Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Petra: Blame Mahathir all you want, but look yourselves in the mirror
- PM: Non-Malays okay with fair affirmative action
- Najib: Social media a double-edged sword for Umno
- Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on
- PAS: Friday sermon an attempt to spread religious hatred
- Allah stand: PAS grassroots unhappy
| Petra: Blame Mahathir all you want, but look yourselves in the mirror Posted: 25 Jan 2013 05:41 PM PST
(Harakah) - Prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (pic) has chided Malaysians for being more quick in pointing fingers when things go wrong in the country, and urged them to see how they contributed to the current mess by voting in Barisan Nasional without fail. "You want to blame (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) for your stupidity. You do not want to admit that it is you who are stupid. So you blame BTN. You blame UMNO. You blame the mainstream media. You blame PAS. You blame the Islamic State. You blame Hudud. You blame the fact that Dr Mahathir has Indian blood in him. You blame the fact there was no Internet. You blame your parents who did not know any better.
|
| PM: Non-Malays okay with fair affirmative action Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:27 PM PST
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Non-Malays do not oppose pro-Bumiputera affirmative action as long as it is fair and transparent, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday. The prime minister also said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland yesterday that the government was moving towards an affirmative action policy on the basis of needs instead of race. "By and large, the non-Malays in Malaysia, non-Bumiputeras in Malaysia don't actually oppose affirmative action," said Najib at an interview with CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria at the WEF yesterday. "But what they want to be seen, is the way you implement the policy (that) should be done in a more transparent and fairer way. And what they deserve as Malaysians, the non-Bumiputeras, they should also get what they deserve," he said at the forum that saw the participation of some 3,000 international leaders from government, business, civil society and media. Najib pointed out that entry to universities was now based on merit. "That has increased the percentage of Chinese Malaysians into universities. But interestingly, the Malaysian Indians have fared badly. So they want a quota system. "Because (in) the previous system, they got 7 per cent, but now, it's down to 3 per cent. But that goes to show that it's based on merit," said Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional chairman. Asked about government contracts, Najib said: "But even government contracts, quite a bit of it is based on open bidding. Some of it, of course, there's some preference for Bumiputera." As the 13th general election draws near, Najib said last week that the best way to protect Malay and Bumiputera interest was to expand the economic pie and ensure equal distribution of wealth by merit. He stressed that non-Malays could accept merit-based wealth distribution and called for an end to the rent-seeking culture.
|
| Najib: Social media a double-edged sword for Umno Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:18 PM PST
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Social media is both a boon and a bane for Umno as it caused Barisan Nasional (BN) to lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday. The prime minister told CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland yesterday that voters were getting more educated and critical. "I see the advent of ICT, social media as both something good, but also our bane. Could be our Achilles heel as well," said Najib in the interview with Fareed. "We need to realise that people are not going to give their vote to you based on how much you've done in the past," he added. Najib and his delegation are at the annual international forum that saw the participation of some 3,000 leaders from all around the world, including heads of state, as well as business, civil society, spiritual and media leaders. "Nobody can deny the fact that Umno and Barisan Nasional, we're the people who fought for independence. We're the people who developed the country. "But people today are saying that's in the past," the prime minister said. BN lost two-thirds parliamentary majority in the historic 2008 general elections that saw four states - Perak, Penang, Kedah and Selangor - falling to the loose coalition of PAS, PKR and DAP, that later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Najib stressed that voters at the coming 13th general election were more concerned with what the government could do for them in future. "That's important for us to realise, that the level of expectation has increased by leaps and bounds," said Najib, who is also the BN chairman. There are currently about 13.6 million Facebook users in Malaysia out of a 28.3 million-strong population, which is a 48 per cent penetration of the population, according to monitoring website socialbakers.com. A total of 29 per cent of Facebook users in Malaysia are aged between 25 and 34 years.
|
| Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:12 PM PST
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Local clergymen are unhappy that federal Islamic authorities appear to be bent on "waging a war" between the country's Muslims and Christians over the protracted dispute on non-Muslims' usage of "Allah" to refer to their God. When contacted for their response to yesterday's Friday sermon by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), church leaders sighed in disappointment that the religious authority was so blatantly inciting suspicion and intolerance between the two most dominant religions here. But they refrained from condemning Jakim, noting that the authority reserved the right to preach to all Islamic followers like how church leaders could preach to parisioners, adding that it was time to lay the matter to rest. "The emphasis is unfortunate, because all religious places should be teaching people to live in peace and harmony with others, instead of cultivating a culture of suspicion," said Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri (picture). Treading carefully, the leader said that religions should always foster togetherness and acceptance, and should prevent from creating a society of fanatics. "But that is all I can say at this point," he added. Catholic priest Rev Fr Simon Labrooy was more forward with hs words, asking if the individual or individuals who penned the sermon in Jakim had unity or division in his mind. He said it was not the Malaysian Muslims who were "waging a war" on the Christians, but suggested that it was the person who wrote the sermon who should be investigated for his intention. "Never that the Muslims are to blame for doing this. But who has the right to write this? He should be hauled up because it shows that in his mind, he is already inciting religious tension. "Next, we have already provided a lot of facts o why and how 'Allah' has been used by Christians... why do you want to commit yourself to a blatant lie like this? "How could you judge the Arab-speaking world, particularly the Christians who use 'Allah' there?" he said. When asked if Subang Jaya parisioners in his flock have been affected by the ongoing polemic or feel animosity towards Muslims, Labrooy said Christians are aware that the ordinary Muslim is not the one responsible for the dispute. "They (Muslims) too do not want tension or trouble... this is just the work of a few bad apples," he said. Our Lady of Lourdes Church parish priest Rev Fr Michael Chua said the latest Friday sermon would warrant another discussion among CFM members on whether they should issue another response to the issue. "This is not the first time... there have been many other occasions and we cannot be responding to every single thing. "Let us stick to our last stand on this issue... for the sake of not prolonging this," he said, referring to CFM's remarks on the threat by Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali to burn Malay language Bibles.
|
| PAS: Friday sermon an attempt to spread religious hatred Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:05 PM PST
Md Izwan, The Malaysian Insider Several PAS leaders have blasted Malaysia's Islamic authorities for allegedly stoking religious hatred during yesterday's Friday prayers for Muslim by calling labeling those who insist on using "Allah" to describe their God as "enemies of Islam". According to the few leaders contacted by The Malaysian Insider, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which had prepared the sermon, had failed to portray Islam as a religion od peace and understanding, and had instead shown intolerance. "Jakim's move was an attempt to incite the sentiment of hatred towards the Christians. "This attitude is inappropriate and irresponsible," Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said. In Jakim's Friday sermon yesterday, the religious authority had warned Muslims nationwide of attempts by "enemies of Islam" to confuse them into believing that all religions are the same. Muslims here were also told that being too open-minded and allowing Islamic rights to be abused by other religions was a "dangerous" act. "It is very clear that today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community's faith. "They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of 'Allah' in their scriptures," the sermon said. Jakim insisted that "Allah", a word that millions of Arab Christians and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God, belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam as it is clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused, doubtful and mistaken over the true identity of the Muslim God. Citing an unnamed academic research, Jakim said that the word "Allah" was never found in the Bible as God, to these users of the holy book, exists in the Trinity concept as "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The general term for the Holy Trinity, said the religious department, is "The Lord". As such, Jakim insisted that the National Fatwa Council's 2008 decision on the matter was accurate in stating that "Allah" cannot be used by those of other religions and cannot be likened to the Gods of others. The authority also warned that painful punishment would await disbelievers in the afterlife, noting that these "symptoms" if Islam's collapse would only destroy the glory and prestige of Muslims here. But Khalid said Jakim had not furnished proof to back its claims and was merely pointing fingers to drive a deeper wedge between the country's Muslims and Christians. "But why speak ill of the Christians, not all of them are bad. In fact, Islam is no advocate of this prejudiced behaviour to those of other faiths," he added. Instead, the lawmaker accused Jakim of being the reason why some Muslims are confused over their religious beliefs, arguing that the authority had failed to strengthen the faith of Muslims here. He said if Jakim believed that the faith of Muslim here has weakened, it should have used the sermon to differentiate between Islamic and Christian teachings, instead of condemning followers of the latter faith. PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub agreed with his party colleague's views, adding that JAKIM had become Barisan Nasional's (BN) tool to flare hatred at a time when religions tension was already at a high. "I'd like to ask, what is Jakim's role and responsibility when preaching to Muslims? "Jakim has become BN's tool... in fact, they had also twisted he statement made by the PAS Syura Council earlier this month," he added.
|
| Allah stand: PAS grassroots unhappy Posted: 25 Jan 2013 03:42 PM PST Anwar Ibrahim's stand on the matter, says a PAS man, shows how much regard the former has for the Islamic party's religious credentials. Hawkeye, FMT BUKIT MERTAJAM: PAS grassroots are getting disillusioned with Pakatan Rakyat over the opposition bloc's inability to resolve the issue of allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah, claims former Penang PAS Youth head Mohamed Hafiz Nordin. Alleging that he has come to represent the voice of the PAS grassroots here, Hafiz said many members are not coming out openly to express their anxieties out of respect for the party leadership. Nonetheless, they are expressing their grievances through him, Hafiz told a press conference. "PAS members including me are a discipline lot. I would never exit from PAS as my struggle is Islam. It is only that I am the outspoken kind and would not relent in speaking my mind. I am willing to represent the feelings of those who are unhappy in PAS," he added. He said the insistence from Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim that non-Muslims are allowed to use the word in Malay-language bibles runs contrary to the PAS Syura Council's stance on the matter. "It shows how much regard Anwar has for PAS' religious credentials. We are disappointed with his decision," he added. Secondly, DAP's lack of sensitivity towards PAS is another thing which has undermined the ties down the line in Pakatan, Hafiz said. He said there is no harm for Anwar to seek for the Pakatan leadership council to review their earlier stance that non-Muslims can use the word. It is also good for DAP to allow PAS to explain things, especially on how the council arrived at the decision to extol that it is best that non-Muslims refrained from using the word Allah. Hafiz said the grassroots members foremost loyalty is towards PAS, and not Pakatan, as their membership is based on Islam's struggle.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan