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PCA has all the characteristics of ISA!
Kebalkan kuasa politik Pribumi
Transformation: A sharp U-turn?
Citing unity, mufti wants Sabah’s Bumiputera Muslims made Malay
Chinese influx in Malaysia part of ‘southbound invasion’, says historian
The new face of terror
‘Fight extremism’
Why Najib hightails it to New York and such…

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 12:21 PM PDT

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and others of his ilk can blatantly claim that the PCA and the ISA are not the same but the characteristics of the PCA are based on denial and deception just like the ISA.

P. Ramakrishnan, Aliran Executive Committee Member

It is worrying and troubling that the BN government has chosen to return to the days of darkness and abuse.

This is what it means when the government tabled the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (PCA) on Wednesday, 23 September 2013.

On the one hand, the BN government had repealed the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and Internal Security Act (ISA) with the Prime Minister guaranteeing over national television that there would be no more preventive detention.

On the other hand, this hypocritical government is now tabling laws that will bring back with a vengeance the same detention without trial along with the ouster of the court's jurisdiction over this detention.

Instead of the Home Minister dishing out the detention order as was the practice in the past, now that infamous order will be imposed by a three-member Prevention of Crime Board for a period of two years. This can be renewed for further periods of two years in the interest of public order, public security or prevention of crime.

Whenever the government claims to act in the public interest, we have to take it with a pinch of salt. Inevitably, it has always meant to be in the interest of the ruling party to strengthen its grip on power and safeguard its position. It is the same ploy that they use to perpetuate their rule.

It doesn't mean that, when this board is headed by a judge from the High Court, Court of Appeal or Federal Court, justice will be assured or dispensed honestly or with integrity. We have witnessed some startling judgments by some of these very judges that made no sense – even though judges are meant to be the guardians of justice.

We have been thoroughly disillusioned by the judgments of the courts concerning the political controversies involving the Barisan Nasional government. The recent election petitions and the judicial ruling in the Perak state's shameful toppling of an elected government are cases that shattered our confidence in the judiciary.

Now, the question arises, who will be the other two members in the three-member board? Will they be some discredited politicians, who are usually rewarded with appointments to the Senate or as ambassadors – such appointments never fail to shock the nation into disbelief.

Like the ISA, the PCA provides for detention without trial. Like the ISA, this detention can be renewed after the expiry of the initial two-year term.

Like the ISA, a PCA detention cannot be challenged in a court of law. There is no judicial review even if the detention is wrong and is a product of bad faith. The Act specifically bars a judicial review of any of the board's actions or any judicial decision based on the board's discretionary powers.

A registered person and witnesses appearing before the board for the inquiry are denied access to counsel and legal representation. It is crucial that they be represented by their lawyers so that their human rights are protected. This would imply that the authorities are hell-bent on putting away people who are seen as a challenge to their authority.

It is totally unacceptable that a registered persons is also denied legal representation when he is quizzed in detention by the inquiry officer. It is no secret that people who are questioned in detention are treated savagely and without any regard for their rights.

It is appalling that the Act provides for the board, inquiry officers or any public servant to withhold information in the public interest or for the safety of a witness, family or associates. In other words, any false information can be accepted without being refuted or challenged. This is most unfair and unjust and can easily lead to manipulation and abuse.

It is no comfort that the Act has a provision for the Home Minister to submit an annual report on all activities related to detention orders to Parliament. What fate will such a report face in spite of this assurance?

We recall there was a similar provision in the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act – but how many times were Suhakam reports formally tabled in Parliament and debated? What was the outcome of these reports? Based on how Suhakam's reports were dealth with in Parliament, we have no faith that this similar provision in the PCA is meant to act as a check and balance against abuse.

There is little doubt that the PCA is politically motivated to curb the ascendancy of Pakatan Rakyat in Malaysian politics. It is the fear that it will be replaced in GE14 that is driving the BN to arm itself with this corrosive law to destroy the PR's chances and hold on to power at all costs.

Malaysians can see through this evil plot – you bet!

Kebalkan kuasa politik Pribumi

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:54 AM PDT

Suasana politik dalaman Umno kini, suka-duka, tidak menggalakkan muda-mudi mendekatinya. Umno harus bina suasana baru; yang dapat memujuk atau menarik generasi baru Melayu Islam dan Peribumi yang mahu menyertainya. Belajarlah daripada Tun Razak yang mengundang muda-mudi Melayu Islam berbakat menyertai Umno dan memberi mereka pula kepercayaan.

Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, Sinar Harian

Dalam politik, satu minggu pun lama maka meramalkan perkembangan politik, landskap siasah Melayu Islam jangka panjang, berpintal-pintal (tortuous), berbahaya; tidak bijak. Meski pun begitu saya cuba jadi seorang penilik Pakatan Baru dalam politik negara.

Lima puluh enam tahun semenjak merdeka, berbagai transformasi telah berlangsung. Ada yang baik seperti pendidikan tinggi bagi Melayu Islam dan Peribumi dan pembentukan Kelas Menengah dan Profesional Melayu Islam dan Peribumi.

Keburukannya pula pembasmian tulisan jawi, politik pakatan yang merugikan Melayu Islam; keruntuhan akhlak dan moral serta rasuah.

Apa pun tiada boleh dinafikan tegas Speaking: "the Malays and Peribumi have changed beyond recognition. Their earnings shot up after the New Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented, both in absolute terms, and relative to the non-Malays."

Satu hakikat Melayu Islam dan Peribumi telah mencapai kemajuan walaupun masih banyak lagi isu menanti penyelesaian bagi menjamin kuasa mereka berterusan tanpa diungkit dan dicabar lagi. Mampukah kepimpinan Melayu Islam pasca Najib Tun Razak mempertahan dan melambungkan terlebih tinggi lagi serta 'mengentrenchkan' kuasa ini yakni memperkukuhkannya lagi?

Zaman gelap rakyat kulit hitam Amerika Syarikat beransur hilang mulai perjuangan Martin Luther King dan dengan kehadiran Barack Obama sebagai Presiden AS tetapi perjalanan mereka mengejar dan mencapai 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' sebenar masih jauh, bukan senang dan tidak akan tamat. Begitulah juga dengan perjuangan Melayu Islam dan Peribumi dalam negara mereka yang tunggal ini.

Saya yakin kemajuan Melayu Islam dan Peribumi lebih deras kalau mereka pintar memilih pemimpin yang berwibawa, bermoral, amanah, berpengetahuan, bervisi, mempunyai potensi serta credentials mereka sebagai Melayu Islam dan Peribumi diperakui. Paling ramai mereka yang mempunyai tauliah ini berada dalam Umno, ada juga dalam Pas dan PKR.

Pas mahu hanya ulama memegang jawatan tinggi kerana selayang pandang Pas rugi dalam Pakatan. Ini boleh dipertikaikan, adakah ini fact atau fiction? Apa pun PKR dan DAP terutamanya, meraih lebih keuntungan dalam PRU13. Saya setuju dengan keputusan multaqa Pas. Mana bisa parti Islam 'diko-pimpin' oleh ulama dan 'sekularis'. 'Sekularis Pas' harus berhijrah ke PKR dan DAP!

Umno sibuk berkempen memilih bakal pengganti Najib Tun Razak dan Muhyiddin Yassin. Sungguh seronok mereka, tiada bosan berpesta; kenyanglah mereka yang bernasib baik jadi perwakilan. Yang tidak dipilih perwakilan dapat kuah, majoriti menghidu bau masakan saja.

Enam pemimpin Umno berhasrat menjadi bakal perdana menteri, timbalan perdana menteri, menteri kanan (kalau Umno menang PRU14) atau jika Najib merombak Kabinetnya awal tahun depan. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Hishammuddin Hussein, Mohd Shafie Apdal, Mohd Isa Samad, Mohd Ali Rustam dan Mukhriz Mahathir.

Perwakilan yang bestari akan memilih kombinasi orang muda (Hishammuddin, Mukhriz) dengan orang tua, (Zahid, Shafie, Isa dan Ali); yang adil dan bervisi mengambil kira geografi dan negeri kubu Umno. Saya kenal semua calon naib presiden ini. Kalau saya wakil saya akan ambil kira umur, peluang dan potensi mereka pasca Najib dan Muhyiddin.

Keenam-enam pemimpin Umno sudah teruji tetapi terpenting siapa antara mereka yang biasa menjadi bakal pengganti Najib dan Muhyiddin, berwibawa menghadapi kepimpinan muda Pas dan PKR pasca Abdul Hadi Awang dan Anwar Ibrahim?

Siapa selain daripada enam orang ini yang Melayu Islam dan Peribumi boleh harap memperjuangkan tanpa takut, segan dan malu agenda Melayu Islam dan Peribumi? Yakni memperkasakan kuasa politik mereka tanpa luntur dan Melayu Islam dan Peribumi tidak akan lenyap di muka bumi tertunggal ini?

Bolehkah mereka (Melayu, Peribumi) bergantung kepada pemimpin pelapis Umno – Khairy Jamaluddin, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Sharifuddin Abdullah, Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Razali Ibrahim, Jazlan Mohamed antaranya? Adakah mereka ini mempunyai sifat 'keperibadian jati Melayu Islam' yang ahli Umno dan Melayu Islam boleh bergantung dalam Politik Baru yang akan mendominasi landskap politik negara antara sekarang dan PRU14 dan melewati PRU14?

Suasana politik dalaman Umno kini, suka-duka, tidak menggalakkan muda-mudi mendekatinya. Umno harus bina suasana baru; yang dapat memujuk atau menarik generasi baru Melayu Islam dan Peribumi yang mahu menyertainya. Belajarlah daripada Tun Razak yang mengundang muda-mudi Melayu Islam berbakat menyertai Umno dan memberi mereka pula kepercayaan.

Ramai antara mereka menjadi pemimpin yang berkaliber dan tahan diuji. Umno tetap berubah siapa pun memimpinnya. Persoalan terbesar adakah kepimpinan itu akan membawa Umno ke tahap yang lebih tinggi lagi atau salah hitung kecundang dalam PRU14.

Itu tidak harus berlaku (tewas PRU14) kerana jumlah bilangan pengundi Melayu Islam dan Peribumi makin meningkat. Dijangka populasi Melayu, Peribumi mencecah 75% dalam masa dua dekad lagi. Masa depan Umno bergantung pada Melayu Islam seperti semenjak parti itu ditubuh pada tahun 1946.

Kalau Umno terus menghargai dan berbudi pada mereka – Melayu Islam dan Peribumi sekurang-kurangnya tidak akan lari dari Umno up to PRU14. Dalam PRU13, Umno memenangi 88 kerusi Parlimen (bertambah) dari jumlah kerusi BN sebanyak 133 itu. Pas 21, DAP 38 dan PKR 30. Hanya 16% pengundi Cina menyokong BN. "Hear, hear, hear – dengar, dengar, dengar".

Tak payahlah suluh lagi apa yang amat terang. Saya teka sokongan Cina akan terus merosot kecuali orang Melayu Islam dan Peribumi menyerah kuasa mereka kepada mereka (Cina).

Melayu Islam dan Peribumi hanya akan hilang kuasa kalau muda-mudi Melayu Islam dan Peribumi terus menjauhi dari Umno. Terpulanglah bagi Umno meyakini mereka bahawa integriti dan kredibiliti Umno dan pemimpinnya di semua peringkat sedang berubah.

Tabie menyalah guna kuasa, sifat bongkak, sombong dan sukar dijumpai dan mempunyai gaya hidup yang gemar dan gembira menunjuk-nunjuk serta kemerosotan moral (decadence) juga makin berkurangan. Hanya Melayu Islam dan Peribumi boleh meruntuhkan kerajaan yang ada.

Transformation: A sharp U-turn?

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:44 AM PDT

Jailing or even executing innocent people has become the greatest blemish in the judicial world. We hate the heinous criminals, but that does not mean we should therefore sacrifice our judicial proceedings.

Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily

The detention without trial stipulated in the Prevention of Crime (Amendment and Extension) Act 2013 has drawn strong objection from political parties and NGOs alike, many claiming it is a "reincarnation" of the Internal Security Act (ISA).

This issue should be looked into from three different perspectives: whether the police need such power, judicial justice and the principles of the country's transformation programme.

Since the Ops Cantas Khas was kicked off on August 17, it is undeniable that serious crimes have fallen drastically. Based on the statistics released by the police on Sept 23, the incidence of armed robberies has fallen by 90%, murders by 33.78%, gang robberies by 23.58% and robberies by 26%.

Moreover, home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said the police had arrested 8,898 individuals suspected of secret society activities as of Sept 18.

It cannot be denied that the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 has been very effective in tackling secret societies. The Act allows the police to detain a suspect for up to 72 days, giving the police ample time to conduct the investigations.

No developed country in this world has resorted to detention without trial to bring crime at bay. They are achieving this through professional competency and state-of-the-art technology.

Unless we admit we are nowhere near them, for a country aspiring to be a developed nation soon, this is by no means an honour we can take pride in.

Increase in crime has been attributed to a host of factors, and triad gangs are only one of them. Other factors include enforcement and case solving efficiency, mobilisation of police force, infiltration of foreign criminal elements, collapse of traditional values, and failure in our school and family education, among others. Giving the police excessive powers is never a good solution, for if things really work this way, drug traffickers will have gone extinct in this country as mandatory death awaits them.

Prior to the repeal of the ISA and Emergency Ordinance, our country had been plagued by deteriorating public safety, and so the key to this problem is not the power given to the police.

The authorities must never extend their powers owing to the excessive fears of the public for crime.

In addition, detention without trial also contravenes the proceedings of justice in the judiciary system. Under the UN convention, no individuals should be deliberately arrested or detained and anyone arrested is entitled to the right of an open and fair trial.

Moreover, under the principles of law, a person remains innocent until he is convicted. Giving the police the power of detaining a suspect without trial for two years is like giving them a dual role of both enforcers and judges.

Although the prime minister has earlier assured the public that the government would offer all the necessary support to assist the police to battle crime. Nevertheless, he also said on August 19 that the government was not yet ready at the current stage to adopt any preventive act to prevent the occurrence of crime, and that the government would seek a balance point between combating crime and preserving the interest and human rights of the public.

Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail has said based on the efficiency of the police today, our existing laws have been sufficient to tackle the issue crime, and he finds it no reason for the government to put in place a new preventive act.

Mahathir is against the repeal of ISA while Umno ministers have been arguing about whether the crime prevention act should be restored. This probably explains why detention without trial has been able to be revived.

In addition, there is no assurance from the authorities that the act will not be abused, just like the ISA was previously abused to deal with political dissidents.

Although the power of detention has been transferred from the home minister to a three-member crime prevention committee, and a detainee can also seek to apply for judicial review of his detention at the High Court, none of the committee members has been from the legal profession or human rights organisation. If all the members of the committee have been public servants, will they ever overrule the detention?

Moreover, the detention period under ISA and EO could be as long as two years while under the crime prevention act, a person could be detained for up to four years, meaning a person would have lost his precious freedom for four long years if he is eventually found to be innocent.

The police have previously rejected the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). Now that the police are to be given extended powers, who will be there to watch over them?

The prime minister's initiative to announce the repeal of ISA on Sept 15, 2011 was meant to put the Malaysian laws on the right track, but permitting detention without trial does not augur well with the principles of our transformation programme.

The principles of national transformation programme such as transparency, incorruption and justice must never be denied deliberately. Unfortunately recent developments have shown that we are actually going backwards, including the introduction of bumiputra economic empowerment policy, and the MACC's notion that money politics during Umno's elections is purely the party's internal problem.

The resurrection of detention without trial shows that the nation indeed is in urgent need of a systemic reform, or there will be a sharp turn of our transformation programme.

Citing unity, mufti wants Sabah’s Bumiputera Muslims made Malay

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:39 AM PDT

(MMO) - Unhappy with Sabah's Bumiputera Muslims for identifying themselves according to their tribal roots, the state's mufti proposed today a programme to convert them into Malays.

Bungsu @ Aziz Jaafar told a symposium discussing the "Malay Leadership Crisis" that many of the indigenous Muslims in the north Borneo state still refused to call themselves Malay, unlike ethnic groups like the Javanese and Bugis in Peninsular Malaysia who today identify themselves as belonging to one Malay race.

"We need a programme to 'meMelayukan' [make Malay] these Malay tribes... If Sabah and Sarawak did not vote in the last polls, maybe we would had a change in the government," the mufti said.

"For the sake of the Malay Muslim community, these Malay tribes who are already Muslims must be made Malay," he said, referring to the Dusun, Bajau, Murut and other ethnicities that make up Sabah's many indigenous tribes.

Bungsu had compared the situation to the Kadazan, which according to him was an allegedly "invented" ethnic group made of non-Muslim Dusun people, who are mostly Catholics.

The mufti however did not specify the details of such a programme.

Bungsu was speaking before a thousand-strong audience in a symposium titled Facing Foreign Agenda (MEGA), jointly organised by Muslim non-government organisations (NGOs) Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) and Pembina here.

In the first dialogue session this morning, the symposium had discussed five threats against Muslim Malays, which it had identified as the teachings of the Shiah school of Islam, an alleged "invasion" of the Chinese, free trade agreements including the high-profile Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), Americanisation, and Christianisation.

Bungsu also was not shy to admit what he labelled a "successful" mass "Islamisation movement" of Sabahans in the 1970s, which according to him played a role in making Islam the religion of the State.

In the original 20-point agreement drawn up before the formation of Malaysia, it was agreed that there should be no state religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya would not apply to North Borneo.

The Sabah Constitution was amended in 1973 by the state government to make Islam the religion of the state of Sabah.

Muslims now make up 65.4 per cent of Sabah's population according to the latest census in 2010, up from 37.9 per cent based on a North Borneo census in 1960, three years before its independence.

Chinese influx in Malaysia part of ‘southbound invasion’, says historian

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:34 AM PDT

Puan Zaharah Sulaiman, a writer and historian from the Malaysia Archaeology Association

(MMO) - This "invasion", backed by foreign Western powers at times, has since stripped the ancient Malay peoples of their riches and knowledge, causing their descendants to be inferior to other races despite being ostensibly one of the oldest civilisations in the world.

The influx of the Chinese into the Malay archipelago, including Malaysia, had been part of a "southbound invasion" from China towards Southeast Asia called "Nam Tien", a historian claimed in a symposium today.

This "invasion", backed by foreign Western powers at times, has since stripped the ancient Malay peoples of their riches and knowledge, causing their descendants to be inferior to other races despite being ostensibly one of the oldest civilisations in the world.

"All expertise have been lost with the peoples. Malays are called lazy and not innovative, but it's because the knowledge, the peoples who have the knowledge have gone extinct," Zaharah Sulaiman, a writer and historian from a society called Malaysia Archaeology Association, told a thousand-strong audience at the Facing Foreign Agenda Symposium (MEGA) here..

"Foreigners were jealous of us because of what Malays had, the expertise in mining gold and tin. Actually we were the best in it, the earliest in starting everything.

"When foreigners came to Tanah Melayu, they grabbed (our riches) and killed Malays, they took over our tin and gold mines. That is being left out in our history," she added.

"Nam tien", a Vietnamese term literally meaning "South march", generally refers to a southward expansion of Vietnamese territory from its original heartland in the Red River Delta between the 11th and 18th century.

Zaharah was among several Malay Muslims speakers at the symposium on the theme of the "Malay Leadership Crisis", which is jointly organised by Muslim NGOs, ISMA and Pembina, and is held at the Dewan Seri Siantan here.

In the first dialogue session this morning, the symposium discussed five threats against Muslim Malays, which it identified as Shiah teaching, an alleged "invasion" of the Chinese, free trade agreements and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), Americanisation, and Christianisation.

Zaharah also blamed Western invaders, particularly the colonial British, for helping these southbound Chinese immigrants grab land from the Malays, and gave as example the alleged award of land in Penang by British trader, Francis Light, to the Chinese.

Malays' riches were then used to financially support the British conquest across the world, and later to fund Dr Sun Yat-Sen's democratic revolution leading to the formation of the People's Republic of China, she claimed.

The British had also restricted the Malays from attending schools and entering town during colonial times but not the Chinese and Indians, she said, suggesting that the move had caused Malays to be late bloomers and to generally adopt a lackadaisical attitude.

"We were only allowed to go to school in 1925, but only until Standard Four. But Chinese and Indians were allowed to attend schools starting from 1819. The gap was too far," said Zaharah.

She also added that the Chinese had access to wealth much earlier than the Malays, and as such managed to expand their economy at a much faster rate.

According to Zaharah, the Cham people who had settled in ancient Champa, is where central Vietnam is located today, were ancient Malays who was then conquered by the Dai Viet who came from South China.

Similarly, the Funan Kingdom which is now part of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, were also settled by ancient Malays before they were conquered by the Tai people, also from South China.

The Tai, Zaharah said, were the ancestors of the Thai people, who had then tried to conquer the Malay people in the Malay peninsula.

The Malays and Bumiputera make up the majority of Malaysia's population at an estimated 67.4 per cent of the 28.3 million population, followed by the Chinese at 24.6 per cent, according to the most recent census at 2010.

The Chinese in Malaysia were mostly brought into Malaya from Southern China provinces such as Fujian and Guangdong by British colonists during 19th and 20th century to make up their workforce in the then booming tin mines and rubber plantations.

However, Chinese settlers have also been recorded as early as the 15th century during the spread of the Malacca Empire, which even then had formed friendly diplomatic relations.

The new face of terror

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT

(The Economist) - The West thought it was winning the battle against jihadist terrorism. It should think again

A FEW months ago Barack Obama declared that al-Qaeda was "on the path to defeat". Its surviving members, he said, were more concerned for their own safety than with plotting attacks on the West. Terrorist attacks of the future, he claimed, would resemble those of the 1990s—local rather than transnational and focused on "soft targets". His overall message was that it was time to start winding down George Bush's war against global terrorism.

Mr Obama might argue that the assault on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi by al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate, the Shabab, was just the kind of thing he was talking about: lethal, shocking, but a long way from the United States. Yet the inconvenient truth is that, in the past 18 months, despite the relentless pummelling it has received and the defeats it has suffered, al-Qaeda and its jihadist allies have staged an extraordinary comeback. The terrorist network now holds sway over more territory and is recruiting more fighters than at any time in its 25-year history (see article). Mr Obama must reconsider.

Back from the dead

It all looked different two years ago. Even before the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, al-Qaeda's central leadership, holed up near the Afghan border in Pakistan's North Waziristan, was on the ropes, hollowed out by drone attacks and able to communicate with the rest of the network only with difficulty and at great risk. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), its most capable franchise as far as mounting attacks on the West is concerned, was being hit hard by drone strikes and harried by Yemeni troops. The Shabab was under similar pressure in Somalia, as Western-backed African Union forces chased them out of the main cities. Above all, the Arab spring had derailed al-Qaeda's central claim that corrupt regimes supported by the West could be overthrown only through violence.

All those gains are now in question. The Shabab is recruiting more foreign fighters than ever (some of whom appear to have been involved in the attack on the Westgate). AQAP was responsible for the panic that led to the closure of 19 American embassies across the region and a global travel alert in early August. Meanwhile al-Qaeda's core, anticipating the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan after 2014, is already moving back into the country's wild east.

‘Fight extremism’

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:30 AM PDT

(NST) - PM'S CALL AT UNITED NATIONS: Moderation can be a powerful tool and Muslims must unite against those using religion to commit violence

NEW YORK: PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for an end to the atrocities being committed in some Muslim countries, saying the situation has become "a burden we can no longer afford to bear". Speaking at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) here yesterday, he urged Muslims to unite in the fight against extremists who used religion as an excuse to commit violence.

"And one of the most powerful tools we have to do so is al-wasatiyyah: the practice of moderation." Addressing the UNGA for the first time after a general election that had returned Barisan Nasional to power and gave him a fresh mandate to run the country, Najib urged the international community to give their all to resolve the political problems that had raised tensions in the Muslim world.

"It is time to end the killing and concentrate instead on building a common agenda for peace and prosperity," Najib articulated to a rapt audience comprising high-level foreign dignitaries yesterday.

Najib has been consistent in promoting the moderate approach in tackling religious extremism since his maiden speech as prime minister at UNGA in September 2010, when he proposed the Global Movement of Moderates.

Najib, who was sharply dressed in a black suit and maroon tie, spoke for nearly 20 minutes.

Present were Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and officials from the Malaysian embassy in the United States.

Najib is also expected to stress a similar stance on moderation when he holds talks with US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the two leaders' visit to Malaysia next month.

When delivering Malaysia's statement during the General Debate on Saturday, he cited cases in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Pakistan, where, cumulatively, thousands of people have been killed following violence by extremist militants, stemming from the conflict between the Sunnis and Shias.

He said the conflict between the Sunnis and Shias was threatening the lives of millions of Muslims, and Islam was being twisted by extremists who were deploying false arguments to foster division and justify violence.

Across the Islamic world, extremists were wrapping their perverse agenda in religious garb, tearing families, countries and the ummah apart, he added.

"The corrosive influence of extremism cannot be easily countered. But we are not powerless to act. I believe moderation in religion and the political process can stem the loss of life and liberty in the Muslim world.

"By reaffirming our commitment to moderation and solving the political problems that drive instability, we can seize back the centre ground. We can marginalise the extremists. And we can advance an agenda for peace, harmony and justice."

Najib said "we should not mistake moderation for weakness", adding that to face those baying for violence and call for calm instead was a sign not of frailty, but of strength.

Muslim leaders, he added, should speak up and condemn violence, lest their silence was mistaken for acceptance.

On the Syrian conflict, Najib said Malaysia was opposed to any unilateral action to resolve the conflict, stressing the need for a Syrian-led inclusive political process instead.

"All sides must come together to work out a political settlement."

Najib called on the international community to intensify efforts to explore all possible diplomatic options for peace under the auspices of UN.

"We must also find the vision and the political will to commit to a just solution for Palestine.

"We fervently hope that progress towards a viable Palestinian state, based on pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, will be made and that the US and other members of the Quartet continue to play their roles as honest brokers in the process."

Najib also said the Arab Spring movement showed that the Muslim world was crying out for change.

"Governments must answer that call. We must provide good governance to fight corruption, create jobs to tackle poverty and deliver sustainable growth that builds a world of opportunity for our citizens. We must create economies in which people can fulfil their own aspirations, not those of extremists."

After speaking at UNGA, Najib is scheduled to lead the Malaysian delegation to bilateral talks with Bangladesh.

Later, he is scheduled to drop by the Global Citizen Festival at Central Park and host a dinner for Malaysians here.

Why Najib hightails it to New York and such…

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 11:26 AM PDT

(TMI) - Here is one reason why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak enjoys being outside the country so much: it is only in the rarefied air of the United Nations assembly or in meeting rooms at the swanky Waldorf Astoria in New York that an audience still buys his talk about Malaysia being a model of moderate Islam.

Back home, here in Malaysia, with the right wing very much in ascendancy in Umno and with religious and racial intolerance at red flag levels, any mention of the word "moderation" is met with cynicism. Or worse yet, disdain.

It was revealed in Parliament that the Prime Minister spent a staggering RM44 million on travel abroad between March 2008 and May 2013.

It is a fact that has raised eyebrows even among Umno politicians. Some of them wonder why attending the UN assembly or opening the Khazanah Nasional office in San Francisco is so important, or why it was necessary to go to Thailand for his second break after the May 5 general election.

Actually, there is a simple explanation why he enjoys being outside the country so much. He needs a diversion from the daily mess that is Malaysia, a mess compounded by his willingness to allow shrill, fringe voices to dictate the tone of this country. And his inability to tackle the laundry list of issues from endemic corruption to the breakdown in law and order.

A laundry list that also includes: an increasingly right-wing Umno; an inept Cabinet; a combative opposition; fractured and irrelevant BN component parties; a widening budget deficit and the insatiable appetite of businessmen and cronies; and, not least, the hulking presence of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Against this backdrop, putting some space between Malaysia and himself is Najib's preferred option.

Think about it. What happens to children in a house where peace and quiet is a rare commodity and where the air is pregnant with tension and where every day seems like a battle? Usually the children find excuses to hang out in a friend's house, stay over with a cousin, where they may receive praise and affirmation.

What happens to a student who feels overmatched in school, overwhelmed by the demands of parents and teachers and under pressure from bullies? Chances are that the student will play truant, or do his best to limit his appearances in the classroom.

So it is with the Malaysian PM. Those who have been part of his entourage say that he is relaxed when away from home and loves pressing the flesh with foreign leaders and businessmen, talking about the Global Movement of Moderates and impressing them with his smooth delivery, sharp dressing and his ability to speak the language that Westerners like to hear.

In New York before an appreciative audience at the Council of Foreign Relations, he was applauded for arguing for "dialogue over confrontation, negotiation over conflict".

The irony is that in Malaysia, the country he leads, there is more confrontation than dialogue on race and religion.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Sabtu, 28 September 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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