Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Man arrested for flashing obscene hand gesture at Queen
- Aren’t Malaysians weird?
- Mat Sabu: 'Arab Spring' mungkin berlaku jika PRU13 diseleweng
- Rep: Selangor Government abusing its powers
- Karpal tetap mahu Anwar menjadi perdana menteri
- Reclaiming Reason (part 1)
- Pakatan’s seat tussle a boon for Sabah BN
- Dr Pornthip says no to Sugumaran autopsy for ‘personal reasons’, say lawyers
| Man arrested for flashing obscene hand gesture at Queen Posted: 11 Feb 2013 06:38 PM PST A Penang-based NGO lodged a report urging the police to immediately probe the case. Athi Shankar, FMT A Malaysian working in Singapore was detained for allegedly showing an obscene gesture at the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah at the Bayan Lepas International Airport here yesterday. The incident happened at about 12 noon when the Queen, who arrived here on a private visit, was leaving the airport in a car. The suspect allegedly showed his middle finger in the direction of the car. The suspect has been identified as Leong Pei Koe, 29. It is learnt that a member of the Queen's bodyguards saw the alleged gesture and immediately detained Leong. He was handed over to the airport police station before being taken to the south-west district police headquarters for further questioning. Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi confirmed the arrest, saying the case was being investigated under Section 294 of the Penal Code for lewd activity in public. Leong, who holds a science degree from a Scottish university, will be remanded until Feb 14 to assist in the investigation. Initial police probe revealed that Leong has been working as a factory supervisor in Singapore and has a Singaporean Permanent Residence status. He arrived in Penang late last week to join his family in Sungai Pinang for the Chinese New Year celebration. However, he allegedly cut short his holiday and left in a hurry for the airport to catch a flight to Singapore yesterday after a quarrel with his father. The Queen was earlier welcomed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, his wife Betty Chew Gek Cheng, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Halim Hussain, and other officials. Meanwhile, a Penang-based NGO, Pertubuhan Merong Wangsa Malaysia, has lodged a report urging the police to immediately probe the case. Association president Azhar Abdul Majid lodged the report at Balik Pulau police station at 12.40pm today. Azhar told a press conference in Teluk Kumbar that the incident was unpleasant and should not have happened in a multi-racial country like Malaysia. "Such incidents can cause racial tensions. It should be avoided at all costs," he said, calling on the police to charge the suspect in accordance with the law. "We want him to be fittingly punished," he said. Meanwhile, Leong has now emerged as a pin-up hate figure on social network, the Facebook. He is being criticised roundly for allegedly showing the obscene gesture. Leong is said to be a DAP supporter and some critics suggested that he should be banished from the country.
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| Posted: 11 Feb 2013 05:44 PM PST
Do you know that I happened to be in Canberra, Australia, at the same time that Najib was in town and I was invited to the official lunch in honour of Malaysia's Prime Minister? I politely declined the invitation and explained to Senator Nick Xenophon that if I attended that lunch it would mean I support Najib since the lunch was in his honour. You should have seen the smiles on the faces of the SABM Australia lads who agreed that by attending the lunch this would mean I am 'endorsing' Najib. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin I wrote 'Sanggang - the BA's wake-up call' (READ HERE) 13 years ago back in April 2000. In March 2004, I wrote 'Crowds don't translate to votes' (READ HERE). Basically, these articles were about the fallacy that if there is a huge crowd at your function or event then this means these people support you. I have been trying to tell the opposition this for more than a decade and it appears that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has discovered this over the weekend. The huge crowd at the Chinese New Year gathering cum PSY concert in Penang cannot be translated to a show of support for Barisan Nasional. The crowd was there for a free concert, not to support Barisan Nasional. This is the nature of Malaysians. If there is a free meal they will be there in hordes even if they hate you. I personally saw thousands of people at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Hari Raya open house in 2006 -- many of them, in fact, non-Malays. And some even brought bags and plastic containers to tapau the food, the Chinese equivalent of a doggie bag. It was actually most embarrassing and I saw that Dr Mahathir pretended he did not notice this was happening (my wife, Marina, shook her head in disgust). But how can you not notice your guests emptying the tables and pouring the food into bags and plastic containers? Were they there because they loved Dr Mahathir or were they there because they wanted to plunder the table and bring enough food home for a whole week? And the Chinese New Year concert in Penang is yet another demonstration that Malaysians can hate you but they will come to your party as long as it is free and they need not pay anything. If fact, even if they need to pay they will do so. And that is why it is very difficult to get Malaysians to stop patronising the gaming outlets or to stop buying fast food, etc. (even though gambling and fast food are bad for you). They will scream about all sorts of things and then they will give their business to businesses owned by Barisan Nasional cronies and financiers. As much as we tell them that by making these people rich they are also making Barisan Nasional rich these people refuse to listen. And this is one thing that is most puzzling about Malaysians. They say one thing but they do the opposite of what they say. They scream about corruption and about why we need change and then they will suap a policeman to avoid paying a fine for a traffic offence. They will scream about how bad the government is and why Malaysia needs change and then they will absorb all the corrupted Barisan Nasional politicians into the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. Probably this is the way Malaysians have been brought up by their parents. For example, if I hated Najib I would never attend his Chinese New Year open house even if the food is free and Elton John was going to sing at that open house. I would vote with my feet. I would boycott the event on point of principle. I would never show support by attending his open house and then say that I hate him and am not there because of him. The funny thing is, these people who hate Najib and yet attend his Chinese New Year open house are the same people who accuse others of having no principles. Don't you find that hilarious? Apparently they do not understand what the word 'principles' means. And we are entrusting the future of the country in the hands of these people and are hoping that they will make the right choices and do the right things. I think we need at least 30 years or more before we can reach the stage where Malaysians can walk the talk and practice what they preach. There were some comments posted today by those who do not like what I write that said I have lost their respect. Honestly, do you think I am so concerned about the respect of people who do not respect themselves by attending a Chinese New Year party of someone they hate? Do you know that I happened to be in Canberra, Australia, at the same time that Najib was in town and I was invited to the official lunch in honour of Malaysia's Prime Minister? I politely declined the invitation and explained to Senator Nick Xenophon that if I attended that lunch it would mean I support Najib since the lunch was in his honour. You should have seen the smiles on the faces of the SABM Australia lads who agreed that by attending the lunch this would mean I am 'endorsing' Najib. (I met the Senator to ask him to support Bersih, which he did. He actually went to Kuala Lumpur during the Bersih march to show support and the Malaysian government was pissed big-time). But then that is me and I look at things differently compared to most Malaysians who can hate you and then come to your party. If everyone thought like me then there would have been a Chinese New Year party with no crowd and Najib would really have been embarrassed. Now Umno can always say that that video recording (of the crowd screaming 'no!') was doctored like the ones of Anwar Ibrahim and Azmin Ali (don't we always scream that videos are doctored?). |
| Mat Sabu: 'Arab Spring' mungkin berlaku jika PRU13 diseleweng Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:42 PM PST
(Sinar Harian) - Timbalan Presiden Pas, Mohamad Sabu menegaskan, 'Arab Spring' hanya akan berlaku di negara ini jika pilihan raya umum dicemari dengan penipuan pihak-pihak berkepentingan sehingga menimbulkan kemarahan rakyat. Katanya, keadaan itu tidak mungkin berlaku hanya kerana mana-mana parti politik yang bertanding itu tewas dan tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan pilihan raya.
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| Rep: Selangor Government abusing its powers Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:05 PM PST
(Bernama) - The Selangor Government's move to freeze Syabas' capital expenditure from 2008 until now is an abuse of power, says Permatang assemblyman Sulaiman Abdul Razak. He said the state government took no responsibility when Selangor faced a water supply crisis and denied the company from seeking funds from internal or external sources such as commercial banks. However, when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced a RM120mil allocation to overcome water supply problems in Selangor recently, it was criticised as a bail-out to save a crony company. "Why didn't the state government extend any assistance in dealing with the Selangor water crisis? They only talk, criticise and dish out allegations about the Federal Government and Syabas but don't help in any way," he said. Sulaiman clarified that Syabas was only a company that distributed treated water bought from companies which processed raw water, and it was up to the state government to ensure the processed water supplied to residents in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya was sufficient. "I don't see why they are making the RM120mil allocation an issue when they have not contributed anything to overcome the water problems in Selangor," he said. He urged Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to take some responsibility for the water crisis by retracting the freeze on capital expenditure to allow Syabas to operate without political interference. When asked to give an example of the abuse, Sulaiman said Syabas should have already replaced 2,000km of old pipes to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) as stated in its concession agreement, but only 800km were replaced following the freeze.
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| Karpal tetap mahu Anwar menjadi perdana menteri Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:59 PM PST
(Bernama) - Pengerusi DAP Karpal Singh sekali lagi menegaskan ketua pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan menjadi perdana menteri jika pembangkang berjaya menawan Putrajaya dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13). Beliau menyifatkan dakwaan kononnya Majlis Syura Ulama PAS menolak Anwar bagi menduduki jawatan berkenaan sebagai satu spekulasi. "Pilihan DAP adalah Anwar Ibrahim dan saya fikir pilihan ini akhirnya akan disokong PAS dan PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) kerana Anwar Ibrahim paling layak," katanya pada sidang akhbar di sini hari ini. Baru-baru ini, akhbar melaporkan Majlis Syura Ulama PAS menolak Anwar dilantik sebagai perdana menteri jika pakatan pembangkang menang dalam PRU-13 dan berkemungkinan melantik seorang pemimpin dari luar pakatan pembangkang. Menurut laporan itu, Anggota Parlimen Bayan Baru Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim mendakwa rakan-rakannya dalam PAS memberitahu penolakan Majlis Syura Ulama PAS terhadap Anwar semakin kuat.
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| Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:44 PM PST
Art Harun A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and spoke about various aspects of Islam with a well- known ulamak in Malaysia. One particular topic of our conversation would always replay itself in my head. I asked him of his opinion on the practice by some Muslims in Malaysia who brush their teeth using a piece of wood which was apparently used by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to clean his teeth. The Malays call this wood "kayu sugi." He smiled and asked me, "What is important to you, usage of the wood or the cleanliness of your teeth?" Without waiting for a reply from me, he continued, "if the usage of the wood is important to you, you use the wood and if the cleanliness of your teeth is important, you use Coldgate, as do I." He smiled. It got me thinking. Have the Muslims misunderstood the sunnah (the Prophet's acts and sayings – the sayings are known as "hadiths" -, all of which are otherwise known as the "tradition")? If for example, we have a sunnah that the Prophet loved to ride horses and learned how to use bow and arrow, what is the real lesson which we could derive from it? Is it that the Muslims should emulate the Prophet by learning how to ride horses and use the bow and arrow or is it that Muslims should stay healthy by leading an active life and perhaps in the process also learn the art of self-defence? In a speech delivered at the Islamic Information Service's Outreach Award ceremony, on 3rd October 1998 in Beverly Hills, Sheikh Zaki Ahmad Yamani, posits: "But back to how we apply Islamic Law in a modern society, a Muslim society? It's an important issue because first we have to distinguish between Al-Sharia and Al-Fiqh al Islami - Islamic Law and Islamic Jurisprudence. Al-Sharia or Islamic Law, it's what written in the Quran or in the Sunnah. This is obligatory, so to speak. The other part, Al-Fiqh al Islami, is a huge volume of legal opinion (sic)….. In Saudi Arabia they apply Hanbli (sic), In Iran they apply Jafri, in Yemen they apply a blend of Zaidi and Shafa'i. And so on. That is not really the Islamic Law. What we applied 10 centuries ago or 15 centuries ago it cannot be really applied today at a time when camel was the only means of transportation." Judging from current trend in Malaysia, where adherence to the strict and almost literal meaning of the sunnahs is the norm, Sheikh Zaki's statement above is astounding, to say the least. Some people may even argue that it is heresy. Effectively, what the good Sheikh was saying is the various schools of thought and what they represent is not really Islamic Law. Thus it is not obligatory or mandatory for contemporary Muslims to subscribe a slavish adherence to the various principles which those schools propound. Sheikh Zaki is not alone in his thinking. Contemporary Muslim jurists, such as Tariq Ramadhan has often made a case for a complete re-look and re-thinking of Syariah (Islamic code laws). Tariq Ramadhan has even gone as far as suggesting that the Muslim world should suspend the application of hudud laws until such time when a complete Islamic social justice is attained in Islamdom thereby laying a fair path for a thorough Syariah application. Islamic history would show that in a period of almost unsurpassed intellectualism in medieval Islam (using the word "medieval" to describe this period is almost unfair as the intellectual expression of this era was anything but medieval), there were various schools of thought called the Rationalists which pursued a rationale and reasoned methodology of interpreting and applying Islamic laws. Against them were of course the Traditionists, who insisted on strict and almost literal application of the tradition and the Quran, thereby reducing Islam into a one dimensional legal code instead of a dynamic "ad-deen" (way of life) for which the Quran lays the foundation.
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| Pakatan’s seat tussle a boon for Sabah BN Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:36 PM PST
Mohd Farhan Darwis, The Malaysian Insider Barisan Nasional (BN) will profit from the current seat scramble between Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Sabah's opposition parties to win the next polls, state BN leaders have said. Sabah BN leaders told The Malaysian Insider that they hope to fully use the advantage from altercations between federal PR leadership and parties such as Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Sabah Reform Front (APS) and Pertubuhan Pakatan Perubahan Sabah (PPPS). "We do have an advantage ... but (BN) will take a look-and-see approach," Sabah BN secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (picture) said here. Silam MP Salleh Kalbi agreed with Abdul Rahman, and explained that the scramble is similar to what happened with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) in the past. "Obviously, the alliance did not last long," he added. PBS information chief Datuk Johnny Mositun stressed that the discussions between PR and the component parties were clearly lopsided, considering SAPP was only given a small number of seats. "The discussions have been going on for so long without a conclusion ... I think SAPP's leadership can see for themselves, they might end up with the same fate as PBS before," he said. Mositun explained that PBS has also organised a number of seat talks with PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah, but its demands have largely been ignored. Abdul Rahman pointed out that it has been common for PKR to demand the lion's share of seats, despite failing to win any. "We see this happening in Sarawak elections too, where they contested 49 out of 71 seats, but they could win only three," said the Kota Belud MP. He also predicted that PR will lose most of its contested seats, in particular around 33 to 34 seats in Muslim Bumiputera-majority areas. Mositun was convinced that the seat allocation issue will shift Sabahans' support to BN, since it has been proven that BN component parties can sit together and work their differences out. "With these problems, (PR) is not showing a good example that they can govern the country, whatever that they have been doing was strictly political for the general elections," he declared. Last week, The Malaysian Insider reported that PR's seat talks with the SAPP have come to a temporary halt in yet another indicator that it may be a fractured opposition front that will face BN in Election 2013.
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| Dr Pornthip says no to Sugumaran autopsy for ‘personal reasons’, say lawyers Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:29 PM PST Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider In a sudden turn of events, Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand today declined the invitation by PKR lawyers to perform a second autopsy on C. Sugumaran, the security guard who recently died allegedly due to police brutality. According to lawyer N. Surendran, the famed director of Thailand's Central Institute of Forensic Science emailed him earlier today to say that she was "unable to do the autopsy for personal reasons". Dr Pornthip's (picture) sudden about-turn came just shortly after PKR lawyers emailed a press statement to media organisations here, saying the Serdang Hospital has finally agreed to the autopsy and Dr Pornthip's team is due to arrive in Malaysia on February 20. "But now, Sugumaran's family will have to look for other alternatives," Surendran said. In his earlier joint media statement with fellow PKR lawyer Latheefa Koya, the duo had said that due to public pressure, the Serdang Hospital had agreed to the second autopsy and would even ensure all necessary equipment and facilities would be available. Earlier, the health authorities had agreed to the second autopsy, despite insisting earlier that there must be a written permission from the police or a court order. When contacted, the police had then declined to say if they would give permission. Dr Pornthip is the same forensic pathologist who observed Teoh Beng Hock's second post-mortem and testified at a royal inquiry that foul play was likely involved in the DAP aide's mysterious death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's Selangor headquarters in 2009. She is well known in Thailand for clashing with the authorities, especially for alleging police killings during then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's anti-drug campaign in 2003. Surendran had earlier confirmed that Dr Pornthip had agreed to perform a second post-mortem on Sugumaran. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has ordered a forensic report on Sugumaran after the latter's death was raised at a Cabinet meeting. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was directed to oversee the forensic report after MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, had raised the security guard's death during the Cabinet meeting. Several witnesses who saw Sugumaran collapse on a street near his home in Batu 12, Hulu Langat on January 23 have accused the policemen who arrested him of beating up the man, together with the help of a mob, after he was handcuffed.
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