Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes
- Malaysia sultan says Muslims who attended church dinner will get counseling to ‘restore faith’
- Mindef plans to market defence products globally
- Indian police ‘book’ tycoon Ananda Krishnan, Ralph Marshall in telco graft scandal
- UK's Cameron says to tighten up immigration rules
- PAS to start petition calling for royal panel to probe A-G
- Mat Zain: Panel probe on A-G ‘unconstitutional’
- Will Najib's election goodies be enough?
- Detainee Dies In Kota Baharu Court Lock-Up
- 'Money will not fall from sky'
- ‘Where’s the Auditor-General’s report?’
- Zahid says no cash for BAE warship deal
- Selangor Sultan backs Jais church raid, no one to be charged
| Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes Posted: 09 Oct 2011 07:56 PM PDT (Bernama) - IPOH: The Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, wants the State Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIP) and Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) to review their programmes towards developing the Muslim community's economy in a sustainable manner. He said greater attention should be given to economic activities involving the role of the Perak Islamic Economic Development Corporatision, zakat and Baitulmal, and managing of funds to ensure viability and high impact of every programme implemented. Speaking at the 177th MAIP Conference here on Monday, Raja Nazrin said he not only wanted to see figures on vouchers and receipts audited, but also evaluation of programmes in terms of quality and impact towards achieving the objectives. He said for a meaningful impact, MAIP and JAIP needed to place the Key Performance Indicators at a more dynamic level. "The existing management culture needs to be revamped and the work culture of 'business as usual' be changed in every activity organised. "Each year, I attend functions organised by MAIP and JAIP such as the Maulidur Rasul and Maal Hijrah celebrations. A lot of time and money were spent on organising these events, but each year the programmes were the same without the injection of innovative ideas to make them more dynamic. "Such programmes have become ritual, merely to fill the calendar of events, and devoid of the spirit to touch the hearts of the attendees, thus not meeting the objectives." In fact, he said, those who came were just obliging the invitations and returned home spiritually unfulfilled. Raja Nazrin said MAIP and JAIP needed to take a new approach by giving a new image and content to the programmes to be organised in 2012. He said the content and venues for the programmes should be planned early and carefully and after approval by the committee, be presented to him for his views and consent, especially on the financial implications. The MAIP conference on Monday also recorded its condolences to the Raja Kecil Besar of Perak, Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah, on the demise of his mother, Raja Perempuan Muzwin, on Oct 6. Raja Nazrin also presented the letter of appointment to State Financial Officer Datuk Ghazali Jalal as a member of MAIP, replacing Datuk Jamaluddin Al-Amini who has gone on compulsory retirement. - Bernama |
| Malaysia sultan says Muslims who attended church dinner will get counseling to ‘restore faith’ Posted: 09 Oct 2011 05:42 PM PDT
(Washington Post) — Islamic authorities will provide counseling to a dozen Malaysian Muslims to "restore their belief and faith" after they attended a community dinner at a church hall, a royal sultan said Monday. The case has triggered worries among officials in Muslim-majority Malaysia that some non-Muslims were trying to convert Muslims. Proselytizing of Muslims is punishable by prison terms of various lengths in most Malaysian states. Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the constitutional ruler of Malaysia's central Selangor state, said Islamic officials who inspected a dinner at a Methodist church hall in early August found "evidence that there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims." The sultan did not elaborate on the evidence or mention Christians in his statement, but said the evidence was "insufficient for further legal actions to be taken." Church officials had repeatedly denied any proselytization occurred at the dinner, which they described as a multiethnic gathering to celebrate the work of a community organization that worked with women, children and HIV patients. Christian leaders had also criticized Islamic state enforcement officials for what they called an unauthorized raid. Malaysia's state sultans command immense moral clout particularly among Malaysia's ethnic Malay Muslims, who regard them as the top authorities on Islamic issues. Muslims, who comprise nearly two-thirds of the country's 28 million people, are not legally permitted to change religion. "We command that (Islamic officials) provide counseling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the religion of Islam," Sultan Sharafuddin said. Rev. Hermen Shastri, the general secretary of Malaysia's Council of Churches, said the sultan's statement "brings closure to the case." "No one should speculate or aggravate the situation further," he told The Associated Press. The sultan added Monday he was "gravely concerned and extremely offended by the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims." "We hope that after this, any and all activities ... for the purposes of spreading other religions to Muslims in Selangor must be ceased immediately," he said. Malaysia's non-Muslims mainly comprise Christians, Buddhists and Hindus, some of whom have complained in recent years that enforcement officials are often overzealous in trying to uphold Islam and fail to respect the rights of minorities.
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| Mindef plans to market defence products globally Posted: 09 Oct 2011 05:39 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — The government said today it will set up a new agency to promote Malaysian defence products internationally. The defence ministry said that a marketing company would be set up jointly with the main players in the industry. "Our products have international recognition but there is no integrated support," Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi told reporters today. He said the move would allow Malaysia to showcase its defence products with more visibility, such as having its own pavilion at international arms shows. The Umno vice president said that details such as contributions to paid-up capital will be announced later. He added that the move will allow "cross-fertilisation" between the main companies and the ministry to exchange defence expertise and business knowhow. The government has handed billion-ringgit procurement deals to local companies recently with the stated objective of developing the local defence industry. DRB-HICOM and Boustead have secured deals worth RM8 billion and RM6 billion to deliver vehicles and naval vessels respectively this year alone. |
| Indian police ‘book’ tycoon Ananda Krishnan, Ralph Marshall in telco graft scandal Posted: 09 Oct 2011 05:06 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Indian investigators have filed a case against Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri T. Ananda Krishnan, his trusted executive Ralph Marshall together with a former Indian telecom minister and his brother on charges of criminal conspiracy over a controversial deal involving telecommunication giant Maxis and India's Aircel. A Maxis spokesman told The Malaysian Insider the company is aware of the case when contacted this afternoon."We're aware of that and we'll get back to you," the corporate communications official said. State news agency Press Trust of India said three companies, including Maxis, have also been listed in the case. The other companies are India's Aspro and Sun TV. The former Indian minister is Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi. PTI said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today conducted raids at the premises of the Maran brothers in Delhi and Chennai. "The CBI has registered case against Maran brothers, Ralph Marshall and T. Ananda Krishnan (picture) and three companies under section 120b of IPC read with 13(2) with 13 (1)(d) and also sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case was registered on 9th October. Searches were conducted at Delhi and Chennai," CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra said here. It has been alleged by former Aircel chief C. Sivasankaran that Dayanidhi Maran as the then-telecom minister favoured the Maxis group in the takeover of his company and in return investments were made by the company through Astro network in Sun TV owned by the Maran family. The CBI, in its recent status report to the Supreme Court, had said that during Dayanidhi Maran's tenure there was "deliberate delay" to provide a letter of intent to Sivasankaran. The agency had said that after Aircel was sold to Maxis investments were made by the Malaysian firm into the family business of the Marans. The Aircel group is a joint venture between Malaysia's Maxis Communications Berhad and India's Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited and has the largest service in Tamil Nadu.
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| UK's Cameron says to tighten up immigration rules Posted: 09 Oct 2011 04:30 PM PDT
(Reuters) - Britain plans to tighten up rules on admitting relatives of migrants, cracking down on abuses used to gain entry to the country such as sham and forced marriages, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday. Cameron, who wants to prevent newcomers from relying on Britain's comprehensive welfare system, said that family migration accounted for almost a fifth of total non-EU immigration to Britain last year. The Conservatives want to reduce net migration to Britain from around 200,000 people per year to a figure of tens of thousands which they argue is more manageable. Restricting migration is seen as a way of reducing pressure on public spending at a time when the Conservative-led coalition is making deep cuts in public spending. The policy appeals to the right-wing of the Conservatives but has caused friction with the Liberal Democrats, the junior coalition partner. Cameron said the government wanted to ensure that people bringing their relatives into Britain had enough money to support them. "We're going to look at further measures to ensure financial independence: discounting promises of support from family and friends, and whether a financial bond would be appropriate in some cases," he said in advance excerpts of a speech he will make on Monday. "We're also consulting on how to tackle abuse of the system, to make sure that family migrants who come here are in a genuine relationship with their partner." Cameron gave an example of a Pakistani man granted a visa on the basis of his marriage to someone settled in Britain. "He obtained indefinite leave to remain and then immediately divorced his UK-based spouse. He returned to Pakistan and re-married and then applied for entry clearance for his new spouse," he added. "We simply cannot sit back and allow the system to be abused in this way. So we will make migrants wait longer, to show they really are in a genuine relationship before they can get settlement." Cameron said breaching rules intended to prevent forced marriage would be made a criminal offence and tougher controls could follow. "I am also asking the Home Secretary to consult on making forcing someone to marry an offence in its own right - working closely with those who provide support to women forced into marriage to make sure that such a step would not prevent or hinder them from reporting what has happened to them," he said.
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| PAS to start petition calling for royal panel to probe A-G Posted: 09 Oct 2011 04:12 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - PAS will press through a petition for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the Attorney-General during the current parliamentary sitting, rejecting Putrajaya's refusal to charge Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail with corruption. PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar told The Malaysian Insider today the petition aims to pressure the government into action, saying it was unacceptable it has chosen repeatedly to ignore the countless allegations of misconduct against the country's top lawyer. He reiterated that if Abdul Gani (picture) was being absolved of blame in all the allegations, defamation charges should be slapped on all the latter's accusers, including former senior police officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim and blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin. "To me, this shows the government has no stand in this issue. Their refusal to take action shows their unwillingness to clean up the institution. "It is not a matter of charging the A-G personally, but the entire institution of the A-G's Chambers itself appears to be lacking integrity and credibility," he said when met at the Parliament lobby here this morning. "I will start the petition soon, during this parliamentary sitting, and we will push for the RCI," he added. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told The Malaysian Insider last week that last year's decision to close the door on the A-G's alleged involvement in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 "black eye" case still stands. "Same reply, same reply. I replied to (DAP adviser Lim) Kit Siang in Parliament before. The reply is the same," he said when asked if Putrajaya would act on the renewed allegations against Abdul Gani. Asked to state if the government would take action against Abdul Gani's accusers, Nazri repeated: "Same reply." In Parliament on December 14 last year, the government side-stepped the damning accusations made by Mat Zain that Abdul Gani had falsified documents in the "black eye" case, brushing aside several open letters and appeals issued by the former. Instead, Nazri had told the House there was no need for Mat Zain to complain that the independent panel formed to investigate the evidence fabrication had failed to clear his name in the incident. This, said Nazri, was because Mat Zain had never been the subject of the panel's probe and had merely been called as a witness to testify.
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| Mat Zain: Panel probe on A-G ‘unconstitutional’ Posted: 09 Oct 2011 04:06 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - The independent panel which absolved Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was unconstitutional, claimed the ex-senior police officer who has campaigned tirelessly to remove the attorney-general. Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahims said that the panel was unconstitutionally set-up in 2009. The panel went on to rule the allegations against Abdul Gani were baseless. Mat Zain who has mounted a one-man campaign against Abdul Gani, charged that only the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may order such a tribunal, and therefore it was not in the purview of the solicitor-general or even any Cabinet minister. "The provisions in the Constitution are very clear. When the conduct of the attorney general becomes an issue, only the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is empowered to establish a Tribunal upon a representation presented to His Majesty by the Prime Minister. There's no other option. "This is a matter strictly between the PM and the Agong," Mat Zain said in a statement. The former policeman said the findings of the independent panel that cleared Abdul Gani (picture) of falsifying evidence in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's 1998 "black eye" case should therefore be considered null and void. Mat Zain said that although the panel had decided on March 1, 2009, Dewan Rakyat was informed ten days later on March 11 that one member of the independent panel had found evidence to "prove" the A-G's involvements in the alleged wrongdoings. Mat Zain also said he informed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on October 2008 regarding the matter but said that no action had been taken against Abdul Gani till today. The government has said it will not take action against the A-G despite renewed allegations of corruption and fabricating evidence made against the country's top lawyer.
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| Will Najib's election goodies be enough? Posted: 09 Oct 2011 03:36 PM PDT By Ooi Kee Beng, TODAYonline The annual budget is a powerful weapon for the Malaysian government, and never more so than when national elections are impending. Mr Najib Razak's third budget as Prime Minister, announced last Friday, definitely signals that elections are indeed on the way. Beleaguered as his government must feel - after the Bersih demonstration in July turned into a bigger anti-government event than it needed to be - when major economic indicators are all pointing the wrong way and with only one and a half years left before a General Election has to be held, it was wiser for Mr Najib not to postpone the use of this weapon until next October. |
| Detainee Dies In Kota Baharu Court Lock-Up Posted: 09 Oct 2011 03:32 PM PDT (Bernama) KOTA BAHARU -- A detainee was found dead in the Kota Baharu court lock-up, here on Sunday. Kota Baharu police deputy chief Supt Idris Abd Rafar said the 43-year-old detainee was found unconscious in the lock-up by a policeman on duty at 3pm. "The policeman had gone to the lock-up to bring him to Pengkalan Chepa Prison when he saw the detainee lying unconscious," he said. Idris said the body was sent to Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, here. "Our investigation found there was no foul play involved and we have classified the case as sudden death." He said the detainee, from Kampung Badang, here, was arrested on Wednesday and charged in court today for an offence under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. |
| 'Money will not fall from sky' Posted: 09 Oct 2011 03:16 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Money will not fall from the sky. This is the reminder from PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, urging the public to be wary of the government 2012 budget which was focused on spending without income-generating plans. Tuan Ibrahim (right) repeated the description of the budget tabled by prime minister Najib Razak last Friday as 'morphine budget', and said Barisan Nasional was presently concealing any drastic plans to raise revenue until it won the 13th general election. "What has been given will be taken back immediately after 13th GE if they continue to be in power, because by then, the people will be forced to be under the BN government for another five years," he said. He expected BN to table more supplementary budget bills after the general election, saying this was to regenerate income to cover the 2012 budget expenses which was geared towards winning the election. Besides the goods and services tax (GST), Tuan Ibrahim said there was a high possibility that the six percent tax on prepaid mobile phones recently suspended would be reverted. Last week, Najib tabled RM238 billion budget, with RM181 billion for expenditure, and an economic projection of between 5 to 6 percent, as well as a shrinking of deficit to 4.2 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) compared to 5.4 percent in 2011. "Regardless of its theme, the people are aware of the UNNO-BN's tricks and must not be fooled by this morphine injection," added Tuan Ibrahim. |
| ‘Where’s the Auditor-General’s report?’ Posted: 09 Oct 2011 02:50 PM PDT By Patrick Lee, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat wants to know what has happened to the Auditor-General's (A-G) report which should have been presented in the Dewan Rakyat before the debate on Budget 2012. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said that it was strange for Parliament to debate the budget before the A-G's report was presented. "Unfortunately, we are debating the budget today, but the Auditor-General's report has not been presented," Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat today. He said this while presenting his response to Najib's Friday announcement of Budget 2012. "To my understanding, perhaps the house secretary can check; (this has) not happened before… that the Auditor-General's report has not been presented before the budget was debated," he added. Anwar, the PKR-Permatang Pauh MP, asked if this was a government tactic to prevent MPs from discussing the A-G report's contents. The A-G's report is an internal audit of the government's departments. In previous years, the report has revealed financial irregularities and excesses in a number of government procurement processes.
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| Zahid says no cash for BAE warship deal Posted: 09 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — The government will not proceed with plans to jointly develop navy ships with UK-based BAE Systems, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said today. "They have proposed but because of financial constraints, we will not be proceeding," the defence minister said.
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| Selangor Sultan backs Jais church raid, no one to be charged Posted: 09 Oct 2011 02:02 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider SHAH ALAM, Oct 10 — The Selangor Sultan ruled that the state religious authority's raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on August 3 was legitimate. But Sultan Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said today that although the Selangor Islamic Religious department (Jais) had found evidence of attempts to subvert Muslims, it was "insufficient" for further legal actions. The state ruler said therefore no one would be prosecuted, and Jais will provide counselling to the Muslims who were present in the church during the raid. "Jais has submitted to Us the full report of the search carried out at the Dream Centre Complex, Section 13, Petaling Jaya as well as the subsequent actions taken by Jais. We have thoroughly read in detail the said report and We are satisfied that the actions of Jais were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor," said a statement from the Selangor Sultan. The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) disrupted a charity dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on August 3. Jais has said that it "inspected" the evangelical church — based in Petaling Jaya — after acting on a complaint that participants at the dinner were trying to convert the 12 Muslims present at the function to Christianity. Proselytising Muslims is against the law in Malaysia. The contentious raid has escalated religious conflict between Muslims and Christians in the country, with Malay newspapers highlighting allegations of Christians trying to convert Muslims through welfare work. The Selangor hearing working group recently met Jais and representatives from NGO Harapan Komuniti — which organised the dinner at DUMC — in a bid to resolve the debacle that has incensed Muslims and Christians against the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) administration. Harapan Komuniti — which helps AIDS patients and impoverished single mothers — has said it featured prayer, religious songs and a quiz on Islam at its dinner, but denied it was proselytising. MORE TO COME |
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