Saturday 28 February 2009
MIED - CEO lodges police reports
The plot thickens in MIC education arm's financial fiasco as the chief executive officer of Maju Institute for Education Development (MIED), P Chithirakala Vasu, 38, today lodged two police reports disputing all claims of misdeeds involving some missing contract documents.
Breaking her silence for the first time since the allegations erupted in December, Chithirakala told reporters today that she can no longer stay mum over claims of wrongdoings in awarding contracts as MIC party president S Samy Vellu had gone out all out to damage her image.Chithirakala, who has served at the MIED for the past 14 years, was told to go on leave pending an internal investigation into the alleged irregularities in giving out maintenance contracts for the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) University.
However, she lodged two reports this morning at the Shah Alam police station.
One was on RM2 million worth of donations which were collected to help the tsunami victims in 2004 under the Ministry of Works, when Samy was its minister. The money was subsequently transferred to the account of MIC’s social welfare arm Yayasan Pemulihan Sosial (YPS).
The second report was on missing files and documents from her office at the MIC headquarters.
According to her, Samy had said that the cash was extras from the funds that were collected and intended for future use for the people of Sri Lanka (where an ongoing civil war has caused the loss of hundreds of lives).
“Sometime in late February 2008 (just before the March 8 election), Samy called me on my mobile phone and informed me that the Ministry of Works treasury would be transferring a sum of RM2 million into YPS and asked me to place the sum in fixed deposit,” she stated.
In a move to clear her name, Chithirakala noted that she was now making the report “to avoid the possibility of Samy using the RM2 million for any other unauthorised purpose and putting the blame on me”.
Heated argument with Samy
Chithirakala also revealed that YPS had received a grant of RM120 million for three years to execute assistance for those who are financially and socially-challenged.
The grant, according to Chithirakala, who was the CEO of YPS until recently, was given four times a year in RM10 million instalments beginning this year.
However, although the money was supposed to be used for those who were identified to be financially-challenged, Samy had tried to use it for those he preferred.
Chithirakala, in the second police report, claimed that her personal files which were kept in her office in the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur were missing and engaged the assistance of the police to retrieve her files as she was told to stay out of the premises until further notice.
She had also described the sequence of events since their fallout on Dec 31, where Chithirakala had noted that she had an “heated argument” with Samy when he made baseless allegations linking her to another senior MIED board member.
“At one point I raised my voice and challenged him to sack me and that I will meet him in court. My reaction angered him and he uttered (that) the court is not the place we will meet. I (Samy) will make sure that the police arrest and embarrasses you,” stated Chithirakala.
Ever since, more than six show-cause letters have been issued to Chithirakala as well as police reports by MIC vice-president S Sothinathan of missing files pertaining to the contracts awarded to AIMST.
On Jan 2, Chithirakala said she had went to her office only to discover that there were “individuals waiting to conduct an audit on the accounts of MIED”.
Asked to make unauthorised payments
“I cooperated and handed to them the company documents that they had requested...in the meantime, I gave my replies to the show-cause letters given on Dec 31 with all the original supporting documents.
“At around 2pm on the same day, the MIED board meeting commenced and I was not called to attend...(but) just before the meeting I was slapped with yet another show-cause letter and gave my reply immediately. (However later) Samy created a scene in the MIED office and I was told to leave pending the completion of the investigation,” she said in the report.
“I left without even taking my personal documents and files...later that day I learnt that a lot of my files were removed from the MIED office using lorries on Samy's instructions to an undisclosed location,” she said.
Chithirakala, who was once amongst Samy notable favourites, also revealed the party head's unorthodox ways in managing government awarded funds and donations.
“There came a point after he (Samy) had lost the election when he wanted me to make a payment of RM2 million to a particular contractor without any documentation.
“It was for the landscape contractor whose contract which initially was at RM27 million rose to RM30 million but there were authorised receipts for the exceeded amount and yet in addition to that Samy wanted to pay RM2 million in compensation,” she said.
However, Chithirakala said she had refused to submit the payments and that angered Samy.
“He wanted me to pay the contractor without proper documents. I am a chartered accountant, it is not my job to question who he (Samy) is giving contracts to but when it comes to payments I have to make sure that it is legitimate.
“We have projects managers and we have quantity surveyors who certify all the work that have been done and we pay according to the certificate of completion signed by the consultants and professionals,” said Chithirakala.
Asked if she had ever done anything wrong when requested by Samy, Chithirakala said: “There have been occasions, but I have always avoided such things.”
‘Hijacking of MIED & AIMST’
She said the incident over the payment to the contractor was what led to what she described as the “hijacking of MIED and AIMST”.
“I took over as the accountant in 1995 when MIED was still very small and I helped in developing the education arm and I am proud to say that we are now worth RM1 billion,” said Chithirakala.
Chithirakala claimed that as Samy's days as the MIC president “were numbered” following the lost of his stronghold in Sungai Siput, he wanted to hold onto his position in MIED and release it from the hold of MIC.
“The bulk of the RM1 billion is in AMIST and now that he is the chancellor of the university, he wants to remain as the chancellor and the chairman of MIED...(and) the only way to maintain this is to remove MIED from MIC,” she said, adding that Samy was even pushing to replace the arm's 35 board members.
She added that although it was legally possible, it was not the “morally right” thing to do as MIED was developed under MIC.
“It is very wrong because I cannot let what happen to Maika Holdings (MIC's investment arm) happen to MIED,” said Chithirakala, also revealing suspicions that Samy was plotting to replace her with his son, Vel Paari, who is also the CEO of Maika Holdings.
The mother of four said that she had bravely come out today despite warning from her lawyers, instead of hiding.
“There are people taking photos of me and observing my house constantly...he (Samy) can do anything but I can't as I am just an ordinary person,” expressed Chithirakala, who soon after broke down into tears.
Abdullah/Najib – why their thundering silence on the Selangor Umno Youth mob in Parliament menacing Karpal and other PR MPs?
The outgoing UMNO Youth leader and contender for one of the Umno Vice President slots next month, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has proved it once again – that he has no qualms in subordinating parliamentary and national interests to personal and political interests in the upcoming Umno party elections.
In declaring his public support for the Selangor Umno Youth mob on Thursday which obstructed and menaced wheelchair-confined DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh in the discharge of his parliamentary duties in the very precincts and sanctity of Parliament and manhandled Pakatan Rakyat MPs Lim Lip Eng (DAP – Segambut), Fong Kui Lun (DAP - Bukit Bintang), Chong Chieng Jen (Bandar Kuching) and N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR – Padang Serai), Hishammuddin has shown that he is incapable of differentiating between right and wrong – in great contrast to the forthright denunciation of the Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Dr. Abdul Hamid Pawanteh of the incident as a national embarrassment caused by “hooligans” obstructing parliamentarians from doing their duty.
But Hishammuddin, Education Minister and aspirant to even higher office, has become a protector and defender of “hooligans” who subverted the parliamentary process by violating the sanctity of Parliament to obstruct and menace parliamentarians from discharging their duty.
Hishammuddin can disagree with what Karpal said in Parliament in as strong and vigorous a manner as allowed by parliamentary Standing Orders, but he was acting most irresponsibly in not only condoning, but given full backing, for the Selangor Umno Youth mob action in the parliamentary precincts against Karpal and other Pakatan Rakyat MPs on Thursday.
The Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib,who is also Umno Information Chief, must also be censured for support of the Selangor Umno Youth mob action in Parliament on Thursday allegedly on the ground that Umno Youth had acted out of frustration after being “provoked and unfairly accused”.
Pakatan Rakyat parties have often been at the receiving end of provocation and unfair accusation by Umno and Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs. Would this be justification enough for Pakatan Rakyat to stage similar mobs in Parliament to violate the sanctity of Parliament and obstruct and menace UMNO/BN parliamentarians from carrying out their duties?
UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders should stop defending the indefensible and show their commitment to the system of parliamentary democracy by denouncing in categorical and unreserved terms the UMNO Youth Selangor mob action in the precincts of Parliament as grave parliamentary contempt which was completely unacceptable and could not be justified, condoned or mitigated in any manner.
Why is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Prime Minister-in-waiting Datuk Seri Najib Razak keeping so quiet on this shame and blot in the 51-year history of Parliament? Why their thundering silence?
Cops break up Hindraf protest, MP and others detained
The Hindraf group on their way to the Brickfields police station before they were broken up.
Police open up with water cannons on the crowd.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Kapar MP M. Manikavasagan and up to 18 others, who were at Brickfields district police headquarters to lodge reports on the deteriorating health condition of P. Uthayakumar, have been arrested.
Manikavasagam, who called The Malaysian Insider from the police lock-up, said the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) also fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse a crowd which was estimated to be between 400 and 600 strong.
He said a 50-year-old man who suffered breathing difficulties had to be sent to hospital in an ambulance, during the incident at about 11am.
The gathering was to compel authorities to provide better medical treatment for Uthayakumar, who is being detained in Kamunting under the Internal Security Act.
The crowd had initially gathered at a restaurant in Brickfields at about 10.30am before walking 500 metres to the district police headquarters.
Police officers taking away one protestor for coming to the police station.
Yesterday Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Wira Mohammad Sabtu Osman said police would regard the planned gathering as an illegal assembly and had advised Uthayakumar’s supporters to stay away from the gathering.
Mohammad Sabtu had warned that police would take action as the gathering could jeopardise public order, saying that the move to lodge mass reports was to ridicule the police.
Uthaya's supportes mistreated - Malaysiakini
Chaos broke out at the Brickfields police station in Kuala Lumpur this morning as the police sprayed chemical-laced water at about 300 supporters of detained Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar.
The supporters were accompanying nine people representing nine states and a relative of Uthayakumar, who intended to lodge police reports alleging that Uthayakumar was denied proper medical attention for his ailment.
Upon reaching the police station, several of the group’s representatives were let into the police station to negotiate on the number of people allowed to lodge the police report.
However, as the group's representatives were about to enter the police station, Brickfields police chief Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid gave the group 10 seconds to disperse.
“Disperse now. Only those lodging the report can remain. That was the agreement,” said Abdul Bari over the loudhailer, but the group failed to disperse.
Three hospitalised
Following this, Abdul Bari issued another warning for the group to disperse in three minutes. When the group failed to comply, chemical-laced water was fired into the crowd.
Most of the crowd had dispersed save for a few, including Kapar MP S Manikavasagam and Police Watch and Human Rights Committee coordinator S Jayathas.
The duo were among 17 individuals who were eventually arrested, according to Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who arrived at the scene later to act as the group’s lawyer.
Two ambulances arrived after the melee and entered the police station. According to Gobind, three individuals, including a woman, were taken to hospital.
As the chaos ensued, there was a bizarre moment when several individuals walked into the police station demanding that they be arrested.
Among others, they include Manikavasagam, Jayathas, Uthyakumar’s sister Waytha Nayagi and Uthayakumar’s sister-in-law K Shanti.
Cops have ‘different standards’ 
Speaking to reporters later, Gobind alleged that there appears to be “different standards” applied by the police during crowd control exercises.
“In Parliament, two MPs were roughed up but there was no action by the police. But when the Indians want to lodge a police report, we are arrested... what is their problem?” he exclaimed.
Gobind said the Inspector-General of Police owes the public an explanation for the police’s actions, adding that he hoped the police would not press charges against those detained as they were merely attempting to lodge a police report.
Uthayakumar’s supporters nationwide are lodging police reports against the authorities for allegedly failing to provide him proper medical treatment.
Uthayakumar suffers from diabetes and earlier this month, he broke several toes resulting in a massive swelling on his foot.
His supporters now fear that without proper medical treatment, his foot may have to be amputated.
Last week, Manikavasagam issued an ultimatum to the government to provide Uthayakumar proper medical treatment or face “hundreds” of police reports on this day.
The stupidity of some Malay Muslims
Some Malays, PKR and PAS Malays included, are very narrow-minded and ignorant. And this is because they recite the Quran like parrots without understanding what they are reciting -- mainly because they do not speak the language of the Quran.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Herald editor says ban on ‘Allah’ lifted with conditions
A church official says the government has lifted a ban on the use of the word "Allah" by Christian publications.
Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic Church's Herald newspaper, said today the Home Ministry is allowing the publications use "Allah" to refer to God as long as they state that the material is only meant for Christians.
The controversy first broke out in late 2007 when the government banned the use of “Allah” in Christian Malay-language texts because it allegedly might confuse Muslims.
The Herald has challenged the ban in court and argued the Arabic word is a common reference for God that predates Islam and has been used for centuries as a translation in Malay. — AP, 26 Feb 2009
*****************************
The High Court has set May 28 for hearing in the suit taken by the Catholic Church against the home minister and the federal government in which the church does not want any parties to intervene in its case over the use of the word "Allah".
Justice Lau Bee Lan, of the Appellate and Special Powers Division, also set July 7 to hear the arguments by several state Islamic councils to transfer the case to the Federal Court. — The Malaysian Insider, 27 Feb 2009
*****************************
On 16 February 2009, the Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, signed a gazette known as Gazette PU A 62 under section 22 (1)(c) of the Internal Security Act 1969 -- titled Internal Security (Prohibition On Use of Specific Words on Document and Publication) Order 2009.
The gazette states as follows: Prohibition on use of specific words on document and publication 2. (1) The printing, publication, sale, issue, circulation and possession of any document and publication relating to Christianity containing the words “Allah”, “Kaabah”, “Baitullah” and “Solat” are prohibited unless on the front cover of the document and publication are written with the words “For Christianity”.
(2) The words “For Christianity” referred to in subparagraph (1) shall be written clearly in font type Arial of size 16 in bold.
A spokesman from the publication and Quranic text division of the Ministry said he was unaware of the gazette and would check with its legal division. A Christian church leader said this matter should first be discussed before made into law, as the churches are not even aware of this new ruling.
He expressed surprise that this new gazette has prematurely come into force when there are two cases before the courts to argue the constitutionality of the earlier prohibition by the ministry. The Catholic Church is suing the government over its insistence that they cannot use the Allah word in the Bahasa Malaysia section of their weekly publication.
The Sidang Injil Borneo Sabah (Evangelical Church) is also suing the government over confiscation of their Christian publications imported from Indonesia, which contain the word Allah.
Previously, the Home Ministry, in an out of court negotiation, had suggested that churches stamp the word “For Christians Only” on the Al Kitab and their Bahasa Malaysia publications. But this was not acceptable to the churches, which had counter-offered with the phrase “This is a Christian Publication.” The Ministry, however, rejected this counter-proposal.
PKR’s Member of Parliament for Bandar Baharu Kulim, Zulkifli Nordin, is also up in arms about the matter. And this is his response to the matter:
“Have they referred to the related decree? The ministry should not compromise on this matter. We should look at the social context where the word is used by the Malay Muslims in the country, what is the reason behind their insistence on using ‘Allah’. I am worried that the word ‘Allah’ was used with the aim to confuse the Muslims. Does God’s name follow the race or language? I have no problem with the use of the Malay language, but by using the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God, it made the Muslims unhappy, I have met a lot of them who told me this.”
Were you aware that it is a crime for non-Muslims to greet Muslims with the phrase ‘Assalamu Alaikum’? It is also a crime for non-Muslims to use words such as insha-Allah, masha-Allah, Alhamdulillah, and so on. There are about half a dozen ‘banned’ words that non-Muslims may not use in their daily communication, basically all words that contain the word ‘Allah’.
About twenty or so years ago, the MCA chief for Kuala Terengganu, Wong, would speak to his Malay friends as if he was a Muslim. If you had your back to him when he spoke you would have thought that a Malay was speaking. Imagine your surprise when you turn around to find a Chinaman speaking better than even Malays could.
Wong was very free with words like insha-Allah, Alhamdulillah, masha-Allah, etc. And the Terengganu Malays loved him for that. When he contested the Kuala Terengganu state seat in the 1990 general election, he lost to the PAS candidate, Ustaz Haji Harun Jusoh. Wong won all the Malay votes at Losong and Pulau Kambing. However, he lost the Chinese votes from Kampong Cina who voted for Ustaz Harun.
Malays like to call Chinese Muslims mualap (mualaf). When I went to China more than 15 years ago I visited the oldest mosque in China. It was at Kwangchow (Canton) and was built 100 years after Prophet Muhammad’s time. That’s right, the Chinese were Muslims 700 or 800 years before the Malays and when the Malays were still Hindus, Buddhists, tree worshippers, and so on. But only the Malays are true Muslims while the Chinese are mualaps.
I met the Imam of the Kwangchow mosque and he spoke to me in Arabic. I replied, “Mafi kalam Arabi.” He was surprised because I just did my prayers in the mosque, which he assumed I would have performed in Arabic.
“You don’t speak Arabic?”
“No,” I replied.
“You can read the Quran?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“You can read the Quran but you can’t speak Arabic? How do you do that?”
“I recite only, not read.”
“So you can’t understand what you recite?”
“No,” I replied.
“What kind of Muslim are you? You recite the Quran but can’t understand what you are reciting.”
“Well, I am the same as 99% other Muslims in Malaysia. We all don’t speak Arabic and can’t understand what we are reciting.”
The Imam shook his head and went off to pray for God to have mercy on me -- and the 99% other Malay Muslims in Malaysia.
What’s all this brouhaha about the word Allah in the Malay language translation of the Bible? First, take a look at this:
[Genesis 1:1 - English Bible - King James Version]
"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth . . . "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic transliteration]
"Fee al-badi' khalaqa Allahu as-Samaawaat wa al-Ard . . . "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic Bible]
[John 3:16 - English Bible - King James Version]
"For God so loved the world, that . . . "
[John 3:16 - Arabic transliteration]
"Li-annhu haakadha ahabba Allahu al-'Aalama hataa badhala . . . "
[John 3:16 - Arabic Bible]
[Luke 1:30 - English Bible - King James Version]
" . . . Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God."
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic transliteration]
" . . . Laa takhaafee, yaa Maryam, li-annaki qad wajadti ni'amat(an) i'nda Allahi."
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic Bible]
[Luke 3:38 - English Bible - New King James Version]
"the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."
[Luke 3:38 - Arabic transliteration]
"bini Anoosha, bini Sheeti, bini Aaadama, abni Allahi."
[Luke 3:38 - Arabic Bible]
The word Allah is already in the Bible. It is exactly the same word that the Jews, in Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word that Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when he prayed to God. In Hebrew, Huwa el Elah or HUWA 'L LAH means HE IS ALLAH in the verse QUL HUWAL LAH HU AHAD.
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” said Jesus on the cross. In Aramaic this is: "Eli, Eli, l'mana Sabachtani?"
The words El, Elah and Elohim are not three distinctly different words. They all represent the single Arabic word, Allah, which is also the same in Hebrew.
No, Islam does not have monopoly over the use of the word Allah. The Christians and Jews too use this same word. In fact, the biggest ‘selling point’ for Islam is that the Quran recognises all the Prophets of the Jews and Christians and that we all pray to the same ONE God, Allah. If the God of the Jews, Christians and Muslims is the same one God, would not then the name of this God also be the same? How can the name of the Muslim God be different from that of the Jews and Christians if we all pray to the same one God?
Some Malays, PKR and PAS Malays included, are very narrow-minded and ignorant. And this is because they recite the Quran like parrots without understanding what they are reciting -- mainly because they do not speak the language of the Quran. And, for sure, they do not read any of the Holy Books of the other religions because they are of the opinion that it is forbidden (haram) to do so. It is said that even Prophet Muhammad sought advice from his wife’s, Khatijah’s cousin, Warakah, a learned Christian scholar of his time, though some scholars refute this (but they do admit that Warakah was a Christian who attended Prophet Muhammad’s and Khatijah’s wedding).
And Prophet Muhammad never prohibited the Jews and Christians from using the word Allah. But then Malays think they are better Muslims and more learned than the Arabs even though Malays recite the Quran without understanding what they are reciting -- unlike the Chinese Muslims in China. And what are 16 million Malay Muslims compared to the more than 100 million in China, the mualaps, as the Malays would call them, who have been Muslims since 1,300 years ago when Malays were still praying to trees and whatnot.
The stupidity of some Malay Muslims
Some Malays, PKR and PAS Malays included, are very narrow-minded and ignorant. And this is because they recite the Quran like parrots without understanding what they are reciting -- mainly because they do not speak the language of the Quran.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Herald editor says ban on ‘Allah’ lifted with conditions
A church official says the government has lifted a ban on the use of the word "Allah" by Christian publications.
Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic Church's Herald newspaper, said today the Home Ministry is allowing the publications use "Allah" to refer to God as long as they state that the material is only meant for Christians.
The controversy first broke out in late 2007 when the government banned the use of “Allah” in Christian Malay-language texts because it allegedly might confuse Muslims.
The Herald has challenged the ban in court and argued the Arabic word is a common reference for God that predates Islam and has been used for centuries as a translation in Malay. — AP, 26 Feb 2009
*****************************
The High Court has set May 28 for hearing in the suit taken by the Catholic Church against the home minister and the federal government in which the church does not want any parties to intervene in its case over the use of the word "Allah".
Justice Lau Bee Lan, of the Appellate and Special Powers Division, also set July 7 to hear the arguments by several state Islamic councils to transfer the case to the Federal Court. — The Malaysian Insider, 27 Feb 2009
*****************************
On 16 February 2009, the Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, signed a gazette known as Gazette PU A 62 under section 22 (1)(c) of the Internal Security Act 1969 -- titled Internal Security (Prohibition On Use of Specific Words on Document and Publication) Order 2009.
The gazette states as follows: Prohibition on use of specific words on document and publication 2. (1) The printing, publication, sale, issue, circulation and possession of any document and publication relating to Christianity containing the words “Allah”, “Kaabah”, “Baitullah” and “Solat” are prohibited unless on the front cover of the document and publication are written with the words “For Christianity”.
(2) The words “For Christianity” referred to in subparagraph (1) shall be written clearly in font type Arial of size 16 in bold.
A spokesman from the publication and Quranic text division of the Ministry said he was unaware of the gazette and would check with its legal division. A Christian church leader said this matter should first be discussed before made into law, as the churches are not even aware of this new ruling.
He expressed surprise that this new gazette has prematurely come into force when there are two cases before the courts to argue the constitutionality of the earlier prohibition by the ministry. The Catholic Church is suing the government over its insistence that they cannot use the Allah word in the Bahasa Malaysia section of their weekly publication.
The Sidang Injil Borneo Sabah (Evangelical Church) is also suing the government over confiscation of their Christian publications imported from Indonesia, which contain the word Allah.
Previously, the Home Ministry, in an out of court negotiation, had suggested that churches stamp the word “For Christians Only” on the Al Kitab and their Bahasa Malaysia publications. But this was not acceptable to the churches, which had counter-offered with the phrase “This is a Christian Publication.” The Ministry, however, rejected this counter-proposal.
PKR’s Member of Parliament for Bandar Baharu Kulim, Zulkifli Nordin, is also up in arms about the matter. And this is his response to the matter:
“Have they referred to the related decree? The ministry should not compromise on this matter. We should look at the social context where the word is used by the Malay Muslims in the country, what is the reason behind their insistence on using ‘Allah’. I am worried that the word ‘Allah’ was used with the aim to confuse the Muslims. Does God’s name follow the race or language? I have no problem with the use of the Malay language, but by using the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God, it made the Muslims unhappy, I have met a lot of them who told me this.”
Were you aware that it is a crime for non-Muslims to greet Muslims with the phrase ‘Assalamu Alaikum’? It is also a crime for non-Muslims to use words such as insha-Allah, masha-Allah, Alhamdulillah, and so on. There are about half a dozen ‘banned’ words that non-Muslims may not use in their daily communication, basically all words that contain the word ‘Allah’.
About twenty or so years ago, the MCA chief for Kuala Terengganu, Wong, would speak to his Malay friends as if he was a Muslim. If you had your back to him when he spoke you would have thought that a Malay was speaking. Imagine your surprise when you turn around to find a Chinaman speaking better than even Malays could.
Wong was very free with words like insha-Allah, Alhamdulillah, masha-Allah, etc. And the Terengganu Malays loved him for that. When he contested the Kuala Terengganu state seat in the 1990 general election, he lost to the PAS candidate, Ustaz Haji Harun Jusoh. Wong won all the Malay votes at Losong and Pulau Kambing. However, he lost the Chinese votes from Kampong Cina who voted for Ustaz Harun.
Malays like to call Chinese Muslims mualap (mualaf). When I went to China more than 15 years ago I visited the oldest mosque in China. It was at Kwangchow (Canton) and was built 100 years after Prophet Muhammad’s time. That’s right, the Chinese were Muslims 700 or 800 years before the Malays and when the Malays were still Hindus, Buddhists, tree worshippers, and so on. But only the Malays are true Muslims while the Chinese are mualaps.
I met the Imam of the Kwangchow mosque and he spoke to me in Arabic. I replied, “Mafi kalam Arabi.” He was surprised because I just did my prayers in the mosque, which he assumed I would have performed in Arabic.
“You don’t speak Arabic?”
“No,” I replied.
“You can read the Quran?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“You can read the Quran but you can’t speak Arabic? How do you do that?”
“I recite only, not read.”
“So you can’t understand what you recite?”
“No,” I replied.
“What kind of Muslim are you? You recite the Quran but can’t understand what you are reciting.”
“Well, I am the same as 99% other Muslims in Malaysia. We all don’t speak Arabic and can’t understand what we are reciting.”
The Imam shook his head and went off to pray for God to have mercy on me -- and the 99% other Malay Muslims in Malaysia.
What’s all this brouhaha about the word Allah in the Malay language translation of the Bible? First, take a look at this:
[Genesis 1:1 - English Bible - King James Version]
"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth . . . "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic transliteration]
"Fee al-badi' khalaqa Allahu as-Samaawaat wa al-Ard . . . "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic Bible]
[John 3:16 - English Bible - King James Version]
"For God so loved the world, that . . . "
[John 3:16 - Arabic transliteration]
"Li-annhu haakadha ahabba Allahu al-'Aalama hataa badhala . . . "
[John 3:16 - Arabic Bible]
[Luke 1:30 - English Bible - King James Version]
" . . . Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God."
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic transliteration]
" . . . Laa takhaafee, yaa Maryam, li-annaki qad wajadti ni'amat(an) i'nda Allahi."
[Luke 1:30 - Arabic Bible]
[Luke 3:38 - English Bible - New King James Version]
"the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."
[Luke 3:38 - Arabic transliteration]
"bini Anoosha, bini Sheeti, bini Aaadama, abni Allahi."
[Luke 3:38 - Arabic Bible]
The word Allah is already in the Bible. It is exactly the same word that the Jews, in Hebrew, use for God (eloh), the word that Jesus Christ used in Aramaic when he prayed to God. In Hebrew, Huwa el Elah or HUWA 'L LAH means HE IS ALLAH in the verse QUL HUWAL LAH HU AHAD.
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” said Jesus on the cross. In Aramaic this is: "Eli, Eli, l'mana Sabachtani?"
The words El, Elah and Elohim are not three distinctly different words. They all represent the single Arabic word, Allah, which is also the same in Hebrew.
No, Islam does not have monopoly over the use of the word Allah. The Christians and Jews too use this same word. In fact, the biggest ‘selling point’ for Islam is that the Quran recognises all the Prophets of the Jews and Christians and that we all pray to the same ONE God, Allah. If the God of the Jews, Christians and Muslims is the same one God, would not then the name of this God also be the same? How can the name of the Muslim God be different from that of the Jews and Christians if we all pray to the same one God?
Some Malays, PKR and PAS Malays included, are very narrow-minded and ignorant. And this is because they recite the Quran like parrots without understanding what they are reciting -- mainly because they do not speak the language of the Quran. And, for sure, they do not read any of the Holy Books of the other religions because they are of the opinion that it is forbidden (haram) to do so. It is said that even Prophet Muhammad sought advice from his wife’s, Khatijah’s cousin, Warakah, a learned Christian scholar of his time, though some scholars refute this (but they do admit that Warakah was a Christian who attended Prophet Muhammad’s and Khatijah’s wedding).
And Prophet Muhammad never prohibited the Jews and Christians from using the word Allah. But then Malays think they are better Muslims and more learned than the Arabs even though Malays recite the Quran without understanding what they are reciting -- unlike the Chinese Muslims in China. And what are 16 million Malay Muslims compared to the more than 100 million in China, the mualaps, as the Malays would call them, who have been Muslims since 1,300 years ago when Malays were still praying to trees and whatnot.
Raja Nazrin calls for rule of law to be upheld
By Shannon Teoh-The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah today called for regard for the law and respect for lawful institutions.
Three weeks after his royal family had to preside over a constitutionally disputed change of government in Perak, the crown prince said that upholding the rule of law was key in combating terrorism and violence in the midst of an economic crisis.
Speaking at the International Conference of Youth on Terrorism, Raja Nazrin said that a high regard for the rule of law and institutions established in accordance to the law would instead promote peace and harmony.
He proposed that the public respect “institutions established through and in accordance with law” as the law is a fundamental building block of any nation.
Under the Federal Constitution, Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy that gives certain discretionary powers to the Malay rulers, which include the appointments of the prime minister and chief ministers, the chief executives of the country and individual states respectively.
“In Malaysia, primacy of law is upheld as one of pillars of the Rukunegara.
“A lawless system breeds a lawless culture, which in turn suggests lawless governance and lawless government,” he said.
Calling the current economic crisis “one of the most serious in modern history,” he said that domestic and international affairs would be complicated by the effects of the downturn.
“Economic deprivation may not actually light the flames of extremism but it can more than casually fan them.” he said.
This was due to a sense of dissatisfaction, “as a result of real or imagined injustices” which he said would have to be comprehensively addressed.
Perak state legal advisor blocks notification of emergency sitting
By Lee Wei Lian-The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — The Perak state legal advisor is trying to block state representatives from being notified of an emergency sitting of the state assembly on March 3rd.
According to DAP Perak chairman Ngeh Koo Ham, the legal advisor, Datuk Ahmad Kamal Mohd Shahid, has directed the house secretary not to send out notices of the emergency sitting.
Ngeh says that this obstruction is in “contempt of the house” and is liable for punishment under house rules.
“The legal advisor has no business to intervene in the process of the house,” Ngeh told The Malaysian Insider.
“He is not an advisor to the speaker or the house. He cannot stop the process and the final decision on whether to send the notices out lies with the speaker.”
To work around the obstruction, a press conference was held in Ipoh today and the speaker will explore other means of sending out the notifications.
Only 49 notices will be sent out.
Menteri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six exco members will not received a notification as they were recently suspended by the speaker.
Neither will the three state assemblymen who switched support to the Barisan Nasional (BN) earlier this month as they are regarded as having resigned.
Two motions will be tabled at the emergency sitting. The first motion is proposed by Titi Serong representative Khalil Idham Lim to reaffirm confidence in Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaludin to continue to lead as Menteri Besar.
The second motion is proposed by Teja representative Chang Lih Kang and requests the Menteri Besar to tackle the current political crisis by doing all that is necessary to dissolve the state assembly, including sending a request to His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the state assembly.
If all goes according to plan, PR will have 28 assemblymen to BN’s 21 in the emergency session.
Zambry had earlier told The Malaysian Insider in an interview that he will defy his suspension, maintaining that the speaker had no jurisdiction for suspending him unilaterally for something that happened outside the assembly.
Reiterating PR’s stand that power was grabbed unconstitutionally in Perak, Ngeh says that the protracted battle is damaging to the state and its citizens and called upon the prime minister to advise Zambry to agree to dissolve the state assembly.
“Or hopefully, Sultan Azlan Shah can get parties to sit together and find an amicable solution. Let the people choose their government and their leaders.”
Public warned to stay away from illegal gathering tomorrow
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — The police have described the plan by 500 supporters of Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee P. Uthayakumar to lodge a mass police report at the Brickfields police headquarters tomorrow as an illegal gathering and advised the public to stay away.
Kuala Lumpur police chief, Datuk Wira Mohammad Sabtu Osman, said the police will not compromise with those involved in such a gathering which could jeopardise public order.
Hence, he said legal action awaits those who disobey the police’s instruction.
About 500 individuals have planned to gather in front of the Brickfields police headquarters tomorrow to lodge a report accusing the police of neglecting Uthayakumar’s health while detained under the ISA.
“We have received such a report before. So, there is no need for so many people to come and lodge the same thing. Just imagine having 500 people making the same police report at the same time, isn’t it troublesome and a waste of time?” he told reporters here today.
He also described the plan to make the mass police report as an attempt to ridicule the police because only one report was needed for the matter to be fairly investigated. — Bernama
“Foul is fair, fair is foul” – Malaysian politics getting uglier by the day as Najib gets close to be PM
With the Abdullah premiership nearing its end and the daily countdown for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to take over as the sixth Prime Minister in the first week of April, Malaysian politics is also getting uglier by the day – where “foul is fair and fair is foul”!
The shameful, shocking and outrageous violation of Parliament’s sanctity yesterday, where Selangor UMNO Youth leaders mobbed DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor, Karpal Singh in the precincts of Parliament, obstructing and menacing Karpal in the discharge of his parliamentary duties, as well as manhandling Pakatan Rakyat MPs Lim Lip Eng (DAP – Segambut), Fong Kui Lun (DAP - Bukit Bintang), Chong Chieng Jen (Bandar Kuching) and N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR – Padang Serai) who had gone to the aid of Karpal to protect him, is a blot in the 51-year history of Parliament marking a new low in Malaysian politics.
What was doubly shameful, shocking and outrageous was that the administration and security of Parliament were fully aware of the criminal intent of the Selangor UMNO Youth mob to commit the crime of parliamentary contempt under the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 in “assaulting, obstructing or insulting any member coming to or going from the House or on account of his conduct in the House or endeavouring to compel any member by force, insult, or menace to declare himself in favour of or against any proposition or matter pending or expected to be brought before the House” [Section 9 (e)], but they did not lift any finger to protect the safety and security of MPs in the parliamentary precincts from the Selangor UMNO Youth mob although they could alert MPs and the media to the crime of parliamentary contempt being committed against Karpal.
What was trebly shameful, shocking and outrageous was the failure of Parliament to take immediate action to summarily punish by fine and/or imprisonment as provided by the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 to protect parliamentary powers and privileges with regard to freedom of speech, debate and parliamentary proceedings to send a powerful message that such subversion of the parliamentary process, violation of the sanctity of Parliament and the privileges and security of MPs is completely unacceptable and must be visited with the swiftest and most severe penalty!
For this reason, I will not take part in the proceedings of the Committee of Privileges although I was named a member of the Committee in the motion passed by Parliament yesterday.
At a time when Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, should unite to face the worst global economic crisis in 80 years, it is a matter of grave concern that Najib’s pre-100 Days as the next Prime Minister is being marked by the dirtiest, most unethical and divisive politics in the nation’s history.
I fully sympathise with the sentiments of a businessman who has taken a full-page advertisement in a major daily newspaper asking warring political parties to call a truce and focus on the shaky economy and jobs.
But where is the basis for such a political moratorium when the greatest priority and pride of the Prime Minister-in-waiting is not how to unite Malaysians to shepherd the country through the worst global economic crisis in 80 years, but to orchestrate the “Greatest Political Robbery” in Malaysian politics with the illegal, immoral, unethical, undemocratic and unconstitutional power grab in Perak creating the scandal of two Perak Mentris Besar with far-reaching consequences to integrity, democracy, national unity or competitiveness whether in the state or country.
The illegal, unethical, immoral, undemocratic and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, orchestrated personally by Najib, has also seen Malaysian politics plunging to a new low with independent institutions dragooned to play Umno and Barisan Nasional politics instead of upholding the rule of law, illustrated by the violation of the privileges and immunities of the Perak State Assemby Speaker, V. Sivakumar by both the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which abused their powers by subjecting the Speaker to hours of interrogation.
Even the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan and the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan have openly “played politics”, when the former announced that there was strong evidence that the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was guilty of abuse of power and therefore corruption in the “car and cows” allegation and the latter said that the police had completed investigations into the 97 police reports lodged against Karpal and have recommended that Karpal be charged under the Sedition Act 1948 – when the final decision has to be made by the Attorney-General!
Yesterday, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Perak UMNO Deputy Chairman Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi threw discretion and propriety to the winds when he upped the ante in Karpal’s case, stating that the credibility of the Attorney-General would begin to be questioned by the public if Karpal is not prosecuted for sedition.
Zahid is acting most irresponsibly as a Cabinet Minister in applying public pressure to force the Attorney-General to prosecute Karpal, when the law is very clear that Karpal had committed no crime.
As Dr. Shad Faruqi, Professor of Law at UiTM had said in his article “Legal turmoil over Perak defections”:
Treason: Opinions are being expressed that to defy the Sultan and to threaten to go to court for defence of one’s legal rights amount to treason and a ground for deprivation of citizenship. There are fundamental misunderstandings here.
From day one of Merdeka, the King and the Sultans were open to civil suit for their official actions. They were only immune personally. In 1993 even the personal immunity was taken away.
In sum it is not a violation of the Constitution to resort to the courts to seek an authoritative opinion on one’s rights and duties. Where else does one go, what else does one do, if one has a claim?
Can Najib explain why his pre-100 days as the sixth Prime Minister is marred by the ugliest, dirtiest, most unethical and divisive politics ever in the nation’s history, to the extent that “Foul is fair, fair is foul” when he should be uniting Malaysians to better face the worst global economic crisis in 80 years?
Kin of murdered contractor may shed light on case
NST, Feb 27 2009
KLANG: A distant relative of murdered contractor S. Sivananthan has been detained by police.
The 29-year-old man surrendered himself at the district police headquarters here on Wednesday night after he learnt police were looking for him. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Gerard Lazarus.
The man, a director in an air-conditioner supply company, had several business dealings with Sivananthan. He has been remanded for three days.
It is learnt Sivananthan lodged a police report against the man in December after an argument over the former's younger brother.
One day in last November, Sivananthan's younger brother parked his car in front of Sivananthan's house in Bandar Bukit Tinggi 2 and went to a pub with the distant relative.
However, the car alarm went off and Sivananthan phoned the man and told him to bring his brother back.
An argument is believed to have ensued and they later broke off all business dealings.
Sivananthan was murdered by three men at his home last Sunday. The men entered the house and slashed him to death after his wife R. Kavita opened the gates to go out.
Lazarus said his client was in Penang when the murder happened.
"He told his friend to help the family but police picked up the friend and remanded him. He now wants to clear his name."
Perak Speaker calls for emergency sitting on 3 March
By Anil Netto
Perak Speaker V Sivakumar calls for an emergency sitting of the state assembly Photo by KK
The emergency sitting is to vote on two motions: to affirm support for Nizar as the MB and to seek a dissolution of the state assembly, paving the way for fresh polls.
“As the state assembly of Perak now remains in its first session after being constituted and having considered the dispensation of Standing Order 27(3) SOSLAP with powers of such dispensation provided for under Standing Order 8 SOSLAP in matters of emergency, I wish to inform that the State Legislative Assembly of Perak will convene an emergency meeting on the 3rd day of March 2009,” said Sivakumar in a statement.
He pointed out that his earlier written request on 6 February to the Sultan seeking his agreement to convene a meeting of the Assembly as soon as possible had been overtaken by events the same day.
UMNO Youth is true ‘CELAKA’.
By Kickedefella
This posting is blog from the Intensive Care Unit
Spot on Karpal!.
UMNO Youth should go and force Annuar Musa, The UMNO Faction who supported Idris Jusoh, Mat Taib The Princess Snatcher and many other Malays who is their own blood to openly apologises for years of ‘kurang ajar’ to the King and Sultans. If not, they are just nothing and I have to agree wholeheartedly with Karpal.
This is the brand of UMNO that majority of Malaysian rejects.
If we expect for them to change, what happened in Parliament yesterday proved that they yet to change.
If the new blood in UMNO, the Youth Wing is leading this new negative brand for UMNO, than for those few who still hope for a change in UMNO, I can just say this, FORGET IT.
UMNO is just heading towards “KECELAKAAN”.
Dari Drama Pembunuhan, Ugutan, Penculikan, Rasuah dan Episod Memalukan di Parlimen.
Semalam saya menerima undangan makan tengah hari bersama Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia di kediaman beliau. Saya kembali ke Parlimen dan mengadakan pertemuan dengan Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid di pejabat Ketua Pembangkang.
Sejurus kemudian saya diminta segera turun ke Dewan kerana Sdr. Karpal Singh mengemukakan bantahan diatas tekanan dan ugutan oleh pimpinan pemuda UMNO Selangor. Saya terkejut dengan gelagar sebahagian ahli parlimen umno-bn yang memandang enteng serangan tersebut malah melalak menafikan ruang untuk Sdr. Karpal dan rakan lainnya berhujah.
Dalam keriuhan tersebut saya bangun dan diberikan ruang oleh Speaker. Saya tidak menuding kepada ahli parlimen umno. Namun mereka harus waras dan matang mengecam kebiadapan menodai kemurnian kawasan Parlimen. Kita berhak berbeda pendapat secara sopan tetapi tidak pantas bertindak kasar dan ganas.
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin memberikan jamninan bertindak. Maka kami keluar untuk memberikan kenyataan bersama kepada media. Dan selanjutnya ke pejabat Speaker menggesa beliau bertindak segera secara tegas.
Maka berakhirlah satu lagi babak keji dalam sejarah Parlimen - bersambung dari drama pembunuhan, ugutan, penculikan, rasuah dan akhirnya hingga ke kawasan Parlimen.
ANWAR IBRAHIM
Toll Hike Postponed Indefinitely
PUTRAJAYA, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- The Cabinet decided to postpone indefinitely the toll increase for five expressways that was supposed to take effect on Sunday.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the new toll rates announced by Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed on Thursday would not be implemented in the near term or until end of this year.
Following the deferment, the government would have to pay RM500 million of taxpayers' money to the five highway operators, he told a press conference at the Finance Ministry here on Friday.
Zin had told reporters at his ministry earlier that the government would postpone the new toll rates for the North-South Expressway, Western Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal System Expressway, Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway, Sungai Besi Highway and New Pantai Expressway until end of the year.
The toll increase between 0.68 sen and 50 sen was to take effect on March 1 in accordance with the terms of concession agreements signed between the government and the concessionaires.
Several hours after the toll increase announcement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was attending the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting in Pattaya, Thailand, had said he would ask the Cabinet to reconsider because it was inappropriate under the present circumstances.
Meanwhile, Najib dismissed perceptions that the toll hike deferment had something to do with the Bukit Gantang, Perak and Bukit Selambau, Kedah by-elections on April 7.
"The decision was made for the good and benefit of the people," he said.
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