Swindon sifar kemalangan tanpa AES

'Rubbish, poor maintenance cause of flyover flood'

Why a Hindu (or a non-Muslim) Girl Must not Marry a Muslim

Seducing Hindu or non-Muslim Girls is a Part of Jihad

In her short communication, “A Hindu Girl's Troublesome Marriage with a Muslim”, Ms. Leona has narrated how Hindu (or non-Muslim) girls are trapped and deceived into love by Muslim boys by keeping them in the dark about the real face of Islam, which most often leads to a tragic end of the marriage. It is only after the girl’s love has grown too deep or the marriage that he starts imposing Islamic restrictions on her turning her life miserable. The root cause of such disasters is the well-meaning non-Muslim girl’s ignorance about Islam. Most Hindu girls consider Islam as just another religion like Hinduism, and hence becomes easy pray of cunning Muslim guys. In many cases, Muslim boys initially suppress their Muslim identity and pretend to be a Hindu by adopting Hindu names.

As a matter of fact, Muslims born and living in a non-Muslim-majority country never consider it as their own country or motherland. In their eyes, it is simply a dar-ul-harb or a land that must be conquered for Islam. Ideal Muslims consider it as the land of Allah occupied by the non-Muslim enemy, and that they must wage jihad for conquest. According to this Islamic psyche, Muslims living in India do no consider India as their motherland but a dar-ul-harb that must be turned into a dar-ul-Islam. So long this cannot be done, every Muslim should cause harm to India by whatever means they can.

Most importantly, seducing a Hindu girl for raping or to marrying her is also a part of Islamic jihad. It is now well known that Muslims all over the world are planning to conquer the world by demographic aggression, and for this demographic war, wombs of Muslim women are the most important weapon. So to seduce a Hindu girl, convert her to Islam and marry her, or in other words, to convert a Hindu womb into a Muslim womb, is of vital importance. Muslims in the southern Indian state of Kerala have adopted this strategy, and set up a well-planned program, called “Love Jihad”.

The Constitution of India gives adults freedom to choose his/her life partner. So, if a Hindu girl, after attaining the age of 18, marries a Muslim boy aged above 21, the law cannot impede the marriage. It is seen that in most of the inter-religious marriages, the boy is a Muslim and the girl is a Hindu. In some cases, Muslim girls are also seen to marry Hindu boys, but such instances are rare. However, one should not blame the Hindu girl for selecting a Muslim boy as her life partner either, as they are, from her childhood, awfully misguided by the Hindu religious teachers. These religious teachers, most of whom know little about Islam, mislead the Hindus by their teachings that all regions are the same, and one can obtain God by following any religion. Above all, Sri Ramkrishna is said to have told, jato mat tata path (or as many religions, there are as many different ways to obtain God). So, after learning all such false lessons, if a Hindu girl marries a Muslim boy, she must not be blamed. But, real guilty are the Hindu religious gurus who propagate entirely erroneous views about Semitic religions like Christianity and Islam.

Stupidity of Hindu Religious Gurus

In this context, let me draw attention to a booklet, titled “Mahatma Mohammad O Tar Upadesh” (Mohammad the Great and his Teachings), written by Swami Abhedananda (published by Sri Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, Kolkata). Perusal of it makes the reader convinced that Islam, as a religion, is far superior to Hindu Dharma, and Mohammad was superior to Vedic seers like Vashistha, Vishwamitra and so on. The author in that booklet writes that, even from his childhood, Mohammad was an extraordinarily spiritual man and used to meditate and attain the state of trance very often. He used to attain that profound state of absorption (Samadhi) and experience transcendental vision even when he went out to graze animals.

But in fact, Mohammad was a man of pastoral and nomadic Arab society and how (and the author has not thrown any light on that) with this background, he could have been able to raise himself to such a spiritual height? It is baffling that a person like Swami Abhedananda could have written all these baseless rubbish and pure lies.

But the author has consciously avoided penning a single word to describe what Mohammad did after migrating to Medina. The author has not mentioned how such spiritual Mohammad could have been so nonspiritual to marry 6-year-old child Aisha at the age of 52. The author did not explain how spiritual Mohammad could have married Zainab, the wife of his adopted son Zeid, when he was 56 and Zainab was 30. The author did not care to mention how spiritual Mohammad could massacre the entire male-population of the Koreiza clan of Medina in 627 AD. Eight hundred males were butchered within a day, while etheir women and children, about 1000 in number, were enslaved and sold, while the young Koreiza women were distributed among the Prophet and his associates for keeping as sex-slaves. And Mohammad, the spiritual man of Swami Abhedananda, took for himself the most beautiful of them, named Rihana, and raped her on the same night her male relatives, including her husband, were slain in front of her. He did not explain how a spiritual man could have committed such a bloody massacre and exhibit such sensuality.

Readers will recall that a few years ago, the birth centenary of Dr Mahanambrata Brahmachari, a renowned exponent of Hindu Theology, was celebrated with much enthusiasm. This learned man, in one of his writings, wrote without any context that ISLAM is the abbreviation of the sentence I SHALL LOVE ALL MEN. The author did not mention wherefrom he has collected this very important piece of misinformation. In fact, Islam has no headache for loving entire humanity. Islamic love and humanity is strictly confined only among Muslims. Islam, in fact, divides the humanity into two groups, (1) Muslims or Momens, and (2) non-Muslims or Kafirs, without a grey area. According to Islamic theology, Islam is the only true religion on earth, and those, who follow false religions, are wrong-doers and condemned people. In the eyes of Allah, these kafirs are no better than animals, and hence Allah has commanded Muslims to mount any kind of torture and atrocities on them, kill them, burn them and their houses, take their women and children as captives and rape their women, smash their children on the floor and so on, which is collectively known as jihad.

So the Koran says:

• “We have created, for hell, many genii (races) of men, ….and they are like brute beasts” (7.179)
• “Verily, those who disbelieve our signs, we will surely cast them to be broiled in the hell-fire, so often as their skins shall be well burnt, We will give them new skins in exchange, so that they may taste the sharper torment” (4.56)
• “Whosoever followeth any religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him in this life, and in the next life he shall be of those who perish” (3.85)
• “I will cast a dread into the hearts of the unbelievers” (8.12)
• “Therefore cut off their heads, and strike off all the ends of the fingers. This shall they suffer because they have opposed Allah and His Prophet, and whosoever shall oppose Allah and His Prophet, verily Allah will be severe in punishing them” (8.13)
• “…moreover, as for the nonbelievers, I will punish them with grievous punishments in this world, and in the world is to come” (3.56)
• “Allah loves not the unbelievers” (3.57)
• “…they shall suffer a grievous punishment” (3.77).

The question naturally arises: what inspired Dr Mahanambrata to write all these lies, all such baseless rubbish. Mahanambrata would never know how many Hindu girls, influenced by his false portrayal of Islam, would marry Muslim boys and suffered hellish torment?

Baba Loknath has become very popular today in Bengal. One finds a Loknath Baba Ashram at every locality in the city of Kolkata. One must have also noticed that the reason for his extraordinary popularity lies in his assurance that “If any one remembers him in distress, anywhere like in a forest, in deep waters or in a battlefield, Baba Loknath would provide protection for him”. Hindu cowards and fools believe that the Baba would really protect them in distress. But they are not rational enough to think that, if the Baba has really such miraculous power to play saviour for the people in distress, then why he is not showing any interest to save the Hindus in Bangladesh, who are victims of bloody persecution by Muslims?

However, the devotees of Baba Loknath have made a movie where it is seen that the Baba, with the help of his extraordinary yogic power, goes to visit Mecca (his mundane body stay lying like a dead at his ashrama and his shuttle body goes to Mecca). In Mecca, the Baba puts up in the house of a Mullah and tells him that he would receive Koran from him and give him Purana in exchange, as if Koran and Purana are same.

After returning back to his Ashram, he says that he has seen three perfect Brahmins (Bipras) in his entire life and that Mullah of Mecca was one of them. It is to be mentioned here that, to every Muslim, whether he is a religious Mullah or an ordinary family-man, considers jihad as the highest form of worship of Allah. Every Muslim theoretically believes that, if he can kill at least one kafir, Allah will reward him heavily on the Day of Judgment (Qiamah). If he succeeded in killing and got killed in the process, he will be a martyr, and land in Allah’s paradise right away; if he kills a kafir but remains alive, Allah will honour him with the honorable title of Ghazi (slayer of infidel) and will receive rich rewards after death. Do the devotees of Baba Loknath have ever thought how many Hindu girls have been misguided to marry Muslims by his misinformation that Koran and Puran are equal and the false exposition of an extremely communal Mullah of Mecca as a noble hearted Brahmin?

Perhaps it is known to the Hindus of Bengal that in the wake of Partition of India, Thakur Anukul Chandra, being driven out by Muslims of his native place in the District of Pabna, East Pakistan, came to India and settled at Deoghar in Bihar. But after coming to India, the Great Anukul Chandra wrote,

Buddha ishar bibedh karis, Chaitanya Rasul Krishne /

Jiboddhare hon abirbhab, ek-i ora tao janisne //

(O, you fool. You are trying to bring difference among Buddha, Christ, Sri Chaitanya, Rasul Mohammad and Lord Sri Krishna? Don’t you know that there lies no difference among them and they come down to earth only to save the creation whenever they feel it necessary?)

So, according to Anukul Chandra, Christ, Mohammad, Buddha, Chaitanya and Lord Sri Krishna, all are equal. He also wrote:

Krishna rasul jisu adi nararupi bhagaban /

umi je tader murta pratik prerita bartaman //

(Lord Krishna, Prophet Mohammad, Jesus Christ, all are gods in human attire. You are also a replica of them and have been called for at present for a purpose.)

So, in above verses, Anukul Chandra has equated Lord Krishna to Mohammad, the prophet of Islam. All these verses and other writings of the Hindu religious leaders that carry extreme misinformation are sufficient to misguide Hindu girls to take wrong decision like marrying Muslims. Hence, we cannot blame Hindu girls if she, being misguided by such verses, marry Muslim boys and thus get into hellish married life.

Truth about “Jato Mat Tato Path” mantra

“Jato mat tato path is a great saying of Sri Ramkrishna. A preliminary enquiry is sufficient to realize that Shri Ramkrishna had said these words only to mean that various cults of Hindu Dharma, e.g. Vaishnav, Shaakta, Shaiva, Gaanapatya etc. are same and anyone is capable of obtaining Moksha by following anyone of them. It was Sri Mahendra Gupta (Mastermosai), who, due to his limited knowledge, mistakenly brought the Semitic religions in the fold.

Sri Mahendra Gupta elaborated “jato mat tata path” to included Semitic religions, without knowing what the teachings of those Semitic religions are, and wrote: Hindus, Muslims and Christians drink water from a common pond, but Hindus call it jal, Muslims call it pani and Christians call it water. The tragedy lies in the fact that, Mahendra Gupta has left the world a long ago. But Hindus are paying the price for his misinterpretation.

In addition to that, we have the contributions of the nonviolent saint of Gujarat. He used to sing “Ishwar Allah tere naam”, as Allah is Ishwar. Most Hindus do not know that Allah of Islam and the Ishwar of Hinduism are vastly different. A careful perusal of the Koran reveals that Allah is nothing but a leader of a criminal gang, a cruel killer. To highlight this point, Swami Dayananda Saraswati in his Satyartha Prakash writes: “If the God of the Quran had been the protector of all creatures and dispenser of forgiveness and mercy to all, He would not have commanded the Muslims to kill the people of other religions”. He also said, due to this reason, “The Quran does not appear to have been made by God”.

That nonviolent prophet of Gujarat used to read from the Koran and Gita in his prayer meetings (probably knowing meanings of Koranic verses), and thus had set the misinformation that the Koran is as good as Gita. It is very likely that Priyanka Todi, being misguided by these faulty as well as dangerous interpretations, has decided to marry Rizwanur Rehman and now she is paying the price.

A Hindu Girl Must think twice before marrying a Muslim

When a Hindu girl marries a Muslim, it is implied that she must have to embrace Islam. Otherwise, the Muslim community would not endorse the marriage. When Indira, daughter of Jawanarlal Nehru, fell in love with the Muslim boy Firoz Khan, the son Nawab Khan, a liquor dealer, both Firoz and Indira were secretly flown to London, where Indira was converted to Islam in a mosque, name changed to Farzanabibi, and thereafter their marriage was solemnized according to Islamic rites. But after Rajib Gandhi was born, Firoz brought home another woman. So a Hindu girl, when marries a Muslim boy, the net result is that the Hindu society loses one member and at the same time the Muslim society gains one. To describe this loss, Swami Vivekananda has said, when a Hindu goes to another religion, it is not only one number less, but one enemy more.

The matter is not so simple when a Hindu girl enters into the Muslim fold through marriage. The number of children, who will be born out of that wedlock, would also be Muslims and hence the loss is much greater. Even Gandhiji could not allow the defection of an individual from the Hindu fold. When his eldest son Hiralal converted to Islam, he reconverted him to Hinduism with the help of the Arya Samaj.

When a Hindu girl marries a Muslim boy, it becomes difficult for her, in most cases, to adjust herself in the Muslim family. She finds it difficult to eat beef, to wear burqa, to live under a constant threat of oral divorce (or triple talaq), and most importantly, to marry an unknown man and sleep with him at least for a night to get back her husband, if her husband, on the point of rage, divorces her with triple talaq. In addition to that, she may also find her husband to bring other wives (as Islam permits a man to marry four wives at a time) and is forced to adjust with her co-wives under coercion and torture. (For example, when Firoz Khan brought home another wife after Rajib’s birth, Indira came to her father’s house in tears.)

She might also fall victim of sexual abuse by her near relatives, especially by her father-in-law. In Muslim society, when a father-in-law rapes his daughter-in-law, Muslim clerics refuse to accept it as a crime, because Mohammad had married his daughter-in-law Zeinab, as mentioned above. According to Sharia Law, if a woman brings the allegation of rape, she must also produce four male witnesses in her support, otherwise she would be treated guilty of adultery that calls for rajam (or stoning to death) as punishment. It is needless to say that it is an impossible task for a woman to bring four male witnesses to prove her allegation. Hence, in most of the cases, there remains nothing for the victim but to keep silence and let the oppressor go scot-free. In Muslim society, every adult male is more or less lecherous, and possess an inherent desire for Hindu women. And hence when a Hindu girl enters a Muslim household, she runs a much greater risk of falling victim of rape by her close kin. Due to too many such reasons, in about 95 per cent cases, the Hindu girls find no other alternative but to return to her father’s house after horrible experience.

So, it can safely be said that Hindu girls, most of whom do not know the abc of Islam, marry Muslims under temporary illusion, and later finds it nearly impossible to adjust her with Muslim life-style. It also becomes difficult for her to seek divorce, as Muslim clerics do not treat a prayer for divorce legal if it comes from the woman. Hindu girls, therefore, must think twice before marrying Muslim boys.

Salafists destroy ancient Morocco carvings: NGO

Stone carvings dating back over 8,000 years have been destroyed by Salafists in Morocco, a rights group says (AFP/File, Patrick Hertzog)

RABAT — Stone carvings in Morocco's High Atlas mountains dating back more than 8,000 years and depicting the sun as a pagan divinity have been destroyed by Salafists, a local rights group said on Wednesday.

"These stone carvings of the sun are more than 8,000 years old. They were destroyed several days ago," Aboubakr Anghir, a member of the Amazigh (Berber) League for Human Rights, told AFP.

"One of the carvings, called 'the plaque of the sun,' predates the arrival of the Phoenicians in Morocco," Anghir said.

"It lies in a well-known archaeological site in the Yakour plain south of Marrakesh, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Mount Toubkal."

"There are several Salafist groups active in the region and it's not the first time these pre-Islamic sites have been attacked. We have sent a message to the ministry of culture, but have not yet received a reply," he added.

Salafists, Muslims who adhere to a hardline Sunni interpretation of Islam similar to that practised in Saudi Arabia, which strictly prohibits "idolatry," have enjoyed a surge in strength in Arab Spring countries, benefiting from wider freedom.

Late on Monday, one of Tunisia's main Sufi mausoleums was burned down in an overnight arson attack, seemingly the latest in a spate of attacks on unorthodox Sufi shrines by the country's increasingly assertive Salafists.

In northern Mali, which is close to Morocco, radical Islamists have destroyed ancient World Heritage shrines they consider idolatrous since seizing control of the region earlier this year.

Nine churches and six Buddhist temples shut down under Islamist pressure in Banda Aceh

by Mathias Hariyadi
For the city's deputy mayor, the buildings were not being properly used. They lacked the proper building permit and were used for "unlawful" purposes. She pledged greater monitoring of minority activities. Local sources say that the crackdown is the result of threats from extremist groups. FPI now wants other cities and towns to do the same.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Authorities in Banda Aceh, capital of the Aceh Special Territory, ordered the closure of nine Christian home churches and six Buddhist prayer houses for alleged irregularities in their building permit. According to Deputy Mayor Hajjah Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, the buildings were illegal because they lacked the right permit. Under the law, private homes cannot be used "for religious ceremonies or functions."

"Aceh is a special territory that enforces Sharia," she said and home churches violate the law because they lack the appropriate building permit (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan in Indonesian).

The issue is more complicated in the case of Christian places of worship because the latter require the agreement of a certain number of local residents and that of the local interfaith dialogue group. Under the pressure of radical Muslim groups, permits are often denied.

Deputy Mayor Djamal also wants the authorities to monitor the activities of Buddhist and Christian communities to ensure that their services are performed in the right places. This is necessary, in her view, to "maintain interfaith harmony." At the same time, "we shall not issue any new permit for other churches or vihara (Buddhist temples)."

Local Muslim extremists welcomed the decision. Yusuf Al-Qardhawy, head of the Aceh branch of the Islamic Defence Front (FPI), called on other jurisdictions to follow Banda Aceh, enforce Islamic law and stop any non-Muslim worship activity that is not approved.

He said the situation would be monitored constantly to ensure that rules are respected. Local sources note that the municipal order shutting Buddhist and Christian places of worship follows a complaint filed by Islamists concerning an "improper" use of buildings.

The province of Aceh, the westernmost of the archipelago of Indonesia, is also the only one which is subject to Sharia. Compliance is ensured by the 'morality police,' a special force that punishes violations in dress and behaviour.

In the past, a relative calm and religious harmony between the Muslim majority and "foreigners," members of various non-Islamic faiths, prevailed under the leadership of former guerrilla leader, now Governor Irwandy Yusuf.

More recently the situation has changed however. Attacks against religious minorities have started and fundamentalists has gained more power and freedom of action.

In last April's elections, Zaini Abdullah, a former guerrilla leader who lived in exile in Sweden, won promising to fight corruption and impose Islamic law.

The strict application of Sharia was one of the conditions separatist rebels imposed on Jakarta to end their armed struggle.

As a result of a recent spike in sectarian tensions, the area saw violence and attacks against Christian communities, which led to the closure of places of worship on the order of the authorities claiming that they lacked proper building permits.

Nazri's son, bodyguard assault case 'resolved' - Malaysiakini

Mohamad Nedim Nazri, the son of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, has been cleared of committing affray when he and his bodyguards were stopped from entering a posh Mont Kiara condominium in March by a security firm supervisor.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, in a  written reply in Parliament to Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne, said police investigations on Mohamad Nedim's former bodyguard were conducted under Section 160 of the Penal Code.

“The case has been resolved amicably by both parties,” Hishammuddin said in his reply to Loh.

Loh had asked the minister to reveal the results of police investigations against Mohamad Nedim on the assault of a security supervisor and also on the death of a youth, Darren Kang, at Uncle Don's restaurant sometime in 2004.

On the first case, Malaysiakini had reported that two separate police reports were filed by the security supervisor and the bodyguard on the incident, which took place after a security personnel stopped Nazri's son from entering the plush condominium.
The supervisor, in his 50s, said he was assaulted when he asked for the identities of those in a Porsche sports car and a luxury MPV.

Mohamad Nedim was said to be driving the Porsche, followed by a luxury MPV driven by his bodyguard, who then alighted to have his personal particulars recorded on behalf of both drivers.

The bodyguard claimed that the person in the Porsche was a 'Tengku' (a member of the royalty), but a security guard explained the rules of the condominium required the drivers of all vehicles visiting the premises to be registered.
Thais convicted of Kang's death
An argument then ensued, resulting in the supervisor being called in to mediate, and he too explained that the rule was part of the condo management requirements.
This resulted in the Mohamad Nedim (left) alighting from his Porsche, while the bodyguard and his friends assaulted the security supervisor.

A video footage of the fracas was also retrieved from the condo management.
As for the death of Darren Kang, Hishammuddin said in his reply that Mohamad Nedim was not involved in the death and that five Thai nationals were found guilty of manslaughter and had been sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

In the July 6, 2004 incident, Kang, 24, a law student at Britain's Sheffield University, was assaulted after he confronted several people over remarks allegedly made about his fiancee.

PAS’ door still open for Musa?

PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub says the party will only make a stand after receiving an application from the ex-IGP.

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has not shut the door on former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Musa Hassan from joining the Islamist party despite the allegations levelled against him.

“I don’t want to jump the gun. We’ll cross the bridge when we come there. If there is any application from him, then we will make our stand,” said PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub at the Parliament lobby today.

Yesterday, an online portal reported Musa dismissing speculation that he would be joining PAS or any other political party soon.

He also said that he never supported or joined any party since joining the police force.

But Musa refused to comment when asked if he would become a PAS member if given the chance.

“I cannot speak about the future,” the ex-IGP was reported as saying.

Asked if PAS made a membership offer to Musa recently, Salahuddin replied in the negative.

“So far, we did not make any offer. But if he wants to join PAS, Musa can make an application with us and we will consider,” he said.

Musa, along with Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, were accused of fabricating evidence against former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim during the Sodomy 1 trial in 1998.

The former top cop filed a lawsuit against Anwar in 2008 for accusing him of fabricating evidence but withdrew his suit two days ago, citing a “misunderstanding”.

PPP asks for Indian township in Penang

It wants BN to make a promise in its election manifesto.

NIBONG TEBAL: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has asked Barisan Nasional to turn Taman Puteri Gunung into an Indian township if it recaptures Penang in the coming general election.

Loga Bala Mohan, who heads Penang PPP, said his party was pushing for the agenda to be included in the BN election manifesto for Penang.

“We want it to be an election promise to show that BN would walk its talk for the Indian community,” he told FMT today.

“It’s important to develop an Indian settlement where the community has facilities for Tamil education, religious and cultural activities, business opportunities and so on.”

Taman Puteri Gunung has the largest Indian community in Penang, with nearly 2, 000 households headed mostly by former estate workers who moved out from the nearby Chersonese Plantation when its management changed some 20 years ago.

PPP also wants the BN manifesto to promise to build a facility that would make it easy for disabled persons, senior citizens, children and pregnant women to get to the hilltop Arulmigu Balathandayuthabani temple.

Currently, devotees who do not own four-wheel-drive vehicles have to climb 554 steps to reach the temple.

Loga said PPP had asked Penang BN to lobby with Putrajaya to fund the project.

Arulmigu Balathandayuthabani Kovil has the reputation of being the largest temple outside India that is dedicated to Lord Muruga Perumaan. It is a major tourist attraction.

PPP is also asking BN to set up a foundation to provide financial aid to needy Indian families to enable them to pay for their children’s tertiary education and another foundation to build houses for the poor and establish a vocational institution for Tamil school leavers.

It also wants BN to carry out a comprehensive programme to upgrade the knowledge and skills of Indian youths to ease their way into higher education, employment and business.

These requests were contained in two resolutions passed at Penang PPP’s annual convention last month.

Pembeli rumah tuntut geran rumah

Selain daripada itu pembeli juga tidak puas hati apabila harga rumah dinaikkan tanpa dimaklumkan kepada pembeli.

SENAWANG: Lebih 30 pembeli rumah pangsa di Taman Sri Mawar di sini kecewa dengan Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan kerana kegagalan kerajaan negeri menyerahkan geran hak milik rumah walaupun telah selesai membuat pembayaran.

Selain daripada itu pembeli juga tidak puas hati apabila harga rumah dinaikkan tanpa dimaklumkan kepada pembeli.

Pembeli rumah Mohd Nawi Ibrahim, 55, berkata beliau membeli rumah pangsa secara sewa beli pada tahun 1991.

“Dalam surat perjanjian rumah ini berharga RM25,000. Saya membayar ansuran sebanyak RM138.22 selama 20 tahun.

“Bagaimanapun beberapa tahun lepas secara tiba-tiba saya mendapati harga rumah dinaikkan menjadi RM33,000. Kami tidak dimaklumkan dan saya hanya mendapat tahu ketika membuat pembayaran ansuran bulanan.

“Walaupun tidak puas hati atas kenaikan harga rumah tanpa alasan kukuh, saya tetap membayar ansuran bulanan dan mengikut kiraan ansuran saya sejak 1991, sepatutnya hutang saya sudah habis.

“Saya ada menuntut geran hak milik tetapi pejabat Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri memberi alasan geran hanya akan diberi selepas kesemua 48 pembeli rumah selesai membuat pembayaran.

“Ini tidak adil kepada pembeli rumah seperti saya yang membayar ansuran secara tetap dan sudah melangsaikan keseluruhan kos pinjaman rumah tersebut.

“Bayangkan ada beberapa pembeli rumah (sewa beli) di blok ini yang baru setahun tinggal. Tak kan saya kena tunggu dua puluh tahun lagi (tunggu pembeli ini melangsaikan pembayaran penuh) untuk dapatkan geran hak milik saya? Sedangkan saya tidak ada sumber pendapatan tetap lagi kerana telah bersara. Ini tidak adil kepada pembeli rumah yang sudah melangsaikan pembayaran secara sepenuhnya,” kata Mohd Nawi.

S Xavier , 42, turut menyatakan perasaan kecewa beliau apabila Kerajaan Negeri menaikkan harga rumah yang asalnya RM25,000 kepada RM33,000 tanpa perbincangan dengan pembeli rumah.

“Saya juga tidak puas hati dengan alasan pejabat Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri yang berkata geran hak milik hanya akan diberi kepada apabila semua pembeli rumah selesai melunaskan kos rumah tersebut.

Tunggu semua bayar

“Bayangkan ada 48 pembeli rumah dalam satu blok. Logikkah kalau saya kena tunggu kesemua 48 pembeli rumah ini selesai membuat pembayaran untuk menerima geran hak milik? Bagaimana dengan keadaan ada kes pembeli rumah lari begitu sahaja?

“Apakah kerana ada pembeli rumah yang liat tidak mahu membayar ansuran maka pembeli rumah yang selesai pembayaran jadi mangsa?

Xavier berkata ada tujuh blok rumah pangsa dan setiap blok mempunyai empat tingkat dengan 48 unit rumah.

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Senawang dari DAP, P Gunasekaran yang mengatur lawatan media ke rumah pangsa untuk menemui pembeli rumah tersebut mendesak agar Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan turun padang dan bertemu dengan pembeli rumah ini untuk mengetahui situasi sebenar yang membelenggu pembeli rumah ini.

“Sepatutnya geran hak milik dikeluarkan dulu kepada pembeli rumah yang telah melunaskan pinjaman rumah pangsa tersebut.

“Ini juga secara tidak langsung memberi motivasi kepada pembeli rumah melunaskan pinjaman rumah pangsa tersebut dengan secepat mungkin.

“Jika hendak menunggu semua pembeli rumah lunaskan bayaran, baru hendak beri geran hak milik, ini memang tidak adil,” ujar Gunasekaran.

Sementara itu berlaku sedikit kekecohan apabila seorang wanita yang mendakwa mewakili Umno di kawasan rumah pangsa tersebut mempertikaikan kehadiran Gunasekaran di rumah pangsa tersebut.

Wanita tersebut kedengaran berkata kepada Gunasekaran bahawa Gunasekaran tidak sepatutnya masuk ke kawasan rumah pangsa itu dengan alasan kerajaan sudah ganti bumbung rumah dan mengecat bangunan rumah pangsa tersebut.

Gunasekaran pula berkata beliau adalah wakil rakyat untuk kawasan itu dan beliau datang pun atas aduan dan jemputan pembeli rumah yang tidak puas hati dengan Kerajaan Negeri.

Gunasekaran memperjelaskan kepada wanita itu bahawa pembeli rumah pangsa Sri Mawar mengadu kepada beliau kerana masih tidak dapat geran hak milik walaupun sudah selesai membuat bayaran balik pinjaman membeli rumah.

“Tak apa, awak buat kerja awak, saya buat kerja saya,” kata Gunasekaran kepada wanita itu.

This is my country, I’ll not balik Tong San

By right, Malaysia should today be a rich, progressive and prosperous nation. But why is it not so?
COMMENT

By Chua Jui Meng

After 55 years of greed, plundering and emptying the national coffer, the Barisan Nasional (BN)-Umno government is now living off borrowings.

According to Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, the federal debt is at about RM800 billion.

That is why our economy is in tatters with the value of the ringgit shrinking fast (now at RM2.50 to S$1), cost of essentials and living rising and the people living in misery having to struggle to make ends meet daily.

That is why the rakyat (people) is at a political crossroad and have no choice but to change the corrupt BN-Umno before economic disaster befalls us as a bankrupt country.

Sabah’s RM40 million Musagate involving the state’s timber revenue and Sarawak’s multi-billionaire Taib Mahmud are two clear cases of super rich BN-Umno chief ministers who need not be accountable to their current wealth.

Malaysia is a blessed country with rich natural resources, including oil and gas, and the 26 million citizens should be reasonably comfortable financially. But they are not, especially the rural and urban poor.

In 1992, when I was in China, there were no cars on the roads, only bicycles and motorcycles. Not even Proton cars, don’t talk about Mercedes Benz.

After two decades, China has overtaken Japan as the biggest economy in the world.

BN-Umno leaders and their cronies can continue to tell us, the Chinese, to Balik Tong San (Go back to China), but I will not.

I was born in Malaysia, I reside in Malaysia and Malaysia is my country.

The Chinese in Johor must rise to give solid support to Pakatan Rakyat in the next general election for a more secure future.

We cannot rely on MCA anymore as it has proven to be only a “Yes Man” party to Umno. They only know how to continue to kiss the hands of Umno leaders for crumbs.

The Chinese must replace MCA with Pakatan parties whose New Development Policy will see restructures in both Small Medium Industries (SMIs) and Small Medium Enterprise (SMEs).

Chua Jui Meng is a PKR vice-president and Johor PKR chief. He is also a former MCA vice-president and an ex-Cabinet member.

Perkasa wants boycott of Jaclyn Victor

Jaclyn Victor's song, Harapan Bangsa, is claimed by Perkasa as an insult to Islam.

PETALING JAYA (Oct 18): Perkasa has called for a blanket boycott of local singer, Jaclyn Victor by Muslims nationwide over her song which it claims is an insult to Islam.

The song Harapan Bangsa was uploaded on YouTube on Jan 3, 2012 and contains religious connotations pertaining to the Christian faith.

It isn’t clear however when the song was recorded. None of her five albums released since 2004 includes Harapan Bangsa and the song isn’t listed as a single either.

The YouTube video was created by a Kathryn Barry and features Christian imagery, Malaysia and its various races with Harapan Bangsa as background accompaniment.

There were no images, however, of Jaclyn performing or recording the song in a studio. In an accompanying write-up, Barry said that she had created the video to "share this beautiful and meaningful song about Malaysia and Jesus".

In a statement today, the right-wing Malay NGO said it condemned both Jaclyn and the songwriter for their “insensitivity and disrespect” to non-Christians in the country.

Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali referred to a particular line in the song that reads: “Bapa, engkau lah harapan negara ini” (Father you are the hope of the nation) and said that it was a clear insult to Islam as the country’s official religion.

“There is also another line that says “Kau lah satu-satunya harapan di bumi Malaysia” (You are the only hope on Malaysian soil) and this is insulting to all non-Christians since she refers to Malaysian soil,” he said.

“Do all Malaysians believe in and place their hope in Jesus? The songwriter should have been more aware of the fact that Malaysia is made up of more than just Christians and has a Muslim majority.”

Syed pointed out that yet another line says “Yesus engkau lah harapan segala bangsa” (Jesus, you are the hope of all races) and questioned why the lyrics were written as such since Muslims have never worshipped Jesus.

He then expressed bemusement over Jaclyn’s insensitivity towards her Malay fan base especially when her success rode on their shoulders.

“Perkasa is not seeking an apology from her,” Syed clarified. “What is needed is a compulsory boycott by all Muslims of her albums and performances nationwide.”

“We also want the Information Ministry to ban her appearance on all electronic media. Let her feel the pain of her insensitivity. It will be a stern lesson for her.”

Jaclyn, 34, became an overnight sensation after winning the inaugural Malaysian Idol in October 2004.

Her debut album, Gemilang, achieved gold status a week after its release. She has since gone from strength to strength and has built for herself a multiracial fan base.

At the time of writing, fz.com has been unable to reach the singer who is currently preparing for Muzika Ekstravaganza held tomorrow in Singapore.

In an immediate reaction, Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa has rapped Perkasa for “disrupting the multicultural fabric of society” by exploiting issues that could potentially create racial tension in the country.

The son of the late PAS president, Yusof Rawa, was responding to Perkasa’s call for Muslims to boycott local singer, Jaclyn Victor, over a song that purportedly insulted Muslims.

But Mujahid, who has yet to see the YouTube clip, said that he has never known of any songs by Jaclyn that humiliated other faiths.

“The first question is whether she was the original singer of the song,” he pointed out. “And secondly, for what purpose and occasion was the song written?”

“I will reserve my (comments) on the lyrics as I haven’t heard the song yet but you know, anything can be uploaded on YouTube by anyone.”

Mujahid, who is also the chairman of the PAS National Unity Bureau, however added that he wasn’t surprised that Perkasa was riding on this issue as it was typical of the NGO to exploit issues like this.

“Our country has gone into the dark depths of politics where anything is being used for narrow purposes,” he said. “Even singers are not spared.”

He also warned that it would be “a very bad thing” if the exploitation of this issue was planned for the purpose of creating tension among the country’s different faiths and races.

Mujahid further noted that Perkasa’s harping on racially sensitive issues has had little success, even among the Muslims.

“Perkasa has never ever represented anyone of us,” he emphasized. “We are Muslims who give honour to others and don’t manipulate issues for narrow purposes. Perkasa does not represent us, please tell the world this.”

Former Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, when contacted, told fz.com that the reaction from Muslims depends on where the song was played.

"If it is played in public maybe it is not appropriate. But if it is a song to be played in church, then no one can say anything because it is between them and God.

"In Malaysia, we have a law where non-Muslims cannot refer to God as Allah," Mohd Asri said, adding that he heard that song was not new, but from five years ago.

"So (if in this song), you called upon God within the Church among Christians, we have no right to disturb. If you call God and ask whatever you want and it is not against public interest, that is between you and God," he said.

Meanwhile Jaclyn’s recording label, KRU Music, has confirmed that Harapan Bangsa is not part of its catalogue. The singer signed with KRU last September after her contract with Sony Music expired.

A KRU representative told fz.com that at this juncture, Jaclyn Victor has recorded only two songs with KRU, namely Jagalah Diri and Sebelah Jiwaku.

The Murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu

(Asia Sentinel) Six years on, troubling questions remain about the Mongolian beauty's death, and who ordered it

It will be six years tomorrow since bodyguards for now-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak dragged the Mongolian translator and party girl Altantuya Shaariibuu out of a car in a patch of jungle near the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Shah Alam. As she begged for her life and apparently that of her unborn child, they knocked her unconscious, then shot her twice in the head.

That was Oct. 19, 2006. According to court testimony, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas, both assigned to Najib’s office, then wrapped Altantuya’s body in C4 plastic explosives and blew her up, possibly to mangle her remains so badly that the fetus would be destroyed.

Sirul Azhar was interrogated by police shortly after the murder was discovered. He was informed that anything he said could be held against him, in accordance with the law. In his cautioned statement, as his confession was called in Malaysia, he told authorities he and Azilah had been offered RM100,000 to kill the woman and her two companions, who were causing highly public embarrassment for Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib’s best friend. The 28-year-old Mongolian woman, in a letter found after her death, wrote that she was sorry she had been blackmailing Razak Baginda.
If French police records are to be believed, Razak Baginda was allegedly central to a massive bribery case in which a total of nearly €150 million in payments were steered to two Razak Baginda companies, Perimekar Sdn Bhd and Terasasi Hong Kong Ltd.

As Asia Sentinel reported earlier this year, records seized by the French police show that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe were aware of the transactions. Memos obtained by Asia Sentinel show the French expected at least part of the money to be steered to the United Malays National Organization, Malaysia’s biggest ethnic political party.

Sirul’s confession was never admitted in court despite its seeming legality. And, despite a 14-month trial, neither the prosecutors, the defense nor the judge asked who had offered the RM100,000 payment to the two men. Najib’s chief of staff, Musa Safri, reportedly dispatched the two policemen to pick up Altantuya and her companions, who mercifully weren’t around when the two murderers abducted Altantuya, or presumably they would have died with her, As nearly as can be detremined from official records, Musa Safri was never questioned about the matter, nor was Najib.

This recounting is important because in recent weeks Najib’s government has embarked on a concerted legal campaign to discredit a long string of political reform and independent news organizations who have kept the Altantuya story and others concerning corruption and political misdoings alive in Malaysia. Instead, the government and UMNO leaders have accused the reformers of being the tools of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, or of foreign powers, out to destabilize Malaysia. The presumptive foreign powers are shadowy ones, sometimes German, sometimes American, sometimes Israeli, sometimes unnamed. Enormously long blogs have been written calling into question the French documents, which were published by Asia Sentinel.

But whoever these foreign powers are, they are cast as out to hoodwink Malaysia’s voters out of the government that is best for them in national elections to be held sometime next year, probably in April. This is an old story, peddled by a long string of disreputable governments across the world when reformers get too close, and it may hold sway again in Malaysia.

But there is one incontrovertible fact. Altantuya Shaariibuu is dead, and she appears to have been killed at the behest of someone with considerable clout in Kuala Lumpur. If her dying statement to Sirul Azhar, as he recounted it in his confession, is to be accepted, she appeared to have been carrying the baby of someone, perhaps high in power in Malaysia.

And, despite indignant denials from the powers that be, Altantuya appears to have had inside knowledge of the later events in France when Razak Baginda and Najib Tun Razak visited to deal with matters surrounding the purchase of Scorpene submarines from the French contractor DCN.

Although pro-government critics have denied she had ever visited France, according to testimony given by Abdul Razak when he was under investigation for ordering the two bodyguards to kill Altaantuya, he himself told investigators he traveled with her to France in 2005.

Records seized by French investigators from DCN, the defense contractor that sold Malaysia the submarines, bear that out, According to French investigators’ records, Abdul Razak Baginda and Altantuya met with Jean Marie Boivin, the alleged French fixer who helped to organize “commissions” for friends in high places to pick DCN’s submarines on that same trip. Boivin arranged to pay for a jaunt by Altantuya and Abdul Razak to Macau.

Najib has sworn on the Quran that he never met Altantuya, although she was in France at the same time as he was, accompanying Najib’s best friend, Abdul Razak Baginda. On June 11, 2005, Najib gave a press conference after having visited the site where the Scorpene submariners were being trained.

“As a maritime nation, (the) acquisition will give our navy the added capabilities,” he told the media. Earlier, in the port city of Brest, Najib visited a naval base where Malaysian navy submariners were training, and, according to the log of an Australian submariner association, presented jackets made available by Perimekar – Abdul Razak Baginda’s company – to the crew.

Back in Kuala Lumpur when it was realized that Altantuya was missing, her cousin lodged a police report and sought help from the Mongolian embassy in Bangkok. The Malaysian police found fragments of bone, later verified as hers, in forested land near Shah Alam. The honorary Mongolian consul in Malaysia was given a packet of pictures of Altantuya in Paris, apparently recovered from her hotel room. She had posed in front of the Louis Vuitton headquarters and a variety of other Paris sites. Altantuya’s cousin said she had been shown a picture of the dead woman at a dinner with Najib. If it existed, it was not included in the packet made available to the Mongolian consul, who forwarded the rest of them to Asia Sentinel.

After the arrest of Razak Baginda and the two policemen, there ensued a carnival of a trial in a Malaysia high court, in which prosecutors were switched at the last minute; in which Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted without having to put on a defense; in which nobody in Najib’s office was called to testify about who offered to pay the RM100,000; in which Sirul’s confession was never introduced, nor was he asked about any of the facts in it; in which nobody ever asked why immigration records for Altantuya and her two companions disappeared; why or how the two policemen were able to get their hands on C4 plastic explosives available only to the military in the bid to destroy her body. The honorary consul was never asked who gave him the pictures, nor if there others that might have shown more than just her.

On Feb. 3, 2009, Sirul pleaded with the court not to sentence him to death, describing himself as "a black sheep that has to be sacrificed" to protect unnamed people. "I have no reason to cause hurt, what's more to take the life of the victim in such a cruel manner .... I appeal to the court, which has the powers to determine if I live or die, not to sentence me so as to fulfill others' plans for me."

Eventually the two bodyguards were convicted and packed off to prison. They launched appeals, then other appeals. Their appeals were supposed to have been heard in February this year, eight months ago. Mysteriously their appeals have been delayed. They were supposed to be heard in August. They have been delayed again, and the suspicion is that they will be delayed until after the next election, or perhaps forever.

Altantuya Shaariibuu continues to await justice. Birnam Wood still may come to Dunsinane.

Priority is to break back of worsening problem of Indian youth gangsterism with a high-powered Commission of Inquiry to highlight that it is a national problem

This Parliamentary Roundtable on Indian youth gangsterism is most pertinent and timely, not only because the problem has become even more acute and serious in recent years but also because it has been two-decades in the making.

I remember that twenty years ago in April 1992, I had devoted my speech in the debate on the Royal Address in Parliament calling on the government to hear the cry of despair and hopelessness of the Malaysian Indians so as to address the fundamental problems confronting nation-building in Malaysia.

I had spoken of the growing sense of deprivation of the Malaysian Indians, who felt that the government had not been able to do much to improve the plight of the Malaysian Indian estate workers in particular and the Malaysian Indians in general.

For the increasingly displaced and alienated Indian estate workers, the alternative they faced in moving out of the estates was low-productivity jobs in the urban areas – which launched them on the vicious socio-economic cycle resulting in the very serious phenomenon of Indian youth gangsterism today, aggravated by poverty and long-standing socio-economic and educational marginalisation and discrimination.

The problem of Indian youth gangsterism has worsened in the past few years, underlined by the fact that the crime rate and the criminal involvement of Indian youths are completely out of proportion with their numbers and Indian percentage in the multi-racial Malaysian population.

We must aim at a two-prong major breakthrough to this problem, viz:

• Firstly, to convince all stakeholders and power-holders in the country that this is not just an Indian problem but a national problem; and

• Secondly, to break the back of the worsening problem of Indian youth gangsterism which needs a holistic approach involving socio-economic and educational dimensions.

Towards this objective, I would propose that the government set up a high-powered Commission of Inquiry, involving all sectors of Malaysian society, to highlight the causes and solutions to the problem as the first step to break the back of this worsening problem of Indian youth gangsterism in our country.

(Remarks by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang at the Parliamentary Roundtable on Indian youth gangsterism held at Parliament House on Thursday, 18th October 2012)

Mandatory sentencing is wrong

Malay Mail
by Lim Chee Wee

MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz announced that Section 376 of the Penal Code, which carries a minimum jail sentence of not less than five years and a maximum of not more than twenty years and whipping, for rape, including statutory rape, would be amended.

It would be amended to provide that Section 294(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which gives judges discretionary powers to give a lighter sentence to first-time offenders, including binding over, which means no imprisonment, would not apply to statutory rape cases.

Statutory rape means sexual intercourse between a man and a woman under sixteen years of age with or without consent.

Such a knee-jerk reaction of legislative amendment to impose mandatory sentencing, to the two recent controversial decisions, is a wrong approach.

It fails to consider the complexities of sentencing where no two cases are exactly the same, that the two decisions are pending appeal, and sentencing council is a better answer than mandatory sentencing.

The decision in the bowler case is not unprecedented because Australia witnessed a similar result in its case involving Olympic cyclist Mark Jamieson.

Consider the young love situation

There are two competing interests of the criminal law, one being its protective role in protecting the emotional and physical wellbeing of children and the other is unnecessary or arbitrary interference in the private lives of young people.

This amendment fails to consider young love (Romeo and Juliet) relationships, such as between two 15-year-olds, or between a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old. Whilst the 15-year old may be sent to rehabilitation school, the 18-year-old will go to jail.

The young love situation is recognised in England and Wales where the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Legal Guidance on the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA) does explicitly state, “that prosecutors may exercise more discretion where the defendant is a child” and cites Lord Falconer in Parliament stating, “where sexual relationships between minors are not abusive, prosecuting either or both children is highly unlikely to be in the public interest”.

The public interest requires the prosecution of an offence of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, unless exceptional circumstances exist.

The CPS will have regard to:

The age of the defendant will be highly relevant. Even if the defendant is over 24, a prosecution may not be in the public interest if he had reasonable cause for believing that the girl was over 16.

The relevant ages of the parties;

The emotional maturity of the girl and whether she entered into a sexual relationship willingly;

The relationship between the parties and whether there was an existence of a duty of care or breach of trust (refer to the section on Abuse of Trust in Sexual Offences Act 2003, elsewhere in Legal Guidance).

IN summary, a man who is considerably older than the girl is likely to be prosecuted, especially if he owed her a duty of care; whereas it may not be necessary to prosecute a young man with whom the girl has been having a consensual relationship.

Baroness Hale said this in a House of Lords decision R v G (2008) UKHL (UK House of Lords) 37 involving statutory rape, which is a stern warning to men:

“Every male has a choice about where he puts his penis. It may be difficult for him to restrain himself when aroused but he has a choice. There is nothing unjust or irrational about a law which says that if he chooses to put his penis inside a child who turns out to be under 13 he has committed an offence (although the state of his mind may again be relevant to sentence) ... in principle, sex with a child under 16 is not allowed.

“When the child is under 13, three years younger than that, he takes the risk that she may be younger than he thinks she is. The object is to make him take responsibility for what he chooses to do with what is capable of being, not only an instrument of great pleasure, but also a weapon of great danger”. (Para 46).

Sentencing council promotes consistency

The four aims of sentencing are retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation and incapacitation.

In attempting to achieve these aims, the established judicial principles of sentencing include that the court shall pass a sentence that is proportionate to the offender’s degree of culpability and consistent with other sentences for similar offences.

Consistency and proportionality of sentencing are the two most difficult aspects of sentencing and as both history and recent events demonstrate.

One of the most common ways of resolving this dilemma and achieve consistency in sentencing is the establishment of a sentencing council which would promote consistency by having guidelines for judges to decide on the appropriate sentence to reflect the crime committed and proportionate to the seriousness of the offence.

The sentencing guidelines for individual offences set out sentence ranges reflecting different levels of seriousness and within each range, a starting point for the sentence. The guidelines also provide guidance on factors the court should take into account that may mean a more or less severe sentence should be imposed.

The jurisdictions which have it include England and Wales, Scotland and Australia (New South Wales and Victoria).

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales promotes greater consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary, produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing.

The composition of these councils includes judges, prosecutors, civil societies, defence lawyers and academics.

LIM CHEE WEE is the Malaysian Bar president.

Suaram denies French court rejected civil party application

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Suaram has denied claims that a French court rejected its application as a civil party to the Scorpene judicial inquiry.

“There were obstacles in getting admitted as a civil party, but we were granted it eventually,” said lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, who represents Suaram, at a press conference at the Chinese Assembly Hall.

She added that the human rights NGO was made party to the proceedings on April 11 and showed reporters a document from the tribunal de grande instance in Paris, addressed to Suaram director Kua Kia Soong.

The Malaysian Young Journalists Club president Dzulkarnain Taib was quoted by a Malay daily last week as saying Suaram’s application to be party to the case had been “rejected completely” and that Suaram’s claim otherwise to was a lie.

Suaram secretariat member Cyn­thia Gabriel said Suaram had never misled the public in its statements about the case and a proper understanding of the French judicial system was important in order to understand the development of the case.

She added that the judicial inquiry conducted by the Paris tribunal de grande instance, equivalent to the High Court, began this April and could take up to two years.

Only Six Victims In Roof Collapse Tragedy - Police

SHAH ALAM, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Police have confirmed that the actual number victims of the roof collapse tragedy in Section 7 here is six and not eight as reported earlier.

Shah Alam ACP Zahedi Ayob said a colleague of the victims identified as Supardi informed the police that only six people were affected by the roof collapse at the bungalow that was undergoing renovation.

The last victim was saved by rescuers at 10.15pm Thursday night.

The man who was identified only as Kasmuji was sent to the Sungai Buluh Hospital for treatment.

He was found after a second crane was used in the rescue operation.

A victim identified as Totoj Mohamad Anthony died in the incident while those injured were Afifin, Waras, Kabir and Ghadami(one names only were given), all Indonesians in their 30s.

The rescue operation is still going on to find two more victims who are trapped under the rubble.

Malaysiakini feels the heat

Malaysiakini, a leading independent news portal, and Suaram, a human-rights organization, have come under heavy government pressure in the run-up to what is expected to be a hotly contested general election in Malaysia. 
 
Both independent groups have reported on politically damaging scandals surrounding Prime Minister Najib Razak and his ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party.

In particular, Suaram has exposed and Malaysiakini reported allegations of irregularities in the procurement of Scorpene submarines from France at a time when Najib served as defense minister. The murder of a Mongolian woman, allegedly the lover of a Najib aide connected to the deal, has raised the political stakes of the scandal.

Full article on Asia Times Online website