Rabu, 7 Ogos 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Finally they are talking
Pak Lah: Pro-Mahathir bloggers were out to get me
Between an opinion and the law
Citizenship a constitutional right, legal experts tell Perkasa
Explain why DAP needs fresh election, Guan Eng dares ROS
Zaid: If only Pak Lah was more Dr M-like, but in a good way
Kuan Yew on Najib, 1Malaysia and Pakatan
Umno jangan guna isu Syiah
Teresa: 'Ada orang fitnah saya di bulan Ramadan'
The Rising Tide of the Malaysian Taliban
Najadi was acting to protect temple’s interest
LKY: Impossible for Najib to win Chinese, Indian backing without losing Malay votes
If I listened to Mahathir, Malaysia would be bankrupt, says Abdullah

Finally they are talking

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 09:00 PM PDT

Then I related the story about how soon after Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as Prime Minister the pro-government and pro-opposition Bloggers joined forces to bring him down. I also related the story about the meeting we had in Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's house during one fasting month to plot our moves.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Over the last few years I have written quite a few pieces about the political conspiracies, plots and intrigues involving those who walk in the corridors of power (or those who aspire to walk in the corridors of power), most of which have been brushed aside as spinning and mere storytelling. Some readers even accused me of spinning on behalf of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and of acting as his apologist.

I suppose when what I write is not palatable to their taste they need to attack the writer rather than rebut what the writer wrote, mainly because they are unable to rebut what I wrote since they do not really know whether what I wrote is fact or fiction.

And that is why I just enjoy doing this. The sceptics would pooh-pooh what I write and then some years down the road the so-called fiction or 'stories' that I wrote gets proven as fact. That is the greatest satisfaction of all and is why I always boast that all my 'lies' always get proven as true in the end.

I suppose I have earned the right to boast when I have had to endure and suffer the ridicule of the sceptics. Being able to say "I told you so" feels just like rubbing their faces into a pile of shit.

Years ago I wrote a series of articles that started with "All roads lead to Putrajaya" regarding the links between the Malaysian police, in particular the IGP, and the Chinese underworld, in particular the prostitution, loan shark, drugs and illegal gambling syndicate. Today, the ex-IGP himself, the target of my revelation, has come out to confirm that such an arrangement does indeed exist.

So that is one more lie that is now accepted as the Gospel and which has been confirmed by no less than the number one policeman now retired.

Then I related the story about how soon after Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) took over as Prime Minister the pro-government and pro-opposition Bloggers joined forces to bring him down. I also related the story about the meeting we had in Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's (Ku Li) house during one fasting month to plot our moves.

I also mentioned that the March 2008 general election was not entirely an opposition success but partly the internal sabotage on the part of certain people within Umno so as to embarrass Pak Lah and use that as a catalyst to pressure the Prime Minister to resign.

I remember saying that our plan was to oust Pak Lah in favour of Ku Li while some wanted Najib Tun Razak to replace Pak Lah instead. Hence we had to embark upon a sub-plot to 'disqualify' Najib by connecting him to the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu so that Ku Li and not Najib can take over from Pak Lah.

Again this revelation met with scepticism but now Pak Lah himself has come out to confirm that that episode is in fact true. Pak Lah even said that Wikileaks had revealed the authenticity of that story. Hence my explanation regarding my June 2008 Statutory Declaration and the reason behind why I did it and who were those people behind it become clearer as well.

Basically it was a move to block Najib so that Ku Li can replace Pak Lah as Prime Minister.

Hmmm…I just love every bit of this "I told you so" piece.

One article that I wrote which upset even people like Haris Ibrahim of SABM/ABU was about the 3Rs (race, religion, royalty) and how Umno will use this weapon to consolidate its hold on the Malays (the theme of my pre-May 2013 talk in Cambridge). Haris accused me of being a racist and of playing up racial sentiments.

I also said that Umno does not really care about the Chinese support, which it has lost anyway, and instead it wants to strengthen the party's influence in the Malay heartland. Hence the issue of race, religion and the monarchy needs to be exploited to the fullest.

Now no less than Lee Kuan Yew himself has said what I have been saying many times (that is if the post-May 2013 events have not convinced you enough). He, too, said that Umno cannot afford not to play the 3Rs game if it wants to stay in power and that even if Pakatan Rakyat were to come to power it too cannot afford not to play the 3Rs game.

So there! I told you so. And if you do not believe what Kuan Yew and Pak Lah are saying then I really don't know who the hell else you are going to believe.

Pak Lah: Pro-Mahathir bloggers were out to get me

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 04:12 PM PDT

(MM) - Reports that Malay bloggers in support of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had conspired to topple his successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, were never denied, Abdullah has said in his latest book.

Abdullah, popularly known as Pak Lah, said in Awakening that many of the bloggers were "richly" rewarded with titles and money and that "a lot of money was spent" in the campaign against him.

"Some reports on Wikileaks have come out to suggest that the Malay bloggers, pro-Mahathir bloggers had a meeting in Tengku Razaleigh's house to plan how to oust me," said Abdullah in the book edited by political analysts Bridget Welsh and James Chin, which will be out later this month.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a veteran Umno lawmaker, has tried several times to be prime minister, but to no avail.

"These reports have not been denied....one person from Kelantan claims he was given RM4 million by PAS to write articles to topple my administration," said Abdullah.

The country's fifth prime minister said that the opposition attacks against him may have been because he was "the biggest vote-getter for Barisan Nasional (BN) in 2004."

"So part of their game plan was to inflict as much damage on personally. Unfortunately, detractors from my party, who were resistant to the reforms, also used the same medium to attack me personally," he added.

In Awakening, Abdullah blamed Dr Mahathir for "unwarranted attacks" that had led to his eventual ouster after serving for just one term.

Although handpicked by Dr Mahathir to be his successor, Abdullah later came under relentless attack from the nation's longest-serving prime minister and ultimately was forced to relinquish his presidency of Umno and position as prime minister to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in April 2009, after BN lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008.

"Mahathir cannot deny that he contributed to the erosion of BN's support in the 2008 general election through his open and unwarranted criticism and attacks," said Abdullah..

"Calling my administration, which included a majority of people from his own Cabinet, as a 'half-past-six government' and accusing us of corruption and all kind of things," he added.

BN won a resounding mandate in the 2004 general election after Abdullah, known as "Mr Clean", pledged to eradicate endemic corruption and institute political reforms.

But Abdullah's reforms, such as passing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Judicial Appointments Commission and Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Acts, came after Election 2008, only just months before he later stepped down in 2009.

Between an opinion and the law

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 03:45 PM PDT

In a democracy, laws are made by an elected legislature and an opinion of humans should not have any legal weight.

But looking at the laws, in particular the Syariah Criminal Offences laws, it would appear that our erstwhile mullahs can state an opinion, and that is all a fatwa is, an opinion, and it becomes, effectively a law.

Azmi Sharom, The Star

I SAY man. I say. I say man. How can? How? Forgive me for my loss of ability to speak with any coherence, but there are some things which just leave one utterly gobsmacked.

For example, when did our mullahs suddenly become the embodiment of Islam? Because that is what it looks like to me.

Disagreeing with a human being's opinion is equated to insulting a religion.

That strikes me as not only logically bizarre, but also unbelievably arrogant.

And, what about the fact that such questioning can lead to punitive action from the State? Oh dear, oh dear.

Zainah Anwar had already, in the pages of this paper, clearly elucidated the true meaning of the fatwa ("The essence of fatwa," Sunday Star, Aug 4). That it is merely an opinion of humans and therefore should not have any legal weight.

A practice apparently carried out all over the Muslim world, except in Malaysia.

I say. I say man. How can?

In a democracy a law is made by an elected legislature. The last time that I looked the only elected legislatures are Parliament and the various state legislative assemblies. No one else.

And, why the crazy heavy-handedness? I am thinking of course about the lady and her pooches.

Just the action of expressing her love for her dogs has led to two nights in jail and being charged in a court of law while handcuffed like a violent criminal.

What sort of desperate thinking can equate her caring for her dogs as a threat?

And, that is what all the happenings of the past couple of weeks smell like to me. Desperation.

It looks like the powers that be, now faced with a threat to their cosy existence, have gone into overdrive to ensure that the status quo with them sitting unquestionably at the top of the pile remains as it is. But things are not as they are anymore are they?

It is clear that across the board the majority of Malaysians of all creeds and faiths are challenging the status quo. Groups who belong to that status quo, whether consciously or not, can't help but feel that their way of doing things are coming to an end.

Because of this, any sort of difference to their view point cannot and must not be tolerated.

Malaysians have much more access to information than we have ever had before.

They are now willing to defy the powers that be in order to get their views across and this is frightening to those who want us to be servile, subservient and silent.

This goes for the secular powers that be as well, as we can see in the spate of Sedition Act charges and shrill calls for the return of the "good old days" of detention without trial.

The retrogressive actions of the powerful, the anti-intellectual movements that they are on, all point towards one particular conclusion: they are frightened.

Not of violence, because the vast majority of Malaysians have not shown any violent tendencies, even when opposing the existing state of affairs, but of a populace which after decades of submissiveness have now found their voice and are willing to use it. And, use it we must.

I, for one, see the crazy fatwa situation and the banning of the Shia branch of Islam as a clarion call for a strengthening of a secular system of government.

Not because I disrespect religion; on the contrary, it is with utmost respect that I understand that people have a right to find spiritual solace in any way they want.

It is just that, only in a pluralistic, democratic, secular system which respects human rights and the rule of law can all people have the security to find their own way.

We can also see that our democratic country has so many flaws in it — from the subtle, like unevenly divided constituencies, to the blatant where an unelected body can make laws — that a concerted and persistent movement to change all this, to return us to a situation where our inherent dignity as free men and women is respected, is of the utmost urgency.

But in the meantime, I still foresee many more occasions when all I'll be able to mumble is; I say, I say man, how can?

> Azmi Sharom (azmisharom@yahoo.co.uk) is a law teacher.

Citizenship a constitutional right, legal experts tell Perkasa

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 03:39 PM PDT

(The Star) - Malay rights non-governmental organistion Perkasa's demand that rapper Namewee be stripped of his citizenship for allegedly issuing racial comments and insulting the national anthem is unconstitutional, say legal experts.

Civil liberties lawyer and constitutional rights activist Syahredzan Johan said the guarantee of citizenship is a constitutional right.

"If you are a citizen 'by operation of law', meaning automatically from birth, the only way for you to lose your citizenship is if you obtain the citizenship of another country or you do something which only citizens of that other country have the right to do, like voting in their elections," he told The Star Online.

"The Government does not have any power at all to strip you of your citizenship. Of course, you can at your own accord renounce your citizenship."

He said a naturalised citizen was more liable to have it taken away for "disloyalty".

This was echoed by constitutional expert Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi (pic), emeritus professor of law at UITM.

"Things like court offences of obscenity, pornography and so on - you can't just remove citizenship as punishment. That is not the panacea for such things. You wouldn't strip someone of their citizenship for stealing a car," he said.

He added that citizenship could only be revoked for "disloyalty" - exercising rights of a citizen of another country, like joining an army other than the Malaysian one.

"Even for insulting certain parties or inciting racial tension, we have the law of sedition."

Dr Shad said that Perkasa's views should be scrutinised and criticised as need be, but "we shouldn't seek to silence them.

"That would be joining their game, We should not seek to suppress disagreeable views," he said.

Syahredzan suggested that Perkasa "read the constitution before coming out with these statements.

"It is not the first time they and their ilk have made such calls."

Perkasa demanded Tuesday that rapper and filmmaker Namewee's citizenship be revoked for his fierce criticism of the Government and racially-charged videos.

Deputy president Datuk Abdul Rahman Abu Bakar said it had lodged countless police reports against Namewee but the Attorney-General had done nothing.

Namewee is currently in the public eye for coming out in support of film The New Village, which allegedly glorifies communism.

Explain why DAP needs fresh election, Guan Eng dares ROS

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 03:33 PM PDT

(Malaysian Times) - DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng dares the Registrar of Societies' (ROS) Director Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman to meet him after Hari Raya holidays to explain why the publication by Utusan Malaysia (UM) and New Straits Times (NST) was not verified and to state the reasons for that DAP has to conduct fresh elections.

Guan Eng, who is the Penang Chief Minister, in a statement claimed that ROS has repeatedly behaved unprofessionally by making media announcements that had no factual or legal basis.

"Worse, the ROS makes announcements in the media without any written replies, giving the strong impression of wanting to politicise the issue for the benefit of BN instead of fulfilling their duties in regulating the Societies impartially and lawfully," Guan Eng, who is the Bagan MP, said adding that he have written a letter to Abdul Rahman requesting for a meeting.

"By reiterating in the press that there must be fresh re-elections because he is dissatisfied without needing to give reasons, the ROS is behaving as if he is a King whereby he can make any diktats at his whim and fancy.

"Is Datuk Abdul Rahman refusing to give reasons because he has no valid reasons to give," Guan Eng questioned.

Guan Eng said the DAP had fully co-operated with the ROS and Abdul Rahman should show proof if the ROS claims otherwise.

"If the ROS dares not meet me, then that validates our fears that this new directive is an act of political victimisation and revenge against the DAP,"

"DAP had admitted that a computer glitch at the DAP Congress in Penang caused the wrong announcement of the successful candidates.

"There was no mistake either in vote counting or tabulation but only in posting the results, leading to one candidate Vincent Wu wrongly announced as a successful candidate when it should be Zairil Khir Johari."

"DAP had fully explained this honest mistake to the officials from the ROS by furnishing all relevant materials. The mistake was admitted voluntarily by DAP without being exposed by ROS or BN in the interests of upholding transparency and accountability. DAP is now being punished for being honest and truthful and is a victim of an abuse of power," he added.

Guan Eng said that the DAP has rights to know the reasons why and under what powers the ROS is directing the DAP to hold re-election of its Central Executive Committee (CEC), which was elected in the DAP Party Congress in Penang last December.

"To hint that the DAP grassroots want elections because 753 DAP delegates had been denied their right to attend the DAP Congress in Penang last December is a lie.

"There are no complaints made by as many as 753 delegates that they were not notified of the Congress. So is the false claim of 547 "phantom" delegates attending the Congress, which are all lies concocted by the imagination of UM and NST," Guan Eng claimed.

"Only a few members out of 200,000 DAP members complained. If that is the basis, then Pakatan Rakyat have a greater claim towards being the Federal government due to the majority popular support of 51% during the last general elections.

"As the ROS appears to believe these lies by Utusan Malaysia and NST, DAP has no choice but to sue the BN-controlled media for defamation to expose these lies.

"Is the failure by ROS to state the reasons because ROS know that these are lies," Guan Eng chided.

He stressed that if the reasons given are reasonable and the provision of law employed by ROS is lawful, DAP has no hesitation in calling for fresh re-elections.

Zaid: If only Pak Lah was more Dr M-like, but in a good way

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 03:11 PM PDT

If Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had taken a leaf out of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's book on being a "fighter", his short-lived administration could have turned out more successful, former Cabinet minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.

But the ex-Umno leader noted that it had never been Abdullah's style to be "ruthless", even though a forceful hand would have earned greater respect for himself and his reforms when he was in power.

Umno leaders should have backed Abdullah "100 per cent", Zaid added, singling out the former prime minister's efforts in the battle against corruption and his promotion of good governance.

"But they didn't. Not only they didn't, they sabotaged him. They ridiculed him," Zaid told The Malay Mail Online today.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/zaid-if-only-pak-lah-was-more-dr-m-like-but-in-a-good-way#sthash.e4uYNmml.dpuf

(MM) - If Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had taken a leaf out of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's book on being a "fighter", his short-lived administration could have turned out more successful, former Cabinet minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.

But the ex-Umno leader noted that it had never been Abdullah's style to be "ruthless", even though a forceful hand would have earned greater respect for himself and his reforms when he was in power.

Umno leaders should have backed Abdullah "100 per cent", Zaid added, singling out the former prime minister's efforts in the battle against corruption and his promotion of good governance.

"But they didn't. Not only they didn't, they sabotaged him. They ridiculed him," Zaid told The Malay Mail Online today.

"Pak Lah is not exactly the most ruthless leader. So that also makes it difficult," he added, using Abdullah's popular moniker.

"If he could be more Mahathir-like in a good way, if he had been more forceful, more of a fighter, if he had sacked some of his cabinet ministers, I suppose it could have been different. But that's not him," he said.

Zaid agreed with the notion that Barisan Nasional's (BN) losses in Election 2008 were caused by Pak Lah's alleged failure to refom the country but he singled out Dr Mahathir to blame, saying it was the latter's "incomprehensible" attacks on his predecessor that led to it.

"People should appreciate what he has done," Zaid said, referring to Abdullah.

"Dr Mahathir was dismantling Pak Lah's efforts...when you are trying to reform, it's not easy. People always distrust reformists. They like the old style," he added.

Abdullah said in his book titled Awakening, which will be released soon, that Dr Mahathir had led "unwarranted attacks" that led to his eventual ouster.

Although handpicked by Dr Mahathir to be his successor, Abdullah later came under relentless attack from the nation's longest-serving prime minister and ultimately was forced to relinquish his presidency of Umno and position as prime minister to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in April 2009, after BN lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008.

"Mahathir cannot deny that he contributed to the erosion of BN's support in the 2008 general election through his open and unwarranted criticism and attacks," read an excerpt of the book reproduced by news portal Malaysiakini yestesrday.

"Calling my administration, which included a majority of people from his own Cabinet, as a 'half-past-six government' and accusing us of corruption and all kind of things," added Abdullah.

BN won a resounding mandate in 2004 after Abdullah, known as "Mr Clean", pledged to eradicate endemic corruption and institute political reforms.

But Abdullah's reforms, such as passing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Judicial Appointments Commission and Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Acts, came only just months before he stepped down.

Zaid said in Awakening that Abdullah had "miscalculated immensely" when the latter retained many of Dr Mahathir's supporters in the Cabinet.

"He was probably thinking he could secure public support and minimise Mahathir's attack on him. But it was not to be, as the attack went into full gear even in the midst of the 2008 general election," said Zaid in the book.

"Abdullah had support from the grassroots, but not from the Umno warlords. By the time the election results were known, he was already a dead man walking," he added.

Zaid pointed out that "no complete reforms are possible" as long as Dr Mahathir is around.

"Of course, it was Pak Lah's own lack of conviction to see them through that did him in," he added.

The former Umno man noted that the ruling party was averse to reform after being led by a "dictator" for over 22 years.

"But Pak Lah's reluctance to show his resolve in implementing reforms was fatal. The feudal mindset in Umno knows quickly when a leader is reluctant to fight. Always back the winner; that's their instinctive reaction," said Zaid.

Awakening, jointly edited by political analysts Bridget Welsh and James Chin, is due to be launched by Abdullah later this month.

Kuan Yew on Najib, 1Malaysia and Pakatan

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 02:54 PM PDT

Lee Kuan Yew also opined that when it comes to the crunch, Pakatan Rakyat would not be able to do away with Malay supremacy.

(Bernama) - Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew says Malaysia's race-based policies place the country at a disadvantage.

In excerpts from his newly-launched book titled "One Man's View of the World" here yesterday, Lee said:"It is voluntarily shrinking the talent pool needed to build the kind of society that makes use of talent from all races.

"They are prepared to lose that talent in order to maintain the dominance of one-race."

"In recent times, the Malaysian government has been somewhat willing to acknowledge this loss of talent to vibrant cities elsewhere and is making an attempt to lure some overseas Malaysians back.

"But the reality is that these efforts may be too little, too late," said Lee, who was formerly Minister Mentor, in the book's chapter on Malaysia – A Different Path.

Also in the book, Lee said in a globalised world, competitive advantage of a people will increasingly hinge on skills, the brain power and the drive they possess.

"Malaysia is losing ground. It is giving other countries a head start in the external competition.

"In the aftermath of the 2008 general election, there was strong sense among some quarters in Malaysia that the country was on the verge of real change," he said.

He noted that an opposition that campaigned officially on, among other things, promises to do away with some of the country's race-based policies surprised even its own supporters with the result it got.

"In terms of votes, it was the opposition's best result since 1969. In terms of seats, it was the best result ever.

"The government was denied a two-thirds majority," he said.

Najib's political realities

A year after the election, Lee noted in his book that when Najib Tun Razak took over as prime minister, he launched a campaign called 1Malaysia to strengthen racial harmony and national unity.

He said Najib brought the 1Malaysia campaign to win back some of the Chinese and Indian votes that his party lost in the 2008 election.

"But has the ground moved with him? Has there been thunderous applause from the Malays at 1Malaysia. It may have been that he (Najib) started with ambitious plans.

"But it appears that political realities may have conscribed his subsequent actions," Lee said in the book.

Lee said it was impossible for Najib to win the votes from the Chinese and Indians without losing votes from his party's core supporters – the Malays.

He noted that the 1Malaysia slogan had not lived up to the initial excitement it created.

In his book, Lee said: "When I met with the Chinese press shortly after its launch, they said they had initially reported it as one multiracial Malaysia but were later corrected to report as simply 1Malaysia."

"In other words, the people share one Malaysia, but the communities remain distinct, as Malays, Chinese and Indians. It still remains to be seen if the campaign can level the playing field for non-bumiputeras in any significant way," he wrote.

Pakatan an 'opportunistic adhoc' group

In the book, Lee also said that if those counting on 1Malaysia to usher in a new era for race relations were being unrealistic than those counting on the opposition to do the same someday very much less so.

To begin with, Lee said the opposition coalition coming to power in the near future was a very long shot indeed.

But even if it were to happen, he said the chances of it getting rid of Malay special treatment were next to nothing.

To understand this, Lee said one had to examine closely the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition.

This, he said, was an opportunistic and adhoc group not held together by even a vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government.

"As long as it does not actually hold the reins of the federal government and therefore does not have to implement the said multiracial policies, some semblance of unity can be maintained.

When it comes to the crunch, Lee said, Pakatan would not be able to do away with Malay supremcy.

"The moment the bluff is called and it is handed the full power to push ahead, it will either be torn apart within or be paralysed by indecision."

Published by Straits Times Press, the book publishing unit of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Ltd, the 400-page volume conveys Lee's views on the future of the major powers and regions of the world.

Umno jangan guna isu Syiah

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 02:45 PM PDT

Arab Saudi yang diketahui mempunyai hubungan diplomatik yang buruk dengan Iran juga tidak pernah bertindak sedemikian terhadap lebih tiga juta pengikut Syiah di negara mereka.

Fazil Murad, The Malaysian Insider

Kenyataan bijaksana Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang mengenai isu Syiah yang dimomokkan media massa, dimainkan oleh sebahagian ahli politik, diracuni pula oleh kumpulan Tafriqah dan Takfiri dan didiamkan oleh sebahagian besar agamawan menyerlahkan kewibawaan PAS selaku gerakan Islam paling berpengalaman dan reliable di Malaysia.

Ini menunjukkan kematangan PAS dan Abdul Hadi sendiri dalam memahami sepak terajang politik antarabangsa dan sejarah ketamadunan Islam itu sendiri.

Ketika mana UMNO dilihat mengunakan isu Syiah untuk percaturan politik sempit mereka untuk mendapatkan sokongan dari masyarakat Melayu setelah menyedari masyarakat bukan Melayu telah secara hampir total tidak lagi menyokong mereka dalam PRU 13 baru-baru ini.

Kenyataan yang amat ditunggu-tunggu oleh masyarakat Muslim antarabangsa yang pelik memerhatikan gelagat Malaysia yang menghina, mengecam dan mengkafirkan pengikut Syiah secara begitu biadab tanpa pembelaan dari sebahagian besar agamawan tanah air. Malaysia merupakan satu-satunya negara di dunia bertindak keterlaluan terhadap masyarkat Syiah.

Arab Saudi yang diketahui mempunyai hubungan diplomatik yang buruk dengan Iran juga tidak pernah bertindak sedemikian terhadap lebih tiga juta pengikut Syiah di negara mereka.

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 02:38 PM PDT

(Sinar Harian) - Pengerusi DAP Selangor, Teresa Kok menafikan telah mengeluarkan kenyataan wang zakat yang dikutip di negeri itu perlu diagihkan kepada kaum Cina.

Fitnah itu difahamkan telah disebarkan oleh seseorang di internet.

Beliau yang juga ahli Parlimen Seputeh menulis di laman mikro Twitternya, perkara tersebut tidak benar dan mendakwa ada orang kurang waras telah menyebarkan fitnah terhadapnya.

"Ada orang gila buat fitnah dalam internet bahawa saya minta duit zakat diberi kepada orang Cina.

"Ada orang fitnah dalam bulan Ramadan," tulisnya.

Antara satu salinan "print screen" Facebook yang disebarkan menyatakan Teresa, hasil pilihan orang Melayu telah mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa duit zakat orang Islam yang dikutip di negeri Selangor seharusnya diagihkan dan diserahkan juga kepada kaum itu yang juga membayar cukai.

Dalam pada itu, Sinar Harian Online juga mendapati beberapa blog turut menyiarkan kenyataan Teresa itu yang berjudul "Cina pun mahu duit Zakat".

The Rising Tide of the Malaysian Taliban

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 02:21 PM PDT

In Malaysia, the authorities are radical. The authorities deny reason. The authorities take scriptural text literally. The authorities are oblivious to human rights. The authorities have no respect of basic freedoms and international norms. The authorities have an irrepressible need to control a woman's body. The authorities are racially and religiously chauvinistic. The authorities abhor dissent.

by SY New, Loyarburok

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. During its rule, the Taliban gained international notoriety for their violation of human rights. The Taliban saw fit to govern every facet of a civilian's life.

Women had it worse than anyone else.

Women were banned from working outside of their homes. Women were banned from being treated by male doctors. Women were denied education in schools, universities or any other educational institutions. Women were banned from wearing high heels. Women were banned from appearing on the balconies of their own homes. Women were abused and whipped for not being clothed according to Taliban rules. Women were stoned to death for having sex outside of marriage.

Men were not spared, though the Taliban's control of their lives was not to the same degree as women.

Men were required to wear Islamic clothes and a cap. Men were not allowed to shave or trim their beards. All male students were required to wear turbans.

Apart from gender specific rules, everyone was banned from listening to music. Everyone was banned from watching films. Everyone was banned from playing "un-islamic" games. Anyone who possessed objectionable literature was executed. Anyone who committed apostasy was executed. No one was allowed to even use the internet.

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 02:16 PM PDT

(The Star) - Murdered Hussain Ahmad Najadi had played a role in protecting the interest of the Kuan Yin Temple in Jalan Ceylon.

The temple stands on a portion of land that was being negotiated for sale.

Police revealed that Najadi was neither a buyer nor a seller in the deal but was merely there to ensure the temple would not be sold or demolished.

It is learnt that the estimated value of the land is worth over RM40mil.

City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said there had been speculation that Najadi was part of the land deal involving the temple but he was in fact appointed to protect it.

"We can safely say that he was not a buyer or a seller involved in the deal," he said.

SAC Ku said police had yet to record a statement from Najadi's wife Cheong Mei Kuen who is still recovering from her injuries.

It was learnt that Cheong was a devotee of the temple and would go there to pray from time to time.

Bahrain-born Najadi was a banker and founded Arab Investments for Asia Kuwait Ltd (AIAK) some 40 years ago in Kuwait.

Najadi later moved his business to Kuala Lumpur in the 1970s, where he founded Arab Malaysian Development Bank in 1975 before selling it to corporate figure Tan Sri Azman Hashim in 1982.

Azman then renamed the bank AmBank.

Najadi's memoir about his life stories and early struggles The Sea And The Hills was published last April. The book received rave reviews.

LKY: Impossible for Najib to win Chinese, Indian backing without losing Malay votes

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 02:09 PM PDT

Copies of Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's latest book 'One Man's View of the World' are displayed for sale at his book launch at the Istana in Singapore August 6, 2013. – Reuters pic

(The Malay Mail) - "...the chances of it (PR) getting rid of Malay special treatment are next to nothing. This is an opportunistic ad-hoc group not held together by even vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government."

If Malaysians counting on Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia concept to usher in a new era for race relations are being unrealistic, those counting on the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to do the same are not very much less so, Lee Kuan Yew has written in his latest book.

The former Singapore prime minister said the 1Malaysia slogan had not lived up to the initial excitement it created, adding that the Malay ground had not moved with Najib's ambitious plans to unite the different races in Malaysia.

"Prime Minister Najib proposed 1Malaysia because he wanted to win back some of the Chinese and Indian votes...But has the ground moved with him? Has there been thunderous applause from the Malays at 1Malaysia?," Lee wrote in his book One Man's View of the World, which was launched in the island republic last night.

Lee suggested that while Najib was ambitious in pushing for racial harmony, "but it appears political realities have conscribed his subsequent actions."

"It is impossible for him to win votes from the Chinese and Indians without losing votes from his party's core supporters - the Malays."

Lee was equally disparaging in his observations of the opposition parties in Malaysia.

"...the chances of it (PR) getting rid of Malay special treatment are next to nothing.

"This is an opportunistic ad-hoc group not held together by even vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government."

Lee argued that when it comes to the crunch PR would not be able to do away with Malay supremacy.

"The moment the bluff is called and it is handed the full power to push ahead it will either be torn apart from within or be paralysed by indecision.

Lee also suggested that even if Umno were to lose power any party that takes its place would not behave very differently.

In his book, Lee had also pointed out that Malaysia's acute brain drain problem is due to its government's insistence on promoting "one race" above all others.

Malaysia experiences a severe talent flight issue with an estimated 5 per cent of skilled locals exiting the country on an annual basis, with the main beneficiary being Singapore.

A World Bank report from 2011 concluded that 20 per cent of Malaysian graduates opt to quit the country, again with Singapore cited as the preferred destinations. Worryingly for Malaysia, the report concluded that these migrants were being replaced by unskilled and uneducated foreigners.

"They are prepared to lose that talent in order to maintain the dominance of one race," he wrote.

The NEP and other policies in its vein have been blamed for driving the country's non-Malays to find an exit, with Singapore being the destination of choice for geographic and cultural reasons.

"The Chinese made up 35.6 per cent of the population in 1970. They were down to 24.6 per cent at the last census in 2010," Lee wrote in his book

"Over that same period, the Indian numbers fell from 10.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent," he said.

While saying "40 per cent of our migrants are from Malaysia", Lee said the group were now casting their sights farther afield, heading for Europe, America and Australia.

"Some have done very well for themselves, such as Penny Wong, Australia's current finance minister."

But perhaps most damning of Lee's assessments was why some non-Malays who remain, do.

"Among those who have chosen to remain in Malaysia, some lack the means to leave and others are making a good living through business despite the discriminatory policies. Many in this latter class partner with Malays who have connections."

Lee stepped down as prime minister in 1990, handing power to Goh Chok Tong, but remaining influential as senior minister in Goh's cabinet and subsequently as "minister mentor" when Lee Hsien Loong became prime minister in 2004.

The elder Lee resigned from his cabinet position in 2011 after his long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) stumbled to its worst electoral showing since independence in 1965.

During his time, the 89-year-old Lee shared rocky ties with contemporary Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In their previous books, Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going and A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the two traded acerbic remarks about one another.

If I listened to Mahathir, Malaysia would be bankrupt, says Abdullah

Posted: 06 Aug 2013 01:59 PM PDT

Malaysia's 4th and 5th prime ministers - Mahathir Mohamad (left) and Abdullah Badawi - in happier times. The Malaysian Insider pic

(TMI) - "Can you imagine, if I had succumbed to Mahathir's continued pressure to spend when the deficit was already so high, how could Malaysia have weathered the oil and financial crisis which subsequently came in 2008?

If Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had succumbed to the pressure applied by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to spend without a care and continue with some of his pet mega-projects, Malaysia would be bankrupt by now.

This frank assessment was offered by Abdullah in a book covering his years as the prime minister of Malaysia.

Titled, "Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years In Malaysia", it was scheduled to come out earlier but there were some concerns in Putrajaya that the fifth prime minister's comments and observations could spark a war of words between Abdullah and Mahathir and split Umno before the May 5 general election.

Putrajaya need not have worried. Abdullah lobbed a few barbs here and there, and threw a few zingers in the direction of his chief critic but did not reveal state secrets or offer juicy and humiliating anecdotes about the country's longest-serving PM.

And he could have, he said. Referring to the constant attacks against him by Mahathir and other critics when he was in office, he recalled that some people asked why he did not clarify in detail the role of his young advisers, his son's involvement in business and the influence of son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin.

"Perhaps I should have been more vehement in defending and explaining these issues. I could have retaliated by exposing Mahathir. But what good would have come out of this for the government and party?" he said.

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