Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- DAP candidates to contest 2 seats if needed
- More than meets the eye in Kedah PNG project
- Bung Mokhtar hits out at Syed Mokhtar, Zeti
- Politicisation of hudud angers Dr M
- Germany’s past anti-Jew policy inspired Dr M’s banking reforms, says Sanusi
- MyNewsHub propagates Nazism
- The man who brought the Black Flag to Timbuktu
- Shahrizat backs Raja Nong Chik as Lembah Pantai BN candidate
- Ambil tindakan, jangan undi Soi Lek - Abim
- PAS tanding 30 dari 56 kerusi DUN Johor
- Homophobia on the rise in Indonesia, survey says
- Why not anti-hudud law, Lim?
- Malaysia a secular state contrary to Nazri’s remarks, say law experts
- Greedy, corrupt leadership caused Malay agenda to fail, says Malay chamber
- ‘Tanda Putera’ perlu untuk beri peringatan tragedi 13 Mei
- Foreign-funded NGOs: PAS man wants answers
- Let’s debate on Suhakam reports, says Nazri
- Battle of airwaves in Sarawak
- Pakatan divided on secular state issue
- Penerbit Tanda Putera terima dana k’jaan RM2.7 juta
- Malaysia's Missing Police Chief
- Bersih sees red over ‘bizzare’ episode
- Nazri: Michael Chia never arrested in HK with Sabah Umno cash
- Lament of a Stressed-out Minister
- PAS gets my vote
- EC upset over Suara Keadilan report
- The truth about oil royalty
- My response to Kee Thuan Chye
- Hudud: ‘MCA hitting below the belt’
- ‘Malays not ready for hudud’
- Mind your language
- MARA, the property pushover
- MCA touts ‘Ah Jib Gor’ factor for Chinese vote
- Nazri: M’sia not a secular state
- Mat Sabu: MCA insulting Islam
- MCA – the champions of petty issues
- Perkasa mohon Raja-Raja turun padang
- Pakatan needs a decisive strategy now!
- An AGM of opposition bashing
- Quarry Collapse
- Has The Star paper became too arrogant??
- Should government scholars be grateful?
- Wee steals DAP secular theme, but MCA silent
- Auditing of S’wak govt agencies ‘superficial’
- Holding Out for a Hero: the Saddening State of the Sabah Opposition Front
- 5 of Najib’s Filipino maids barred from flight at Naia
- MCA’s bold move in secularising Malaysia
- Ex-IGP denies tell-all Altantuya media conference in Bangkok
- MCA defends hardline stand on hudud
- Soi Lek: MCA bersedia berperang habis-habisan untuk PRU-13
| DAP candidates to contest 2 seats if needed Posted: 23 Oct 2012 12:34 AM PDT
(The Sun Daily) - Federal opposition party DAP will allow its candidates to concurrently contest two seats – state and parliamentary – if the situation calls for it. DAP national vice-chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the party's leadership had discussed the issue at length earlier this year and concluded that it would decide on the matter on a case-by-case basis. He said factors such as political circumstances and environment will dictate whether party candidates can contest both parliamentary and state seats. "If there is a proposal for a candidate to contest two seats, the party will look at it," he said at a press conference today. The issue arose earlier this year when DAP national chairman Karpal Singh proposed that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) candidates only contest one seat in the next general election. The Bukit Gelugor MP had reportedly expressed his desire that the DAP lead by example by setting a one-seat policy before the polls. Karpal, however, added that the chief minister and mentri besar, who are state assemblymen, should participate in Parliament for the benefit of their respective states. He was also reported to have postulated that there might be "exceptional cases" such as in Sabah and Sarawak where the party might not have enough candidates. On whether any DAP candidate is slated for contesting two seats, Chow said the decision has yet to be made. He said the party has a pool of candidates but has not decided who will contest. Chow, who is Tanjong MP and Padang Kota assemblyman, also side-stepped the question of whether he is going to defend both his seats, quipping that he has yet to be nominated. The Penang DAP chairman also dismissed criticisms that the party practises "dynasty politics". He said the child of a politician who decides to enter politics should be judged as an individual in "his own right, capability and capacity". "Not every father encourages his son to join politics ... especially in the Opposition. How many want their sons to follow in their footsteps? ... Because it is not easy," he said.
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| More than meets the eye in Kedah PNG project Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:17 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak broke his silence Tuesday over allegations of losses incurred by a state-owned company in a project in Papua New Guinea, and seemed to have opened a Pandora's box. He said a senior officer of the state-owned Kedah Corporation Bhd, who had since gone missing, had secured a USD40mil (RM122.1mil) offshore loan from a bank in the United Kingdom in 2009 without the knowledge of the board of directors and had worked with another company to invest in a plantation and logging project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). "After learning of the irregularity, a committee was set up to investigate Kedah Corp's operations and it was learnt that the PNG project was unprofitable and was terminated," he told reporters when approached at the handing over of Aidiladha sacrificial cattle to Federal and state departments and agencies at the Suka Menanti Stadium, here. Azizan said the state government ordered the termination of the transaction by the UK bank but was forced to settle RM1.4mil in consultancy fee to a company. He also said that the state government would not hesitate to reclaim RM1.3mil from the company with which the missing officer had dealt with as the owner had promised to return the money. "I am prepared to hand over the file on the case to the police, and to have the officer who has gone missing traced," he said. He denied that the Kedah government was involved in irregularities in the PNG project and invited immediate investigation by the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) into the case highlighted by the Auditor-General's Report 2011. The report had stated that Kedah Corp had obtained a RM135mil offshore loan to finance the project. Azizan dismissed allegations that the state government was at fault for having caused Kedah Corp to suffer a loss of RM13.49mil in the project. Azizan claimed that many more cases of GLC mismanagement had driven the government helmed by him to incur debts, which had to be settled. "I am forced to examine all the agreements reached to ensure that the state government does not incur losses, including the 99East project, a development on Bukit Malut in Langkawi involving 145.6 hectares of state land," he said.
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| Bung Mokhtar hits out at Syed Mokhtar, Zeti Posted: 22 Oct 2012 07:42 PM PDT The Kinabatangan MP urges the government to stop Syed Mokhtar from monopolising business in the country and get someone to replace Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz. G Vinod, FMT Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin launched a broadside against business tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary and Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz at the Parliament today. In his criticism against Syed Mokhtar, Bung Mokhtar questioned the Finance Ministry's rationale in allowing the billionaire to control mega businesses in the country at the expense of other businessmen. "He wants Keretapi Tanah Melayu, he wants Mass Rapid Transit. He wants everything on land, sea and air. Given a chance, he will even do business in the graveyard," said the outspoken MP. He also said that it was not fair for other businessmen and pointed out that there were other capable bumiputeras out there who could work on projects as effectively. "Even open tenders for small businesses, Syed Mokhtar will be there. Don't let one man control everything," said Bung Mokhtar. He also said that the government should be mindful as the people were watching and urged the relevent authorities to come up with a mechanism to keep tabs on monopolistic system. "This thing keeps happening. Last time we had Tajuddin Ramli controlling MAS but what happened? At the end, government had to take responsibility for its losses. "That's why I object to monopoly. Don't depend on one person to control our economy," said Bung Mokhtar. On Zeti, Bung Mokhtar urged the Finance Ministry to probe the Bank Negara governor for allegedly being negligent in monitoring the rising numbers of gold trading companies in Malaysia. He was referring to the recent raid by Bank Negara on four gold trading companies for allegedly being involved in various malpractises.
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| Politicisation of hudud angers Dr M Posted: 22 Oct 2012 07:39 PM PDT But the former premier is vague if he objected to MCA's move to exploit the issue to gain Chinese votes. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he detested the ongoing politicisation of the hudud debate but made no clear position on MCA's move to exploit the issue to win the Chinese votes. "I am disappointed that hudud is being used for the gains of certain quarters… the issue is not a religious one but a political one," the former premier told reporters here today. "I am against hudud being used as a political issue," added the nation's longest serving PM whose administration was known for its promotion of moderate Islam and anti-hudud stand. The longstanding controversy over the Islamic penal law resurfaced when the ruling coalition's Chinese component party, MCA, at its annual general assembly last weekend played on the issue apparently aimed at shoring up support from the community. MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek had said that a vote for rival DAP would mean support for PAS' push for hudud to be implemented if the federal opposition bloc wins the general election. Chua had also said that PAS condoned the rape of non-Muslims. PAS and DAP are allies in Pakatan Rakyat but the two clash ideologically with one pushing for an Islamic state and the other being staunch secularists. To date the hudud issue had not been resolved and political rivals have used the debacle to drive a deeper wedge between the two but PKR, the leading moderates in Pakatan, have so far been successful in containing the conflict. PAS leaders said Chua's comments were an insult to Islam and that MCA, with drastic drop in Chinese support, had played the religious card to stay relevant. Malaysia a Muslim country The Chinese form the second biggest electorate next to the Malays in Malaysia. Its support for the ruling coalition had fast dwindled since the landmark polls in 2008 with analysts saying the worse is yet to come for MCA. Mahathir too admitted that MCA had tried to use the hudud issue to scare the Chinese from voting DAP.
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| Germany’s past anti-Jew policy inspired Dr M’s banking reforms, says Sanusi Posted: 22 Oct 2012 07:34 PM PDT
Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was inspired by Germany's past policy of limiting Jewish financial influence to help the Malays but it was later thwarted by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former Cabinet minister Tan Sri Sanusi Junid said today. Sanusi told a Malay economic forum that Dr Mahathir and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin were hoping that Malays would control the economy but when they saw progress was slow, they decided to follow the German example of not granting banking licences to Jews. But the plan failed when Anwar became finance minister and approved two banking licences to non-Malay banking groups — Alliance Bank and Hong Leong Bank. "We thought that if we can't control the economy, we would follow Germany," Sanusi said at the Malay Economic Congress here. "In Germany banking licences are not given to the Jews." He said while pre-existing licences had been given to non-Malays, Daim made sure that all banks had Malay directors, which was important to ensure all banks had Malay influence. "But unfortunately a huge disaster happened (kecelakaan besar); when Anwar became finance minister he approved banking licences for Alliance Bank and Hong Leong bank," he said. "We didn't want to give." Sanusi said that as a result there are now "two non-Malay banks without Malay influence." Malaysia's banking system was formerly largely controlled by the Chinese but many were taken over by or forced to merge with government-controlled entities. The loss of Chinese-founded banking institutions is widely perceived by the Chinese community as of one of the ways they have been discriminated against under the guise of helping the Bumiputera community. The Umno-led Barisan Nasional government however had previously maintained that direct intervention was required to uplift the Bumiputeras and that mergers would help create stronger banks that could withstand globalisation.
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| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 06:53 PM PDT
Unless MCA, MIC, Gerakan and all those 10 or so other 'non-Malay' parties in Barisan Nasional come out to openly deny this, we will have to assume that this is true. There is such a thing as consent by silence. An allegation has been made against all the non-Umno parties in Barisan Nasional that they support the idea of turning Malaysia into an Islamic State. Until it is proven otherwise we have to take this as true. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin I picked up the commentary below (Secular Country is just DAP's tactic to break up Muslims) from MyNewsHub. I suspect that website is pro-government. The reason I am publishing it here is so that I can reply to it. As I said, we must also read news from 'the other side' so that we know what they are saying and can then respond to their spin. First of all, the article below is very badly written. It looks like a Malay-educated writer wrote this piece. Did I not say that mother-tongue education is bad for the brain? If this is the standard of English of those who are pro-government then they can't expect to impress us with their 'logic' -- if in the first place we can find any logic in their arguments. Anyway, let's dissect what this person said (and, incidentally, who did not dare put his/her name to the piece). Let the game begin -- let's debate. I am going to start with the title of that article -- Secular Country is just DAP's tactic to break up Muslims. Okay, even if that is true so what? Is this not what war and politics is all about -- to divide the enemy? If this is DAP's strategy and if it works then jolly good for DAP. At least, after four years of whacking the opposition, DAP has finally woke up to the fact that the strategy of divide-and-rule is a very powerful strategy. Less than 10,000 Englishmen were able to rule over hundreds of millions of Indians using the divide-and-rule strategy (which means the Mat Salleh are clever while the Indians not so clever). Hence it is a proven strategy and if this is what DAP is doing then that makes them very clever indeed. So why grumble about how clever 'the other side' is? It just makes you look even more stupid than you already are. Anyway, is this not also BN's and Umno's strategy? If this is what DAP is doing then they are merely using your same strategy against you. So stop sounding like a school kid in the playground. Stand and fight. If you don't dare stand and fight then don't start a fight. You can't start a fight and then go crying to the teacher "teacher, teacher, he beat me". Let me put it another way. If DAP is really doing this and if it works, then you are just admitting that the Chinese are clever and the Malays are stupid. Now, why in heaven's name do you want to go and admit that the Chinese are clever and the Malays are stupid? Tak malu ke? Okay, next point. MyNewsHub said, "DAP's actions in really denying the fact that this is an Islamic country is enough to prove their anti-Islam/Malay mindset which has been running through their veins." Who says that Malaysia is an Islamic country? Malaysia is a Constitutional Monarchy with a Westminster Parliamentary system of government and the government is elected every five years through a general election. The Constitution does, however, say that Islam is the religion of the Federation. But that does not make Malaysia an Islamic country. If I declare that English is the language of Malaysia Today that does not make us England Today. We are still Malaysia Today but using English as the medium of communication. Islam is the religion of the Federation. That's what is stated in the Constitution. The Constitution does not state that Malaysia is an Islamic country. It states that Malaysia is a Federation. And do you know a Federation means? A Federation is a grouping of many smaller States. How does that make Malaysia, which is a Federation, into an Islamic country? MyNewsHub then said, "No other non-Malay parties in Malaysia has ever turn this country's administration concept, either secular or Islamic, into a huge issue but DAP." Okay, let me try to understand that very badly worded statement. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and all those 10 or so other 'non-Malay' parties in Barisan Nasional support the idea of turning Malaysia into an Islamic State. DAP is the only party opposed to this idea. Is this what MyNewsHub means? Unless MCA, MIC, Gerakan and all those 10 or so other 'non-Malay' parties in Barisan Nasional come out to openly deny this, we will have to assume that this is true. There is such a thing as consent by silence. An allegation has been made against all the non-Umno parties in Barisan Nasional that they support the idea of turning Malaysia into an Islamic State. Until it is proven otherwise we have to take this as true. I suppose this is just like the God Debate. If you think that God does not exist then prove it. If you can't prove it then we must assume that God exists. The onus, therefore, is on you to prove me wrong and not for me to prove I am right. MyNewsHub then quotes Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as saying, "UMNO would like to clearly state that Malaysia is an Islamic Country." I suppose what MyNewsHub is saying is, since Dr Mahathir has said Malaysia is an Islamic Country then Malaysia is an Islamic Country. No two ways about it. I will risk courting the displeasure of the Mahathir-haters by agreeing with Dr Mahathir. So, since Dr Mahathir said it, then there is no dispute. Dr Mahathir also said that there is no freedom of speech in Malaysia. Dr Mahathir also said that Malaysia is a police state. Dr Mahathir also said that the mainstream media is merely spinning and is not reporting the truth. Dr Mahathir also said that there is only one type of Islam -- there is no Islam this or Islam that (meaning there is no Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's version of Islam Hadhari, PAS' version of Islam, Umno's version of Islam, etc.). Dr Mahathir also said that we must not vote Umno (ABU) to teach them a lesson. Dr Mahathir also said it is wrong to detain Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act as he is only a Blogger and is not a threat to national security. Okay, okay, okay, I can write 600 pages of what Dr Mahathir said but I think you get what I mean already. Dr Mahathir said many things. So I take it since we accept what Dr Mahathir said then everything else he said should be accepted as well. Aiyoh! No need to continue rebutting this very low class spin by MyNewsHub lah. It's a total waste of time because all their arguments defy logic and are weak as hell. For example, what do they mean by saying, "In a way, an Islamic Country is formed on the policy and intention which does not break Islamic rules"? What kind of shitty English is this? That statement is total nonsense. Malu nak jawab. MyNewsHub then tries to defend its argument that Malaysia is an Islamic country by saying, "According to Hassan al-Banna, an Islamic government is a government where all of its leaders follow Islamic teachings, do not commit vice and they are the ones who practice all rules in Islamic teachings within themselves." Another nonsensical statement with bad English to boot. Okay, so now we are followers of Hassan al-Banna are we? Okay, let's follow Hassan al-Banna then if that is what you want. I can live with that. Hassan al-Banna was the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (Jamaat al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) and a student of Islamic reformists such as Egyptian Muhammad 'Abduh and 'Abduh's disciple, the Syrian Rashid Rida. Their main concern was regarding the decline of Islamic civilisation in comparison to western countries. They believed that this trend could be reversed only by returning to a 'pure' form of Islam, free of all the exegesis and innovations that had diluted the strength of Islam's 'original message'. Al-Banna believed that the main danger to Islam was not the conservatism of Al-Azhar but the domination of the West and, more importantly, secularism. He wanted the conservatives to be more active in condemning atheism and Christian missionaries, and in combating colonialism. Al-Banna launched the Society of the Muslim Brotherhood in March 1928. The brotherhood was extremist and violent from its inception. Its motto is, "God is our purpose, the Prophet our leader, the Qur'an our constitution, Jihad our way, and dying for God's cause our supreme objective." This is what al-Banna said: My brothers! The ummah that knows how to die a noble and honourable death is granted an exalted life in this world and eternal felicity in the next. Degradation and dishonour are the results of the love of this world and the fear of death. Therefore prepare for jihad and be the lovers of death. Life itself shall come searching after you. My brother, you should know that one day you will face death and this ominous event can only occur once. If you suffer on this occasion in the way of Allah, it will be to your benefit in this world and your reward in the next. And al-Banna also said: "Islam must dominate and is not to be dominated." Al-Banna considered the Muslim Brotherhood as equal to that of the German Nazi party and the Third Reich. From the ideological point of view, the Jew-hatred, authoritarianism, acts of violence, and the desire to defeat the British is shared by both the Muslim Brothers and the Nazis and gave the two movements a common cause. The Brotherhood's political and military alliance with Nazi Germany blossomed into formal state visits, de facto ambassadors, and overt and covert 'joint ventures'. So that, in a nutshell, is what MyNewsHub is propagating Nazism, violence, Islamic domination, anti-Semitism, etc. And they are calling DAP bad? Heavens! ************************************ Secular Country is just DAP's tactic to break up Muslims (MyNewsHub) - DAP's actions in really denying the fact that this is an Islamic country is enough to prove their anti-Islam/Malay mindset which has been running through their veins. No other non-Malay parties in Malaysia has ever turn this country's administration concept, either secular or Islamic, into a huge issue but DAP. DAP's argument was based on a verbal statement made by Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia who said that Malaysia is a Secular Country instead of an Islamic country. This was proven through a report from The Star on February 9, 1983, during the former Prime Minister's 80th birthday, which state "Do not turn Malaysia into an Islamic Country." According to Kit Siang, on February 13 the same year, former third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn then stated that he supports Tunku's stand who rejected Islamic country. If the verbal statement made by the first Prime Minister is taken as an official and base to determine the country's administration concept, then Kit Siang should also consider verbal statements made by other former Malaysian Prime Ministers who instead announced Malaysia as an Islamic Country. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister announced Malaysia as an Islamic Country on September 29, 2001 as he launched the National Conference of Perwakilan Representatives. He strictly stated, "UMNO would like to clearly state that Malaysia is an Islamic Country." The same thing goes to the fifth Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who also announced Malaysia as an Islamic country on July 17, 2007. When he was the Deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak also stated that "Islam is the official religion and Malaysia is an Islamic Country," during an International Conference on Islamic Countries' Role In Globalization. And now, having Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as Prime Minister, Malaysia continues to gain acknowledgement not just as an Islamic Country, it is also an exemplary Islamic Country and confirmed by international acclaimed Ulama including Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi. In his acknowledgment letter for Malaysia's contribution towards Islamic Countries around the world, he stated, "What is more important is that Malaysia is acknowledged as few of Islamic Countries which has an amazing development strategy and open, which currently became the center for reference and an example for the world of Islam." Taking into consideration for all of the verbal statements, declaration and written letters on whether Malaysia is either a Secular or Islamic country, we could find that two former Prime Ministers stated that Malaysia is a Secular country, and another two former Prime Ministers including our current Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak have announced Malaysia as an Islamic Country. That is why there should be no reason for Kit Siang to quote our former Prime Minister's stated, Tunku Abdul Rahman to go against other former Prime Ministers. In another angle, Kit Siang should not have held onto the former PMs statement alone. Instead, he should have seen this matter as a whole, in terms of the constitution and the social landscape of the society in this country. A few Ulama stated that an Islamic country is defined as a place which is ruled by a Muslim and the sign would be when all Muslims live peacefully at the place and its society could follow all of its teachings without having any fear or worry, and that the laws are also implemented towards the kafir, while bid'ah members do not rule in pressuring the Sunnah members. According to Hassan al-Banna, an Islamic government is a government where all of its leaders follow Islamic teachings, do not commit vice and they are the ones who practice all rules in Islamic teachings within themselves. In a way, an Islamic Country is formed on the policy and intention which does not break Islamic rules. Instead, Secular Country is formed based on power where it practices end justifies the means. It is clear that based on the facts above, Malaysia is indeed an Islamic country, and for Kit Siang to deny it by just using a single excuse, Tunku Abdul Rahman's statement, is simply irrelevant. Kit Siang's intention in raising this matter is not that hard to be read. He actually wants to break up Muslims by raising doubt upon Islamic governance. But, at the same time, he also in a way confirmed DAP's mission where the party fights for a Secular Country and with PAS to cooperating with them, shows that Muslims in PAS do fight for the same objective. Logic dictates that PAS should provide a swift response, whether they support the statement or they would simply play the political game by criticizing DAP for their fight for a Secular Country. If PAS really fights for Islam and they do not hold on to the principal of end justifies the means, Kit Siang's statement should be the end of their cooperation with DAP to avoid themselves from being an accomplice in fighting for a Secular Country.
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| The man who brought the Black Flag to Timbuktu Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:46 PM PDT
A new Islamist strongman has taken the stage in North Africa. His rising power is giving him a lot of bad ideas. Ag Ghali has already begun to realize his dream of imposing sharia law. Music, TV, and smoking have all been banned in the areas under his control, and Ansar Dine troops have been punishing women for not covering up properly. The group's members have drawn up lists of unwed mothers and offering couples money to get married. Those who don't comply with their demands face harassment, torture, or execution. William Lloyd-George, Foreign Policy He was once known for his drinking habits, his stylish mustache, and his serial womanizing. Over the course of his colorful career he has served as a diplomat, a rebel chieftain, and a negotiator with al Qaeda hostage-takers. Today, however, Iyad Ag Ghali -- known within his community as the "Lion of the Desert" -- is winning new notoriety as a militant commander and Islamist powerbroker in a strategically sensitive corner of North Africa. His prominence is likely to increase in the months to come. The rebellion in northern Mali that began earlier this year, fueled by loose weapons from the revolution in neighboring Libya, has morphed over the past few months from an ethnic separatist conflict to one increasingly dominated by Ansar Dine, the radical Islamist movement led by Ag Ghali -- raising the possibility that the breakaway region could become a new jihadist safe haven and a lingering source of instability across northern Africa. French President François Hollande has engineered a U.N. vote to consider intervention in Mali, and his defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, recently said it was "a matter of weeks" before military action. Washington has given its blessing to military involvement by a regional grouping of African states eager to staunch the possible side effects radiating out from Ansar Dine's new mini-state. And there's even been talk that the Obama Administration might launch drone strikes against members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a group that has sought refuge with the Islamists in northern Mali and which has been linked by U.S. officials with the attack that killed U.S. diplomat Christopher Stevens last month in Libya. Much of what happens next will depend crucially on Ag Ghali's skills as a politician and a military leader. In recent months he has put his talents on ample display, stunning regional observers by engineering a convincing political and military victory over his erstwhile allies, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the latest manifestation of a long line of rebel groups that have violently agitated for independence for the ethnic Tuaregs of the northern part of the country. While Tuaregs share Muslim beliefs with other Malians, the MNLA was never distinguished by religious militancy -- in stark contrast to Ansar Dine, which aims for the unification of Mali under Islam and sharia law. By contrast, the MNLA has committed itself to a secular independent state it calls Azawad (a word that translates as "Land of the Nomads") and opposition to Islamic groups operating in the North. Ag Ghali has already begun to realize his dream of imposing sharia law. Music, TV, and smoking have all been banned in the areas under his control, and Ansar Dine troops have been punishing women for not covering up properly. The group's members have drawn up lists of unwed mothers and offering couples money to get married. Those who don't comply with their demands face harassment, torture, or execution. In the town of Aguelhok, a man and woman were recently stoned to death for adultery. In Gao a young man had his hand chopped off for stealing. And in the fabled city of Timbuktu, Ansar Dine units have demolished various ancient Sufi tombs -- part of a UNESCO world heritage site that is nonetheless derided by ultraconservative Muslims as a symbol of unorthodox belief. Ansar Dine's ascendance is fueling worries in the West about the possibility of a new Islamist nexus in a part of the world that had long seemed dependably stable. For two decades Mali has enjoyed a reputation as a successful Muslim democracy, a status rewarded by the U.S. and other western donors with generous supplies of aid. But there was one source of potential trouble: The large and restive Tuareg population in the country's arid North, who have launched a series of haphazard revolts over the years, citing oppression and discrimination. During famines, for example, the central government looted funds for aid and resettlement camps, fueling anger amongst the Tuareg communities (often known locally as the "blue people," thanks to the indigo headscarves often wear, sometimes staining their skin the same color). Many of the Tuaregs moved to Libya to escape drought and economic underdevelopment in their desert homeland; some of them even found jobs in the Libyan military. As it happened, the fall of Muammar Qaddafi last year gave fresh impetus to Tuareg separatists. As they watched Qaddafi's regime near its end, leaders from previous rebellions began plotting to return to Mali, now bolstered by cars and heavy weapons believed to have been largely swiped from Libyan government arsenals. Having formed the MNLA, which incorporated various Tuareg groups from around the region, the rebels launched an offensive and quickly took several major cities in the North. Ag Ghali, who had been the instigator of a previous rebellion in 1990, quickly spotted an opportunity. At a meeting of rebel leaders last October, Ag Ghali offered himself as a leader of the MNLA. But the Tuareg leaders rejected him on the grounds of his increasingly ardent Islamist beliefs. "We want to be a secular group," MNLA spokesman Moussa Ag Acharatouman told me at the time. "Ag Ghali's desire to impose sharia does not fit the wishes of the people or the goals of the MNLA." The leaders of the group have since had ample reason to regret their decision. Just weeks after they rejected him, Ag Ghali moved to announce the creation of his own group, which he dubbed Ansar Dine, or "Defenders of the Faith." Ag Ghali declared -- to the dismay of MNLA leaders -- that his group's main goal was the establishment of sharia law across Mali. The nationalist leaders suddenly found themselves outflanked. "We knew that with Ag Ghali, a famous Tuareg leader, running around shouting about sharia law and welcoming Islamists into the region, we had no hope," said one MNLA commander at the time, wishing to remain anonymous due to his physical proximity to Ansar Dine units. This time the Tuareg revolt got off to a blazing start. The separatists took town after town with barely a fight; Ansar Dine and AQIM forces helped to push out the Malian troops. The Tuaregs' rapid success ultimately even triggered a military coup in the South, where disgruntled officers, enraged by the government's failure to support their efforts to quash their rebellion, toppled the civilian government in the capital of Bamako. Ironically, considering the plotters' expressed intent to maintain Mali's national integrity, their move ended up accelerating the Tuareg takeover of the North. Although barely in control of the region, the rebels' political wing announced the creation of the new state of Azawad on April 6. The declaration was aimed at trying to steal some of the thunder from Ag Ghali's group. The leader of Ansar Dine wasn't prepared to let it go at that. He welcomed in Islamists from around the region, and, with Mali's borders unguarded by Malian troops, they began to flock to the North. The ranks of Ansar Dine, which had begun with just a few hundred troops, quickly swelled -- and the MNLA found its power slipping away. "One moment we were in control of everything," one MNLA fighter told me. "We thought this was it, this is set to be the most successful rebellion yet. Then suddenly it all went completely wrong. It's heartbreaking." The MNLA discovered that it didn't have enough troops to control all the territory it had captured. Ansar Dine began following it into captured towns, where they raised the black flag of the group and announced that they were in control. For many, Ag Ghali's metamorphosis into a fervent defender of the faith came as a surprise. For years, locals say, he was well known for his love of women and alcohol. Chana Takiou, the chief editor of the Malian newspaper 22 Septembre, says that during Ag Ghali's earlier years he was well known for frequenting bars and drinking the night away. "He is shy, not very talkative, and rarely laughs," Takiou told me, though noting that Ag Ghali often prayed. He also recalls that Ag Ghali guarded his privacy. Born in Kidal, a member of the Ifoghas clan, Ag Ghali was the son of nomadic stock farmer. During the 1980s, when he was still in his early twenties, Ag Ghali traveled to Libya, where he joined Qaddafi's Islamic Legion, a group of fighters recruited to defend Islamic causes (and bolster Qaddafi's religious credentials in the process). Ag Ghali was sent to fight against Christian militias in Lebanon. After the legion was dismantled in 1987, Ag Ghali found himself back in Mali, now with a newly acquired taste for rebellion. On June 28, 1990, he launched the previously mentioned attack on the town of Menaka in the North, killing several Malian police and inspiring the first of many Tuareg revolts. Six months later, however, after intervention by the government of neighboring Algeria, he was pushed into signing a peace agreement without having attained any of his goals. Many of his supporters derided him for selling out, and accused him of stopping the rebellion just as it was getting under way. Following the 1990 rebellion and a trip to Pakistan, Ag Ghali is reported to have become involved with the Dawa fundamentalist sect, an offshoot of the South Asia-based Islamic missionary association Jamaat al-Tabligh. He is said to have spent increasing amounts of time in mosques, and distanced himself from his previous social circles. Takiou, the Malian journalist, says that was the period when Ag Ghali became more of a hard-line Islamist. "He was spending time with a particular Pakistani preacher called Peshawar, who brought the Dawa movement to Kidal," says Takiou. Mohammed Sylla, a member of the Dawa movement, who claims to have known Ag Ghali, tells me that he did not appear particularly militant, and was very friendly to all the members. "When some of our members realized he was going to take a rebel initiative, we tried to discourage him," says Sylla. "Our aim is not to attack any one or any country. We are friendly. Ansar Dine has nothing to do with the Dawa movement and we do not understand his objective or his vision." Sylla says that the members of the group "have no idea" why their former adherent embarked on his present path. It was in 2003 that Ag Ghali began to make public statements of his following adherence to the fundamentalist cause (though he took care to reject terrorism and suicide bombings). He was chosen to be the government's intermediary to negotiate the release of hostages held by the Islamic Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), the primarily Algerian militant organization that has since changed its name to Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM). His most significant success came in August 2003, when he negotiated the release of European tourists kidnapped in Algeria and held by Abou Zeid, a GSPC commander. He has since been involved in a number of other negotiations with the group, sometimes accepting large commissions for his work, which has also brought him a reputation as a powerbroker. In 2006 he became involved again in plans for rebellion, contacting a veteran rebel Tuareg leader with who he started yet another uprising. Yet again, though, to the dismay of countless Tuareg separatists, Ag Ghali once again took the lead in negotiating a peace deal with the Malian government. In 2007, as described by a leaked State Department cable, he even paid a visit to the U.S. embassy in Bamako, where he met with then-U.S. Ambassador Terence McCulley. "Soft-spoken and reserved, [A]g Ghali showed nothing of the cold-blooded warrior persona created by the Malian press," the cable notes. It also said that the "seemingly tired" Ag Ghali requested U.S. military assistance for special operations against AQIM. Despite his current efforts to impose sharia law, Ag Ghali admitted to the U.S. ambassador that "one of AQIM's weak points was that not many people in northern Mali buy into its extremist ideology." His ability to play off different sides against each other has long been one of his most famous traits, and has helped to accentuate the air of mystery that he has cultivated around himself. Small wonder, then, that the Malian government was happy to get him out of the way. In 2007, after he told authorities he was fed up with the problems of the North and requested to leave Mali, the government gave him a job as a consular official and dispatched him to Mali's embassy in Saudi Arabia, though without giving him any real diplomatic responsibilities. The government in Riyadh eventually expelled him, accusing him of cultivating contacts with extremist groups. When he returned home, Ag Ghali spent even more time in mosques and grew his beard even longer, though his political motives remained opaque. Ag Ghali's group has rejected repeated requests for an interview, informing me that he does not wish to receive non-Muslim journalists. While there has been some debate about the sincerity of his religious zeal, analysts note an increasingly radical tone emanating from Ansar Dine over the past few months (as well as from Ag Ghali's own statements). According to Tinegoum Maiga, the director of the Bamako newspaper La Nouvelle République, Ag Ghali's stress on the imposition of sharia law is motivated above all by a desire to secure financing. "He just wants to make a safe territory for himself, and so he uses sharia law to justify his donors sending him funding," explained Maiga, who claims that Qatar has been subsidizing the group. Maiga also explained that Algeria has a very strong relationship with Ag Ghali and has funded several of his operations for years. "He is very impressed with his new role as spiritual guide, coupled with warlord," says Maiga. After meeting Ag Ghali in the northern town of Kidal in June, Malian journalist Adama Diarra told me that the Ansar Dine leader appeared deeply committed to his goal of implementing Islamic law. Diarra says that Ag Ghali depicted his aims as modest, and claimed that he merely wished to unify all Malians around their common Islamic heritage. But he says that Ag Ghali also declared anyone who refused to fight under the black flag of his group as "our enemy," and denounced secularism as "rubbish." "Whoever is working with secularism is our enemy and we will fight against them by all means," the warlord declared, according to Diarra. Ag Ghali also went on to demand that Mali should prove its democratic bona fides by holding a referendum allowing the Malian people to vote on the implementation of sharia law. While Ag Ghali's relationship with the MNLA seems to have waned, and with most MNLA units either fleeing to the border areas or joining Ansar Dine's ranks, he has continued to build a strong network of Islamists in the region. Following the sightings of AQIM leaders around Timbuktu in April, members of the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) also began to operate in the region. Although closely allied with AQIM, MUJWA is a jihadi group controlled by black Africans with an operational focus on the countries of West Africa. In recent months, though, the lines between these Islamist groups has increasingly blurred. Oumar Ould Hamaha, previously a senior member of AQIM, recently began describing himself as an Ansar Dine commander. While AQIM has long operated in the region, this is the first time its leaders have openly appeared in public. In addition to his role as a negotiator, Ag Ghali is also closely linked to the group through a cousin who serves as one of its officers. The MNLA leadership spent months demanding that Ag Ghali denounce the Islamist groups. But those hopes were dashed when MUJWA fighters clashed with the Tuareg nationalists on June 27. The head of the MNLA, Bilal Ag Acherif, was injured in the fighting and taken to Burkino Faso for treatment; he is yet to return to Mali. Soon after the event, Abu Omar, a senior member of Ansar Dine, sounded unrepentant. "If you want to know if we are in conflict with MNLA, just bear in mind we do not have the same goals," Omar told me. "We will not fight against those who want to make Islam the winner." He explained that Mali has long been dominated by "satanic policies" such as open access to alcohol, prostitution, non-Islamic banking, and tolerance of stark inequalities of wealth as well as "so-called democracy." "We will not go back to the kind of system that God helped us to destroy," Omar told me. Meanwhile, Tuareg sources say that Ag Ghali is pushing the remnants of the MNLA into joining Ansar Dine, threatening attacks if they don't merge with his group. Local sources say fighters from Senegal, Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia, are arriving in northern Mali and attending Islamist training camps. Just last month MUJWA reinforced their rule in the town of Douentza, pushing the boundary of Islamist-controlled territory even further south and raising alarms in Bamako. Already some are beginning to worry that Ansar Dine and its allies could start to launch terrorist attacks in other countries of the region. Such concerns are prompting members of the regional grouping of West African countries, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to consider calls for intervention. Responding to these moves, Ansar Dine spokesman Hamaha recently said: "We will conduct a war against all state members of ECOWAS and also France and the United States of America, the European Union which are supporting ECOWAS. We are ready to die for it." The gravity of the situation has the attention of policymakers in the West, in Paris as well as Washington. The Malian government and ECOWAS military advisers are drawing up military plans for submission to the United Nations by a late November deadline. Those plans are likely to follow the model of the military intervention in Somalia by East African countries organized and supported by the West. Talks between ECOWAS and Ansar Dine have so far brought little progress. When ECOWAS asked Ag Ghali to separate himself from "foreign" Islamist groups, he responded with fresh calls for the implementation of sharia. Malian Islamic officials have contacted the Ansar Dine leader to sound out possibilities for implementing some version of Islamic law, but it could already be too late for a peaceful solution. As his enemies marshal their forces, the enigmatic Ag Ghali will soon be forced to show his true colors. Either he will have to find an exit plan that plays to his well-versed strengths as a mediator or to go all the way in the fight for his religious beliefs.
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| Shahrizat backs Raja Nong Chik as Lembah Pantai BN candidate Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:38 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalilopenly declares her support for Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin as the Lembah Pantai Barisan Nasional candidate in the coming general election. The former Lembah Pantai MP said there was no one more qualified for the post than Raja Nong Chik, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, due to his hard work in the constituency. Shahrizat, also the former Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said: "Actually, I have supported Datuk Raja Nong Chik since three years ago, but I'm declaring it only today. "This is because we had been working together for 15 years when I was the Lembah Pantai MP for three terms," she told a press conference here yesterday. Raja Nong Chik was also present. Shahrizat was Lembah Pantai MP from 1995 after she defeated former chief justice Tun Mohamad Salleh Abas from Semangat 46 with a 13,361-vote majority, but failed to retain her seat in the 2008 general election. In that elections, she lost to PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, who had a 2,895-vote majority. Raja Nong Chik said he always had a good relationship with Shahrizat, although there were allegations that he had caused the end of her political career. "I used to sit next to Datuk Seri Shahrizat in the Cabinet. I admit that sometimes we had differences of opinion but we had never quarrelled. "Actually, it's the Opposition who wish to see us quarrel. They want Umno to be divided so that they can easily win (the elections)," he said.
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| Ambil tindakan, jangan undi Soi Lek - Abim Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:25 PM PDT
(Harakah) - Dalam nada yang marah dan kesal, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) mendesak kerajaan mengambil tindakan ke atas Presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Abim juga mengajak umat Islam di mana sahaja jangan mengundi Chua di mana sahaja beliau bertanding. Demikian kata Presidennya, Amidi Abdul Manan dalam satu kenyataan medianya hari ini.
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| PAS tanding 30 dari 56 kerusi DUN Johor Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:21 PM PDT
Zulkifli Sulong, Harakah PAS akan bertanding 29 atau 30 dari 56 kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri Johor dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang ini.
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| Homophobia on the rise in Indonesia, survey says Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:14 PM PDT
(The Jakarta Post) - JAKARTA - A new survey published on Sunday revealed that intolerance of minorities is growing, with the highest level of hostility directed at the gay and lesbian community. The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) found in its most recent poll that a staggering 80.6 per cent of its sample population objected to having gays or lesbians as neighbours. The figure has jumped significantly from 64.7 per cent in 2005. LSI found that intolerance of homosexuals was higher than the respondents' aversion toward people adhering to different faiths, which stood at 15.1 per cent. For the survey, LSI interviewed 1,200 respondents between Oct 1 and Oct 8. The respondents even preferred to live next door to what they deemed as followers of deviant sects like Shi'ism and Ahmadiyah, rather than with gays or lesbians. The survey revealed that 41.8 per cent and 46.6 per cent respectively of the respondents would feel uncomfortable living next to Shia or Ahmadiyah followers. "Most of the respondents who showed intolerance [toward these minority groups] are male, low-income and limited-education people," LSI researcher Ardian Sopa said during a press conference on Sunday afternoon. Close to 60 per cent of respondents who admitted intolerance were men. More than 67 per cent of them were uneducated or senior high school graduates at best. The LSI also found that 63.4 per cent of respondents who admitted to being intolerant of minority groups earned Rp 2 million (S$254) or less per month. Earlier in June, a survey published by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) confirmed the widely held assumption that religious intolerance is on the rise in the country. The CSIS survey conducted between Jan 16 and 24 this year, found that although 83.4 per cent of the respondents said that they had no problem with neighbours from different ethnic groups, 79.3 per cent objected to inter-religious marriage. Director of non-profit group Denny JA Foundation, Novriantoni Kahar, said that the survey showed that Indonesia had a long way to go before being able to accept homosexuality. "This will be very difficult because the level of acceptance is even lower than that given to people of different religions or ethnicity," he said. Novriantoni said what the government needed to do was to improve people's welfare, as intolerance was mostly shown by poorer citizens. "The government needs to do more to improve socio-economic conditions. People who are unemployed or poor can easily be goaded into attacking minority groups," he said. Contacted separately, Hartoyo, an executive of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) empowerment organisation, blamed radical Islamist groups and the media for the growing homophobia. Hartoyo said that the majority of the population subscribed to ideas promoted by hard-line Islamist groups, which condemned homosexuality as sinful conduct and a product of Western culture. In May, radical Islamist groups broke up the launch of a new book by Canadian liberal Muslim activist Irshad Manji for fear that she would promote lesbianism in the country. The media also shared the blame for only promoting stereotypes and caricatures of gay people, Hartoyo said. "Some media outlets, mainly online news portals and TV channels that are easily accessible to people tend to give imbalanced reports about us or portray us only as clowns." He said that in the long run, the growing homophobia could further worsen injustice against the community. "Just look at Dede Oetomo, a renowned sociologist and human rights activist. After he was named as a commissioner candidate of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the public started fussing about his sexual orientation and overlooked his impressive achievements. So, how is it possible for a person like me to be a minister?" Hartoyo said.
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| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:01 PM PDT
Gerakan challenges Penang CM to enact an anti-hudud legislation to show DAP's firm stance against it Athi Shankar, FMT Instead of mooting an anti-hopping law, the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government was today challenged to to enact an anti-hudud legislation. Baljit Singh, Gerakan's legal and human rights bureau head, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should enact an anti-hudud law to emphasise DAP's firm stance against it. He said Lim was fully aware that a state anti-party hopping law would contravene Articles 10(1)(C) and 48(6) Federal Constitution and a 1992 Supreme Court ruling. Article 10(1)(C) grants the citizenry rights to freedom of association. "He knows very well that an anti-hopping law simply won't work. He just wants to milk maximum publicity with his typical Malacca wayang kulit," said Baljit. With Pakatan's two-third strength in the state legislative assembly, Baljit said Lim can easily enact the anti-hudud law, especially since it would run parallel to the Federal Constitution. Pakatan has 29 state seats – DAP's 19, PKR nine and PAS one, against Barisan Nasional's 11 Umno state assemblymen. Baljit said Lim would not face a problem in getting an anti-hudud law through, as religious matters come under state jurisdiction vis-à-vis Schedule 9 of the Federal Constitution. By passing an anti-hudud law, he said Lim can assure Penangites that hudud would never find its way to Penang. "Lim should demonstrate DAP's commitment and sincerity in opposing hudud," said Baljit. Lim, the DAP secretary-general, said yesterday that his government would table a bill at the next assembly sitting to amend the state constitution to legislate an anti-party hopping law. Baljit claimed that Lim's insistence on introducing the anti-hop law reflected the chief minister's lack of confidence in facing the next general election. He said Lim may have realised that it would be difficult to repeat the 2008 success, let alone better it. Private member's bill Hence, Baljit said Lim could be trying to shackle potential post-election political frogs to safeguard his and his party's interests. Baljit said even DAP supremo Karpal Singh, a staunch advocate against elected political frogs, had pointed out that any anti-hopping legislation would only be effective if, when and unless constitutional barriers of Articles 10(1) (C) and 48(6) were removed. "Can there be a better constitutional law expert for DAP than its own national chairman? If he can't listen to Karpal, who else will Lim listen to?" asked Baljit, a lawyer by profession.
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| Malaysia a secular state contrary to Nazri’s remarks, say law experts Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:52 PM PDT
Just because the Federal Constitution does not have the word 'secular' does not mean that Malaysia is not a secular state. — Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan Debra Chong and Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider Malaysia is and has always been a secular state even though not expressly stated in the Federal Constitution because the country's supreme law and founding document is secular, several law experts say as debate continues to storm over the mainly Muslim nation's status. The legal pundits refuted minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz's remarks in Parliament yesterday that Malaysia is not a secular state because it had never been declared or endorsed as such and is wholly absent in the Constitution though he stopped short of labelling the country an Islamic state. "It's absolutely untrue," said Tommy Thomas, regarded as one of the country's foremost authorities on constitutional law. "To me, to say that Malaysia is not a secular state because the Federal Constitution does not say so is a real, oversimplistic argument. Just like the Federal Constitution does not say Malaysia is an Islamic state," he toldThe Malaysian Insiderlast night. The veteran lawyer, who had studied the subject and presented an essay debunking Malaysia as an Islamic state at the Malaysian Law Conference seven years ago, said his research had shown that the country's forefathers and the legal experts who helped draft the Constitution had intended the country remain secular even as it acknowledged the individual Malay state Rulers' rights and power over religious matters which, he pointed out, was for the most part ceremonial. Thomas pointed to a Pakistani Federal Court judge, Abdul Hamid, who was part of the five-man Reid Commission formed in 1956 to help draw up Malaysia's Constitution and held the minority dissent on religion, did not go so far as to say Malaysia must have an Islamic state in its Constitution. He said Abdul Hamid's remarks from then was the clearest indicator that the country should remain secular. Abdul Hamid was the main proponent for including a provision that read: "Islam shall be the religion of the State of Malaya, but nothing in this Article shall prevent any citizen professing any religion other than Islam to profess, practice and propagate that religion, nor shall any citizen be under any disability by reason of his being not a Muslim." Thomas said Abdul Hamid, who was from Pakistan, which had gained its independence from Britain in 1947 — a good 10 years before Malaya — and had an Islamic Constitution that put it squarely as an Islamic state, had noted that such a proviso was "innocuous" and would not cause any "hardship" to anyone, but that the judge's suggestion was rejected by the Conference of Rulers which was against the idea. The lawyer of more than 30 years' experience told The Malaysian Insider he still stands by his 2005 essay titled "Is Malaysia an Islamic State?" which concluded that the country was and remains secular, and that no one has disputed his argument to date. "No one has ever written in to say it's nonsense," Thomas said, who blamed Malaysia's fourth and longest-serving prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for sparking the present confusion over Malaysia's Islamic or secular state status. The former Bar Council secretary-general noted in his 2005 essay that it was Dr Mahathir who unilaterally declared Malaysia to be an Islamic country in a political speech at the Gerakan party's national delegates conference on September 29, 2001. Dr Mahathir had single-handedly negated the secular pronouncements made by his predecessors including first prime minister and the country's founding father Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj and third PM, Tun Hussein Onn, by saying: "Umno wishes to state loudly that Malaysia is an Islamic country. This is based on the opinion of ulamaks who had clarified what constituted as Islamic country. If Malaysia is not an Islamic country because it does not implement the hudud, then there are no Islamic countries in the world." Thomas' views on Malaysia's secularism found strong support with three other legal experts. Former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who is among the most vocal opponents to the introduction of hudud law, the strict Islamic penal code, took to Twitter yesterday in an immediate response to Nazri's remark. "Constitution don't define lots of things. It doesn't define democracy, so does it mean we are not democratic?" the former lawyer who started Malaysia's biggest private practice posed on his microblogging account @zaidibrahim. "If Malaysia is neither secular or theocratic, then its whatever BN says it is," said Zaid, referring to the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan echoed the two law veterans. "Just because the Federal Constitution does not have the word 'secular' does not mean that Malaysia is not a secular state. "Just like how the word 'democracy' does not appear in our Constitution, yet we are a country that practises parliamentary democracy," he said in weighing in on the debate that raged in Parliament yesterday following Nazri's remark. Syahredzan stressed that Malaysia is secular because the Constitution is secular. "An Islamic state would place the Quran as the highest authority, but our Constitution provides in Article 4 that the Constitution is the highest law of the land. "The validity of laws therefore must be measure upon the yardstick of the Constitution, and not Islamic principles, thus making the Constitution a secular one," he said in an emailed response to The Malaysian Insider. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had set a precedent in 1988 when it rejected an argument in the landmark case of Che Omar Che Soh, a Muslim drug trafficker facing the mandatory death sentence, that because Islam is the religion of the Federation, laws passed by Parliament must be imbued with Islamic principles and that the death penalty was void because it was not according to hudud, or Islamic law. Tun Salleh Abas, who was then Lord President and head of the judiciary, had said in the landmark ruling that "however, we have to set aside our personal feelings because the law in this country is still what it is today, secular law, where morality not accepted by the law is not enjoying the status of the law."
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| Greedy, corrupt leadership caused Malay agenda to fail, says Malay chamber Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:42 PM PDT Syed Ali said leaders need to have a 'clean heart' to develop the Malay community. Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider The Malay economic agenda failed to achieve its objectives due to corruption and greed, Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) president Datuk Syed Ali Alattas said today. He said dozens of government agencies had been set up and billions of ringgit had been used to help develop the Malay economy but the Malay community was at the "lowest level of achievement." "What's gone wrong? That's what is being asked," Syed Ali said at the Malay Economic Congress here. "There is a lot of carelessness and not enough responsibility among leaders which caused Malays to fall behind," he said. "Corruption and greed caused the Malay agenda to fail." Syed Ali said leaders needed to have a "clean heart." He said the Malays are now at a "crossroads" and have put their hope in the community's leaders. "The fate of the Malays today and the future generations will depend on the current leadership," said Syed Ali. He claimed that the Malays have less than 10 per cent control of the economy in terms of equity, businesses and shops. "I am brave enough to say that there is not one shop in the centre of Johor Baru that is owned by a Malay," he said. The commerce chamber chief also said that programmes such as an UDA (Urban Development Authority) scheme that allocated 1,500 acres a few kilometres from Johor Baru specifically for Malays to do business should continue. Efforts to lift the community economically have been surrounded by much controversy due to programmes that have been implemented such as race-based quotas for contracts, licences and employment. The Najib administration has embarked on reforms to make ethnic-based affirmative action more merit based by supposedly helping only deserving Malays. Critics of the race-based policies say that it is too open to abuse and has benefited mainly the Malay elites.
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| ‘Tanda Putera’ perlu untuk beri peringatan tragedi 13 Mei Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:36 PM PDT
Mohd Farhan Darwis, The Malaysian Insider Putrajaya hari ini mempertahankan memberi kebenaran kepada tayangan filem kontroversi "Tanda Putera", yang memaparkan insiden rusuhan kaum 13 Mei, dengan mengatakan adalah perlu bagi mengingatkan rakyat Malaysia dalam tragedi berdarah pada 1969 itu. Timbalan Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi, dan Kebudayaan, Senator Datuk Maglin Dennis D'cruz berkata kepada Dewan Rakyat kerajaan percaya dengan kematangan generasi muda sekarang, filem itu perlu mengetengahkan paparan sejarah dalam filem secara efektif dan tepat. "Kementerian berpendapat, dengan kematangan pemikiran generasi muda masa kini, filem sejarah perlu dipaparkan secara paling efektif dan realistik walaupun ada sentuh isu 13 Mei," katanya lagi. "Selagi filem belum ditayangkan, andaian filem ini mengandungi unsur perkauman negatif adalah terlalu awal," kata Maglin ketika menjawab soalan Ahli Parlimen Kelana Jaya Gwo-Burne Loh di sini. Gwo-Burne Loh sebelum itu bertanyakan kepada kementerian mengapa Perbadanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (Finas) mengeluarkan pembiayaan kepada penerbit filem berkenaan, Persona Pictures yang didakwa mengeluarkan filem berunsur perkauman tersebut. Tanda Putera sebelum ini telah menerima tekanan apabila didakwa memasukkan watak pemimpin pembangkang, Lim Kit Siang dalam filem yang dijadualkan ditayang pada 15 November 2012, daripada tarikh awal 13 September depan. Pengarah filem berkenaan, Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba, sebelum ini bagaimanapun telah menafikan filem dengan durasi 117 minit itu juga tidak memaparkan mana-mana watak pemimpin DAP sepertimana dikatakan pelbagai pihak, terutama parti politik. Tambah Shuhaimi, sejak trailer filem ini berdurasi 90 saat tersebar di Internet, banyak tuduhan palsu dan dakwaan yang membingungkan serta tidak berasas telah dilemparkan terhadap mereka. Shuhaimi dalam penjelasannya berkata, adegan untuk 13 Mei juga dimasukkan sekadar untuk memberikan latar kepada filem berkenaan. Sehubungan itu, Penasihat DAP itu juga sebelum ini telah mengarahkan peguamnya untuk mengambil tindakan undang-undang berhubung kenyataan berbaur fitnah, didakwa dibawa oleh Facebook filem berkenaan. Ahli Parlimen Ipoh Timur ini berkata, ekoran dakwaan tidak berasas Penerbit Eksekutif "Tanda Putera", Aida Fitra Buyong, beliau telah mengarahkan peguamnya memulakan tindakan perundangan berhubung fitnah yang dilemparkan.
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| Foreign-funded NGOs: PAS man wants answers Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:27 PM PDT The renegade PAS MP queried the Home Ministry on what is being done to monitor these NGOs, in an apparent posture against Suaram. Patrick Lee, FMT Suaram it seems, not only has opponents within Barisan Nasional, but also from Pakatan Rakyat. This was seen in a recent query by PAS-Bachok MP Nasharudin Mat Isa, who asked the Home Ministry what is being done to monitor NGO activities and their respective funding, especially that of foreign origin. He also asked how many NGOs are registered in Malaysia. In a Parliamentary written response, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that Malaysia's 46,249 registered NGOs are monitored through their annual statements. These contained reports on their activities, finances, annual general meeting minutes and a list of their committee members. He added that this annual statement needed to be sent to the Registrar of Societies 60 days after an NGO's AGM is held. If there is no AGM, then the statement would have to be sent 60 days after the end of the calendar year. Nasharudin's query is suspect, given the recent government-led investigations on Suaram. Noted for its role in spearheading the controversial Scorpene scandal, the group, along with others, has been recently accused of receiving foreign funds. This led various figures in the political realm to denounce the group as a traitor. Although Nasharudin did not attack Suaram directly, it is believed that by drawing attention to Suaram's foreign funds, the PAS MP is also going against Pakatan's views on the matter. Recently, DAP-Petaling Jaya MP Tony Pua filed a parliamentary motion aimed at cutting Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's pay by RM10. Pua did this claiming that Ismail was "selectively persecuting" Suaram for Barisan Nasional's agenda. The motion was rejected by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia yesterday. Nasharudin's actions also seem to show a growing opposition for Pakatan, especially that of DAP. Early this month, the Bachok MP claimed that DAP is trying to turn Malaysia into a Christian state. Both DAP and PAS leaders have criticised Nasharudin for his allegations.
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| Let’s debate on Suhakam reports, says Nazri Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:24 PM PDT Suhakam's reports have never been debated in Parliament, leading to the perception that the human rights commission is a 'toothless tiger'. But the minister wants this to change. Patrick Lee, FMT Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz today mooted the idea of discussing Malaysian Human Right Commission (Suhakam's) reports in Parliament. He acknowledged that though Suhakam had been sending its reports to Parliament for many years, MPs had not debated on its contents. "I agree that Suhakam's reports have not been debated before, and it's not fair to them," he told the Dewan Rakyat. Nazri was responding to a query by DAP-Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran who raised Suhakam's perception as a "toothless tiger". At the same time, Nazri said that Parliament should not stop there. He added that there needed to be a permanent committee to address issues raised by Suhakam, much like the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee. Despite being in existence since 2000, none of Suhakam's reports have ever been debated in Parliament. Kulasegaran also compared Suhakam's role to that of foreign equivalents, such as South Africa's Human Rights Commission, which he said had regulatory powers. He also said that countries such as India and Indonesia had specific Human Rights Courts, promising that if Pakatan Rakyat were to take over, it would set up these courts here as well. Nazri however denied that Suhakam was a "toothless tiger", adding that the role of the commission was not to take action against human rights violations. "Suhakam can't arrest people. If a person needs to be arrested, then it must be reported to the police," he said. Powers of Suhakam commissioners
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| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:19 PM PDT Radio Free Sarawak is taking on BN's massive artilleries of RTM, TV3 and Astro NJOY in the fight for the hearts and minds of the rural people. Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing believes the authroity concerned should step in to "stop FSR from spreading lies to the people in rural areas as this is a very unhealthy culture". (Bernama) - KANOWIT: Most evening before 6pm housewife Indai Limau makes sure that dinner is cooked and laid on the table for her husband and their two children. The less urgent chores will have to wait. Precisely at 6pm and after her bath, she retires to her favourite settee in the family living room, reaches out for her China-made transistor radio and tunes in to 15420 KHz channel on the short wave band. She is not tuning in to any entertainment programme from her very interior longhouse. Like many other rural folks, she wants to keep up with the latest that the no-holds-barred Free Sarawak Radio (FSR) has to offer each evening. The FSR is a clandestine radio station. Nobody is certain where it is broadcasted from. It is the brainchild of a social activist/journalist and Sarawak-born Clare Rewcastle Brown, a sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown. It first broadcasted on Nov 16, 2010 and is a thorn in the flesh of local Barisan Nasional leaders, especially those from the Dayak community with its unrelenting attacks and accusations against them and the government. Listeners from the Iban, Orang Ulu, even Melanau, Penan and Malay communities statewide will call in to give their opinions and dissatisfactions on a wide variety of issues. The favourite seems to be issues related to the native customary rights (NCR) land where they dismiss its perimeter survey as a scheme to grab such land. Others are the alleged non-delivery of promises by their BN representatives, their so-called in effectiveness, the Murum and Bakun dam projects, alleged corruption and nepotism in the present government and so forth. And ultimately, they call on the people to vote for a change in the government in the coming election. The callers and its announcers are doing all these with great audacity and impunity. They are not subjected to any censorship. Libellious accusations Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing believes the authroity concerned should step in to "stop FSR from spreading lies to the people in rural areas as this is a very unhealthy culture". "I don't think it is doing an honest job. The callers and the announcers are not telling the whole truth. "They are confusing and poisoning the mind of the rural folks with such libellious accusations and allegations. Unfortunately, the rural folks have no other access to information apart from the radio," he told Bernama when contacted. "It is always so easy to criticise and accuse because you are not being responsible and accountable. The callers… they are speaking behind the curtains and are annonymous. "I am not worried they accuse me of many things… but it is not nice to tell lies about others," he said. Masing, who is also the state Land Development Minister, said the perimeter survey being carried out on NCR land was solely aimed at separating land holding between state and NCR land. "Once you have done it, the security on such land is established.The government is doing what is best for NCR landowners in the country. "At a later stage, the individual survey for the purpose of creating individual land titles can be looked into. But first, it is very important for security through ownership to be establised over NCR land," he said. On the Murum dam project in Belaga, being made complicated with the Penans blocking access road in their attempt to halt its construction over compensation disputes, Masing said the problem could be solved by people with intelligence and sincerety acting as mediators. A whole lot trickier "Belaga state assemblyman Liwan lagang has been doing a fine job as the mediator. He understands the thinking of the Penans. He has the heart and soul of the Penans and I am sure he can help," he said. He said the Baram project was a whole lot trickier as the area had always been the hotbed of the non-governmental environmentalist groups, their hornets' nest. Meanwhile, a PKR potential candidate who declined to be named said the FSR was almost a godsend aid to help in his campaigns against the BN's massive artilleries of RTM, TV3 and now Astro NJOY. "If the BN has been distributing the free Astro NJOY decorder and television sets, the 1Malaysia netbooks, it's our turn to do good by giving the China-made transistor radios for folks to tune in to FSR," he said. But not all folks are happy with the FSR addictive broadcast. A longhouse chief Mok anak Gelut of Lasi in Pakan said some of the callers had resorted to extreme exaggerations and accusations. "We are actually aware of the happenings on the ground. Not all things are as bad as potrayed. Some of us followed the broadcast but I am not one of them. "If indeed the government is wicked, it is strange those who are regular callers have not given any idea on their preferred alternative government, how it will function, its leaders and the guarantee they will be efficient and will not destroy the country," he said. Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Joseph Salang at a function at Rh. Minggan, Sungai Sayong in Julau recently said FSR was both good and bad. "It is an alternative channel to dissemniate information. But when false information is disseminated without any censorship, it is bad, very bad. "If people keep on spreading lies and accusations against the others, it will not go down very well with all the listeners all the time. People will eventually be able to judge the truth from the lies and accusations," he said.
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| Pakatan divided on secular state issue Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:07 PM PDT While DAP insists Malaysia is a secular state, PKR says it is a non-issue while PAS says the matter is best debated when the political climate is more 'free'. G Vinod, FMT Pakatan Rakyat MPs are divided on the issue of whether Malaysia is a secular state or otherwise. While DAP insists that Malaysia is a secular state, PKR and PAS MPs were non-committal, saying what matters most is to rejuvenate Malaysia democratic space. Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia is not a secular state as the Federal Constitution is "silent" about it. But the Padang Rengas MP did not state if Malaysia was an Islamic state either. However, he added that the country had been using secular laws which had been brought over from before Independence, through Article 162 of the Federal Constitution. Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua was not impressed with Nazri's answers and accused the minister of being in denial syndrome, to serve the political interest of Barisan Nasional. "It's like saying you're neither a man nor woman," said Pua. The DAP publicity chief also said that Nazri's refusal to recognise Malaysia's secular constitution was a clear attempt to influence the Malay voters. "There is nothing wrong with a secular state having Islam as the official religion. It just means that everyone is free to practise their own religion," said Pua. Respecting the constitution Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said that BN had always used the secular state and Islamic state argument to confuse the masses for its own political advantage. "I think it's a bait. As far as we are concerned, we will continue to uphold and respect all that is enshrined in the constitution," said Nurul. Whether Malaysia was a secular state or otherwise, Nurul said it was a non-issue. "The point is that our constitution has helped navigate Malaysia as a moderate Muslim state. The most important thing now is to improve our democratic state to realise our potential to be a beacon of democracy," said the PKR vice-president.
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| Penerbit Tanda Putera terima dana k’jaan RM2.7 juta Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:04 PM PDT Kerajaan yakin filem itu tidak akan menimbulkan kontroversi kerana generasi muda sudah matang. K Pragalath, FMT Timbalan Menteri Penerangan Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan Datuk Maglin Dennis D' Cruz mendedahkan bahawa penerbitfilem Tanda Putera, Pesona Pictures menerima dana Perbadanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (Finas) sebanyak RM2.7 juta yang diperuntukkan oleh Kementerian Kewangan. "Pada tahun 2010 Finas menerima dana sebanyak RM2 juta. Dua skrip menerima dana tersebut iaitu Tanda Putera sebanyak RM2.7 juta dan filem Antara Dua Langit sebanyak RM2 juta," kata D' Cruz semasa menjawab soalan lisan Ahli Parlimen Kelana Jaya PKR Loh Gwo Burne. Loh dari PKR menyoal bagaimana Finas boleh membiayai sebuah filem yang membangkitkan isu perkauman di dalam peristiwa 13 Mei 1969. Filem kontroversi arahan sutradara Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba menimbulkan kegusaran berikutan ura-ura bahawa terdapat babak yang menggambarkan watak ahli parlimen veteran DAP Lim Kit Siang membuang air kecil ke atas bendera Malaysia di pekarangan rumah bekas Menteri Besar Datuk Harun Idris. Filem tersebut mengisahkan bagaimana Perdana Menteri Malaysia kedua, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein dan Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Ismail menangani krisis 13 Mei meskipun menghadapi penyakit kronik. Dalam bulan Ogos Kit Siang telah pun menafikan perkara tersebut dengan mengetengahkan saksi yang memberi keterangan sokongan. "Kementerian yakin dengan kematangan pemikiran generasi muda, filem berunsur sejarah harus dipaparkan dengan cara paling efektif dan realistik. "Adalah penting untuk kita mengambil iktibar (dari filem tersebut)," kata D' Cruz bagi mempertahankan filem Tanda Putera. Dalam soalan tambahan, Loh meminta agar laporan panel kelulusan Finas terhadap Tanda Putera dibentangkan di dewan. Beliau juga menyoal samada Finas akan memberikan dana untuk filem yang mempamerkan peranan bekas Menteri Besar Selangor, Datuk Harun Idris dan Marina Yusoff kerana sejarah boleh dilihat dari pelbagai sudut. D' Cruz menjelaskan bahawa filem Tanda Putera berhasrat menunjukkan tokoh pemimpin yang berusaha menyelesaikan masalah negara meskipun berhadapan dengan masalah kesihatan.
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| Malaysia's Missing Police Chief Posted: 22 Oct 2012 02:01 PM PDT What did Musa Hassan know, and when did he know it, and did he intend to tell it? The mystery "hasn't made much, if any, impact as yet on the Malaysian scene," a veteran political observer in Kuala Lumpur said. "There is so much spin going on from both sides, the public is sceptical. Furthermore, Musa has denied it and many people I spoke with think that this was probably just an Anwar spin," a reference to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. "I don't think it's going to have the same impact as Wang and Bo Xilai. It's just another day in Malaysia's gutter politicking." John Bethelsen What happened to Musa Hassan on his way to Bangkok – if indeed he was going? The retired national police chief was said to be giving a press conference with "new revelations" in the 2006 murder-for-hire of Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibuu by two elite bodyguards for then-defense minister Najib Tun Razak. Read more at: http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4917&Itemid=178
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| Bersih sees red over ‘bizzare’ episode Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:55 PM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - The steering committee has expressed incredulity that its Sabah-born member was barred from entering the state and pens a letter to the IGP and immigration department. A "bizzare" situation involving a Bersih steering committee member has prompted the election watchdog to pen a letter to Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar and Immigration Department director-general Alias Ahmad. In the letter dated Oct 23, Bersih leaders expressed incredulity that Sabah-born Ahmad Syukri Che Ab Razab was forced to board a flight back to Kuala Lumpur despite being scheduled to speak at a workshop in Kota Kinabalu. Bersih wanted an explanation on this issue as the movement saw no justification in prohibiting a native Sabahan from entering his own state. Other Bersih members were also barred from entering East Malaysia. None of them had received any explanation on these harassments. "This latest episode shows the escalation of unreasonable and arbitrary administrative actions in our country, as in the past several civil society members from West Malaysia have been barred from entering East Malaysia. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/10/23/bersih-sees-red-over-bizzare-episode/
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| Nazri: Michael Chia never arrested in HK with Sabah Umno cash Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:45 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Putrajaya revealed today that businessman Michael Chia was never caught in Hong Kong holding large sums of Singapore currency as reported, in the latest twist to the saga over a RM40 million political donation for Sabah Umno. "According to MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), Chia was never arrested in Hong Kong... that is the MACC's answer. "And (Hong Kong's) ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) never caught Michael Chia," Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz (picture) said when wrapping up committee stage debates on Budget 2013. The Padang Rengas MP explained that the RM40 million, which was allegedly meant for Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman, was actually frozen in an investment account in Hong Kong. Nazri admitted, however, that he was not certain of the exact details but said that the money in the Hong Kong account was later meant to be transferred to an account in a Swiss bank. "That is my understanding of the case," he told the House. The minister was replying to a question from Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) who had asked why the Malaysian authorities had not sought information from the Swiss government when investigating Musa for graft. Lim had cited reports claiming that Chia was holding more money for Musa in a Swiss bank account. "This matter raised about the Swiss bank account is actually the same as the one frozen in Hong Kong that was yet to be transferred to the Swiss account. "Therefore when it was discovered that the cash was not corruption money but a political donation, so the question of seeking information from the Swiss government did not arise," Nazri said. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/nazri-michael-chia-never-arrested-in-hk-with-sabah-umno-cash | ||||||||
| Lament of a Stressed-out Minister Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT
Every little thing only, they want to protest in the street. Kee Thuan Chye I tell you, it's tough laa being a minister these days. We have to take so much shit. From the media, from Facebook, from bloggers, from the Opposition. It was so different when Mahathir was PM. Nobody dared to question any minister then. Nobody wrote a word to criticise. But now … And it's not like we make that much money. Our salary is nothing compared to Singapore. Some more, the people don't appreciate it. They think we are getting kickbacks left, right and centre. This recent case over Musa Aman getting RM40 million … it's not him, the money was for Umno. Political donation. What's wrong with that? PM Najib already said it's proper. But people still want to make trouble and call it money laundering. Just because Michael Chia got stopped when he was bringing the money out from Hong Kong. Some more, they are saying Michael has been giving money to Musa's sons in Australia for a long time. You believe that? They just want to make him look bad laa. They say Musa hasn't said anything about the RM40 million so far, but can you blame him for keeping quiet? I think the less said the better. Nowadays, you have to be careful what you say. Hishammuddin kena after Bersih 3.0. Remember, the media asked him why police were confiscating memory cards from media cameramen and the public? He said, "SOP." After that, they hentam him kau-kau for talking rubbish. No respect laa. Nowadays, they don't show ministers respect, I tell you. We were elected, you know, and appointed by the PM. OK laa, a few were not elected, but a minister must have respect. Otherwise, how to carry out the job properly? So now we want people to respect us more. That's why we arrested that young man for showing his backside to the PM and his wife's photos. Who would have dared to do this to Mahathir when he was PM? We must return to the way we did things, the way we controlled, during his time. I know on social media they are calling us a fascist state but let them call what they like. We have to mean business. If I were Hisham, I wouldn't want to be Home Minister. Honestly speaking. You have to take care of national security, crime and, some more, people's safety. But you just have to say people must be responsible for their own safety against crime and they come back and bash you. You just have to say PKR must realise it is taking a risk going to Johor because it is Umno territory and the online news website distorts your words. They say you said there's no need to guarantee the safety of PKR in Johor, and how can the Home Minister say that. Even Borders – Borders, you know. What is it? Only a bookstore. But it is challenging Hisham in court. It is saying he acted irresponsibly. It is saying he is not telling the truth. Over what? Over a deviant book by a Canadian Muslim that Jawi seized from the bookstore. Can you believe that? No respect, that's the problem. Poor Yen Yen. At the Himpunan Hijau Raub, some protestors whacked her poster with their shoes. They said it was the Hong Kong style. Why follow the Hong Kong style? It's not part of our culture. And poor Tiong Lai finally gave up his chance to get WWW 15 for his car number plate because they kept saying he was using RM24,200 of the people's money to make a bid for it. But he told them he was entitled to it for free. In the end, he was honourable about it, he gave it up. See? We are all not bad laa. They still think Tiong Lai is a liar after his bad experience handling the hoo-ha at Tung Shin Hospital during Bersih 2.0, but we're not always liars … wait! That didn't come out right. We don't lie. We don't lie. PM Najib said it best when he said, "The Government doesn't know how to cheat the people." The people must realise that. They must realise we always try our best. Like Rais. He's an old-timer. He has served the country so long, but still they hentam him. They made fun of him for writing the lyrics of 'Janji Ditepati'. OK lah, he's not a professional songwriter but he has good intentions. He did so much to make 'Himpunan Merdeka' a success, to unite the people in a big celebration, to set a new world record for the number of tweets, and what did they do to him on Facebook? They ran a big picture of him with the caption "The world's greatest …" I better not say laa. You see? Too much laa these people. Two years ago, he made that remark about changing his mode and they put it on youtube and made all sorts of funny comments about him. And then they even tried to spin a false story alleging that he raped his Indonesian maid. Tak habis-habis. They like all this sordid sex stuff. Shafie Apdal also they tried to dirty. Not enough they said he had a mistress. They also said he gave her RM1.5 million over three years. Remember in the '80s, there were strong rumours that a deputy minister was connected with the murder of his mistress? Nothing came out on that in the media. It was all just khabar-khabar angin. People didn't dare come out in the open then. No one was ever charged for the murder. The deputy minister even got promoted to full minister. But now even Nazri's son – apa nama? … unh, Nedim – is dragged out in public. They demand to know why no criminal case against the boy for assaulting the condo security supervisor. They said CCTV showed Nedim strangling the man and punching him on the head. But police said CCTV showed Nedim was not involved. Who should you believe? Would the police lie? No way, right? Some more, Hisham has already said the case has been amicably settled. So it's clear already lah. Then they want to know about the murder of Darren Kang in 2004. That is old story laa. Police found that Nedim was not involved. And five Thais have already been convicted for the murder. Habis cerita. Why are they still focusing on Nazri's son? No minister is safe any more laa. Even Najib. When the schoolboy asked him to give an example of Najis Mughallazah at some recent exhibition, there was a video recording of it that went viral – to show the world Najib couldn't answer. Malu la! I mean malu in that it's telling the whole world something so trivial. Some more, they played it up. Put on youtube. Said the PM didn't know shit. What for? The worst is what they are doing to the grand old man himself. Every time Mahathir says something, he's sure to kena. Shameful laa the comments they write about him on social media and online news websites. The man is 87 years old. He used to be PM. In our culture, we must respect senior people. But no. He said American mothers are whores, they hentam. A vote for Pakatan is a vote for Soros, they hentam. It's okay to give ICs to illegal immigrants in Sabah, they hentam. And because he said it is better for the people to vote for the devil they know, now people are calling us "devils". We are here to serve the people laa. We are not devils. I don't know la. If we win GE13 also, we will find it hard to govern after that. Every little thing only, they want to protest in the street. Even with PAA, they don't care. Police say no, they still come out. For the next five years, they will be fighting us, watching us like hawks. Sometimes, I feel I want to give up. * Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia. | ||||||||
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:11 PM PDT
Instead of suggesting something constructive, the MCA, in election gear, decides to embark on a fear-mongering campaign. May Chee I think every kampong or neighbourhood has this one person whom you see at the warung or food-stall during mealtimes. He kind-of holds court, speaks rather loud and in a condescending tone. If you stay long enough, you will also notice that he never pays for his food. It's as if he needs to speak the way he does to earn his keep. I think you call that "free-loading"? All this "hate" speech lately by the MCA against PAS, hudud, and about my favourite Mursyidul Am, Nik Aziz instigating rape of non-Muslim women borders on being just that – "free-loading". Rehashing news from 2008 just goes to show how bankrupt MCA has become. To go back in time when you should move forward – to create, innovate, progress, anything but backslide and with such malice, too. It beggars belief! Instead of suggesting something constructive, the MCA, in election gear, decides to embark on a fear-mongering campaign. Goodness, a dearth of brains in the MCA-ah? Are the people in MCA even serious about wanting to represent our interests in Parliament? Aiyoh, how-lah? How can we trust such bird-brains to fight for us? Sure lose, hands-down! Despite what a fumbling imbecile of a minister may say, Karpal Singh, another towering Malaysian has reminded us not too long ago that in 1988, former Lord President of the Federal (later, Supreme) Court of Malaysia ruled that the country was governed by secular law which meant Malaysia was a secular state. Is that not clear enough? Come on MCA, we are not morons. We know you for what you are. Among the feather-brain schemes, initially the 1Care and now, the latest being the AES, you are in cahoots with the plunderers to rob us, Malaysians, blind! How lofty can you people in the MCA get? Are you not touching base with the ordinary rakyat? How on earth can we afford to enrich you and your cronies any further? To feed your avaricious appetite for money and power? Have you not seen how the poor are getting poorer and the ordinary Malaysian is finding it hard to get by? And you people still think that it is only a perception that the crime rate has skyrocketed? Are you people in the MCA living in denial or what? By the time you wake up, the rest of us Malaysians have crossed over to the other shore while you stay behind, stranded! Worse still, you'll be drowned! PAS president, Abdul Hadi Awang, himself had reiterated last year, that the Quran did not provide for an Islamic state but a welfare state. That's not a bad thing. Shouldn't that be every leader's responsibility, to see to the welfare of the state? What do we have in the MCA? Now and then, fighting for scraps that fall off the banquet table? Even Lazarus had better! Are you anyone's equal, MCA? 1Malaysia, what's that? A miserable handful of scholarships for some students and that too, debatable about whom they go to. I've heard stories about how some people obtained their scholarships. You are a farce, MCA, you really are! We have real problems here, in Malaysia. For instance, we need to do something real quick about our mounting debts. It's definitely not a perception that we live in fear. My daughter was almost "mishandled" by someone in a car-park in one of the shopping centres in KL recently. Thank God she had a friend with her and a gentleman who parked his car on the same level. I cannot wait to pack her off to where she can be safer. Our education system is in shambles. My nephew who has been placed first in class since he started Standard 1 told my sister that he needed Physics tuition because his teacher has not taught since the beginning of this year. All she does is to ask the students to refer to some bright sparks in class. I don't want to foam at the mouth, as RPK would say. But honestly, MCA, are you aware of the problems we, the people whom you profess to represent, have? Doubt fear-mongering, using PAS as your punching bag, is the quick-fix we need. Get real, MCA or ship out! To me, the MCA has apparently isolated itself from the misfortunes of the ordinary rakyat, and day after day, wastes the opportunity to help them. Yes, it's an opportunity to be of service to others, for the last shall be first and the first, last. I don't see any effort coming from the people in MCA that promote human dignity nor do I see any of them participating actively in the building of the future of this nation. But I do see how hastily these same people wanted to implement the AES. I see a loathing self-interest to enrich their own coffers and a lack of courage in standing up to their "sleeping partners". Or is it a case of "you scratch my back, I scratch yours"; acting like opportunists whose deeds do not match the responsibilities that they are entrusted with. Coming from the Malacca hometown of Tun Tan Siew Sin, I shudder to think that the MCA of today has all but lost its original identity and mission. I see a leadership whose intuition is bogged down by corruption, cronyism and cowardice. And for that, the MCA is already deemed irrelevant and will have no further impact on our Malaysian history. I believe many past and present leaders of the MCA realize that they are no longer respected by the majority of Malaysians, not even those they "sleep" with. Yet, MCA, you are not purging yourselves to merit this respect. Sad, no? Aren't you made of sterner stuff? Your forefathers crossed oceans, with nothing more than the shirts on their backs, to seek a fortune for themselves. Even the cousins they left behind in Thong San are doing really well. As national leaders, those of you in the MCA should open your eyes to the evils that afflict the nation. You should know by now that injustices will be paid for dearly or are you still fooling yourselves that you can get away with it? We need progressive leaders who can champion unity, not those who still engage in the stone-aged tactics of divide-and-rule. That's not Malaysian. We have to discover a new meaning in the Malaysian way of living. For that, we have to leave behind an existence where we live alienated lives from one another. That's no more Malaysian. We need each other to mature as a true, progressive people. Things will work out better for us if we share our responsibilities. That's Malaysian. Having a stranglehold on the economy and perhaps, leaving entire classes of people in poverty is no more acceptable. It shall not be Malaysian.The devil is not out there, MCA. It's not PAS and it's not the DAP. It's within you. Be afraid, MCA, be very afraid. I'm not alone here when I, a Catholic and a Chinese woman say, "PAS gets my vote, any day!" God bless, especially Mursyidul Am, Nik Aziz and please forgive MCA's insolence. Thank you. | ||||||||
| EC upset over Suara Keadilan report Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:49 AM PDT
He told the writer Hishamuddin Rais to check the facts before coming out with the innacurate report, he described as malicious, discrediting the country's independent electoral body. Kamaruddin said all names were cross-checked with the National Registration Department (NRD) which verify they are Malaysian citizens, including those using the MyKad state code "71" in the electoral roll. "If the writer thinks this is a big issue, then he should take into account that the MyKad state code of several Pakatan Rakyat leaders is also listed as "71"," said Kamaruddin. Weird names of voters listed in the report including Bukit bin Batu, Harimau bin Buaya, Kijang anak lelaki Ular, Jintan bin Bawang, Dubai bin Abu Dhabi, Sungai binti Laut and Koma binti Noktah were not in the electoral roll. "We admit there are names such as Sitti Hairan binti Jauharatil (Kg. Padang Serigala), Kereta binti Laut (Kg. Samuran), Kucing anak Tedong (Lutong Sec School), Batman bin Bakke (Rh Nyuak) and Proton Saga a/l Kelambu (Jentong) in the electoral roll. "They may sound weird to Hishammuddin but not to the owners," he added. On claim that there are 46 voters registered at a single address at No. 994 Jalan Papan Klang, Kamaruddin said they were squatters living around a bungalow and some of them were still using the postal address. | ||||||||
| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:58 PM PDT  Azman Ujang, Bernama ONE of the populist ideas from the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to win more votes in Sabah and Sarawak is a promise to increase the states' annual oil royalty from 5% to 20% if it comes to power. For opposition leaders, this has been the gist of their speeches in the two states, especially after the political tsunami of 2008 when Sabah and Sarawak came to be known as Barisan Nasional's (BN) "fixed deposit" states. This is because BN managed to win almost all of the 56 parliamentary seats in these states in the last election that enabled it to retain power while doing badly in Peninsular Malaysia. Several top PR leaders went on a roadshow to Sabah and Sarawak on Sept 16 in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration and again they hyped up this oil royalty issue. To the man on the street, it's a very attractive proposition because everyone wants their state to have more money so that they can have a better life. But in reality, the quota of oil royalty distribution to the country's three oil producing states – Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu – is not as straight forward or simplistic as the 5% figure suggests. When you give them 5% for drilling oil in their offshore fields, the impression given is that Petronas, the national oil company, gets the other 95%. This is not the case and to a large extent this public misconception is due to the fact that many Malaysians, including parliamentarians, have been kept in the dark about who's getting what in the oil and gas production industry, which is by far our biggest revenue earner. Despite this issue being recycled, no one has come out to reveal the royalty sharing formula. I did my own enquiries and a former senior executive of a multinational oil company told me something informative that I am delighted to share here. According to my source, this is how it works – 5% is federal royalty and another 5% is state government royalty. Of the balance, up to 20% goes to what is known as 'cost oil' to recover the cost of production. This leaves a balance of 70% which is split between the operator and Petronas. The operator here means foreign oil companies that commit billions in investment to drill for oil in the fields awarded to them by Petronas. At times, they spend billions without striking any oil of the volume required to make it commercially viable. He cited as an example, a typical production sharing contract (PSC) between a foreign oil company and Petronas – of the 70%, 30% goes to the company and the balance to Petronas. In terms of oil barrels, let's say for every 100 barrels, the PSC split is five barrels to the Federal Treasury, five barrels to the State Treasury, and up to 20 barrels claimed by the operator as cost oil. The balance of 70 barrels is split 70:30 with Petronas getting 70% or 49 barrels, and the operator 30% or 21 barrels. To the credit of Petronas, at long last on Oct 12, it came out with what I consider to be one of the most significant press statements it has ever released. As far as I can recall, this was the first time that Petronas has reacted to the oil royalty issue, a departure from its past policy of avoiding to discuss it openly. Petronas said that its own sustainability to contribute to the nation would be undermined should royalty payments to the states be increased from 5% to 20%, because it would result in lower petroleum income tax payments. What politicians like PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who once served as finance minister and who's been harping on increasing the royalty to 20%, deliberately don't tell the people is that what they are trying to do is to put our entire oil and gas industry at risk. Petronas explained that over the next five years alone, planned projects with a total capital expenditure worth about RM170 billion are at risk of being cancelled if the royalty payment to the states is increased. Any increase in oil royalty to the states would automatically reduce the profitability and economic viability of all current and future oil and gas projects under development. This in itself will deter Petronas and PSC contractors from further investing in these projects. There are some among the ruling BN leaders in the two states who are beginning to be influenced by the prospect of a royalty increase. They are voicing out to the federal government to consider giving them an increase, but what they fail to realise is that a reduction in the oil and gas production will result in lower payments to the states. It's still 5% but this 5% in monetary terms will be much less. On the bigger picture, a reduction in oil and gas production – which could happen if foreign investors are put off by the prospect of getting less from the PSC – will also threaten Malaysia's energy security. "Apart from this direct impact, the resulting slowdown will have an adverse multiplier effect on the domestic oil and gas industries such as service companies as well as spin-off industries, leading to a reduction in employment opportunities for the people residing in those states," warned Petronas. This is indeed a very grim scenario akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Close to 30% of our gross domestic product comes from Petronas's output and the oil company contributes well over 40% of federal government revenue. Federal government revenue is ploughed back to all states, and since Sabah and Sarawak became BN's safe deposit states, they have been receiving huge allocations for development much to the envy of the non-oil producing states. And whatever extras the federal government is giving the two states, as per their requests, actually come from the federal portion of the Petronas royalty. Under our laws, oil belongs to the federal government and the oil producing states are already blessed with the 5% royalty which amounts to a cool few billion annually. Asking for more is tantamount to having the best of both worlds and this is not the way to run a federation of states like Malaysia. It's just unfair to other states. Politics is of course politics, but Malaysia will be better off with politicians who know what they are talking about especially when it comes to such important issues. They have to get their facts right so that they don't simply create issues out of thin air. Just like the PR's shadow Budget 2013 with its slew of highly populist proposals. Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah has described the budget as "mathematically wrong, misleading and will definitely increase the country's fiscal deficit and national debt". It would be wise for the government and the Opposition to heed Petronas's warning against any review of the oil royalty formula which has worked so well in enriching Malaysia and in the process, made Petronas recognisable as the world's most profitable national oil company.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 08:42 PM PDT Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy. That would mean reject the Shariah, plain and simple, because laws based on religious theocracy means the Shariah. Hence this would also mean Malaysia becomes a Secular State where Muslims can become Christians and need not fast or pray and can drink beer and eat pork, etc. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin This was a comment posted by Kee Thuan Chye in my article MCA's bold move in secularising Malaysia. Where on earth in the NST report is it said that Wee called for Shariah law to be abolished??? RPK is making too much of a meal out of this. Wee was just making the same old, same old call we have heard many a time from the MCA to reject PAS's Islamic state. That's what he meant by rejecting laws based on religious theocracy. For all we know, "laws based on religious theocracy" might have been wrongly phrased by the NST reporter when writing the story. So, please, RPK, don't try and make the MCA look like a pioneer or doing something significant when it really is not. It wouldn't have the chutzpah or cojones to call for the abolition of Shariah. You and I know that. No way in Hell. ********************************* Dear Kee, my reply as follows: (NST) -- PAS' aspiration to introduce its interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud, if the opposition coalition came into power was strongly criticised at the MCA Youth and Wanita assemblies yesterday. (My response) -- Wee said "...its (PAS') interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud...". First of all, it should not be "...its interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud...". Islamic law is called Shariah law and Hudud is one branch of the Shariah. Hence Islamic law (Shariah) and Hudud mean two different things. Secondly, there is no such thing as PAS's interpretation of Islamic law. Either there is such a thing called Islamic law or Shariah law or there is no such thing. Is there or is there not such a thing called Islamic laws or Shariah laws? If there are none then how can the UIA (International Islamic University) offer Shariah law courses and degrees? How can there be Shariah laws, Shariah lawyers, Shariah judges and Shariah Courts? How can Muslims face punishment for drinking beer under the Shariah law? Islamic laws are called Shariah laws and Shariah laws are based on: 1. Interpretations of the Qur'an. 2. Interpretations of the Sunnah. 3. Ijma or consensus amongst scholars ("collective reasoning"). 4. Qiyas/Ijtihad or analogical deduction ("individual reasoning"). Can you see that the four items above form the foundation of the Shariah? Hence there is no such as PAS' interpretation of Islamic law. Hence, also, Wee and/or MCA are either misleading the people or are trying to talk about something they know nothing about. The Shariah comes under six main branches as follows: 1. Ibadah (ritual worship). 2. Mu'amalat (transactions and contracts). 3. Adab (morals and manners). 4. I'tiqadat (beliefs). 5. Uqubat (punishments). 6. Munakahat (Islamic marriage jurisprudence). There are four main schools of Shariah law: 1. Hanbali. 2. Hanifi. 3. Maliki. 4. Shafi'i. There are four categories of punishment under Islamic Penal Law: 1. Qisas. 2. Diyya. 3. Hudud. 4. Tazir. (NST) -- MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy and to denounce Pas' call to implement hudud. (My response) -- Wee and MCA (and probably you as well) do not understand the difference between an Islamic State, the Shariah, Qisas, Diyya, Hudud and Tazir. One does not equal the other, as they are different issues. NST said: Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy… That would mean reject the Shariah, plain and simple, because laws based on religious theocracy means the Shariah. Hence this would also mean Malaysia becomes a Secular State where Muslims can become Christians and need not fast or pray and can drink beer and eat pork, etc. (NST) -- Wee likened the mindset of Pas leadership to one that belonged to the Dark Ages. (My response) – The Shariah is part of Islam. To say that the PAS leadership belongs to the Dark Age means Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, etc., also all belong to the Dark Ages and are no longer relevant. Is this what Wee and MCA mean? PAS quotes Islam. If PAS is wrong then Islam is wrong, plain and simple. PAS can only be stupid if Islam, the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an, etc., are stupid. I repeat, there is no such thing as PAS' version or Umno's version of Islam. There is only one version because there is only one version of the Qur'an unlike the Holy Books of some other religions where there are many different versions. I trust this clarifies why I say MCA is secularising Malaysia. That is what they are trying to do. There is no half-Islam just as there is no 'little bit pregnant'. Islam is all or nothing. And, this, the kafirs do not seem to understand or appreciate although they comment as if they are graduates of Shariah law. | ||||||||
| Hudud: ‘MCA hitting below the belt’ Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:41 PM PDT PAS MPs said that the hudud bashing was not the way to win votes and MCA should have focused on national issues such as good governance. G Vinod, FMT PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub described the hudud bashing session over the weekend by MCA as 'hitting below the belt." Speaking outside the Parliament today, Salahuddin said that he was especially disappointed by the statement made by MCA's youth chief Wee Ka Siong. "We are leaders of tomorrow. You should talk about national issues like good governance. Even if you want to fish for votes, you shouldn't do it this way," said the Kubang Kerian MP. Over the weekend, MCA leaders went on a hudud bashing spree during the party annual general meeting in their attempt to win the hearts and minds of Chinese voters. MCA Wanita vice-chairperson Heng Seai Kie accused PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat of condoning rape on non-Muslims, and her allegation was endorsed by party president Dr Chua Soi Lek. Plus, Wee also accused PAS of trying to bring Malaysia back to the Dark Ages by implementing a theocratic state. Whether such talks would alienate Malay-Muslim votes from Barisan Nasional, Salahuddin said," I don't know, but I don't think this kind of talk would benefit anyone." Fellow vice president Mahfuz Omar showed on how Umno would just allow anyone to attack Islam just for the sake of gaining political power. "Mind you, all these statements were made in the presence of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak," said the Pokok Sena MP. He also said that he was disappointed that MCA had made such statements without allowing any chance for anyone to rebut the statements. "This is should be an eye opener to Muslims out there on Umno's true colours," he said. PAS MP Hatta Ramli, on the other hand, refused to comment on the matter saying the people would judge them for their deeds.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:37 PM PDT Incessant politicking, the lack of understanding on hudud and the need for a proper model are all major barriers for the Malays, say the experts. Alyaa Azhar and Anisah Shukry, FMT Malays are not ready for hudud in Malaysia, experts said, citing incessant politicking, fear, lack of understanding and the need for a proper model on the Islamic criminal law. "Mentally and spiritually, Malays are ready for hudud but they need to be more enlightened on the issue and to move away from the shock factor," said Muhammad Fauzi Asmuni, vice-president II of Islamic NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA). Hudud is a strict Islamic criminal law famous for resorting to punishing offenders through physical means, including slicing thieves' hands, stoning adulterers to death and flogging those who consume alcohol. But Muhammad Fauzi told FMT that only a minority of Malays in Malaysia actually feared the law, and that most had the intention to be governed by Islamic laws. He said that the fear stemmed from the fact that the people had no proper model to refer to with regard to the implementation of hudud. "The people need a model because there's none in front of their eyes, there's no model that they can hold on to. "The only thing they see is the Taliban regime, and also how Iran and Saudi Arabia govern their people. This is why the fear towards hudud comes," he added. He said that if Malaysian leaders truly wished to implement hudud in Malaysia, they must first allay fears by educating Malaysians on the law. Politicians are at fault Meanwhile, Professor Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid of IIUM told FMT that heavy politicking had not only set the nation backwards in terms of implementing the law but was also the reason why many Malays were frightened of hudud. "If we do not politicise it, we Malays are definitely ready [to implement hudud in Malaysia], but if we were to look at hudud as a political issue, then it becomes a problem," said the professor from the department of Fiqh and Usul Al Fiqh (Islamic Jurispudence and Roots of Jurispudence). PAS had long championed the criminal law, despite it not being included in the opposition pact's common manifesto, and this created a rift between the Islamist party and its political ally, the Chinese-dominated DAP. Meanwhile, MCA had seen fit to perpetually warn the Chinese community of the "dangers" of hudud should Pakatan come to power – even though PAS had promised that the Islamic criminal law would only be applied to Muslims. "There is this misunderstanding that hudud is all about cutting hands solely, but in fact hudud is actually a law to prevent people from committing a crime in the first place," said Mahmood. "The cutting only comes later on, but that is only for those who actually commit the crime," he stressed. He said that while hudud could certainly be implemented now, everything depended on the politicians.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:01 PM PDT
So, legally, a Member of Parliament cannot resign his or her seat and re-contest that seat in a by-election. This means that issue first needs to be addressed. And then we need to amend/abrogate the Article in the Constitution that guarantees all Malaysians freedom of association. You will be denied freedom of association once you get elected into office. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin First please read Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng's press statement below. I have not edited or amended it because I want you to read it as it is. It looks like someone had translated this statement into English from the original Chinese version. Since this press release carries the Chief Minister's name there should be a higher standard of language used. The grammar and sentence structure should be as flawless as possible and words or phrases such as 'political frogs' should be avoided. Name-calling cheapens the message. If we indulge in name-calling where do we draw the line? Mahathir al Mamak. Anwar al Jubur. Khalid (Ibrahim) al Lembik. Najib al Tantuya. Ibrahim (Ali) al Katak. Hee al Camry. Can you see that the list of 'names' we can attach to various Malaysian personalities is endless? You only need to allow your imagination to run wild and Malaysians certainly have a world-class imagination when it comes to giving people 'names'. I bet the comments below are going to be flooded with some very creative and imaginative 'names' of people you love to hate, me included. Nevertheless, I am giving Guan Eng the benefit of the doubt and will assume that his aides and speechwriters would usually prepare his press statements. I am sure Guan Eng is too busy to sit down with pen and paper and spend hours writing all these statements. Guan Eng has to review the quality of his staff and outsource some of this work if necessary in the interest of maintaining a higher standard. One of the criteria of a good speechwriter would be the research required. The statements must not only be consistent with earlier statements and the party stand but they must also be consistent with the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, the State Constitution, convention, tradition, cultural norms, religious sensitivities, sentiments and whatnot. There are so many things to consider in making a statement because in this age of the information revolution people will remember what you said even 30 or 40 years ago. So you cannot make a faux pas and get away with it. It will come back to haunt you later. And the 'I have been misquoted' excuse no longer works, as many people have discovered. I can afford to ignore all these 'pitfalls' and write 'no holds barred'. I do not need for people to like or love me because I will not be contesting the election and, therefore, do not need your votes. The same can't be said for Guan Eng. Public perception and public support is very crucial in Guan Eng's case. This will determine whether he wins or loses the election. Now, before you go off tangent and start saying that this is a Guan Eng bashing article, please note for the record that Guan Eng is one of my more favourite politicians. I actually went to Penang back in 2008 to help campaign for him. I did not do that for the other Pakatan Rakyat politicians other than Ronnie Liu and Nurul Izzah Anwar (and the proof is all on YouTube if you care to do a Google search). Nazri Aziz made a statement in Parliament today saying that Malaysia is neither a Secular State nor an Islamic State. And the reason Nazri said this, according to him, is because Malaysia's Constitution is 'silent' on the matter and makes no mention of it. I find that politicians will quote the Constitution when it suits them and if it does not then they will quote the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Sunnah, the Social Contract, the Merdeka Agreement, the 18-Point Agreement, the 20-Point Agreement, the New Economic Policy, the Election Manifesto, the Reid Commission, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and whatnot. If Nazri wants to follow the Constitution then the Constitution is also silent on the matter of the race and religion of the Prime Minister. Legally, Lim Guan Eng can become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. But Guan Eng cannot become the Prime Minister even though legally, according to the Constitution, he can. And we know why he cannot and also know that it has nothing to do with the Constitution. Basically, politicians will make a statement and then they will find the justification for that statement. And most times they will contradict themselves from one statement to another. And if they fail to find the right justification they can always use convention, tradition, cultural norms, religious sensitivities, sentiments, etc., as the excuse to justify what they say. So which 'guideline' do we follow then? The Constitution, the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Sunnah, the Social Contract, the Merdeka Agreement, the 18-Point Agreement, the 20-Point Agreement, the New Economic Policy, the Election Manifesto, the Reid Commission, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, convention, tradition, cultural norms, religious sensitivities, sentiments, the powers of the Minister, or what? We must note that each of those various 'guidelines' may contradict one other. So, when yesterday we used one, today we use another, and tomorrow we use yet another, this means we are contradicting ourselves. Legally, when you vote for someone, whom are you voting for? At the back of your mind you may be voting for the party rather than the candidate. That may be what you are subconsciously doing. But I am asking: legally, whom do you vote for? When a Member of Parliament stands up in Parliament, the Speaker will address you as, say, "Ahli (Member) dari Lembah Pantai". The Speaker does not address you as "Ahli dari PKR" or "Ahli dari Pakatan Rakyat". So you are the wakil or ahli from Lembah Pantai. That is your 'legal status'. Which party you are from is not the issue. Hence even if you change parties that does not affect your Parliament status. Now, if we want whoever changes parties to resign (by law) and re-contest the seat in a by-election, we will first need to amend the law that bars someone who resigns from re-contesting for a period of five years. Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned her Permatang Pauh seat in mid-2008. That means she cannot contest any Parliament seat until at least mid-2013. And that also means she will have to give the coming general election a miss, unless she decides to contest a state seat instead. So, legally, a Member of Parliament cannot resign his or her seat and re-contest that seat in a by-election. This means that issue first needs to be addressed. And then we need to amend/abrogate the Article in the Constitution that guarantees all Malaysians freedom of association. You will be denied freedom of association once you get elected into office. It also must be made clear that if you get elected into office you are not Wakil Rakyat but Wakil Parti. And to make sure this is clear, the Speaker must address the Members of Parliament as, say, "Ahli dari PKR" and not "Ahli dari Lembah Pantai". Can you see the changes that will be required? It is not merely a simple matter of amending a few words in the State Constitution. A paradigm shift will be required including reconditioning the minds of the voters and the minds of those people who the voters vote into office. Okay, back to Nazri's statement today. Nazri is using the Constitution as his guide and his argument is that Malaysia is neither a Secular State nor an Islamic State. So what are we then? For sure Malaysia is not a Republic because we are a Constitutional Monarchy. And the nine State Rulers are Heads of Islam in their respective states while His Majesty the Agong is Head of Islam for the Federation (plus the four states that do not have Rulers and instead have Governors). What powers do the Rulers have as Head of Islam? For example, say, Their Highnesses the Sultans of Kelantan and Terengganu want to implement Hudud in their respective states since these two State Assemblies have already approved it years ago. Can this be done? Nazri would say 'no' because Parliament first needs to approve these laws. And since Parliament has not approved it (or has rejected it) then it can't be done. New laws or amendments to old laws need to be approved by Parliament. But then is Islam a State matter under the charge of the Rulers or a Federal matter under the charge of Parliament? Ah, Nazri will argue, but Hudud is a legal matter, not a religious matter. So the Federal government and not the State governments have authority over this matter. Okay, but then apostasy (leaving Islam), drinking/selling of liquor, adultery, illicit sex (sex outside marriage), khalwat (close proximity), etc., are also religious issues. And they are also legal issues. Each state has its own laws and its own forms of punishment for these 'crimes'. And they differ from one state to another. We must also remember that although, officially, there are no Hudud laws in Malaysia, those crimes I mentioned above come under Hudud. Hence we DO have Hudud in Malaysia. The only thing is we do not call them Hudud. It is 'silent' as to what they are. So, for purposes of giving them a name, we call them Shariah laws. But Shariah laws are a collection of laws. And one of these collections of laws under the Shariah is Hudud. So what Malaysia has done is it has allowed the implementation of (part of) Hudud as long as you call them Shariah laws and not Hudud laws. You can implement Hudud laws but do not label them as Hudud although they are in reality Hudud laws. It is like the issue of usury or riba'. In Islam, riba' is haram (forbidden). So don't call it riba'. Call it faedah (benefit/interest) or keuntungan (profit/gain). Then it is no longer haram. It is halal (kosher). Sex outside marriage (zina) is also haram. So don't call it zina. Call it mut'a (temporary marriage). You get married for a couple of hours just for sex so it is no longer zina and hence not haram. After the sex you 'divorce'. Can we take this further? Say you have a bad cough. You then get the doctor (a Muslim doctor if need be) to say that you need some brandy to get rid of your cough. So, for health reasons, you can drink brandy and it is no longer haram. You don't call it arak. You call it ubat. Yes, then we can issue a fatwah concerning 'defending' Islam and then blow up a school bus with 50 Jewish children inside it. It is not called murder any longer. It is called jihad. Can you see there is no limit to what we can do when we twist and turn to suit our agenda? And can you also see why Malaysians in general and Malays-Muslims in particular are a very confused lot? They contradict themselves and make statements to suit their objective even though these statements do not make sense. One day they scream about freedom of this, that or the other. The next day they make a statement that violates all these freedoms. The issue of Islam and the rules of Islam is one case in point. Do we arrest and then jail, cane, fine, tickle, torture, slap, fondle, spank or punch a Muslim who is caught drinking liquor? Furthermore, do we just punish the offender or also the person/establishment that 'collaborated' in the 'crime'? When you allow prostitution in your massage parlour, not only the prostitutes but also the massage parlour owner will be punished. If your pub employs Muslim staff and they sell beer to Muslims, not only the Muslim customer will be punished. The Muslim staff and the pub owner will face punishment as well. Is this the law? Yes, according to some states, but not according to the Federal government -- or else the government-owned establishments and GLCs will also face punishment. But then they do not face punishment, do they? So it appears like this is a State criminal law and not a Federal criminal law. People can face criminal action in some states. And this is Hudud although not called Hudud. Hence it appears like the States can by-pass or ignore Parliament if they wish to do so. But then the Federal government says that the States cannot implement or amend laws without the approval of Parliament. Aiyah! Pening kepala! Yang mana yang betul ni? Okay, so can Penang introduce laws or amend laws that make party-hopping a crime? Do they need Parliament's approval or an amendment to the Federal Constitution for this? And while on that subject, can Penang then also pass a law that DOES NOT make it a crime for Muslims to drink beer? And if not, why not? Is it because His Majesty the Agong and not the Penang State government is the authority over Islam? And if that is the case then can His Majesty the Agong introduce Hudud in Penang whether the Penang State Government and/or DAP/Pakatan Rakyat agrees or not? Yes, confusing, is it not? Sometimes the Minister has sole authority. Sometimes the Cabinet is the authority. Sometimes the Menteri Besar/Chief Minister has authority. Sometimes the State EXCO has authority. Sometimes Parliament has authority. Sometimes the EXCO Member has authority. Sometimes the Ruler has authority. Sometimes the Mufti has authority. Sometimes the Religious Department has authority. Sometimes the Attorney-General has authority. Sometimes the IGP has authority. Sometimes the OCDP has authority. Sometimes the CPO has authority. Sometimes the court is the authority. And sometimes the dogcatcher is the final authority as to whether to kill the stray dogs by drowning or send them to a dog's home. *************************************** Lim Guan Eng's Press Release today The PR state government will not be deterred by BN's support for the culture of political frogs but is determined to table a historic constitutional amendment to push through an anti-hopping law in the Penang state assembly meeting on 1 November 2012. The State Legal Advisor has been tasked with the necessary process of gazetting the proposed constitutional amendment. Any amendment to the Penang state constitution requires a 2/3 majority and PR has the required numbers by holding 29 out of the 40 seats. All 3 parties in Penang PR of PAS, PKR and DAP have also supported the proposed constitutional amendment requiring State Assembly members who jump or change their party affiliation to resign and re-contest in a by-election. BN and MCA have taken the opportunity to hit out at the Penang state government at yesterday's MCA Annual General Assembly by dramatically labelling the proposed anti-hopping law as unconstitutional and that it will even creating a constitutional crisis that will be the very foundation of the Federal Constitution and the nation at risk. The Penang state government believes that the anti-hopping law should be within the Federal Constitution for 3 principal reasons. One, it respects the democratic mandate of the people being kingmakers by allowing their constituents to either support or reject the decision of their elected representatives to hop from one party to another. As parliamentary democracy is the basis of our Federal Constitution, the anti-hopping law by reinforcing its democratic character will only serve to strengthen the Federal Constitution. Two, the anti-hopping law does not infringe on a person's right of freedom of association as he or she can join any party subject to a renewal of mandate by the constituents. Finally this will also ensure the practice of political accountability as well as principled values and public integrity in Penang, where elected representatives can not be traded like a commodity at the highest price. BN and MCA's condemnation of Penang PR's anti-hopping laws provides a stark difference between BN's focus on party interests and personalities as compared to PR emphasis on policies and people. Lim Guan Eng | ||||||||
| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:50 PM PDT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL There is an old sinister interpretation to the acronym MARA or Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). They say then it means Money Always Run Away. And the person that gave that interpretation actually ran away with commissions from contracts given out to Chinaman suppliers. MARA is a purpose-incorporated Federal Government agency by a Parliament act to assist the development of Malays. It has been successful in many ways, especially education.
One of the notorious case is the MARA acquisition into the Bukit Rahman Putra property development project in the late '80s, when Mohd. Tamrin Ghafar was the Chairman. MARA paid over RM 70,000.00 per golf membership where 260 golf membership of Kelab Golf Rahman Putra was transferred to MARA and acquired 100 acres from the 760 acres development.
Then the acquisition of 53 room Ashley Hotel near Paddington Station, London by MARA Inc. two years ago. Why MARA goes into the hotel business and in London is baffling many. MARA has neither the expertise in the inn business nor understands anything remotely about property in London. In the first place, they never did were into the inn business in Malaysia.
The most recent is MARA Council's approval to dish out RM140 million of soft loan to MARA Inc. to acquire an accommodation building in the neighbourhood of Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria. MARA Inc. is supposed to acquire 746 Swanston Street, Carlton, Melbourne VIC 3053, Australia. Currently, the building lease twin-sharing or single rooms at the rate of AUD 160 and AUD 210 per week, respectively. Why MARA is doing this especially when the sponsorship program for students to Australia has been reduced drastically? If the acquisition of this property is for the benefit of MARA sponsored students in Australia, then the next question shall be how many students do MARA sponsor to study in Australia annually. Wouldn't these sponsored students attend universities all over New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia too? The fact that 746 Swanston St. is a building where there is 313 beds. Unless MARA intend to have about 100 sponsored students to Melbourne University and RMIT annually, the acquisition of the accommodation building is about making money from a market where MARA Inc. has little understanding about. RM 140 million for a property investment abroad by a wholly own company of a Federal Government socio-economic development agency is definitely mind boggling. MARA should be looking into acquiring high street commercial spaces and develop the Bumiputra retail opportunities first instead of looking at and acquiring properties abroad.
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| MCA touts ‘Ah Jib Gor’ factor for Chinese vote Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:27 PM PDT
Nomy Nowzir and Hafidz Baharom, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak's popularity or the "Ah Jib Gor" factor will help cajole a segment of the Chinese community back to Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming polls, MCA grassroots leaders have agreed, but warned that the same sentiment could not topple the opposition in its urban fortresses. This was the resounding sentiment among delegates attending the MCA's 59th annual general meeting at Wisma MCA yesterday, which is seen as the party's final chance to chart its election strategies in the months ahead as it heads into its toughest battle yet. "Najib is good because he has done a lot of programmes for the people, I am sure the Chinese will vote BN," said one delegate, Lim Chee Cheong, from Rasah in Negri Sembilan. "Najib has done a lot for the Chinese. And he has our support and the Chinese community support as well," another delegate, Loke Poh Chye from Pengkalan Kota in Penang, toldThe Malaysian Insider. During the meeting earlier, among one of the key battle cries sounded by the party leadership was a call for delegates to "Stand with Najib", who was extensively described as a leader popular among the Chinese. In his presidential address, party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek repeatedly praised Najib's transformative policies and attention to Chinese community issues, even telling the prime minister, "Sir, sometimes I think that you are too kind." At the MCA Youth AGM on Saturday, party deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai predicted that the MCA will "rise again" in the coming polls, citing Najib's popularity among the Chinese community as one of the key reasons behind the possibility. He said the prime minister's outreach towards the Chinese community, even resorting to social media tools like Facebook to create a Chinese persona, "Ah Jib Gor" (Brother Najib), had successfully convinced voters that the community would not be left out of the nation's development. "The feel-good factor is coming back. And the commitment from the PM to the Chinese… the Ah Jib Gor factor shows that he will listen to the Chinese community," Liow had said. But despite these leaders' optimism, several MCA delegates approached by The Malaysian Insider yesterday agreed that the party would suffer the most when attempting to sway the urban Chinese vote, pointing out that in areas like Petaling Jaya Selatan or key states like Penang, it would be near impossible for the MCA to trounce the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal opposition pact. "I don't think so we can win back PJ, they are entrenched already with the opposition. I don't think we can take Penang back either," said Loh KF, a delegate from the area. Loh was among several delegates who also admitted that the issue of corruption would be among BN's greatest stumbling block to woo the Chinese vote, complaining that it was hard to answer voters who brought up issues like the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal and other graft cases. "Bribery is really bad, I was a victim myself," said Sungai Siput MCA delegate Tham Siew Poh. Tham was also critical of the MCA's focus on hudud law, a wedge issue used against the DAP and PAS who are members of the PR opposition pact. "Most Chinese already understand that the hudud issue is hands-off, it's a religious question, very sensitive. This issue shouldn't be commented upon. "After all, hudud has already been implemented in many countries, why be scared if we do no wrong?" Tham said. But his opinion was not shared by Tenggara MCA delegate Catherine Chia, from Johor. Chia said the hudud issue was critical to be highlighted on as it affects Chinese culture and was demeaning towards women. "I think this hudud will affect everybody, not only Chinese, the whole nation. If the nation is under hudud law, we will become just like the Middle East nations. And eight of the most corrupt nations come from that region," Loke said.
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| Nazri: M’sia not a secular state Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:14 PM PDT
At the same time, the minister does not say if Malaysia is an Islamic state. Patrick Lee, FMT Malaysia, according to the federal government, has never been defined as a secular state. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said this in the Dewan Rakyat today, adding that the word "secular" was not even present in the Federal Constitution. "…the allocation of the law shows that it is clear that Malaysia has never been determined or declared as a secular state," he added. He was responding to a question by DAP-Seremban MP John Fernandez, who asked Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak about the decisions made by the former Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas in the case of Che Omar Che Soh vs the Public Prosecutor (1988), where secular law came into question. At the same time, Nazri did not state if Malaysia was an Islamic country. However, he added that the country had been using secular law which had been brought over from before Independence, through Article 162 of the Federal Constitution. The article states that laws existing before Merdeka Day 1957 would continue to be enforced.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:11 PM PDT
Nomy Nozwir, The Malaysian Insider PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu today accused political foe MCA of having insulted Islam and not only the Islamist party when it alleged that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women. He cautioned the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition's Chinese component against making such statements. "MCA should be careful when making such statements, because it is no longer insulting the party but insulting the religion. Do not twist Nik Aziz's statement," Mohamad(picture) told The Malaysian Insider. The opposition leader was responding to MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's remark over the weekend when agreeing with a Wanita MCA leader's view that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women, pointing out that PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat had made the opinion clear in a speech four years ago. Dr Chua alleged that in the 2008 speech, Nik Aziz had said that women who do not "tutup aurat" (protect their modesty) "deserved to be raped". "And the reason he gave was that this is because the eye is connected to the genitalia so when you see… you get provoked. "This is not what I am saying… this is what Nik Aziz said. I can get you a tape immediately if you are interesting in seeing (Nik Aziz's speech)," he told reporters after chairing a special briefing with MCA delegates ahead of the party's main annual general meeting (AGM). Dr Chua was ask to comment on a Malaysiakini report quoting Wanita MCA vice-chairman Senator Heng Seai Kie as saying during the wing's AGM earlier that PAS condones the raping of women who do not conform to the Islamic dress code. According to the news portal's report, Heng, in trying to explain how Islamic hudud law would affect both the Muslims and non-Muslims, had cited Nik Aziz's 2008 speech, which can be found on YouTube. "If you watch the YouTube clip, you would know that Nik Aziz had once said that a woman should 'tutup aurat' (protect their modesty), otherwise the woman should be raped. "From Nik Aziz's speech, we can conclude that Nik Aziz openly asked Muslims to rape non-Muslims, am I right?" Heng was quoted as saying on the portal. Appearing to agree with Heng's point, Dr Chua pointed out again that Nik Aziz's speech had been recorded. Asked, however, if Heng had twisted the matter out of context as Nik Aziz had purportedly only been speaking about Muslim women, Dr Chua said: "I think you missed the part where Nik Aziz explained why you need to tutup aurat… because if you do not tutup… then it provokes, you know, all these young men. You understand? "When a Muslim man wants to rape, it does not mean he must rape only a Muslim, right? He can rape anybody… so do not spin it out of control."
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| MCA – the champions of petty issues Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:49 PM PDT Taking pot-shots at Pakatan leaders for the most trivial issues shows how bankrupt of ideas MCA has become. Iskandar Dzulkarnain, FMT When one thinks that the MCA has run out of petty issues to lament about, out of the blue comes another salvo from MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek who now claims that PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat condones rape on women who are not properly attired. Rummaging through the closet, the party came up with a "four-year-old" issue to try and frighten non-Muslims against voting for PAS, as PAS leaders condone raping any woman who does not cover up, whether Muslim or non-Muslim. Not only is that a gross insult to a Muslim leader, it is also an insult to all Muslims and non-Muslims as well. Nik Aziz was merely admonishing his Muslim audience on the need to cover up, so as not to invite disaster. How can that be taken literally as evidence that PAS leaders condone the rape of women who do not dress decently? Did the Muslims go berserk, and started a raping spree in Kelantan and elsewhere after hearing his speech? Did any Malaysian took Nik Aziz's speech literally and contemplated a desirous urge to rape, or was it just an isolated case narrowed down to the MCA president that harboured such unhealthy thoughts? Sometimes, Malaysians would never know how dumb some of our political leaders are, until they open their big mouths. And to ensure that Malaysian citizens are safe from rape and other immoral sex crimes, MCA thinks that the Chinese should refrain from voting PAS or Pakatan Rakyat. Caught red-handed on tape Having forgotten his own humiliating dash with adultery, forever embedded on video and still accessible on YouTube to everyone, he sees it fit to point a finger at other opposition leaders, accusing them of condoning rape. Now, that is rather sickening and an embarrassment to himself and the MCA. Until today, everyone including the non-Chinese is stupefied as to how he managed to get himself elected by the same MCA members who made him the MCA president. In the past 50 years, Chinese rights were seen to have deteriorated to the point that the Chinese themselves felt like second-class citizens. The MCA flirted with the sentiments of the Chinese, ignoring their plight and simply stood idly by, watching as their rights were being stripped away little by little. Umno, on the other hand, was seen busily trying to upgrade the rights of the Malays at the expense of other races. MCA was so comfortable in its seats that it simply forgots about its own countrymen. Power has gone to its head, and it was busy helping itself to the till. Today, we see two past senior MCA leaders being charged with corruption while the Chinese believe it is only the tip of the iceberg. The Chinese also see the MCA as playing second fiddle to Umno, contented with a power-sharing formula that allows the latter to lord over the Chinese. Are the Chinese abandoning the MCA? Contrary to popular belief, the Chinese did not abandon the MCA, but it was the MCA that has abandoned the Chinese many, many years ago. Now that the first generation of Chinese voters has dwindled, a disillusioned second generation is not going to give the MCA anymore room to manoeuvre, and is determined to see its timely demise. Yes, MCA MPs would be hard-pressed to keep their 15 seats intact. If MCA is not harping on the hudud, it will be about Chinese education or backstabbing the opposition. If MCA leaders were serious about Chinese education, this issue would have been wrapped up ages ago. And taking pot-shots at Pakatan leaders for the most trivial issues shows how bankrupt of ideas MCA has become. The Chinese are actually shaking their heads in disbelief, whether to laugh or cry at the absurd issues highlighted by their leaders. And today, Chua is trying to convince himself that Chinese fear of hudud is greater than before. To the Chinese, the issue is no more play-play. The Chinese would now vote for BN. What a big relief for Umno. Meanwhile, MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong is saying that a Pakatan government will take Malaysia back to the Dark Ages. Such vivid imagination! Maybe, we would see more limbless sub-humans walking around like zombies if a Pakatan government ever come to pass? MCA's refusal to admit its own mistakes and putting the blame on the "stupid" Chinese for their predicament shows how chauvinistic it has become. Political infighting, greed and power struggles have weakened them. Instead of wooing back the Chinese with sincerity and humility, the leaders continue to use the politics of fear, race and religion card to scare the Chinese into submission. Do they think the Chinese are as dumb as they are?
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| Perkasa mohon Raja-Raja turun padang Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:45 PM PDT
Memandangkan zaman berubah mengikut arus demokratisasi dan perjuangan hak asasi, Institusi Diraja kini mudah diungkit dan dikritik secara terbuka. Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) memohon perkenan Raja-Raja supaya turun padang lebih kerap dan berjumpa dengan rakyat jelata serta badan bukan kerajaan (NGO). Presidennya Datuk Ibrahim Ali berkata, memandangkan zaman berubah mengikut arus demokratisasi dan perjuangan hak asasi, Institusi Diraja kini mudah diungkit dan dikritik secara terbuka. Namun katanya, dalam perubahan ini hanya masyarakat Melayu sahaja yang masih taat kepada kepada Raja-Raja. "Bagi memperkasakan Institusi Diraja, Perkasa mohon ampun perkenan mesti turun ke padang dan berdampingan dengan rakyat. "Kita tahu seperti sebelum ini Sultan Pahang dan Kelantan juga sering melakukannya tapi perlu lebih kerap dan bergaul lebih mesra," katanya. Cadangan itu dikemukakan Ibrahim dalam ucapannya di Persidangan Khas Tahunan Perkasa Peringkat Selangor di Dewan Tuanku Canselor Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) di sini petang semalam. Sementara itu, beliau turut memberi jaminan Perkasa akan menyokong sepenuhnya calon Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) 13 akan datang. Ibrahim berkata walaupun Perkasa adalah NGO bebas, namun sokongan terhadap parti komponen BN tidak akan berbelah bagi termasuk undi kepada calon MCA. Ahli Parlimen Pasir Mas itu dalam ucapannya turut melancarkan boikot dan melarang setiap ahlinya daripada memberikan sebarang kenyataan terhadap portal berita Malaysiakini. Beliau mendakwa Malaysiakini mendapat pembiayaan daripada George Soros yang juga dikaitkannya dengan NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram). "Haram bagi ahli Perkasa bagi kenyataan kepada Malaysiakini. Kita cakap lain dia tulis lain. Kita boikot sampai PRU13," katanya. Persidangan itu juga dirasmikan Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Datuk Seri Noh Omar yang turut menyumbang RM10,000 kepada pertubuhan itu.
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| Pakatan needs a decisive strategy now! Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:32 PM PDT Pakatan must prove to the rakyat that it can tackle national misfortunes and produce a strategy to overcome grim election possibilities now, before the general election. Awang Abdillah, FMT Since the beginning of the Mahathir era until today, the Umno-led government has accumulated a trail of unresolved national misfortunes, by-products of long-term bad governance and gross abuses of power. It has compelled Malaysians to collectively act (read 2008 polls tsunami) in order to save the nation from the these ills and their consequences. Hence Pakatan Rakyat, as the opposition coalition, must take the initiative now to address these failed policies and practices instead of waiting until it is elected to office as the next federal government. These long-standing, unresolved products of mismanagement have generated into toxic national waste harmful to the national, political and economic environments that have earned Malaysia the tag as a "sick nation" and the laughing stock of Asia. Pakatan must tackle these national disasters now ahead of the impending 13th general election, bearing in mind the grim possibility of a double tragedy – declaration of an emergency and a crackdown on the opposition before the election is held, thereby clearing the path for an easy election victory for the Umno-led Barisan Nasional. Pakatan must therefore foresee these possible circumstances and stop any and all impending election tragedies now to enable it to overtake the incumbent federal government. It is critical that Pakatan proves to the rakyat that it can tackle these national misfortunes and produce a strategy to overcome these grim election possibilities prior to the general election. The Pakatan leaders should set up steering committees to analyse and establish the facts and offer solutions for each one of these issues and situations. Key issues that the steering committees should address are:
The low rate could be attributed to tax evasion by BN crony companies and individual politicians who stash their money overseas and corrupt government officials who are bribed from collecting the full amount of taxes from companies and businessmen.
Pakatan must draw up a comprehensive training programme for the police force, including inculcating good religious and moral values before it comes to power.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:29 PM PDT MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek said the party has no time for discussions on policies because the general election was around the corner. So MCA's AGM was all about bombarding its rivals. Leven Woon, FMT Opposition bashing and pre-election chest thumping took centre stage at the two-day MCA annual general assembly (AGM) which concluded yesterday evening. As party chief Dr Chua Soi Lek put it, MCA had no time for policy discussions at the AGM but opted to switch into battle mode to regain its dwindling Chinese support. "While an AGM is always a platform for laying out policies, we feel that this is not the time to talk about policies because the general election is only two to three months away. "So the important thing is about party unity and winning the election," he told reporters. The AGM saw MCA leaders and delegates lashing out at Pakatan Rakyat's policies, attacking PAS' hudud stance and criticising DAP for compromising its stand with regard to PAS. Delegates also came dressed in Barisan Nasional T-shirts, bearing anti-Pakatan slogans. Hence, Chua, together with his deputy chief Liow Tiong Lai, Youth chief Wee Ka Siong and Wanita chief Yu Chok Tow launched a broadside against PAS and its hudud aspirations should the Islamic party come into power. The attack was, however, akin to new wine in an old bottle, as many statements made in the AGM such as hudud would affect the non-Muslims, cinemas and lottery outlets would be closed and countries that adopt hudud were the most corrupted were mentioned numerous times before. MCA Wanita vice-chief Heng Seai Kie, however, added a fresh twist with her interpretation of a statement by PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat made four years ago. Nik Aziz had said that women who did not cover their modesty (tutup aurat) deserved to be raped, but Heng however told delegates that it would also mean that non-Muslim women should be raped. "(Nik Aziz) was instigating the Muslims to rape the non-Muslims," she had said. Do or die battle On economic issues, MCA leaders heaped praises on the Government Transformation Programmes by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, labelling it as the only roadmap that would ensure the country achieved its high-income nation ambition. Chua even mentioned in his presidential speech that the rakyat should not "change the farmers when the seed of transformation had been planted by Najib".
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:17 PM PDT uQw2jNYiBvA Or watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQw2jNYiBvA Raymond Tan This tragedy was covered-up by the authorities. The footage was taken by a villager on a scooter while later being chased by the securities/gangsters as the vicinity was heavily guarded to avoid being exposed. The quarry collapsed in March early this year, it happened late at night, hence when the water gulped the quarry, the entire vicinity submerged while the labourers were still in their beds. Machineries and squatters are all hundreds of meters below. However, this tragedy was covered-up by the state authorities fearing besides having to deal with the legality of the ownership of the so-called quarry, they are also answerable to the foreign embassy having employed Indonesians. Once again, thank you for your kind attention. | ||||||||
| Has The Star paper became too arrogant?? Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:07 PM PDT
The Star (after dictating what the readers should read) also wants to dictate what we should watch! The Masked Reader Fresh from proudly claiming itself to be the No 1 newspaper in Malaysia, the paper stopped publishing the local TV stations daily programs recently. Instead, this paper chose to publish the Astro channel 728 daily programs in the same page, and suggested to the readers "what to watch" programs on local tv stations and or course, Astro. Is The Star paper indirectly suggesting that we should suscribe to pay tv, and deem the readers who don't as not important to them? Maybe The Star has grown proud of its status as Malaysia's No 1 paper, and forgotten it's loyal readers who supported it all these years. Most of the rakyat don't suscribe to pay-tv, either due to financial constraints, lack of time or frustrated by the often repeated programs, and the increase in fees. We are fine with the local tv stations. But now its seems that The Star (after dictating what the readers should read) also wants to dictate what we should watch! The Star should remember that, like Proton, Perodua (who divided the small and medium cc engine market between themslves) and Astro, they are NO 1 because there isn't much choice for the rakyat to choose to begin with. People HAVE to buy The Star if they want to check out the latest property ad launches, movie listings, etc. There is hardly any such ad in the competing English newspapers. Therefore, most advertisers themselves have little choice but to advertise in The Star. Maybe The Star should change it's tagline from "The People's Paper" to "The Arrogant Paper". | ||||||||
| Should government scholars be grateful? Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:04 PM PDT
Should recipients of government scholarships be grateful? Grateful to whom? Kee Thuan Chye I'm asking this because former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil mentioned recently that PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli was a Petronas scholar and yet he appeared to be going against the people who had given him the scholarship. As the Petronas scholarship is a government scholarship, she implied he was being "ungrateful". She even suggested that other young people of Rafizi's generation might also be "ungrateful".But should Rafizi – and other Petronas scholars, indeed all government scholars, including those awarded the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) scholarships – be beholden to the Government and eternally grateful to it?
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia.
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| Wee steals DAP secular theme, but MCA silent Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:01 PM PDT
The 16 MCA resolutions were completely silent about secularism, Islamic state or hudud. Two of its three political resolutions condemned Pakatan Rakyat and particularly the DAP for supposedly misleading the Chinese community about PAS and hudud. But of secularism, Islamic state and hudud itself there was not a word. uppercaise Wee Ka Siong, the MCA's Youth leader, has stolen the DAP's theme of secularism in political administration, by coming out strongly against theocracy in an Islamic state, which he said would plunge Malaysia into the Dark Ages. Secularism was one of 16 resolutions adopted by MCA Youth on Friday — but the senior party remained silent about an Islamic state or even about its hudud, Islamic criminal punishment, about which party leaders had made many critical statements. On Friday, the MCA Youth adopted the following as Resolution No 3: Mempertahankan sepenuhnya sistem pentadbiran sekular negara kita yang berteraskan Perlembagaan Persekutuan serta menolak sebarang bentuk pentadbiran ektremis agama dan hukum hudud. MCA YOUTH But on Sunday, the 16 MCA resolutions were completely silent about secularism, Islamic state or hudud. Two of its three political resolutions condemned Pakatan Rakyat and particularly the DAP for supposedly misleading the Chinese community about PAS and hudud. But of secularism, Islamic state and hudud itself there was not a word.  Attacks on the Islamic state policy and on hudud criminal law punishment featured heavily in speeches at the MCA general assembly and in news coverage at the weekend, as the party made a strong attempt at reviving itself. The MCA has been hamstrung after suffering devastating losses at the hands of the DAP in the general election of 2008 and through its power struggles in the enforced resignation of Chua Soi Lek, a coup against his successor Ong Tee Keat, and Soi Lek's subsequent return. " We must remember that the democracy and human rights which we are fighting for today is the result of the separation of politics and religion. We must not allow PAS to return us to an age that has long past us. This ideology must be rejected by the people of this country. However, the mindset of PAS leadership remains in the dark ages and now they are trying to force our country to return to the very days that all other countries have fought hard to leave behind. WEE KA SIONG at MCA Youth assembly Ka Siong spoke of how Europe had overthrown Christian theocratic rule in the 14th Century, and developed secularism in politics by separating church and state, which, together with democratic practices had led to the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution in Europe, spreading to the world and creating present-day prosperity. Wee's statement against theocratic rule and for secular democracy was clear and forthright. But it was not matched by the senior party whose leaders merely used hudud as a stick with which to beat the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat. Even its back against the wall, the MCA seemed unwilling to commit itself at a policy level, leaving it to the junior wing to mention the unmentionable. The DAP has often capitalised in the past on the MCA's relative silence and ineffectiveness against the creeping Islamisation of Malaysian public policy and administration. MCA leaders often stated that worked quietly behind the scenes as a partner of Umno. Read more at: http://uppercaise.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/wee-steals-dap-secular-theme-but-mca-silent/ | ||||||||
| Auditing of S’wak govt agencies ‘superficial’ Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:58 PM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - Some 30% of Sarawak's annual budget go into a government approved agencies 'trust fund', information to which no one has access too. A Sarawak DAP leader has expressed deep dissatisfaction over the Auditor-General Report on Sarawak's financial issues, describing it as "superficial", especially with regard to the auditing of government-owned companies. State party secretary Chong Chieng Jen said the AG's report was a piece of "peripheral auditing" focusing on unimportant issues. "I call the report of peripheral auditing, because it is auditing on less important issues while skirting and skipping key issues of Sarawak's financial position. "When we look at the AG report, we all know for a fact that Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) had borrowed a sum of RM15 billion to construct dams and this RM15 billion debt loan is not mentioned in this AG report. "Why? Because, they call off the balance sheet debt of the government. So the balance sheet of the state government does not contain all these debts. "If you don't see all these debts reflected in the report, you see a picture of good management of Sarawak government. "SEB's balance sheet debt for instance is not highlighted in the AG report and SEB is wholly owned by the government," he said. Chong said that the state annual budget had what is known as a 'black hole'. "Under our state budget every year there is one item – government's contribution towards government approved agencies trust fund – which is a black hole. "For this fund the government sets aside every year some money. In 2007, RM1 billion was channeled into this trust fund and in year 2008 and 2009 it was RM1.7 billion and RM1.8 billion respectively. "In 2010 the government allocated RM1 billion while in 2011 the amount was RM1.3 billion, bearing in mind that Sarawak annual budget is around three to four billion ringgit. "This amount (to the trust fund) represents 30% of the annual budget," Chong disclosed. He claimed that until today the Sarawak government has refused to release information or explain in the State Legislative Assembly as to where the money went. "Is this money going to approved agencies? And what are the agencies that receive this money? "It was never disclosed. Even the Auditor-General did not dig into it and to tell us who are these agencies. They only say it is the government's obligation towards the repayment of debts. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/10/22/auditing-of-swak-govt-agencies-superficial/
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| Holding Out for a Hero: the Saddening State of the Sabah Opposition Front Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:56 PM PDT
There is a kind of inchoate lack of will that characterises the Sabah opposition parties, it is as if it is not sincere. Much of its leadership is doing what it does, not because it sees a point to it, but because it does not have anything else to do. Selvaraja Somiah Sabah opposition is, for all practical purposes, a collection of four main parties, DAP, PKR, Sabah Star and SAPP including newly formed but not registered Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) headed by Wilfred Bumburing and Pakatan Perubahan Sabah (PPS) headed by Lajim Okin. USNO Baru is also in the fray mobilising support using founder Tun Mustapha's name, but, its yet to be registered and very unlikely that it ever will. There is a remark attributed, perhaps apocryphally, to Dr Jeffrey Kitingan to the effect that most Sabah politics is mathematics, a number game. As political analysis goes, this remark proves insightful. Sabah politics is, in this view, not driven by ideology or charisma. It is constituted by the mundane activity of stitching together narrow interest-driven coalitions. And electoral fortunes, for the most part, do not turn on massive changes induced by immense persuasiveness of candidates. They turn on small swings, and contingent management of interests. But if this political analysis is taken too literally, it can become spectacularly self-defeating. It can make politics a passive waiting game. As opposition parties in Sabah prepare to met and strategise, or assuming they ever will, a plan to commit to one-to-one fights against the Barisan National in the coming 13th General Elections brews. Pakatan Rakyat in Sabah headed by Anwar Ibrahim has little presence here but it has done well in other PKR states from 2008. Since the last election, it has not expanded its presence in Sabah although the DAP has its footing in the urban areas. Lest we forget, elections are ultimately about the ability to project credibility. On the economy, the Pakatan Rakyat states have done well so far. It has given an alternative to old-fashioned UMNO/BN politics, concocting better versions to solutions. In Parliament sessions it had the rulling coalition on the mat for the many economic mess-ups in the last four years. The most polished personalities in the Sabah opposition scene, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Yong Teck Lee, don't seem to show that they have what it takes to run the state economy like the way Musa Aman has, but has only seem to be harping on the Sabah Rights vis a vis the Malaysia Agreement 1963. They are also simply waiting for the Barisan National Sabah to make more errors to give them a lift. To make matters worse, internally, the Sabah opposition itself is faced with a series of simultaneous equations it cannot solve. The main one is of course the mistrust between Malaya based Pakatan Rakyat and Borneo based Star Sabah and SAPP. Most commentators assume that the Sabah opposition's central dilemma is between Sabah Rights and a more centrist position. But, arguably, this is not its biggest dilemma. It will never be able to persuade die-hard antagonists who think that Sabah joining the Federation in 1963 to form Malaysia is a mistake. Regrettable as it might be, it can probably get away with a game of calculated ambiguity, so long as it is not deeply polarising. Its central dilemma is that Malaya does not understand what federalism means for Sabah politics. If politics has become genuinely federal, then there are implications for how political parties are organised. In an ideal situation, like what we see now in the Musa Aman Government, state-level leaders and units have to believe that there is a symbiotic relationship between them and the leadership in Putrajaya. Association with the Putrajaya leadership enhances the prospects of local units and that's why we see so much positivity coming from the Musa Aman government today. But if the Putrajaya leadership does not significantly add to the state units' prospects, or worse still, becomes a liability ( like during the PBS days) then the central high command has little authority over the state. On the other hand, a party composed entirely of state units can have no coherence at the centre, and cannot project itself as a national party, like in Sarawak. This is the basic structural dilemma faced by the Sabah opposition. It is, for all practical purposes, a collection of four parties; DAP and PKR, (Malaya based), Sabah Star and SAPP (Borneo based). Except for Jeffrey Kitingan and Yong Teck Lee who can be considered local leaders, PKR and DAP does not have anyone except Anwar Ibrahim who isn't local himself. So the question of who is going to lead the Sabah opposition becomes an issue. To complicate matters, PKR in Sabah is undergoing a leadership crisis. Anwar and his cronies have meddled and presented Azmin Ali, also an outsider, as a solution to a headless PKR in Sabah. Clearly, the Sabah opposition's problem is that it has no charismatic local leader of any kind to take reign, althogether failing to see that the the average age of its cadres does not reflect new Sabah. Read more at: http://selvarajasomiah.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/holding-out-for-a-hero-the-saddening-state-of-the-sabah-opposition-front/ | ||||||||
| 5 of Najib’s Filipino maids barred from flight at Naia Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:40 PM PDT  Jerome Aning, Phillipne Daily Inquire Five Filipino members of the household staff of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak were barred from their flight at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday after a confidential agent of the Bureau of Immigration reportedly suspected them of being job seekers planning to enter Malaysia as tourists. The Filipinos—identified as Maricel Cancejo, Decemera Salceda, Wendelyn Tacotaco, and Janeth and Rene Revadona—were supposed to return to Kuala Lumpur onboard a Malaysian Airlines flight (MH-803) set to leave Naia Terminal 1 at 6:30 p.m. when they were ordered to disembark by the BI agent identified as Nelia Buenaflor. When contacted by reporters, BI spokesperson Ma. Antonette Mangrobang declined to confirm the incident but said the agency's main office was awaiting the official report of Benito Se, chief of the BI-Airport Operations Division. The Inquirer tried but failed to locate Buenaflor at the BI office in Naia. According to BI employees, she was a nurse who worked for Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David when he was still the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff. While in Manila, the five Filipinos attended to Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor. The couple, together with Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and other top Malaysian officials, graced Monday's signing in Malacañang of the historic framework agreement between the peace panels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Philippine government. Najib, his wife and the other Malaysian officials left on a private plane on Tuesday morning, leaving their staff and other aides to book a commercial flight. Sources said the five were already lining up for the final security check when they were told by another immigration officer to return to the Travel Control Enforcement Unit. The Filipinos, who had been cleared at the immigration counter, said they had already presented to the TCEU their working and travel papers issued by the Malaysian government which indicated that they were part of Najib's entourage. Buenaflor, however, reportedly profiled the Filipinos as possible "tourist workers," according to the sources, and refused to let them leave. The Malaysian foreign minister later called Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to complain about the BI's action and to confirm that the five were legitimate employees of Najib. Missing their Oct. 16 flight, the five Filipinos had to rebook their flight the next day. Despite stringent guidelines governing the operation of BI agents, many departing international travellers have complained about being offloaded or denied permission to leave on mere suspicion of illegal activity despite their presentation of valid travel papers. The agents, however, maintain that they were just being vigilant since they could be dismissed from the service for allowing undocumented workers or human trafficking victims to leave the country. | ||||||||
| MCA’s bold move in secularising Malaysia Posted: 20 Oct 2012 07:00 PM PDT
Malaysia's dual legal system has long been a bone of contention. While non-Muslims are free to lead an immoral lifestyle, Muslims who do the same are arrested and punished. This is a system of discrimination since Muslims are not allowed to be immoral while non-Muslims are free to do what they want. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Today, MCA, the second most important party in the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition after Umno, most probably made history. MCA took a very bold step in officially declaring what most people have been 'unofficially' saying for some time -- and that is the Islamic Shariah law is outdated and a relic of the Dark Ages. It is not only non-Muslims who are saying this. Even some Muslims, in particular those who are aware of the history of the Shariah, are of this opinion. But not many, in particular Muslims, dare condemn the Shariah. To do so would invite retaliation from orthodox or fundamentalist Muslims, sometimes physical in nature, who would feel antagonised by what they consider opposition to God's law. This is not just a Muslim problem. This was actually a dilemma amongst the Christians as well -- until slightly over 100 years ago. Then the Europeans overthrew the church and monarchy in favour of secular-based republics towards the end of the 1800s. Only then was religion 'kicked out' and the people became free. Religion's 'slavery' over the people for thousands of years finally really ended. It took Napoleon Bonaparte to lead the challenge to oppose the church and God's 'appointees' on earth, the hereditary monarchs. Now, 200 years later, MCA is leading the challenge to oppose the Shariah -- and hence oppose the heads of Islam in Malaysia, the Raja-Raja Melayu. Is MCA Malaysia's Napoleon Bonaparte? MCA's bold and most dangerous move to propagate secularism might yet reverse the fortunes of this Chinese party that appears to be heading for extinction -- or it might accelerate its death. Either way it is going to be extreme. MCA is either going to emerge as the largest Chinese party in Malaysia or it is going to be buried for good. Either way MCA has nothing to lose and everything to gain by putting everything on that last throw of the dice. If MCA does nothing it is finished anyway. By taking this bold step of opposing the Shariah and propagating secularism, MCA is embarking on an all-or-nothing high-stakes gamble. MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, said the Pas leadership belonged to the Dark Ages and that they are trying to force our country to return to an old system, which every country in the world had fought hard to discard. He also called on Malaysians to reject laws based on theology or religious theocracy (meaning the Shariah). For those not familiar with the issue, the Islamic Shariah is a collection of various theological-based laws. One of these laws is the criminal law of hudud. However, only part of hudud is being implemented in Malaysia. Laws covering murder, robbery, theft and sodomy do not come under the Shariah while others such as apostasy, illicit sex/fornication, close proximity, adultery, drinking/intoxication, eating during the month of Ramadhan, etc., have been passed into Shariah law long before Merdeka. There are those who dispute that the Shariah is God's law and they argue that the Shariah was 'invented' long after the Prophet Muhammad had died. In other words, the Shariah did not come from God but is a fabrication of humankind. They also argue that the Shariah is a mix of Jewish law, Christian law, old Arabian tribal laws, and pagan laws. MCA, more or less, has officially stated its position on the Shariah -- in that it is not God's law and hence can be opposed. MCA also calls on Malaysians to reject all theological-based laws, the Shariah in general and hudud in particular. MCA has brought Malaysian politics up to a new level. Those who reject theological-based laws will now support Barisan Nasional while those who still want to live in what MCA calls the Dark Ages will support Pakatan Rakyat. This is a most interesting development indeed and it is not clear at this stage how this anti-Shariah card is going to be played out. Currently, of course, the Shariah only affects Muslims and non-Muslims are exempted from it. Only Muslims who do not fast, drink liquor, or commit 'illegal' acts such as close proximity, illicit sex, adultery, etc., are arrested and punished. If the Shariah was abolished like what MCA wants then Muslims will be free from the control of religion and will be able to lead a freer life like those in the west. Malaysia's dual legal system has long been a bone of contention. While non-Muslims are free to lead an immoral lifestyle, Muslims who do the same are arrested and punished. This is a system of discrimination since Muslims are not allowed to be immoral while non-Muslims are free to do what they want. For example, the MCA President, Chua Soi Lek, was caught on camera having sex with a woman he was not married to, and he even admitted it, but this did not damage his political career. Anwar Ibrahim, the Opposition Leader, was also allegedly caught on camera having sex with another woman, and which he denied, but there were calls for him to resign on grounds that he is immoral. With the abolishment of the Shariah, the immoral lifestyle of the Malay-Muslim politicians will no longer be an issue and can no longer be used against them. Also, it would address the unjustness of the system where only non-Muslims are allowed to be immoral while the Muslims do not enjoy that same benefit. It is not clear how many Malays-Muslims will support MCA's call to abolish theological-based laws such as the Shariah. I suppose how well MCA performs in the coming general election will answer this question. And considering that MCA will depend on Malays votes, if the Malays support the abolishment of the Shariah, MCA may be set to win big this coming general election. With this latest development, many may vote MCA if MCA succeeds in getting the Shariah abolished and Malays-Muslims can now enjoy their beer in the pubs without worrying about getting arrested and punished. That would overshadow the calls to get rid of corruption, abuse of power, mismanagement of the country's resources, racism, etc. *************************************** (NST) - PAS' aspiration to introduce its interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud, if the opposition coalition came into power was strongly criticised at the MCA Youth and Wanita assemblies yesterday. MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy and to denounce Pas' call to implement hudud. He also cautioned the people to be wary of the opposition's 'hidden traps'. "They are hoping to take over the country from the Barisan Nasional. The people need to see the hidden traps that will surface if this happens. Pas still insists on creating an Islamic state and to set up a political system based on religion. To date, Parti Keadilan Rakyat and DAP are unable to reject Pas' agenda," he said in his speech. Wee likened the mindset of Pas leadership to one that belonged to the Dark Ages. "They are trying to force our country to return to an old system which every country in the world had fought hard to discard. It is worrying and it saddens us." Wee also lambasted the DAP for conspiring with Pas to gain political mileage. "What is worse is that DAP, which had been adamant in rejecting an Islamic state in the past, is now working hand-in-gloves with Pas. They are now willing to sacrifice their stance and belief. Where is their integrity?" Wee said he sympathised with DAP stalwart Karpal Singh, the only party leader who had openly spoken up against Pas' aspiration to implement hudud. "Karpal's famous response 'over my dead body' with regard to the creation of an Islamic state has been drowned by the howls of new DAP leaders. We pity Karpal, who is powerless, as he is betrayed by party supremo Lim Kit Siang and his son, Lim Guan Eng." Wee recounted that in the past, Kit Siang had launched a campaign to protest against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he announced that Malaysia was an Islamic country. "Yet, when Pas leaders announced that the Constitution will be amended for the implementation of hudud, Kit Siang kept his mouth shut." | ||||||||
| Ex-IGP denies tell-all Altantuya media conference in Bangkok Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:22 PM PDT
Amin Iskandar, The Malaysian Insider Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has denied he will speak to reporters in Bangkok tomorrow about the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu. and is puzzled about the speculation about his activities. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCTT) had put up a notice of the press conference but said it was not a club event but organised by other parties. "I was shocked to hear the news. I only found out about this when reporters contacted me yesterday. There is no such thing, I am still here (in Malaysia)," Musa told The Malaysian Insider. The event headlined "New exposés in the Altantuya murder" was scheduled for 11am Bangkok time and comes six years after she was blown up with explosives by two Malaysian security escort policemen in Shah Alam. Both were convicted of the crime but they have appealed against the death sentence. "I don't understand why recently I've been the target of so much speculation. I hope these irresponsible people will stop disturbing me," added the former national police chief who retired in 2010 after his contract ended. Incidentally, the two former police Special Action Squad commandos sentenced to death for the murder will have their appeal heard October 31 and November 1. Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 34, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 39, were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court in 2009 for murdering Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Raja between 9.45 pm on October 18, 2006 and 9.45 pm the following day. Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, was also charged with abetting the duo but was acquitted by the High Court on October 31, 2008, on the basis that there was no prima facie case against him.
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| MCA defends hardline stand on hudud Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:18 PM PDT Chua Soi Lek denies playing up hudud scare, saying that the issue itself poses great impact to the country. Leven Woon, FMT MCA has been attacking PAS and its hudud agenda in a bid to persuade the anti-establishment Chinese voters to abandon PAS and its ally, the DAP, and return to MCA's fold, said its president Dr Chua Soi Lek. MCA's anti-hudud campaign reached a feverish pitch during the ongoing MCA annual assembly with all top party leaders raising a huge red flag against PAS' Islamic agenda. MCA leaders argued that they needed to "enlighten" the public on hudud, and why it should be objected. At a press conference today, Chua defended the anti-hudud campaign, saying that the issue itself was of utmost importance to the country. "We feel that the use of word 'play' is wrong, because there is great impact (of hudud) on socio-economics and the country's political climate. It is not fair to say we play with the issue," he said. He said MCA was duty-bound to "further enlighten the people" of the consequence of PAS's hudud agenda. Chua also pointed out that the PKR-led Selangor government has not seen the opening of any new cinemas since Pakatan took over the state in 2008, a vivid evidence that PAS was dominant in the Pakatan coalition. "…everybody in Pakatan is frightened of PAS. PAS is still the taiko (big brother) because of the resources and the fact that they have more members," he said. When asked to comment on MCA Wanita chairman Yu Chok Tow's remark that Umno parliamentarians would support the PAS's hudud proposal, Chua branded the matter as being hypothetical and refused to answer directly. "Why we have to go to that stage, we don't have to. If all Malaysians are aware, PAS and hudud are bad to the country and if they unite against hudud, then we will never reach that stage," he said. The assembly today saw the delegates dressing the trademark BN blue tee-shirt that had anti-Pakatan slogans on the back. The slogans, reading "Ubah? Bankrupt in two years", "stability above chaos", were the same phrases used on the anti-Pakatan banners decorating the event venue, Wisma MCA. Chua said the tee-shirts and banners were used to point out that Pakatan was an empty shell and would lead the country to bankruptcy should they ever come into power.
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| Soi Lek: MCA bersedia berperang habis-habisan untuk PRU-13 Posted: 20 Oct 2012 04:26 PM PDT
(Bernama) - MCA telah bersedia menghadapi perang pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13) dengan penuh semangat kesepakatan dalam Barisan Nasional (BN) bagi memastikan kejayaan lebih besar BN dalam pilihan raya itu nanti, kata Presidennya Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Berpegang kepada slogan 'Berperang dengan Penuh Keberanian', Dr Chua berkata MCA kini sudah bangkit lebih sepakat, bersatu dan fokus dalam menangani isu-isu yang penting bersama-sama BN dan bersedia untuk menempuh apa jua masalah dan rintangan.
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Menurut beliau, pengundi Melayu perlu memberikan undi kepada PAS dalam pilihan raya ini untuk mempastikan kestabilan politik berlaku di negeri ini.
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