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• Less political rebellion, more mollycoddled mob
• Tension Grows in Malaysian Religious Controversy
• A Reluctant Symbol for Electoral Reform in Malaysia
• London riots: how BlackBerry Messenger played a key role

Less political rebellion, more mollycoddled mob Posted: 09 Aug 2011 07:16 AM PDT What we have on the streets of London and elsewhere are welfare-state mobs. The youth who are shattering their own communities represent a generation that has been suckled by the state more than any generation before it.  Brendan O'Neill, The Australian  MANY commentators are on a mission to contextualise the riots that have swept parts of urban London and other British cities. "It's very naive to look at these riots without the context," says one journalist, who says the reason the violence kicked off in the London suburb of Tottenham is because "that area is getting 75 per cent cuts [in public services]". Others have said the political context for the rioting is youth unemployment or working-class anger at Prime Minister David Cameron's cuts agenda. "There is a context to London's riots that can't be ignored," says a writer for The Guardian, and it is the "backdrop of brutal cuts and enforced austerity measures". The "mass unrest" is a protest against unhinged capitalism, apparently. These observers are right that there is a political context to the riots. While the police shooting of young black man Mark Duggan may ostensibly have been the trigger for the street violence, there is a broader context to the disturbances. But they are wrong about what the political context is. Painting these riots as some kind of action replay of historic political streetfights against capitalist bosses or racist cops might allow armchair radicals to get their intellectual rocks off, as they lift their noses from dusty tomes about the Levellers or the suffragettes and fantasise that a political upheaval of equal worth is occurring outside their windows. But such shameless projection misses what is new and deeply worrying about these riots. The political context is not the cuts or racist policing, it is the welfare state, which has nurtured a generation that has no sense of community spirit or social solidarity. What we have on the streets of London and elsewhere are welfare-state mobs. The youth who are shattering their own communities represent a generation that has been suckled by the state more than any generation before it. They live in urban territories where the sharp-elbowed intrusion of the welfare state during the past 30 years has pushed aside older ideals of self-reliance and community spirit. The march of the welfare state into every aspect of urban, less well-off people's existences, from their financial wellbeing to their child-rearing habits and even into their emotional lives, with the rise of therapeutic welfarism designed to ensure that the poor remain "mentally fit", has undermined individual resourcefulness and social bonding. The antisocial youthful rioters are the end-product of this antisocial system of state intervention. The most striking thing about the rioters is how little they care for their own communities. You don't have to be a right-winger with helmet hair and a niggling discomfort with black or chavvy yoof (I am the opposite of that) to recognise that this violence is not political, just criminal. It is entertaining to watch the political contortions of commentators who claim the riots are an uprising against the evils of capitalism, as they struggle to explain why the targets have been Foot Locker sports shops and why the only "gains" made by the rioters have been to get a new pair of trainers or an Apple laptop. In the Brixton race riots of 1981, looting and the destruction of local infrastructure were largely incidental to the broader expression of political anger, by-products of the main show, which was a clash between a community and the forces of the state. But in these riots, looting and smashing stuff up is all there is. It is childish nihilism. Many older members of the urban communities rocked by violence have been shocked by the level of self-destruction exhibited by the rioters. Some shop owners have got together to defend their property, even beating up rioters who have turned up with iron bars. In one video, a West Indian woman in her 50s braves the rubble-strewn streets to lecture the rioters: "These people worked hard to make their businesses work and then you lot wanna go and burn it up. For what?" On Twitter, the hashtag #riotcleanup is being used by community members to co-ordinate some post-riot street-cleaning, to make amends for what one elderly Tottenham resident described as "the stupid behaviour of the young". But it is more than childish destructiveness motivating the rioters. These are youngsters who are uniquely alienated from the communities in which they grew up. Nurtured in large part by the welfare state, financially, physically and educationally, socialised more by the agents of welfarism than by their own neighbours or local representatives, these youth have little moral or emotional attachment to their communities. Their rioting reveals not that Britain is in a time warp in 1981 or 1985 with politically motivated riots against the police, but that the tentacle-like spread of the welfare state into every area of people's lives has utterly zapped old social bonds, the relationship of sharing and solidarity that once existed in working-class communities. These riots suggest that the welfare state is giving rise to a generation happy to shit on its own doorstep. This is not a political rebellion; it is a mollycoddled mob, a riotous expression of carelessness for one's own community. And as a left-winger I refuse to celebrate nihilistic behaviour that has a profoundly adverse affect on working people's lives. Far from being an instance of working-class action, this welfare-state mob has more in common with what Marx described as the lumpenproletariat. Indeed, it is worth remembering Marx's colourful description in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon of how that French ruler cynically built his power base among parts of the bourgeoisie and sections of the lumpenproletariat, so that "ruined and adventurous offshoots of the bourgeoisie rubbed shoulders with vagabonds, discharged soldiers, discharged jailbirds, escaped galley slaves, swindlers, pickpockets, tricksters, gamblers, brothel-keepers, organ-grinders, ragpickers, knife-grinders, tinkers, beggars and from this kindred element Boneparte formed the core of his [constituency], where all its members felt the need to benefit themselves at the expense of the labouring nation". In very different circumstances, we have something similar today where the decadent commentariat's siding with lumpen rioters represents a weird coming together of sections of the bourgeoisie with sections of the underworked and the over-flattered, as the rest of us, "the labouring nation", look on with disdain. There is one more important part to this rioting story: the reaction of the cops. Their inability to handle the riots effectively reveals the extent to which the British police are adapted to consensual rather than conflictual policing. It also demonstrates how far they have been paralysed by the politics of victimhood, where virtually every police activity gets followed up by a complaint or a legal case. Their kid-glove approach to the rioters only fuels the riots because, as one observer put it, when the rioters "see that the police cannot control the situation, [that] leads to sort of adrenalin-fuelled euphoria". So this street violence was largely ignited by the excesses of the welfare state and intensified by the discombobulation of the police state. The riots tell a very interesting story about modern Britain.

Tension Grows in Malaysian Religious Controversy Posted: 08 Aug 2011 08:02 PM PDT Religious police accuse Christians of attempting to convert Muslims The federal constitution, which ensures freedom of religion in Malaysia, also bans conversion attempts. Other state governments have enacted other statues that prohibit proselytizing by non-Muslims.  Asia Sentinel Always-tense relations between Malaysia's religious communities continue to be strained again over a raid on Aug. 3 by officials of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on a Methodist church in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Petaling Jaya where they said Malay Muslims were being converted to Christianity. The Christian leaders say nothing of the sort was going on, and that the affair was a dinner to recognize an NGO called Harapan Komuniti (Community Hope) for its efforts to combat Aids. About 100 to 150 people were attending the dinner, among them 12 ethnic Malays. Yesterday afternoon, the religious department said it was considering arrest warrants for the 12 Muslims, who apparently have refused on the advice of lawyers to give the department statements about their activities at the dinner. Both Malays and Christians have repeatedly accused the other of attempting to convert the opposite members to their respective religions. According to Malaysia's Demographic Statistics Division, 60.3 percent of the population is ethnic Malay, 22.9 percent Chinese and 6.7 percent Indian, with other races making up the difference, although the size of the Malay majority is disputed by the smaller ethnic groups. The story has been complicated by reports in the Malay-language Berita Harian, a daily owned by the United Malays National Organization, and Harian Metro, a tabloid, that two women who attended the dinner said they had been offered RM1,000 each to convert to Christianity. The stories said Christian groups often target poverty-stricken Malays and offer them money to change their religion. The religious police also said the fact that a speaker had used the words Quran and "pray" in a speech was an indication of proseylitizing. Christian leaders denied the charge. The raid has been roundly condemned by other religious groups as well, who expressed shock that Islamic religious police would enter a church. However, the youth wing of Perkasa, a group that advocates so-called Ketuanan Melayu, or Malay rights, said the reports by the two papers could be credible and asked for a police investigation into the claims. The federal constitution, which ensures freedom of religion in Malaysia, also bans conversion attempts. Other state governments have enacted other statues that prohibit proselytizing by non-Muslims. The presence of the Malays at a Christian church dinner during the Muslim fasting month was particularly sensitive, said a Malay source in Kuala Lumpur. "You don't enter a church during Ramadan," he said. Muslims are forbidden by their religion from taking food between sunrise and sunset. The raid has caused confusion because the Selangor State government, which has control over the Islamic religious department, is in turn controlled by the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition. Typically it is the United Malays National Organization, the leading ethnic party in the national ruling coalition, which is accused by the opposition of fomenting religious tension. In fact, the raid was condemned by Khairy Jamaluddin, the chief of the UMNO youth wing, although mainly because the opposition coalition had allowed it to go forward. Parti Islam se-Malaysia, which is still largely a fundamentalist Islamist party despite the election of moderate officers earlier this year who declared the party to be secular one now, shares an uneasy balance in largely moderate, middle-class Selangor state with the ethnic Chinese Democratic Action Party and more moderate urban Malays.  READ MORE HERE

A Reluctant Symbol for Electoral Reform in Malaysia Posted: 08 Aug 2011 04:51 PM PDT Ms. Ambiga, who is ethnic Indian in a country that is mostly Malay and mostly Muslim, said that the protesters "exploded many myths" about Malaysians, such as the notion that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds could not work together and that the middle class was "too comfortable to step up to the plate."  By LIZ GOOCH, The New York Times Her photograph has been burned by ethnic Malay nationalists, there have been calls to revoke her Malaysian citizenship and she has been threatened, via text message, with death. The movement she leads, Bersih, an alliance of 62 nongovernmental organizations pressing for electoral reform, has been declared illegal, and a demonstration that brought thousands of its followers into the streets of this capital city last month ended with nearly 1,700 arrests. But having stared down these challenges, Ambiga Sreenevasan, 54, a University of Exeter-educated lawyer and former president of the Malaysian Bar Council, is now being hailed by many here as the "new symbol of civil society's dissent." "She has not been afraid to speak the truth to power," said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center, an independent polling firm in Kuala Lumpur. Over peppermint tea in a busy cafe recently, Ms. Ambiga squirmed uncomfortably at the attention she had attracted. "This focus on me is actually ridiculous," said Ms. Ambiga. "It's a true citizens' movement, because the citizens have taken ownership of Bersih." The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, or Bersih — "clean" in Malay — got its start in November 2007. Members of the political opposition and civic groups defied restrictions on gatherings of more than five people without a permit and rallied for changes in an election system they said unfairly favored the governing coalition, which has been in power since Malaysia achieved independence in 1957. The demonstrators were dispersed by tear gas, and some were arrested. They did not achieve their immediate demands, which included better access to the state-owned news media by opposition candidates and the use of indelible ink on voters' thumbs to help prevent fraud. But their action was credited with winning support for the opposition and contributing to the governing coalition's poor showing in the 2008 election, when it fell below a two-thirds majority for the first time. Ms. Ambiga did not attend that rally in 2007, but earlier in the year she had led a march of more than 2,000 lawyers calling for judicial reform. And while she runs a commercial litigation practice, she has also devoted considerable time to pro bono cases involving the rights of squatters, indigenous people and women. In 2009 she became the first Malaysian to receive a U.S. State Department "International Women of Courage" Award. Maria Chin Abdullah, executive director of Empower, a nongovernmental organization that promotes women in politics, said it was because of Ms. Ambiga's "commitment, dedication and leadership in defending human rights and democracy" that she and other N.G.O. leaders approached her to lead Bersih 2.0, the second incarnation of the electoral reform movement. Ms. Ambiga agreed, on the proviso that it be "civil society-driven," and not simply a tool of opposition parties. Again, Bersih pushed for an end to electoral fraud, media access for all parties and a minimum 21-day campaign period before any election. But Ms. Ambiga said she never expected the event to unfold the way it did. What began as a call for reform morphed into widespread anger at the government's handling of the activists. When Bersih was declared an unregistered and therefore illegal organization, barred from demonstrating in the capital, and more than 200 people were arrested in the weeks leading up to a July 9 protest, Ms. Ambiga said, the effect was to prompt even more people to join in the rally. Bersih estimated that there were 50,000 protesters; the police put the figure at 5,000 to 6,000. As the demonstrators tried to march to Stadium Merdeka, the police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. Among those arrested was Ms. Ambiga, who, along with the others, was released that night. "While I was sitting there the most wonderful things were happening in Kuala Lumpur, which I could only read about that night," she said. "It brought tears to my eyes. I just didn't for a minute expect Malaysians to rise to the occasion in the way they did that day." Even though the rally was blocked, she said, Bersih has heightened public awareness of the need for free and fair elections. "A number of people have told me that they may not have voted before, but they'll definitely vote next time," she said. Even now, though, she does not call herself an activist. "I think I'm an advocate for a cause," she said. "In a sense it was a learning experience for me, pulling myself out of the comfort of the Bar Council and all its support that it had, including finances, coming into this organization that didn't have a single cent." Ms. Ambiga, who is ethnic Indian in a country that is mostly Malay and mostly Muslim, said that the protesters "exploded many myths" about Malaysians, such as the notion that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds could not work together and that the middle class was "too comfortable to step up to the plate." She attributes her willingness to get involved in public causes to her upbringing. She cites as an inspiration her late father, a doctor who helped establish the National Kidney Foundation. "I suppose I've been brought up to always try and do the right thing no matter what the odds," said Ms. Ambiga. Haji Sulaiman Abdullah, also a former president of the Bar Council, said he was not surprised by "the breadth and depth of leadership she has brought to the Bersih movement." "Even the ordinary man in the street has come to appreciate what Ambiga stands for," he said. The events of recent weeks offer plentiful fodder for a compelling election campaign narrative, but Ms. Ambiga shoots down any possibility that a political career could be in the offing. "I don't have the stomach for it," she said. In fact, it has been Ms. Ambiga's ability to define the Bersih movement as a cause apart from partisan politics that has enabled her to unite Malaysians, said Mr. Suffian, of the Merdeka Center. Bersih has pledged that its campaign would continue and has called for people to wear yellow on Saturdays, but no more protests are planned for now. "People keep saying, 'What next?,' but, quite frankly, I think the citizens have taken it upon themselves to organize things around the country using the yellow theme, the theme of democracy. What I think Bersih has achieved is the awakening," Ms. Ambiga said. She said there have been positive responses from the Election Commission, for example, making it possible for Malaysians living overseas to vote. Its announcement that it would introduce a biometric fingerprinting system, she said, was an admission that there had been a problem of election fraud. When pressed on how Bersih would respond if the government did not meet other demands, such as equal media access, before the next election, which must be held by mid-2013, Ms. Ambiga's tendency to deflect the focus from herself resurfaced. "It's not me making the decision," she said. "It will be the rakyat" — Malay for "people" — "making the decision."

London riots: how BlackBerry Messenger played a key role Posted: 08 Aug 2011 03:34 PM PDT Police looking on Facebook and Twitter for signs of unrest spreading will have missed out – they should have watched BBM (The Guardian) - In October 1985, on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham where the death of Cynthia Jarrett sparked riots that culminated in the brutal murder of PC Keith Blakelock, a community leader stood on his chair at a packed open-air meeting. The man bellowed into a megaphone to the 150 residents in front of him: "You tell them that it's a life for a life from now on. This is war." Over whoops and cheers from the residents, he turned to a huddle of police officers standing 50 yards away and warned: "I hope you're listening. There is no way I am going to condemn the actions of the youth on Sunday night." Twenty six years later, police officers are still listening – but the megaphones and open-air meetings have been largely replaced. This weekend's north London riots, the Daily Mail announced on Monday, were "fuelled by social media". But is this necessarily the case? Certainly, the first online gathering of people mourning – and soon vowing to avenge – the death of Tottenham resident Mark Duggan took place on Facebook. Some of those behind the page, which now boasts more than 7,500 fans, launched into action shortly before 10.30pm on Saturday evening – more than five hours after the first public show of protest, outside the police station on Tottenham High Road. At 10.45pm, when rioters set a double decker bus alight, the page posted: "Please upload any pictures or video's you may have from tonight in Tottenham. Share it with people to send the message out as to why this has blown into a riot." However, otherwise, if there was any sign that a peaceful protest would escalate, it wasn't to be found on Facebook. Twitter was slightly more indicative: tweets about an attempt to target Sunday's Hackney Carnival were spotted by police and the event was abruptly cancelled. Scotland Yard warned on Monday afternoon that those "inciting violence" on the 140-character social network would not go unpunished. Deputy assistant commissioner Stephen Kavanagh confirmed that officers were looking at the website as part of investigations into widespread looting and rioting. However, the most powerful and up-to-the-minute rallying appears to have taken place on a more covert social network: BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). Using BlackBerry handsets – the smartphone of choice for the majority (37%) of British teens, according to last week's Ofcom study – BBM allows users to send one-to-many messages to their network of contacts, who are connected by "BBM PINs". For many teens armed with a BlackBerry, BBM has replaced text messaging because it is free, instant and more part of a much larger community than regular SMS. And unlike Twitter or Facebook, many BBM messages are untraceable by the authorities (which is why, in large part, BBM is so favoured by Emirati teens to spread illicit gossip about officialdom). One BBM broadcast sent on Sunday, which has been shown to the Guardian by multiple sources, calls on "everyone from all sides of London" to vandalise shops on Oxford street. It said: "Everyone from all sides of London meet up at the heart of London (central) OXFORD CIRCUS!!, Bare SHOPS are gonna get smashed up so come get some (free stuff!!!) fuck the feds we will send them back with OUR riot! >:O Dead the ends and colour war for now so if you see a brother... SALUT! if you see a fed... SHOOT!" Another sent shortly before the outbreak of violence in Enfield on Sunday afternoon reads: "Everyone in edmonton enfield wood green everywhere in north link up at enfield town station at 4 o clock sharp!". Jenny Jones, the former deputy mayor of London, blamed an under-resourced force for missing the tweets and the status updates. "It's quite possible if they had more resources they could have picked up on this," she said. But maybe they were looking in the wrong place. Just as Tottenham residents in 1985 lambasted the media for scaremongering about protesters – the Daily Express suggested some had been trained in Russia – today's rioters might be surprised to read about "Twitter-organised chaos".

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Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• Malaysian student injured in London riots
• PAS Youth supports church raid
• Haris resigns from Bersih 2.0
• Dr M: Congrats for ‘destroying’ Umno
• PKA inked PKFZ deal before official Cabinet nod, says witness
• Azmil out of MAS in share swap with AirAsia
• Donald Lim vows to quit if MCA fails in Selangor
• Khairy questions Idris Jala’s track record
• 'New media used to spread lies'
• Witness interview: Duo object to Anwar’s presence
• Inter-faith group says Jais raid an attempt to create religious strife
• Court blocks expulsions to Malaysia

Malaysian student injured in London riots Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:41 AM PDT (Bernama) - A Mara-sponsored accountancy student was injured during riots in North London yesterday. Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, however, said the Selangor-born student, Asyraf Hazlan, in his 20s, only sustained jaw injury and was currently being treated at the Royal London Hospital. "The student was not involved in the riots, but was attacked by a group of rioters when trying to get out of a subway train. He was heading to North London to break fast with a friend when the incident occurred. "He was also beaten and robbed but was later taken to hospital where he would probably undergo a minor surgery," he told reporters after breaking fast with the ministry's staff at the Institute for Rural Advancement (Infra) here today. Mohd Shafie said Asyraf's family had also been informed about the incident. The minister said Mara had also taken precautionary measures to relocate its students from the high-risk areas to Leicester Square to ensure their safety. "They are also advised not to go out aimlessly except to run important errands. Mara Education Director and staff will also monitor the situation there with cooperation from the police," he said. During the event, Mohd Shafie also presented 'duit raya' and prayer items to 120 orphans and 40 Orang Asli children from Gombak, Selangor.

PAS Youth supports church raid Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:28 AM PDT (The Star) - The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) used its prerogative to raid a function at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church last week, PAS Youth said, adding the movement backed the action. PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan said it supported the Jais action on the principle that the department was keeping the akhlak (conduct) of the Muslims in check. "Basically, the role of Jais is to protect the sanctity of Islam. "There should not be any doubt on the action it took. Instead, it should be supported," Nasrudin said after meeting Selangor executive councillor Datuk Dr Hasan Ali at his office here Tuesday. Saying Dr Hasan had shown him strong "evidence" that led to the raid, Nasrudin said he was satisfied with the explanation given by the state exco member. Urging critics not to be prejudiced, Nasrudin said Jais was merely carrying out its duty.

Haris resigns from Bersih 2.0 Posted: 08 Aug 2011 06:40 PM PDT He says it's time for him to refocus his attention on his ongoing campaign. (Free Malaysia Today) - Lawyer-turned-activist, Haris Ibrahim, today announced his resignation as Bersih 2.0 steering committee member – exactly one month after the July 9 rally took over the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Haris, who was involved in the first Bersih rally in 2007, said his decision was based on the need to separate Bersih's non-partisan stand from his personal political leaning. "If you noticed, I had not written anything on my blog (The People's Parliament) in the run-up to the rally," he said. "This is because Bersih 2.0 has been non-partisan from its inception to its launch." "But Haris Ibrahim via my blog has always been anti-BN. Not because I love the opposition but because BN and Umno have long been the bane of this nation." Haris explained that he found it increasingly difficult to express his thoughts on his blog without his writing being misconstrued as Bersih's point of view. The frustration led him to contemplate his post-Bersih step and he decided that it was time he turned his attention back to pursuing his ongoing "DNBN Kuburkan BN" campaign ahead of the 13th general election. "My involvement in this campaign would have created a perception problem for Bersih 2.0," Haris said. "The committee understood that I'm passionate about this campaign and that I will continue giving my full support to Bersih from the outside." "The rally has been successful and the steering committee is in the good hands of (Bersih 2.0 chairperson) Ambiga (Sreenevasan), so no worries there." Asked whether he had anticipated this predicament ahead of the rally, Haris said that he had given very little thought to where he would plant his feet when he first got involved in Bersih. "Politics in this country has been so fluid," he added. "It was very hard to say where things were going back then and where I would be turning my efforts to." He also laughed off speculation that he had chosen his resignation date to commemorate the one- month anniversary of the Bersih 2.0 rally. "Not at all, it has nothing to do with the date," he said. "My resignation wasn't even pre-planned." READ MORE HERE

Dr M: Congrats for ‘destroying’ Umno Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:55 PM PDT By RK Anand, FMT PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has responded to the speculation that he is once again working backstage to bring the curtain down on another political career – that of his protege Najib Tun Razak. The former premier complained about a FMT report which portrayed him as being the force behind the alleged move to replace Najib with current number two Muhyiddin Yassin. Mahathir also congratulated those who had expertly used psychological tactics to "destroy" Umno and possibly sow suspicion among party leaders and members. The former Umno president said that efforts were underway to weaken the ruling party ahead of the next general election. Last week, FMT reported that Penawar, an organisation comprising former Umno MPs, had voiced disatisfaction over Najib's leadership and wanted him to step down. The next day, Penawar's head, Aziz Shamsuddin, a former political secretary to Mahathir, had denied the report, despite refusing to comment the day before. 'Najib may be suspicious of Muyiddin and me' Mahathir, credited with playing a key role in ousting former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and prior to that, ending the careers of three deputy prime ministers during his 22 year reign, said the FMT report may now led Najib to doubt Muhyiddin and him. He warned that if Najib suspected Muhyiddin, Umno would crack, with some backing the president and others throwing their weight behind Muhyiddin. "The strategy was to claim that Penawar held its meeting to undermine Najib and that Muhyiddin and myself are the hidden hands. Of course, Najib would become suspicious of us and Penawar. "The report also spooked Penawar and other NGOs that Najib would be suspicious of their meetings and expose them to the accusation that they were Mahathir's people," he added in a blog posting. Mahathir said such reports would make the Malays afraid of politicking and the opposition would achieve its aim of seeing the race becoming disunited and not being able to defend its rights. 'Malay or Malaysian first' The former premier also noted that a reporter had recently asked Najib if he was a Malay or Malaysian first, landing the latter in a spot. Mahathir alleged that the question was deliberately posed to put Najib in a dilemma. "If he had answered that he was more Malay, then he would be called a racist just like how Muhyiddin and myself were accused. And if he had said 'Malaysian', then he would be seen as not sharing the view of his deputy," he said.   READ MORE HERE.

PKA inked PKFZ deal before official Cabinet nod, says witness Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:53 PM PDT By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — The Port Klang Authority (PKA) bought Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) land from Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) before the port regulators were officially notified of the Cabinet's consent for the purchase, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik's graft trial heard today. Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohd Noor, a former deputy secretary-general for planning in the Transport Ministry, told the High Court that the sales and purchase agreement was signed on November 12, 2002, but PKA only received an official extract of the Cabinet decision on November 20, 2002. He also said the sales and purchase agreement was not revealed to the PKA board before it was signed by then-PKA chairman Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh and witnessed by then-PKA general manager OC Phang. Abdul Rahman, 61, who had been in the civil service for three decades, added that Phang signed an offer letter to KDSB on November 6, 2002, which was the same day that the Cabinet gave the green light for the purchase. "This RM1.088 billion agreement... as a board member, would an agreement like this usually need board approval?" asked deputy public prosecutor Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah. "Yes, it would," answered Abdul Rahman. Abdul Rahman testified yesterday that the Finance Ministry (MoF) preferred the government to compulsorily acquire the land in Pulau Indah, rather than buying it back. The then transport minister, Dr Ling, had written a letter on April 3, 2002 to then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, proposing the federal government compulsorily acquire 1,000 acres on Pulau Indah at a price of RM25 per square foot (psf) to develop a mega transportation hub in Port Klang, known as the Regional Distripark Centre. Dr Mahathir had agreed to Dr Ling's proposal in a letter dated five days later. Abdul Rahman said yesterday the purchase price of RM25 psf had been arrived at by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on the land cost, which included costs for reclamation, basic infrastructural development, instalment payments and bond issuance. Dr Ling is charged with deceiving the government by concealing the fact that the 7.5 per cent interest rate was surplus to the purchase of Lot 67894 at RM25 psf — amounting to a total of RM1,088,456,000 — despite knowing that JPPH had already taken interest into account when it valued the land.   READ MORE HERE.

Azmil out of MAS in share swap with AirAsia Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:51 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - MAS managing director Tengku Datuk Azmil Zaharudin lost his job today after the airline's shareholders finalised a share swap with Asia's largest low cost carrier, AirAsia. The Malaysian Insider understands that an executive committee led by Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof will manage the state carrier while day-to-day operations will be handled by Khazanah Nasional Bhd executive director and MAS board member, Mohd Rashdan Mohd Yusof. Azmil will join Khazanah as an executive director effective September 12, 2011. Under the share swap, AirAsia's main shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd will swap 10 per cent stake in the budget carrier for 20.25 per cent share of the ailing flag carrier in the agreement called a "Comprehensive Collaboration Framework". Before the share swap, Tune Air was the biggest shareholder in AirAsia with 26.28 per cent stake while Khazanah held a total of 69.33 per cent share of MAS. The MAS board will also see some new faces, namely Land & General Bhd founder, Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah, former IJM chief executive Datuk Krishnan Tan, Astro chief executive Datuk Rohana Rozhan and David Lau from Shell Malaysia, who will act as independent non-executive directors. Rashdan, popularly known as Danny, was part of the BinaFikir consultancy that engineered the wide asset unbundling (WAU) restructuring that made MAS a virtual airline in 2002. BinaFikir was then led by Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, who is now managing director of Khazanah, the majority shareholder in MAS. READ MORE HERE

Donald Lim vows to quit if MCA fails in Selangor Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:25 PM PDT According to figures from Election 2008, of the over 1.5 million registered voters in Selangor, the Malay electorate makes up 50.7 per cent, while the Chinese make up 34.7 per cent, Indians 13.9 per cent and others 0.6 per cent. (The Malaysian Insider) - Selangor MCA's embattled chairman Datuk Donald Lim has pledged to relinquish his post if the Barisan Nasional (BN) party fails to capture more seats in the frontline state in the coming polls. The deputy finance minister acknowledged the uphill task ahead of him but told The Malaysian Insider that he was confident the party's state chapter would perform better than it did in 2008. "But I have said, if we cannot get better results than the last time, I will step down as Selangor MCA chairman. "As far as Selangor is concerned, this means that I cannot handle it well," he conceded, when met on the sidelines of a breaking fast function with Cabinet ministers at the prime minister's Seri Perdana residence here last night. Lim however said his post as MCA vice-president was a separate matter and did not reveal if he would relinquish the position as well. The MCA was nearly wiped out from Selangor during Election 2008 and only won two of the 14 state seats and one out of the seven parliamentary seats it contested. Lim was among the many casualties, losing his Petaling Jaya Selatan parliamentary seat to PKR's Hee Loy Sian who had a 5,706-vote majority. Earlier yesterday, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek conceded that some leaders in the party's Selangor chapter were "lazy" and said he knew who they were but insisted that this may not spell the party's demise in the country's richest state. He was commenting on The Malaysian Insider's weekend report on the MCA's lacklustre leadership in Selangor, in which one party leader predicted a total wipe-out for the party come the 13th general election. State MCA leaders had told The Malaysian Insider that while Umno may be brimming with confidence that it can recapture Selangor in the next elections, there are fears that a lethargic MCA could lose the game for the coalition. They also pointed the finger at Selangor MCA chief Lim for the party's sluggish state in Selangor. But in his defence, Lim told The Malaysian Insider that he knew the Selangor electorate well and labelled them as mostly "anti-establishment". "I have been in Selangor for a long time... I have been a division chairman for quite a while and, of course, I understand Selangor very well. Who is who in Selangor, we know. "Yes, it is not easy and we have to face reality so we have to place the best candidate. We cannot guarantee things but if we can field a winnable candidate, I believe people will give us a chance," he said. He admitted that the Selangor Chinese electorate was among the one of the most discerning catchment of voters in Malaysia and attributed this to their level of education and access to information. READ MORE HERE

Khairy questions Idris Jala’s track record Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:14 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Khairy Jamaluddin ridiculed today Datuk Seri Idris Jala's track record during his tenure as Malaysian Airlines Bhd (MAS) boss as well as the minister in charge of Putrajaya's Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu). The Umno Youth chief posted on micro-blogging site Twitter that "running a beleaguered premium flag carrier needs more imagination than being able to give a slick ppt presentation or unbundling its assets." "I think one of Idris Jala's best career move was leaving MAS to become Minister. He didn't actually need to run MAS beyond 'turnaround'," the Rembau MP added, referring to questions raised over Jala's record as MAS chief executive. The imminent share swap between the national carrier and thriving budget airline AirAsia has cast the spotlight on Jala's four years at MAS. After being appointed to the position by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in 2005, he implemented a turnaround plan from a nine-month loss of RM1.3 billion in 2005 to a record profit of RM850 million in 2007. But Khairy's (picture) tweets today reflected criticism levelled at the minister in the Prime Minister's Department, that he achieved healthy figures through asset stripping, a strategy that he has repeated as part of the administration's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). The ETP, which aims to double per capita income by 2020, will see "non-core" government and government-linked-company assets being divested, a move some say reflects the Treasury's need for additional cash. READ MORE HERE

'New media used to spread lies' Posted: 08 Aug 2011 04:55 PM PDT (New Straits Times) - The opposition's use of new media has enabled them to instigate sections of society to participate even in unlawful activities that give them political mileage. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said this was particularly damaging as many of the issues propagated through this media channel were untrue. Citing the illegal July 9 Bersih rally as a case in point, he said this happened despite it being clear from the start that the rally was not about pushing for free and fair elections but for the interests of parties riding on Bersih's name. He said while the government had exhausted all its avenues to reach and explain to the people about the demonstration, it was not easy as the power hungry were willing to go the distance in pushing to attain power without going to elections. Conceding that handling the run-up to the July 9 demonstration was difficult as the opposition had triumphed over the use of the new media, Hishammuddin said the ruling government must catch up on their use of the medium. "I must admit that they are better than us and we need to get our act together in using the new media." "It couldn't be clearer that there are quarters who would not hesitate to seize any opportunity and compromise everything for their narrow political ambitions. "We knew that there may have been other groups that might have used Bersih as a platform to cause even more upheavals," he said. Touching on police action on the day the streets of Kuala Lumpur came to a stand-still, he said the police were very restrained on July 9, despite their standard operating procedure, which allowed them to take sterner action. On the repercussions and lessons to be learned by those arrested and released by the police every time street demonstrations are held, he said those taken in by the police would have their particulars recorded in the police system. He said while focus was given to those behind such events, the police were not going to pick and choose demonstrators in the middle of chaos. "What we have in Malaysia, most people outside would look at it as something that we should cherish ... Unfortunately, there are people in Malaysia, who do not appreciate what we have. "They go the extra mile to get attention, but sometimes, when they do so, there may be a cost to it as seen in many cases. A democracy with a single racial composition will not have this problem, but in a multiracial country like ours, our leaders must be very careful." Hishammuddin said the police were also looking at best practices in the new social landscape. This, he said included the amendments to the country's preventive laws, the Police Acts, particularly on peaceful assemblies, as well as the use of biometrics in addressing the issues raised by the opposition on phantom voters.

Witness interview: Duo object to Anwar’s presence Posted: 08 Aug 2011 03:57 PM PDT Former IGP Musa Hassan and another ex-top cop refuse to be interviewed by the defence team in the presence of Anwar Ibrahim. (Free Malaysia Today) - Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's bid to interview potential witnesses for his sodomy trial hit a snag after two witnesses cancelled their session with the defence team at the Jalan Duta Court this morning. Ex-Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan and former Bukit Aman commercial crimes department deputy director Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof both backed out at the last minute after objecting to Anwar's presence during the interview. The interviews are being held by Anwar's defence team to determine if the two were suitable to be witnesses in the ongoing trial. Musa and Rodwan were spotted in court today but investigating officer Supt Jude Blacious Pereira was the one who informed Anwar's lawyers of their decision. Anwar's defence counsel Sankara Nair said: "Legally he (Anwar) has the right to be there. It is his basic right as the accused. Take for example if our client can't afford lawyers, then is he to be denied his right to interview witnesses when he is his own defence lawyer?" It was understood that the prosecution, led by Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, had written to the court to seek further direction from judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah over the issue. Following that, justice Mohamad Zabidin has fixed tomorrow morning to hear the matter with both prosecution and defence team in chambers. "He (Anwar) has to be there as we may need to seek certain instructions. This, I have to emphasise, has never happened before in my legal practice," Anwar's lead defence counsel Karpal Singh was reported as saying. Karpal said he wanted to correct the perception that the defence was prolonging the case, since the objection was raised by the prosecution. Six more interviews tomorrow It was learnt that another six witnesses were scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow. Yesterday, the High Court allowed an application by Anwar to interview 15 witnesses, including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor. In his decision, Mohamad Zabidin said that it was the duty of the prosecution team, which provided the witnesses, to make sure that the witnesses attended the interview. However, he said that the defence had the right to interview the witnesses on the condition that they were willing. Aside from Musa and Rodwan, Anwar also wanted to interview Hasanuddin Abd Hamid, the owner of the condominium unit where the incident allegedly occurred, and 10 alibi witnesses. The 15 witnesses were among the 25 the defence wanted to interview to prepare for its case. At the close of their case, the prosecution offered 71 witnesses, of whom the defence chose to interview 25. READ MORE HERE

Inter-faith group says Jais raid an attempt to create religious strife Posted: 08 Aug 2011 10:46 AM PDT   By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — A non-Muslim inter-faith group said last week's raid on a church dinner was part of a "systematic and deliberate attempt by many of those who walk the national corridors of power" to create conflict among the different races and religions in Malaysia. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) also urged the federal government to investigate the fiasco including reports by Umno-linked Berita Harian and Harian Metro that "Muslims questioned that night confirmed that they had been asked to convert." "These reports... did not identify the claimants nor state the basis for their making such statements. Such witnesses must be made available to an independent inquiry, which must be instituted immediately... to corroborate such evidence and to verify it. "If the newspapers in question are found to have published false statements likely, or meant, to incite religious or racial hatred between Malaysians, the authorities must initiate the necessary action to punish them to the full extent provided for in our laws," it said. In a statement last night, the group also said that the raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) over alleged proselytising of Muslims "sets a dangerous precedent and makes a mockery of the sanctity and inviolability of all religious places." It listed various other incidences this year where other communities were made to be at odds with the Malay-Muslim majority, beginning from the use of the word "pariah" to describe Indians in the "Interlok" novel used in schools. It said these "insidious efforts" — including the seizure of Malay-language bibles, unproven allegations of attempting to establish a Christian state and profiling of Bersih leaders as traitors attempting to "wage war against the Agong" — threatened the peace and harmony earned over half a century since independence. READ MORE HERE.

Court blocks expulsions to Malaysia Posted: 08 Aug 2011 10:40 AM PDT   By Greg Ansley, NZ Herald Australia's High Court has blocked the Government's controversial refugee swap deal with Malaysia for two weeks pending a full-bench hearing of an appeal by asylum seekers who were to have been flown from detention on Christmas Island yesterday morning. Justice Ken Hayne extended an interim injunction because of doubts about Malaysia's ability to uphold the asylum seekers' human rights, and because the country is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee convention. The last-minute injunction to prevent any departures yesterday was granted on Sunday afternoon. Despite Government claims that it has the power to make the agreement, Hayne said there were "serious questions to be asked and answered" about the deal and that the injunction would be extended to allow the full bench to consider the legality of the policy in a special sitting. The decision is a major blow to the Government, whose continued failure to find a solution to the continuing arrival of boats from Indonesia is one of the most inflammatory of a cluster of thorns piercing Prime Minister Julia Gillard's fragile minority Administration. Gillard said the option of a new facility in Papua New Guinea remained open. She turned to PNG after earlier proposals for one in East Timor collapsed. Gillard said that although negotiations had been interrupted by a political crisis in PNG, Australia would continue its discussions, but she declined to comment further or to place any deadline on the talks. The decision also came as a group of recently arrived asylum seekers on Christmas Island continued a hunger strike to protest at their impending move to Malaysia, with reports of self-inflicted harm by others. The group was among 55 whose arrival after the controversial refugee-swap was signed placed them among the first of more than 100 now subject to deportation. Under the deal, 800 asylum seekers will be sent from Australia in exchange for 4000 officially recognised refugees held in Malaysia. The group includes five children with parents or older relatives, and 14 unaccompanied children, whose likely removal to Malaysia has outraged refugee and human rights advocates. On Sunday, as lawyer and Refugee Immigration Legal Service director David Manne won a stay of yesterday's planned deportation of 16 single men, the navy intercepted another boat carrying 50 passengers, including four unaccompanied children. The inclusion of children in the deal - seen by the Government as an added warning to people smugglers - has been condemned by critics and Unicef. The Government haspromised only consideration on a case-by-case basis - and warned that the deportation of children would be filmed and posted on YouTube as a deterrent to refugees. Manne argued that children were guaranteed protection under international obligations that made Immigration Minister Chris Bowen their legal guardian, and questioned Malaysian human rights record towards refugees. After Sunday's interim injunction, Manne said that a number of his clients held strong fears for their safety in Malaysia. "Malaysia has a long-standing record of very serious mistreatment of asylum-seekers and refugees including, as we know, arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention, beatings, whippings, canings and even deportation." The Opposition has continued its attack on the Government. "The Malaysia deal is not a solution," said Nationals leader Warren Truss. "It's a mess, a horrible, unnecessary mess."

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• On the road to a failed ‘Islamic state’
• Who benefits from the MAS, AirAsia share swap?
• Raiders playing with fire
• PAS goes on soul-searching trip

On the road to a failed ‘Islamic state’ Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:20 PM PDT The raid by Jais or the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on a fundraising dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya cannot be described as anything but a sanctioned vigilante action. It is part of the continuing agenda to vilify and incite hatred towards Christians. Bob Teoh, The Malaysian Insider The Jais raid on DUMC last week signals Malaysia's quickening slide into a failed "Islamic state" like Iran, Yemen, and Tunisia and the rest. Prime Minister Najib Razak must act firmly and urgently to assure non-Muslims that the ruling coalition is serious about protecting their constitutional right to profess, practise and propagate their faith. The commitment to religious freedom is a hallmark of a progressive nation, of what Najib says his 1 Malaysia is all about. Therefore, the PM cannot afford to continue to remain silent on this affront by Jais. Islam may be a state matter. But clearly Jakim or the Islamic Development Department is parked right under the PM's nose headed by a full Cabinet minister. It can act swiftly if it wanted to in matters pertaining to Islam and even other religions. For instance, when the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled on December 31, 2009 against the government and allowed The Herald — a Catholic publication — to use the word Allah to refer to God in Bahasa Malaysia, it went into overdrive, seeking ways to scuttle the ruling. The government was initially indecisive in that instance. A church in Kuala Lumpur was subsequently torched so extensively that it was rendered useless following relentless public vilification of Christians by Utusan, the Malay-language newspaper owned by Umno, as well as by Perkasa, a small ultra-Malay right-wing outfit under the patronage of former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He declared Malaysia to be an Islamic state in 2001. The raid by Jais or the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on a fundraising dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya cannot be described as anything but a sanctioned vigilante action. It is part of the continuing agenda to vilify and incite hatred towards Christians. They came unannounced but prepared and accompanied by a media circus, their own enforcement officers and the police. However, they did not have a search warrant nor any plausible explanation for barging in except that someone had made a complaint of which they did not produce details of it. Their suspicion was that the church was proselytising Muslims. The rule of law cannot be based merely on suspicions. There must be prima facie evidence. Proselytisation has always been the bugbear used by extremist Muslim groups and the right wing in Umno to scare the Malay heartland into believing Christians are out to convert them by any means. And even to make Christianity into the religion of the federation, ludicrous as it may sound. But the opposite is true. Data tabulated from Pusat Islam and Jakim revealed that between 1980 and 2001 a total of 102,997 people were converted to Islam in Malaysia. But the figure could be higher. Utusan Malaysia on February 25, 2009 quoted the governor as saying in Sabah alone there were 117,579 converts to Islam since 1970. It is public knowledge that such conversions were mainly from rural native Bumiputera Christians from Sabah and Sarawak, sometimes through marriage, inducements or other means. [See here] While the prime minister and Umno had decided to remain silent, MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek was quick to hammer Jais but shifted the blame to the Pakatan-controlled Selangor state government. But Jais had likely acted within the law as a controversial enactment passed by the then-Barisan Nasional state government in 1988 allows action against non-Muslims, according to Malaysian Bar Council chief Lim Chee Wee. "Whilst Jais may have the legal power to enter the premises, it must do so on a proper legal basis that there has been an offence committed. From the presently available facts, there is no basis for its intrusion," he was reported to have said. READ MORE HERE

Who benefits from the MAS, AirAsia share swap? Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:03 PM PDT Government officials familiar with the deal said Khazanah and AirAsia have been talking about a tie-up on five separate occasions but have never been able to come to terms. Among the issues are pricing and reaction from MAS in-house unions and the Malay ground that could have political repercussions for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government. By Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider The jury is still out on whether the proposed share swap between Malaysian Airlines Bhd (MAS) and AirAsia Bhd will benefit the beleaguered flag carrier as its in-house unions threaten strikes and voting for the opposition if the Najib administration goes through with the deal today. Both MAS and AirAsia shares have been suspended for trading until this evening pending an announcement that could see the low-cost carrier's main shareholder, Tune Air Sdn Bhd, get 20 per cent of the national airline. The unlisted Tune Air is jointly owned by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and Datuk Aziz Bakar. The Malaysian Insider has reported that the share swap will eventually see MAS reclaim its position as a premium airline, leaving low-cost operations to be dominated by AirAsia, Asia's biggest budget carrier that was just a two-plane operation when Tune Air bought the airline for RM1 in 2001. Some analysts and MAS staff have argued that the government needs to rescue the airline that has been bleeding red ink in the past few quarters rather than sell a stake to "the enemy" as AirAsia has been known since it became a runaway success. But can Putrajaya throw good money after bad into a virtual airline that has had its books cleaned up in 2002 under the wide asset unbundling (WAU) exercise. That restructuring was engineered by the BinaFikir consultancy, then led by Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, the current managing director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, MAS's ultimate main shareholder. After all, the state-owned airline has already had two rights issues since the WAU, raking in RM1.6 billion in 2007 and RM2.67 billion in 2010 to fund its operations and fleet purchases. How much more money is required to stop the airline from bleeding red ink after a rather peaceful flight under former managing director Datuk Seri Idris Jala? The past financial fixes haven't helped MAS. Another round of money won't either, an industry source told The Malaysian Insider despite a touted RM8.4 billion aircraft renewal programme. "Most of the past solutions for MAS, either the WAU or Jala's business transformation plan, were financial in nature to keep the airline in the black. But what is needed are operational fixes," he added. Saving MAS Government officials familiar with the deal said Khazanah and AirAsia have been talking about a tie-up on five separate occasions but have never been able to come to terms. Among the issues are pricing and reaction from MAS in-house unions and the Malay ground that could have political repercussions for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government. "It has never been easy and even this deal is not easy. But the choice is clear, take this deal and save MAS with the government keeping the majority stake or let it bleed and 20,000 people lose their jobs," said a government source who spoke to The Malaysian Insider on condition of anonymity. The source also dismissed talk of selling out Bumiputera equity, saying Khazanah will still keep the main stake through its wholly-owned unit Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd (PMB) while Tune Air itself has a majority Bumiputera shareholder through Kamarudin and Aziz. "Yes, Tony is the public face of AirAsia but it's Kamarudin who also runs the operations," he said, adding this gives a chance for the state-run airline to work with entrepreneurial Bumiputeras rather than just the bankers and accountants who have run MAS. The government source noted that Fernandes was named Airline CEO of the Year for 2009 while AirAsia has won the World's Best Low-Cost Airline award for 2009 and 2010, proving world-class talents are at MAS's doorstep. He also pointed out that picking Tune Air to help save MAS would benefit both airlines in the long run, despite talk that the premium market is shrinking and the tie-up was effectively a cartel. "There is demand for a premium airline. Just look at the Gulf carriers such as Etihad and Emirates. They are breaking into the premium market that is controlled by Singapore Airlines," the source added. It is understood that Emirates will soon start flying its Airbus A380 on the Dubai-Kuala Lumpur route, cutting further into the premium market that MAS once dominated. Gulf airlines are now using their fifth-freedom rights to ply the Dubai-Kuala Lumpur route and beyond — the same right that benefited MAS and Singapore Airlines in the past. As to whether the share swap will lead to a cartel, an industry source said both companies will keep their respective boards and compete on some routes but still benefit from several synergies. So, who benefits from the deal? ECM Libra, in its research note, said the partnership would allow AirAsia to continue what it does best with less predatory competition, while MAS can concentrate on serving the premium segment with better revenue yield. It also said that there are opportunities for cost-savings as both airlines would be able to bargain better for future aircraft purchases, as well as minimise duplication of resources such as that in the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) area. AirAsia currently outsources its MRO to Singapore but the share swap deal could push the low-cost budget carrier to use MAS services instead. An analyst agreed the partnership will allow MAS to cut the queue for aircraft such as the A380 as AirAsia is one of Airbus' largest customers with more than 200 orders and options. "MAS used to have clout with the airplane makers but its scant purchases over the years has diminished that," the analyst said, pointing out that MAS will only start getting the A380s next year, some four years after the initial delivery scheduled for May 2008. "MAS can get more aircraft, faster and cheaper, if AirAsia is in the picture," he added. READ MORE HERE

Raiders playing with fire Posted: 08 Aug 2011 04:22 PM PDT The action of JAIS is not only despicable but also inimical to the interests of society. But we are not living in the dark age of religious intolerance where Christians and Muslims fell by the sword in their bloody pursuit of supremacy of the cross or the crescent. This is the age of goodwill, of mutual respect, of compromise, of reason, of sanity. Although remnants of suspicion, hate, and animosity still run deep, the march of progressive ideas and thoughts calls for new thinking and behaviour. Free Malaysia Today The spectre of religious strife is casting a long shadow as Christians continue to be the punching bag in the country whose prime minister recently shooks hands with the spiritual leader of over one billion Christians worldwide. While the Muslim-dominated government, be it at state or federal level, professes to advocate religious tolerance, the reality is that it has little respect for people of other faiths. The gun is always trained on the Christians who seem to have a hand in every plot, imagined or real, to destablise the country. The resentment felt towards the Christians is so great that churches had become target of attacks or raids. The recent detestable action of the "religious policemen" from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) is one of the many examples of the shabby treatment meted out to the Christian minority. JAIS is the religious arm of the state government whose job, among others, is to protect Muslims from the evil influences of outsiders. So when its officers barged in a church and rudely disrupted a thanksgiving-cum-HIV/AIDS fundraising dinner organised by an NGO, they accused Christians of attempting to convert some Muslim guests. They had no proof that the church was engaged in a "subversive" activity to undermine Islam. They behaved boorishly simply because there were some Muslims present at the event. The implication is clear: if there are Muslims in any function organised by Christians, then the latter is guilty of proselytising which is a serious crime, given that Islam is the official religion. Such parochial thinking is dangerous because it will breed hatred in the Muslim and Christian communities and pave the way to sectarian violence. JAIS is so absurd and irrational in its thinking that it may not surprise anyone if it raids the homes of Christians on Christmas day because Muslims are celebrating with Christians the birth of a Christian prophet. The Christians are using the Yuletide festival as a cover to convert the unsuspecting Muslims, JAIS may reason foolishly. In this theatre of the absurd, JAIS may even issue a decree: Muslims are not allowed to visit the homes of Christians. And bigoted politicians may follow up with a law banning Christmas and crosses. Then events may spin out of control and soon a slew of farcical legislation will pop up: Muslims cannot the shake the unclean hands of Christians, churches must conduct their services behind high walls, and to round it up in a final outburst of fervour, all Christians must abandon their faith on pain of death. But we are not living in the dark age of religious intolerance where Christians and Muslims fell by the sword in their bloody pursuit of supremacy of the cross or the crescent. This is the age of goodwill, of mutual respect, of compromise, of reason, of sanity. Although remnants of suspicion, hate, and animosity still run deep, the march of progressive ideas and thoughts calls for new thinking and behaviour. Muslims cannot forever cling to the threadbare argument that a crackdown on Christians is justified because they threaten the preeminent position of Islam. Since the Federal Constitution unambiguously states that Islam is the religion of the federation, no one can and will dispute it. At the same time the sacred constitution also guarantees the right of "every person to profess and practise his own religion". For the country to progress and prosper, the fire of religious fanaticism must be doused for good. Muslims cannot hark back to days of yore where blood and gore followed the swords of Islam. Let all religions flourish in peace and amity. READ MORE HERE

PAS goes on soul-searching trip Posted: 08 Aug 2011 10:14 AM PDT By Karim Raslan, The Star PAS in the midst of an ambitious push into "Middle Malaysia". The victory in June, of the party's progressives – dubbed the Erdogans after the visionary Turkish Premier, Racep Erdogan – in internal party elections seemed to herald an era of multi-racial leadership. However, recent events and more, especially PAS', hesitant and divided response to the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) raid on the DUMC church would suggest that the party is not ready for prime-time. Indeed, the Islamist party is more divided than many would realise and this divide reflects a community-wide level of uncertainty. Frankly speaking, the Malay community is unsure whether it wants to proceed down the road to greater equality among the races. Much of the support for the Opposition is driven by anger at corruption and abuse of power – two areas in which PAS remains relatively strong and credible. As a matter of fact, the recent Jais raid on a function by the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) raises significant questions over PAS' – and by extension Pakatan Rakyat's – commitment to pluralism. The former's divided approach – with Selangor exco Hassan Ali supporting the raid and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad condemning it – indicates that the Islamist party's much-vaunted move to the centre has not been as smooth as their insiders wish us to believe. The raid should also alarm moderate voters, as it came just weeks after the PAS-led Kedah Government initially announced a ban on entertainment outlets during Ramadan without consulting its Pakatan partners. Indeed, these incidents are clear signals that a struggle is now on-going for the "soul" of the party, over whether it should adopt a more broad-based approach or seek refuge in the traditional boundaries of championing racial and religious supremacy. But some caveats are necessary here. First, as a largely Malay party, PAS is not immune from familial considerations and factionalism. Hence, when pundits talk of "internal disputes", we must take care to ascertain whether these are really over ideology or merely dynastic and cabalistic manoeuvrings. Scratch the surface and you'll find that things are rarely as they seem. In the last party elections, the PAS moderates (or Erdogans) triumphed over the conservatives. Khalid, who belongs to this group, won a seat in the party CWC together with Hassan, but the latter was dropped from his Selangor Commissioner post. Hence, this latest spat could be an attempt by PAS conservatives to re-assert themselves after the rout. Moreover, Hassan has stressed that he is willing to lose his position in the party defending Islam – the insinuation being that some of his party members are not committed to "upholding" their faith to the utmost. Second, Jais and the other Islamic establishments in Malaysia often act independently from political control. Malaysians ought to be questioning bodies like Jais – who seem to claim a sort of immunity from public scrutiny in religious matters – as much as elected officials. The sad fact is that civil servants are as much a part of the problem, if not more than politicians, in this and other issues. Still, this should not distract us from the real issues facing PAS. Hassan and Khalid are emerging as the public "faces" of the party as the careers of Hadi Awang and Nik Abdul Aziz draw to a close. PAS needs to decide, and very quickly at that, which of the vastly different political visions these men embody it wants for itself. If it is serious about its push to the centre, and of championing a "welfare state" with "Islam for all", then it cannot countenance such heavy-handed actions or rhetoric as per the DUMC raid wherever or whenever it occurs. To dither over making difficult choices or taking unpopular but right stands (i.e. refusing to accept "my race/religion right or wrong"), would be a betrayal of the non-Muslim Malaysians, who are warming up to PAS. It would also further alienate many progressive and urban-based Malays, many of whom are disgusted with the ruling party but are also wary of PAS' desire to interfere in the public and personal sphere. To be fair though, it could be that PAS is attempting a delicate balancing act, trying to maintain its rural and conservative base while flirting with Middle Malaysia's exciting new possibilities and vote banks. One can hardly blame them for that, and it is perhaps an indication of how schizophrenic the Malay political discourse has become – torn between the competing demands of tradition and modernisation. We must also ask why its partner PKR has thus far remained silent on the issue – is its hesitation motivated by Anwar Ibrahim's high-profile moral and legal troubles? Still, Malaysians have wised up to the ways of the politicians and will not tolerate such disingenuousness in PAS or anyone else. Voters will certainly punish the party if its talk of pluralism does not live up to its actions. As I've said earlier, it is no longer possible to insulate ourselves from the multiracial make-up of our country as before. Either we choose to embrace this and its associated implications, or cut ourselves off from the rest of the world.

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