Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- 'Pas wrong to support DAP's views'
- Who raped and plundered Templer’s Park?
- Selayang Municipal Council chief transferred
- Umno and the narrow path of racial politics
- Health DG fined RM3,000 for committing khalwat
- How information and knowledge changed the world
- Another Selangor top civil servant to be transferred
- Govt unjust to Muslims too, says report
- The Ignorant Muslims In Ruins
- A monkey like Fernandez
- Sparks to fly at PAS muktamar
- Speak up on Nurul Izzah’s statement, PAS leaders urged
- PAS walking a narrow path
- Long After the Nurul Izzah Furore, PAS Could Still Pay a High Price
- His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
- Some States Allow For The Renunciation Of Islam
- Makkal Sakti!
- Malays should wisen up
- Muktamar lebih panas dari yang dijangka
- Sabah opposition ‘magic’ number is 10
- PAS semakin hilang taring?
- PAS to re-visit Malay ground
- The devil’s advocate: just for the heck of it
- Stop manipulating religious text: PUM
- PPP submits names for four parliament, 12 state seats
- Keeping the faith
- Why apostasy is good for Islam
- Nurul Izzah’s statement “There is no compulsion in religion, whether for Muslims or ...
- Do you feel like kicking yourself?
- Promise to cancel Batu Caves project is political bribery, says Pakatan
- Najib promises Indians no Batu Caves condo if BN regains Selangor
- Behind every politician are the Chinese
- The Election Commission should take action to prosecute irresponsible parties who are trying to ...
- Rafizi Ramli’s lawyers abuse Attorney General and Bank Negara Malaysia
- Oh My Malaysia Truly
- Pesakit kanser wajar berehat atau direhatkan
- Umno sedang 'tunda najis hanyut'
- Salang: BN will still rule after GE
- ‘Maafkan Nurul, dia masih budak-budak’
- Clear and present danger?
- Stemming the incoherence of misguided Muslim pundits’: my response
- Apostasy, compulsion, and Nurul’s point
- Sabah’s oil curse strikes again
- 10 reasons for Indians to drop BN
- Will Social Media Sway Malaysia’s Elections?
- Perak PAS wants clarification from Nurul Izzah
- Daughters & Fathers
- Rush for ‘who-wants-to-be-a-candidate’
- Mat Zain: Najib guna nama berbeza dalam afidavit
- Presiden UMNO sendiri pernah berkata "Allow Muslims to convert if they choose to"..
| 'Pas wrong to support DAP's views' Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:51 AM PST
(NST) - MUSLIMS in the country are aware that Pas' struggle is no longer about upholding the religion, after it decided to collaborate with DAP. This was the opinion of Gerakan Anti-Penyelewengan Kedah chairman Khairul Anuar Ramli, who said the statement on Monday by Pas life member and national laureate Datuk Dr Shahnon Ahmad reflected the reality that the party was subservient to the DAP. "What DAP wants is clearly against Islam, but Pas is still in partnership with them. "Pas should be fighting for Islam and its principles, not supporting DAP's struggle," he said yesterday. Shahnon was reported to have said that Pas had deviated from its original Islamic struggle after it chose to conform to views from opposing parties such as the DAP. He had also said that Pas' stand was in contradiction with Islam as the party was supposed to spearhead the religion. Khairul Anuar said Pas' deviation began last year when opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's supporters within the party won support in the muktamar (conference) after they were backed by the DAP. "Pas' stance on hudud law and its Islamic state aspirations have faded now that the idea has been struck down by DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Karpal Singh." He alleged that Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was afraid of his DAP counterparts. "They had probably warned him privately that Pas would be ejected from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition if its leaders continued to champion hudud." Following Shahnon's statement, Pas assistant secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan came out in defence of the party, claiming the national laureate's views were merely personal opinion. "He (Shahnon) is just an ordinary member and his comments on party matters do not reflect Pas' stand," he had said. Takiyuddin also said no action would be taken against Shahnon as it was normal for party members to have differing views.
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| Who raped and plundered Templer’s Park? Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:36 AM PST
Because meetings where the alienation and de-forestation were approved are classified and fall under the Official Secrets Act, we will never know the truth. R. Nadeswaran (The Sun) IN late 1963, the headmaster of the Rawang English Primary School was driving home after a game of bridge at what was then the Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur. Four miles from the town, C. Maheswaran had to slam his brakes. In front of him was a tiger crossing the road. It was reported in the only English newspaper then, the Straits Times, which relegated it to a single-column story because sightings of wildlife, especially tigers were common in and around Templer's Park, saddled between Batu Caves and Rawang. About a week later, I remember sitting and listening in awe as Maheswaran related his encounter to my late father. The headmaster's routine took him from his Rawang home twice a week for his bridge sessions at the club. He spoke about his incredible luck anxiety, not his fright. I remember him saying "the tiger could do nothing to me as I was in the car" but my father tickled by asking if he would have dared step out of the car. To which, he replied: "Yen vambukku pohanam?" (Why ask for trouble?). That conversation almost 50 years ago came flooding back as the prime minister announced plans for Batu Caves and the surrounding areas. But even as he was speaking, trees were being felled and land is being cleared in the name of "development". While the PM's efforts for it to be granted heritage status must be applauded, he should also pull up those who have been responsible for the current state of affairs. It is not just the caves per se, but destruction of Templer's Park. Some background: In 1954, the Sultan of Selangor, the late Sultan Hishamuddin Alam Shah, declared that Templer's Park was "dedicated by Selangor to serve as a refuge and a sanctuary for wildlife and a meeting place for all who love and respect the beauty of nature". Since then, it had been a favourite picnic and holiday spot for locals. The natural forests and the many waterfalls drew people from Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas by the hordes on weekends. Long before the North-South Highway was built, the trunk road linking the capital to Ipoh and the north was via Templer's Park. A drive would take you through canopied roads with greenery on both sides of the road with directional signs pointing to waterfalls, picnic spots and other places of interest. Then someone discovered that there's plenty of money to be made in land, especially land close to the main road with the forest as a background. That was the beginning of the end. In the '90s, things began to change. Parts of Templer's Park were de-gazetted, the trees cut down for timber and what used to be a serene environment saw the invasion of tractors and bulldozers. Over the years, more and more land was alienated and fell into private hands and today, two 18-hole golf courses and scores of bungalows around it are standing monuments attesting to the rape and plunder that had been carried on with the blessings of the state government. The biggest beneficiaries were state-owned companies like Perangsang and SAP, who were alienated large tracts of land running into hundreds of hectares. Drawn by the lure of infrastructure put up by the state and local governments, others began to take the route to fortune. Land was sub-divided and small housing estates began to appear. But the sight to behold is a six-storey bungalow on the edge of the forest with limestone hills in the background. That mansion, it is learnt, belongs to a former Yang Berhormat. Read more at: http://www.thesundaily.my/node/125308
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| Selayang Municipal Council chief transferred Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:34 AM PST
(The Sun) - Don't misunderstand me when I say that this is an unusual move and it has elements of victimisation. Zainal executes his duties with dedication but is now transferred at the time when the state needs him most. Another head of a local council has rolled. The president of the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) Datuk Zainal Abidin Aala (pix)has been transferred, less than 18 months after occupying the hot seat. The transfer, the second in as many months after the transfer of Petaling Jaya City Council head Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman, has caused yet another round of acrimony between the state and federal authorities, especially the Public Services Department (PSD). In an immediate response to Zainal's transfer to the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan), Selangor executive council member in charge of local government Ronnie Liu said it "was an unusual move" and there are "elements of victimisation". A letter from the PSD, dated Nov 9 and signed by its deputy director-general, ordered Zainal to report to Intan tomorrow. MPS councillor Lee Khai Loon said the announcement came as a shock to the council and it does not agree with the decision. "I personally feel this sudden notice from the JPA is related to the Batu Caves condominium controversy. "We don't agree with this decision, as it was unilaterally made without any proper discussion with the council or the state government," he said yesterday. Lee said that the transfer will also have negative implications on the Special Task Force set up by the state to investigate the Dolomite Park Avenue controversy. "He is one of those in the know on the course of events which led to the approval of the project. Our aim is to retain Zainal as the head of the council," he said. Liu added: "Don't misunderstand me when I say that this is an unusual move and it has elements of victimisation. Zainal executes his duties with dedication but is now transferred at the time when the state needs him most." The announcement comes in the wake of the controversial 29-storey condominium project near the limestone cliffs at Batu Caves by Dolomite Industries Company Sdn Bhd. The controversy erupted after the MIC, which has been at the helm of protests against the two tower blocks two weeks ago, claimed the project was approved by the current Pakatan Rakyat state government. However, Zainal on Oct 30 said that approval for the condominium project given in November 2007 – when Selangor was still under the Barisan Nasional administration. Documents have since surfaced which show that three MIC representatives – Rajakupal Sinnathamby, Jayakumaran Govindasamy and Rajandran Muniandy – and Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillay endorsed the decision of the One-Stop Centre committee to approve the project. | ||||||||||||||
| Umno and the narrow path of racial politics Posted: 14 Nov 2012 04:31 AM PST
In recent years, however, the Umno factor in BN has become so dominant that it has eclipsed its strength of being able to effectively lead a multi-racial party. Umno's policy of accommodation has been somewhat lost in the political equation, with many Chinese and Indians no longer seeing the MCA and MIC as equal partners. The BN has become a coalition in which Umno leads and MCA and MIC simply follow. Azam Aris, Yahoo News IS Umno becoming like the Grand Old Party of US politics — the Republican Party? By moving inwards and to the far right to impress first and foremost its hardcore supporters, the party seems to become less appealing to the multi-racial and multi-religious middle ground. There are many plausible reasons that Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney lost the battle to Barack Obama, notably in the nine battleground states, but one which stood out was the level of support among the various voter categories. More minorities — blacks, Asians and, notably, the fast-expanding Hispanic population — voted for Obama, and by a wide margin. The Financial Times' conclusion that demographics is electoral destiny has never seemed more true: The Democratic party can now win less than 50% of the white votes and still capture the White House. Throw in the growing support from youths, educated whites and suburban women alienated by the Republicans' conservative stance — and it will be a long time before a GOP candidate can wrest the presidency, predicts one political pundit. Another observer, Ethan Case, who considers himself a socially liberal, moderate Republican and supported Romney, notes in his blog that in a changing American society, an astonishing high percentage of Obama voters were members of the minorities, while many others were women and young people. "That's the future of America and if the Republican Party remains a purist cohort built around grumpy old white men, it is committing suicide. That's bad not just for the conservatives but our entire country," Case writes. The Financial Times further added that Romney's decisive defeat will unleash another bout of soul-searching in the Republican Party, which is torn between conservative purists and a moderate rump that is aware the GOP must broaden its appeal to have any chance of regaining the White House. So is Umno in the same position? To some political observers, it looks like it is heading that way. But, then again, this is a Malay party that has never lost a general election before and has, for the last 55 years, led a multi-racial coalition in governing the nation. It is the force that binds the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and its partners, notably the Chinese-based MCA and Indian-based MIC. In recent years, however, the Umno factor in BN has become so dominant that it has eclipsed its strength of being able to effectively lead a multi-racial party. Umno's policy of accommodation has been somewhat lost in the political equation, with many Chinese and Indians no longer seeing the MCA and MIC as equal partners. The BN has become a coalition in which Umno leads and MCA and MIC simply follow. The true picture of this unhealthy balance of power within the coalition was revealed in the 2008 general election, when the BN's Chinese- and Indian-based parties lost badly. Instead of trying to help the MCA, MIC and Gerakan woo back the lost Chinese and Indians voters, Umno seems to have distanced itself from the old politics of accommodation. Within Umno is an ultra element that is taking the party to the far right of Malay dominance and does not want to embrace prime minister and party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's more reconciliatory approach, as embodied in the 1Malaysia concept. Najib's more multi-racial approach, which is based on the principle of "people first, performance now" and seeks to strengthen the relationship and cooperation among the different races and religions, is somewhat lost within Umno's own propaganda machine and its mainstream media voice, Utusan Malaysia. And as the general election draws nearer — it must be held within the second quarter of next year — the voices of reason within the party get further drowned out in any multi-racial and multi-religious discussions. Basically, the party and its soldiers have given up hope of gaining the non-Malay vote and believe that the way to go is to entrench its support in the Malay heartland. Discussions on economics, education, scholarships, business opportunities, corporate equities, wealth, development, poverty eradication, quotas, language and Islam are skewed towards the "Malay-ness" of these issues. Rather than arguing and putting these matters in a better perspective in the context of a Malaysia that aims to be a developed nation by 2020, arguments have been moulded around the theme of "the rights of the Malays that must be protected at all cost" — even if some of these privileges are already guaranteed in the Constitution. Malays who do not subscribe to these strong and sometimes provocative views are deemed an ungrateful lot or labelled "compromised" bumiputeras They are continuously reminded by top Umno leaders, from past and present administrations, of the consequences of the Malays losing power. They are warned they could end up as "beggars" in their own country. One advantage that Umno has over the Republican Party is that the Malay/Muslim population — unlike the whites in the US — is growing at a faster rate than the non-Malays. According to some estimates, the Malay/Muslim population will form 70% of the population by 2030, up from the current 60%. So, to some within Umno, it is worthwhile pursuing the politics of radicalisation. But that might not work, as not all Malays support Umno and those who are politically inclined can opt for PAS and PKR. Those who strongly believe in a multi-racial platform might even consider the DAP if it chooses to become less of a Chinese-based party. As for voters in general, notably the youths, many are ready to leave the politics of race behind. Political, racial and religious scaremongering is something that will not easily sway their views. What matters more to them are a level playing field, more economic opportunities, greater freedom of speech, respecting their rights and fundamental liberties as enshrined in the Constitution, reducing corruption and crony capitalism, and voting hard-working representatives into Parliament and state assemblies. Unlike the Republican party, Umno has yet to taste defeat in a general election, but it is a party that is beginning to lose its appeal to many non-Malays and Malays — and will continue to do so if it chooses the narrow path of racial politics. Azam Aris is managing editor at The Edge. This story first appeared in The Edge weekly edition of Nov 12-18, 2012.
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| Health DG fined RM3,000 for committing khalwat Posted: 13 Nov 2012 07:47 PM PST
(Bernama) - Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman was fined RM3,000 or three months jail in default by the Syariah High Court here after pleading guilty to committing "khalwat" (close proximity) early today. Dr Hasan, 56, admitted to committing khalwat with Wan Syarifah Nooraazmanita Wan Hassan, 36, also an officer with the Health Ministry, at the Pullman Putrajaya hotel here at 2.18 am. Wan Syarifah Nooraazmanita also admitted guilt and was fined RM2,900 or 30 days jail in default. Syarie judge Mohd Amran Mat Zain in handing down the punishment, said he took into consideration that it was their first offence and they had shown remorse, besides the fact that they planned to tie the knot. The duo could were liable to be fined up to RM3,000 or jailed not more than two years for the offence. According to the facts, it took Dr Hasan five minutes to open the door of their hotel room after an enforcement team from the Federal Territory Islamic Department went to check on them following complaints from the public. On entry, the team found both of them fully dressed and investigations showed Dr Hasan was a widower while Wan Syarifah Nooraazmanita was in the process of getting a divorce. They paid the fine.
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| How information and knowledge changed the world Posted: 13 Nov 2012 07:03 PM PST
So the government must make sure that Malaysians do not think too much. And, to do that, they must ban thinking. And that is why Malaysians are not allowed to have independent thoughts when it comes to religion. They stop you from thinking and will take action against you when you think. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin William Caxton (ca. 1415~1422 – ca. March 1492) was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. He is considered the first Englishman to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England. He was also the first English retailer of printed books. Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German monk, priest, professor of theology, and a prime mover of the Protestant Reformation. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, at the Diet of Worms in 1521, resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor. In 1534, King Henry VIII separated the English Church from Rome and the Church of England became the established church by an Act of Parliament in the Act of Supremacy, which triggered a series of events known as the English Reformation. **************************************************** No, this is not an article about religion or Christianity. This article is about Reformasi (reformation), which started in Malaysia in 1998 and in Europe 500 years or so earlier. Back in the old days, when we talk about political domination this also means religious domination. And that is why Umno cannot allow Malays to be too independent-minded when it comes to religion, and for sure Umno cannot allow Malays to leave Islam. If the Malays cannot be enslaved religiously then they cannot be enslaved politically as well. This was proven in Europe 500 years ago. When the Europeans removed the shackles of religion they invariably also removed the shackles of politics. In the old days, the Bible was written in Latin. But very few people were proficient in that 'dead language'. Only the learned priests spoke Latin. Hence the priests interpreted what the 'Holy Books' said and the ignorant people had to accept the word of these priests, many who were corrupt and exploited their position to manipulate the people. People like Martin Luther challenged this and soon Bibles were translated into various 'mother tongues'. People now began to understand what they read and they no longer needed 'intermediaries' to interpret the word of God. Nevertheless, Bibles were still handwritten and it could take up to one year for the scribes to complete one copy of the Bible. And that would mean there would not be too many copies to go around so only the privileged could get their hands on one. Then people like William Caxton introduced the printing press and what used to take one year could now be completed in a mere days, with many copies produced at the same time. Furthermore, they were not printed in Latin but in English. So the priests and the church structure suddenly became irrelevant. Then King Henry VIII challenged the authority of the Pope and broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. Now no longer was the Pope considered God's representative on earth. England basically reformed thereafter while Europe remained in the 'Dark Ages' until another 300 years or so when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered and occupied almost the whole of Europe. But England's reformation came with a heavy price, which we shall talk about in a while. Napoleon then separated the church from the state (which the English had done 300 years earlier). Before that, education was provided by the church and even then reserved only for the elite. Napoleon built public schools and opened up education for anyone who wanted an education. In short, religion was sidelined and the people were educated outside the influence of the church. Within 30 years, Europe suffered a series of revolutions, which eventually saw the end of the monarchies and empires and the emergence of independent republics. (France also saw its second revolution then). Now, what happened 500 years ago in England and in Europe around 300 years later? Well, basically what happened at that time in England and Europe was what is happening in Malaysia today. The only difference is, in England and Europe, it was education (knowledge) and the availability of books (information) that triggered these changes. Today, in Malaysia, it is the Internet and the Information Revolution that the Internet spawned. Malaysia is walking down the same path that Britain and Europe once did. Information is easily available to Malaysians and the Internet is that catalyst for the spread of this information. So change is going to come to Malaysia. Now, back to that 'heavy price' that England paid for its reformation, which I mentioned earlier. Two generations later, in the early 1600s, England 'exploded' when the people challenged Charles I. Civil War soon broke out and that totally changed England forever. 250 years later, this 'disease' spread to Europe when the Europeans too challenged their absolute monarchies and its 'running dogs', the church. Education and information are dangerous things. It changed England and, later, Europe. And it was the printing press and books that achieved this. It made the people literate. And once the people become literate they no longer accept the system and will challenge the system. The only way Umno can extend its shelf-life is to ensure that Malaysians remain illiterate. But it is too late for that. Malaysians are now educated and can think for themselves. So the government must instead make sure that Malaysians do not think too much. And, to do that, they must ban thinking. And that is why Malaysians are not allowed to have independent thoughts when it comes to religion. They stop you from thinking and will take action against you when you think. England and Europe made a huge mistake. They educated their people. They provided information to their people. They allowed their people to think. And this resulted in the people throwing off the shackles of slavery by removing the dictators and autocratic leaders. Malaysia must not make that same mistake. And the only way to avoid that mistake is to keep the people ignorant. And one way to keep the people ignorant is to shackle their minds and use religion as that tool. So now do you know what this whole issue of freedom of religion is all about? It is about perpetuating power and to not lose power. It is about not allowing what happened in England and Europe to also happen in Malaysia. And that is what Malaysia Today is all about. It is about making you think. It is about making you challenge the system. It is about rejecting bullshit. And even if that bullshit is religion we must also reject it because there are no borders, boundaries or sacred cows here. Oh, and part of this education process is provocation. So trust Malaysia Today to provoke you. Only through provocation can your brain work overtime. If not most of you will just go to sleep and continue slumbering right into 2020. | ||||||||||||||
| Another Selangor top civil servant to be transferred Posted: 13 Nov 2012 05:21 PM PST
(The Star) - Another top civil servant in Selangor is set to be transferred effective Thursday, according to Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu. He said the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) president Datuk Zainal Abidin A'ala transfer takes effect Thursday, and expressed regret at how the transfer was handled by the Public Service Department (PSD). Liu said he had yet to receive a letter from PSD informing him of the transfer, and did not know when Zainal Abidin received his transfer letter. "We are upset and shocked, as MPS will lose a hardworking and efficient leader. He handled the rubbish collection issue and the Batu Caves issue well," he said This is the second sudden transfer of a top civil servant in the state this year. In September, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman received a transfer letter on Sept 27 to inform him of the transfer effective Oct 1. The state government objected to the move and the transfer has since been frozen.
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| Govt unjust to Muslims too, says report Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:51 PM PST A study says there's a culture of taboos at the expense of the right to religious freedom. Anisah Shukry, FMT Both Muslims and non-Muslims face discrimination from Malaysian authorities in the practice and propagation of their beliefs, according to a UK-based study. The study, conducted by international human rights organisation Equal Rights Trust (ERT) and local rights group Tenaganita, found that Muslims who express beliefs not approved by "official interpreters of Islam" face discrimination from the state and federal government due to provisions in the constitution. "In the Malaysian context, the belief that only the religiously learned (the ulama) are entitled to opine on religious matters in Islam has created a culture of taboos at the expense of the right to freedom of religion without discrimination," said a report from the study. "Today, those Muslims who do not follow the officially sanctioned religion can face persecution. "As Sunni Islam is the officially accepted branch of Islam in Malaysia, any other forms, practices or schools of Islamic thoughts are vulnerable to being classified deviant." The government maintains an official list of 56 sects of Islam it considers deviant and a threat to national security. The list includes Shi'a Islam. "The government, upon approval by a Syariah court, may detain Muslims who deviate from accepted Sunni principles and subject them to mandatory 'rehabilitation' in centres that teach and enforce government approved Islamic practices," said the report. In the case of non-Muslims, it said, Article 11 (4) of the Federal Constitution had been used to place discriminatory restrictions on the religious freedoms of Christians, including the freedom to propagate their beliefs. Article 11(4) states that "state law and, in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam." This article was used against Christians to ostensibly prevent them from proselytising to Muslims and threatening the supremacy of Islam in Malaysia, the report said. Arrests "In 2009, nine Christians were arrested by Malaysian police at Universiti Putra Malaysia … for allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity." Article 11 (4) is also the basis upon which state laws have prohibited the use of words and phrases by non-Muslims, the report revealed. "The Malaysian government has banned the use of the word 'Allah' by other religions, on the basis that Muslims would be confused by the use of 'Allah' in other religious publications."
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:26 PM PST
OUTSYED THE BOX I received the following comment from a reader in my last post 'Pyramids to be destroyed'. Why didn't the Rasul destroy or break these ancient ruins that are found not just in Egypt but also in many other places in Jordan, Arabia, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere? You must ask yourself this question. Why didn't the Rasul break these ancient ruins? The answer lies in the following verses in the Quran :
After the people of Lot were destroyed, some of the ruins or signs (ayat) of their existence were left standing as a profound lesson for people who understand. So we should visit and study the ruins of the past generations to understand what happened to the previous generations. This is called archeology, history, social anthropology and such. Also known as using your brains. Unfortunately the Muslims like you are very short in this area. Brains are a rare commodity. If you go and destroy the pyramids, then how are you going to study what happened in the past? Also you do not know your own Quran. Hence you talk stupid. When you dont know the Quran and you dont believe in the Quran you have no choice - you will become stupid. Here are a few more verses from the Quran : [29:38] Similarly, 'Aad and Thamoud (were annihilated). This is made clear to you through their ruins. The devil had adorned their works in their eyes, and had diverted them from the path, even though they had eyes. Again the ruins of the Aad and the Thamood people were made clear to the Rasul. The devil had adorned their works in their eyes - and consequently the Aad and the Thamood met with disaster. So we have to travel and see the ruins of the past like that of the Aad and the Thamodd to see what happens to people who do not use their brains. Here is another verse in the Quran that talks about observing ancient ruins : [28:58] Many a community we annihilated for turning unappreciative of their lives (wealth). Consequently, here are their homes, nothing but uninhabited ruins after them, except a few. We were the inheritors. So again we must visit and study the dwellings and the ruins of the past societies and see what happened to them when they turned unappreciative of their own lives, their wealth and comforts. We must study them. You can only study them if you preserve them. 20:128 Does it ever occur to them how many previous generations we have annihilated? They are now walking in the homes of those before them. These are signs for those who possess intelligence. 32:26 Does it ever occur to them how many generations we have annihilated before them? They now live and walk in their ancestors' homes. This should provide sufficient proofs. Do they not hear? Some people still live and walk in the dwellings of their previous generations who were destroyed - because of their ignorance and their arrogance. So you may even live in the ruins of your grandfathers. Easier for you to realise the mistake made by your grandparents.
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:13 PM PST ROCKY'S BRU "... let's see who the candidates are. If they are going to nominate some monkeys, we will reject." - Derek Fernandez, MBPJ councillor, on the next Mayor of Petaling Jaya I don't know who Derek Fernandez is trying to attack with his remarks - the Federal government run by his political foes or the Malaysian Civil Service - but I know it's uncalled for. I also know there are just too many monkeys like him around. Orang Melayu panggil perangai macam ni kurang ajar. PJ mayor 'promoted', says Ali Hamsa MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2012 - 17:42 by Terence Fernandez THE transfer of Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman to the State Secretariat is a promotion. Chief Secretary to the government Datuk Seri Ali Hamsa attempted to clear the air over the controversial transfer saying that it was not a lateral transfer as suggested by certain parties. "We are promoting him to a higher position. He will head the State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN)," Ali told The Malay Mail. "We had spoken to the mayor and he feels the move to the State will be good for him as it is a promotion with more benefits," Ali said, adding that several candidates had been identified to take over from Mohamad Roslan, who is scheduled to be appointed deputy state secretary (development) on Dec 1. Councillor Derek Fernandez said while MBPJ was against a lateral move by the Public Services Department (PSD), it would have no objection if it was a promotion that would benefit Mohamad Roslan. However, he insisted that the choice of mayor, including Mohamad Roslan's transfer must be on the endorsement of the state. "If what the chief secretary said is true, then it is good for Mohamad Roslan. "If he is moving up to a Superscale B (from the present Superscale C) then it is good for him," he said. However, he said with regards to the federal authorities' list of successors, "let's see who the candidates are. If they are going to nominate some monkeys, we will reject."
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:55 PM PST (The Star) - Sparks are expected to fly at the 58th PAS muktamar from tomorrow if hardliners, unhappy with several developments within the party, go on a no-holds-barred spree to highlight the actual grouses on the ground. Temperature is said to be getting more heated as PAS' top leadership continues to ignore several contentious issues, including the recent controversial statement made by PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar on freedom of religion. It remains to be seen if the hardliners succeed in making their voices heard against those who wish to keep the issue under wraps so as not to rock the Pakatan Rakyat boat. Observers said the hardliners' patience were being tested to the brim following failure of the party to take Nurul Izzah to task for allegedly implying that religious freedom should also be accorded to the Malays. Sensing possible fireworks, PAS central committee member Khalid Samad called on the delegates not to create friction within the party and among friends in Pakatan. "We must defend Nurul Izzah because her statement was misinterpreted," he said. Describing the next general election as crucial for Pakatan, Khalid said PAS should not over-react to some issues, allegedly fanned by the Barisan Nasional. Another party leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said defending Nurul Izzah would be disastrous for PAS. "Yes, grassroots are upset, but the top leaders appear to be living in a parallel universe where they think whatever they say will be accepted by members and supporters," said the leader. An observer noted the parallel of Nurul Izzah's issue with that of her father Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's alleged sex video tape. PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had come out in defence of the Opposition Leader last year. "Hadi used the muktamar as a platform to defend Anwar, who is a PKR leader, by saying that video evidence was not acceptable as videos are nothing but "iron with no eyes". "But he would be pushing it too far if this year he is to use the muktamar to defend Nurul Izzah," he said. This year's muktamar with the theme "Welfare State Core of Unity" would be held at the Pusat Tarbiyah Islamiyah Kelantan at Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, until Nov 18. Muktamar deputy director Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said among the highlights would be the planned "resurgence of rakyat" gathering at Stadium Sultan Mohamad IV in Kota Baru on Friday. He said 1,100 delegates from 186 PAS areas would attend the event. PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu will open the 53rd Youth muktamar, while Hadi would open the 52nd meeting of the party's Woman's wing. The Youth, Muslimat and Ulama wing will hold their respective assemblies in separate locations tomorrow. Hadi would deliver his presidential speech during the muktamar proper on Friday. Media and publicity committee chairman Aiman Athirah Al Jundi said the Muslimat might push for an emergency motion if they got the green light from the resolution filtering committee.
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| Speak up on Nurul Izzah’s statement, PAS leaders urged Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:42 PM PST
(The Star) - The PAS top leadership has been urged to take PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar to task if she had implied that religious freedom should be accorded to the Malays, too. PAS Syura Council member Nasharudin Mat Isa said party members and supporters were anxious over what the top leadership had to say of the issue."They are waiting for a stern statement," he said, responding to the outcry over the Lembah Pantai MP's controversial comment at a recent forum on the Islamic state. He said Nurul Izzah should retract her statement if she had not meant to say that religious freedom should also be accorded to the Malays. "She must justify her argument, now that she denies saying something to the effect," he said. PAS Ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib agrees. He said Nurul Izzah should reflect on what she had said and retract her statement if she felt what she expressed earlier was wrong. "If she feels she is not in the wrong, she has every right to refuse to retract her statement," he said. Former Terengganu PKR Youth chief Fakrul Azman called on PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to "stop playing politics" in defending Nurul Izzah. "Otherwise, people will assume PAS is willing to sacrifice its principles for the sake of political expediency," he said. In IPOH, Perak PAS has reiterated the leadership's stand to wait first for a clarification from the MP before commenting on the issue. "We want to hear it from her first," said state PAS commissioner Abu Bakar Hussain. Meanwhile, state DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham has also drawn flak over his tweets over the issue. A posting from one aktivis pendang jr warned: "YB jangan selalu bercakap tentang agama orang lain, hormati setiap agama (YB don't always talk about other people's religion, respect all religion)." He said this in response to a Nov 6 tweet from Ngeh, which said, among others: "Nurul as MP is defending the Fed Const. Art 11(1). Every person has the right to profess & practise his religion."
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:40 PM PST The party is caught between a rock and a hard place and at a crucial time with the muktamar only days away. PAS' original source of strength had been its diehard promotion of Islamic causes, which had won for it the conservative vote in the rural Malay hinterland, but since the victories of 2008 when it added Kedah to its stable, it has changed course, taking a more liberal stance. Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar's controversial comment on "religious freedom" not only puts the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in a bind but it is causing partner PAS to lose sleep and fighting to keep its Muslim vote bank from serious erosion. Her "religious freedom for all" comment, made at an unguarded moment at a recent forum in Subang Jaya, although supported by non-Malays, is nevertheless a serious faux pas when it comes to conservative Muslims, who make up the bulk of PAS supporters. However, her comments are also in keeping with her father's (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) support for religious pluralism (the acceptance of all religious paths as equally valid) which had sparked furious opposition from Islamic scholars who are opposed to pluralism as un-Islamic and deviant. Her comments have put PAS at a distinct disadvantage and come at a crucial time when the party is preparing for its 58th Muktamar (general assembly) in Kelantan over the weekend. This muktamar is the last before the general election and PAS wants to put its best foot forward. It wants to show its grassroots that it always remains committed to Islam and members want to see the party regain its foothold as the sole promoter and defender of the religion, as PAS had always claimed it is. Nurul's comments have opened the party to serious attacks from Umno and Islamic scholars who all have lambasted her for implying that, with religious freedom for all, Muslims too can switch faith as they please. One of her most stringent critics is former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa, who is still a PAS member, and who said that her comments is tantamount to giving Malays the freedom to change their religion. "When Allah has decided in matter of faith, Syariah and morals, we (Muslims) do not have a right to choose. "Our right is only to listen and obey as is clearly stated in the Quran," he told Utusan Malaysia in an interview. As the storm escalated, Nurul quickly met Jais (Selangor Islamic Affairs Department) officials to explain and complain that her comments had been "twisted" and that she never supported apostasy. The Islamic vote is PAS' mainstay but that vote has been sliding, not only because of PAS' continued support for the secular DAP, but also because of its steady concessions on many Islamic matters largely due to pressure from DAP too. The evidence is the party's defeat in by-elections since 2009 during which the party found it hard to even enter Malay villages which all had raised Umno flags and refused PAS entry. In Felda schemes too, the party faced the same kind of reception. PAS' original source of strength had been its diehard promotion of Islamic causes, which had won for it the conservative vote in the rural Malay hinterland, but since the victories of 2008 when it added Kedah to its stable, it has changed course, taking a more liberal stance. This is because it hopes to rule the country one day and realises that it needs the support of non-Muslims to do so. But it has been steadily losing the Malay fence-sitters with this "playing both ends of the stick" strategy. PAS has also avoided thorny issues that could cause dissension with its Pakatan Rakyat partners, especially DAP, fearing loss of Chinese votes and preferring to take up Islamic issues once it wins power and enters Putrajaya. The Anwarinas, the liberal elements in the party, have the powerful support of PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who has refused to comment on Nurul's statement at the forum. Nik Aziz, although pushing 82, is very influential and a pillar of strength for the party and no one is yet ready to question him over his strong support for the liberals, many of whom won in party elections last year. Although Nurul has denied supporting apostasy, she and PAS have been under constant attacks from Islamic scholars and Umno leaders for doing just that. And the audience in this "raging battle" is the Malay hinterland whose support is crucial for victory of both contending sides in the upcoming general election. As PAS comes under escalating attacks, it is under tremendous pressure to repudiate Nurul's "religious freedom" comments or risk further haemorrhaging conservative Muslim votes. PAS is caught between a rock and a hard place and at a crucial time with the muktamar only days away. On one side is the powerful presence of Anwar and his supporters in PAS and the non-Muslim votes and on the other is PAS' own grassroots and the Malay heartland, who want Nurul censured and her comments repudiated. PAS is walking a narrow path. It wants to support religious pluralism and win non-Muslim voters over but fears a Malay backlash, not only from its traditional ulamas but also from its conservative vote bank. It does not want to hurt its chances further in the conservative heartland which is already unsettled by PAS' cooperation with the secular DAP and its alliance with PKR, whose de facto leader is openly supportive of religious pluralism and all that it entails for Muslims. Nurul has complicated matters further for PAS and at a crucial time with her "freedom for all" comment, which according to her critics, imply that Muslims can switch religion when Syariah forbids it.
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| Long After the Nurul Izzah Furore, PAS Could Still Pay a High Price Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:39 PM PST (The Choice) - Put simply, PAS had no choice. If it doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with the other members of Pakatan Rakyat on key issues, then the entire edifice falls to the ground. PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar must feel good now that she can pick up the newspapers each day and see that she is no longer front page news. She endured a storm of protest over her alleged "freedom of religion" comments, but after a long and testing week, the story seems to have run its course. But that might not be the case for everyone. Because while Nurul Izzah might rightly think the affair has blown over, PAS has paid a high price for backing her and could continue to do so up to GE13. Put simply, PAS had no choice. If it doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with the other members of Pakatan Rakyat on key issues, then the entire edifice falls to the ground. That said, this one must have been particularly galling for them. Not only do her alleged comments about whether Muslims can choose their faith strike right at their religious core, but the person charged with speaking up for her was none other than PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who described the issue as "unfortunate". "Unfortunate" - was that really the best he could do? Others were also wheeled out to defend her, including PAS central committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad PAS National Unity Bureau chairman Datuk Mujahid Yusof Rawa. Both adopted the line that she was a victim, cruelly misquoted by the media. The intervention by PAS worked in the short term in that the party's conservatives didn't break ranks and the Pakatan coalition was still in one piece – last time we looked. But it isn't over yet. As predicted by The Choice, the issue is now playing into the hands of Barisan Nasional much to the discomfort of the PAS leadership. Religious adviser to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Abdullah Md Zin picked up the matter this week and he made sure Nurul Izzah wasn't the main focus of his comments. "It is regrettable that PAS leaders, like PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, do not want to correct the statement made by Nurul Izzah on religious freedom," he said, a reference to the fact that by offering some wishy-washy words to keep Pakatan happy, they had turned down the chance to take a stand on behalf of Islam. So the story has indeed moved on – but PAS is still paying the price. And this creates problems that won't go away before GE13, because PAS's pitch to the rakyat has always been clear. PAS is the party that is true to Islam – more so than Umno and a lot more so than those chattering urbanites at PKR. Read more at: http://www.thechoice.my/top-stories/63090-long-after-the-nurul-izzah-furore-pas-could-still-pay-a-high-price
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| His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:26 PM PST
KTEMOC KONSIDERS Plato was against Athenian democracy because he believed democracy's proponents were a bunch of, to use a synthesized Malaysian-Aussie word, syiok sendiri wankers, who were self centred anarchists, irrational and impulsive, and thus incapable of seeking out the common good for society. According to him, that situation worsened with an increasing population as it would render the individual's voice even more insignificant. It was a prognosis that called for a 'papa knows best' remedy, wakakaka. Until recent times, national strongmen (to borrow Josh Hong's term in his criticisms of Dr Mahathir Mohamad), especially though not exclusively those in Asia's SE Asian and Far East regions (with the possible exception of a US controlled and democracy-indoctrinated Japan) took on the role of 'papa' who knew best. We are more familiar with the strongmen of our own SE Asian region, blokes and blokesses like Dr Mahathir, Lee Kuan Yew, Suharto, Sihanouk, and the oligarchy in the Philippines - am leaving out the communist and military dictatorships in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and until recently Thailand (and f* Brunei, wakakaka).
Probably the Malaysian votes for 'Top Papa' would go down to the wire between (Tun) Dr Mahathir and (Knight of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, wakakaka) Lee Kuan Yew or Sir Harry*. * The British knighthood system is weird in that by convention the knighted person is addressed by his personal name rather than his surname, eg. Sir Cliff for Cliff Richard, Sir Sean for Sean Connery, thus Sir Harry (Lee Kuan Yew's western name) or if you like, Sir Kuan Yew. I personally feel that the title of 'Top Papa' should go to Sir Harry (Lee Kuan Yew) because he was more "innovative" than our own Dr Mahathir, in his Singapore variant of Westminster democracy, as follows:
In 1984 Singapore had a constitutional amendment which allocated the opposition with a minimum of 3 seats in Parliamentary regardless of whether it won those seats or not. However,the member occupying those (awarded) seats were not allowed to vote in the new Parliament. It was a fortunate constitutional amendment because after the results of the Singapore 1988 elections were announced, there was only one opposition MP, namely Chiam See Tong of the Democratic Party. The embarrassment for Sir Kuan Yew's majority ruling PAP was that it won 80 out of 81 seats with just 61.8% of the votes. Alamak, just one opposition MP to show for 40% of the Island State's votes? Thank goodness, the 1984 constitutional amendment allowed Parliament to top up the opposition numbers to a more though superficially respectful 3, but in real terms, only one had voting rights in Parliament. But those face saving (for Singapore's democracy) seats didn't provide legal immunity for their occupants. Indeed after that election, Lee Siew Choh (Workers' Party) and Francis Seow respectively faced legal damages for comments (Lee) made about PAP during the 1984 election and trial for (Seow's) alleged tax evasion.
Anyway, my post is more about what Westminster democracy termed His/Her Majesty's "Most Loyal Opposition". John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, was credited with this term in 1826 when he attacked George Canning, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons, stating: "It is said to be hard on His Majesty's Ministers to raise objections of this character but it is more hard on His Majesty's Opposition to compel them to take this course." In mature Westminster democracies such as in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Opposition Leader of Her Majesty's "Most Loyal Opposition" is picked from the political party (after the ruling party) with the largest number of seats and who, traditionally, comes from the Lower House (Dewan Rakyat).
Our current federal Opposition Leader was originally an unelected person but who is now a MP though not from a political party (after the ruling party) with the largest number of seats in Dewan Rakyat, wakakaka. But I must admit his selection has been by consensus among the Pakatan allies. The Opposition Leader in mature western democracies is treated as the PM-in-waiting and accordingly, provided with all the privileges/perks such as salary/allowance/staff and status, meeting foreign dignities (together with or separately from the PM) and being briefed on intelligence and national security issues. The Canadian Leader of the Opposition even has an official residence in the capital, known as Stornoway.
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| Some States Allow For The Renunciation Of Islam Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:18 PM PST
State Islamic laws of Perlis, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Johore expressly provide that the relevant State authorities may declare individuals as having renounced the religion and therefore no longer Muslims. Loyarburok One should distinguish between what the Islamic law in some States is from what it ought to be. This post is about the former, not the latter. In Perlis, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan, the relevant State laws provide that the Syariah High Court shall in its civil jurisdiction, hear and determine actions and proceedings that relate to, among others, a declaration that a person is no longer a Muslim and/or a declaration that a deceased person was a Muslim or otherwise at the time of his death. See:
In Johore, section 141(2), Enactment No. 14/1978 (wef 16.2.1979) is a mandatory provision wider in scope than those of the aforesaid States and reads as follows: Read more at: http://www.loyarburok.com/2012/11/13/states-renunciation-islam/
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:13 PM PST Nicole Tan Lee Koon I would like to comment on Aspan Alias latest article Kalau terasa akan kalah, biarkan sahaja Parlimen terbubar dengan sendirinya (READ HERE). In his article, he commented on how desperate BN are that they have to make use of the army and NGOs to organise their political functions in order to make the crowd. BN ended up spending the taxpayer's money to fund these programmes. Compare this to PR's recently held Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat. There were no free food and lucky draws. 30,000 people came and supported us despite the rain! I attended a Pakatan rally in Gemas for the launching of the NS manifesto in January this year. There were 6,000 people in the field with no free food or lucky draws. Most of them were sitting on the ground as there were no chairs provided. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/01/16/anwar-a-hit-in-umno-stronghold/ For e.g., Madey said, "The Government is forced to take a firm stand to protect the people from being oppressed by the Rajas. Certainly, this stand was not made because of just these two incidents alone. There have previously been many incidents where the Rajas oppressed the people, the Rajas broke civil and criminal laws, the Rajas misused Government and national funds and assets, the Rajas pressuring and oppressing government officials. The incident in Johor is only, with your permission, 'the straw that broke the camel's back'. The people's reaction to these incidents clearly shows that they no longer accept and 'tolerate' these kind of acts".
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:01 PM PST After being ruled by Barisan Nasional for 55 years, the Malays must now realise that they do have a choice not to continue to live in poverty, says PKR veep Chua Jui Meng. Malaysians, including Malays, are at a critical political crossroad. We must start asking ourselves intelligently and come up with honest answers and decisions. By Chua Jui Meng, FMT Malaysians, especially the Malays, cannot and must not continue to live in poverty. After 55 years, you must surely say that is enough. You have a choice and you can show that through your ballots in the next general election. Use your ballots to make change so that another government can try to make life better for everyone. Umno's battle cries for 55 years have been – Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy), Menyelamatkan Melayu (Save Malays), Bela Melayu (Defend Malays), Jangan Hilang Kuasa Melayu (Don't lose Malay Powers). What Malay Supremacy? More like Umno Supremacy. Save Malays? From what? Defend Malays, from whom? Don't lose Malay power? More like don't lose Umno powers. Malaysians, including Malays, are at a critical political crossroad. We must start asking ourselves intelligently and come up with honest answers and decisions. It is clear for all to see that the corrupt BN government has only been plundering and enriching their cronies, family members and themselves. It all started with the 22-year Dr Mahathir Mohamad's rule, followed by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and now Najib Tun Razak. Their plundering has saddled us with a more than RM502.4 billion federal debts, as revealed by Budget 2013, which we and our children and generations will have to bear. Before the Mahathir regime, the Land Acquisition Act 1960 was used to acquire land for infrastructure and public development projects, like roads, schools, hospitals etc. In 1991, Mahathir amended the Act to enable state governments to acquire such land, and then to alienate such land to their cronies and crony Umno companies for development. The agriculture village land, mostly Malay customary-owned, are acquired cheaply by the state government and then converted to property development to enrich their cronies and themselves. Such land grabs have been carried out by Mahathir, then Abdullah, Najib and in Johor, we are seeing Mentri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman at work in Pengerang. Did you not see this happened in Gelang Patah, Pasir Gudang, Denga Bay, etc? We are seeing thousands of Malays driven out of their kampungs (villages) when such land grabs are initiated by Umno leaders. Are these stories made up by us? Umno manipulation The BN-Umno brainwashing Biro Tata Negara (BTN) has for years, and is still doing so, telling their civil servants to go into the interiors and Malay villages and promise the villagers everything they want. After the general election, no need to deliver the promises.
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| Muktamar lebih panas dari yang dijangka Posted: 13 Nov 2012 02:57 PM PST Rakyat terutama penyokong PAS mahu melihat pendirian terbaru pimpinan parti dalam isu negara Islam yang masih menjadi buah mulut. Muda Mohd. Noor, FMT Muktamar PAS di Kota Baru ini diduga lebih panas daripada yang dijangka. Ia juga menjadi tumpuan baik dari Pakatan Rakyat mahupun BN. Meskipun tidak ada pemilihan jawatan, muktamar kali ini dijangka hangat dengan perbahasan terbuka terhadap isu-isu semasa seperti hubungan PAS-DAP. Pada muktamar kali ini rakyat terutama penyokong PAS mahu melihat pendirian terbaru pimpinan parti dalam isu negara Islam yang masih menjadi buah mulut. Isu ini menjadi buah mulut berikutan pendirian tidak jelas dan sentiasa berubah-ubah di kalangan pemimpin PAS. Meskipun, pimpinan mengatakan ia telah selesai tetapi sesetengah rakyat melihat PAS telah tunduk kepada DAP dan PKR regunya dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Kedudukan dan masa depan bekas Timbalan Presiden, Nasharuddin Mat Isa dijangka dibahaskan secara panjang lebar terutama dari perwakilan yang melihat ahli Parlimen sudah menjadi `musuh' PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat. Apatah lagi sejak-sejak akhir ini Nasharuddin tidak henti-henti menyerang PAS terutama dalam pendirian negara Islam dan hudud. Seorang perwakilan dari Terengganu – Wahab Mohamad – menduga perwakilan dari kumpulan penyokong Timbalan Presiden sekarang Mohamad Sabu akan membuat gesaan supaya Nasharuddin dipecat dari PAS. "Saya dapat merasakan begini…seolah-olah Nasharuddin menjadi musuh besar kepada PAS. Sebahagian orang PAS di sini (Terengganu) sudah bercakap mengenai hal ini. "Masa depan Nasharuddin akan ditentukan di sini. Perwakilan akan menekan pimpinan supaya memecat Nasharudin," kata perwakilan veteran itu. Rakannya Abas Ali, pula mencelah sejak kebelakangan ini PAS semakin ghairah untuk menghukum orang yang tidak sebulu dengan pimpinan tertentu. Katanya, sebelum ini PAS memecat Naib Presiden, Datuk Hasan Ali kerana mengecam pendirian parti dalam isu negara Islam. `Kita mesti bersatu' "Jika PAS memecat Nasharudin bermakna dua orang profesional hilang dari perjuangan kita. Saya bimbang selepas ini golongan profesional akan takut untuk menyertai PAS," tambah beliau. Hasan sebelum menyertai PAS pada 1999 merupakan pakar motivasi dan memegang jawatan kanan dalam pelbagai jabatan kerajaan.
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| Sabah opposition ‘magic’ number is 10 Posted: 13 Nov 2012 02:50 PM PST According to PAS, although 60% of the electorate 'favour us', only a one-to-one fight with BN could ensure a win for the opposition. Luke Rintod, FMT Voters in Sabah will have to deliver at least 10 parliamentary seats to the opposition to end the over 50-year reign of the Umno-led federal coalition government. PAS deputy president, Mohamad Sabu, more popularly known as Mat Sabu, reckons that voters in the east Malaysian state will have to make a complete turnaround compared to the last election to allow the opposition to march into Putrajaya. While confident that Pakatan Rakyat would do even better in Peninsular Malaysia compared to the 2008 general election, the popular and down-to-earth PAS leader said Sabah voters would either swing it the opposition's way or help maintain the status quo. He said, "We have very good prospects of winning more seats in Sarawak and can reach the magic number of 112 in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat provided voters in neighbouring Sabah respond to the loud calls for change. "We must win 10 to 12 seats in Sabah for Pakatan to take over at federal level," he said at a luncheon with friends at Chessington on Sunday. Together with the lone parliamentary seat of Labuan, Sabah has 26 seats up for grabs in the coming 13th general election. In the last election, the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition won 25 seats, losing only the state capital Kota Kinabalu to DAP. However, BN lost two more seats when one of its components, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), left soon after the 2008 general election and took with it the Tawau and Sepanggar seats. Another two Sabah parliamentary seats, Beaufort and Tuaran, were recently handed over to the opposition when incumbents Lajim Ukin and Wilfred Bumburing left the BN to become Pakatan supporters. Mat Sabu, who was in London from Nov 7-11 to meet friends and supporters including Malaysians residing around UK, also expressed confidence that the opposition front could win sufficient seats to form the next government if the opposition is united. "We must have a one-to-one fight with BN, otherwise, though 60% of the electorate favour us, we will not win because of the split vote," he said of the threat posed to a consolidated vote by opposition parties outside the coalition. Not worried But the unflappable opposition politician is not worried by the occasional flare-ups between Pakatan and go-it-alone Sabah opposition parties like SAPP and the State Reform Party (STAR) which have yet to thrash out their differences and agree to a one-on-one contests against the BN. "Biarlah kita 'bertumbuk' bincang sesama kita daripada nanti kalah," he said in Malay which loosely means "it is better for all the opposition parties to fight with each other now and arrive at a compromise than wait for a certain defeat".
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 02:46 PM PST Namun persoalan utama di sini, apakah PAS menjadi parti dominan dalam Pakatan Rakyat? Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang bulan lalu mengeluarkan kenyataan mengenai 'tahaluf siyasi', satu konsep kerjasama politik antara orang Islam dan bukan Islam. Dalam perjuangan PAS, Hadi merujuk kepada kerjasama dengan parti lain dalam Pakatan Rakyat, iaitu DAP dan PKR dalam agenda menawan Putrajaya. Bagaimanapun hukum kerjasama politik dalam Islam ini diharuskan dengan beberapa syarat, antaranya pihak bukan Islam itu boleh dipercayai, tidak menggadaikan prinsip Islam atau dasarnya, serta tiada unsur hipokrasi tentang motif sebenar kerjasama itu dijalankan. Tahaluf itu turut melarang wujudnya penindasan ke atas Islam atau menyebabkan Islam redha dengan penindasan itu sehingga membenarkan berlakunya syirik. Sebab itulah wujudnya sesetengah pendapat ulamak yang mengatakan pihak Islam perlu mendominasi sekiranya sesuatu tahaluf siyasi dibina. Namun persoalan utama di sini, apakah PAS menjadi parti dominan dalam Pakatan Rakyat? Adakah tahaluf itu dijamin 'halal' sepanjang PAS bekerjasama dengan PKR dan DAP? Pejuang hal ehwal Islam PAS pada awal penubuhannya sejak tahun 1951 adalah parti yang memperjuangkan hal ehwal Islam. Dipimpin golongan ulamak, PAS menjadi parti pilihan bagi orang Melayu yang mengagumi gaya pemimpinnya memperjuangkan dakwah Islam dari sudut politik. PAS pernah menerima cadangan Umno supaya bersatu membentuk Parti Perikatan (Barisan Nasional) selepas berlakunya tragedi hitam 13 Mei 1969. Bagi mengekalkan kuota kerusi Melayu di Parlimen, buat pertama kalinya kerjasama politik dijalinkan PAS dengan menjadi salah satu parti komponen BN. Bagaimanapun 'tahaluf' itu tidak kekal lama apabila PAS tersingkir daripada BN selepas berlakunya krisis dalaman sehingga Kelantan diisytihar darurat pada tahun 1978. Pengalaman pahit itu menjadi pengajaran buat PAS yang sehingga kini kekal dengan pendirian idea gabungan PAS dan Umno selama-lamanya wajar ditolak sama sekali. Berjuang bersendirian Selepas sekian lama berjuang bersendirian, PAS kemudiannya mula menerima gabungan Pakatan Rakyat selepas berjaya mempertahankan kubu kuatnya di Kelantan serta peningkatan beberapa kerusi di negeri lain semasa PRU12. Kejayaan itu juga dijadikan motivasi buat PAS untuk terus mengekalkan tahaluf bersama Pakatan sehingga impian menawan Putrajaya tercapai.
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 07:37 AM PST During the muktamar which starts on Friday in Kelantan, PAS leadership will likely seek to quash perceptions that the party had become subservient to the liberals in PKR and DAP. For the first time, this Islamist party will be more worried about the Malay electoral ground than the non-Muslim ones. Since 2008, PAS has been accused by its opponents of abandoning its principles and religious credentials. Hawkeye, FMT PAS finds itself in a unique situation when the annual muktamar (party gathering) gets underway beginning this Friday in Kelantan. For the first time, this Islamist party will be more worried about the Malay electoral ground than the non-Muslim ones. Since 2008, PAS has been accused by its opponents of abandoning its principles and religious credentials. The party has also faced questions over how it had managed issues confronting Muslims in Selangor, Penang and Perak (where Pakatan Rakyat was briefly in control). This has resulted in a belief that PAS has suffered an erosion of support among the Malay/Muslim ground in the peninsula. Some by-election results also indicated that the Malay ground has either reversed into a stagnant position as a sign of protest towards both PAS and Umno, or shifted back to Barisan Nasional. A perception was sowed that PAS has become subservient to the liberals in PKR and DAP when handling Islamic issues and that it was inclined to take a muted stance when faced with the congregation's concerns. One of its harshest critics is its own member – the former Penang PAS Youth head Mohammed Hafiz Nordin, who said that he remains loyal to PAS as it is the closest organisation towards advocating Islam. However, he is also critical over how PAS reacted to issues, saying its lack of leadership in Penang and Selangor as well as its unwillingness to speak up on the proposal by non-believers to use the "Allah" (God) word, has cast a shadow of doubt over PAS' ability to uphold Islam's non-compromising principles. The lingering faultline in the party between the ulama (clerics) and technocrats (professionals and academicians) is also a source of friction in the party. The highlights in the past year were the controversial sacking of its former Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Hasan Ali as well as the emergence of critical voices such as its ex-deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, who had openly expressed unhappiness over how PAS responded to issues of faith and Islamic policies. Such issues will likely reverberate on the sidelines when some 3,000 delegates converge in Kelantan for the respective ulama, women, youth and supporters' club assemblies with the highlight being the main body's gathering from Nov 16 to 18. Ageing leadership Established in 1951 with over one million card-carrying members, PAS is now considered the senior party in its strategic election link-up with PKR and DAP, in what is now called Pakatan Rakyat. One grouse likely to be on the whispering rounds among the delegates, is the party's ageing leadership as well as its seemingly unwillingness to engage issues confronting the Muslims. Its revered spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat is 82 and ailing while its president Abdul Hadi Awang is 65. Below the rung are a group of leaders aged in their 50s, who have yet to strike a similar chord with the electorate as Hadi and Abdul Aziz have done for the past three decades. Deputy president Mohamed Sabu's credential is questioned as he is not a traditional ulama while vice-presidents Mahfuz Omar, Husam Musa and Sallehuddin Ayub are said to be too cautious to the liking of the grassroots, who are growing anxious by the day to see the future course of the party. Here, two PAS activists provide their input and expressed their hopes on what the party can achieve in the muktamar. Former Perak PAS commissioner Awang Ahmad agrees that PAS needs to revive its momentum for the Malay ground to complement the fact that non-Muslims remains solidly behind Pakatan. Awang said this coming general election is the most important one in the Malaysian electoral history. "It is a do or die for the ruling BN coalition. As for Pakatan, there is no better time to take over the country than now. If we lose, it would take a long while to regain support for another serious attempt at winning Putrajaya." This must be emphasised at the muktamar. He said PAS must also build on the support among non-Muslims by embarking on preaching programmes to enlighten them about Islam. On the polemical issues of ulama versus professionals in the party, Awang said the definition of ulama cannot be restrictive in PAS.
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| The devil’s advocate: just for the heck of it Posted: 13 Nov 2012 06:46 AM PST
Hence the argument that Biblical records are evidence is a fallacy. The so-called records are 'modern' and were created centuries after the event. How, therefore, can we claim that they are accurate or authentic records when there exists a gap of so many centuries. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin The physical evidence in the real world shows that the earth is young, probably a few thousand years old as Biblical chronology shows. The so-called 'scientific' evidence that the earth is several billions of earth old is based on assumptions and has no hard physical evidence. -- upsidedown119 ******************************************** 'upsidedown119' has been flooding Malaysia Today with comments, in particular in his or her debates with 'Lord Jim'. I thought I would join the fray just for the heck of it and play the devil's advocate. 'upsidedown119' posted the comment above in response to my article Keeping the faith. Maybe I can respond to that response. Religionists always use the argument that science cannot prove this or prove that. Hence claims by scientists cannot be accepted as fact or evidence. Religion, however, can prove all its claims because it has Biblical records to support these claims. Most times science is based on observations, sometimes with experiments thrown in. From these observations, scientists make assumptions and come to conclusions. At the end of the day it is all just that -- observations and assumptions, and conclusions based on these observations and assumptions. Hence science is still not really conclusive. It is what at that point of time they think it means. There have been occasions later on, it could even be centuries later, when scientists come out with new findings based on new observations and they deduce that earlier observations and assumptions, and the conclusions resulting from them, were wrong. In other words, nothing is permanently conclusive. It is only conclusive at that point of time. That could change later when new findings emerge. Science is always searching and researching for new evidence to either prove earlier findings correct or to prove them wrong. In the old days, say 2,000 years ago, there was no technology called carbon dating. Hence the only source of reference as to how old the earth is was Biblical records. Today there are many ways to date archaeological discoveries. And, through modern technology, archaeological discoveries of what appear to be human remains have shown that they are hundreds of millions or even billions of years old. Let us assume that science and technology is wrong and wherever science is in conflict with Biblical records we reject science in favour of Biblical records. This is well and fine. But then we would have to question the accuracy and authenticity of Biblical records. Biblical records of, say, 3,500 years ago, must be authenticated through the same process that science proves other things. In other words, can we carbon date these Biblical records and prove that they are 3,500 years old? The oldest Hebrew manuscript (not complete text) is about 200 BCE -- that is 200 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. That means there is a 'gap' of roughly 1,000 years or more from the time of the event till the time of the records. The oldest complete Greek text is dated more than 300 years after Christ. And Greek was not the language that Christ spoke. Hence there is no Aramaic record from the time of Christ. In other words, this is a 'translation', but a translation of what? There is no original text in Aramaic. This means we must take everything at 'face value' based on accepting the word of the creator of the document, as the legal fraternity would say. And this would also mean at least 300 years have passed from the time of the event till the record of the event. What happened in those 'missing' 300 years? Between 1946 and 1956, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean, mostly on parchment, but some written on papyrus and bronze. These manuscripts have been dated between 408 BCE to 318 AD. Around 40% of the Scrolls comprise of Biblical records but then they are in Hebrew, not Aramaic. Hence the evidence is still not conclusive. There are no Aramaic Biblical records from the time of Christ amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls. And there are certainly no Biblical records from 1,000-1,500 BCE, what we refer to as The Old Testament. Hence the argument that Biblical records are evidence is a fallacy. The so-called records are 'modern' and were created centuries after the event. How, therefore, can we claim that they are accurate or authentic records when there exists a gap of so many centuries. Human memory is fallible. What happened hundreds of years ago when all those people involved in the event have already died and when stories of the event were passed down by word of mouth over centuries will invariably be distorted and exaggerated. Even stories regarding Robin Hood are questionable even though that was supposed to have been less than 1,000 years ago. The earliest official written records in England were created about 1,000 years ago during the reign of King William the Conqueror. Before that there were no official records other than those created by the church and even then mostly regarding the palace and the royal family. King Arthur was supposed to have lived around the late 5th and early 6th centuries. However, till today, they still do not know the location of Camelot and whether Camelot and Arthur really did exist or is a mere myth. We can trace the history of England to about 55 BCE. And this is only because the Romans came to England at that time and they maintained records. Before 55 BCE England more or less did not exist, so to speak, from the records point of view. Around 410 AD the Romans left England but by then Christianity had come to England -- around 100 years before that. So the church 'took over' when the Romans left. So England's historical records can be accurately traced back to about the time of Christ. Nevertheless, while there are records from this era, there are no records of an Aramaic Bible. Many records from the time of Christ are available except records of an Aramaic Bible. The earliest Bible is in Greek and dated about 300 years after Christ. Hence, in short, nothing is conclusive. Hence, also, we cannot argue that one type of evidence outweighs another. If we want to accept Christianity based on evidence then there are none. Christianity must be accepted based on faith, not based on evidence. And faith is the word to describe lack of evidence. | ||||||||||||||
| Stop manipulating religious text: PUM Posted: 12 Nov 2012 11:48 PM PST (Bernama) - The Ulama Association of Malaysia (PUM) has urged Sisters In Islam (SIS) and secularist groups to stop manipulating religious texts to suit their secular perspective, including the issue of religious freedom. PUM secretary-general Dr Mohd Roslan Mohd Noor described their action as defamation of religions and part of the manifestation of 'religionfobia'. "It has been considered a crime at national and international level. PUM supports action in terms of legislation, education, media and the like to ensure that the religion is not denied its right in the name of human rights," he said in a statement tonight. A pro-opposition news portal report recently quoted SIS as saying that religious freedom must include the freedom to change religion. "How can Muslims demand this notion of religious freedom for those wishing to convert to Islam and at the same time argue the denial of this freedom to leave Islam for those who no longer believe," SIS said in the statement. A pro-opposition news portal, in a report on Nov 3, quoted Nurul Izzah Anwar as saying that people should not be compelled to adopt a particular religion, and that this should also apply to the Malays. "When you ask me, there is no compulsion in religion ... how can anyone say sorry, this (religious freedom) only applies to non-Malays, it has to apply equally," she was quoted as saying when speaking at a forum on "Islamic State: Which version; Who's responsibility?" in Subang Jaya.
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| PPP submits names for four parliament, 12 state seats Posted: 12 Nov 2012 10:11 PM PST
(Bernama) - The People's Progressive Party (PPP) has submitted the names of candidates for four parliamentary and 12 state seats in the upcoming general election. PPP senior vice-president Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz said the candidates comprised mostly of new faces, except for PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas, and this reflected the transformation made by the party. He said it would be up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to decide on the candidates. "We have submitted our list. We believe our candidates are highly qualified and have the credibility to ensure victory for BN (Barisan Nasional) in the general election," he told reporters after attending the Deepavali open house organised by the Federal Territories PPP here. Asked whether his name was included, Maglin said he would not be contesting to make way for new faces. He said if the party's candidates were not selected, it would not stop PPP from working closely with BN for their mutual benefit. In the 2008 general election, PPP was allocated only two seats, namely Taiping parliamentary seat and Pasir Bedamar state seat. In Taiping, Kayveas lost to DAP's Nga Kor Ming by 11,298-vote majority, while in Pasir Bedamar, PPP's Lee Heng lost to DAP's Seah Leong Peng by 7,914-vote majority.
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2012 08:11 PM PST
Yes, religionists need miracles. They need a sign from God. And these miracles and signs help strengthen our faith. And faith is what religion is all about. We see signs and miracles everywhere. We can even see them when they are not there. That is how strong faith can be. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Malaysia church gets window with Virgin Mary image (AP) - A Malaysian church is taking possession of a hospital window that has attracted hundreds of people who believe it bears an image of the Virgin Mary. Prayerful crowds of Roman Catholics have gathered outside the Sime Darby Medical Center in a suburb near Kuala Lumpur since last weekend after an image believed to resemble the Virgin Mary was spotted on the hospital's seventh-floor window. Rev. Simon Labrooy of the suburb's Church of St Thomas More says he met with hospital officials and agreed the crowd situation could affect medical emergency services. He said in a statement late Monday that the hospital glass panel would be moved to a church and tested by theologians and religious authorities. Christians comprise nearly 10 percent of Muslim-majority Malaysia's population. ***************************************** First Map Produced of Universe 11 Billion Years Ago (Reuter) - An international team of astronomers has produced the first map of the universe as it was 11 billion years ago, filling a gap between the Big Bang and the rapid expansion that followed. The study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, shows the universe went through a phase roughly three billion years after the Big Bang when expansion actually started to slow, before the force of so-called 'dark energy' kicked in and sent galaxies accelerating away from each other. Much is known about the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang from studies of its afterglow in the cosmic background radiation, and its accelerating expansion over several billion years can be seen with a look at the way distant galaxies are moving. "Only now are we finally seeing its adolescence... just before it underwent a growth spurt," said Mat Pieri at the University of Portsmouth in Britain, one of the authors of the study. Little is known about dark energy, and its counterpart dark matter, but astronomers argue the force must exist to account for the speed at which the universe is expanding. Together, dark energy and dark matter are believed to make up about 96 percent of the universe. The new study supports the theory that dark energy was somehow created as the universe expanded, by detailing a period when gravity was winning the tussle and slowing the expansion. "If we think of the universe as a roller coaster, then today we are rushing downhill, gaining speed as we go," said Pieri. "Our new measurement tells us about the time when the universe was climbing the hill – still being slowed by gravity." The map, the work of 63 scientists from nine countries, was compiled using a novel technique for studying the intense light from 50,000 distant quasars as it passes through clouds of hydrogen in space on its way to Earth. They produce a picture of the ancient universe in same way thousands of flashlight beams would light up a bank of fog. "The quasars are back-lights," Pieri told Reuters, and the way the gas in front of them absorbs some of the light allows astronomers to get a detailed picture of these distant clouds of gas known as the intergalactic medium. The study is the first fruit from a five-year project started in 2009. The team, from the third Sloan Digital Sky Survey, expect to expand the survey with light from about 160,000 quasars by the end of the project. "We're essentially measuring the shadows cast by gas along a series of lines, each billions of light-years long," said Will Percival, a cosmology professor the University of Portsmouth. "The tricky part is combining all those one-dimensional maps. The problem is like trying to recognize an object from a picture that's been painted on the quills of a porcupine," he said. ***************************************** Religion works on the basis of faith. That is why religions are called 'faiths'. And, to keep the faith, we need miracles. Every prophet had his miracle(s). And the Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad's miracle was/is the Qur'an. To those not schooled in Islam, Prophet Muhammad was said to be illiterate. He could neither read nor write. Hence he could not have written the Qur'an himself. Hence, also, the Qur'an must have come from God, through, the Muslims believe, the Angel Gabriel. That is the Muslim belief. And the faith that the Qur'an came from God, and hence Prophet Muhammad is a true Prophet of God (proven by the existence of the Qur'an), makes a Muslim a Muslim and keeps a Muslim a Muslim. Without this miracle of Muhammad, meaning the Qur'an, Islam would not exist and in that same spirit Muslims would not exist. The miracle of Muhammad ended with the revelation of the last verse of the Qur'an. However, from time to time, new miracles need to emerge to strengthen the Muslim faith. For example, in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the entire Aceh disappeared except for just the mosque (see picture below). Muslims hail that as a miracle. This, said the Muslims, is a sign from God. The fact that all other buildings were built from timber while only the mosque was built from concrete (and hence could resist the Tsunami) was not a consideration. The fact that only the mosque remained standing is what is considered the miracle and the sign from God. Some Malaysian Muslims also said that the 2004 Tsunami that hit the island of Phuket in Thailand is also a sign from God. Phuket is a 'sin city', they say. Hence God punished Phuket because of the sins perpetuated in that town/island. (You must visit the Banana disco in Phuket where all the delicious lady boys hang out). But then only 8,000 or so people were killed in Thailand for their 'sins'. And almost 170,000 people were killed in Indonesia, 31,000 in Bandar Aceh alone. If God was punishing Phuket for its sins, why take 31,000 devout Muslims from Aceh and more than 100,000 others from other parts of Indonesia, many who were devout Muslims? So what is God's message here when He punishes 8,000 'sinners' and then kills another quarter of a million non-sinners in the process, many of them innocent women and children? Yes, religionists need miracles. They need a sign from God. And these miracles and signs help strengthen our faith. And faith is what religion is all about. We see signs and miracles everywhere. We can even see them when they are not there. That is how strong faith can be. The Holy Books guide us in our faith. The Holy Books say that humankind has existed for 6,500 years ever since earth was first created and Adam and Eve walked the face of this earth. Now the stupid and ignorant scientists say that earth has existed for billions of years. They are wrong. Satan is deceiving them. They are trying to mislead us. How can they say something contrary to what the Holy Books say? | ||||||||||||||
| Why apostasy is good for Islam Posted: 12 Nov 2012 07:03 PM PST
I suppose one way to solve the serious AIDS and drug problem amongst the Malays-Muslims would be to allow them to leave Islam. Once all these people have left Islam then the high incidence of AIDS and drugs amongst the Malays-Muslims would also end because these people would no longer be Muslims but would be ex-Muslims. (And, according to the Constitution, you must be Muslim to be Malay -- so ex-Muslims would also be ex-Malays). NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin "Call to reject Muslim leaders who do not uphold Islam," said The Borneo Post. Bernama, on the other hand, said, "At Islamic meet, Jakim hopes to slow Muslim AIDS spread". You can read both news reports below. I remember Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, the one-time Menteri Besar of Kedah, saying that the highest incidence of AIDS is amongst the fishermen community. He also said that the state with the highest incidence of AIDS is Kelantan. Sanusi was then the Minister of Agriculture when he said that (in a gathering at the MCOBA building) and what he really meant was that the highest incidence of AIDS is amongst the Malays-Muslims, and the poorer segment of society on top of that. It was roughly 25 years ago when Sanusi said that. Apparently, after 25 years, Malaysia still faces the problem of Malays-Muslims having the highest incidence of AIDS. According to the authorities, not only is AIDS the highest amongst Malays-Muslims (estimated at 70%), but it is highest amongst drug addicts (90%) as well. Hence it is drugs (the sharing of needles) and not sex that is the main cause of AIDS -- although in many cases it can be both because drug addicts also become 'sex workers' to earn money to finance their very expensive drug addiction. Someone once told me (I don't know whether this is true or not) that the highest divorce rate is also amongst the Malays-Muslims. This could be true because it is easier for Muslims than non-Muslims to divorce. The husband just needs to utter the words "I divorce you" and the divorce is complete. Of course, the wife can always go to the Shariah Court to lodge a complaint. But anyone who has ever dealt with the Shariah Courts will tell you that these courts are male-friendly and female-unfriendly. Hence expect the wife to not receive justice. And I speak from personal experience because many of my lady friends who were divorced by just these three words were subjected to that injustice. (Yes, I do have many divorced lady friends). I must say I felt strongly for these women (but not in the way you think, though) who were manipulated by the system and mocked by their husbands who abandoned them without any income. Back in the 1970s, I used to frequent the bars in Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu. (Well, I never said I am an angel, did I?). Of course, that was when I was in my 20s and before I became a Born Again Muslim. Most of the bargirls I spoke to all had one story to tell. They got married in their teens. They now have children. And their husband had abandoned them and had 'disappeared'. These girls (many in the 20s and even some in their late teens) have no education or qualification. Hence they need to work as bargirls to earn a living and feed their child/children. By why do they need to live such immoral lives? What are the Shariah Courts doing about their plight? Nothing, of course, and many of these abandoned girls/women indicated that they would be happy to become my second, third or fourth wife (or even my mistress) for just a couple of hundreds of Ringgit a month 'allowance'. Yes, for a mere RM1,000 a month, I could have supported three additional wives (at least back in the 1970s). However, when you are married to a Thai (like me), never try that. Thailand has the most number of 'Bobbitt' cases in the entire world. (And if you don't know what 'Bobbitt cases' mean, read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt. Charles…this part is meant for you, mate). Anyway, this piece is not meant as a Malay-Muslim bashing exercise. What I wish to highlight is regarding the serious social problems faced by the Malays-Muslims, which the government has known about for more than three decades and which it can't seem to solve. I used to joke that the way to solve the high divorce rate amongst Malays-Muslims would be to not force them to get married. Let them just live together, and then when they separate they just separate. If they are not married then their separation would not be called divorce. Hence the high divorce rate amongst the Malays-Muslims would end. I suppose one way to solve the serious AIDS and drug problem amongst the Malays-Muslims would be to allow them to leave Islam. Once all these people have left Islam then the high incidence of AIDS and drugs amongst the Malays-Muslims would also end because these people would no longer be Muslims but would be ex-Muslims. (And, according to the Constitution, you must be Muslim to be Malay -- so ex-Muslims would also be ex-Malays). Anyway, jokes aside -- because this is certainly no joking matter -- we have a serious problem. Or rather, we have a serious problem amongst the Malays-Muslims whether it is divorce, AIDS, drugs, or whatever. And it is an old problem since the 1970s that looks like it can never be solved. So why are these religious people and the religious authorities talking about this person or that person saying the wrong thing and getting all hot and bothered about it? Okay, so someone said there is no compulsion in religion and Muslims are free to leave Islam if they wish to. Do you think by stopping people from saying there is no compulsion in religion and Muslims are free to leave Islam if they wish to this will make Muslims better Muslims? Who cares about how many people become Muslims or how many leave Islam? This is not a numbers game. This is not a contest to see who can beat the other in number of 'followers'? Should not the focus be on the quality of Muslims rather than the quantity? I am not so concerned about how many Muslims there are in Malaysia. I am more concerned about what type of Muslim these people are. Currently, when we talk about corruption, abuse of power, divorce, drugs, AIDS, or whatever other social ills you can think of, it appears that the majority of the transgressors are Malays-Muslims. Aren't the Malays-Muslims ashamed of this? Then, when the non-Malays/non-Muslims point out that the Malays-Muslims are highly immoral, the Malays-Muslims get angry. They say you are insulting them. They say you are cabaring them. They threaten you with 'May 13'. The mindset of the Islamists is becoming very ridiculous. They focus on form rather than function. They worry about whether the woman is too sexy or is indecently dressed. The fact that the woman keeps her tudong on but lifts up her baju kurung for a quickie in the pantry is of no concern to these Islamists. So you want everyone to dress like Mother Teresa. Does that solve our social problems? The Johor Wanita Umno head, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, wants us to reject Muslim leaders who do not uphold Islam. What does she mean by 'do not uphold Islam'? Not a single Muslim leader upholds Islam in the real sense of the word. So that would mean not a single Muslim leader should get our support and must be rejected, even those from the opposition. Of course, what Sharifah Azizah meant is that we must reject Muslim leaders who propagate freedom of religion. This is the only act of not upholding Islam as far as Sharifah Azizah is concerned. And this is why the Malays-Muslims can never progress. They have a very narrow worldview. Not upholding Islam just means freedom of religion. All other social ills, sins and crimes are not included. Those do not come under the ambit of 'not upholding Islam'. Mampuslah Melayu kalau macam ni! ************************************************ Call to reject Muslim leaders who do not uphold Islam (The Borneo Post) - The confusing statement made by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar on religious freedom should be an eye-opener for the people to reject leaders who failed to protect the sanctity of Islam, said two Wanita Umno leaders. Johor Wanita Umno head Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain said such a statement should not be made by a Muslim leader as it could be misinterpreted, especially by the young people. She said stern action should be taken against the Lembah Pantai member of parliament to serve as a lesson to her not to attempt to misuse Islamic teachings for politics. "She seems to be desperate to win (in the coming general election) to the extent of exploiting religion. "I hope this will open the people's eyes to reject such a leader," she told Bernama. On Nov 3, a pro-opposition news portal had quoted Nurul Izzah as saying that the people should not be compelled to adopt a particular religion, and that this should also apply to Malays. "When you ask me, there is no compulsion in religion … how can anyone say sorry, this (religious freedom) only applies to non-Malays, it has to apply equally," she was quoted as saying when speaking at a forum on "Islamic State: Which version; Who's responsibility?" in Subang Jaya on the same day. Sharifah Azizah said she did not believe that Nurul Izzah had unintentionally made the statement. "She made the statement to show that she is not an Islamic fanatic, supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), rights to religious freedom," she said. She also questioned the action by Nurul Izzah in suing the mainstream media, instead of the pro-opposition news portal which posted her controversial statement. Wanita Umno religious bureau chairman Datin Paduka Mesrah Selamat said a Muslim leader, regardless of the party he/she represented, who failed to uphold Islam was not qualified to lead and should be rejected by the people. She said Nurul Izzah's statement could have an impact, especially on Muslim youths. Meanwhile, an organisation called Pertubuhan-Pertubuhan Pembela Islam (Pembela) described Nurul Izzah's statement as irresponsible and disrespectful, and urged an investigation be conducted by the relevant authorities. This controversy, if not stopped, can give a wrong perception of Islam, it said in a press statement issued here yesterday. In a related development, Cheras Umno leader Datuk Wira Syed Ali Alhabshee said he did not rule out the possibility that the spread of liberalism and pluralism in Malaysia was supported by enemies of Islam from outside the country. He said the enemies of Islam never ceased with their efforts to erode the faith of the Muslims and cause a split among them, and this situation was exploited by those with vested political interest in the country. "Nurul Izzah's statement on religious freedom has made the enemies of Islam happy. It can give a bad implication to Muslims," he added. Syed Ali said the relevant authorities, including the Selangor Religious Council and the National Fatwa Council, should investigate and address the issue ************************************************ At Islamic meet, Jakim hopes to slow Muslim AIDS spread (Bernama) - It is hoped that the best guideline and resolution to tackle HIV/AIDS can be produced by the three-day 2012 International Islamic Conference and HIV/AIDS from Monday, here. Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) said, the conference would also explain efforts by Muslim leaders, Islamic social activists and numerous parties to tackle HIV/AIDS. "The conference will enable Islamic scholars, scientists and researchers to discuss issues of HIV/AIDS among Muslims and share experiences and studies," according to Jakim in a statement today. The conference was organised by Jakim in cooperation with the Health Ministry, Malaysian Aids Council, Ihtimam Foundation and Malaysian Aids Foundation. It would be attended by 300 participants from government agencies, local and foreign non-government organisations and universities. Jakim said, the conference would also promote the Islamic approach in tackling the HIV/AIDS problem, as found in the Islamic and HIV/AIDS Manual. "Currently, Malaysia is the only country with a manual on Islam and HIV/AIDS resulting from close cooperation between Jakim and the Health Ministry". Four topics of discussion would be tabled: 'Strategy To Prevent HIV/AIDS In Malaysia', 'Addressing HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Analysis of Best Practice', 'Role Played By Malaysian Government & NGO' and 'Social Research On HIV/AIDS'. Among local presenters were Johor Islamic Religious Council Adviser Datuk Noh Gadut, Malaysian Islamic Doctors Association president Prof Dr Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, Malaysian Aids Council president Dr Raj Karim and Malaysian Aids Foundation chairman Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman. Meanwhile, the foreign presenters were from Uganda, Australia and Qatar. | ||||||||||||||
| Nurul Izzah’s statement “There is no compulsion in religion, whether for Muslims or ... Posted: 12 Nov 2012 06:34 PM PST As Malik Imtiaz rightly opined, ''Malaysia is not an Islamic state, Malaysia is a secular state and the constitution is the supreme law of the land", in Malaysia the Federal Constitution prevails. Article 11 prevails. Article 160 merely defines who a "Malay" is. Nicole Tan Lee Koon I read with much excitement the current debacle over Nurul Izzah's (MP for Lembah Pantai) statement that there should be no compulsion in religion and that it applies to Muslims as well. Nurul Izzah is right in saying that all Malaysians, including Malays, have the right of freedom of religion, that is freedom to choose their own religion. This is a basic fundamental right as enshrined in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution. The legal perspective. Article 11 of the Federal Constitution provides that every person has the right to profess and practice his own religion. Every person has the right to propagate his religion, but the law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among Muslims. Article 160 defines a Malay as inter alia a person who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, and adheres to Malay customs. Article 11 contains a proviso only against proselytising to Muslims but not a proviso against professing another religion. Therefore, under the constitution, a Muslim has the freedom of religion. If a person who habitually speaks Malay and practices Malay customs but does not profess to be a Muslim is by definition not a "Malay" under the constitution. I agree with Malik Imtiaz when he said that Nurul's statement is consistent with the Federal Constitution (http://www.freemalaysiakini2.com/?p=54761). As Malik Imtiaz rightly opined, ''Malaysia is not an Islamic state, Malaysia is a secular state and the constitution is the supreme law of the land", in Malaysia the Federal Constitution prevails. Article 11 prevails. Article 160 merely defines who a "Malay" is. Since I am not a Muslim scholar, I shall be reiterating what other people wrote on the scriptural perspective. Surah Al-Baqara 2:256 : "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things." Surah Al-Imran 3: 85 : "And whoever desires other than Islam as religion, never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers. How shall God guide a people who disbelieved after their belief and had witnessed that the Messenger is true and clear signs had come to them?" I totally agree with Haris Ibrahim's scathing article against Nasharudin Mat Isa (http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/do-you-have-licence-from-god-to-lord-over-us-nash/) that even God allowed the freedom of religion under Surah Al-Imran 3: 85-90 albeit those who chose to leave Islam shall be condemned to Hell. Anisah Sukry's article is like a compendium on freedom of religion with legal, scholarly and scriptural references : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/11/12/apostasy-compulsion-in-religion-and-nuruls-point/. She deftly argued that what Nurul Izzah said is nothing new and has basis both in the Quran and in the viewpoints of certain Islamic scholars. My favourite is the one by the former chief judge of Pakistan, SA Rahman who wrote "There is absolutely no mention in the Quran of mundane punishment for defection from the faith by a believer, except in the shape of deprivation of the spiritual benefits of Islam or of the civil status and advantages that accrue to an individual as a member of the well-knit fraternity of Muslims. "He should, however, be free to profess and propagate the faith of his choice, so long as he keeps within the bounds of law and morality, and to enjoy all other rights as a peaceful citizen of the State, in common with his Muslim co-citizens." SA Rahman also added that apostasy is an offence in the realm of the rights of God, rather than the rights of mankind, thus there would be no pressing necessity to punish a peaceful change of faith. Dr Chen Man Hin (DAP's Life Adviser) said that the threat of apostasy was used frequently in the Middle Ages. Then, Christianity was a very strict religion. Wrongdoings were frequently said to be heresy and apostasy. One outstanding example was Joan of Arc. Her enemies used the church to discredit her despite her many exploits of heroism for France. She was burned at the stake for heresy. Sadly, some people in Malaysia are possessed with minds mired in the Dark Ages. Any Malay or Muslim who dares to think differently is quickly accused of apostasy. He or she is ostracised and denied the rights of a citizen. Nowadays, apostasy and heresy is not a crime in present day Europe. Likewise, the mindset of the our people must change. Nurul Izzah wants young Malaysians to be free and open minded so that they will be the scientists who can create a new society. She wants to encourage the people to be adventurous and enterprising so that Malaysia can play a dynamic role in the new century which is destined to be an Asian Century. Nurul Izzah is a courageous and conscientious leader. Malaysia needs such leaders in order to progress lest we stay in the Middle Ages' mentality. All the three Abrahamic faiths allowed for free will, lest we all become like robots. The choice is ours and we bear the consequences of our choices. Nurul Izzah has opened up a fundamental truth that religious freedom is for all, including Islam religion. Many Malaysian Muslims will sample a new freedom. I urge all you closet and/or "closed door" supporters to come out in full force to support Nurul Izzah as well ! Even Pak Lah said "Allow Muslims to convert if they choose to" (http://malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/11/pak-lah-said-in-2007-allow-muslims-to.html) in 2007. I would like to end with Wen Jiabao's quote "I am neither nervous nor afraid because I speak from the heart." Nurul Izzah, we support you all the way !! Nicole Tan Lee Koon Secretary, Seremban branch, DAP NS Tweet handle : @loyarbaik Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/nicoletanleekoon Facebook Page : http://www.facebook.com/nicoleleekoontan | ||||||||||||||
| Do you feel like kicking yourself? Posted: 12 Nov 2012 04:03 PM PST
So now Malaysians moan, groan, whine, bitch, complain and grumble about the 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. But Malaysians know it need not have been 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Who's in charge of Malaysian democracy? Yet, if Malaysians have been exercising their right to democracy, why and how have we been subject to a degenerating regime for the past 50-odd years? We speak of change, but our concept of change can only materialise at the ballot box. In other words, we can only change once every five years. Our reaction to this degenerating regime would instinctively be the fact that our leaders are lacking in competence, and that it is their fault that we are in the position that we are in. But, tying this back in with the opening paragraph of this article ― is this really the case? Is Malaysia degenerating because of what our leaders are doing to us? Or are we degenerating because of what we fail to do? Michelle Ng, The Malaysian Insider (READ MORE HERE) ***************************************** That was an extract of what Michelle Ng wrote. Basically, Malaysians moan, groan, whine, bitch, complain and grumble about the 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. As Michelle said, we always grumble about what the others do. However, could it not instead be because of what we did not do? My analogy will be as follows. Someone gives you the winning numbers of a lottery. You pooh-pooh the whole thing and do not act on it. Then you find out that the numbers was really the winning numbers and you missed out on the RM25-million prize money. You would certainly feel like kicking yourself. This was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make an obscene amount of money for very little effort and you did not act on it. That opportunity has now passed and it will never come again. Of course, you will not admit that this is your fault. You will try to pin the blame on something else or someone else. Gambling is haram anyway. Who could have known that the numbers was for real? It is just not your fate to become a millionaire. Basically, you need to console yourself that your lack of action is actually not your fault. It is not because of what you did not do. Other factors are to blame. If it had not rained that day then you could have gone out to buy the lottery. If the car had not broken down then you could have gone out to buy the lottery. If your mother-in-law had not dropped in for a visit then you could have gone out to buy the lottery. If not because of this. If not because of that. So now Malaysians moan, groan, whine, bitch, complain and grumble about the 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. But Malaysians know it need not have been 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. This could have ended back in 1990. It could also have ended back in 1999. Then it would not have been 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. But back in 1990 and/or 1999, Malaysians did not act. There are dozens of excuses why they did not act. And all those excuses concern what others did or did not do. They are not about what we did or did not do. We are not to blame. Others are to blame. The Malays will blame the Chinese, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. If not because of the Chinese, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, change would have come to Malaysia back in 1999, or even back in 1990. But the Chinese, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak let the country down. They betrayed Malaysia. And the Chinese, of course, will blame the Malays, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. If not because of the Malays, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, change would have come to Malaysia back in 1999, or even back in 1990. But the Malays, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak let the country down. They betrayed Malaysia. And so on and do forth, the blame game goes around and around. So, today, Malaysians moan, groan, whine, bitch, complain and grumble about the 55 years of Umno rule and the 22 years of mismanagement and autocracy by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. And they do so because they are angry and frustrated. The Malays are angry with the Chinese, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. The Chinese are angry with the Malays, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Everyone is angry with 'the other person'. Actually, the truth is, everyone is angry about what they themselves did not do back in 1990 and/or 1999. They know they screwed up big time. They know it is their own fault. They know they missed the boat back in 1990 and/or 1999. They suspect that the opportunity may never come again. And this makes them feel very frustrated. But how to say, "It is my fault"? How to admit, "I am to blame"? So the Malays blame with the Chinese, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak; the Chinese blame the Malays, the Indians and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak; and so on and so forth. The reality of the whole thing, however, is that Malaysians are a bunch of losers who cannot accept the adage that you deserve the government you voted for. And because Malaysians are a bunch or losers they will never win. Losers can never be winners. So Umno will continue to rule. And Najib Tun Razak will remain the Prime Minister for at least another term. Even if he retires, another Unmo leader will take over as Prime Minister. And to feel good about the situation and not feel frustrated about what is happening in the country, Malaysians will moan, groan, whine, bitch, complain and grumble about the 55 years of Umno rule and will look for someone else to blame about this. Well, I suppose we can always release some of that frustration by screaming "ABU!" as if it is not our fault that Umno has been in power for 55 years. | ||||||||||||||
| Promise to cancel Batu Caves project is political bribery, says Pakatan Posted: 12 Nov 2012 02:58 PM PST
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers said today it was "political bribery" for Datuk Seri Najib Razak's to promise cancelling the controversial Batu Caves condominium project if Barisan Nasional (BN) recaptures Selangor, and accused the prime minister of abusing an emotive issue to woo Indian support. "It is bribery... very unbecoming of the Prime Minister, I think," Selangor state executive councillor Xavier Jayakumar told The Malaysian Insider. At the MIC's national Deepavali open house at Batu Caves this morning, Najib promised to cancel the controversial luxury condominium being built near the venue but provided that the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition wins back Selangor from PR. Jayakumar pointed out that despite holding state power, the Selangor PR government had not seen it fit to turn the issue into a political one, and chose instead to resolve it via consultation and discussion with the relevant parties. He said it was unfair issue such ultimatums on voters, particularly since the issue was clearly a sensitive one to the Indian community. "We in the Selangor government do not say ― if the Indians vote for us, we will definitely cancel the project. "What we have done is, we have issued a stop work order and our task force is now workin on looking at different angles to solve this. In the end, we will ensure that it is resolved amicably," Jayakumar said. DAP's Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo agreed with his party colleague and accused Najib of threatening the Selangor Indian community with his promise. He said Najib's words were similar to his "you help me, I help you" promise to Sibu voters during the 2010 by-election, which had earned the prime minister widespread criticism. "Najib should make an effort to resolve the issue, not issue a conditional promise," he told The Malaysian Insider. Selangor has ordered a temporary halt to the construction of the 29-storey condominium near Batu Caves pending the findings of an independent state-level task force to be set up soon, Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said on Octber 30. He, however, offered the state's assurance that the matter would be resolved as soon as possible, admitting that the stop-work order would cost the developers financial losses. The 29-storey Dolomite Park Avenue condominium project has turned into a political crisis as Batu Caves is the religious focal point of Hindu Indians, who form the majority of the 1.7 million Indians and are a key voting group in many urban seats in Selangor. About 300 Hindu and non-governmental activists joined a "Save Batu Caves" rally in the Batu Caves temple complex to protest against the condominium construction on October 26, saying it was an environmental risk that would jeopardise the temple grounds but did not furnish proof to substantiate their allegations. The project was given the nod by state authorities in 2007, but MIC and Barisan Nasional (BN) have in recent weeks pressured the current Pakatan Rakyat (PR) administration into calling a halt to the project amid a battle for Indian votes.
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| Najib promises Indians no Batu Caves condo if BN regains Selangor Posted: 12 Nov 2012 02:49 PM PST
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised today to cancel a controversial luxury condominium being built near Batu Caves that was approved by a Barisan Nasional (BN) administration in 2007, if the BN coalition wins back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat (PR), stepping up the game in the battle for votes ahead of the coming general elections. "I want to give an assurance that if BN is successful in taking over Selangor...the 29-storey project will be cancelled," Najib, who is also the BN chairman, told the crowd at the MIC's Deepavali open house here. Noting that the Batu Caves temple complex is "very close to the hearts of Indians who are Hindus", Najib said that the complex must be defended from any threats to its position. Selangor has ordered a temporary halt to the construction of the 29-storey condominium near Batu Caves pending the findings of an independent state-level task force to be set up soon, Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said on Octber 30. Khalid, however, offered the state's assurance that the matter would be resolved as soon as possible, admitting that the stop-work order would cost the developers financial losses. The 29-storey Dolomite Park Avenue condominium project has turned into a political crisis as Batu Caves is the religious focal point of Hindu Indians, who form the majority of the 1.7 million Indians and are a key voting group in many urban seats in Selangor. About 300 Hindu and non-governmental activists joined a "Save Batu Caves" rally in the Batu Caves temple complex to protest against the condominium construction on October 26, saying it was an environmental risk that would jeopardise the temple grounds but did not furnish proof to substantiate their allegations. The project was given the nod by state authorities in 2007, but MIC and Barisan Nasional (BN) have in recent weeks pressured the current Pakatan Rakyat (PR) administration into calling a halt to the project amid a battle for Indian votes. Najib today said the BN government would apply to make Batu Caves a UNESCO World Heritage site, as a second step in defending the complex. "We decided that through the Culture, Information and Communications Department, that this Batu Caves can be considered as a World Heritage site by UNESCO," Najib said today. But he said that an application could only be made after Malaysia's term as a member of the World Heritage Commission ends in 2015, saying that this was to avoid a possible "conflict of interest". Najib also announced that Deepavali will now also be a public holiday in the Labuan, the federal territory off the coast of Sabah.
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| Behind every politician are the Chinese Posted: 12 Nov 2012 02:11 PM PST And the same applies to every single politician in Malaysia's brief history, campaigns need to be financed, monies paid, agreements made….and which community puts their money where their mouth is, the Chinese…..again and again and again, the hypocrisy astounds! Apaipache Dear RPK | ||||||||||||||
| The Election Commission should take action to prosecute irresponsible parties who are trying to ... Posted: 12 Nov 2012 01:53 PM PST The DAP in Negeri Sembilan took the initiative to lodge a police report in February 2012 to ask the Election Commission to investigate and charge the 2 Assistant Registrars whose status as ARs were revoked by the EC because they were found to have tried to register already deceased voters. But 9 months later, no action has been taken While the Election Commission should be given some credit for taking certain steps to clean up the electoral roll, it has failed to take any concrete action against persons who have been trying to and are still trying to manipulate the electoral roll. In a productive meeting between myself, as Project Director and DAP Election Strategist, with the Election Commission on Monday, 5th of November 2012, the Election Commission highlighted a few steps which they have taken and are taking in order to clean up the electoral roll. One such initiative is to locate the 12 digit IC number of all police and army voters to check that these postal voters were also not registered using their 12 digit IC number. Although this verification process is long overdue, it should be welcomed as a necessary step in cleaning up the electoral roll. The decision of the EC to require all new army and police postal voter applicants, starting from 2012, to include their 12 digit IC number in their application forms, is also a positive step towards ensuring that these voters are not registered twice in the electoral roll, once using their army / policy identity card number and once using their 12 digit civilian identity card number. MERAP has identified many past cases of such double registrations as well as cases whereby an army / postal voter has given their 12 digit civilian IC to their spouses to be registered as postal voters as well as army / postal voters who list themselves as their own spouse in order to be registered as postal voters using their 12 digit civilian IC numbers. Having the 12 digit civilian IC verification, hopefully, will prevent such cases from happening again in the future. I was also informed that the Election Commission has taken action to locate the 12 digit civilian IC numbers of all existing army / police voters. As of 15th October 2012, there remains 411 police and 613 army postal voters whose 12 digit civilian IC numbers have not been located. However, what is disappointing is that the Election Commission refuses to take any independent action against those who have tried to manipulate the electoral roll other than removing certain Assistant Registrars. For example, the EC found 60 voters who had tried to register as army / police postal voters AND as regular voters in Quarter 2 2012. This is a clear violation of Section 3 (1) (a) of the Election Offences Act 1954 which states that a person who 'knowingly makes any false statement on or in connection with any application to be placed on any register of electors' is guilty of committing an election offence which carries a maximum jail sentence of 2 years or a maximum fine of RM5000 or both. These voters in question clearly knows that it is an offense to register twice, once as a postal voter and another time as a regular voter since every voter has to declare that they have not registered as a voter in another constituency in Borang A Pendaftaran Pemilih. The presence of irresponsible parties and individuals who may have tried to manipulate the electoral roll was also detected in the Quarter 4 2011 electoral roll given to the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reform. The analysis comparing the Date of Birth as well as the Date of Application for all voters found that 282,086 voters were registered before they turned 21. Indeed, there were voters whose Date of Application were before their Date of Birth! What is more worrying is the fact that the Election Commission knows of these attempts to manipulate the electoral roll. The Election Commission admitted that they have revoked the status a number of Assistant Registrars who tried to manipulate the electoral roll by, for example, registering voters who have already died. But this is not sufficient. It must take legal action against such parties / individuals in order to send a strong signal that the Election Commission is serious about maintaining the integrity of the electoral roll and to dissuade irresponsible parties and individuals from trying to manipulate the electoral roll. For example, the DAP in Negeri Sembilan took the initiative to lodge a police report in February 2012 to ask the Election Commission to investigate and charge the 2 Assistant Registrars whose status as ARs were revoked by the EC because they were found to have tried to register already deceased voters. But 9 months later, no action has been taken, either by the Election Commission, the police or the Attorney General's Chambers. As long as such irresponsible actions conducted by irresponsible parties and individuals continue to go unpunished, attempts to manipulate the electoral roll will continue. If the Election Commission is indeed serious about preserving the integrity and accuracy of the electoral roll, it must not only revoke the status of irresponsible Assistant Registrars and delete the records of dubious registrations, it must also take concrete legal action to see those responsible for these manipulation attempts charged and punished under Section 3 of the Election Offences Act 1954. When asked, the Election Commission admitted that to date, no one has been charged under this Section of the Election Offences Act for attempting to manipulate the electoral roll.
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| Rafizi Ramli’s lawyers abuse Attorney General and Bank Negara Malaysia Posted: 12 Nov 2012 01:40 PM PST Fabiani Azmi A few weeks ago the law firm of Shafee & Co issued a few media statements, one of which was to welcome the Attorney General's remarks, "The investigation did not reveal criminal breaches as far as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry (MOA) is concerned" and the other to plead with the Attorney General and Bank Negara Malaysia to stand firmly rooted in the ground on the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) charges levied against Rafizi Ramli. These statements were issued to provide audiences a clearer picture of how Rafizi's lies, misrepresentations and distortions in the NFC issue had abused BAFIA. The defendant's lawyers then emerged to speak up against Shafee & Co saying the BAFIA request was "self-serving and preposterous." In their zeal, they went on to say a lot more. In the process, N Surendran and Latheefa Koya abused the Attorney General and Bank Negara Malaysia with their remarks. Blogger journo Fabiani Azmi examines the arguments. In the last 12 months, the opposition led by PKR Strategy Director Rafizi Ramli had been spewing statements on the project National Feedlot Centre (NFC), the company National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp), and Wanita UMNO chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family. Rafizi had taken advantage of the social media platform to create a political ruckus to sway public opinion in his favour. Rafizi had broken laws, lied, misrepresented and distorted to rope in the support for his political agenda and that of his master. To correct misperceptions by the general public, law firm Shafee & Co decided to offer its opinion on the Internet news portals as well. The learned Datuk Seri Dr Shafee Abdullah said, "Under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, a bona fide and a genuine whistleblower should report anything he thinks bordering on criminality or other wrongs first to the appropriate authorities, to allow for them to take action. By doing so this way, we have a situation where there is a bona fide whistleblower and the integrity of BAFIA would be protected. "However, if a whistleblower is allowed to just announce in public protected materials under BAFIA without first resorting to the proper agencies, we would be courting chaos in our financial system." Datuk Seri Dr Shafee added, "BAFIA is a statutory protection provided by Bank Negara Malaysia to customers of all banks. If BAFIA is allowed to be breached under the pretext of whistle blowing, the very stratum of banking collapses." However, lawyers N Surendran and Latheefa Koya who both represent Rafizi, told Datuk Seri Dr Shafee that it was because of the PKR strategy director's exposes that the firm's client NFCorp had found itself hauled to court. They said in a Malaysian Insider report, "The charges should be withdrawn as Rafizi had acted on public interest when he exposed the NFCorp's financial documents in public, even though his actions had violated the country's banking confidentiality laws." Another news portal MalaysiaKini quoted Rafizi's lawyers saying, "Abdul Gani should exercise his discretion by not charging Rafizi's 'brave and honourable act' which benefited the public. However, Shafee & Co argued that the 21 bank accounts exposed by Rafizi were nothing extraordinary to show any wrongdoing or were of any public benefit. Rafizi had done a dishonorable act violating BAFIA which did not benefit anyone but had brought great concern and worry to a highly regarded banking and financial system. Rafizi had lied, misrepresented and distorted the bank documents to allude that loans were taken for eight KL Eco City office lots. In Rafizi's effort to melodramatise his accusations, the bank documents that he had illegally obtained breached the provisions of BAFIA under Section 97(1). Rafizi obtained the bank documents without the permission of the account holders, the bank nor the permission of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the governing regulatory body. BNM Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz told Bernama at the height of the breach, "The confidentiality of customer information is clearly protected by the Banking and Financial Institution Act 1989." She pointed out that it was an offence under the Act for any officer of the bank to disclose any information relating to the account of its customer, and banks have in place control and effective processes to ensure compliance with this secrecy provision. Zeti added that it was only when there is a suspected offence under federal law or if there is a court order or where a customer has given consent, that relevant law enforcement agencies are authorised under the law to obtain information. This information must be obtained through BNM, and if the central bank says there is no foundation for it, the information will not be given. "Shafee & Co needs to understand that the BAFIA was never intended to be used to conceal or prevent the exposure of criminal acts," said Rafizi's lawyers But were there any wrong doings in those bank documents that Rafizi distributed to the media? It would appear that BNM and the Attorney General absolutely do not think so. That's why they did a dawn raid on Rafizi on 1 August, and had him arrested and charged. We are told no loans were ever taken by NFCorp or its directors for the KL Eco City properties which Rafizi announced at a news conference to suggest there was such a case. In fact, the personal bank loan documents given by Rafizi to the media went as far back as 2005, years before NFCorp was established and 2008, years before KL Eco City properties were even launched for sale in 2011. On that premise, Rafizi had not only breached BAFIA, he even breached the Evidence Act where banking information not connected to NFCorp had been presented to allude to wrongdoing. He lied, misrepresented and distorted his evidence. The debate heats up as audiences await if Rafizi would go to trial. Arguments abound aplenty. Who does the average bloke believe from the debate running wild and wanton on the Internet landscape? As founder of MARAH Dave Avran once expressed in Free Malaysia Today, "Clearly, there is manipulation of social media channels to form public opinion. Whilst Malaysians are quick in assuming that there are always hidden hands in every picture, we are also quick to judge on issues. "Have we had all the complete facts of the case to mull over and evaluate before commenting?" Looking at the comments section of some of the Internet news portals would have us think not. Almost every outpouring comment for Rafizi is not based on researched facts but riled and emotional sentiments. The facts have yet to be presented in court. The AG would be well armed and Malaysians would know the truth at a trial. On a public relations note, Rafizi's lawyers have dug a deeper hole for Rafizi in this debate when Surendran and Latheefa went on to say, "The A-G and the central bank had instead 'disgraced themselves' for using BAFIA on Rafizi, adding that the young politician was likely only charged as his exposes on the NFC had embarassed and 'politically damaged' UMNO and BN." "Do they seriously suggest that the UMNO or BN government would have taken any action against NFC in the absence of the public pressure created by Rafizi's revelations of the banking transactions?" they asked. A bit out-of-line against the BNM, the AG and the ruling parties, would you not say? Rafizi's lawyers would need to look at the bank documents and check if there was any wrongdoing unearthed from Rafizi's revelations of the banking transactions. "Obviously Rafizi's lawyers have misplaced their decorum. These are not the kind of statements to express insults against the BNM and AG on the Internet platform. It's tantamount to waging open war in the media. Malaysia's well-respected banking and financial systems should not be compromised whatsoever for political dramas and sensationalism. This is not only our view but that of the chief executives of many banks as well as the chairman of the Association of Banks in Malaysia who came out in media news reports to emphasise that client confidentiality or secrecy must be upheld at all cost, said Datuk Seri Dr Shafee. Rafizi has been charged under Section 97(1) of the BAFIA, for allegedly disclosing customer account profiles detailing the balance summaries of NFCorp, the National Meat and Livestock Corporation Sdn Bhd, Agroscience and Industries Sdn Bhd and NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail. BAFIA's Section 103(1)(a) would also cause Rafizi to be fined a maximum of RM3 million and jailed up to three years if found guilty. This would seriously stumble Rafizi's chances of standing as a candidate in the 13th general election that must be held by April next year. About the Writer Fabiani Azmi is an avid reader of Malaysia Today, intelligent mainstream newspapers and Internet news portals. When not reading, he also enjoys the company of sapiosexuals. It's a highly stimulating discovery for him. Follow Fabiani Azmi at @FabAz88.
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| Posted: 12 Nov 2012 01:33 PM PST
The PM and DPM wished all Indians a very Happy Deepavali. Get your facts correct please. Malaysian not Asian okay! Oh you Chinese why do you only enrich yourselves when you can enrich your neighbours as well so that all can live happily and peacefully! Oh you Malays why do you always want the best of both worlds? Why can't you be more gracious and give some to the other Malaysians! Oh you Indians! Why do you slay one another and commit atrocities to your fellow Malaysians? There is so much for the taking if only Indians study and work hard like your God fearing forefathers who came to this land from India. Oh you Mamaks! (meant to be friendly not offensive) Why do you always play fiddle to the governments that are corrupt and their cronies. And why do your restaurants put up tables and chairs on the street until people can't park or use the streets at night! Oh you Satherjees! Why do you keep quiet and silent on so many matters that has engulfed the nation? Only Karpal and son seem to be lions of Khalistan! Where are the other Aslans that we so much need in dire times to uphold freedom and justice! Oh you Sarawakians! Why do still let your beloved state be plundered and your tribesmen be brutalized by a mere handful of crooks? All the more when these crooks are married to white and foreign men and women! Wake up and deliver Sarawak from evil less you too be destroyed with it! Oh You Sabahans! Why do you let illegal immigrants flood your land! Behold all you born in the land below the wind, make haste to flood them soon lest you be washed away in their flood! Last but not least Oh you Johor Bahru! Why have you literally become the anus of Malaysia! Not a day goes by that I cannot stop cursing all the people responsible for making my beloved scenic seafront home town that it was the quagmire that it is today! Woe to all of you especially all those corrupt and incompetent federal and state officials! P/S: Was watching the news on TV3 at 8PM on eve of Deepavali. A bit of advice to PM, DPM; kick your speech writers butts. The PM and DPM wished all Indians a very Happy Deepavali. Get your facts correct please. Only Indians of Hindu faith celebrate Deepavali and not all Indians! There are Indians who are Catholics, Christians, Jains, etc etc who do not celebrate Deepavali as it is a religious festival unlike the Chinese Lunar New Year. Saddens me that even after more than a century of Indians being in Malaya/Malaysia our leaders still can't get this simple and basic racial, religious and cultural facts right! And woe to all you Malaysians who read this and do nothing about making Malaysia better! But blessed be them who rise up to the occasions when they are needed! God Bless!
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| Pesakit kanser wajar berehat atau direhatkan Posted: 12 Nov 2012 12:40 PM PST
ASPAN ALIAS Saya tidak dapat memikirkan alasan-alasan yang munasabah untuk kita mengekalkan UMNO sebagai pemegang amanah negara kerana segala-gala yang dilakukan dan kegagalan UMNO selama ini sudah 'terbonggeng' dan sudah dirasakan oleh semua rakyat. UMNO ibarat pesakit kanser yang 'terminal' kerana hampir semua sel-sel dalam tubuh UMNO itu sudah mati. Penyakit kanser ini merupakan satu penyakit dalam mana sel-sel di dalam tubuh kita telah mati dan sel-sel yang masih hidup itu pun akan berbunuh-bunuhan sehingga penanggungnya, ia itu tubuh dan jasadnya mati. Seperti pengidap kanser, ia akan selalu berusaha untuk mengubati penyakit yang merbahaya itu, tetapi akhirnya tubuh akan mati juga. Pesakit dan pengidap kanser akan melakukan apa sahaja untuk berubat samada menggunakan ubat tradisi atau ubat-ubat moden di hospital-hospital. Selalunya pesakit kanser akan berbuat apa sahaja untuk meneruskan kehidupan. Jika ada yang memberikan nasihat untuk pergi ke tempat-tempat di mana-mana sahaja untuk berubat pesakit atau penjaganya akan pergi untuk memberikan harapan untuk terus hidup. Tetapi akhirnya pesakit-pesakit kanser yang sudah pulih itu hanya mengalami pemulihan sementara sahaja dan akhirnya mereka akan mengakhiri kalamnya kerana penyakit itu juga. Tetapi saya tidak menafikan yang ada yang selamat sehingga satu jangka yang lama (dengan izin Allah), tetapi lambat launnya pesakit itu akan meninggal kerana penyakit itu. Begitu jugalah UMNO. UMNO telah mengidap penyakit ini agak lama, tetapi oleh kerana UMNO ini parti kaya-raya dan dipimpin oleh semua pemimpin-pemimpin yang 'kaya baru' maka hayatnya telah dapat di sambung kerana yang kaya selalunya akan dapat berubat dan pergi terbang ke seluruh pelusuk dunia untuk berubat. Penyakit kanser UMNO ini sebenar nya sudah lama kerana ramai yang berpendapat ia mula merebak sejak pemerintahan Dr Mahathir. Tetapi UMNO mampu berubat kerana kekayaan pemimpin-pemimpinnya maka UMNO dapatlah untuk terus hidup sampai ke pilihanraya 2008 dahulu walaupun tanda-tanda kematian sudah jelas nampak apabila hilang majoriti 2/3 di Dewan Legislatif Parlimen. Tetapi seperti yang saya katakan tadi, yang akan membunuh UMNO itu ialah penyakit kanser yang di hidapi selama ini juga. Sebagai pesakit kanser seseorang itu terpaksa berbelanja besar untuk membeli ubat dan membeli 'supplement' yang mahal-mahal untuk menyekat kemaraan penyakit kanser itu. Maka kita sedang melihat bagaimana UMNO terpaksa berbelanja besar untuk merawat penyakit yang di hidapinya itu. Najib terpaksa ke hulu ke hilir serta mundar mandir ke darat dan ke baruh untuk memanjangkan usia parti yang sedang menghadapi penyakit yang serius itu. Sekali Najib melawat jutaan wang ringgit dibelanjakan dan semuanya ini adalah wang rakyat. Seperti yang saya katakan peruntukan besar terpaksa di adakan untuk membeli segala 'supplement' yang di katakan baik untuk mengekang penyakit ini dari merebak.
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| Umno sedang 'tunda najis hanyut' Posted: 12 Nov 2012 12:26 PM PST
(Harakah Daily) -- PKR menyifatkan serangan menggila terhadap naib presidennya, Nurul Izzah Anwar umpama tindakan 'menunda najis yang hanyut'. Ini kerana, tindakan ini adalah langkah terbaru Umno dalam percubaan mengembalikan sokongan dan kepercayaan rakyat yang semakin terhakis. - Demikian kata Ketua Penerangannya, Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty dalam kenyataan medianya hari ini. Kenyataan beliau ini mengulas serangan terhadap Nurul Izzah selepas kenyataan berhubung kebebasan beragama yang dinyatakan beliau. Ini dilaporkan kepada Rasulullah. Diketika inilah ayat ini diturunkan sebagai teguran dan panduan buat orang beriman dalam menerima khabar berita dari orang fasik, katanya. Pemimpin-pemimpin organisasi berita ini, katanya, sendiri mengesahkan bahawa harus diputarbelit sesuatu berita demi mendokong aspirasi parti yang menjadi pemiliknya. | ||||||||||||||
| Salang: BN will still rule after GE Posted: 12 Nov 2012 11:56 AM PST
(TMI) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) will still rule the country after the upcoming 13th General Election (GE), said Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang.
He said for this and many other very good reasons, rural folks in the state should not waste their votes in supporting the opposition. "In Sarawak we even have an opposition party, the Sarawak Workers' Party (SWP), which claims that it is actually pro-BN. "This goes to show that it admires the BN and has great confidence in its leaders ability to administer the nation and serve the people," he said at a Natural Disaster Awareness Programme held at longhouse Rh.Kelukot in Nanga Telesa, Sungai Mujok in the interior here last evening. The BN, he said, despite its shortcomings, had as a matter of fact, accomplished much more in terms of bringing unprecendented progress, stability and prosperity to the nation which also benefitted the people. "It has still a lot more that it is going to implement to improve on these accomplishments. "The people, especially those in rural areas must remain with it in order to allow these to continue so that they can benefit even more,"he said. Meanwhile, Salang expressed the hope that all candidates, especially from the opposition parties, would not resort to personal attacks to win the people's support during the campaigning period (for the GE). He said this was because the people themselves could tell whether the accusations and allegations made were true or otherwise and this could backfire on those responsible. On the programme jointly organised by the Julau District Office, the Julau Police and the Bintangor Fire and Rescue Department, he said it was a step in the right direction as there had been recent cases of longhouse fires and next month, the Julau and Pakan Districts were expected to face the seasonal flood. — Bernama | ||||||||||||||
| ‘Maafkan Nurul, dia masih budak-budak’ Posted: 11 Nov 2012 07:48 PM PST Ketua Ulamak PAS, Datuk Harun Taib menganggap Nurul Izzah tidak mempunyai pendidikan tinggi dalam agama. Muda mohd Noor, FMT Ketua Ulamak PAS, Datuk Harun Taib menganggap Nurul Izzah tidak mempunyai pendidikan tinggi dalam agama. Umur Nurul yang masih muda boleh menyebabkan beliau boleh membuat kesilapan jika bercakap mengenai agama Islam, kata Ketua Dewan Ulama PAS, Datuk Harun Taib. "Saya mengingatkan orang poltik yang tidak tahu agama Islam supaya tidak bercakap mengenai agama Islam. "Kalau orang yang tahu agama boleh lah mereka bercakap hal agama," kata Harun. Harun menegaskan beliau tidak mengambil serius bimbang dengan kenyataan Nurul, sebaliknya lebih risau orang yang pandai agama tetapi banyak membuat salah dalam agama. Dan tokoh PAS itu meminta orang ramai memaafkan Naib Presiden PKR dan ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai itu. "Nurul masih budak-budak lagi, dan dia juga tidak ada pendidikan tinggi dalam agama," katanya. Harun turut bertanya, mengapa isu Nurul heboh diperkatakan tetapi tidak kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak walaupun pemimpin nombor satu juga banyak bercakap salah mengenai agama Islam. Harun berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas kenyataan Nurul dalam satu program di dalam sebuah gereja Sabtu lalu. Dalam program tersebut Nurul dilaporkan sebagai berkata, jika kebebasan beragama boleh digunakan kepada orang bukan Islam ia juga seharusnya melibatkan orang Islam juga. Kenyataan tersebut menimbulkan kontroversi sehingga beberapa pihak membuat laporan polis terhadap pemimpin muda PKR itu. Nurul bagaimanapun, menafikan beliau membuat kenyataan tersebut dan mendakwa ia diputarbelit oleh media.
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| Posted: 11 Nov 2012 07:36 PM PST We should also band together, certainly at the next general elections, based on a common desire to respect each other and to live together peacefully in this place we call our home, writes Zaharom Nain. Many Malaysians surely must be sick to death – I know I am – of the latest ploy by hateful people, many within this regime, to split this country even further, to cultivate distrust at a time when they themselves have lost the trust of the people. I am talking, of course, of this pathetic 'strategy' of churning out one bogeyman after another to frighten Malaysians, especially Muslims, presumably in the forlorn hope that we will all run back into the exploitative arms of this regime and its underlings. Nasharuddin Mat Isa's latest diatribe and Utusan Malaysia's latest sojourn into the realm of lies and fantasy are illustrative of this desperation. First, Utusan, not for the first time, in its Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia, brings up the topic of the Christian community and talks about a couple of Malaysia's top church leaders apparently criticising Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. The report, titled 'Jangan heret gereja' (Do not drag the Church [into politics], quotes two top church leaders as apparently reacting negatively to an earlier call by Lim. Lim's call, at a dialogue with about 300 church leaders, was for the church to stand up against injustice and to build a better community. Nothing wrong there, I would think. Indeed, if we were to recall the work of the liberation theologians in Latin America and even in Marcos's Philippines, these church leaders were certainly right out there fighting injustice. Closer to home, Father Paulino Miranda, parish priest of the only Catholic church in Shah Alam, comes to mind. Islam, too, is resplendent with tales of leaders and scholars speaking out, even rising up, against injustice and tyranny. Among the more 'acceptable' scholars in Malaysia, Perlis mufti Dr Juanda Jaya and USM Islamic scholar Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, have indeed spoken out against wrongdoing and misrule, Asri famously speaking up for street demonstrators awhile back. Be that as it may, certainly in an attempt to make Lim look bad and, perhaps, in an attempt to emphasise to the Christian community – can you imagine anyone from that community reading Utusan? – that they should keep their houses of worship free of politics, the paper paraded this nonsense on their front page last Sunday. But, of course, the church leaders have now come out openly to say that they had said no such thing, that they were misrepresented and that the report "is a complete lie". In response, quite predictably if I may say so, Utusan's reporter comes out, guns blazing, saying that she stands by her story. It is a mere coincidence, I'm sure, that she should say this a day after the two church leaders reportedly said they would not take legal action against the rag because they had other things to do. No apology, no retraction So, it looks as though there will be no apology, no retraction, by the paper since, from past experience, these niceties only happen when such disputes end up in court. This doesn't say much, of course, about the integrity of the paper and its reporter. But we must remember that this is the same rag whose deputy chief editor not so long ago declared that the paper is willing to 'spin the truth'. Nasharuddin's recent outburst also concerns the Church and Christians. His is a more toxic, hate-filled accusation that Sarawak DAP had "held prayers seeking the formation of a Christian state during its thanksgiving dinner after the 2011 Sarawak state elections". For him, "this was a strategy being planned by Allah's enemies". His is a nasty presentation that could easily be seen as attempting to drive a wedge between the political parties in Pakatan, especially the DAP and Pas, and also between their members and supporters. At a wider level, it certainly seems like an pathetic attempt to drive a wedge between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia. It is the latest in a long line of conspiracy 'theories' hatched by irresponsible, certainly divisive, people and parties uncaring about the implications of their outbursts. Rightly, both Muslim and Christian leaders have come out to speak up against Nasharuddin's unsubstantiated and, for me, despicable, allegation. However, I believe that the rest of us too need to speak out against these hateful allegations that are manifestly untrue.
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| Stemming the incoherence of misguided Muslim pundits’: my response Posted: 11 Nov 2012 06:31 PM PST
Truth, error, good, bad, etc. are not absolutes. There are no 'facts' when we talk about truth, error, good, bad, etc., in religion. They are all relative and subject to time and place. And what is good/bad in religion may not be good/bad from society's point of view. And what is good/bad from society's point of view, yesterday, may not be good/bad from society's point of view today. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin It is truly shameful that the affairs of Muslims were being discussed without the guidance of scholars of Islām possessing true and correct knowledge of the religion. How can one even be sure that they are speaking earnestly and truthfully on behalf of Islām? Furthermore, a non-Muslim making ignorant statements about Islām may be excused on the basis of not himself being a Muslim and of being obstinate. Yet, a greater cause for concern is when a ignorant Muslim makes ambivalent declarations about the nature of Islām as a religion. In fact, this betrays a categorical confusion on her part because from the Muslim understanding, Islām is the true revealed religion, and the affirmation of this fact has consequences both in this world and in the hereafter. The religion of Islām requires both belief (imān) and submission (islām) from its believers. Both are not identical, but they are mutually inseparable and indispensable, which means that one cannot do without the other. Those who argue along the lines of half-baked understanding of the Qur'ānic verse often do not even bother to read the second part of the verse that makes clear the distinction between Truth and error. There is no sense in holding on to that verse if this distinction is only mentioned in briefly or outrightly dismissed without equally serious consideration. The religion of Islām makes clear its claim to Truth, and this is why its content is cognitive to the human mind. A person who is presented with a choice between what is good and what is bad and proceeds to choose the bad is not exercising real freedom. In truth, the person is trapped within his own ignorance, thus unable to make the right choice in choosing for the better, and in doing so, has committed a grave injustice to his or her own self and others. If we allow the promissory note for such literal interpretation of the verse devoid of scholarly consensus and right guidance, then there would be nothing left to prevent the likes of fanatics, demagogues and even militant extremists from appropriating Islām in order to justify atrocities and perpetuate even further injustices. READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER HERE: ********************************************** Those are some of the extracts from the letter that Muhammad Husni Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Aimran Wan Mohd Kamil, Muhammad Syukri Rosli and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal sent to Malaysia Today, and which we published today. I suspect many of you were quite lost by the language used and could not quite make out what the authors were trying to say -- other than that only Muslim scholars should talk about Islam and that Islam is the true religion while all others are false. Nevertheless, maybe I can respond to some of the salient points raised in that letter. And I am addressing my response to Muhammad Husni Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Aimran Wan Mohd Kamil, Muhammad Syukri Rosli and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal. When we debate an issue or argue a point, we must be very clear in our mind as to the intended audience. The audience, on the other hand, must be very clear as to what 'platform' we are standing on in presenting our arguments. From your arguments, it is clear that you are speaking as Islamists and your audience is meant to be fellow Muslims. You do not care about the views of the non-Muslims. You are giving your views on Islam from the perspective of a Muslim and meant for the ears of Muslims. In that case, those not of the Islamic faith will never accept what you say. What you say has nothing to do with the non-Muslims. You, a Muslim, talks about Islam, from the perspective of Islam, meant for a Muslim audience. You have crafted your letter as if you are presenting facts. No doubt, to Muslims, you are definitely presenting facts. To the non-Muslims, however, what you say are not facts. These are merely opinions. And non-Muslims, for sure, will have a different opinion to you. For example, to the Christians, Jesus is the Son of God, humankind was born with sins, and Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Hence if we accept Jesus we would be saved. This is an indisputable fact to most Christians. To Muslims, however, this is not a fact. In fact, Muslims may even consider this a lie. Hence non-Muslims would not regard this Christian doctrine as fact but merely an opinion (and a misguided one at that, too, Muslims will argue). Therefore, being an opinion, and an opinion that Muslims do not agree with, the Christian doctrine could be right or could be wrong (and certainly wrong from the Islamic perspective). Hence, when you talk to a multi-cultural audience, you need to understand the proper way in doing so. For example, instead of stating 'facts', it would help if you say things like 'according to the Muslim belief', etc. Then we would be implying that this is what I, as a Muslim, believe, but I am not suggesting that you, too, believe what I believe. Now, in that letter, are you discussing a matter of theology, philosophy, a legal issue, the Federal Constitution, issue of human rights and civil liberties, or what? From my reading of the letter, you are discussing theology, and Islamic theology in particular. Would Muslims be interested in hearing someone talk about Hinduism or Christianity from the theological aspect? And would Muslims be convinced by these arguments and accept them as the truth? This is the flaw in most arguments presented by Muslims. You have your beliefs and you present your beliefs as facts and you expect others to also accept them as facts. And when they cannot, you get upset and start screaming that these people have insulted Islam and therefore action should be taken against these people. Maybe we can look at this issue not from the perspective of theology, in particular Islamic theology. Then, and only then, can we talk to a multi-cultural audience, which I suspect is what you are trying to do since you sent your letter to Malaysia Today. You spoke about truth and error. You also spoke about good and bad. Now, I am going to address my comments not just to Muslims but also to religionists in general. Truth, error, good, bad, etc. are not absolutes. There are no 'facts' when we talk about truth, error, good, bad, etc., in religion. They are all relative and subject to time and place. And what is good/bad in religion may not be good/bad from society's point of view. And what is good/bad from society's point of view, yesterday, may not be good/bad from society's point of view today. In other words, 'good' and 'bad' constantly changes. It changes according to the period. It changes according to the region. And it changes according to the society you live in. For example, 100 years or so ago, any woman wearing a miniskirt in England would be vilified and maybe even accosted. Today, a woman can walk around town practically in her panties and nothing will happen. So what was bad 100 years ago in England is no longer bad. Now, if a woman walks around town in a miniskirt in Saudia Arabia, she would be arrested and flogged. In Malaysia, she will not be arrested and flogged. However, if she walks around Kota Bharu in her panties she will, for sure, be in trouble. Hence is wearing a miniskirt (or just your panties) good or bad? It depends on what period you live in and where you live. So how can good and bad be taken as absolutes? Good and bad will change across time and across borders. Hence, when you argue about what you consider as good and bad, that is merely your opinion and that does not make it a fact or mean you are right. Let me give you another example. Marrying off your daughter who already has her period (say at age 11) to a boy who has reached puberty (say age 12) is allowed in Islam. Since it is allowed in Islam then it must be good. But would society also regard that as 'good' just because Islam does not forbid it and therefore it is considered good? Would you marry off your 11-year-old daughter to a man of, say, 45 (a millionaire Datuk)? There is nothing wrong with that. And since it is not wrong then it is good. However, you would probably not consider it 'good' although it is allowed in religion. Let me take another example, this time regarding slavery. Islam has never outlawed slavery. Muslims are allowed to own slaves and you can even have sex with your slaves. This is perfectly legal in Islam. But if I were to offer you some slaves to buy -- and pretty ones who have been 'well-trained' in how to please their master in bed on top of that -- would you consider that 'good'? How can it not be good when Islam allows it? The slave trade saw about 11 million Africans captured and sold. And many of these slavers were actually Muslim Arabs. The Arabs were still trading in slaves long after the west had outlawed slavery. Society had by then considered slavery as bad when the Arab Muslims slavers were still doing a roaring business in selling captured Africans. To have an intelligent and intellectual discourse with decorum and civility is not easy in Malaysia Today. Many of the readers are crude and brash and do not understand how to be polite. Malaysia Today readers regard name-calling and mocking as debating. That is the problem we face in trying to build bridges between the different communities in Malaysia. I have given up trying to civilise Malaysia Today readers. So now I talk exactly like how they talk. And, of course, they do not like it one bit. What they fail to realise is that when they talk like that others do not like it as well. But I will continue to give them a taste of their own medicine until they 'vomit blood'. Nevertheless, I welcome such letters and I hope you will continue sending them to Malaysia Today. The only thing is do not expect intelligent or intellectual responses to such letters. But in the spirit or dakwah do not let that discourage you. | ||||||||||||||
| Apostasy, compulsion, and Nurul’s point Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:30 PM PST The PKR vice-president said last week that religious freedom is for everyone, even Muslims and Malays. Well, here are the facts to prove she has a point. Anisah Shukry, FMT Yet again, Umno as well as the likes of Ibrahim Ali and Nasharudin Mat Isa have resorted to misusing Islam to discredit a member of the opposition bloc. According to a transcript provided by Malaysiakini, Nurul Izzah Anwar said at a forum last weekend that "…there is no compulsion in religion… How can anyone really say, 'sorry, this only applies to non-Malays.' It has to apply equally." Hishammuddin Hussein, the home minister, described Nurul's statements as insensitive and causing public anger. Nasharudin, the former PAS vice-president, said that she must repent and what she said goes against Islam. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister, said her statement was stupid. Now, putting aside the fact that nearly every time good ol' Hisham, Nasha and Mahathir open their mouths, they say something stupid and insensitive that anger the public, Nurul, on the other hand, did not say anything "radical", "liberal", "dangerous to the faith" or even new. On the contrary, what she said has been discussed among Islamic scholars across the globe for years. It's just that no one seems to have clued the Powers That Be on this. And she has a point. Islam is all about an individual's own voluntary submission to Allah; there can be no coercion because faith cannot be forced upon anyone, even on those Malays who are born Muslims. I mean, if I asked you, at gunpoint, to believe in Islam, would you? Unless you're already a believer, then of course not. You'd probably blubber a bit about how being at the brink of death has opened your eyes to Islam, but your convictions would remain the same. So compulsion is not the answer – education is, just as Nurul mentioned in a later statement. In fact, even in the Quran, Surah Al-Nahl, verse 126 states: "Invite [all] to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance." (16:126 – translated by Yusuf Ali) Now, for those of you who are going to say that I'm no scholar and should just keep my mouth shut and let the experts talk it out, allow me to produce a quote from the former Chief Judge of Pakistan, SA Rahman. "Man is free to choose between truth and falsehood and the Prophet's function is to convey the message, exemplify it in his own life and to leave the rest to God – he is no warder over men to compel them to adopt particular beliefs," he wrote. This is further fortified in several Islamic verses, including Surah Ali Imran, verse 20 and Al-Ma'idah, verse 92, which state if individuals turn away from the message of Islam, then the Prophet Muhammad's duty is only to educate – not force nor coerce. Freedom to choose still exists Unfortunately, we still have the likes of Nasharudin who argue that the "no compulsion in religion" verse (2:256) only applies to non-Muslims in the issue of converting to Islam. In other words, once one becomes Muslim, let the coercion begin! Now, I challenge him and other like-minded individuals to point out any verse in the Quran which states that that sort of double standard exists. Nasharudin did mention Surah al-Ahzab verse 36 as "proof" that there is no freedom in religion for Muslims. "It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path." (33:36 – translation by Yusuf Ali) But, as you can see, this verse just states that when Allah has commanded something, it is not fitting for a believer to have any choice in their matter – the freedom to choose still exists, as mentioned several times in the Quran. But while freedom exists, the Quran still states what is right and wrong. And if one chooses what has been forbidden, then one will face the consequences of that decision, whether in this life or the hereafter. Islam and apostasy Now, by virtue of the fact that freedom of religion exists in Islam, does that mean Muslims, and Malays, have the freedom to renounce their religion and should not be coerced or punished into remaining as Muslims? Since I'd rather not have 15 policemen raid FMT's office over this article, I'll refrain from stating my stand, but just share the views of several revered scholars in Islam who are not Malaysians, not Malays, and do not have any vested political interest in the issue. The former chief judge of Pakistan, SA Rahman, wrote in his book "Punishment of apostasy in Islam" that: "There is absolutely no mention in the Quran of mundane punishment for defection from the faith by a believer, except in the shape of deprivation of the spiritual benefits of Islam or of the civil status and advantages that accrue to an individual as a member of the well-knit fraternity of Muslims. "He should, however, be free to profess and propagate the faith of his choice, so long as he keeps within the bounds of law and morality, and to enjoy all other rights as a peaceful citizen of the State, in common with his Muslim co-citizens." He also added that apostasy is an offence in the realm of the rights of God, rather than the rights of mankind, thus there would be no pressing necessity to punish a peaceful change of faith.
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| Sabah’s oil curse strikes again Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:27 PM PST Poverty-riddled Sabah is the sixth biggest contributor to the national economy, contributing more than a quarter of the total oil and gas produced in the country. Queville To, FMT Sabah lost control of its oil wealth more than 30 years ago but the fallout of the widely acknowledged cock-eyed contract is continuing to roil business dealings in the state. The state Barisan Nasional government is now facing more questions over how it is managing the Petronas-sponsored Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) project that began more than a year ago. The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has accused Chief Minister Musa Aman's Umno-led BN government of failing to safeguard the interest of the local companies in the ongoing multi-billion-ringgit project. Melanie Chia, the party's outspoken women's wing chief said there appeared to be no attempt by the state government to ensure locals get a bigger share of the spin-offs from the SOGT project. She said they had since discovered that the main contract work had been handed over to a Sarawak company which had in turn subcontracted the job valued at RM2.4 billion to a South Korean company to the extent that even the canteen at the site was operated by Koreans. She noted that while 35 companies with Sabah connections had obtained sub-contract works, the value of these contracts totaled a fraction of the value of the main contract. "The total value of these sub contract works is only RM470million, or a mere 19.6 per cent of the total contract value of RM2.4 billion. Even the Kimanis new township will be developed by Miri- based Homelite Development Sdn Bhd. "I don't believe that we do not have enough local companies who can do the jobs. We also have very established and esteemed developers who can develop the new township. "Do we have to be subservient and remain playing second fiddle all the time even in our own state?" she asked. Sabah's oil reserve She said the issue of out-of-state companies not only taking the lion's share of the SOGT work and then sub-contracting it out to foreign companies needed to be studied. "The government owes the people a good explanation as to why Sabah remains the poorest state in Malaysia despite being blessed with abundance of natural resources," she added. The state is the sixth biggest contributor to the national economy, contributing more than a quarter of the total oil and gas produced in the country. Sabah's oil reserve were calculated at 1.5 billion barrels as of last year but new oil fields discovered since then have raised the estimate substantially. Gas reserves stand at 11 trillion cubic feet with four new oil fields found in the Sabah waters in the last two years. The projected production from one area, the Gumusat/Kakap Project, is 135,000 barrels per day will come on stream soon, but Sabah's share is unknown as other oil producing companies are in on the project with Petronas on a contract sharing basis. SAPP and the opposition have been hitting on the wealth extraction from the state and at the same time holding up its high poverty rate and unemployment figures. Sabah has the highest number of unemployed in the country at 5.6% or 76,000 people without jobs. The opposition says that the ruling coalition government has had almost 20 uninterrupted years of power in the state but has yet to come up with a coherent and comprehensive development policy to ensure the state's well-being well into the future. "Obviously something is not right with the present government otherwise Sabah would not end up the poorest despite having abundance of oil and gas," Chia said.
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| 10 reasons for Indians to drop BN Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:23 PM PST Here are 10 reasons why the Indian community should not vote for Barisan Nasional in the next general election, according to Kota Alam Shah state rep M Manoharan. By M Manoharan, FMT Umno's 'Malay Supremacy' agenda I would be echoing the sentiments of the great majority of Indians in Malaysia when I say they are effectively second class citizens under Umno's rule. Umno and BN can be used interchangeably because Umno is not only the dominant party but the de facto ruling party as well. The much entrenched 'Ketuanan Melayu ' or Malay Supremacy is the unwritten code of Umno's rule. The ruling party has perfected this philosophy to the extent of rivalling the notorious racist agenda of apartheid South Africa. Basically, Ketuanan Melayu aims to contain the progress and prosperity of the non-Malays. The Indians have traditionally looked to the civil service for employment but in the last few decades they have seen their share of public sector jobs severely curtailed. Too many Indians have to eke out a harsh living outside the comfort of the government service and the GLCs. Many resort to low paying jobs which in turn locks them in a vicious cycle of poverty. Also, the high crime rate among Indians is a direct result of the lack of access to good, high- income jobs for Indians. NEP's lopsided implementation The NEP introduced in 1970 and which has set the direction of the nation ever since was designed to: a) restructure society so that race is no longer identified with occupation, and b) eradicate poverty irrespective of race/ ethnicity. However, none of these noble intentions ever reached the Indian community. The implementation of the NEP has bypassed the Indians. In the past, Indians were identified with the civil service, professions and the plantations. Today, they are increasingly associated with low pay jobs and hard, physical labour. Many flagship projects of the NEP offered little to the Indian community. Felda which transformed the landless and the poor among the Malays to proud land owners had little impact on the Indians. It was the same story with Felcra, Risda and the numerous other schemes designed to uplift the rural poor. Somehow, the Indian poor, a large proportion of whom were in the plantations were invisible to the formulators and the implementers of the NEP. There were no quotas assigned to the Indian community for jobs in the GLCs or the private sector. If the BN government could do it for the poor Malays, why did it overlook the poor Indians? Was not the NEP designed for all Malaysians? Why the lop-sided implementation? Today, we have an Indian community that has high endemic poverty, the highest violent crime rate and a decreasing proportion in the top professions. The pathetic state of the Tamil schools Any responsible government would look into the education needs of its entire people. But then, BN has never been a responsible government. The BN government has systematically marginalised vernacular education. Fortunately, the economic and philanthropic strength of the Chinese community has mitigated the many challenges facing Chinese schools. There are 523 Tamil schools in the country, but up to 79% or some 379 of these schools are still occupying dilapidated, termite infested, semi-permanent buildings built on private land before Merdeka. The bigger majority of these schools are in a pathetic state – undersized classrooms, leaking roofs and some even without water or electricity. Almost all face teacher shortage of some kind, some more acute than others. Promises are made from time to time by the government to improve trainee teacher intake, training temporary teachers and offering them permanent positions but the reality is the opposite. Some 40% of all Tamil school teachers are contract or temporary teachers. This potent combination of poor infrastructure and teacher shortage is a definite recipe for the high failure rate of Tamil school students. Tamil schools are a neglected lot and the BN must be held responsible by all Indian voters. Limited opportunities in the civil service and GLCs Indians and other non-Bumiputeras are severely discriminated both in the intake as well as in subsequent promotions. For instance, there is not a single Indian judge in the Federal Court. The BN government must look into an Equal Opportunity Commission & an Equal Opportunity Act to redress the gross imbalance among the races in the Government service. Citizens denied citizenship Almost 300,000 Indians who are eligible for citizenship do not have MyKads. They are children born to citizen parents whose births were not registered for one reason or another. In a nutshell, they have been denied citizenship due to a government bureaucracy that is callous to their plight. Many dreams have been shattered, jobs and careers foregone and households mired in poverty due to citizenship denied. Almost all are deserving cases because most were born in Malaysia or have lived here all their lives. Of late, the MIC has organised citizenship for about 4,000 cases but this hardly scratches the surface of the problem. It is more of a publicity stunt for the BN to dupe the Indian electorate as many of the cases publicised in the media are senior citizens in their twilight years and well past their prime. Sadly, it is a case of political gimmicking taking precedence over resolution of people's grievances. Indians have the highest unemployment rate among the major races in the country. The neglect of the Tamil schools means it ill-prepares the students for secondary school and beyond. Many Indian students lack the linguistic and numerical skills needed for today's job market. Moreover, Indians do not have access to skills training institutes like GiatMara, polytechnics, Mara Training Institutes, vocational schools and numerous other training institutes' set-up with public money at the state and national levels. Certainly, there is a lack of concerted action by the BN government to train and equip Indian youths with the necessary job skills. The typical response by BN leaders is that Indians do not apply for these opportunities. How can Indians apply for these places when it is not made known to them? As a result, the majority resort to the private sector. With low levels of education and absence of marketable skills, they are forced to work as lorry drivers, road sweepers, dishwashers, free-lance house maids, cleaners, despatch clerks, personal drivers, etc. These jobs are shunned by the other races because of the low pay, long working hours and physical risks involved. The situation has got so bad that Indians are forced to compete with foreigners for these very jobs.
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| Will Social Media Sway Malaysia’s Elections? Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:11 PM PST
Politicians are becoming media savvy in Malaysia, using Twitter, Facebook and Youtube to appeal to netizens.
Malaysia is gearing up for a general election in six months and as the campaigns enter the crucial voter-courting phase many observers are wondering if the political 'tsunami', which severely weakened the ruling National Front coalition (BN) at the 2008 polls, might be repeated. That political tidal wave – which stripped the BN of its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since independence and handed five state governments over to the opposition – was precipitated by the spread of Internet-based social media as a campaigning tool, harnessed primarily by the opposition. "In 2008 neither the government nor opposition expected the result they got," Ramanathan Sankaran, author of 'Media, Democracy and Civil Society', told IPS. The proliferation of independent websites and blogs such as Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini rendered the ruling coalition's propaganda machinery less effective during the electoral race, as formidable opponents appeared in the crucial arena of cyberspace. "Six or seven bloggers, who had been unknown (to most of the ruling coalition) got into parliament. It shocked the BN," Sankaran added. Three of these bloggers have now become well-known opposition figures in Malaysia. Former human rights activist and environmental campaigner Elizabeth Wong is now the minister for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment in the opposition-ruled Selangor state government that covers the capital Kuala Lumpur. Tony Pua, who defeated a BN parliamentary secretary candidate to win the Petaling Jaya federal constituency, is now the "shadow minister" for Higher Education in the federal parliament. Meanwhile Jeff Ooi, who won a state assembly seat in Penang, clinching another crucial win for the opposition in 2008, has taken the reigns as senior aide to the Chief Minister. "One of the first things (then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad) Badawi said when the results came out was 'we lost the Internet war. We didn't realise that was important. We relied too much on mainstream media'," recalled Steven Gan, editor of the leading alternative news website Malaysiakini. "When (current Prime Minister) Najib Tun Razak came to power in 2009 there was substantial focus on the Internet. He set up his own Facebook (account), along with other politicians, and he is tweeting as well." The Prime Minister also has a website called '1 Malaysia' which is updated daily. According to Sankaran, Razak has instructed other ministers and senior government officials to make good use of the Internet and respond to emails within 48 hours. Even the former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has set up his own blog, 'Blogging to Unblock', whose comments are regularly picked up by the mainstream and alternative media. And long-term opposition member in federal parliament, Lim Kit Siang, who first entered parliament in 1969 and is currently the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party's parliamentary leader, has his own blog through which he has been relentlessly attacking the government on corruption issues for several months. Nudged by the outcome of the 2008 election, "BN made a concerted move to (mobilise) its own cyber-troopers," Gan told IPS. According to Sankaran, BN's determination to learn from past mistakes is reflected in their decision to field Kamalananthan Panchanathen, a young Internet-savvy candidate, for the seat of Hulu Selangor, an electorate with a large Indian population. The 40-year-old blogger won back the seat in the by-election of 2010 "partly because of his appeal to young (netizens), and he now has his own website," Sankaran added. "The government has opened up the Internet (to encourage better governance)," he added. Prominent Malaysian political commentator Chandra Muzzafar, a former political ally of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, agrees that the Internet will play an important role in coming elections. "It will be a major actor in some constituencies and controlling it is difficult," he told IPS. Censorship rears its head But along with the government's attempt to become more media savvy ahead of the elections has come a desire to curtail the freedoms allowed to other social media practitioners and rights groups who utilise these channels to spread their message to civil society. On Sep. 13, the independent Star newspaper reported that the prominent human rights group SUARAM was being investigated by the Home Ministry and five government agencies, including the Registrar of Societies, on allegations that they received funds from the Open Society Foundation (OSF), whose chairman is international financial speculator George Soros. SUARAM's membership includes a number of opposition MPs linked to Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party (PKR). The rights group has waged a long anti-corruption crusade against the government. Government-controlled media reported that investigations by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry found three letters addressed to SUARAM dated 2007, 2008 and 2010, detailing grants amounting to nearly 189,000 dollars from the OSF. "Civil society is now continuously portrayed in the media as the enemy who is seeking to overthrow the government at the behest of foreign powers. These accusations have also been hurled at BERSIH (the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections), more so since July last year when we had a successful rally of more than 50,000 people on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, clamouring for clean and fair elections," Ambiga Sreenevasan, co-chair of BERSIH, said in a commentary published by 'Malaysian Insider' last week. Another alternative media outfit that has been consistently accused of receiving funds from Soros is Malaysiakini. "While we are non-partisan that doesn't mean we are apolitical. We are very political. We cover issues we feel strongly about such as corruption, press freedom and human rights," Gan said in an interview with IPS. "We will speak for people who do not have access to mainstream media. We speak for the voiceless, those who suffer human rights abuses that are not covered properly by mainstream media. That has always been our position. People see us as pro-opposition because we cover those issues," he added. Internet – or economy? But though active netizens are breaking the government's "monopoly on truth", and the powerful Reformasi movement – comprised of a Malay core and based on exposing corruption and abuse of power within the government – is on the rise, experts like Muzzafar believe BN will have an easy victory at the polls. He believes the economy will be the key factor in determining the outcome of the election. The Malaysian economy is currently strong and stable. Unemployment is at a low 2.7 percent as of August 2012, gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 and industrial production was up by 4.9 percent in September 2012, according to the Department of Statistics. Though Malaysia enjoys a strong alternative media network, a vibrant NGO sector and a robust opposition – the three ingredients necessary to topple a ruling government – Gan believes that BN will win on account of their huge state machinery and state funds – the government's television and radio networks, along with the government-controlled mainstream newspapers, have a huge influence on Malay rural voters who form the backbone of the electorate. And though the opposition has been targeting young voters, the recent nationwide university elections don't augur well. According to Star, Pro-Aspirasi, a group widely seen to be pro-establishment and pro-government, "won big" in elections at 8 out of 15 public universities on Sep. 25.
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| Perak PAS wants clarification from Nurul Izzah Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:01 PM PST
(The Star) - Perak PAS has shied away from announcing its support for embattled PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is alleged to have uttered words perceived as advocating religious freedom for Muslims. State PAS commissioner Abu Bakar Hussain said they were still waiting for a clarification over the matter from the Lembah Pantai MP before issuing a statement on it. "We want to hear it from her first. "We have yet to receive any statements from Nurul Izzah and we hope to get an explanation from her soon," he told journalists during a press conference on Monday. Abu Bakar, however, believed that Nurul Izzah's words might have been manipulated by certain quarters out to tarnish her reputation. "I don't think she meant anything like that. "When people dislike (her), they will have different interpretation of her statement," Abu Bakar said. "Certain quarters want to pit the Pakatan Rakyat parties against each other and to create tension between us," he added.
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| Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:09 PM PST
KTEMOC KONSIDERS Aiyah, you guys have been hopelessly unable to read into my (admittedly) cryptic short posts. Okay lah I give up, and am am back to a tng k'ooi (chong hei) long winded one, wakakaka.
Josh Hong is one of my fave columnists at Malaysiakini. I've been following his articles for several years, enjoying his generally astute grasp of international politics. However, I have not blindly agreed with everything he wrote. For example, in January 2005 I disagreed with some points in one of his MKINI articles Chinese racism - not quite in a nutshell. In that very well written article, while I agreed/agree with his observations that some Chinese have what I termed as a boorish 'Middle-Kingdom' mentality, I believed (still do) that he was incorrect in querying (surprised?) that China's humiliation at the hands of western powers in the 19th Century did not affect the Chinese perception of their grandiose civilization, which according to Hong's line of argument, perhaps might not have been so grandiose after all .
In a letter to MKINI I stated my disagreement with Josh's contention on the following points: An English anthropologist, Edward Burnett Tylor, described 'civilization' as synonymous to 'culture', which he termed as that complex whole including knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Also, UNESCO defines 'culture' similarly as a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs. Therefore, regardless of the fact that China was defeated pitifully in its military encounters with the western powers or a technologically more advanced Japan during World War II, the greater body of Chinese 'civilization' would remain largely intact as it must have, …
… though of course like all values and norms that come into contact with foreign culture, they would evolve naturally to eventually change the greater whole. Now, whether this [change] was fast or significant enough for Josh's liking remains subjective. However, what we may say with some certainty is that Chinese ego after a serious of military humiliations and foreign occupation would be considerably dented, but a crushed conceit or flattened arrogance would be quite different to their awareness/perception of their magnificent 5000-year old civilization.
The Chinese would in all probability be banging their head hard against the walls, lamenting wailfully how in the f*, given their great civilization and thus supposed 'superiority', they had come to be so defeated ... and not surprisingly, might have even blamed it all on that nebulous feng shui thingy, wakakaka.
If we look at the great civilizations of Greece, Rome and Egypt, which in turn were invaded and severely defeated by other nations or even nomadic hordes through the ages, the depth, durability and indeed grandiosity of their civilizations have never been in question, and exist till today (through assimilation) in the civilizations of modern European and American nations. Indeed Western philosophy, politics, culture, arts, and science can trace their origins to Greece while we know that western laws draw heavily from Roman law, even preserving many of its Latin terms. While Rome had considered Greece as its model, the latter in turn viewed Egypt as their spiritual and cultural example.
I had (then) stated that Josh might have been confused between Chinese civilization and Chinese pride. While the latter is influenced by the former, the former is not necessarily by the latter. Thus the former would remain intact even if the latter might have been dented. Now, whether one should consider Chinese civilization as grandiose would be also another subjective issue, but in this regard I believe there is already virtually universal acceptance (especially in learned/academic circles) it has been so. However, as an associated item of interest (related to another of Josh's remarks), the Japanese, who denigrated the Chinese shockingly as sub-humans (as the Nazis had termed the Jews, and the Israelis had termed the Palestinians), had no compunction about adopting the Chinese language as its own. It is suggested that half the Japanese vocabulary are of Chinese origin. Even the name Japan or Nihon consists of 2 Chinese characters.
A curious trivia in the shared language has been the Japanese adopting or inheriting the Chinese's superstition in the utterance of the word '4', pronounced as sì in both languages (in the 4th tone in Chinese), a taboo-word on auspicious occasion. According to the Chinese dictionary, there are 15 different words pronounced as si of which 9 are in the 1st tone, 1 in the 3rdth tone. Because the one in the 3rd tone, which means 'die' or 'death', is almost similar in pronunciation to the word '4' (4th tone), its utterance is studiously avoided during auspicious occasions like weddings, birthdays, New Year period (15 days), etc. tone and five in the 4. But the Japanese easily and cleverly avoid the taboo by resorting to an indigenous Japanese word for '4', namely yon. But nonetheless the avoidance indicates the Japanese inheriting Chinese belief (culture).
Thus Japanese culture borrowed heavily from and adopted Chinese culture. Another interesting item is that the Japanese monarchy continues until today the tradition of having a Chinese name for a newborn baby. Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako named their daughter with a Chinese name, Aiko. Most Chinese would recognize the words Ai and ko.
This practice stems from medieval times when the refined Chinese language was largely (and only) spoken by Japanese royalty, nobility and the cultured. Josh had an interesting theory on why Chinese harbour a latent and seldom discussed animosity towards the Japanese – he believes the Chinese detested and still detest the Japanese because they couldn't accept being beaten by a barbarian race of dwarfs. Well, I didn't agree with his way out theory because matey, being brutalized, raped, tortured and massacred by the Japanese during the last war were terrible and hateful enough without worrying about Chinese-Japanese comparative culture or the enemy's anatomical measurement.
I then riposted with my theory as to why the Japanese were unusually feral with the Chinese, calling them sub-humans and showing no bounds to their bloody barbaric brutal savagery, horrendously demonstrated in the most primitive genocidal fashion in Nanjing – the Japanese could not accept being culturally beholden to the 'weak man' of East Asia, thus they strove to erase completely from their consciousness and physical presence this reminder of their embarrassing cultural womb. The Japanese atrocities merely demonstrate that while Chinese racism is real and regrettable it is not unique. Now, why have I brought out more than 7-year old response to Josh's earlier article today? I want to disagree again with a few points in Josh's latest article in Malaysiakini 'Daughter of a strongman'. Josh wrote about Park Geun-hye, the daughter of daughter of Park Chung-hee, the military strongman who oversaw the most spectacular transformation of an economic backwater into an industrial powerhouse in the 1960s through the 1970s. Ms Park aspires to be President of Korea but when confronted with revelations of corruption by her aides, she saw her initially comfortable lead in the presidential race chipped off, and was (as Josh wrote) "… forced into a corner, she had no option but to publicly apologise for all the wrongdoings committed by the state during her father's economically miraculous but politically oppressive rule."
Josh was obviously attempting to draw a parallel between Ms Park and Marina Mahathir – namely, daughter of strong powerful father who ruled their respective nation with a strong hand and had forcefully dragged their societies into the 21st Century. Park has apologized for her father's oppressive rule, why hasn't Marina? In encapsulating the essence of his article with the sub-title 'Mahathir at the centre of Malaysian malaise', Josh queried Marina: In her recent interview in Singapore, Marina Mahathir talked candidly about what she considers has gone wrong in Malaysia: the education system, censorship, money politics and the resort to sex in the political scene. I am certain her views as such echo Malaysian public sentiments, but in choosing to downplay her father's influence in her position today, I cannot help regretting that she is still not facing up to the realities. I'm not aware that Marina had "downplay her father's influence" or that "she is not facing up to realities".
I'm disappointed with Josh for wanting an Asian child to publicly criticize her (or his) parents, especially as Josh was educated in the Chinese medium which includes Confucian teachings. For a start, Marina cannot be equated to Park Geun-hye. Marina is NOT a politician nor is seeking political office, whilst the latter is and thus found it politically expedient to do so. Josh also wrote: Hence, how can Marina Mahathir simply dismiss her father's political impact on the nation by saying "often people made me feel I had to be responsible for everything he did", and "sometimes I became the surrogate for criticism"? Pray tell me how or where in those words quoted from her, has she dismissed her father's political impact on the nation? My dear Josh, your argument/logic has gone off cocked. Marina was just saying how or why should she have a need to explain or apologize for any unhappiness/dissatisfaction towards her dad, or for that matter, feel any responsibility for his actions?
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| Rush for ‘who-wants-to-be-a-candidate’ Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:03 PM PST The highly popular 'who wants to be a millionaire' television concept has taken a political twist in Sabah. Thomas PI, FMT Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, the younger brother of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, once said something about "lucrative positions" in the Cabinet. He was naively confirming what many surmised. So it is hardly surprising that scores of Sabahans want to be contestants in the upcoming 13th general election and some may even be forgiven for considering a new group as organisers of Sabah's version of "who wants to be a millionaire" with an election slant. Days after announcing its formation, the "Sabah Independent Candidates Sponsorship Body" has received 30 applications by wannabe electoral candidates in the upcoming 13th general election. Co-founder and chairman of the body, Abdul Kadir Tahir who launched the organisation to act like a party to help provide voters not satisfied with the usual field of candidates, a third choice, said he was happy with the surge of interest. He told reporters here that the applicants were from Pensiangan, Keningau, Pitas, Beaufort and Kuala Penyu as well as one who wants to contest both state and parliamentary constituency seats in an interior district. He described the response from the interior and west coast areas of the state as "very encouraging" and said a second meeting would be held here soon to decide on the organisation's committee line-up as well as to screen all the independent applicants seeking their help. Part of the mechanishm to measure applicants' suitability for being candidates is their views on eradicating hardcore poverty, reducing crime, corruption and malpractices within the government. "We want well educated, credible and trustworthy persons to be our independent candidates… we need to know their motives behind offering themselves to be candidates first before we can proceed to the final decision on who will become our candidates," he said. Abdul Kadir, an ex-liaison officer to former Silam MP Samsu Baharom Abdul Rahman, said the organisation's intention is to place its independent candidates in all 60 state and 25 parliamentary constituencies in Sabah, but a final decision would be made after the parliament is dissolved. According to him, the body was formed to strike a balance between the mighty Barisan National and opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalitions. It will help its candidates by providing "advice to them in upholding the interest of the people". "After one-and-a-half years of watching the political situation in our country we feel there is a need to provide a third force in the elections. "With the emphasis on clean and healthy politics, this body can play its role in assisting the new government rule after the elections," he said. Abdul Kadir, who declined to name the people backing his organisation, said the backers believe almost half of the voters in Sabah are still uncertain who they will support, thus giving independent candidates' a chance.
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| Mat Zain: Najib guna nama berbeza dalam afidavit Posted: 11 Nov 2012 02:59 PM PST Beliau berkata, afidavit yang berbeza memungkinkan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) menolak pencalonan beliau dalam pilihan raya umum ke 13. (FMT) - Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim mendakwa Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menggunakan dua nama berbeza dalam afidavitnya. Beliau berkata, afidavit yang berbeza memungkinkan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) menolak pencalonan beliau dalam pilihan raya umum ke 13. Mat Zain merujuk kepada afidavit yang diikrarkan Najib pada 21 dan 23 September 2011 dan juga oleh isterinya, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor pada 21 September 2011, ketika memohon mahkamah mengenepikan sapina untuk memberi keterangan dalam kes sodomi II. Katanya, semasa mengangkat sumpah jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri ke 6 di hadapan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong pada 3 April 2009 dengan melafazkan "Wallahi,Wabillahi,Watallahi, Najib secara jelas dan lantang menyebut nama beliau sebagai Muhammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak . Bagaimanapun, katanya, pada 21 dan 23 September 2011, sewaktu mengikrarkan nama beliau di hadapan seorang Pesuruhjaya Sumpah, Najib telah mengistiharkan nama penuh beliau dalam afidavit-afidavit berkenaan sebagai Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak sahaja. Manakala Rosmah dalam affidavit berasingan bertarikh 21 September 2011 yang diikrarkan di hadapan Pesuruhjaya Sumpah yang sama,memberikan nama suami beliau, sebagai Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak. "Fakta yang jelas di sini ialah nama Muhammad telah digugurkan daripada menjadi sebahagian daripada nama Najib secara bersumpah oleh kedua-dua PM dan isteri beliau, seperti yang terdapat dalam afidavit masing-masing. "Memberikan nama penuh dan betul apabila mengikrarkan sesuatu afidavit adalah keperluan undang-undang.," kata beliau dalam suratnya kepada Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Ismail Omar dan salinannya kepada Najib. Mat Zain merujuk kes bekas pembaca berita RTM, Sharma Kumari Shukla yang pernah dijatuhkan hukuman penjara enam tahun kerana kesalahan membuat dua afidavit berasingan yang berkisar di antara Sharma Kumari dan Sharma Kumari Shukla. Beliau meminta Ismail membuat semakan mengenai perkara "Afidavit YAB PM:Membongkar kelemahan diri sendiri" yang disalinkan juga kepada Menteri Dalam Negeri. Turut dilampirkan dalam surat tersebut ialah salinan afidavit Najib. Beri pertimbangan ikut undang-undang "Selain itu saya sarankan Tan Sri melihat rencana saya yang disiarkan sepenuhnya oleh Malaysiakini pada 10 Disember 2011 atas tajuk "Najib's name game may cost him GE nomination". "Susulan itu satu lagi rencana yang disiarkan oleh beberapa blog khasnya blog Lim Kit Siang pada 20 Disember 2011 bertajuk , "Election Commission gets rid of candidate objection period :A pre-emptive move to save PM Najib?." kata Mat Zain lagi. Beliau juga menegaskan jika terdapat bantahan daripada mana-mana pihak, sama ada bakal calon atau individu persaorangan terhadap pencalonan Najib, untuk bertanding bagi kerusi mana pun dalam PRU 13 dengan mengemukakan perbezaan nama penuh Perdana Menteri yang beliau ikrarkan dalam afidavit-afidavit dengan nama yang beliau lafazkan ketika mengangkat sumpah Perdana Menteri Ke-6, SPR terpaksa memberi pertimbangan mengikut undang-undang bersangkutan dengan kecelaruan nama Najib itu. Setakat yang diketahuinya, SPR tidak mempunyai hak atau kuasa untuk membatalkan sesuatu afidavit yang telah dikemukakan dan diterima oleh Mahkamah Tinggi atau kuasa untuk memutuskan sama ada afidavit berkenaan palsu atau tidak. "Dalam keadaan yang ada sekarang, SPR terpaksa menolak pencalonan Najib untuk bertanding dalam PRU akan datang, sama ada PM menggunakan nama Mohd.Najib atau pun nama Najib. "Tanggungjawab untuk menyelesaikan kecelaruan ini dengan pihak Istana Negara,Kerajaan dan Mahkamah serta menjelaskan isu kecelaruan ini kepada seluruh rakyat, terletak di atas bahu Najib sendiri dan isteri beliau. "Pembikinan afidavit-afidavit berkenaan yang mencetuskan kekeliruan ini adalah urusan persendirian dan kerelaan mereka suami isteri," kata Mat Zain. Bekas pegawai kanan polis itu berkata, Najib sepatutnya bersyukur dan berterima kasih, kerana isu pertandingan merebut kerusi Parlimen Pekan ditimbulkan sekarang. Sekiranya isu ini tambah beliau dibangkitkan selepas Parlimen di-bubarkan atau pada hari penamaan calon, maka Najib mungkin tidak ada masa untuk membuat pembetulan kepada afidavit beliau.
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| Presiden UMNO sendiri pernah berkata "Allow Muslims to convert if they choose to".. Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:27 PM PST Anak Sungai Derhaka Utusan Malaysia ataupun Lidah Rasmi UMNO berhempas pulas memutarbelitkan kenyataan Nurul Izzah Anwar. Ia berdasarkan soalan yang diajukan oleh Siti Kasim, seorang yang dilaporlan penganut Kristian berketurunan Orang Asli berhubung ayat suci Al Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 256 berhubung konsep 'Tidak ada paksaan dalam agama (Islam)….' Question: "When you speak about freedom of religion, are you actually applying to the Malays as well? Thanks." Read more at: http://darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com/2012/11/kata-pak-lah-pada-tahun-2007-allow.html#more
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A file picture showing the 80m stretch of a hillslope at Taman Sierra which collapsed in 2009 causing a massive landslide along the old trunk road near Templer's Park.
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