Polis takkan bertindak pada mualaf ambil anak

French Teenagers Hate Each Other, and It's All Kim Kardashian's Fault

Kim Kardashian is considered the ultimate role model for French Muslim girls who like dating black boys.

Paris is burning, and it's all Kim Kardashian's fault. OK, that's an overstatement, but the city's suburbs have been torn apart lately because of Arab French girls who happen to date black guys and the Arab French bigots who slut-shame them for doing so.
Since we are dealing with teenagers, the full extent of the issue is displayed on social media: Scrolling through Facemook—a sort of Facebook within Facebook, with more than 70,000 members—I stumbled upon countless offensive posts by groups with names such as "Anti beurette à khel" ("No to Arab girls dating black guys") and "Les beurettes utilisent l’Islam pour justifier leurs débauches" (Arab girls use Islam to justify their debauchery).
Clicking through the groups' pages, I realized this has evolved into a sort of modern-day witch hunt: Girls' photos, names, and even phone numbers are posted on the groups' "Timelines," often with humiliating captions. These girls are criticized for drifting away from Muslim traditions and for using something called the "Bilal excuse"—Bilal was the only black companion of the Prophet Muhammad.

Girl on the left: "Bilal was black, you racists." Girl on the right: "As long as he’s Muslim, we can suck his dick."

I called up my 32-year-old friend Haissam (whose name was changed to protect his identity), who works for a youth organization located in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. Naturally, he is quite upset to see young people fighting over such insanely inane matters.
VICE: Is this anger directed against Arab girls who are dating black guys a new phenomenon?
Haissam: I don’t think I've ever come across anything like this. There has always been a rivalry between North African teenagers and black teenagers, but it was more like banter. We knew it wasn’t serious. Today, I see a lot of people insulting these girls.
What is their problem?
They are accusing those girls of wearing too much makeup, staying out late at night, drinking, smoking, and using Islam as an excuse to redeem themselves. They say that these girls go out with young black guys because they think North African boys are too narrow-minded and bossy. When Muslim girls are criticized by their older brothers for their behavior, they'll say things like "He may be black, but he is Muslim, so you can not judge us. Only Allah can judge us," and that makes the bigots even angrier.
Has celebrity culture affected that phenomenon in any way?
Yes. I often hear that these girls want mixed-race children because of celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. It’s trendy to have a mixed-race family. I also hear that these girls are huge fans of Kim Kardashian, because she’s dating Kanye West, and black men are popular in France thanks to rap and hip-hop. Once, a girl told me she thought they were “more stylish.”

Caption reads: "This is now the favorite spot of Arab girls. I don’t know how their brothers and their parents can accept this."

What is the situation like on a daily basis?
If an Arab girl walks with a black boy, they will be pointed at and called names. Some Arab teenage boys see this as a betrayal. A few years back, the problem was Arab girls who dated French boys; they were accused of doing that only to Westernize themselves. Now it’s even worse, though. As this phenomenon is growing, you get black guys fighting back and going around saying stuff like ”We’ll make all your sisters pregnant, and tomorrow Arab boys won’t exist any more.” You can read this all over internet.
I feel that these Facebook groups make the situation even worse.
Yes, social networks exacerbate this phenomenon. It's obvious that it's reached the point of obsession for some, when you see all those pictures of "girls who have betrayed their people" splattered on feeds and Timelines. In real life, where I work, I come across a lot of young people who are completely OK with this situation.
It also appears that at the moment this is a French phenomenon. I don't think it has reached the rest of the world yet. But I’m afraid this will change.

Caption reads: "Arab girls think it’s OK to smoke hookah with black guys because Bilal was black."

How did it get this bad?
Because of these Facebook groups. At the beginning it was a bunch of angry, misinformed kids or insane people. But as time passes, they are joined by more and more people, including girls who have a grudge against "these Arab girls who do not respect themselves and bring shame to the community."
I also see people advising guys not to fall into the trap of Arab girls who say they want to settle down.
Yeah, because they think that black guys leave the girls once they’re pregnant. The girls become single moms and are accused of hiding their bad reputation to attract Arab boys as if nothing had happened. Again, this is pretty much a fantasy. But it's a fantasy that fuels a lot of hatred.
And as suburban teenagers are divided, inequality persists and nobody wins. It's a shitty situation. I keep trying to make the young people I work with understand that, but they ignore me. "You don’t understand, this is super serious," they tell me.

Child Bride Forced to Marry Poisons Groom

KANO, Nigeria (AP) — Police say a child bride forced into marriage in Nigeria prepared a poisoned meal that has killed her groom and three of his friends.

They quote 14-year-old Wasila Umaru as saying she used rat poison in the food because she was forced to marry a man she did not love.

The couple was married last week. The 35-year-old groom had invited a dozen friends to celebrate at his village 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the north Nigerian city of Kano over the weekend.

Child marriage is common in Nigeria and especially in the mainly Muslim north.

Assistant police superintendent Musa Magaji Majia said Thursday that the teenage suspect is cooperating with police and probably will be charged with culpable homicide.

Gaji Samy Vellu lebih tinggi daripada jumlah pelancong India, kata MB Selangor

Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim mempertahankan kedudukan Ketua Umum
PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai Penasihat Ekonomi Negeri dengan hanya bergajikan RM1.

Katanya, dibandingkan dengan bekas Presiden MIC Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu (gambar) yang dilantik Putrajaya menjadi duta khas ke India dan menerima gaji serta elaun lebih tinggi daripada jumlah pendapatan yang diperoleh melalui tarikan pelancong India ke Malaysia.

"Kalau saudara lihat Samy Vellu, bekas menteri pelancongan, begitu ramai yang bukan dapat seringgit tapi beratus ribu ringgit untuk dijadikan penasihat kerajaan persekutuan.

"Ini bukan perkara baru. Dia pergi ke India sepatutnya tarik pelancong tapi pendapatan dia boleh jadi kurang daripada pendapatan yang kita dapat daripada pelancong India," katanya ketika sesi penggulungan ucapan titah Diraja di Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) hari ini.

Samy Vellu dilantik menjadi Duta Khas ke India dan Asia Selatan sejak tahun 2010 dengan menerima pendapatan bulanan serta elaun berjumlah RM27,227.20.

Jelas Khalid, beliau menerima Anwar kerana pengalamannya sebagai Menteri Kewangan selain pernah menerima pengiktirafan daripada European Institute of Bankers.

"Sepandai-pandai saya pun belum diiktiraf European Institute of Bankers.

"Bila berjumpa berbincang dengan dia, saya boleh tahu 10 minit pandangannya bererti 10 tahun pengalaman beliau," katanya dalam respons kepada Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Barisan Nasional (BN) sebeum ini yang mahu Khalid mencari pengganti lain sebagai penasihat ekonomi.

Adun BN-Permatang, Sulaiman Abdul Razak kemudiannya bangun dan mengulangi semula kenyataan Anwar sebelum ini bahawa beliau akan membawa masuk berbilion pelaburan daripada negara Timur Tengah kerana hubungan baiknya dengan negara terbabit.

"Tapi menurut jawapan Exco dalam Selangor paling banyak pelabur dari China, tiada satu pun daripada Timur Tengah. Kita terkilan," katanya.

Khalid bagaimanapun menafikan dakwaan tersebut sebaliknya mempertahankan Anwar mahu menggunakan pengalamannya sebelum ini sebagai penasihat bank pelaburan di Arab Saudi, Dallah Albaraka.

Beliau juga mengakui enggan bekerjasama dengan pelabur Timur Tengah kerana beberapa masalah tertentu.

Sementara itu, Khalid mengumumkan perlantikan Adun Kajang Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail sebagai Pengerusi Yayasan Pemansuhan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) bagi membantu keluarga yang pernah menerima kesan buruk semasa di bawah tahanan.

Katanya, peruntukan RM500,000 melalui geran Selangorku akan diberi bagi membuka jalan membantu menjaga kebajikan mereka yang menerima kesan daripada ISA. – 11 April, 2014.

MIC, MCA slam cops for inaction in Deepa's case - Malaysiakini

An MIC leader has taken Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar to task for saying the report lodged by S Deepa against her estranged Muslim convert husband for snatching away their son will not be investigated.

Calling it an “irresponsible” stand, party director of strategy S Vell Paari said the police should not hide behind the excuse that Izwan Abdullah has a Syariah Court order granting him custody.

“If that is the case, he should have first gone to the police station, and then to his ex-wife’s house with a police officer. Or his lawyer should have contacted Deepa’s lawyer.

“But he did not do this. He snatched the boy and fled. Deepa also claimed that she was dragged and kicked. This is not the behaviour of someone with a court order, but rather of someone who has utter disrespect for the law,” he said.

Vell Paari (centre in photo) also asked if the police are not going to probe Deepa’s claim that she was assaulted by Izwan during the incident, as stated in her police report.

“Does her husband have immunity because he works with an Islamic movement? Where is the fairness? The IGP should not use this excuse and must act against the man,” he added.

Vell Paari also noted that Deepa’s lawyers plan to cite Izwan for contempt of court.

What if the roles had been reversed?

“So if the court rules that he acted in contempt, will the IGP maintain the same stand and thus act in contempt of court himself?” he asked.

Another pertinent question, he added, is what would have the police done if the roles had been reversed and Deepa had snatched the child instead.

“So going by what the IGP says, Deepa has all the right to go in a 4WD with some friends and snatch the boy and drag Izwan for a few metres on the road and the police can’t act because there are two court orders.

“I am sure a lot of Malaysians would like to accompany Deepa to get the child back because police said clearly that they can’t act,” he said.

Vell Paari said he would get MIC Youth leader S Sivaraajh to take a delegation to meet Khalid over this matter and to press for action.

Former Malaysia Hindu Sangam president A Vaithilingam also criticised Khalid for his position, stressing that only the civil court can serve justice in cases such as Deepa’s.

“Proper justice can only be served in a court where all parties have fair and equal opportunities,” Vaithilingam said in a statement today.

Police must enforce secular laws

MCA also weighed in with its own criticism, with its Syariah Law and Policy Implementation Special Task Force deputy chairperson Koo Chin Nam saying that the police’s role is to “enforce secular laws”.

“Not only are Izwan’s actions in total contempt of the custody order awarded to S Deepa by the Seremban High Court, he also endangered her life when she was dragged by the four-wheel drive vehicle when she tried to rescue her son,” Koo said.

“Besides abduction, Izwan has also violated the restraining order served on him under the Domestic Violence Act.

“Izwan should be also charged with child endangerment and assault on Deepa,” Koo added, urging the police to take action against the driver of the vehicle used by Izwan to take his son away from his ex-wife.

Deepa filed 20 reports on ex-husband's 'abuse'

 

S Deepa has a valid Interim Protection Order (IPO) under the Domestic Violence Act against her ex-husband Izwan Abdullah, said the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) today.

According to the organisation, the 30-year-old clerk had filed 20 police reports on the alleged abuse she endured at the hands of her ex-husband.

WAO was responding to Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, who said that police would not act against Deepa's report that Izwan snatched their son.

The police chief said this is because apart from the Seremban High Court granting Deepa custody of her two children, there was also a syariah court order that granted the father custody instead.

Commenting on Khalid's suggestion that the parties involved "talk this over", WAO said: "Did the ex-husband give Deepa the chance to talk things over before he converted their children to Islam? He didn't."

"Should Deepa be forced to talk things over with an abusive ex-husband? We don't think so. Did the ex-husband want to talk when he violently snatched the son from Deepa? He didn't.

"Yes, talking is possible. But only when both parties are willing to do so, and when there is an equal playing field," it added in a statement.

WAO said the protection order and the Seremban High Court custody order must be enforced without further delay, and family laws should be amended to prevent future injustice.

On Wednesday, two days after Deepa was granted custody, Izwan had gone to her house in Jelebu and allegedly snatched the boy.

When Deepa attempted to stop him and his accomplice from driving away, her clothes got caught in the car door and she was dragged.

In her police report, the clerk also claimed that Izwan, who works with an Islamic foundation, had kicked her.

Khalid's remarks also drew flak from other quarters, including MIC and MCA.

‘Police must abide by Syariah and Civil law’

Ex-president of the Syariah Lawyers Association Mohamad Buruk says two parallel legal systems have put the police in a dilemma.

PETALING JAYA: The Syariah court and the respective religious authority were urged to give non-Muslims an avenue to get equal justice in Syariah courts.

Former Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia president, Mohamad Buruk, said this in reference to custody battle involving S Deepa, 30, and Izwan Viran Abdullah, 31, from Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan.

Deepa alleged Izwan abducted her son Mithran, six, on Wednesday morning although the Seremban High Court had on Monday granted the children’s custody to her.

Deepa lodged a police report on the same day at the Jelebu police headquarters.

“Currently any dispute between a Muslim spouse, especially involving marriage and child custody, both parties (husband and wife) must be present in court. We call it as ‘inter-parte’.

“However in a case where only one of the spouse is Muslim, only the Muslim spouse needs to be present at the court, which is ‘ex-parte’.

“That’s why I feel the court and religious authority must give room for a non-Muslim spouse to be present in court and give her a chance to present her case or arguments or points she wants to raise.

“And the court should give due consideration to the mother even though she is a non-Muslim,” said Mohamad.

“Before giving custody of the children to a Muslim spouse, the court must examine and investigate if the Muslim convert is really sincere or just using the Islam to achieve his personal agenda.

“If I was helming the religious department, I will make sure a convert is a quality Muslim and not admit a person who wants to abuse the religion for a personal hidden agenda,” added Mohamad.

Children must follow father’s religion

Mohamad who is still practicing law, both as Syarie and civil lawyer said, according to Islam, when the father converts to Islam, the children must follow the path of the father.

“Yes, it’s true according to Islam’s teaching, when the father converts to Islam, the children must follow suit. But in multiracial country like our, we must consider the compassion factor as well.

“It’s really unfair when the father converted the children to Islam without the knowledge and consent of the mother. So there is crisis between Islamic teachings and the constitution.

“Islam is fair to everybody, so it must be practiced fairly,” said Mohamad.

However, he said he has no sympathy for Izwan, who violated the Interim Protection Order that Deepa obtained against him from the Seremban Magistrate’s Court on Aug 30 last year for domestic violence.

“Izwan is not supposed to go to Deepa’s home or get near her,” said Mohamad.

Mohamad also defended the police as the they are bound to both civil and Syariah court orders.

“People have criticised the police and alleged they didn’t abide by the ruling of the Seremban High Court. However, all must realise the Syariah court is also an authority that police must respect.

“It’s unfair to blame them for not taking action as the police force is stuck between two law systems in the country,” said Mohamad.

Settle problem privately, IGP tells Deepa

Khalid Abu Bakar says that he is not worried about the safety of the six-year-old boy as he is with his father.

KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has advised S. Deepa and her Muslim convert husband Izwan Viran Abdullah to settle their problem privately.

Khalid said the police were not worried about the safety of the six-year-old boy who was taken away from the mother yesterday because he was with the father.

Yesterday, FMT reported that the mother, who won custody of her two children four days ago, wanted the police to arrest her ex-husband for violating a court order by abducting their son.

“There are two court orders – civil and syariah. In this case it is best if the two can settle their problem,” said Khalid.

However, he said police were monitoring the situation and had not received any warrant.

Deepa told FMT in Seremban yesterday that she was worried that Izwan might take her son overseas.

“Why are the police still unable to nab my ex-husband?” she asked.

“Police must take action soon because he has violated the court order by abducting my son,” said Deepa.

Deepa alleged that the Green Mitshubishi Pajero used in the abduction yesterday belonged to Yayasan Kasih Sayang where Izwan was working.

When contacted, the female staff of Yayasan Kasih Sayang said she would relay the message on the Pajero to her superior who was in Kuala Lumpur.

However, no one from Yayasan Kasih Sayang called FMT to verify the matter.

Jelebu police chief Deputy Supt Setapa Yusoff could not be reached for comments.

Meanwhile, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) was not too delighted by Khalid’s attitude towards the case.

Defending Deepa, the women rights NGO said talking things out between affected parties could only happen when both are willing to do so, on a level playing field.

“But did the ex-husband give Deepa the chance to talk things over before he converted their children to Islam? He didn’t. Should Deepa be forced to talk things over with an abusive ex-husband? We don’t think so.

“Did the ex-husband want to talk when he violently snatched the son from Deepa? He didn’t,” said WAO via a Facebook post, adding that the police must immediately enforce the high court order.

No Pakatan consensus but PAS says will proceed with hudud plan

(The Malay Mail) - A PAS leader has insisted the Islamist party will not back down from pushing for hudud enforcement in Kelantan despite failing to convince its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies.

Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki, who is a member of the party’s central working committee, said the party will seek support from wherever it can to realise the implementation of the controversial Islamic penal code — even if it came from political foe, Umno.

“The agenda to implement Allah’s laws including the hudud law is part of PAS’ struggle since a long time ago, and not an agenda of PR.

“Therefore, the motion which will be proposed by PAS in the Parliament will come from PAS, not PR,” said Zuhdi in a statement on his Facebook page.

According to Zuhdi, the party has spent close to 50 years explaining the concept of hudud to rival nationalist party Umno, and around a decade doing the same to its partners in the opposition coalition.

Therefore, he said, PAS will leave those on both sides of the political divide to decide whether they support or reject the motion when it is tabled in the lower house.

“If the motion fails, PAS will continue to preach until it would be accepted one day,” added Zuhdi.

Regardless of the result, however, the PAS member affirmed that the party will continue its tahaluf siyasi — an Arabic term roughly meaning “political consensus” — with its PR partners.

In a separate statement, another PAS central working committee member insisted today that the political consensus does not mean other component parties in PR can stop PAS from carrying out its struggle, especially to implement hudud.

“Tahaluf siyasi is political co-operation. Therefore, it only covers political matters without once involving the policies and principles fought by a party,” Nasruddin Hassan said on the PAS ulama wing’s Facebook page.

“Each party which becomes a component of tahaluf siyasi cannot intervene, coerce or even stop the struggle of the other component parties.”

DAP and PKR leaders had this week issued stern reminders to their political ally that the controversial Islamic penal code was never a part of the consensus among the three parties, either at state or federal level.

This comes as Kelantan prepares to propose two private bills in Parliament in its bid to remove any obstacles to its implementation of hudud by 2015.

In Islamic jurisprudence, hudud covers crimes such as theft, robbery, adultery, rape, sodomy, making unproven accusations of adultery, causing physical hurt, drinking intoxicants, apostasy, and acts contrary to Islamic belief.

The law is generally confined to Muslims, but can extend to non-Muslims if they are involved in aiding or abetting an offence committed by a Muslim.

At its annual congress in November last year, PAS revisited its bid to revise federal law to enable the nationwide enforcement of the strict Islamic penal code, which it had buried previously in the run-up to Election 2013.

The Islamist party introduced hudud in Kelantan and Terengganu, but has not been able to enforce them due to the conflict with the federal constitution.

Political rival Umno has capitalised on PAS’ failure to enforce hudud in a bid to shore up support among the country’s dominant Malay-Muslim voters, claiming the party had strayed from its plan to form an Islamic state.

But both Umno and PAS face strong resistance from their coalition partners over the enforcement of hudud, which argued it will turn Malaysia into an Islamic theocracy and dilute the country’s image as a multi-religious nation.

Why ban Noah in Islamic countries?

By Azly Rahman

A good philosophical movie ‘Noah’ is; classic arguments between Fate and Free Will, juxtaposed with the Epic of Gilgamesh I am currently discussing. Now I know how Noah looks like. Like Russell Crowe! Good to see how the nephilim, the fallen angles, and the animals in Noah’s ark looked like.

Thank you Hollywood.

I suppose I am done imagining what all these looked like via readings/oral literacy. Now there is George-Lucas-Pixar-standard visual literacy. There is a nice element of fantasy in it, especially in the Transformer-looking fallen angels. I thought those were ugly-looking creations with some good thoughts.

Too bad many Muslims countries have banned ‘Noah’ for flimsy reasons when the value of the movie is a thousand times more. I would lift the ban and even use the movie in all classes in those countries. Can talk about cosmological doctrines, Creation myths, the philosophy of Good vs Evil, Love vs Duty/Dharma, and many more themes of human existence.

I think we should replace those in the Censorship Board and put in more Humanities and Philosophy scholars in them who understand not only deeply engaging English dialogues but comparative scriptures, pragmatism, and the value of cinema in teaching Cross-Cultural Perspectives.

The younger generation will benefit from these approaches. It is their future. Because they are millennial children (of the 21st century) and have mastered Visual Literacy.

Above all, the old have to give way to the young of which we cannot underestimate their natural urge to ask questions and philosophise. They will be the ones inheriting this troubling world. A world awaiting another deluge.

But then again that’s what the Islamic society of today is about – devoid of educational philosophers, cosmopolitan thinkers, and deconstructionists.

I shall not worship Russell Crowe as Noah after watching the movie, now that the Babylonian mythical figure has been represented by Hollywood. As a matter of fact, I have never been keen in worshipping anybody – not even Al Pacino as the Godfather.

Now why the ban? Isn’t this already the 21st century, the Neo-Frankenstein Era and not the Dark Ages?

Copycat banning?

Malaysia need not follow the eagerness of banning good movies such as ‘Noah’ just because other ‘Islamic countries’ decided to ban it. I thought Malaysia is more progressive than Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Pakistan, and even Indonesia in matters of dealing with liberal ideas related to the advancement of thinking in society.

What is there to emulate in countries that ban women from driving, labelling atheists as terrorists, giving light sentence to a father who raped and murdered his five-year old daughter, or to look up to a country whose people shoot little girls in the face just for the crime of going to school to get an education?

What good reason to share fatwas with those countries whose citizens are kept at a low level of literacy enough to just memorise the scriptures but not to think, and enough to be controlled by the cleric and the monarchs?

Malaysia is blessed with a multicultural mix of peoples and a good social environment wherein people of different faiths, be they of the monotheistic or polytheistic systems, not only can learn to respect each other’s traditions but even, a mature society, engage in good philosophical discussions stimulated by good movies such a ‘Noah’ or even ‘The Passion of the Christ’ and ‘The Mahabharata’ created by Peter Brooks.

This dialogical nature of being members of a civil society always in the lifelong-learning mode and in deep respect for knowledge and new interpretations of old ideas ought to be what Malaysia is – not the book and movie banning and jailing-of-citizens-without-trial kind of Malaysia we deplore. Not the fork-tongued confusion-generating officials in an MH370 global media conference – kind of Malaysia we are seeing.

But this Malaysia is controlled by groups that are anti-knowledge, anti-new interpretations, and always afraid of the shadow of their own ignorance.

READ MORE HERE

Putrajaya starts investigating confused initial response to disappearance of flight MH370

The government has begun investigating civil aviation and military authorities to determine why opportunities to identify and track Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were missed in the chaotic hours after it vanished, two officials said.

The preliminary internal enquiries come as tensions mount between civilian and military authorities over who bears most responsibility for the initial confusion and any mistakes that led to a week-long search in the wrong ocean.

"What happened at that time is being investigated and I can't say any more than that because it involves the military and the government," a senior government official told Reuters.

In an interview with Reuters last weekend, Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said internal enquiries were under way, although he declined to give details.

A government spokesman did not respond to Reuters questions over whether an investigation had been launched. The senior government source said it was aimed at getting a detailed picture of the initial response.

It was unclear which government department was in charge or whether a formal probe had been opened.

Malaysia's opposition coalition has demanded a parliamentary inquiry into what happened on the ground in those first few hours. Government officials have said any formal inquiry should not begin until the flight's black box recorders are found.

The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it disappeared on March 8. Malaysia says it believes the plane crashed into the southern Indian Ocean after being deliberately diverted from its Kuala Lumpur-to-Beijing route.

A search effort is taking place well out to sea off the Australian city of Perth to try to locate any wreckage as well as the recorders which may provide answers to what happened onboard.

Mechanical problem assumed

Interviews with the senior government source and four other civilian and military officials show that air traffic controllers and military officials assumed the plane had turned back to an airport in Malaysia because of mechanical trouble when it disappeared off civilian radar screens at 1.21am local time.

That assumption took hold despite no distress call or other communication coming from the cockpit, which could have been a clue that the plane had been hijacked or deliberately diverted.

The five sources together gave Reuters the most detailed account yet of events in the hour after the plane vanished. All declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue and because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

"The initial assumption was that the aircraft could have diverted due to mechanical issues or, in the worst case scenario, crashed," said a senior Malaysian civilian source. "That is what we were working on."

Officials at Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation, which oversees air traffic controllers, the Defence Ministry and the air force directed requests for comment to the prime minister's office, which did not respond.

One senior military official said air traffic control had informed the military at around 2am that a plane was missing. The standard operating procedure was to do so within 15 minutes, he said. Another military source said the notification was slow in coming, but did not give a time.

Civil aviation officials told Reuters their response was in line with guidelines, but they did not give a specific time for when the military was informed.

Once alerted, military radar picked up an unidentified plane heading west across peninsular Malaysia, the senior military official said. The air force has said a plane that could have been MH370 was last plotted on military radar at 2.15am, 320km northwest of the west coast state of Penang.

Plane tracked in real time?

Top military officials have publicly said Malaysia's US and Russian-made fighter jets stationed at air force bases in Penang and the east coast state of Kuantan were not scrambled to intercept the plane because it was not viewed as "hostile".

"When we were alerted, we got our boys to check the military radar. We noticed that there was an unmarked plane flying back but (we) could not confirm (its identity)," said the senior military source. "Based on the information we had from ATC (Air Traffic Control) and DCA (Department of Civil Aviation), we did not send up any jets because it was possibly mechanical problems and the plane might have been going back to Penang."

The military has not publicly acknowledged it tracked the plane in real time as it crossed back over the peninsula.

While fighter jets would not have had enough fuel to track a Boeing 777 for long and darkness would have complicated the operation, they could have spotted MH370 flying across peninsular Malaysia and possibly beyond, aviation experts said.

That could have enabled Malaysia to get a better fix on where it was headed and thus possibly ruled out the need to search off its east coast in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, around where MH370 was last seen on civilian radar.

Fighter pilots should be able to scramble within minutes, aviation experts said, although the time can vary widely from country to country. In Europe and North America, radar experts said controllers were trained to coordinate across civil and military lines and across borders.

They said military jets would have been scrambled, as they were from a Greek air force base in 2005 when a Helios Airways jet with 121 people on board lost contact over the Aegean Sea after suffering a decompression that knocked out the pilots.

Two F-16 jets could see the captain's seat empty and the first officer slumped over the controls. The plane crashed in Greece after running out of fuel.

"This raises questions of coordination between military and civil controllers," former pilot Hugh Dibley, a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, said of Malaysia's response.

Bureaucratic delays

Another contentious issue has been whether the military was slow in passing on its radar data that showed an unidentified plane had re-crossed the Malay peninsula.

Two civilian aviation officials said military bureaucracy delayed the sharing of this information, although they gave no precise timeframe for when it was handed over.

"The armed forces knew much earlier that the aircraft could have turned back. That is why the search was expanded to include the Strait of Malacca within a day or two," said a second senior civilian source, who was familiar with the initial search, referring to the narrow stretch of water between Indonesia and Malaysia, on the western side of the peninsula.

"But the military did not confirm this until much later due to resistance from senior officers, and the government needed to step in. We wasted our time in the South China Sea."

Government sources have said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had to force the military to turn over its raw radar data to investigators during the first week after the flight's disappearance.

Military officials have said they did not want to risk causing confusion by sharing the data before it had been verified, adding this was why Air Force chief Rodzali Daud went to the air base in Penang on March 9, where the plane's final radar plot was recorded.

On the same day, Rodzali said the search was being expanded to the west coast, although Reuters has not been able to determine if that meant the data was being shared with other Malaysian officials.

On March 12, four days after Flight MH370 disappeared, Rodzali told reporters there was still no confirmation the unidentified plane had been Flight MH370, but added Malaysia was sharing the radar data with international civilian and military authorities, including those from the United States.

Authorities called off the search in the South China Sea on March 15 after Razak said satellite data showed the plane could have taken a course anywhere from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean.

Fears of losing jobs

A sixth source, a senior official in the civil aviation sector, said the plane's disappearance had exposed bureaucratic dysfunction in Malaysia, which has rarely been subject to such international demands for transparency.

"There was never the need for these silos to speak to one another. It's not because of ill intent, it's just the way the system was set up," the official said.

The accounts given to Reuters reveal growing tensions between civilian officials, the military and Malaysia Airlines over whether more could have been done in those initial hours.

One of the Reuters sources said military officials in particular were concerned they could lose their jobs.

Tensions have also emerged between the government and state-controlled Malaysia Airlines.

Defence Minister and acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, said in an interview with China's CCTV that the airline would have to "answer" for its mistakes in dealing with the relatives of the some 150 Chinese passengers on board.

In his interview with Reuters, Malaysia Airlines chief Ahmad Jauhari played down talk of tension, saying there were "slight differences of opinion." – Reuters, April 11, 2014.

Police must effect High Court order, declares Bar

The Star
BY RAHIMY RAHIM

PETALING JAYA: The police are duty bound to uphold secular laws and give effect to the orders granted by the secular judiciary, said Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong.

“The Muslim convert father must obey the order of the High Court and the police are duty bound to assist the non-Muslim mother,” he said in response to the police stand that they cannot investigate a man who allegedly took his six-year-son from his ex-wife’s house despite a High Court order granting her custody of their two children.

Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia president Musa Awang also said the mother could apply for a contempt of court order against her ex-husband.

“Similar problems over the settlement of a child’s custody between non-Muslim and Muslim parents have persisted for quite some time. This is because parents can file custody orders separately at both the civil and the Syariah court.

“The children’s needs, interest and well-being must be prioritised and custody is usually granted to the mother,” he said.

Leong added that all Malaysians, without exception, were subject to and bound by the secular courts.

“The father and the mother are both bound by the custody order of the High Court, whereas the Syariah court order does not apply to the mother,” he said.

On Monday, the High Court here awarded custody of both children to S. Deepa, 31, after deciding that the law that had jurisdiction over matters pertaining to a civil marriage was the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act.

Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof said that her verdict was based on the fact that the same law also had jurisdiction in child custody matters.

The court also granted an application by Deepa to annul their marriage because Izwan, who is now working with Yayasan Kasih Sayang, had embraced Islam.

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) said that action should be taken against the suspect involved in the alleged abduction of the child.

“By abducting the son, the ex-husband has breached the High Court custody order. The mother also obtained an interim protection order (IPO) to protect herself from further abuse. Two court orders have been breached, which warrant his immediate arrest,” said WAO.

The WAO also called for the amendment of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act to spell out that the consent of both parents are needed to convert the religion of their children, and that when a spouse converts, the non-converting spouse must be notified about the conversion and its legal implications.

“None of this should have happened in the first place. When the ex-husband unilaterally converted his children to Islam, he was gaming the system. He created an unfair advantage for himself, and obtained custody of the children in the Syariah courts, where Deepa had no chance to tell her side of the story,” said WAO.

Signal Detected By Aussie Aircraft Thursday Not From Aircraft Black Box - JACC

Angus Houston From Mohd Razman Abdullah

PERTH, April 11 (Bernama) -- The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) has confirmed that a signal picked up by an Australian AP-3C Orion aircraft on Thursday in the Indian ocean search area is not related to an aircraft underwater locator beacon.

JACC chief coordinator Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Angus Houston said an initial assessment determined that the signal did not come from an aircraft underwater locator beacon.

"The Australian Joint Acoustic Analysis Centre has analysed the acoustic data and confirmed that the signal reported in the vicinity of the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield is unlikely to be related to an aircraft black box.

"Further analysis continues to be undertaken by the Australian Joint Acoustic Analysis Centre," he said in a statement here Friday.

The search team has so far detected six pings, two of which were picked up by a Chinese vessel, Haixun 01, on April 4 and 5, while Ocean Shield, equipped with a US Navy towed pinger locater, traced four signals on April 5 and 8.

"Today (Friday), Ocean Shield is continuing more focused sweeps with the towed pinger locator to try and locate further signals that may be related to an aircraft black box," said Houston.

He said it was to glean as much information as possible while the batteries on the underwater locator beacon might still be active.

"The AP-3C Orion continues its acoustic search, working in conjunction with Ocean Shield, with three more missions planned for today.

"A decision as to when to deploy the autonomous underwater vehicle will be made on advice from experts on board the Ocean Shield and could be some days away," he said.

He said that so far there had been no major breakthrough in the search for MH370 and he would provide an update if further information became available.

Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, left the KL International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later, while over the South China Sea. It was to have arrived in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.

A multinational search was mounted for the aircraft, first in the South China Sea and then, after it was learned that the plane had veered off course, along two corridors - the northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and the southern corridor, from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

Following an unprecedented type of analysis of satellite data, United Kingdom satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded that Flight MH370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak then announced on March 24, seventeen days after the disappearance of the aircraft, that Flight MH370 "ended in the southern Indian ocean".