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Australian foreign minister Bob Carr cool on Anwar request
Malaysia's Anwar Faces an Islamic Revolt
No U-turn in Islam
Pakatan in a fix over choice of PM

Australian foreign minister Bob Carr cool on Anwar request

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 12:51 AM PST

The leader of Malaysia's largest opposition party and former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, appears to have thrown Australia's Foreign Minister a curve ball with his request for help to deal with the corruption in Malaysia's coming general election.

RADIO AUSTRALIA

Mr Ibrahim wrote to the Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, to outline his concerns and to ask for Australia's help in ensuring that the election is free and fair.

But Senator Bob Carr told Sabra Lane that it's difficult for the Australian Government to assist unless it's the Malaysian government that asks for help.

Correspondent: Sabra Lane

Speakers: Senator Bob Carr, Australian Foreign Minister

CARR: Well the Malaysian elections are a matter for the Malaysian people. It's very hard for Australia to do anything about how they're run, as hard as it would be for Malaysia or another government to have a say in how Australian elections are run. We're not the election authority for Malaysia.

Of course we support free and fair elections in any country. I spoke to Anwar Ibrahim in a private conversation during my recent visit to Malaysia. I heard him express concerns and in the letter he underlines them by talking about, by making accusations of fraudulent and fraudulent registration processes and raising concerns that the elections can reflect the popular will.

We can't comment on that. An opposition leader is entitled to say that to us. But we discussed the elections with him, I'm aware of his concerns.

LANE: What are you going to do about those concerns?

CARR: Well we're not the election authority for Malaysia.

LANE: So you're not going to do anything. You've got, Nick Xenophon characterises this as a desperate letter…

CARR: Yeah, I'm not sure what you're saying Australia can do. We don't run elections in other countries. We've received concerns. I say, in respect of this, we want free and fair elections in any country but we're not the election authority for Malaysia.

It is important that we follow what happens in Malaysian politics and our commission there does it. I think their analysis of Malaysian politics is very, very good. Very high quality. But I'm, and it's useful in that process that we talk to opposition forces as well as people in the government.

LANE: Can we offer assistance to Malaysia? Are we interested in sending a parliamentary delegation to…

CARR: Well they would need to ask for it. The only way that can happen is for the government of Malaysia to ask for assistance and then we'd respond.

LANE: Okay. So you won't respond until a request is made?

CARR: Well there's no way we can. Australia doesn't run elections for other countries. We send observers when other countries ask for them. We receive, we receive submissions from opposition figures in other jurisdictions. We have in this case and we take what is said seriously. Our position is, we want free and fair elections in any country.

LANE: How would you characterise the letter that you got?

CARR: Well it's a letter from an opposition figure expressing concern about the elections in his country. But that is the point. It is his country, not our country. And while we can express concern about the freedom and fairness of elections anywhere, we don't run elections in other jurisdictions.

LANE: That's fine, but he's obviously asked for your help and you're saying we can't do anything.

CARR: What help are you proposing we provide?

LANE: Well, I'm simply asking.

CARR: Do you want an amphibious landing on the east coast of Malaysia?

LANE: No, I'm asking.

CARR: This is in Malaysia. Australia doesn't run those elections.

LANE: Some Malaysians believe Australia may be reluctant to say anything given that we are still hoping that the Malaysia asylum seeker swap can be enacted with the country...

CARR: No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We've got friendly relations with Malaysia and we haven't a capacity to do anything about the internal affairs of Malaysia any more than we have with any other country.

LANE: This criticism has been made this morning. Senator Nick Xenophon said that there are figures in Malaysia who believe that Australia will do nothing because of that deal.

CARR: What are you proposing Australia do?

LANE: I'm not, I'm simply putting this…

CARR: Sorry, that is, that is, the essence of it. What are you-

LANE: I'm putting the proposition to you.

CARR: What are proposing Australia do? Malaysia is a sovereign country.

LANE: I'm putting the proposition to you.

CARR: No, but I want to know what it is, proposed by anyone, Australia can do about an election in a sovereign country.

Malaysia's Anwar Faces an Islamic Revolt

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 12:09 AM PST

PAS says it wants to run any opposition government that might be elected

Eventually, the conservatives proved they weren't just there for lip service to the rhetoric. They won a provision agreeing that PAS would assume the leading role in the three-party alliance, and that Hadi would be the coalition's pick for prime minister – not Anwar, who cobbled the opposition together and who has led it since 2008. Eventually the assembly approved the conservative agenda with Hadi tacitly going along with the idea.

Asia Sentinel

The always-delicate relationship between Malaysia's three opposition parties is growing strained again in the wake of the annual general conference of Parti Islam se-Malaysia, the conservative Islamic member of the coalition.

The issues are Hudud – Islamic law – and designation of Malaysia as an Islamic state. The other two wings of the coalition, the Chinese-majority Democratic Action Party and the urban, liberal largely Malay Parti Keadilan Rakyat, want nothing to do with either issue, leaving Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim with the task of trying to bring his coalition back together and particular to keep the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party in the fold.

The controversy gives Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak a made-to-order issue to paint the ruling Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition, as a force for moderation that will look after the well-being of the Chinese against the forces of radical conservative Islam. The Barisan has already begun energetically exploiting those issues through government-controlled media.

Until the Nov. 16 PAS general meeting, according to political analysts in Kuala Lumpur, the issues of Hudud and Islamic law which had been brought up occasionally had been regarded as fealty to rhetoric to keep the conservative wing of the party happy. Indeed, Hadi Awang, the party leader, opened the general conference on Nov. 16 with a speech that emphasized the common agenda – the so-called Buku Jingga, or yellow book on which the coalition is based –and issues over national elections expected to be held in April of 2013, only to have the conservatives stage a revolt.

PAS has managed to stay largely in the moderate camp on the strength of a clique of leaders called the "Erdogans" after the moderate Islamic Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has headed the Turkish government since 2003. In June of 2011, moderate rank and file members staged a dramatic revolution at the party's annual congress, electing secular leaders and abandoning the rural-based party's traditional call to convert the country into an Islamic state.

The largest party in Anwar's coalition, PAS had long turned off urban Malays and other ethnic minorities, particularly the Chinese, with its demands for observance of strict conservative Islamic laws. Given the size of its membership, its organizational abilities and its potential to take votes away from the United Malays National Organization, the country's biggest political party, PAS unity and support are crucial to the opposition coalition.

At the 2011 party congress, newer, urban followers of PAS, having fled both the racial stridency and endemic corruption of UMNO and the disorganization of Anwar's PKR, elected a slate of officers headed by Mohamad Sabu, a galvanic public speaker from Penang and former member of Anwar's Parti Keadilan who was twice detained under the country's Internal Security Act.

Sabu led the moderates' charge, winning the party deputy presidency and crucially defeating a minority of conservatives seeking to lead a splinter group to link up with UMNO. Salahuddin Ayub, Husam Musa and Mahfuz Omar, elected as moderate vice presidents, completed a leadership team reflecting the party's changing membership and leaving the Islamists out in the cold.

The strains have been there ever since. At the party general assembly last week, fact that the delegates debating Hadi's speech largely skirted the controversial issues, caused the revolt of the ulamas, or religious councils, and the youth wing, who charged that the party had deviated from PAS's longtime agenda.

Eventually, the conservatives proved they weren't just there for lip service to the rhetoric. They won a provision agreeing that PAS would assume the leading role in the three-party alliance, and that Hadi would be the coalition's pick for prime minister – not Anwar, who cobbled the opposition together and who has led it since 2008. Eventually the assembly approved the conservative agenda with Hadi tacitly going along with the idea.

That has sent shock waves traveling through the Chinese community, who want nothing to do with a government that would restrict alcohol use and the consumption of pork, practice gender segregation, strict dress codes and demand general conformity to Islamic practices.

"Above all these is the implementation of the much feared but little understood Hudud and the Islamic legal system, with all its vague implications. In short, such a new Pakatan rule is envisaged to adversely alter their present way of life," write Kim Quek, a longtime Kuala Lumpur-based political commentator and a member of Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat. "Accuracy aside, these are common perceptions and initial reflexes of many in the Chinese community."

Bridgit Welsh, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, argued in an analysis printed in the Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysiakini that: "The image of PAS as a group of mullahs defending narrow conceptualizations of tradition and religion, banning social activities and limiting freedoms is no longer fair. "

PAS's identity as a party is changing," she wrote. "While some in the old guard and their protégées in the Youth wing are uncomfortable with PAS's more modern open approach, the leadership as a whole, presided by Abdul Hadi Awang and reinforced by an overwhelming majority of progressives in the central committee and as members of parliament, embraced collaboration and greater tolerance."

The question is whether the voters – particularly Chinese ones – are going to believe that, and whether they are sufficiently fed up with corruption in the ruling Barisan Nasional to stick with the opposition, the Malaysian Chinese Association. Getting the horses back into the stable and his coalition back together is going to be a big job for Anwar.

No U-turn in Islam

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 02:21 PM PST

In Islam renouncing Allah is an act of treason of the highest order against God.

Awang Abdillah, FMT

Malaysia, being a multi-religious country, will have to live with the differences in religious beliefs among the various races. Among the differences that have become issues of contention are:

the pursuit by Muslim hardliners to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state;
the supremacy of the Quran versus the Federal Constitution;
the power of the syariah laws vis-à-vis that of the man-formulated (criminal) laws and principles of democracy;
the jurisdiction of the syariah courts versus that of the civil courts; and
an individual's freedom of choice in religion or beliefs.

In essence, the main contention is the supremacy of the religion of Islam in a Muslim-majority country like Malaysia as advocated by the Muslim community versus the non-Muslims' recognition of the supremacy of man-made laws over religion.

The Muslims believe everything centres on the teachings of their religion, but the non-Muslims contend that religion should be confined to one's own personal spiritual belief.

Muslims believe that the religion of Islam, which has been established more than 1,400 years ago, has been proven to provide spiritual guidance and has become a way of life for the ummah (believers) in the Muslim countries till today.

Hence Islam should enhance its role to dictate its terms – vis-à-vis syariah laws – to its ummah. The syariah law is to ensure the religion continues its role as a beacon and custodian of believers.

Muslim scholars would then like to ensure that the syariah laws are implemented in a comprehensive way in the country applicable to Muslims.

On the other hand, the non-Muslims believe the issue of freedom of religion or beliefs is part of the democratic, constitutional and legal rights of an individual; thereby Islam as a religion should be confined to its spiritual teaching only.

In this article, I would like to confine my analysis on the freedom of religion and beliefs.

When the Quran states that there in no compulsion in religion, it means a Muslim cannot force a non-believer to embrace Islam and that a non-Muslim cannot force a Muslim to leave his religion.

However, a non-Muslim can embrace Islam on his own free will but a Muslim cannot leave his religion on his own free will!

In the first place, the terms "to be" or "to become" a Muslim are different from those of being a non-Muslim/non-believer.

Destiny pre-determined and irreversible

A born Muslim is already pre-determined as such by Qada and Qadar (fate and destiny).

Similarly fate pre-determines a person born as male or female, his time and place of birth, his parents, family, his place and time of death.

These matters or events are preordained by his/her personal fate and destiny. Believing that God determines the fate and destiny (pre-destined and the final outcome ) is the sixth pillar of faith in Islam.

It is a fact that the realities involving pre-determined fate and destiny are irreversible.

For a Muslim convert to become a Muslim, he has to declare a spiritual covenant between himself and the one God Allah and His messenger Muhammad (pbuh).

This spiritual declaration is the first pillar of Islam and is irrevocable. For a born Muslim it is mandatory that he declares his faith to Allah and His messenger Muhammad (pbuh), too.

Hence the spiritual agreement which is eternally binding does not give him the right to renounce the religion openly and officially he cannot leave the religion.

Therefore under syariah law it is a crime to renounce his religion. So when a born Muslim or a Muslim convert makes the declaration of faith, he is bound to adhere to all the terms of the teachings of the religion.

A person who renounces the spiritual covenant is called a "murtad" (apostate), while a Muslim who now and then breaches the terms of the vow is called a "munafiq" (hypocrite), which is a common sight in Malaysia, meaning that he is Muslim in name but acts otherwise.

There are many man-made agreements that are irrevocable and punishable.

Acts by a citizen that jeopardise national security is an act of treason against his country with severe penalties meted out; committing serious offences under the man-formulated laws such as the Dangerous Drug Act may result in the death penalty and so on.

'Renouncing Allah is treason'

A husband/wife who dishonours his/her marriage vow by renouncing his partner or acts to dishonour his/her partner in public may result in divorce or even retaliations which may be brutal in nature.

In Islam, renouncing Allah as his One God is an act of treason of the highest order against God. On top of that he makes a mockery of the religion.

The Jews rejected only the holy prophets Isa and Muhammad (pbuh), yet God cursed them till the end of times.

So I leave it to your imagination the seriousness of the crime when a person declares openly that he rejects God after he declares his faith.

READ MORE HERE

Pakatan in a fix over choice of PM

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 02:13 PM PST

The opposition may find itself in disarray if it continues to squabble over its candidate for prime minister.

Rashid Ahmad, FMT

Pakatan Rakyat is caught in a difficult situation when one of its partners – PAS – dropped a bombshell on the last day of its muktamar (national assembly) on Sunday.

Its Youth wing and Ulamak Council endorsed a proposal that party president Abdul Hadi Awang be made the prime minister if Pakatan were to win in the 13th general election.

This has created uneasiness in the opposition alliance despite PAS secretary-general Mustapa Ali saying it was just a suggestion and was not even adopted as a resolution in the assembly.

Mustapa's assurance did nothing to allay the feelings of distrust among the partners as the position of prime minister has been decided, according to DAP and PKR leaders, in a consensus a long time ago.

It is unclear whether the consensus (naming Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim as the candidate) had been communicated to all the members of the three parties or was only known to the top leaders.

But the fact that PAS Youth and the Ulamak Council had mooted the proposal meant that the decision to pick a candidate for the prime minister's job did not reach the grassroots.

Or perhaps the PAS grassroots members knew about it and waited for the assembly to voice their disagreement that Anwar should become the country's top executive.

If this is so (that the grassroots want Hadi to be their man), it means that the party is still being controlled by veteran fundamentalists who do not trust Anwar whose image has been, rightly or wrongly, smeared with "unholy acts".

Internal strife

In fact, PAS has been plagued with internal strife with the liberals seen pitted against the fundamentalists. The former, aligned to Anwar, has been trying to unseat the latter since the party election in 2009.

The liberals managed to get rid of deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa and elect their man Mohamad Sabu or Mat Sabu, but this alone is insufficient to gain control of the decision-making process in the party.

The liberals, although they have gained positions in the supreme council, could not steer the party according to Anwar's wishes as policies have still got to go through the Ulamak Council for endorsement.

And Nasharuddin, despite being unseated as deputy president, still sits in the council, which comprises veteran fundamentalists who share similar views although most do not air them in the open.

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Khamis, 22 November 2012

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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