'They did what they wanted with me - no matter how disgusting': Victim of Oxford sex gang talks of her three-year nightmare

• Katie was academically gifted and dreamed of becoming a forensic scientist
• At the age of 12 two Pakistani brothers befriended her
• She was completely unaware she was being groomed for sexual exploitation
• For almost three years she was violently and sexually abused by a gang
• She was also sold for sex on hundreds of occasions to child abusers

During her primary school years, Katie was considered academically gifted and dreamed of

Girls were sold for £600 a time. This picture is posed by a model

Suffering: becoming a forensic scientist.

At home, her loving parents read her bedtime stories and would at times remind her to feed her giant African land snail.

But when she turned 12 her life changed forever. Sitting on some steps with a friend in Oxford, Katie was approached by two Pakistani brothers who befriended her with alcohol and cigarettes.

She was flattered by the attention they paid her, completely unaware she was being groomed for sexual exploitation until it was too late.

For almost three years she was violently and sexually abused by a gang and then sold for sex on hundreds of different occasions to a network of child abusers across Britain.

Shockingly, during her ordeal she told police and social services she was being abused, but nothing was done to help her.

As some of her abusers started long jail sentences yesterday, Katie spoke for the first time about her three-year nightmare.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘By all accounts I was a bit of a geek at school,’ she said.

‘Then six months later I become somebody who went missing all the time, coming back days later, filthy and dirty.

'The sudden change is scary to think about, even now.’

Abuse was carried out at the Nanford Guest House in Oxford. Pictured is a room at the guest house

Katie still struggles to comprehend how a girl with upstanding parents – her father is a civil engineer – could fall prey to such abuse.

‘By this point I thought my teenage friends wouldn’t like me any more. They would say if you go back to school no one is going to like you because you’re a slag.’

After several months, the Pakistani men began to ask her for sex, pretending to want a loving relationship with her.

But soon they were threatening violence if Katie refused to do what she was told.

Brothers Akhtar Dogar (left) and Anjum Dogar (right) were each given a life sentence with a minimum of 17 years at the Old Bailey  

Mohammed Karrar (left), 38, was given life with a minimum of 20 years for the 'dreadful offences' he committed against the girls. His brother Bassam Karrar (right), 34, was also handed a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years

‘It’s something I felt I had to do,’ she said. ‘Although I knew what sex was, there’s a difference between having sex as an adult and as a child. This was people taking advantage of a child.’

As her ordeal intensified, Katie was taken to rooms in guest houses and flats in the backstreets of east Oxford. ‘I was taken to parties,’ she recalled.

‘By party I mean everybody coming and having sex with me. If I said I didn’t want it, it would just happen anyway.’

Kamar Jamil (left), 27, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years while Assad Hussain (right) , 32, was sentenced to seven years in prison

On some occasions there were up to ten men were in the room, waiting to have sex with her.

Zeeshan Ahmed, 28, was jailed for seven years

 

Katie said: ‘They just thought they could do what they wanted with me, no matter how disgusting. It got to the point where I just went along with things.

'Mentally I shut down and just did it.’

Aged 14, and by now in a care home, she alerted her carer to the abuse but was ignored.

A month after her 15th birthday, she told police that one of her abusers, Akhtar Dogar, was forcing her to have sex with him and other men.

But instead of following up these allegations, she said officers threatened to arrest her for wasting police time.

‘My behaviour and appearance should have been sending alarm bells,’ she said.

Although Katie is now in a long-term relationship, memories of her past still haunt her.

She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress two counts of sexual activity with a childdisorder at the age of 15 and suffers from severe bouts of depression and OCD.

• Katie’s name has been changed to protect her anonymity.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2350299/Oxford-sex-gang-victim-talks-year-nightmare.html#ixzz2XXHyihK4
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High Court judge retires after Kugan judgment

Issue gag order on party polls, MIC president told

A MIC leader wants the party president to order party members to stop speaking to the media regarding the party elections

PETALING JAYA: A MIC leader has requested the party’s top leadership to issue a gag order to members regarding the party elections in September.

Taman Mujur MIC branch chairman VT Rajen said party president G Palanivel must direct all members to stop speaking to the media regarding the party elections.

Rajen said he was concerned over several divisions and branches openly showing their support for certain leaders and this had tarnished the image of others.

“Any announcement on the party elections should be from the party president and his deputy Dr S Subramaniam and secretary-general A Sakthivel,” he told FMT today.

He added that the young Turks in the party must understand the party’s long struggle and sacrifices.

“We are in a critical situation now because of the lack of support from the Indians. Let us unite to get back our community support and strengthen the party before going to the party elections.

Rajen said issues concerning the party elections should be resolved internally.

Recently, the MIC’s Central Working Committee (CWC) decided that branch elections would be held between July 12 and Aug 4, divisional elections in September and October and the presidential election on Sept 22.

Elections for the other top national posts, including that of deputy president, will be held in November.

MIC held its last elections in 2009, when S Samy Vellu won the presidency uncontested. He relinquished the post in 2010.

Palanivel, then his deputy, became acting president. Fresh elections were due in 2012, but was postponed to prepare for the 13th general election.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/28/issue-gag-order-on-party-polls-mic-president-told/#sthash.QkE5ynyH.dpuf

Member of royalty jailed for assaulting national boxer

A member of a royal family was sentenced to four years' jail by a sessions court in Johor Baru today, along with two others, for seriously injuring national boxer Muhamad Farkhan Mohd Haron.

Judge Zamri Bakar sentenced Tunku Nick Tazuddin Izwan Syah Tunku Qadir, 28, Alex Foo Hee Wee, 42, and Mohamad Arif Husin, 36, after finding them guilty of voluntarily causing hurt to Farkhan.

Tunku Nick, Foo and Mohamad Arif were found guilty of committing the offence under Section 325 of the Penal Code at No 44, Jalan Molek 3/2, Taman Molek, between 4.30am and 7am on May 6, 2012.

A person convicted of an offence under Section 325 can be jailed for a maximum of seven years.

Tunku Nick resides at Istana Bukit Kesenangan in Johor Bahru.

The judge also rejected their application for a stay of execution of the sentence pending appeal, resulting in Tunku Nick, Foo and Mohamad Arif to spend time in the lock-up.

DPP Dzul Iswari Mohd Jaafar prosecuted in the case, while the three were represented by Zamri Idrus, Norman Fernandez and Masri Mohammad.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo held a watching brief for the national boxer, who was also a SEA Games gold medallist.

Missed the London Olympics

On June 15 last year, Gobind gave given the Attorney-General's Chambers an ultimatum, demanding to know whether it would take action on the assault against Farkhan. 

Farkhan, the 2009, Laos Sea Games gold medallist, is said to have been assaulted with wood, iron rods and a samurai sword by a member of the royal family and his friends on May 6, 2012, after which he lodged a police report.

The assault caused Farkhan to suffer a broken jaw and miss last year's London Olympics.

To make matters worse, Farkhan's father, Mohd Haron Ismail, who was disturbed by the attack, died of a heart attack several weeks after the incident.

After this, the prosecution charged Tunku Nick, Foo and Mohamad Arif for the attack.

VT Singham retires after illustrious judicial career

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge VT Singham, who delivered the A Kugan judgment two days ago, is retiring after serving 13 years on the bench.

Justice Singham retires today at the age of 65. Officials from the judiciary’s corporate communications and international relations department indicated that was his chosen age of retirement.

Normally, judges, including those in the Federal Court, can serve on the bench until they are 66, which is the compulsory retiring age.

Singham was appointed a High Court judicial officer in 2000 after being in private practice, and was confirmed a full High Court judge in 2002.
He is the most senior High Court judge and until his retirement today, he had served in Temerloh, Taiping, Ipoh, Kuantan and in Kuala Lumpu.
It is also learned that Singham was a part-time news reporter in the early days of his life.

Known for his witty comments and spontaneous rulings, Singham, a bachelor, is known as a hard, fair and judicious judge willing to go the extra mile in hearing cases and giving advice to lawyers.

Among the civil cases he has presided over, besides Kugan’s, are Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s suit against Utusan Malaysia’s group editor Abdul Aziz Ishak and the suit by Shazryl Eskay Abdullah of the 'Datuk T trio' fame on the crooked bridge project.

Several blogs and Malay rights group Perkasa have also attacked Justice Singham’s fairness in favouring Anwar in the suit, by questioning his sexual orientation.

However, that matter is subject to an on-going contempt proceeding involving Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and the blogger.

Kugan judgment 'a damning indictment on government'

Wednesday's High Court ruling on A Kugan's death in police custody is a damning indictment of the government's handling of such cases, says MIC treasurer-general Senator Jaspal Singh.

Jaspal said it also showed that the people could can no longer accept or tolerate custodial deaths.

"The home minister stated in Parliament that the government will not protect wrong-doers. He must now keep his word. The Kugan investigation must be re-opened and his killers must be found and charged.

"Justice VT Singham said the 45 injuries on Kugan's body are an indication that more than one person was involved in torturing him.

"The judge (left) also said these injuries, including a wide range of internal injuries, speaks volumes of what had happened during his detention. Yet only one policeman, V Navindran, was found guilty," Jaspal said in a statement.

In light of the landmark Kugan judgment, he said, the cabinet must review its decision not to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

"Whether it was the IPCMC or otherwise, the police cannot be expected to investigate themselves.

"They certainly cannot be sitting on the board of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission or the IPCMC. The government must act swiftly to address public outrage over this case. Public trust is easily lost and hard to recoup," Jaspal added.

Skeletons in the cupboard

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said two weeks ago that the clear message from Malaysian voters in the last general election was that they want the government to be more stern and bold in defending the important institutions of the country.

However, Lim said, Kugan's judgment against the police and Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar and the court case involving Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi were in the opposite to those calls.

"It is unlikely for the home minister to suggest that the IGP assumes full responsibility for Kugan's death when the question remains as to why the police did not investigate or charge Ahmad Zahid for the offence of assault against Amir Bazli Abdullah way back in 2006.

"Similarly, it is unlikely that the IGP can suggest that the home minister should assume full responsibility for the 2006 assault case when Khalid himself is in the dock over responsibility for Kugan's death in police custody in 2009," Lim said in a statement.

The Gelang Patah MP said both the minister and the IGP seemed to be trapped in a lockstep, with neither able to assert authority over the other because each has a "skeleton in the cupboard".

"Is this the way for the BN government to restore national and international confidence in the key institutions of the country after the 13th general election?" he asked.

In less than two months after GE13, Lim said, the BN was already facing a full-blown crisis on good governance.

Malaysians, he added, were entitled to know how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak proposed to resolve these matters, whether he would terminate, suspend or ask both Ahmad Zahid and Khalid to take leave of absence from their offices until both have cleared themselves.

Pakatan backstabbed us, says PSM chief

Parti Sosialis Malaysia in assessing the 13th general election said its opposition allies had “backstabbed” them even though they fought a common enemy.

“True, we faced problems especially when our own friend betrayed and backstabbed us, even though we did not see them as the main enemy.

“Instead, we were trampled on, and still we tried to compromise (on the needs of the rakyat and on gaining Pakatan’s much needed support to win) with the hope that we can all unite,” said PSM national president Nasir Hashim (left) in his speech at the party’s annual general meeting today.

“We were bullied, promises to us were broken, and tackling our problems took a back seat as everyone was concerned with their own (political) well-being, and so on.

He described PSM’s relations with Pakatan as a “mess” in the run-up to the hotly contested polls, even though it was good elsewhere when both fought for common goals against injustice and abuse.

PSM ran into seat allocation problems with its Pakatan partners well past nomination day in the last general election, and even as the candidacy of Nasir for the Kota Damansara seat under the PKR banner was finally ironed out, PAS’s candidate continued to run against him, causing both to lose the seat to BN.
Nasir said we realised the fact that PSM entered the elections without the strength and was hoping for a one-on-one contest and also the Pakatan votes to ensure victory.

“As a result of the obstacles and sabotage, we were left alone (in this election) in the face of our enemies in Pakatan and also BN. They took the opportunity to exploit this as had happened in Kota Damansara, where PAS saied they expected to win with the support of PKR and Umno.

“Despite this, PAS was not successful and it only resulted in splitting the votes and handed the Kota Damansara seat on a silver platter to Umno,” he said, adding that the same story of attack and sabotage happened in Semenyih and Jelapang.

Addressing false perception on socialism

He noted that PSM’s weaknesses is that it cannot alleviate such a false perception that the people have on socialism.

Nasir said we were not able to inculcate and analyse socialism when we were with the people in fighting tyranny and past discrimination.

Going through the evolution of socialism parties in Malaysia, when we had PSRM, PRM then Parti Rakyat, Nasir said this was due to socialist leaders in the past not being aggressive to attack or cancel out all the false allegations on the ideology of socialism.

He said the party should be given new breath, and hence there is a need for a new approach.

Nasir said the ideology of socialism has to take consideration of local surroundings.

“While we see that socialist countries like Cuba and Venezuela have developed, we have to further study whether their ideas there could be adopted to our struggle in Malaysia in the local context,” he said.

Mother of murdered political aide seeks justice

Syria Militants Behead Two Christians

Two Christians, one of them a priest, have been beheaded by militants because they were suspected of cooperating with the Syrian military, according to an Al-Alam report.

A video uploaded to the internet yesterday shows two men with their hands bound, surrounded by dozens of people, many of them armed and cheering in celebration.

Note: Video Below Article

The two are brutally executed – beheaded with a small combat knife. Echoing previous beheading recorded by insurgents, the head is held up to the cheers of onlookers and then placed on the body.
This month has seen an escalation in sectarian atrocities committed by insurgents, who have been publicly armed and supported by America, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and other actors. Indeed, the atrocities are coinciding with further arms transfers – with new advanced weaponry witnessed in the hands of militants in the past number of weeks.

The most recent beheading recorded on video and uploaded to the internet, reportedly took place in Idlib countryside.

Recently, a Catholic priest was executed by foreign militants. The monastery in which he resided was burnt and looted, echoing the events of a massacre in Homs last month which resulted in the entire population of a Christian village being wiped out and their houses and possessions burnt. Two Christian bishops who were kidnapped by Chechen gunmen in Aleppo earlier this year, are still missing.

As well as Christians, Shia villages are receiving the brunt of a boldly-confident insurgency. This newly-found confidence has resulted in having just recently received confirmation of America’s intent to supply them with more weapons. Last week, militants massacred dozens of villagers in the province’s town of Hatla. Since then, summary executions and sectarian house-to-house raids have taken place.

The following video is extremely graphic and viewer discretion is advised. Many thanks to Arabi Souri, a Syrian activist for the translated version of the video.

Under ‘vani’: Minor girl married off to 50-year-old

The local panchayat ordered the nuptials to ‘avenge’ the girl’s father’s second marriage. PHOTO: APP/ FILE

 

LAHORE: A 10-year-old girl was forcibly married off to a 50-year-old man Malahanwala, Hafizabad under the ‘vani’ custom to compensate for her father’s second marriage in district.

Muhammad Akram, the girl’s father, had abducted a woman named Munawaran Bibi, whom he later married out of love, reported the police. Muawaran was Akram’s second wife.
Following this, the village ‘panchayat’ (court) decided to give Akram’s daughter’s hand in marriage to Munawaran’s middle-aged brother Falak Sher.

The FIR filed by the girl’s uncle reveals that Falak Sher had barged into Akram’s house along with seven other men, including a prayer-leader from a local mosque, and performed a forced nuptial ritual in the presence of Akram’s first wife.

Mukhtar Hussain, an Investigation Officer in the case informed that the young girl had escaped from Falak Sher’s custody and returned to her parents’ home. The process of raids continues to ensure the immediate arrest of the all the accused nominated in the FIR.


The FIR, registered with Police Station Jalalpur Bhattiaan on Saturday, nominates nine persons including Falak Sher, the prayer leader and seven members of the ‘panchayat.’
The area’s people said that the local administration and police had remained tight lipped and reluctant to take any action against the accused. However, police officials claimed that they had registered a case against the accused without any delay when approached by complainants.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.

Suaram cites court decision on Kugan for IGP to quit

The myth that the police force can act with impunity must be broken, says a coalition of non-governmental organisations, Stop State Violence Movement (SSVM).

Lauding the High Court ruling in the A Kugan death-in-custody case, SSVM pointed to the continuous calls for independent investigative bodies, such as the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), an independent judiciary and an effective coroner's court, to be set up.

E Nalini (right), the executive director of Suaram, which is one of the NGOs under SSVM, said in a statement today Kuala Lumpur High Court judge VT Singham's judgment showed that police were liable for the death of Kugan, including then Selangor police chief and present Inspector-General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar.

"Hence, we call upon the IGP to resign from his position and take full responsibility for Kugan's death when he was Selangor police chief," Nalini said.

She noted that many other cases of custodial death were still undergoing inquests, while some remained unresolved.

Nalini said many police officers and men involved in causing deaths in custody were still walking free.
Ratify UN convention on torture now
"They have to be brought to justice and they have to be held accountable for their actions. We must end any form torture or custodial death."

She said the Malaysian government still refused to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its Optional Protocol.

"Torture cannot be justified as a form of punishment. A detainee is innocent until proven guilty, through the court process.

"We strongly urge the Malaysian government to immediately ratify the UN convention. The government must move forward now, with a positive attitude to build a society that shows respect for the rights and dignity of persons at all times and is also free from violence," Nalini said.

Suaram's coordinator R Thevarajan (right) said he agreed with Justice Singham's call for the setting up of the IPCMC.

"Suaram has noted 209 deaths in custody from 2000 till September 2012. In 2013 alone there were five deaths in police custody, namely Chang Chin Tee, C Sugumar, Muhammad Kusyairi, N Dhamendran and P Karuna Nithi," Thevarajan said.

"We reject the statement of the home minister earlier that there were only two deaths this year.

"Suaram would like to remind Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi not to give false information on victims of custodial deaths," Thevarajan said.

Suaram also wants Zahid to provide a clear breakdown of the names and cases he referred to in Parliament.

"Suaram is ready to engage with the authorities in order to compile the facts on the ground of deaths in custody in Malaysia.

"We reiterate again: In order to stop this culture of impunity, an oversight mechanism to monitor the police force, such as the IPCMC, is crucial in this country. Set up the IPCMC now," Thevarajan added.

Murdered political aide's mum seeks Parliament probe

The mother of K Murugan, a PKR’s parliamentary candidate's security aide who was found brutally murdered just before election day, is appealing to Parliament to set up a committee to investigate the murder.

P Rajjamah made the plea in a meeting with Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar at the entrance to Parliament this afternoon.
Overcome by tears, the 62-year-old handed over a memorandum to Sivakumar.

“A parliamentary select committee must be formed to investigate the murder, to determine if it is politically-motivated, because it involves a VVIP,” the memorandum reads.

Murugan (right) was aide to PKR Tapah candidate K Vasantha Kumar, who accompanied Rajjamah during the memorandum handing over.
Vasantha Kumar explained that they decided to submit the memorandum to Parliament after the receiving no reply to the four they had sent to Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, seeking a just investigation.

He said police never called in a single person from the BN for questioning, while to-date, up to 19 PKR members have been called in.

“Till today, we have sent four memoranda to the IGP but the IGP has kept his mouth shut,” Vasantha Kujmar added.

Murugan was found dead three days after being reported missing on May 1. His body was discovered floating in a pond near Batu Gajah in Perak.

His face was reportedly brutally smashed, his body slashed and tied with barbed wire and said to have been thrown into the pond together with 52kg of scrap metal.

Reprieve for temple

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's curiosity over a suit against the government has momentarily 'saved' a 110-year-old temple in Jalan P Ramlee from demolition.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: A planned demolition of a temple by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was halted after it was discovered that a developer company was suing the federal government for the same land.

The Muneswarar Kaliamman temple in Jalan Tengah off Jalan P Ramlee received a reprieve due to an intervention by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

PPP information chief A Chandrakumanan told reporters that Najib wanted to know why the developer was suing the government for the land on which the 110 year old temple sits.

Chandrakumanan said that he had briefed Tengku Adnan and Najib on the issue yesterday and they had expressed curiosity at the situation.

“The prime minister wants to know why the land developer Hap Seng filed a suit against the government in its bid to obtain the temple land.

“Until and unless they explain the purpose of the suit they cannot demolish the land,” said Chandrakumanan who had a letter signed by Tengku Adnan forbidding DBKL from demolishing the temple.

Earlier, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, P Waythamoorthy, questioned the legality of demolition notice issued by Land and Mining Department.

“The notice has no signature and it is not generated by a computer. It states action is to be taken under state law but this land is a federal government land.

“The notice also does not state under what provision of the law can this temple be demolished,” said Waythamoorthy at a press conference.

The temple currently sits on a DBKL reserve land. In July last year, Hap Seng whose company office is located next to the temple filed a suit against DBKL in a bid to obtain the land for a development project.

PKR’s Kapar MP G Manivannan, meanwhile, criticised Waythamoorthy’s inability to resolve the issue at hand.

“As a deputy minister in charge of Indian affairs, he should be able to issue a letter to stop the demolition and yet he comes here, empty handed to show support for the temple,” said Manivannan.

Also present today was PKR’s human rights and legal bureau deputy chief S Jayathas. He was among the first who raised the alarm over the plight of the temple when he was Hindraf Makkal Sakthi’s information chief two years ago.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/27/reprieve-for-temple/#sthash.KcTLTBwR.dpuf

‘Meet us or we march’

The Block E residents action committee of PJS1 is threatening to march to the Selangor state secretariat on July 3 if the MB does not meet them soon.

PETALING JAYA: The Block E residents action committee today threatened to march to the Selangor menteri besar’s office on July 3 if the latter fails to meet them over their house demands.

The action committee chairman M Sugumaran said that the state government had stalled in building their low cost homes despite promises made since 2010.

“I congratulate Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (Selangor menteri besar) for retaining the state. Since you won with a bigger majority, I’m sure you can solve our problems once and for all,” he said.

Sugumaran said that he had already submitted a letter to the menteri besar’s office on Monday to request for a meeting, or risk having nearly 100 house buyers marching to the state secretariat office.

In 2003, developer Peter Brickworks Sdn Bhd promised to about 200 residents at the squatter area at Petaling Jaya Selatan 1 (PJS1) to build low cost homes for them.

Although the developer built four storeys of the low cost homes, it reneged on its promise to build the fifth block, known as Block E, leaving the residents in a lurch.

Three years ago, the Selangor state government announced that it will build the houses for them but to date nothing has come forth.

Upset with the delays, Sugumaran criticised the Petaling Jaya City Hall (MBPJ) and accused them of being responsible over the delays.

He said that despite sending several memorandum to the state government and the MBPJ, both bodies could not reach consensus on how to resolve the housebuyers’ problems.

“Whenever Khalid promises us something, the MBPJ tells us something else. This flip flop between the state government and the local council had left us in this predicament.

“Since both the governments cannot agree on a solution, we have no choice but take this drastic measure,” said Sugumaran.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/27/meet-us-or-we-march/#sthash.acw78Azp.dpuf

MP Puchong gesa PM bertindak terhadap KPN

Persoalan yang timbul adakah Khalid sekarang layak untuk terus memegang jawatannya, kata Gobind Singh.

PETALING JAYA: Ahli Parlimen Puchong Gobind Singh Deo mempertikai kedudukan Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar selaku Ketua Polis Negara (KPN) setelah Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur semalam memutuskan bahawa beliau bertanggungjawab terhadap kematian A Kugan dalam tahanan polis.

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak atau jemaah menteri digesa mengambil tindakan terhadap Khalid, kata beliau dalam notisperaturan mesyuarat 18 Parlimen yang dihantar kepada FMT hari ini.

“Memandangkan pencarian-pencarian ini yang luas dilaporkan dalam media, persoalan yang timbul adakah Khalid sekarang layak untuk terus memegang jawatannya atau seharusnya dipecat dan/atau digugurkan dengan serta-merta daripada jawatan itu,” katanya.

Melalui notis tersebut, Gobind mendapat keizinan Dewan Rakyat untuk menangguhkan Dewan mengikut Peraturan Mesyuarat 18(1) untuk merundingkan perkara tertentu berkenaan kepentingan orang ramai yang dikehendaki disegerakan.

Gobind berkata, dalam keputusannya, Hakim V T Singham juga membuat pencarian bahawa terdapat elemen-elemen penggelapan (cover-up) oleh Khalid semasa siasatan kes Kugan.

“Umpamanya kegagalan beliau untuk mengklasifikasikan siasatan sebagai kes bunuh dan juga kegagalan beliau mengarahkan siasatan dalaman berkenaan kematian Kugan khususnya melihat kepada jenis kecederaannya.

“Hakim tersebut juga menyatakan kenyataan beliau berhubung sebab kematian Kugan juga tidak konsisten dan tidak dijelaskan oleh beliau yang menjadi Ketua Polis Selangor pada masa tersebut,” terang Gobind.

Kugan ditangkap di Puchong pada 14 Januari 2009 dan diahan di Balai Polis Puchong Jaya semalaman lalu di hantar ke Balai PolisTaipan, Subang Jaya untuk siasatan. Beliau ditemui mati dalam lokap di situ pada 20 Januari 2009.

Dalam kes yang pertama seumpamanya, mahkamah tersebut juga telah mengarahkan kerajaan membayar ganti rugi sebanyak RM801,700 kepada keluarga Kugan.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/27/mp-puchong-gesa-pm-bertindak-terhadap-kpn/#sthash.r4OuMihV.dpuf

Stop blaming students, Kamalanathan

Deputy Minister of Education taken to task claiming that Indian students are "wasting" matriculation places allocated for them

PETALING JAYA: P Kamalanathan, the deputy education minister, should stop blaming Indian students over the poor response to the matriculation programme.

A Thiruvegadam, president of Malaysian Indian Education Awareness and Welfare Foundation (PKP-KIM) said Kamalanathan is attempting to cover up for the education ministry’s racist police.

“I had a meeting with him recently and he kept on blaming Indian students for the matriculation fiasco. Do not blame the students for your (MIC’s) mistakes,” said Thiruvengadam.

On Monday, Kamalanathan, the Hulu Selangor MP, claimed that he was saddened that certain Indian students had refused to take up the matriculation seats despite an allocation being made for them.

The MIC Putra coordinator said that the Matriculation Department had awarded 1,850 seats for Indian students for 2013.

According to Kamalanathan who is also MIC Education bureau chief, the matriculation department had initially awarded 1,500 seats.

However, only 892 students had registered themselves in the first two intakes and to encourage more participation, Kamalanathan said the department allocated an additional 350 seats for Indians.

Reveal the full list

However, Thiruvengadam shot down the deputy minister’s argument, claiming that the latter was attempting to divert the real issue by blaming the students.

“First of all, Kamalanathan does not have the list of Indian students. How could he claim that 1,850 Indian students received matriculation places?” asked Thiruvengadam.

He added that Kamalanthan was just an “office boy” who’s defending his ministry without checking the true facts.

Thiruvengadam insisted that the total number seats given to Indians was around 700-800 only.

He challenged Kamalanthan to reveal the full list of Indian students who received matriculation seats.

Meanwhile, Thiruvengadam also slammed MIC for delaying the processing of 333 qualified students who were rejected and who appealed to the MIC.

On Sunday, Thiruvengadam submitted a list of 333 rejected students to MIC for further action.

“It is already three days and we’ve still not received a fruitful answer from MIC.

“It is strange that the MIC’s willing to boycott the Perak administration for a single speaker post but kept mum on the matriculation seats meant for Indian community,” he added.

He also said that the parents are planning a massive gathering in front of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s office on Wednesday next week at 1pm.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/27/stop-blaming-students-kamalanathan/#sthash.gjXvw8pn.dpuf

US anti-Islam activists banned from entering UK

(NST) - LONDON: Two American anti-Islam activists were banned Wednesday from entering Britain following reports they were planning to speak at a far-right rally this weekend.

Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, who founded the organization Stop the Islamization of America, had been planning to attend an English Defense League march in London.

The Home Office said in a statement that Speller and Geller were “subject to an exclusion decision” and would not be allowed to enter the U.K.

“The Home Secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the U.K. is not conducive to the public good,” it said.

According to the letter sent to Geller, the Home Secretary’s exclusion decisions are reviewed every three to five years.

Spencer and Geller were due to attend an EDL march Saturday to mark Armed Forces Day.

The march was set to finish in the London neighborhood where soldier Lee Rigby was killed last month by alleged Islamic extremists.

Spencer said in an email that the Home Office’s decision amounts to “craven capitulation.”

Matthew Collins, a spokesman from anti-racism campaigners Hope Not Hate, who had opposed Spencer and Geller entering the Britain, said his group was “absolutely delighted” by the Home Office’s decision.

“Free speech doesn’t give you a right to incite hatred against people,” Collins said.

EDL leader Tommy Robinson tweeted his disappointment: “I am embarrassed of our country banning Geller and Spencer for daring to speak against Islam.”

Spencer and Geller are best known in the U.S. for their opposition to the construction of a mosque near the ground zero site in New York.

Aum is universal medicine for All.

Aum is medicine, not just mantra.

Pramila Krishnan | Deccan Chronicle | Chennai:: Abdul Khader chants ‘Aum’ 30 times during his walk at Gill Nagar park every morning and swears it has significantly helped in healing his acute arthritic pain.

“I used to pray seated in a chair because of acute knee pain from arthritis acquired from long hours of doing business standing. Thanks to the yoga asanas, breathing exercises and the chanting of ‘Aum’, I am now able to kneel on the mat for my namaz five times a day,” said the 50-year-old grocer of MMDA colony in the city, talking excitedly about the wholesome healing experienced at the government yoga and naturopathy college hospital near Anna arch.

“When the doctors explained that chanting ‘Aum’ is not religious but provides therapeutic gain, I readily agreed to follow that. I am happy I did it,” Khader told Deccan Chronicle.

Dr Kanimozhi, assistant professor of yoga, says she had prescribed ‘Aum’ chanting for even cancer patients, along with other naturopathy medicines. “The chant controls the secretion of stress hormones and acts as a pain reliever. It is scientific as the chant creates a neuro and psycholinguist effect while a positive aura forms around your body when you do it.”

There are several patients at the hospital — including Muslims and Christians — who have benefited from chanting ‘Aum’, prescribed along with yoga asanas and nature healers, and gained relief from ailments such as pain, insomnia, stress, stuttering and other speech difficulties.

The case of 55-year-old Edwin, a senior army officer tormented by ankylosing spondylitis for over a year, is another example. He has healed from chanting ‘Aum’ and practising asanas and breathing exercises.

“Edwin’s case sheet reveals that after two months of practice, he could flex his joints and his sleep cycle got normal,” said Dr P. Prabhu, expressing happiness that more and more patients are turning to ‘Aum’ and other natural healers.

Mike Tyson sex change operation ‘a complete success’, say surgeons

Former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world Mike Tyson is said to be ‘feeling fine’ after undergoing successful gender reassignment surgery at a clinic near Beverley Hills. Once known as ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’, the Brooklyn-born boxer told reporters that having his first menstrual cycle ‘would be a dream come true’, and that from now on he would be known as Michelle.

‘Some people might think it strange that I’m now a woman,’ said former rapist Tyson, who underwent complete facial feminization, orbital bone contouring and nasal surgery in an operation lasting over 16 hours. ‘But even at the height of my career, when pound for pound I was regarded as the best fighter in the world, I never lost touch with my feminine side and knew that one day I would grow breasts and have a vagina.’

Iron Mike – or Iron Maiden as he now likes to be called – was given the all-clear for gender reassignment surgery following a successful course in hormone replacement therapy which, in his autobiography, the boxer blamed for his 1996 defeat at the hands of Evander Holyfield. Although at the time Tyson insisted he was fit enough to carry on with the fight, referee Mitch Halpern stopped the bout in the 11th round saying Tyson looked flushed, was sweating profusely and appeared to be lactating heavily from his left breast.

Tyson, wearing a blonde wig and looking relaxed in blue jeans and a Vanessa Bruno T-shirt, today said he hoped having a clitoris would finally convince the American people that his ‘bad-boy’ days were over and he had turned over a new leaf. ‘I’m even keeping my surgically removed penis in a jar by my bedside to remind me what those sick perverts did to us pretty boys in prison.’

Although boxing commentators were initially stunned by Tyson’s revelation, many have admitted the signs were there. ‘In hindsight, he had shown a fondness for dressing up in gloves, long leather boots and silk gowns, and he always had a really close interest in earrings.’

Uncle Bertie

Zahid: EAIC is answer for custodial deaths

The home minister says the government decided against the IPCMC as it 'overlaps' with the MACC and runs contrary to the Extra Territorial Offences Act 1973.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has set up the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) in line with the proposal made under the royal commission to enhance the police force’s integrity in 2005, said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today.

He said this in response to PKR Johari Abdul’s question on why the government was reluctant to set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), a proposal which came out of the same RCI.

“Isn’t it a more effective authority to investigate custodial deaths? Besides, deaths in custody is not something news.

“Even our Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was beaten up in 1998 by none other than the then Inspector General of Police (Rahim Noor),” said Johari.

Zahid, on the other hand, said that the EAIC was a better solution to investigate misconduct by the police or any other enforcement agency as the IPCMC had some”overlapping” power with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

He added the IPCMC also runs contrary to the Extra Territorial Offences Act 1973. Zahid, however, did not explain what are the contradictions.

“And IPCMC will have the power to prosecute someone for an offence done before the body was set up. That provision runs contrary to Article 7 of the Federal Constitution which disallows it,” said the Bagan Datoh MP.

In the past five months, eight people have died in custody throughout the country, raising public anger against the police.

On May 21, Indah Water employee N Dhamendran, 32, was found dead at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters after he went there to lodge a police report.

Although the police claimed that Dhamendran died due to an asthma attack, post mortem report revealed that he was beaten to death due to the presence of multiple injuries on his body.

On June 1, security guard P Karunanithi was found dead at the Tampin police headquarters. The post mortem report revealed 49 bruises on Karunanithi’s remains.

231 custodial deaths in 3 years

On related matter, Zahid said that between 2000 and May 2013, 231 people have died while in custody.

But he said only two of them died due to police brutality, while a majority of them, or 196, died due to various types of illnesses.

“29 of them committed suicide, two due to fights among themselves and another two died after slipping on the lock up floor,” he said.

At this juncture, PAS MP Mahfuz Omar stood up and said that many could have committed suicide due to harsh police interrogation method.

Responding to that, Zahid said, “Rest assured that I will not compromise with any officers who breach the standard operating procedure and any other lock up laws.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/26/zahid-eaic-is-answer-for-custodial-deaths/#sthash.ztUk8wQi.dpuf

Set up IPCMC now, urges High Court judge

Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge VT Singham has backed the proposal to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) immediately, noting an increase in cases of death in custody.

"The recommendation of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) must not be kept in cold storage and allowed to freeze.

"It must be activated as soon as possible in order to assure all concerned members of society, including family members of deceased persons, that an independent agency is looking into the matter without any influence from the local police officers," Singham said.

The judge said in that even if the police investigated such deaths dutifully, it would still lack credibility.

He said this while reading out his two-hour long judgment on the civil suit against the government brought by the family of custodial death victim A Kugan (left).

However, this observation is not legally binding.

Speaking to reporters later outside the courtroom, Padang Serai MP N Surendran said he would raise the issue in parliament and seek Home Minister Zahid Hamidi's response on the issue.

Earlier today, Zahid told the Parliament that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) is the government's response to the RCI's recommendation.

"In delivering judgments in public interest cases, judges often take a view on things that ought to be remedied, and that kind of view should be given close attention and weight by the authorities, particularly the government.

"This view carries great weight, because it is from an independent judge in the High Court. The government should immediately pay attention to it," said Surendran, who had also testified for the case's plaintiff, Indra Nallathamby.

'Cover-up attempted'

On another issue, the judge found that the police had attempted to cover up Kugan's true cause of death.

At this juncture, Singam commended Surendran's (right) efforts to arrange a second post mortem for Kugan, or and the truth would have been ‘swept under the blue carpet'.

He said the second defendant, then constable V Navindran, could not have singlehandedly inflicted 44 injuries on Kugan in a single incident on Jan 16, 2009.

Instead, it must have occurred throughout the course of his detention involving several police officers, and Navindran's testimony that he had been made a scapegoat should not be taken lightly.

In addition, he said the police station's daily log could not have recorded that Kugan was ‘fine' despite at least one officer witnessing the beatings, without the knowledge of his superiors, noting that there was no disciplinary action against him.

"In the circumstances, on the factual matrix of the present case, this court is not persuaded that there is no cover up on the cause of the deceased's death.

"There is a chain of evidence to draw inference on the balance of probabilities that it was not only the second defendant who inflicted grievous injuries on the deceased," the judge said.

Singham also dismissed then Selangor police chief (now inspector-general of police) Khalid Abu Bakar's (left) claims that there was no cover up.

"If the first defendant (Khalid) is genuinely intended to be transparent in his actions and there was no cover-up, as he seems to be repeatedly saying in the media, surely he should be the first person to initiate detailed investigations to inquire into the deceased's death, and not wait until the plaintiff lodges a police report," he said.

In addition, among others, the judge took issue to the Khalid's move to ‘unilaterally' open investigations under Section 330 of the penal code (causing hurt to extort a confession) although it should have been investigated under Section 302 (murder) or at least Section 304 (manslaughter).

He also questioned Khalid for not correcting his initial statements that Kugan had died of pulmonary edema (fluid accumulation in lungs), despite a second post mortem revealing that Kugan had died of a kidney failure caused by the injuries from his beatings.

However, the judge repeatedly stressed that his judgement should not be construed as an indictment against the entire police force.

It was only the defendants and several others who are on trial, not the force, which still has diligent police officers, he said.

Speaking to reporters later, Surendran said the judgement makes Khalid's position as IGP ‘untenable'.

"If he had any sense of shame, he would resign immediately as a consequence of this judgement, although I don't think he would," he said.

Kugan's family wins civil suit against gov't

The family of custodial death victim A Kugan today won their civil suit against the police and the government.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning ordered the respondents to pay RM751,709 in damages to the family and another RM50,000 in costs.

Kugan's mother, Indra Nallathamby, 43 (right), in January last year filed a RM100 million civil suit for damages against the government and police over what she claimed as the "brutal murder" of her son.

She named the then-Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar (now inspector-general of police), police officer Navindran Vivekanandan, the then-Subang Jaya police chief Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar (now deceased), as well as the then-inspector-general of police and the government as defendants.
The judge, VT Singham, upheld her claims that Kugan had been wrongly imprisoned, and that the defendants have breached their duty of care to him.

“Police lock-ups and police stations must be a safe place for every human being and should not be converted into a crime scene,” he said.

The damages include RM192,000 for lost of dependency, RM9,709 for funeral expenses, RM50,000 for assault, battery and causing suffering, RM100,000 for false imprisonment, RM100,000 for malfeasance in public office, and RM300,000 in exemplary damages.

Although the judge held that the remand order on Kugan was legally issued, he said that the order was subsequently abused.

This was done by detaining him at the Taipan Police Station lock-up, although it is not a gazetted lock-up and the court had ordered Kugan to be held at the Petaling Jaya lock-up, and then assaulting him.

Singham said such an abuse of a court’s remand order can be tantamount to a contempt of court.

The judge also said that the testimonies of the defendants had been inconsistent and unreliable and said there had been an attempt to cover up the death.

After the court had adjourned, tears were seen flowing from Indra’s eyes, but she declined to speak to the press. PKR vice-president N Surendran (right in photo), who was also a witness for Indra, said she was too emotional to speak.

“Despite the victory, this is still a small consolation for the family. Why? Because the culprits who murdered Kugan are still walking free in this country.

“For this family to have closure, the culprits who did this act must be brought to justice,” he said.

He was referring to Navindran, who was charged with ‘causing grievous harm’ and is out on bail, and others who are believed to be still at large.

Live goat exports to Malaysia exposed

'No Najib link to Altantuya's murder'

'No Najib link to Altantuya's murder'

The prosecution in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder conviction appeal argued in court today that there was nothing to link then deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to the death of the Mongolian woman.
This is because the first accused, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, had admitted in his defence testimony that "what he did was on his own", deputy solicitor-general III Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah told the Court of Appeal.

Tun Abdul Majid (left), the number five in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, admitted that political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was acquitted of abetting in the murder, knew Najib.

He also said that DSP Musa Safri was Najib's aide de camp (ADC).

"Just because Abdul Razak knew the then DPM and Musa, and the ADC worked with the DPM, you cannot attribute everything to the DPM.

"There is nothing to link the then-DPM to what Abdul Razak allegedly did, There is no imaginary evidence (showing this)," Tun Abdul Majid said in his submissions.

He was responding to submissions from lawyers for Azilah and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the Special Action Unit of the police force who are seeking acquittal.

Azilah and Sirul Azhar were sentenced to death for murdering the 28-year-old Mongolian at a forest in Puncak Alam, near Shah Alam, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.
Abdul Razak had sought Musa's help after Altantuya had tried to barge into the political analyst's home in Bukit Damansara several days before her murder.

Following that, Musa sent Azilah to Abdul Razak the next day, and the two met at Abdul Razak’s office.
There was no mention during the trial, or in today’s proceedings, about the purchase of two Scorpene submarines, a deal in which Altantuya is said to have acted as a translator for Abdul Razak’s Perimekar Sdn Bhd.

Yesterday, lawyers for Sirul had said the non-calling of Musa constituted a dent on the case against their client as it amounted to a mistrial.

This followed the Shah Alam High Court having accepted Abdul Razak’s affidavit and had not given the defence lawyers an opportunity to challenge the veracity of the political analyst’s reference to Musa in the affidavit.
Subsequently, the unchallenged affidavit resulted in the political analyst’s acquittal without his defence being called. 

‘No need for Musa to testify’

Tun Abdul Majid said there is no purpose in calling Musa as a witness as it was only Azilah who met Abdul Razak at the latter’s office.

“Furthermore, Azilah had admitted in his defence that what he did was on his own (discretion) or his own budi bicara.”

“How would Musa be of significance? Hence, it is not necessary for Musa to testify,” he said.

The deputy solicitor-general III also asked why the prosecution should call Musa to test Abdul Razak’s credibility over what he had stated in the affidavit.

“He (Abdul Razak) is an accused person. Why should we apply to call Musa (left) to save Abdul Razak’s credibility as he is an accused person?”

“Furthermore, there is testimony from the first witness, P Balasubramaniam, that Azilah and Sirul were the last persons seen with Altantuya on that fateful day when the private investigator handed her over to them (at Abdul Razak’s house),” he said.

For the prosecution, Tun Abdul Majid said, he does not see how this could lead to a gap in the prosecution’s case as alleged by the defence, since all witnesses had been called to testify on what actually happened.

When it was pointed out by the three-member bench that there was evidence of text messages sent and calls made by Abdul Razak to Musa and the defence did not know whether Musa had replied, Tun Majid said it was not necessary as it was not useful evidence.

‘Accused could have kept explosives’

On the issue of the explosives used to detonate Altantuya’s remains, Tun Abdul Majid said there was no evidence on the type of explosives used.

However, there was evidence that the two accused were trained in various explosives as this had been exposed to them during their training.

“Their superior, Assistant Commissioner Mastor Mohd Ariff, testified that they had undergone training with explosives and know how to handle them.

“There is a possibility, as one of the police witnesses had testified, that the two may have kept the unused explosives as they were not returned,” he said.

The submissions by the prosecution and defence ended today.
Justice Md Apandi Ali, who heads the three-member bench, deferred judgment to a date to be fixed.

Give houses or we will stay put, say villagers

Kampung Ratnam Pillay residents want medium-cost houses from developer before they can vacate.

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Sentul’s Kampung Ratnam Pillay are seeking justice and want Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to instruct the company claiming ownership of the land to stop trying to chase them out.

The villagers claimed that the said said company sent their “representatives” to convince the residents to evacuate the village recently.

A spokesman for the villagers, K Sivabalan, 27, told FMT that the residents would not budge from the 108-year-old village if the company refused to meet their demands.

“We are the third generation living in this village. Thus, we want a fair treatment from the developer,” he said.

He added that 36 residents would only vacate if the company agreed to give a medium-cost house each for a reasonable price.

Previously, the residents had rejected the developer’s offer of RM5,000 for each family.

Sivabalan said on June 6, 25 repesentatives claiming to be from the company had offered the villagers RM16,000 as compensation and told them to move out.

“Since, June 6, was a working day, we called them for a discussion the following Saturday (June 8). During the meeting they told us that the developer was willing to increase the compensation to RM18,000 per household,” he said.

“They told us they will come back on July 8 to demolish the village,” he added.

Sivabalan said the residents had lodged a police report over the demolition threat.

“Our demand for a medium-cost house near Sentul is fair,” he said.

He added that they would submit a memorandum to Najib and the Federal Territories Ministry on the matter.

The village was sold to a Chinese tycoon in the late 50′s by Chettiar Private Limited.

It is learnt that the developer is planning to build three condominium blocks with each unit costing RM500,000.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/25/give-houses-or-we-will-stay-put-say-villagers/#sthash.DelFl87b.dpuf

‘Syariah court for Muslim lawyers only’

Muslim lawyers association unhappy over court's decision to allow non-Muslim lawyers to practice Syariah law.

PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal’s landmark decision to allow non-Muslim lawyers to practice Syariah law has led to discontent among Muslim lawyers.

Musa Awang, the president of Malaysian Syariah Lawyers Association, foresees the case being taken to the Federal Court and reiterated his group’s stand that only Muslims can practice Syariah law.

“Our stand from the start is that non-Muslims cannot practice Syariah law as the Syariah court is for Muslims,” Musa told FMT.

He said that if a non-Muslim lawyer were to appear in a Syariah court and ordered to perform a court duty by the presiding judge, he or she (the lawyer) would not be obliged to follow orders.

“This is because you cannot enforce a non-Muslim under the Syariah court,” said Musa.

“It is for this reason we are against the idea… not because of religion, or human rights, or race,” he added.

However, he said the decision by Justice Abu Samah Nordin was accepted by all Syarie lawyers as the law governing the appointment of Syarie lawyers does not specify that applicants must be Muslim.

“So there remains a need to clarify or amend the law as the words used is now open to interpretation,” said Musa.

Not practical

Well-known Syarie lawyer Muhammad Burok mirrored Musa’s sentiments, and predicted that Victoria Jayaseelan Martin’s attempt to become a Syarie lawyer will be taken to the Federal court.

“Of course we accept the decision now, but there is still room to appeal. But if the Federal Court upholds the decision, then we have to follow,” he said.

Burok then claimed that the majority of Syarie lawyers and the Muslim public believed that the Syariah court was reserved for individuals of the Islamic faith.

Lawyer Faisal Moideen who reiterated that there was “nothing wrong” with the Court of Appeal’s decision, however, described the practice as “not practical”.

“It is odd because non-Muslim lawyers are now representing clients on cases that are related to Muslim affairs,” he said.

“Personally, I have no problem with it but it is not practical. I doubt it is something beneficial even for the lawyers themselves,” he added.

Asked to elaborate, Faisal said it boiled down to “how much appreciation of issues and how much Islamic jurisprudence is appreciated”.

“You may have the degree or diploma, but lack customs and practice,” he said.

“Having said that, looking at it strictly from a legal point of view… there is nothing wrong. But if being Muslim is something that is required, then they should amend the law,” he said.

“The law is an obvious reflection of the will of the people.”

SIS lauds decision

However, Sisters in Islam lauded Justice Abu Samah’s decision, saying: “When it comes to matters of justice, why should faith be an obstacle?”

“After all, it’s not as if non-Muslim lawyers are coming in from a position of ignorance, but are legally qualified, from our own universities,” programme manager Suri Kempe told FMT.

“When it comes to Syariah-compliant banking, non-Muslims are allowed to provide this service. A lawyer is also doing the same when representing his/her client,” she said.

“At the crux of it is the issue of providing people access to legal representation which is a cornerstone of justice.”
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/25/syariah-court-for-muslim-lawyers-only/#sthash.IYmGub5K.dpuf

Reject arrogance and shoddy service

Pos Malaysia needs a complete overhaul of its services and a genuine desire for its staff to provide decent service.
COMMENT

When profitable state-owned institutions like Pos Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional Berhad were privatised, many of us knew that the Umno Baru-led government and their cronies would stand to benefit; service would decline and prices would rise.

At a time when the mobile phone takes care of our telecommunication and social needs, one would have thought that Pos Malaysia would treasure its public role and provide a good, reliable service, especially for the poorer, deprived members of the community.

At one time, Pos Malaysia like several other institutions such as the police force and judiciary, were respected and efficient. When former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad ruled, many of these institutions were compromised. They lost their independence. They became political appendages of the ruling party. They abrogated their public service role and responsibility. These institutions became a means to make cronies richer, and the rakyat poorer.

When I was living in Sarawak, a Norwegian friend sent an air-mail letter with my name, the name of the company I worked for and the words “somewhere in north Borneo” on the envelope. He omitted to put my full address, the town, the east Malaysian state and country.

The letter reached me, with an apology on the envelope to say that the Postmaster General Malaysia was sorry the letter had taken three weeks. I was grateful the letter arrived at all!

Last week, an FMT reader called “Saravanan”, a Malaysian living in Europe, wrote to FMT to highlight the shabby Pos Malaysia ‘registered letters’ service. The link is here.

Saravanan claimed that a registered packet posted to a friend in Pahang, never arrived; however, Saravanan was able to monitor the movement of his parcel, with a tracking number. He claimed that the parcel left Kuala Lumpur around 23:30 hrs on May 31, 2013 and was returned to him.

Pos Malaysia had earlier blamed the European mailing service for not sending the parcel to Malaysia. So, why was Saravanan able to track his parcel in Malaysia? Why was it not delivered to the Pahang address? Why did Pos Malaysia not handle Saravanan’s complaint promptly? Why was the parcel returned to sender? Do Pos Malaysia staff not understand tracking numbers?

Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence. Saravanan may have given Pos Malaysia the benefit of the doubt for the first offence, but soon after the first incident, another letter containing important documents meant for his lawyer in Malaysia, was also mislaid.

Like the first parcel, this letter was complete with tracking number and the correct postal address.

In both instances, Pos Malaysia claimed that an incorrect postal address was provided.

Lacking professionalism

Saravanan is not the only victim of shoddy customer service from Pos Malaysia. The stories of post being opened and valuable items taken, or of letters being dumped are common; postmen who throw your letters on the ground, despite there being a mailbox; postmen who do not leave a notification of a letter that has to be collected from a sorting office because no one was at home to receive it; postmen who throw parcels around carelessly, even when they are clearly marked “fragile”.; delays in the local postal services and letters which get misdirected.

At some Pos Malaysia offices, some counters are closed despite long queues at the few which are open for service. Some people complain about officious employees who argue about the colour of the brown paper covering a parcel, with the excuse that it is not the Pos Malaysia approved brown-paper.

Some postal employees in provincial post offices, tend to treat the counter office like their drawing rooms, with members of the public roaming in to stop and chat, whilst everyone else is kept waiting.

How does one deal with bureaucrats who make the rules as they go along? How can Malaysia achieve a developed status whilst post offices lack professionalism?

Malaysians have been subjected to shoddy and incompetent customer service. It is a very rare occasion, when an establishment offers truly commendable service.

Most of us, when faced with a surly employee, a recalcitrant waiter or an unhelpful civil servant, simply walk out and do nothing. It is our “tidak apa” attitude which contributes to a decline in customer services; because we refuse to take a stand.

If more people were like Saravanan and complained, demanded compensation and an apology, then Pos Malaysia, and other similar institutions, would not take us for a ride, but would force a change in the attitude of their employees.

Pos Malaysia needs a complete overhaul of its services, its website, staff training, complaint and investigation procedures, a fair compensation scheme and a genuine desire for its staff to provide decent service. Underperforming staff and dead-wood should be sacked.

A colleague once posted a parcel of 60 Malaysian story books by Pos Laju to England, but his securely wrapped and labeled parcel was damaged and its contents lost during transit. There was a tracking number and the parcel of books should have arrived one week later, by air. The English postal service claimed that the parcel had been damaged before it arrived in England.

Despite a detailed complaint, Pos Laju refused to compensate my friend, and they rejected claims for reimbursement of the postage, never mind the contents. He had paid over a thousand ringgits for the postage and insurance.

What is the point of insuring the parcel with Pos Laju if they will not honour their end of the agreement? My colleague found that his package had been opened en-route and the contents replaced with 10 religious books.

Like my colleague, Saravanan would be lucky to receive compensation and it would be a miracle for him to receive an apology from Pos Malaysia. The word “sorry” does not exist in the vocabulary of those in authority in Malaysia. Other words they are not familiar with are ‘accountability’ and ‘responsibility’.

Hurting the crony companies

Our daily lives are wrecked by abysmal customer service, be it private companies or government institutions.

Why does the government want to privatise a public service? What difference has privatisation made, other than a noticeable decline in service?

Admittedly, there are some very good employees in these organisations, but they are in the minority.

The rakyat needs to be more demanding when it comes to the receipt of goods and services.

Only a concerted and united effort by all will force these institutions to improve. The impact of shifting our allegiance to courier companies will hurt crony companies where it matters most.

Recent events have shown that the rakyat realises the government could do much more to improve the country. The same goes for crony companies.

Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.
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Conversion of minors: No justification

From P Ramakrishnan,

A lot has been said that Islam is a just religion, a religion of peace and compassion. All this is true. In keeping with the virtues and values of Islam, Islamic adherents are under a solemn obligation to give meaning to this by what they do and practise.

In other words, the Islamic faithful cannot be indifferent to the fate of someone who is of a different religion. They cannot deny the rights of these people nor can they be dismissive of the suffering when one Islamic faithful leaves his former family in the lurch after converting.

As a human being, he is expected to provide for his wife and children notwithstanding his embrace of Islam. If he fails to discharge this responsibility that is expected of him, should Islam embrace him? Should a man who betrays the trust of a family and abdicates his responsibility be welcome into Islam? Should such people be allowed to bring disrepute to the religion?

Unfortunately this is what is too often happening today. Secretly, the man converts, and all hell breaks loose for the family. He is not bothered. He compounds the misery of his wife by unilaterally converting his children to Islam. He shatters the life of a mother; and claims refuge in Islam. There is a moral question here.

One would expect religious authorities to guide him in the path of righteousness before he is allowed to convert. He should be advised to exemplify Islamic virtues by displaying compassion and discharging his responsibility to his family before he can find a place in Islam.

The religious authorities contribute to the family break-up when they convert his children without the knowledge or consent of their mother. By so doing, they add to the suffering of the helpless mother. Is this fair?

In a recent case, it is reported that a husband abandoned his wife from Jelebu in February last year without providing for her welfare, and converted to Islam. In April this year, very quietly and without the knowledge of his wife, he converted both his children aged five and eight.

These children were not born Muslims. Is it right to convert minors who have no knowledge of Islam? Having been brought up in the Hindu faith, how do they reconcile their conversion to Islam?

It is wrong for Negeri Sembilan State Islamic Affairs Department director Johani Hassan to insist that “when one parent embraces Islam, the children can be automatically converted. … The law does not say that we need the consent of both parents before we can convert their children.”

The Federal Court might have erred when it ruled that the word “parent” in the Constitution meant a singular person and therefore a single parent could convert the child. But the phrase “consent of the parent” could not have meant that. If that was the intention of the framers of the Constitution, they would have expressed the intention as “consent of either parent”.

This contention must be correct. Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong had pointed out that “Article 160 of the Federal Constitution explains the rules of interpretation. … It is stated that words importing the masculine gender include females and words in the singular includes plural and vice versa.”

How this important point could have been overlooked is a mystery to me. According to Leong, “Until 2002, the Bahasa Malaysia version, as published by the Government Printers, translated ‘parent’ as ‘ibu bapa’. However, in the 2002 edition of the translated Federal Constitution, the word ‘parent’ was translated as ‘ibu atau bapa’,” he added.

For the word “ibu bapa” to be changed to “ibu atau bapa” would require an amendment to the Federal Constitution. But from what can be ascertained, there was no such amendment. The original intention of the Constitution must remain unaltered.

That is crystal clear. The Malaysian Bar must move to have the Federal Court decision reviewed. Otherwise, a great injustice will be perpetuated.

In this unpleasant and worrying controversy, why is the Cabinet not speaking up especially when a decision was made in April 2009? It was then decided that children of parents where one of them opts to convert must continue to be raised in the common religion at the time of marriage.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department at that time, Nazri Aziz, said it was decided in the Cabinet meeting that a spouse who has converted into Islam would also have to fulfil his or her marital responsibilities according to civil marriage laws.

“Religion should not be used as a tool to escape (marital) responsibilities. Conversion is not a ground for the automatic dissolution of a marriage,” he said at a press conference at Parliament building on Thursday (April 23, 2009).

“The children should be brought up in the common religion. For the spouse who intends to convert into Islam, he or she would also have to come clean,” he said.

This is a fair and just Cabinet decision. Why is the Barisan Nasional government not enforcing this decision? Why is the Prime Minister allowing this unnecessary controversy to drag on? Our nation should not be embroiled in this issue.

Please speak up, Mr Prime Minister.

The writer is the former president of Aliran and now serves on the executive committee
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Palanivel sleeping on the job, says Kit Siang

The DAP leader says the air pollutant index released by DOE is two hours late compared to Singapore

PETALING JAYA: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang today took Natural Resources and Environment Minister G Palanivel to task, saying that the Minister is sleeping on his job.

“I am both impressed and dejected – impressed by the professionalism of the Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA) in recording and posting on its website the hourly Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) to provide accurate and timely information about air pollution levels in the island republic.

“Dejected by the contrasting failure and lack of professionalism of the Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) to provide prompt readings on its website of the Air Pollutant Index (API) from its 52 Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) locations in the country, although the API readings are only provided thrice a day at 7am, 11 am and 5 pm,” he said.

The DAP leader said in his blog ,he checked the Malaysian API readings on the Department’s website at 11am today but the results only appeared after more than two hours which was at 1pm.

In contrast the PSI readings of the Singapore NEA for 1pm came out promptly at 1pm.

“I can understand that with 52 API readings from 52 APIM locations throughout Malaysia, it is not practically possible to post the latest API readings for all the 52 locations on time, but surely, it does not have to take more than two hours to post the latest API readings on its website.

“Is it being unreasonable to expect the latest API readings to be posted within 10 minutes of the given time, i.e. 7 am, 11 am and 5 pm, if the system is efficient and professional.

“This is an example where the new Environment Minister Palanivel is sleeping on his job when Malaysians particularly in Johore are suffering from the haze hazards,” he added.

He said despite the haze emergency in Johore, the Department of Environment has failed to set up more APIM locations in the state to monitor the air pollution readings – such as Kulai, Pontian, Batu Pahat, Kluang and Segamat.

“This is another example of Palanivel sleeping on his job as Environment Minister,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, Palanivel in a press statement today acknowledged that the API reading for Muar was fast reaching 400, which is considered hazardous.

He also announced that he was scheduled to visit Jakarta, yesterday but “but the Indonesian officials were not available and the visit has to be postponed to next Wednesday.”

Palanivel said he will hold discussion with his Indonesian counterpart to bring forward the haze meeting, which was originally scheduled for Aug 20 and 21.

Palanivel also said he will discuss proactive moves with his Indonesian counterpart on matters such as cloud seeding and enforcement of stricter laws and penalties.
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