. Love is not merely "touchy feely"; it has potent revolutionary capabilities to shape humankind.
Recent years have seen literatures on love as pedagogy. I humbly call and urge for students and researchers in academia to further this in the aim of developing an educational framework philosophy and pedagogy based on love. Without love, the human is empty and void. Problems facing humanity remain the same, regardless of whether he is academically and economically successful. Love is paramount as the overarching solution to many of the world's social and economic malaises. Spread the love!
"Love intends not to weaken us, rather to ignite strength in us"- HAMKA *Anas Alam Faizli is an oil and gas professional. He is pursuing a post-graduate doctorate, Founding Executive Director of TFTN and tweets at @aafaizli |
The Real Malay Dilemma Posted: 20 Jun 2013 12:04 PM PDT
Better for Malaysian Chinese and Indians to continue having separate identities otherwise the Malays could really lose power within a generation. Instead, do the reverse; send Malay kids to Chinese schools. WongCiLik Do the Malays want to lose power by integrating-assimilating the Chinese and Indians? In the late 1940s and 1950s, Thailand suppressed Chinese culture and closed Chinese schools with the hazy notion that this would prevent a fifth column for Communist China. They were too successful - almost all Chinese have Thai names and speak Thai as their mother tongue. Being of similar religion is a major factor. From the 1960s after being "assimilated", the Chinese began to accumulate political power. Nowdays, the top political posts and including the army and police are usually held by Chinese descended Thais. Indonesia did the same from 1966, and Chinese Indonesians who are less than 5% of the population now control an estimated >90% of the economy and has begun to accumulate real political power (unlike MCA). There cannot be integration/assimilation with discrimination. Without discrimination, due to longer history/culture/experiences* - the Chinese and Indians in whatever form of names would come out tops. History shows that only when the original "foreign" population is less than 10-20% and with no major religious differences, will assimilation work. I would say let it be as it is now perhaps with more effort on the Chinese and Indians to speak Malay better. Better for Malaysian Chinese and Indians to continue having separate identities otherwise the Malays could really lose power within a generation. Instead, do the reverse; send Malay kids to Chinese schools as I will elaborate in my last paragraph. *As with Mahathir's theory (who unfortunately seems to have only super rich Chinese and Indian friends like Vincent Tan and Ananda, hence not understanding the Chinese and Indian masses and also having a chip on his shoulder - getting a driver immediately after he can afford it), the Chinese and Indians have advantages; Malays do need handicaps temporarily — its this time period that is in dispute most of the time ... I would leave the Indian topic to better commentators. The Chinese have about 5,000 years of history - education and health/nutrition knowledge etc. Being a more experienced race — like a more experienced tennis player or golfer, of course in general without handicap, they will prevail. For 5000 years, they were living most of the time in harsh times in China - famine, war etc and they have four seasons. They had to plan and save more as there could not be enough to eat/grow in winter etc. They have evolved to be the most successful race - if measured in scientific quantities terms. Their mathematical language has evolved early to be most efficient - compare the number Sembilan (3 syllables) with Jiu/9 - all single sound numbers in Chinese. Focusing on education/Confucianism and basic health/nutrition are 2 major determinants. In South East Asia, coconut and durians drop by themselves; one can fish and plant whole year round. Not much need for planning, saving and arithmetic. But evolution/improvements are determined by needs/environment. When there's a need and a will, there's a way. Given the right environment-education and health/nutrition focus and a need to do so, human beings will be the same. Malays are not inferior to any races when born, it's the environment and maybe culture and indoctrination that may cause some to be believe so. Currently, due to constant indoctrination of the need for assistance, the Malays lack confidence. Without confidence, there cannot be ability. Without Malay confidence, the "problems" of Malaysia cannot be solved. So perhaps the solution is to come to a general agreement on the right solutions to this, the Chinese and Indians must be involved and help for their own sakes. Have a big NGOs and political parties get-together. In my opinion and from my personal experiences growing up and living around/with non-rich Malay folks (who are usually much nicer, kinder and polite than the rich ones/Chinese/Indians - a sweeping statement perhaps but as stated is my personal opinion — we have equal share when collecting Kupangs, fruits, working in construction sites etc even though I don't contribute much in our sojourns - belated thanks to Ali Kadir, Yusoff,Azmi etc of Khalidi Muar!) A little of what I think can be improved: Malay nutrition - all the thick curries, fried stuff does not help. A poor Chinese usually still get enough nutrition for the kids by cooking chicken leg/necks/bones soup etc. Formula baby milk is expensive and the Malays mother normally needs to work to supplement the family income. I don't think most Malay kids growing up has enough nutrition. Environment — it is not healthy at all for most Malays in urban centres (majority of the Malay population are in Urban areas now) to be housed in small 1-2 bedrooms apartments. They may be poorer in the kampung but they have the space and the whole village to depend upon. We need more libraries built around these areas instead of look/feel good halls, religious buildings etc. Ensure >50% of students in current vernacular Chinese primary school are Malays — they will get to learn one more language and better mathematics skills (important in future China growth century etc), the Chinese will get to learn/use better Malay; all should understand each other better. National schools can be converted into such Chinese primary school if needed or such Chinese schools named as National School in name — this is a bold move and may not be politically palatable. But a leader is supposed to lead, not follow. Singapore leaders were bold in using English as a main medium, a neutral language; Malaysian leaders should go one up on them by using the Chinese language at least in primary schools. There is already a substantial number of Malay students in Chinese Primary Schools. Being 50% and more will also give the parents confidence that their kids won't be badly influenced by the "kaffir" Chinese. Recognise that Malay history began more than 1,500 years ago from the Great Sri Vijaya empire rather than the Melaka Sultanate with arguably only a half hero - Hang Tuah vs Hang Jebat. More historical role models will help confidence and ability in the end.
Yours sincerely, WongCiLik |
Oh baffling times are here Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:56 AM PDT
Mohsin Abdullah, fz.com Ahmad Lutfi Othman, Editor-in-Chief of PAS owned Harakah, is baffled. Pakatan Rakyat seems to take lightly the "harassment" by the home ministry over its party organs. That's what baffling him. To Lutfi, the seizure of copies of Harakah, Suara Keadilan and The Rocket a few weeks ago by the home ministry is "part of a concerted BN effort in preventing news from PAS, PKR and DAP from reaching the masses." In particular, in Malay majority rural areas. BN, said Lutfi, is already taking steps to keep their hold on rural areas with GE14 in mind. He admitted the ministry's action is within laws and regulations but nevertheless termed such law and regulations "karut marut". Put simply – "ridiculous". "Because whatever so-called transformation the government said they did was just superficial. "For example, permits. In the first place, to me there should not be permits. But, anyway, I do not want to dwell on that and accept it as it is. The PM announced newspaper permits need not be renewed. Meaning the annual renewal is gone but all other conditions remain. "In the case of Harakah, conditions like we can't sell it to non-PAS members and only sell at party premises are all obstacles and hindrance. And the home ministry are using these conditions to put a leash on us," he said. Lutfi said Harakah had met such conditions "to our best ability", but admitted the newspaper is being sold to non-PAS members who buy it at "ordinary newsstands". "Our vendors can't be asking people if they are PAS members before selling Harakah to them but not long ago we had special racks for Harakah to say it's for PAS members only." But the recent operations by the authorities, said Lutfi, "are making our regular vendors scared as they can be fined for selling Harakah to non-party members. It's burning a hole in our pockets, business-wise, and politically, Pakatan's messages are not reaching the people". And sadly, said Lutfi, the Pakatan leadership seems indifferent towards this "continuous and systematic disturbance on the circulation of its official party publications". "Pakatan must see this as a serious problem. Pakatan must take this issue up even to the international arena and come up with an action plan," said the editor. Lutfi has some ideas of his own but all that needs endorsement from the Pakatan leadership. "Harakah is a twice weekly publication while Suara Keadilan is published weekly. Perhaps we can work out a schedule and together with The Rocket to have a production flow. Or we can have non-serial daily publications which do not require a permit. We must work around the problem and also be innovative in distributing our products." That apart, Lutfi and several "Pakatan-friendly" newsmen opined that the quality of reporting must be improved. So too Pakatan Web TV outfits. "Now is the time to do it. Don't wait for GE 14. By then the field would be crowded and voters would have already been fed with all sorts of information," said one of the newsmen. Money is definitely one of the problem but to Lutfi, there are ways to raise the much-needed funds. But before all that, Pakatan leaders will have to admit the problem being faced by their publications now is serious. For a leadership which many feel is "media savvy", their so called "indifferent attitude" (as seen by Lutfi) is, to borrow Lutfi's word – baffling Read more at: http://www.fz.com/content/oh-baffling-times-are-here#ixzz2Woe4mxmA |
Don’t pry into my personal space Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:51 AM PDT
How many of us are surprised at receiving emails or text messages of holiday wishes by the Prime Minister? Who gave the government our contact information? Elza Irdalynna, FMT We live in a world where intimacy and privacy exists in a different and wider scope in this day and age. We share copious amounts of information about ourselves for the world to see: our family, friends, professional lives, personal lives, even our daily meals are uploaded to the internet. Many of us subscribe to the social media community for various, innocent reasons. Be it to keep in touch with loved ones, to bridge geographical gaps, to promote our business, or simply to keep a digital anthology of our lives. However, not many people are aware of the fact that social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on possess the rights to our information – pictures, videos, statuses. And under programs such as PRISM by the NSA in the United States, they can be forced to give out our information under the all too wide umbrella of national security. Even if you do not own a Facebook account, your email, bank details, browsing history, even purchasing records, are under unwarranted surveillance. Take the soon to be launched Xbox One for example, and their 'always online' feature. While it may seem cool to players that they can activate their consoles by voice recognition, they fail to understand that this means 'someone' is always listening. Their webcam feature is also always online, and so customers are under 24 hour surveillance. If Malaysians believe that this only affects America, think again. Technologies used for monitoring programs such as PRISM can be used worldwide. Anyone who is assumed to be an enemy of the state can be traced and put on record. This is not limited to suspected terrorists. The NSA is watching everyone, every phone call, every message, everything. It is a lie to claim this is merely to ensure national security. If this was the case, the US government would have been able to stop the Boston Marathon bombing before it occurred. After all, the duo responsible used the most unsophisticated methods of attack. The Big Brother phenomenon is not alien in our country. How many of us are surprised at receiving emails or text messages of holiday wishes by the Prime Minister? Who gave the government our contact information? Police state Recently, Melissa Gooi was arrested for sedition because she "insulted the Agong" on her Facebook account. Specifically, she expressed her opinion of the King's speech, not of the King himself, and suggested the speech was written by someone else, perhaps of the right-wing group. She also expressed this under the protection of her freedom of expression, enshrined in our constitution. She also made these comments on her personal Facebook page, which, despite it being a public network, was intended for those she knew and trusted. Perhaps she had a higher privacy setting, but her friends and friends of her friends did not. And so, due to either parties that are easily offended, or persons using her as a political tool, her opinion was viewed as a threat to the sanctity of the King. Despite the fact that she had not directly broken any laws, this will forever taint her record. Her friends who commented on that status are also jeopardized. Not only is this a violation of her freedom of expression, we have now allowed online surveillance to be enough evidence to arrest and imprison someone. Slowly, but surely, we will become a police state like North Korea, and the government will lead the people to believe that it is for their own good. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/21/dont-pry-into-my-personal-space/ |
Haze hits dangerous levels Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:49 AM PDT
(The Star) - This Sunday's planned 2013 Olympic Day Run for 15,000 participants at Padang Merbok has been postponed, the co-organisers McDonald's Malaysia said. THE haze in Malaysia has once again reached dangerous levels. It has now left only 13% of the country with good air to breathe while many schools in Johor have closed as Malaysians there took in the worst of it, so far. Yesterday, four areas in the state entered the "hazardous" and "very unhealthy" scales of the Air Pollutant Index (API). Poor visibility at the Senai International Airport also forced two flights to be diverted. In Kuala Lumpur, this Sunday's planned 2013 Olympic Day Run for 15,000 participants at Padang Merbok has been postponed, the co-organisers McDonald's Malaysia said. The Department of Environment (DOE) said the country was on high alert due to the rapid deterioration in air quality over the past three days. It has alerted the National Security Council to activate the National Haze Action Plan nationwide, with a "3A Warning Level" (the highest level) issued for the worst-affected areas. The DOE has also stepped up enforcement on the emission of smoke from vehicles and factories. The haze in Muar recorded a 'hazardous' API of 383 at 11amOnly 13% of the areas in the country recorded "good" API levels yesterday, while the air quality in 78% of the country has dropped to "moderate". The DOE website showed that 7% of the country had fallen into the "unhealthy" status. The DOE has contacted its counterpart in Indonesia, urging the country to take urgent action to control the peat and forest fires in the Riau district of central Sumatra in Riau which had sparked the haze, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said. A map issued by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre showed the movement of the thick haze from areas in Riau, with strong winds from the South-West carrying the haze to the West Coast and East Coast of Malaysia. Within our borders, the map also showed 83 hot spots detected, with 70 found in Sarawak, six in Kelantan, two in Pahang and one spot each in Selangor, Malacca, Sabah and Terengganu, Yesterday, Muar in Johor recorded a "hazardous" API of 383 at 11am, while at 5pm, Pasir Gudang had also fallen into the same category at 333. The haze also hit Malacca with the state capital and Bukit Rambai recording "unhealthy" API readings of 137 and 119 respectively. API readings between 51 to 100 are considered moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 is very unhealthy and anything above 301 is considered hazardous. The worst API reading in memory was in 1997, where a state of emergency was declared in Kuching after its API reached 839. Yesterday, only several locations in Perak, Kedah and Perlis retained a "Good" API reading. In Singapore, where the API showed 371 at 1pm yesterday, The Straits Times reported a senior Indonesian Minister as hitting out in response to the island nation's criticism over the haze. "Singapore shouldn't be like children, in such a tizzy," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono, who is coordinating his country's relief and response effort, said. "It's not what Indonesians want. It's nature," he added. Indonesia has yet to ratify an Asean agreement in 2002 on Transboundary Haze Pollution although it says it is in full compliance with what is required and what is expected. |
Nasa: Malaysia sees 115% jump in deforestation in first 3 months of 2013 Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:47 AM PDT
(The Star) - Malaysia saw a 115% increase in deforestation during the first three months of 2013, according to a forest tracking tool developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) researchers. Malaysia's figure was the highest among five countries where deforestation was detected, followed by Nepal (114%), Mexico (92%), Argentina (72%), and Madagascar (51%). Nasa's Quarterly Indicator of Cover Change, a satellite-based tool that underpins environment watchdog Mongabay.com's Global Forest Disturbance Alert System, noted the jump earlier this month. Christopher Potter, a senior research scientist at the Nasa Ames Research Center, told the environment watchdog that Malaysia has a deforestation hotspot on the western coastal area of Perak. "Many areas in Sarawak have been detected with forest cover change over the past two years," Potter, told The Star Online. Perak DAP head Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham revealed that there had been many complaints of logging in the Manjong district of Perak, including Segari and his own Parliamentary constituency of Beruas. "The logging is carried out at odd hours in the middle of the night, which is very suspicious. However, we don't know if it's illegal. I cannot verify the legality of this timber logging, so I cannot lodge a police report," he told The Star Online. Ngeh, who is also Sitiawan assemblyman, said that he had tried to raise the issue during the state assembly sitting, but he and other Opposition assemblymen had "hardly been given time" to ask their questions. He said he would bring it up in Parliament. "However, (Perak Mentri Besar) Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir has to answer this question. Is this logging legal or not?" he said. Zambry and Perak state government exco member Dr Muhammad Amin Zakaria could not be reached for comment. The World Bank had previously estimated that trees in Malaysia are being cut down at roughly four times the sustainable rate. The Malaysian Nature Society expressed concern over the statistics, and promised to review the information. "We will cross-reference with our sources on the ground... We are and remain opposed to the clearing of any natural forests in Malaysia," said MNS communications head Andrew Sebastian. |
Trivial anger a 'result of modern life' Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:46 AM PDT
(The Telegraph) - Brits today will fly into a rage at the slightest inconvenience because the comforts of modern life have raised our expectations to the level of irrational toddlers, a psychologist has claimed. Whereas people's energies were once focused on keeping a roof over their head and food on their plate, most 21st century Westerners have no concerns about their basic needs. Our comfortable lifestyles may have spoiled us and boosted our expectations to the point where anything short of perfect causes us to act like petulant children, Dr Sandi Mann said. Consciously challenging ourselves by questioning whether things that make our blood boil are actually threatening our survival could help "rein the anger in" and take a more relaxed attitude, she claimed. In an opinion article in July's issue of Reader's Digest Dr Mann, a senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire's school of psychology, wrote that anger was once key to our survival but has now become targeted at trivial annoyances. Humans evolved to become angry in certain situations because the emotion motivates us to want things. For example, hunger makes us angry by raising our serotonin levels, prompting us to look for food. Anger also played an important role in helping early humans live together in social groups, by warning individuals when their behaviour was upsetting others. "The red mist of rage helped our ancestors survive," Dr Mann claimed. "If they'd been too laid-back about others stealing their food or predators trying to kill them, they wouldn't have taken sufficient preventive action. But nowadays, Britons rarely experience real body-weakening poverty or genuine life-threatening injustice or mortal danger." Because anger is still "hard-wired" into our brain without a real purpose it can "misfire," leading us to rage about inconsequential events. This could lead to violent overreactions, such as road rage incidents, or make us furious about trivial details such as whether a restaurant meal is warm enough or how much company bosses are paid. Read more at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10132346/Trivial-anger-a-result-of-modern-life.html |
Pakatan rejects Merdeka Stadium offer Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:24 PM PDT
Pakatan Rakyat rejects DBKL's offer to conduct Black 505 rally in Stadium Merdeka. Lisa J Ariffin, FMT Pakatan Rakyat has rejected Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) offer to conduct Saturday' Black 505 rally at Stadium Merdeka. PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli was today responding to KL Mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib statement on Wednesday that DBKL was still awaiting Pakatan's reply to their alternative venues suggestion – including Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Titiwangsa. "Unless the leadership decides that I can no longer represent Pakatan,there is no change in the venue. It will be Padang Merbok," Rafizi told FMT. When contacted, DBKL media relations officer Hassan Abu Bakar said his department would leave Pakatan's defiance up to the police. "We have told them (Pakatan) that they cannot use the venue because other people are using it. So if they proceed with the rally, it would be illegal under the law," he told FMT. "If they proceed with the rally and break the law, it will no longer be under our jurisdiction, but under enforcement agencies. We will leave it to the police." It was reported that DBKL had already rejected PKR's application to use the venue last week. They said the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) would be using Padang Merbok to prepare for a charity run on Sunday. However, Rafizi claimed it was clear OCM were being pressured by someone "higher up" to put a stop to the rally. READ MORE HERE |
Blackout: PDRM akan minta bantuan tentera jika perlu Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:16 PM PDT
(Agenda Daily) - Polis akan meminta bantuan tentera jika keadaan memerlukan dalam menangani pelbagai perkara yang mungkin timbul andai pembangkang meneruskan perhimpunan mereka di ibu negara Sabtu ini. Pengarah Jabatan Keselamatan Dalam Negeri dan Ketenteraman Awam Datuk Seri Salleh Mat Rasid berkata setakat ini Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) telah mengambil langkah perlu bagi menghadapi perhimpunan yang dijangka diadakan di Padang Merbok itu. "Setakat ini PDRM masih lagi mampu untuk kekalkan keamanan (negara). Kami sentiasa berhubung dengan tentera dan sekiranya perlu tentera akan diminta turun membantu," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Upacara Tamat Latihan Asas Konstabel Orang Asli PDRM di Ipoh hari ini. Sebanyak 111 anggota menerima sijil tamat latihan yang berlangsung selama empat bulan itu. Mengulas lanjut, Salleh menasihati orang ramai agar menjauhi perhimpunan itu yang jika diadakan adalah tanpa kebenaran pihak berkuasa. |
Have some respect for freedom of speech, MCA tells Mat Sabu Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:08 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Times) - The MCA Publicity Bureau chairman, Datuk Heng Seai Kie slammed PAS Deputy President, Mohamad Sabu for calling on the former Premier, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to just 'sit down quietly'. In the press statement sent to The Malaysian Times (TMT), Heng stated that although not all actions and words of Dr. Mahathir will find agreement with everyone, the rakyat must recognised that he was once the Prime Minister of Malaysia for twenty two years. "Dr Mahathir has rights to air views, although not always palatable, it should be shown respect regardless," added Heng. Thus, Heng stressed that Mohamad Sabu or Mat Sabu as he is famously known as, hailing from the Opposition which always spouts freedom of expression should know this best rather than calling on the former Premier to just "sit down quietly. No one should suggest a person to remain silent or suppress their opinions. Freedom of Speech is awarded to everyone despite their divisive opinions so long as it is done responsibly and not inflammatory. Acknowledging the former premier's sacrifices to the country, Heng said Dr. Mahathir has had strength in the past and has led the country. Whether one agrees with him is irrelevant to the years of service he gave to the people. This above all else should be respected. "Mat Sabu mentions Dr. Mahathir as a "dictator", but his demands to keep Dr. Mahathir from speaking emulate that of a dictator himself," added Heng. Heng later commented that it was extremely arrogant of Mat Sabu to say this. These types of actions seem to be habitual and typical of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders considering their past history of banning news agencies like News Straits Times, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia from covering their press conferences and events. |
Doors still open for PSM, says Anwar Posted: 19 Jun 2013 06:45 PM PDT
As long as Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) endorses the Pakatan Rakyat common policy, it could join the opposition coalition, said Anwar Ibrahim. Anisah Shukry, FMT Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim confirmed today that Parti Sosialis Malaysia was welcome to join Pakatan Rakyat, on the condition that the party endorsed the opposition pact's Common Policy platform. This was a direct contradiction to PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution's statement to FMT this morning that Pakatan would "never" accept PSM into its fold. "The decision made today is to allow a committee from Pakatan Rakyat to [hold discussions] with the PSM committee," Anwar told a press conference after a meeting with the Pakatan Rakyat leaders' council at the PAS headquarters here. "It's not just a matter of joining (immediately) because joining means supporting our reform agenda, joining means endorsing our common policy platform. So as far as we are concerned, we take a positive view on this." The PKR de facto leader said that as long as the PSM leadership were willing to accept Pakatan's common policy, then by "the next meeting" the opposition coalition would accept PSM as an ally. But he was unable to confirm the date for the following meeting, saying only that it would be held "soon", perhaps even next week. When FMT pointed out that Saifuddin had said PSM would never become a member of Pakatan, Anwar laughed and quipped: "Don't provoke me into fighting with Saifuddin." He explained that Saifuddin was merely expressing his own views, based on the fact that PSM had yet to accept Pakatan's common policy. "But in the meeting just now, we said we would give PSM some room, and we would look into this before any decision was made. "Saifuddin was there and he agreed," said Anwar. READ MORE HERE |
In the name of God Posted: 19 Jun 2013 06:08 PM PDT
Do these so-called ulama' endorse the hereditary monarchy system (not only in Malaysia but in most Muslim countries)? If they do then they are endorsing a Jahiliyah system of leadership. So what type of ulama' are these people when Islam is supposed to be based on the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah and the system they support and endorse is absent in all three 'holy references'? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Half of all Afghans paid bribes in 2012 (AFP, 6 February 2013) -- KABUL: The cost of corruption in Afghanistan has risen sharply and half of all citizens paid a bribe to public officials last year, a new United Nations study said Thursday. More than 11 years after a US-led invasion led to billions of dollars in aid flowing into one of the world's poorest countries, Afghanistan ranks among the most corrupt nations on earth. And Western nations due to pull their troops out next year have linked future financial support to the aid-dependent nation to a crackdown on graft. The report by the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Afghanistan's anti-corruption unit says that while there has been some tangible progress, the total cost of corruption increased to $3.9 billion in 2012 -- 40 per cent up on 2009. "The bribes that Afghan citizens paid in 2012 equals double Afghanistan's domestic revenue or one-fourth of the Tokyo pledge," the report says, referring to the $16 billion promised by donors at a conference in Japan last year. "Nobody doubts the seriousness of the issue, the art is to design the correct strategy to remedy the situation," said UNODC regional representative Jean-Luc Lemahieu. The report shows that corruption appears to be increasingly tolerated by ordinary people. More than 68 per cent of those surveyed considered it acceptable for a civil servant to top up a low salary by accepting small bribes -- up from 42 per cent in 2009, the report noted. And 67 per cent considered it sometimes acceptable for a civil servant to be recruited on the basis of family ties and friendship networks -- also up from 42 per cent four years ago. While the cost of corruption had risen, the total number of people paying bribes had dropped from 58 per cent in 2009 to 50 per cent last year -- but they were paying more often. The survey was based on a representative sample of 6,700 citizens interviewed across the country. President Hamid Karzai in December blamed foreigners for most of the corruption in Afghanistan and said the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014 would help rid the country of graft. The Afghan government has previously pointed the finger at the contract systems of the international community for spreading corruption, although it admits graft is rife within its own ranks. *************************************** A former Indonesian lawmaker has been found guilty of corruption in a case relating to the procurement of the Muslim holy book, the Koran. (Channel News Asia, 31 May 2013) - JAKARTA: A former Indonesian lawmaker has been found guilty of corruption in a case relating to the procurement of the Muslim holy book, the Koran. An anti-corruption court in Jakarta found Zulkarnaen Djabbar and his son guilty of receiving more than US$1.4 million in kickbacks. Zulkarnaen - a lawmaker from Golkar Party - was a member of the parliamentary commission that oversaw the religious affairs. Assisted by his son and another accomplice, Zulkarnaen rigged the bidding process for the Koran procurement. Zulkarnaen was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined US$30,000. His son, Dendy Prasetya, received 8 years in prison and fined US$20,000. The case is one of the corruption cases that have raised eyebrows in Indonesia. It shows that corruption in Indonesia knows no boundary - even if it involves the holy book. But to many Indonesians, the case comes as no surprise. The religious affairs ministry is known to be the least honest among Indonesian institutions. The National Audit Agency has raised questions over its handling of billions of dollars from Indonesian Haj pilgrims annually. The anti-graft agency is expected to dig deeper into the case even after Thursday's sentencing. Several top officials from the religious affairs ministry - including the deputy minister - and been called up for questioning. The Deputy Speaker from the Golkar Party has also been implicated in the case but has denied any involvement. ***************************************** Qatar has approved a draft law to enact a law on fighting cyber-crimes and to refer it to the Advisory Council. The law punishes anyone who manages, via the internet or any information technology means, without a right, to enter an electronic website and informational system of any of the state's organs, institutions, authorities or otherwise affiliated bodies or companies thereon, and anyone who establishes or runs an electronic site via the internet or any information technology means, or publishes false news with the aim of jeopardizing the state safety, its general order, internal or external security. The law also punishes anyone who infringes on the social principles or values or otherwise publishes news, photos, audio or visual recordings related to the sanctity of the private and familial life of persons, even if they were true, or infringes on others by libel or slander via the Internet or other information technology means. ***************************************** Those are but three news items out of thousands regarding Muslims or Muslim countries. Reading those news items, what would be the first thing that comes to your mind? I suppose those critical of Islam or Muslims would say that this proves that Muslims are corrupt (as what ex-IGP Musa Hassan said a few days ago). The Islamists would argue otherwise. They would say that there is less corruption under a 'proper' Muslim government like the Taliban running the country and with the harsh Islamic laws of Hudud keeping the people on the straight and narrow. Under a secular system they would even use Qur'ans to commit corruption like in the case of Indonesia. In fact, back in March 2004, before the birth of Malaysia Today, I had revealed the corrupt act of one of the Imams of Masjid Negara (the National Mosque) -- the Umno candidate who contested against Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in Permatang Pauh in the March 2004 general election. This ex-Imam turned Umno candidate of Permatang Pauh was asking for kickbacks before he would award companies the maintenance contract for the mosque. I actually met the company concerned and published the contract documents so this allegation came with testimony and evidence. How do you explain 'men of God' using the name of God (or the Qur'an) to commit corrupt acts? Actually corruption in religion and using the name of God to commit corrupt acts is something that has been happening long before the birth of Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad. In fact, it was because Christ wanted to end this corruption that He opposed the system -- which in turn opposed Him and is the foundation of the Christian dogma (the Crucifixion and the Resurrection). Today, PAS said that the ulama' (religious scholars) must be the foundation of the party leadership (READ HERE). This is based on the assumption and the argument that the ulama' are noble, sincere, beyond corruption and whatnot. But then the ulama' have been the problem for Judaism, Christianity and Islam since the birth of those 'Religions of the Book'. The Christians say that the Jews corrupted the true religion of Abraham and hence Christianity was born. The Muslims say that the Christians corrupted the true religion of Abraham and hence Islam was born. Then there are those who say the Muslims corrupted the true religion of Abraham and hence Agnosticism was born. Abraham, Moses, Christ and Muhammad never invented the hierarchy of the ulama', rabbis, priests, imams, Muftis, Popes, etc. All these never existed during the time of these four great Prophets of the Abrahamic faiths. These positions and classifications were invented later, after the death of these Prophets. Hence are these positions valid? In fact, Islam also never invented the monarchy and the hereditary system of leadership. After the death of Prophet Muhammad the leaders were elected through a committee. It was only after the deaths of the four 'Rightly-Guided' Caliphs it reverted to the pre-Islamic system of hereditary monarchs, what the Muslims call the Jahiliyah period or 'the Era of Ignorance'. Do these so-called ulama' endorse the hereditary monarchy system (not only in Malaysia but in most Muslim countries)? If they do then they are endorsing a Jahiliyah system of leadership. So what type of ulama' are these people when Islam is supposed to be based on the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah and the system they support and endorse is absent in all three 'holy references'? The problem is not only that Muslims and Muslim countries are corrupt. The problem is the very system itself is corrupt. And the fruit of a poisonous tree is poisonous. That is the long and short of it all. Imam Ghazali is regarded as one of the most revered Imams in Islam. And Imam Ghazali was anti-monarchy, as were some of the other renowned Imams as well. In fact, Imam Ghazali said we should stay far away from these monarchs and not even accept their gifts (award of titles included) and food lest these monarchs corrupt us. (And how many PAS people carry Datuk titles?). And if you were a true Muslim you would listen to what Imam Ghazali said. After all, are we not using his kitab as one of the books to follow? And throughout history many ulama' have opposed their leaders/rulers, the famous Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah a.k.a. Hamka of Indonesia included. |
Protest over Johor's Shariah laws misplaced Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:45 PM PDT
Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar, Harakah Wanita ISMA is concerned over the calls to repeal the Syariah Criminal Offences Law by Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) as a response to Johor Religious Department's decision to whip offenders committing incest and having sex outside of wedlock. 22 out of 39 offenders were female. Wanita ISMA feels that the calls are misplaced as the issue should be dealt comprehensively beyond the myopic angle of liberalism or feminism as it involves major offences as stated in Syariah Law, namely incest and fornication. Incest by definition is sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry.
Facts that are overlooked by JAG were that in 2008, Johor and Selangor had the highest number of cases of incest, a total of 308 cases over a period of 8 years. According to the senior assistant director of enforcement of the Johor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIJ), Mohd Zambri Kambari, the usual punishment was a fine of RM5,000 or a jail term of three years. Obviously, both punishments, perhaps regarded as very lenient, had failed to deter people from committing the act. Incest breeds bigger problem in the society such as disrupting the lineage of a family especially if the illicit relationship bears offsprings. These children will definitely be subjected to psychological trauma.
Wanita ISMA fully supports the actions by Johor Religious Department to exercise the enactment of Syariah Law in the form of 6 strokes of whipping as it is meted out in the manner that complies to the Syariah flogging. The Syariah flogging requires that the female offender is in sitting position as opposed to the opposite sex who needs to stand. This is a proof that Islam places great respect to female, without abandoning its principle that every crime must be punished, regardless of gender. Furthermore, the punishment will be postponed if the women is pregnant of in the period of nursing her child.
The offender is fully clothed and the whipping will not be on her face, head and private parts or on body parts where vital organs are located, the abdomen and the chest. The flogging stick has been specified to meet certain length and thickness. The executer cannot raise his hand more than his head in whipping and all these are very unlikely to cause physical harm to the offender.
Shariah is fundamental to a Muslim's belief. Muslims have faith that the Shariah is relevant at all times. JAG claimed that there is no solid evidence that whipping is an effective deterrent to violent or sexual crimes. The problem is that the Shariah solution has never been given a chance to prove its effectiveness in curbing these crimes.
Islam places sufficient legislation to protect people from falling into sin as it is a complete code of living that is not based on punishment. Punishment is not enforced except in cases where there is certainty about the offence and its perpetrators. However, when certainty is established, and in this case Wanita ISMA believes that the matter has been dealt delicately by the relevant authorities of the Johor Religious Department, the mandatory punishment must be applied, with no compassion shown to the offenders.
In the word of the late Syed Qutb, author of Tafsir Fi Zilal al-Qur'an, such compassion is misplaced, because it is in fact cruel to the community and human morality. Allah is much more compassionate to His creatures and He has chosen what He knows to serve their interests best. When Allah decides on a particular case, no believer, whether man or woman, can counter that choice. Nor is it right that anyone should speak out against such punishment, describing it as hard or savage. It is indeed much more compassionate than what awaits a community that allows adultery (an incest) to spread.
It is rather alarming that a more liberal view of incest is now being propagated in some parts of the western countries. The United States codifies incest prohibition in its law, but it doesn't stop one of the universities, the University of Missouri for offering a class on sibling incest for the spring 2013 semester in order to understand and accept the culture. Unmistakably and shockingly, there has been a social pressure towards accepting sibling incests although parent-child incest is still considered offensive. The uncontrolled lust of human for forbidden sexual relationship has also boost the pornography industry that promotes incest porn as one of the genre.
Wanita ISMA is committed to work hand in hand with all parties in curbing social illness through all means, whether by education, public awareness, prevention and by law if necessary.
* The writer represents Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, or ISMA. |
RBA jangan main mercun Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:06 PM PDT
Matlamat mereka mudah: mahu memastikan tidak ada pemimpin Cina menyokong kerajaan. Matlamat mereka menjadikan DAP paling kuat dalam kelompok Pakatan Rakyat jauh mengatasi pengaruh Pas. (Sinar Harian) - Red Bean Army (RBA) bukan nama sebuah restoran Kantonis di Bukit Bintang, kawasan popular di Kuala Lumpur terkenal dengan masakan kekacang atau daging khinzir dari Schezuan ataupun Taipei. Juga bukan kacang panggang merah berkuah tomato yang biasanya dihidangkan bersama masakan western di warung-warung. Perkataan 'bean' sebenarnya bukanlah terlalu asing buat orang Melayu. Yang tak pandai berbahasa Inggeris pun mudah sahaja mengingati watak 'Mr Bean' – lelaki yang membuat kerja-kerja bodoh yang tidak dilakukan oleh orang lain bagi tujuan mendapatkan sesuatu. Bagi orang Cina di Malaysia, perkataan 'bean' simbol sesuatu. Barangkali dalam kerangka dan semangat watak Mr Bean. Walaupun tak kelakar, tetapi natijahnya agak kelakar. Bayangkan satu bangsa yang asalnya di pergunakan oleh Inggeris untuk bekerja sebagai pelombong bijih timah di Tanah Melayu kerana mereka tidak mungkin dapat hidup dengan selesa di tanah besar China ketika itu. Kemudian diberikan kerakyatan menjelang Merdeka kerana tidak mahu pulang ke negara asal, malah kini ada yang sanggup menghina Raja-Raja Melayu dan Rasulullah SAW. Tentulah kelakar. Konon sayangkan Malaysia, tapi melakukan kerja-kerja begini. Pada era bijih timah mereka sudah terkenal dengan gangterisme. Tak ramai yang tak tahu tentang kumpulan Ghee Hin dan Hai San. Sesama bangsa pun nak gaduh kerana wang apatah lagi jika melibatkan Cina dengan lain-lain bangsa. Kini, zaman siber ini sudah wujud pula satu bentuk gangsterisme yang cukup dikenali oleh orang Cina sebagai RBA. Berlainan dengan gangsterisme dalam masyarakat Cina, puak-puak ini tidak menggunakan pedang samurai ataupun pistol untuk memeras ugut mangsa. Dalam dunia mereka khusus dalam dunia siber RBA memperjuangkan apa yang diperjuangkan DAP. Dengan itu selain mempertahankan dasar-dasar kecinaan DAP, mereka menjadikan orang Cina yang pro MCA dan Gerakan serta mereka yang pro kerajaan BN sebagai mangsa. Matlamat mereka mudah: mahu memastikan tidak ada pemimpin Cina menyokong kerajaan. Matlamat mereka menjadikan DAP paling kuat dalam kelompok Pakatan Rakyat jauh mengatasi pengaruh Pas. Lihat saja dalam PRU13, DAP peroleh 38 kerusi Parlimen meninggalkan rakan-rakan lain di belakang. Kepada penentang yang berani menyokong musuh, mereka akan gunakan alam siber untuk memusnahkan karakter orang itu. Mungkin bagi sesetengah pihak ugutan begini tidak menjadi kudis tapi bagi kaum Cina, ia suatu yang menakutkan. Lihat saja mereka yang menjadi mangsa RBA. Michelle Yeoh, gadis bond turut jadi mangsa kerana sokong Najib Razak. Bagi yang nak tahu dunia "mafia" zaman itu, bacalah buku sejarah lama ditulis pihak Inggeris. RBA hari ini mungkin tidak diimport secara langsung dari China tetapi ia semacam ada kaitan rapat dengan semangat Red Army yang instrumental dalam mengkomuniskan negara China. Jelas RBA yang sudah pun beroperasi sejak 2008 setelah mendapat ide daripada gerakan yang dimulakan Mao di China untuk menggulingkan kerajaan yang memerintah ketika itu. Dengan teknologi dan kebolehan otak budak-budak muda yang dilatih serta di belakang mereka ada tauke yang kaya-raya maka RBA mudah menjadi satu kuasa baru. Singkatan huruf ABU atau kini disebut Asal Bukan Umno adalah berasal dari RBA yang meminta masyarakat Cina menolak "warna biru" (dacing). Kempen dimulakan melalui sms pada PRU12 dalam Bahasa Cina ketika itu berbunyi "asalkan bukan biru, beruk atau lembu (lambang) pun tak mengapa (boleh undi)." Pencetus ABU pula dapat inspirasi dari kempen RBA. Kejayaan RBA dalam 2008 dijadikan senjata oleh DAP untuk menarik sokongan. Hari ini dengan dibantu 3,000 tenteranya dan dikatakan melalui dana melebihi RM100 juta, mereka menguasai peperangan siber. Pihak BN walaupun sedar, tapi kemampuan untuk mendepaninya tidak ada. Agak hairan mengapa dibiarkan RBA bermaharajalela tanpa sebarang hukuman. Dalam PRU13 pada 5 Mei lalu, 8 hari sebelum peristiwa 13 Mei, RBA mengeksploit isu perkauman sehingga pengundi Cina jadi benci pada BN. Salah satu isu ialah 13 Mei yang konon dicetuskan oleh Umno. Jika sebelumnya masyarakat Cina di Malaysia teruja dengan konsep 1Malaysia ilham Najib Razak, tapi dengan tidak semena-mena mereka menukar rentak. Mereka termakan dengan UBAH sebagai alternatif pada BN, malah bagi mereka kalau bakal PM seorang tidak bermoral tak mengapa asalkan BN jatuh. Demi Putrajaya kita dapati Pas melalui transformasi. DAP dijenama mereka sebagai bukan lagi anti Islam. Tapi Pas terlupa, RBA bukan tentera pro Pas, ia pro DAP dan pengundi Cina. Kalau RBA sanggup memusuhi MCA, tidak ada sebab ia tak boleh menentang Pas pula. RBA memusuhi apa saja mengenai Melayu. Sama ada Raja-raja Melayu, usahawan Melayu yang mencabar kedudukan mereka seperti Syed Mokhtar alBukhari ataupun NGO pro Melayu seperti Perkasa. Bagi Pas, RBA berdiri di belakang mereka tapi dalam aspek agama khusus agama Islam, RBA lihat Pas dan Umno sama saja. Malangnya Pas tidak pernah menyedari hal ini. Apa pun menjelang PRU14 nanti, jika RBA masih wujud, sama ada dalam bentuk dan sebutan yang ada kini atau bertopeng nama lain, pokoknya kedudukan Melayu, dari segi kuasa politik dan pegangan ke atas tanah air mereka tidak akan tergugat. RBA mungkin terlupa, orang Melayu ibarat harimau yang menyembunyikan kuku. Jika orang Melayu bertindak demi melindungi hak mereka dan daulat Raja-Raja Melayu, rasa-rasanya yang akan rugi dan tergugat orang Cina sendiri. |
Tee’s MCA membership suspended for three years Posted: 19 Jun 2013 03:46 PM PDT
(The Star) - Datuk Tee Siew Kiong's membership in MCA has been suspended for three years. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the presidential council has accepted the recommendation of the party's disciplinary committee that Tee be suspended for accepting a Government post. "After much discussion, the majority of the presidential council agreed with the disciplinary committee recommendation," he said after chairing the presidential council meeting on Thursday. Dr Chua said Tee have 14 days to appeal to the central committee after receiving the letter of suspension. |
Ng Yen Yen defies MCA policy and becomes Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board chairman Posted: 19 Jun 2013 03:28 PM PDT
ABN News) - Another MCA leader has defied the party's decision not to accept any Government posts – former Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen has assumed the post of Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) chairman. The Sun reported that Ng replaces the ministry's former secretary-general, Datuk Victor Wee, whose tenure as chairman ended on May 5. Sources said she "had already inspected the chairman's office" before she left the ministry just before the general election. |
US cites Russia, China among worst in human trafficking Posted: 19 Jun 2013 03:11 PM PDT
The report said China's one-child policy and preference for sons has led to fewer women in the country, thus increasing demand for women as brides or prostitutes. (Reuters) - An annual US State Department report yesterday cited Russia and China among the world's worst offenders in fighting forced labor and sex trafficking, which could lead to US sanctions. The US designation drops Russia and China, which already often are at odds with Washington, in the same category as North Korea and Iran. The State Department ranks countries according to the efforts they make to fight human trafficking and Russia, China and Uzbekistan all fell to the lowest level, Tier 3, in the new report. While the Chinese government has taken some steps to address the problem, such as vowing to work with international organizations and increasing public awareness, it also has continued to perpetuate the problem in hundreds of its own institutions, the State Department report said. "Despite these modest signs of interest in anti-trafficking reforms, the Chinese government did not demonstrate significant efforts to comprehensively prohibit and punish all forms of trafficking and to prosecute traffickers," US officials wrote. The report said China's one-child policy and preference for sons has led to fewer women in the country, thus increasing demand for women as brides or prostitutes. In Russia, the government "had not established any concrete system for the identification or care of trafficking victims, lacking any formal victim identification and referral mechanism," although there were some "ad hoc efforts," the report said. The citation is likely to further strain the complicated relations between the United States and the two countries, which already have been strained by the handling of the civil war in Syria and cybersecurity, among other issues. While it was not immediately clear what the Obama administration might do given the downgrade, human rights advocates and some U.S. lawmakers urged strong steps such as imposing sanctions or withholding foreign aid. They also called on the Russian and Chinese governments to take action. "China has become the sex and labor trafficking capital of the world," said US Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican. "Without serious and sustained action by Beijing, it is only going to get worse." Under US law, Tier 3 countries may face sanctions that do not effect trade or humanitarian assistance, such as educational funding or culture programs. John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said China and Russia have been given several chances to improve their effort to combat such trafficking and protect victims. "The question for the White House is whether they're prepared to execute the sanctions," he said. "The question for China, Russia, and Uzbekistan is whether they're prepared to make commitments in the next 90 days to avoid those sanctions." A global problem Despite pledges to combat such crimes, countries have failed to identify tens of millions of victims, according to the report, which ranked 188 countries and territories based on their efforts. Just 40,000 victims of so-called modern slavery were identified last year among the estimated 27 million men, women and children who are held against their will globally, the report said. "Despite a growing body of knowledge about victims and their needs, finding them remains a tremendous challenge," department officials wrote in their 2013 Trafficking in Persons report. Among the millions of victims, most are women and girls, although many men and boys are also affected, the report said. Human trafficking can take many forms – from prostitution to forced labor such as migrant work or domestic servitude – and children also can be victims. Perpetrators are difficult to track and largely circulate in the private economy, although cases can involve rebel groups or national authorities. Among perpetrators, 7,705 were prosecuted in 2012, leading to 4,746 convictions, a slight increase from the prior year, US officials said. In 2011, there were 7,206 prosecutions and 4,239 convictions. Overall, there were far more countries downgraded than cited as improving, Sifton said. "This is a much more negative report than years past," he said. "Russia and China rightly deserve attention but many other countries have very serious trafficking and forced labor problems." Countries that did show improvement in fighting human trafficking include the Republic of Congo, Iraq and Azerbaijan, Sifton said. President Barack Obama last year pledged to step up the US effort to target trafficking. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday's report would guide US action but did not offer details, citing continued "diplomacy and development efforts" as well as work with victim support groups, the private sector and others. "Every government can do better," Kerry said in a letter accompanying the findings. |
PAS pertahan kepimpinan ulama Posted: 19 Jun 2013 03:06 PM PDT
Ulama lebih dekati Islam, memahami Islam dan tahu selok-belok Islam, kata Setiausaha Majlis Syura Ulama PAS. (FMT) - Majlis Syura Ulama PAS akan memastikan kepimpinan ulama akan terus dipertahankan bagi meneruskan kelangsungan presiden dari kalangan tokoh agama. Setiausahanya Datuk Nik Muhammad Zawawi Nik Salleh berkata pandangan sesetengah pihak yang mendakwa masa depan PAS akan lebih cerah jika diterajui naib presidennya Datuk Husam Musa tiada asas yang kukuh. Ini kerana tegas Nik Zawawi, perjuangan PAS tidak mementingkan individu dan sokongan rakyat kepada parti atas dasar yang diperjuangkan. "Perjuangan kita dalam PAS meletakkan parti Islam bukan kepentingan individu, bermaksud kita perjuangkan Islam. "PAS berteraskan kepada kepimpinan ulama dan sokongan diberikan kerana ulama ialah individu yang dekati Islam, memahami Islam dan tahu selok-belok Islam," katanya dipetik dari blog UtaraNews hari ini. Beliau berkata demikian sebagai respons kenyataan bekas Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Zaid Ibrahim berpendapat masa depan PAS akan lebih cerah sekiranya dipimpin oleh Husam. Ini kerana, kata beliau, majoriti penyokong PAS sekarang terdiri daripada golongan muda dan berdasarkan pemerhatian beliau, Husam adalah pemimpin paling digemari oleh golongan itu. Menurut Zaid yang juga pernah bersama PKR dan Pakatan Rakyat, PAS kini yang dipimpin oleh golongan 'veteran' perlu melakukan pendekatan berbeza sekiranya mahu menarik minat penyokong majoritinya. READ MORE HERE |
PSM not welcome in Pakatan pact Posted: 19 Jun 2013 02:56 PM PDT
Although PSM has individual support from Pakatan leaders, there is 'no general consensus' supporting their inclusion in the pact. Lisa J Ariffin, FMT The Pakatan Rakyat coalition will "never" accept Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) into its fold, PKR's Saifuddin Nasution said today. He said the general consensus is that the doors are closed to PSM. "I stand by my earlier statement on the position of PSM being accepted by Pakatan. "For the last five years as a member of Pakatan's leadership council, I am crystal clear about the issue and collective stand by DAP, PAS and PKR. "There will never be consensus for them (PSM) to be a part of the coalition," he told FMT. Saifuddin said this in response to open support voiced by several Pakatan leaders for PSM's inclusion in the pact. Both DAP and PAS have at different times expressed their support for PSM's entry into the fold. Last week, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh reportedly said that it was better to have PSM in Pakatan as this move would avoid three-cornered fights between the opposition and PSM in the 14th general election. Karpal had also called for the coalition to reconsider its decision. Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad had also given his "conditional" support for PSM's inclusion. Khalid said PSM was welcome as long as "it is DAP that gives up its seats (for PSM) during elections". READ MORE HERE |
‘I am a naturalised citizen’, explains Christina Liew Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:46 PM PDT ![](http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae159/Malaysia-Today/Mug%20shots/Christina-Liew_zps7e998d1e.jpg)
(The Borneo Insider) - Api-Api State assemblywoman Christina Liew has categorically rubbished the allegation by a witness in the on-going Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), that she is an Indonesian of Chinese descent who had obtained Malaysian citizenship. "My parents were British subjects who migrated to North Borneo in 1952, with British documents from Hong Kong," she told the Borneo Insider Wednesday night. "I was one month old then. I obtained my blue IC when Sabah/Malaysia achieved her independence in 1963. I'm a naturalized citizen. "All my six brothers and sisters were born in Tawau. We grew up in North Borneo before independence. I have never been to Indonesia until I was in my adulthood. "What nonsense is this man talking about?" she said in a rebuttal to the claim of the Sabah Suluk Ethnic Clan Association secretary Mohd Zaki Hari Susanto, when giving his testimony at the RCI hearing earlier Wednesday. Read more at: http://borneoinsider.com/2013/06/20/i-am-a-naturalised-citizen-explains-christina-liew/ |
Indonesian mosques ordered to turn down the volume Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:41 PM PDT (Al Arabiya) - Indonesian mosques have been ordered to cut down on their use of loudspeakers, an Islamic group said Wednesday, a move that may provide some relief to millions who live near the places of worship. There are some 800,000 mosques in Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, and many use speakers to blast out the call to prayer as well as fiery Koranic verses, often at high volumes in the early hours.But now the Indonesian Mosques Council has asked the places of worship to restrict the use of loudspeakers following years of complaints by weary residents."We must not force something that we believe is good on others who may see it as a disturbance," said Masdar Masudi, deputy head of the council that groups many of the country's mosques."Even Muslims, such as those who are ill or have insomnia, will definitely get annoyed at the noise."Loudspeakers that face into surrounding neighborhoods should broadcast only the call to prayer, which is often relatively quiet and short, said Masudi.If there are several mosques in the same area, only one should broadcast the call, he said.For longer and louder readings, speakers can still be used, but they must face into the grounds of the mosque, he said. Read more at: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/2013/05/29/Indonesian-mosques-ordered-to-turn-down-the-volume-.html |
NGOs should Boycott Local Council Appointments Posted: 19 Jun 2013 12:59 PM PDT
It has been observed that both coalitions are jealously guarding their "privilege" in appointing the councilors they have coopted and awarding contracts to contractors who support them in the states under their control. Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser The declared commitment to elected local government by the new Selangor exco member Teng Chang Khim must be commended. It shows that if there is a political will to bring back elected local government, it can be done. Considering that this long overdue demand for elected local government was in neither the BN nor PR's election manifestoes doesn't say much for the priority of this much needed reform in both coalitions' reform agendas. It has been observed that both coalitions are jealously guarding their "privilege" in appointing the councilors they have coopted and awarding contracts to contractors who support them in the states under their control. The scramble among certain NGO activists and Residential Association office bearers to be "appointed local councilors" has been in the news recently. Here I would like to reaffirm the Concerned Malaysian NGOs' (Comangos) long tradition of struggle for elected local government. As democrats, we do not accept such feudal practices. The Government NGOs (Gongos), on the other hand, have always been in a different league… It is all the more urgent now for NGOs to take a stand against this feudal system of appointments to the third tier of government and to put "elected local government" back on the reform agenda of the day. The people are totally fed up with the performance of non-elected local authorities all these years. Our daily newspapers abound with complaints about the many aspects of local councils' irresponsibility and questionable activities. The inertia and non-accountability of local councils have resulted in bottlenecks, discontentment and environmental disasters which are holding back our development. When we realise that many local councils are being upgraded into municipalities, this is a daunting prospect given their inability to find twenty first century solutions to waste and infrastructural management; to efficiently plan, maintain and monitor projects, and to mobilise participation of ratepayers. Elected, open, transparent, participatory Looking at examples of successful councils in the developed countries, we find that their most distinguishing features are the fact that they are elected; council meetings are open and transparent; accountability is demanded; there is participation by ratepayers, and there are established mechanisms to manage change. To assume as some have done, that elected local government is only a futuristic hope is to forget our history and to undermine our democratic heritage. In fact, the Kuala Lumpur Municipal Elections of 1952 was the first step we took on the way to self-government. At Independence, we continued this commitment to local government elections because appointments to political office were seen as a colonial practice. However, local elections were suspended in 1965 during the Confrontation crisis with the assurance that they would be restored as soon as peace was declared and the Emergency regulations were withdrawn. The Royal Commission which was formed to report on the local governments recommended that while the management of local authorities needed reform, the elective principle should be retained and restored. It is clear that the democratic trend in Malaysia even during those early Independence years forty years ago was toward decentralisation and devolution. As our society becomes more mature, one would expect democratic principles of accountability at the local community level to be even more necessary. No taxation without representation In the democratic tradition, taxation cannot be justified without representation. Ratepayers must be represented on the governing body which determines how that money should be spent. This is a fundamental precept of parliamentary government which is equally applicable at local-level government. It is to satisfy the requirement in a democratic society for greater pluralism, participation and responsiveness. Today, we find that Malaysians are no longer prepared to put up with negligence or irresponsibility. Residents are demanding that their voices be heard at the local council. In this sense we can see why local authorities are considered the primary units of government. Services should be decentralised Many services including education, housing, health, transportation and even community policing require local knowledge and can be better coordinated and more efficiently implemented through the local authority. Few Malaysians have noticed, for example, that the all-important role of local education authorities in the Education Act 1961 is no longer mentioned in the new Education Act 1996. Local education authorities serve to allocate funds and other facilities to needy sectors and can serve to dissipate the politicisation of education. NGOs should sponsor the under-represented NOT themselves Finally, we find that in the modern state, many social groups such as urban settlers, farmers, indigenous peoples and manual workers are grossly under-represented and local government can provide them with the opportunity to air their concerns. Generally speaking, at this local level it is easier for voters to influence decisions. The role of Congos has always been to empower the disempowered such as these under-represented groups that NGOs exist to serve. NGO activists should therefore have the integrity not to recommend themselves as "appointed councilors" or advertise themselves as "professional councilors" but instead, recommend the people they are pledged to empower. Time to push elected local government to top of national agenda The urgent task of the concerned Malaysian NGOs today is to push this agenda for elected local government to the very top of the national agenda. To emphasise the seriousness of this agenda, the least that principled NGO activists can do is to BOYCOTT ALL COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS. |
‘OCM pressured to move to Padang Merbok’ Posted: 19 Jun 2013 12:55 PM PDT
(FMT) - The last-minute change of venue by OCM from Dataran Merdeka to Padang Merbok will not affect this Saturday' Black 505 rally at the same venue, said PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli. The venue of this Sunday's Olympic Day Run 2013 has switched from Dataran Merdeka to Padang Merbok at the eleventh hour and PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli has pinned the blame on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The event's organisers, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) announced the venue change this afternoon due to "unforeseen circumstances", but Rafizi said it was clear they were being pressured by someone "higher up" to put a stop to Pakatan's Black 505 rally on Saturday. "Why would OCM want to change the venue three days before the annual run, after having spent so much resources on promoting the event and informing the public it will be at Dataran Merdeka?" he asked. "It's bad enough that Najib cannot accept the fact that we are entitled to gather and use Padang Merbok for our rally. But it is not fair for Najib and Zahid to use OCM (to stop us)," the Pandan MP told FMT. But Rafizi was unfazed by the venue change and stressed it would have no impact on this Saturday's mammoth rally against alleged electoral fraud. "I am amused by the whole thing. It is quite comical that OCM has to change the programme after it is written all over the internet that it will be at Dataran Merdeka. "Nevertheless, it is not going to change anything because the event is going to take place on Sunday and our rally is on Saturday." Read more at: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/19/ocm-pressured-to-move-to-padang-merbok/ |
Olympic fun run at Padang Merbok Posted: 19 Jun 2013 12:54 PM PDT
(The Malay Mail) - DBKL revoked our application for Dataran Merdeka recently, thus leaving us with just Padang Merbok. THE Olympic Day Fun Run will be held at Padang Merbok on Sunday. The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) confirmed the change of venue yesterday after it had earlier secured two venues — Dataran Merdeka and Padang Merbok. "Our initial application to secure Dataran Merdeka in December was not approved and we proceeded to book Padang Merbok, which Kuala Lumpur City Hall approved on Jan 9," said OCM secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi. "We appealed to use Dataran Merdeka and was given the green light by DBKL in April. So, we had both venues to cater for the 15,000 runners. "However, DBKL revoked our application for Dataran Merdeka recently, thus leaving us with just Padang Merbok." "Due to the nature of the field, we are forced to build a 20ft x 20ft ramp to cater 15,000 people. Works will start on Friday." When it was pointed out the "Black 505" rally woul be held on Saturday, in which the organisers had insisted on using Padang Merbok despite not obtaining approval from DBKL, Sieh said: "That is for DBKL to secure the place." |