| Leaked Sarawak concession map shows Taib's secret stranglehold over the Borneo rainforest Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:16 PM PST 
Timber concessions covering 36% of Northern Sarawak are held by the Samling group that is linked to the Taib family - BMF is calling on the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the granting of timber and plantation concessions in Malaysia's largest state on the island of Borneo (MIRI, SARAWAK/MALAYSIA) Swiss NGO, the Bruno Manser Fund, has today released one of Sarawak's best-guarded secrets, a map of all the timber and plantation concessions in the northern part of Sarawak, a state on the island of Borneo that accounts for 25% of the world's exports of tropical logs. The map was prepared in May 2010 by Sarawak's Forest Department and was never intended to be made public. For over three decades, kickbacks for timber and plantation concessions have been one of the most important sources of political funding and personal enrichment for Sarawak's long-term head of government, Chief Minister Taib Mahmud ("Taib"). As a consequence, the Sarawak government has done everything in its power to keep secret the precise figures and dates on the timber and plantation concessions granted to Sarawak companies. Not surprisingly, the leaked Sarawak forestry map provides strong evidence that large tracts of the state's forests have been handed over to family members and cronies of the Sarawak Chief Minister. Most concessions in Northern Sarawak have gone to the Samling group, which exploits 1.37 million hectares of timber and plantation concessions in the area, equivalent to 36% of the total land mass of Northern Sarawak (3.79 million hectares) as is shown on the map. Samling is owned by the Yaw family, a Sarawak Chinese family with close ties to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. 5.4 % of Samling shares are held by Ahmad Bin Su'ut, the Chief Minister's spiritual medium ("bomoh"). Another 5% are held by Abdul Hamed Sepawi, Taib's first cousin. Both are thought to be nominees for Taib himself. Another 18 % of the land mass (700,000 hectares) have been concessioned to four state agencies, Yayasan Sarawak, Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation, and the Land Custody Development Authority, which are ultimately controlled by Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. Other private companies with very significant concession areas are logging giants Shin Yang (384,000 hectares), Rimbunan Hijau (295,000 hectares) and KTS (156,000 hectares). Other operators related to the Taib family are Titanium Management, a company owned by Taib's son, Abu Bekir Mahmud, (55,000 hectares of plantation concessions) and Ta Ann (33,000 hectares), which is controlled by Taib's cousin, Abdul Hamed Sepawi. The Bruno Manser Fund is calling on the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the granting of timber and plantation concessions in Sarawak as part of its ongoing corruption investigation against Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. Access the leaked Sarawak concession map under: http://www.stop-timber-corruption.org/resources http://www.stop-timber-corruption.org/resources/Concessions_SarForstDep_NE_Sarawak_comp.jpg |
| Ahmad is not "Safe" Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:17 AM PST 
My views herein are based on my personal experiences and knowledge during my time as the lawyer for the current Sultan of Johor. I verily believe that the Johor Palace has a big say in Ahmad's arrest and they are interfering with the Johor Police in this matter. The Police in Johor has to bow to the Palace in matters relating to the Johor royalty. They have"no choice", they cannot say no. Kamal Hisham Jaafar Dubai, United Arab Emirates I am making this press statement in response to the re arrest of AHMAD ABD JALIL by the JOHOR police on Monday Nov 5, the same day after the Johor Magistrate freed him from a three day remand order. It was reported by The Malaysian Insider today that Ahmad's father, Abd Jalil, informed them that he still feared for his son's safety, complaining that he was in the dark as to what would happen next. In the report by The Malaysian Insider, Abd Jalil pointed out that since the Magistrate had freed Ahmad from remand, the police should not have carted his son back to a lock-up. It was further reported by The Malaysian Insider that even then, the youth was brought to court by three men, only one of which was dressed in full police uniform. The others, he said, were in plainclothes. It was also stated that when Ahmad was freed, the driver, a big guy dressed in a red shirt, looked particularly unhappy. The driver pulled aside the inspector and they had a discussion for a while before they took Ahmad back to their car, instead of releasing him to Ahmad's family. "That was when we were told that they were acting on orders from above," Abd Jalil said to The Malaysian Insider. My views herein are based on my personal experiences and knowledge during my time as the lawyer for the current Sultan of Johor. I verily believe that the Johor Palace has a big say in Ahmad's arrest and they are interfering with the Johor Police in this matter. The Police in Johor has to bow to the Palace in matters relating to the Johor royalty. They have "no choice", they cannot say no. The palace normally gives its ORDER and LODGES its police reports through the Sultan's ADC, DSP Sugumaran, thus making Sugumaran, the complainant on behalf of the palace. Sugumaran will go out of his way and not within his job scope as he will communicate directly with the investigating officers and telling them about the Sultan or the Tunku Mahkota's directives. The Palace has too much power and this makes the police officers in Johor unhappy. What worries me is the Palace's unruly behaviour, who wants to make the "accused" or "victim" suffer and tormented physically and mentally with so many scary ways of which these will also affect the family members. What the palace wants is to feel "the proud power of winning, the feeling of "what we can do," and making the victim feeling so small, being a loser and begging for forgiveness and if needed, to kiss the Sultan and/or Tunku Mahkota's feet. I really hope that Ahmad need not go through all this experience. I have knowledge of several incidents not favouring the complainant or the witness or when someone that the palace is of the view has crossed the line. One which I will disclose here is the incident where the Investigating Officer, Inspector Fahmi who was physically fit in the morning when he appeared in court but later in the afternoon with swollen eyes after being beaten by people from the Palace. Another example, about 2 years ago a close relative of the palace was charged in the Johor court for beating a complainant with a metal object in the compound of the Johor Bahru Central Police Station in the presence of 2 police officers while the complainant was making a statement. The incident that involves the Negeri Sembilan royalty in 2008 is another example how powerful the Johor palace is. The people involved in making the Johor royalty escape the punishment now, those who gave instructions, those who tempered and destroyed the evidence, knew what really happened. You can lie now but you know very well what happened and you will be punished when your time comes. Those who have experienced what I have gone through with the Johor royalty will know how powerful the Johor palace is and what they are capable of doing. Therefore, I strongly urge that the administration of the Johor Police force be changed immediately if the Royal Malaysia Police wants the people to have faith in the Johor Police again. I have also made an application to the police that due to the death threats I have received, my statement be recorded/taken outside Malaysia and the statement recorded/taken by the police from Bukit Aman. Meanwhile, I am still hoping that whatever cases that the Johor Police has against me, whether I am being called to give statements or whether instructions have been given to charge me even though I have NOT given any statement, all these files to be transferred to Bukit Aman. I have full confidence that the Police in Bukit Aman will never be influenced by the Johor palace. The Police in Bukit Aman will never take any instructions or order or directives from the Johor palace and the Police in Bukit Aman will carry out their duties without fear or favour. Justice Not Only Must Be Done But Must Be Seen To Be Done. |
| Seeking Authorities' Help - a Win-win Situation Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:31 PM PST 
Mothers (from left) Che Surin. Lim and Shanthi had relied on their Genneva Malaysia income as gold traders to feed their families. — Picture by Choo Choy May Whatever the reason the company was raided, over 300,000 livelihoods are in the hands of the Central Bank. We seek the Central Bank's help to strive their utmost best to mediate this critical situation peacefully with empathy and compassion. Shereen Lim My heart goes out to many families who are now in fear, worry and grief. Their dreams have turned into nightmares. Whatever the reason the company was raided, over 300,000 livelihoods are in the hands of the Central Bank. We seek the Central Bank's help to strive their utmost best to mediate this critical situation peacefully with empathy and compassion. It is very noble for the Central Bank to protect the public, in this context with their sincerity and conviction, and we wish to appeal to the Central Bank to resolve this situation with a WIN-WIN settlement. It is crucial that the Central Bank give priority by speeding up Genneva Malaysia's issue as over 300,000 of us are now suffering financially & emotionally. Evidently Genneva Malaysia has always meet their obligations and commitments with all their consultants and customers. We were a OneGenneva Happy family before the raid. OBJECTIVES
A) To seek the Central Bank's help by permitting Genneva Malaysia to operate while the Central Bank:
- Continues to have dialogue with Genneva Malaysia which was already on-going for the last 8 months,
- to advise and guide them as well as to educate them for a WIN-WIN situation.
B) As for money laundering, this issue originally meant for terrorists. Question: Should it be exercised towards trading houses? If so:
- We would like to seek the Central Bank to address this grey area immediately; be it gold, wine, properties etc.
- To seek the Central Bank to formulate a clear rule so no party is victimized otherwise all trading houses are powerless
- As this is a vast undertaking by the Central Bank which can be considered a very subjective rule, we seek justice that the Central Bank may help us address this issue so that we can put the "trauma" behind us. |
| PAS Perak tawar khidmat guaman percuma Posted: 04 Nov 2012 05:47 PM PST 
Muhammad Faeez Azahar
IPOH: PAS Perak menerusi Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isunya hari ini menyatakaan kesediaannya untuk memberi khidmat guaman secara percuma kepada mangsa kesalahan Sistem Penguatkuasaan Automatik (AES).
Timbalan Pesuruhjayanya, Ustaz Misbahul Munir Masduki berkata, ini adalah respon daripada kenyataan Menteri Besar Perak, Dato' Dr Zambry kadir yang enggan menangguhkan sistem pemantauan trafik itu.
Menurut Misbahul, tawaran tersebut adalah untuk rakyat Negeri Perak yang telah menerima notis saman tersebut tanpa mengira bangsa, agama mahupun parti politik.
Katanya, barisan peguam daripada Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu akan mengelola proses saman tersebut.
"Tawaran ini adalah untuk mangsa saman AES yang inginkan pembelaan dan mempertahankan haknya dan kami secara terbuka akan membantu mereka tanpa sebarang caj guaman," katanya dalam sidang media di Pejabat PAS Perak hari ini.
Hadir sama ialah Ahli Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu, Safarizal Saleh serta barisan peguam iaitu Zamri Ibrahim dan Fitri Asmuni.
Misbahul Munir menjelaskan, PAS Perak telah menyediakan perkhidmatan talian secara hotline kepada mangsa sistem tersebut.
"Kepada yang inginkan bantuan guaman bolehlah menghantar butiran kepada pihak kami di talian 0133493848.
"Kami sekali menggesa kerajaan negeri Perak untuk menanggungkan perlaksanaan sistem tersebut seperti yang dilakukan oleh negeri-negeri yang ditadbir oleh Pakatan Rakyat kerana ianya jelas ditentang oleh rakyat yang melihatnya sebagai cara kerajaan membolot duit rakyat," tegas beliau.
Sementara itu, Zamri Ibrahim yang juga Pengarah Jabatan Undang-Undang dan Hak Asasi Manusia Dewan Pemuda PAS Perak (Juham) berkata, berdasarkan penelitian pihaknya, saman yang dikeluarkan mengelirukan kerana menggunakan seksyen79(2) yang tiada kena mengena dengan had laju.
Menurutnya, kesalahan had laju mempunyai seksyen khusus yang termaktub didalam Akta Pengangkutan Jalan.
Kata beliau, tawaran ini juga telah dibuat oleh Pengerusi Kempen Anti Saman Ekor (KASE), Dato' Mahfuz Omar baru-baru ini diparlimen dan pihaknya telah meneruskan usaha yang dilakukan itu untuk membela mangsa sistem yang mendapat bantahan ramai itu.
Zamri berkata, pihaknya telah menerima banyak respon daripada rakyat yang telah menerima saman tersebut dan secara keseluruhannya tidak berpuas hati dan ingin mencabar di mahkamah. "Pihak kami akan memaklumkan kepada semua mangsa saman yang telah menghantar butiran kepada kami untuk mengadakan perjumpaan serta memberi taklimat tentang proses tersebut," jelasnya lagi.
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| Hiring in Malaysia – from the prism of race Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:52 PM PST 
Ice Cream Seller Having just read an article about the findings of a study that was conducted regarding the hiring preferences and practices of employers in Malaysia, I would like to comment on this subject that we often avoid for whatever reason. As someone who counts 30 plus years in commerce & industry, I have been immersed in this process from the very bottom to the very top. As I type, I am enroute to Kathmandu to interview candidates for work in Malaysia. A human trafficker no less.
Why are we going to the Himalayas to bring poor peasants to toil in our hot humid country - to be later abused by our cops, RELA, immigration 'officers', employers and other Malaysians, including managers, supervisors, migration agents, etc? Why are we not taking (to start with), local Indians to work in our factories when they seem to be the ones in greatest need of gainful employment? Lets look at how employers tend to view local Indians. For the English educated, there is consensus of their flair for the language (look at the litigation lawyers in the country). But that is at the professional level. The view of employers (rightly or wrongly) is that Indians tend to be more talkative than others (more so amongst themselves), their EQ may not be comensurate with their IQ, they tend to have a 'victim' mentality and at the same time can have a fiery sense of pride. Often seen as argumentative by the others. Generally considered loyal but as others in the Gen Y group, this is diminishing as a trait. Thanks to the NEP, they are no more fluent in English (urban excepted). Their Malay language skills may be quite good but what commercial value really does this have? On the contrary, the Chinese speaking Indians seem well embraced by Chinese employers.
As for the Chinese, what the employer sees is amongst others: someone with better self control & discipline, more suited to detailed work but perhaps not so adept in social skills when put in a cross cultural environment. Their EQ is generally viewed positively and for Chinese employers, they tend to see Chinese candidates as more likely to be loyal. Again, this fades with the onset of the Chinese Gen Y. If the NEP is considered a fence, the Chinese employer views a Chinese prospect as being from the same side of the fence. They are CONSIDERED more suited for analytical type of work though this view is not necessarily cast in stone. Employers view Chinese candidates as more pragmatic and best suited for "greasing" the machinery of commerce, politics and government whenever called for.
Finally, but not least, the Malays. Let's ignore the government view as there is only one seeming set of views judging by the civil service makeup. Employers in the private sector (excluding GLCs - as they are as good as or bad as the civil service, depending on how one looks at it) view them variously. These include the view that they are easy going, polite but volatile if rubbed the wrong way. There is concern from the employer's point when it comes to religion. Can the Malay leave his religion outside the door when he/she comes to work or does it come as a package deal?
Because the private sector (excluding GLCs again) are largely non-Malay (and by extension, the segment that did not seem to benefit from the NEP) there is a widespread view that Malay staff will carry with them all that was wrong with the NEP – monolingual, poor English skills, insular in outlook, placid and having qualifications that often fit neither here nor there. (This is by no means an exhaustive list). At the same time, I will acknowledge that on least three occassions, I have put my life in the able and competent hands of three different Malay doctors (though all three are pre-NEP products and would have made it even without the NEP. In fact the NEP has done a great disservice to them being mistagged as NEP products). As employers we often find many very good Malay staff but in the last 20 years, the same staff have found themselves – at different times - trapped in the dilema of conforming to peer pressure to conform to certain relatively new norms versus their inate sense of just wanting to be themselves. Increasingly, where suitable female Malay candidates are available, they are preferred to males. (Like it or not, this probably stems from the numerous negative role models on display from very public figures – from politicians, political wannabes to pampered sports personalities).
Today, if you walk into a large private sector company, the scenario is likely to look something like this : Accounts Dept – predominantly Chinese and nearly all female. The HR and Admin Depts – either Malay or Indian or both. The Sales/Marketing Depts – mostly Chinese (unless your customer is the Government or GLCs). The cleaners – either Malay/Indonesian or Indian. The dispatch riders – Malay with a smattering of Indians. The drivers of the bosses – Indians or Malays.
Extend this scenario to outlets like KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonald's where the counter staff are almost entirely Malays. In Indian eateries - it is Indians from India. In Chinese eateries – Burmese, Nepalese and anyone accept Malaysian!
When we have different medium schools available for Tamils, Chinese, Muslims (sekolah agama) and the others - either national government or private schools- the parameters are set for differentiation for our young. Add to that, the residential secondary schools that cater primarily to Malays
The hiring arena has certainly evolved a long way from 30 years ago and indeed much has transpired in the process. It is a great pity that one individual was allowed to orchestrate this process almost unfettered during this time. Like making a wrong turn on a long expressway, we need to wait till an exit appears to correct the journey. In the meantime, endure the ride or stop the car, get out and walk. |
| Christian Cemetery stinks to high heavens Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:35 PM PST 
Terracotta Christians in the Federal Capital of Kuala Lumpur observed their annual 'All Souls day' on 2nd November 2012 with their noses plugged and all because of the utter insensitivity of the local authorities. Anyone who visited the Cheras Christian Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur would have felt insulted and you cannot blame them if they registered their disgust and hurt feelings by casting their votes for the Opposition. BN leaders therefore cannot accuse the Christians of being 'ungrateful'. Here is yet another benchmark of an insensitive leadership: How could the authorities set up a bay for their garbage trucks just beside the graves – as well as entering and leaving the depot using the same road and entrance/exit that Christians use to visit the graves? At least a dozen garbage trucks were seen parked in the vicinity of the graves. How on earth can any normal human being stand by the tombstone so close to the garbage bay and observe their obligations for the departed? And the stench filled a wide expanse of the cemetery grounds despite the fact that flower stalls were decked all along the path and thousands of petals and garlands graced the tombstones; and certainly the oozing liquids on the narrow paths between the graves spilling from the DBKL 'truk sampah' vehicles that kept driving in and out was just too much to bear. What kind of policy is this? Do we have no respect for the dead? Are we so short of land for the garbage vehicles that even a Christian cemetery is not spared? Where is our sensitivity? Or are the authorities sending a subtle message of discrimination? It is no surprise when the Christians visiting the cemetery lean to the other extreme questioning if the same would also happen to the burial grounds of other faiths? These are the questions the family members who paid their respects to their deceased loved ones are asking. And are the BN leaders going to charge the Christians of non-patriotic line of questions? Or would some UMNO aligned political group charge that the Christians are rousing religious sensitivities by asking these questions? Have the heads of the Christian faith questioned and or appealed to the authorities not to turn the burial ground into a garbage truck depot? If they have not, then they are also party to this totally disrespectful and hurting act. However if the Christian leaders have send in their appeals, then it is definitely an act of ill-will on the part of the authorities. Where in the world would local authorities also seemingly raid and occupy burial grounds with their stinking, oozing garbage trucks? Anyone reader can name one? Wonder what have the BN leaders who keep proclaiming that only they know what is best for Malaysians of all faiths have got to say? Or is this act also another of the BN's "promises fulfilled" agenda? |
| Minister Displayed Poor Leadership Posted: 03 Nov 2012 11:28 PM PDT 
From this incident and many others that have happened in our country, it shows the "I don't care" attitude of many leaders is very prevalent. Why have this lack of concern and sense of responsibility which have permeated in our society so extensively? John Lo 1. Out of the chaos and great inconvenience that have been created by the faulty KKIA Runway Lights, Sabahans are perfectly entitled to ask many questions and demand answers from the "Sabah-must-accept-the-CABOTAGE POLICY" Minister of Transport who is ultimately responsible for the management [or the lack of it] of airports in the country. it is called "MINISTERIAL RESPONSBILITY". If the Minister cares for Sabah, he would have left no stone unturned to prevent a recurrence as KKIA IS THE ECONOMIC LIFELINE OF SABAH. 2. In any well managed country where Ministerial Responsibility is taken seriously, the Minister of Transport should have been on top of things immediately by [1] Assessing the situation. [2] Initiating a technical rectification plan. [3] As the Minister in charge, he should inform the public of the nature of the problem and a time line when KKIA can resume in good working order again without delay. [4] A good and responsible Minister would have apologized to Sabahans and the travelling public and promised no more repetition in future immediately after the runway lights went out. By announcing that a probe would be conducted and at the same breath, talked about sabotage, is nothing but a put-up drama to cause diversion of attention from bad management and planning by the Ministry of Transport. 3. From this incident and many others that have happened in our country, it shows the "I don't care" attitude of many leaders is very prevalent. Why have this lack of concern and sense of responsibility which have permeated in our society so extensively? 2 basic negative human elements or a combination thereof have overtaken good sense and basic human decencies: [1] Being in power for too long hence the tendency to take the voters for granted. [2] Systemic corruption which can casue "keep 1 eye shut" syndrome. Once the political leaders have been inflicted with these two "diseases", the effectiveness of government will begin to crumble and things will begin to stop properly. What are the symptoms of these 2 diseases? We can see them and experience and/or suffer the resultant effects in our daily life from the high-price roads that are littered with potholes, bad and slow delivery service [no corruption money - no approval syndrome] to the ram shackle little houses and extensive urban and rural poverty. From overnight-rich cronies living in huge mansions to driving "dream million-dollar" cars. From high cost of business to expensive housing and low GDP per capita. Though there may be economic growth, it will be slow and dependent on the short term model of exploitation of natural resources rather than on the long term model of enhancement of human capital capacity. 4. The aforementioned 2 diseases have caused poor policy decision-makings and breakdowns in the MICRO management of the Malaysian economy - resulting in poor economic performance. Malaysians are quite familiar with some high profile poor quality policies. I will try to illustrate some of the failures of MICRO management in the KKIA case: [1] Top of the list is the failure of the Minister of Transport to make his presence felt immediately after the lights have gone off. He should know this is very serious for Sabah. It has greatly inconvenient thousands of traveler and deprived many Muslims of their quality time with their family on Hari Raya Haji. Equally important, as Sabah Minister of Tourism has said, this incident has negated the promotional efforts by Sabah that KKIA is a reliable airport. It has also tarnished Sabah's image as a tourism destination. [2] Poor planning and low quality implementation are obvious, as such an accident should have been foreseen and a backup system/plan put in place. This is elementary and should never have been overlooked. The whole process of planning and execution could not have been by amateurs as there are professionals in the Ministry and highly paid consultants. Can we then presume what we can only conclude by such blatant amateurism? [3] If the incident has been caused by the contractor as has been mentioned in the news, then the authorities supervising the contact must take responsibility for poor supervision. [4] The resultant chaos [nobody seemed to know what to do] and typical "tight lip" by the authorities in the whole incident reek with ineffective co-ordination and poor leadership. [5] The Minister has announced a probe which is long on form but short in substance as he has failed to say that he would sack those responsible if there is negligence and/or poor management. He is being vague and tries to buy time in the hope that all the problems will go away eventually. If there is sincerity on his part, he would have personally announced the offer of compensation to those who have suffered inconvenience and financial losses without waiting for his so called probe. After all, whatever the outcome of his probe, the faults still lay no further than at the doors of his Ministry. We have seen too many Ministers announcing this probe and that probe. Show us how many of these probes have produced positive results? I truly feel sorry for the PM and Datuk Musa who are trying their best to win over the hearts and souls of Sabahans by their frequent visits to various places in our State and their offers of "election goodies". I am afraid the Minister of Transport, by continuing to ignore the plights of Sabahans, will unravel all the efforts of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister. 5. Like so many cases in our country, most of our ministers would not take their MINISTERIAL responsibility seriously, take the voters for granted thinking that they would not complain, keeping quiet, hoping the problem will right itself or blow away eventually. Come next election, they will get re-elected again and things will remain exactly the same as before. I hope Malaysian voters will have learned from all the abuses by the political leaders in the past and will know what to do at the ballot box. In the era of the 2 party-system, we expect the opposition to raise hell and cry for blood over this incidence but so far they have been tame like new born kittens. 6. Now that the damage has been done, what is the Minister of Transport going to do about it? Will he play the political "deaf, dumb, mute and blind" with Sabahans as he has done so with the Cabotage Policy? If he is forthright and will not play camouflage, he should announce what he would do to those who are responsible for bad planning, bad management and poor implementation. The wording of his probe is anything but convincing from a man who really means business. If he is a gentleman politician, he should apologize immediately to Sabahans and tell us why he has allowed such an incidence happen. In many countries, Ministers would have resigned for lesser negligence or mistakes. 7. As political parties, there is nothing wrong with BN/UMNO and PR except that they have failed to weed out bad and irresponsible leaders. Such leaders are giving their party a bad name by not taking responsibility for their mistakes and negligence. Both parties must really pull up their socks and examine the lack of quality of their current leadership. Many of them [in Government and Opposition] have performed way below expectation and should not be allowed to stand in GE13. 8. All that it remains now is for me to ask: [1] For an explanation as to why the Minister of Transport has allowed such an incident to happen. [2] What has the Minister of Transport done for Sabahans since he assumed this post? [3] The Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf on the Federal Cabinet, has issued an apology to the affected passenger 30 October 2012. Has the Minister of Transport said sorry? [4] What is the stand of MCA Sabah on this incident and the Cabotage Policy? Is MCA Sabah so timid that it would not go against its political boss in KL to protect the economic interest of Sabahans on this incident and the Cabotage Policy? |
| Ordinary, average Muslims are not easily confused – their faith is strong! Posted: 03 Nov 2012 10:58 AM PDT 
It is difficult to understand the so-called Muslim elites who constantly and consistently convey the erroneous message that Islam is under threat and that the Muslims will be easily misled. P. Ramakrishnan The protest against the Shah Rukh Khan movie My name is Khan has baffled P Ramakrishnan, who points out that the film has been screened without much problem in many countries with a sizeable Muslim population. So just who are the people "confused"? They always seem to suggest that Muslims must be sheltered and protected otherwise they can go astray and embarrass their religion. The latest episode involves the screening of the movie My name is Khan by TV3 on the second day of Hari Raya Aidil Adha. The Muslim youth movement, Abim, has strongly protested against this film, claiming that Shah Rukh Khan's film My name is Khan "confuses Muslims as it promotes liberal Islam and religious pluralism, and warned Malaysian broadcasters not to air the hit film". Abim vice-president Ahmad Saparudin Yusuf "gave examples of scenes in the film such as the Muslim hero marrying a Hindu heroine, saying that it is 'clearly against Islam's teachings'". He also pointed out "that the depiction in the film of acceptance and mixing of other religions' worship methods with Islam's, as well as giving zakat or alms to non-Muslims were 'confusing'". This film has been available in Malaysia since March 2010. It has been screened in cinemas and the film's CD has been widely sold. In the two and half years that it was around, thousands upon thousands of Muslims and other Malaysians have seen and enjoyed the film. Is there any evidence that the average, ordinary Muslims in Malaysia have become confused about Islam because of the film? Has their faith in Islam been eroded as a result of seeing this film? My Name is Khan has been shown in many Muslim countries where the film is very popular. It has become the highest Bollywood earner in the Middle East. It has been screened in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria in March 2010 when the film was released. In Indonesia, the country with the biggest Muslim community, the film was so popular when it was first released that it grew from six to 14 screens. In all these countries there was no protest against or any negative reaction to what was depicted in the movie. No one took offence to the film. In India, the country with the biggest Muslim population outside Indonesia, there was no problem whatsoever. Besides Islam, many other religions and various forms of worship exist on a daily basis in that country. People are tolerant and accept the fact that others have a right to their religion. As a matter of fact, religions co-exist in India. In real life, Shah Rukh Khan – a Muslim – is married to a Hindu woman. This has not upset the Muslims in India or anywhere else. Knowing this fact has not prevented the Malacca state government from conferring on him a datukship. Even Tun Dr Mahathir on his visit to India made it a point to meet up with him. So who are the people who are confused? The average, ordinary Muslims are of stronger faith and they are not easily confused!
P Ramakrishnan is the immediate past president of Aliran |
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