IGP: No kidnapping occurred, but we'll probe assault

Taliban leaders who had threatened to cut voters fingers killed in Kunduz

At least six Taliban militants including their commanders were killed during clashes with the Afghan police forces in northern Kunduz province.

Local officials in Kunduz said the Taliban commanders who were killed during clashes, had earlier threatened Kunduz residents to cut their fingers if they participated in the elections.

Provincial police chief, Gen. Ghulam Mustafa Mohsini said the two Taliban commanders – Mullah Islamuddin and Mullah Khedir were killed along with their fighters after they attacked a police check post on Monday morning.

Gen. Mohsini further added that four militants were also killed and two others were injured during the clashes which lasted almost three hours.

He said the weapons and ammunition of the militants were also confiscated by police forces.

According to Gen. Mohsini, the two Taliban leaders had earlier warned Kunduz residents not to participate in elections and threatened to cut their fingers if they did so.

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Allah's wrath killed Rajiv, Sanjay Gandhi: SP's Azam Khan

Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh): Uttar Pradesh's Minority Affairs Minister Mohd Azam Khan seems uncontrollable. He told a stunned gathering at Bijnor town that the untimely deaths of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his brother Sanjay Gandhi were "acts of Allah".

The Election Commission banned all public meetings, speeches and campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls hours after the comment.

The senior minister in the Samajwadi Party government of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said both Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi had committed "serious crimes" and were "punished by Allah" and which is why they met brutal deaths.

Addressing an election rally in Bijnor Friday evening, Khan said while Sanjay Gandhi was responsible for mass and forcible sterlization during the emergency rule of his mother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, he accused former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi of incurring the "wrath of gods" as he had presided over the opening of the Babri mosque to Hindus for prayers.

He also said Allah will never spare people who conduct themselves against humanity.

Sanjay Gandhi, youngest son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, was killed in a plane crash in June 1980, while Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a human bomb during an election rally in Tamil Nadu in May 1991.

Khan also took a dig at BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and said that a man who is not loyal to his wife will betray the nation.

"Jo apni biwi ka nahin ho saka, wo desh ka kya hoga (Someone who could not be loyal to his wife, how can he be loyal to the nation)," he added.

State authorities Saturday, however, said poll panel's restrain order on the minister would be complied with. The Election Commission has also put restrictions on the campaigning of BJP general secretary and close Modi aide Amit Shah for his "hate speeches".

IANS

Resolve Deepa's woes, Gerakan Youth tells cabinet

The cabinet must step in and resolve the custody battle between S Deepa and her former husband, Muslim convert Izwan Abdullah, since the police and Home Ministry do not want to, Gerakan Youth said today.

If the police and Home Ministry cannot act because of their claim of “conflicting jurisdictions”, then the very least they can do is investigate the case and refer the matter to the attorney-general (AG), Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said.

“In the current case, there's a High Court order granting the mother custodial right over the children. Whether the earlier syariah court order granting custodial right of the children to the father still stands should have been referred to the AG.

“Currently, there seems to be overlapping jurisdiction between the civil and syariah courts on matters involving the religious conversion of a spouse when the other spouse refuses to convert and does not consent to the conversion of their children,” Tan (left) said.

He said the cabinet had, in 2009, decided that both parents must agree before the conversion of minors to another religion.

However, Tan added, this cabinet decision was not made into law.

“The law must be clear to ensure the syariah court cannot have jurisdiction to convert minors without the consent of both parents. The syariah court should also not have jurisdiction to grant custodial rights over minors who were not converted with the consent of both parents.”

Therefore, Tan said, he hopes the cabinet will intervene, and take the lead to resolve the matter as the government's official stand at present not to take action is seen as superseding its 2009 decision, unless the cabinet announces otherwise.

'Remove overlapping jurisdiction'

“Gerakan Youth hopes the cabinet will take lead in Parliament by enacting laws to remove overlapping jurisdiction on this matter,” said Tan, adding that he hoped BN and Pakatan Rakyat would work together to resolve this long standing issue as it is above politics.

The High Court in Seremban last Monday granted Deepa her divorce from her former husband Izwan and granted her custody over her two children, a son aged six and a daughter aged nine.

However, Deepa will have to file a separate application to overturn the conversion of her children to Islam, which was done without her knowledge.

Two days after the High Court order, Izwan went to Deepa's house in Jelubu and forcefully took away their son.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, who was asked what the police would do about the kidnapping report by Deepa, said the police cannot act against Izwan as there are two court orders. Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has also come out in support of Khalid's position.

'Najib must state his stand'

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, DAP's Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should state his stand on the matter.

This follows contradicting statements by Ahmad Zahid and fellow cabinet minister, Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz (left), who said that Izwan's action was kidnapping and that police should act.

"The prime minister must not remain silent and must immediately declare the government’s stand on the abduction issue," she said.

She asked if the government still holds on to the 2009 cabinet decision that children will raised under the "common religion at the time of marriage" should a parent convert after marriage.

"Najib should let Malaysians know if he is still committed to this decision, and if so, when will his government make the necessary law changes to bring about a permanent solution to the issue of unilateral conversions," she added.

Zaid: Form new coalition to defend secular Malaysia

 

MCA, DAP, MIC and East Malaysian parties must form a new coalition with Malays who want democracy and rule of law, says former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim's Facebook page.

"About time Malaysians say enough is enough. Our country is secular and that's how it must continue to be. Worth fighting for," states another one of his posts.

In his blog, Zaid launched a scathing attack on Muslim leaders in Peninsular Malaysia, saying that what has gone wrong with the country must be attributed to their failures.

Their counterparts in Sabah and Sarawak, he noted, were not fixated on "Islamising" the country.

According to Zaid (right), Muslim leaders in the peninsula suffer from what behavioural psychologists call "the inadequacy syndrome".

"This is manifested by these leaders' constant need to enhance their own self-esteem, even though they end up creating bigger problems as a result.

"They feel unappreciated and therefore need to posture more in the extreme to gain the desired recognition. They can only be sedated by giving them the rope to hang DAP, suspend Malaysiakini and bring about Islamic criminal laws to replace the Penal Code," he added.

Zaid said that Muslim leaders in Umno and PAS were weak and unwilling to admit that this country was founded on the principles of a secular democracy.

"Yet they are also afraid to embrace the Islamic theocracy that’s demanded by Islamists for fear of losing their comfortable lifestyle and privileges. This hypocritical uncertainty is causing all sorts of problems to the system of governance.

"If we are a democracy then we must protect basic human rights. Our civil court system must be the superior one when it comes to determining the application and constitutionality of all laws in the country.

"If, on the other hand, we are an Islamic state first, then human rights are subject to the overriding power of Muslim laws and tenets. The Syariah courts must then determine and establish first legal principles," he added.

'We cannot live in this charade forever'

These fundamental issues, Zaid stressed, must be decided once and for all.

"It's not enough for the BN to let MCA do the talking for them, ostensibly defending a secular government while Umno continue their double act of being pro-Islam. Similarly, DAP leaders defend secular principles on behalf of Pakatan Rakyat while Anwar Ibrahim and PAS stick to the Islamist agenda.

"These Muslim leaders are a weak bunch, fearful of being honest with the people because what's paramount for them is holding the seat of power. The people should realise that they have been fooled for a long time, and must now collectively stand up and be counted. We cannot live with this charade forever," he added.

Zaid also took Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar (right) to task for his statement on the custody dispute between a non-Muslim woman and her convert ex-husband.

"The police admitted openly that they are not able or willing to act against anyone who disobeys a court order, apparently because they were told that there are two conflicting orders on the same subject matter – one from the Syariah courts and the other from the civil courts.

"A senior police official declared that a father could not possibly abduct his own son, regardless of what the court says. This same policeman will one day say that a husband could not possibly rape his wife, or that any sexual crime requires four witnesses, regardless of what the law says," he said.

"Now the police have become the ultimate interpreters of the laws of the land. No one dares to correct them or to interpret for them. They have become what they are because our politicians are always afraid to stand up for the right thing.

"These Muslims leaders don't dare table the necessary changes to the laws on civil marriage or to Muslims family laws in Parliament (which were amended years ago and are still waiting for Parliament to pass them)," he added.

There is only one legal system

Zaid pointed out that the strange perception that Malaysia has a dual legal system is false.

Personal laws for Muslims, explained the lawyer turned politician, are part of the main system and not meant to override the main body of laws in the country.

"Yet no one is prepared to publicly declare that the civil High Court is the superior court under the constitution. The Syariah courts are limited in terms of its jurisdiction and applicability. It is only for Muslims in selected matters.

"It's illogical to say we have two systems coexisting in parity when they are totally different in scope and power. Our civil courts must be able to make a ruling to determine if the Syariah Court has applied the law correctly; otherwise, what we get is the chaos we are seeing today," he added.

Zaid said if these "weak Muslim leaders in the peninsula" want to put syariah above all else, the leaders in Sabah and Sarawak need to take a stand.

"The right thing to do is amend the federal constitution and declare that Islamic laws are the foundation of all laws. Then the Syariah Court will be superior to the High Court. We might not even need the High Court by then.

"It would then also be opportune to declare that the Quran is the highest law of the land and that the federal constitution is subject to it. At least then we would know where we stand. These leaders must not be allowed to continue confusing everybody, including our policemen," he added.

Go all the way on hudud

As for hudud, Zaid said the issue has resurfaced with Muslim groups and politicians in the peninsula wanting hudud to be implemented but no such call has been made in either Sabah or Sarawak.

"Not one leader in Umno or PAS has so far dared to oppose this motion. All right, let's do it for the entire country then, and for all Malaysians to feel the full effects of Islamic criminal law. I am okay with this as long as it applies to everyone.

"What I find objectionable is the attitude of these weak leaders. Why the ridiculous suggestion to move a Private Members Bill to achieve this objective? Why is the law being made applicable only in Kelantan? Why exclude non-Muslims from the application of hudud? If you are genuinely fighting for Islam, go all the way," he said.

"Let the PM/DPM move the Bill and let Anwar support it. Let's go full steam ahead and ensure all Malaysians are subject to the same laws and punishments. Stop pussyfooting around the issue. Why should non-Muslims be excluded?

"It's this exclusion that has made non-Malays, particularly DAP, gung ho and comfortable with PAS. DAP wants PAS to get to power because that will help them gain power as well, and they are comforted by the promise that hudud will not be applicable to them.

"They are no different from the MCA leaders in the BN, whose job is to make sure the laws are not applicable to the Chinese. Who cares about the Malays and the Muslims who do not want hudud?" he added.

MIC Youth flays 'irresponsible' Zahid

 

 MIC Youth chief C Sivaraajh has criticised Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's statement that the police will not take any action against a Muslim convert father who snatched his six-year-old son from his Hindu ex-wife in Negri Sembilan last week.

He was "taken aback by the home minister's irresponsible statement" in relation to S Deepa's case, Sivaraajh said in a statement today.

"A minister who is guarding home affairs should not be issuing such a lame statement and wash his hands off the matter," he said.

Sivaraajh was referring to Zahid's brief statement that he agreed with the position of the police not to take action against convert Izwan Abdullah, who snatched away his son from his ex-wife Deepa last Wednesday.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar said Izwan and Deepa (right in photo) should settle the matter among themselves, referring to the syariah court's order granting custody of the couple’s two children to Izwan, and the civil court’s decision last week to grant custody to Deepa.

"If both individuals, the home minister and the IGP, fail to respond on this matter, we sincerely urge attorney-general (AG) Gani Patail to put his hand to resolving the matter," Sivaraajh (right) said.

"The AG should come up with a complete set of legislation that will once and for all settle issues triggered when one spouse embraces another religion," he said.

He said the police and the Home Ministry should adhere to the ruling made by the High Court in Seremban last Monday.

"In upholding the federal constitution, the police should exercise their duty towards the public, hence it should take a stronger role in getting back Deepa's son from her former husband.

"The police and Home Ministry must abide by the verdict delivered by the High Court and help Deepa to get back her son," Sivaraajh added.

Police detainee dies with severe bruises

Penang police are under scrutiny again after yet another custodial death. In the latest incident, 37-year-old labourer Murugan Muniandy died at the Seberang Jaya Hospital, from severe sepsis secondary to pneumonia two days ago.

The father of three, who lives with his mother in Teluk Indah, Prai, was arrested for suspected drug possession at his house at 1.30pm on March 31.

The next day, he was sent to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital and was warded for five days before being sent to the Seberang Jaya Hospital.

Photos taken of him by a family friend after 10 days allegedly showed that he had visible bruises on his chest, right arm, shoulder, thigh and ribs.

However, his body was cremated on Sunday, as the family feared police may come for other family members.

His mother, Ramyee Perumal, 56, said she had no proper access to her son when she visited him at the hospitals as he was always guarded by policemen.

"He was unconscious but there were times when he was conscious and called me. He is my only son," she said, unable to hold back her tears at a press conference together with Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy  at his Prai service centre in Chai Leng Park.

"Whenever I visited my son, the policemen on duty would later ask what we talked about. I couldn't say much," she added, saying her son had bandages on his body.

Ramasamy (right) said that one of the doctors in the hospital said Murugan died due to severe beatings.

He demanded a thorough probe into the death and wants state police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi to answer the issue.

"This is terrible. Murugan may be an alcoholic, but he does not deserve this. What is his crime? Police need to probe and charge him properly.

"I don't expect the police to probe themselves. Are the police prepared to probe, arrest the culprits who caused his death?" Ramasamy asked.

He said there was no guarantee that detainees would come out of the police lock-up alive, adding that this seemed to be the scenario today.

So far this year, Penang has seen four other deaths in police custody  - A Punniyatham, 40, on Feb 10 at the Nibong Tebal police station lock-up, Ramasamy Nagu, 50, on March 1 at the Bayan Baru police station lock-up,  Kamarulnizam Ismail, 39, who died in Taiping Prison on March 8 after being detained at the Bandar Perda police lock-up, and Koay Soon Cguan, 41, who died at the Penang Prison on April 6.

 

Cops to probe assault, but not custody battle - Malaysiakini

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar clarified today that his men have acted on all police reports lodged by S Deepa and her ex-husband Izwan Abdullah, but are not able to act on their child custody dispute.

 

Khalid said police have opened four investigation papers on Deepa's police reports, including her accusation that Izwan had assaulted her and that he had violated an interim protection order.

 

"The thing that the police will not interfere is the child custody, the rest we will do our job.

 

"We had even arrested him (Izwan) earlier but released him on bail pending completion of the investigation," Khalid told journalists when met in Kuala Lumpur today.

Khalid said Izwan's past arrest was also related to the many police reports lodged by Deepa but did not specify which case.

 

Deepa, a Hindu, had on April 7 won custody of her six-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter from the Seremban High Court.

 

Two days later, she accused Izwan of assaulting her and kidnapping their son from her house.

 

Izwan, whose original name is N Viran, had converted to Islam together with the children without Deepa's knowledge and obtained custody of the kids from the Syariah Court last August.

 

Following the incident, Khalid had said police will not interfere in the matter due to the conflicting orders by the civil and syariah court.

 

The remarks had earned him brickbats including from Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz who said police refused to act in a "clear-cut kidnapping".

 

'No kidnapping'

 

Khalid today refused to respond to Nazri, saying that he did not want to contradict the minister and stressed the police did not want to be caught in a tussle between two legal systems.

 

"There is no offence there, that (incident) is not a kidnapping case, it is not an abduction either," he said.

 

As for the other matters, Khalid said Deepa had lodged more than 20 police reports while Izwan had lodged more than 10 police reports since 2007.

 

"They were about quarrels both of them had. So you know, quarrels, we refer those cases to the magistrate. There was also one report of abuse (made) by the male (Izwan), so we open up an investigation (for that).

 

"One more was a 324 investigation (based on Deepa's police report), but after some time she withdrew it - I think it was one or two years ago," said Khalid.

 

Khalid was referring to Section 324 of the Penal Code which concerns causing hurt to a person.

 

"Then there was one report in the IPO (interim protection order) police report that we are investigating still and the recent report (of the assault incident) we are still investigating," he said.

 

Khalid added Deepa can file for contempt of court against her husband for taking away their son and police will see how to enforce it once that comes to past.

 

"She can file for contempt of court and we will enforce whatever decision later but it must be - we don't want to be caught between these two legal systems - it must be a clear system and we will enforce," he said.

MIC leader predicts party will be deregistered

However the leader says that he made the claims in jest after being asked by several party members via a group text message.

PETALING JAYA: Former MIC Youth deputy chief V Mugilan has predicted that the largest Indian party risks being deregistered by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) due to the irregularities claimed in the party polls conducted November last year.

Mugilan, who is also the Selangor MIC Youth chief, also hinted that the party would be rechristened as MIC Baru (New MIC) and would have to call for fresh polls.

When contacted, Pandan MIC division secretary S Baskaran said that Mugilan had made the statement via a text message in WhatsApp messenger group, known as ‘Arasiyal’ (Politics).

Baskaran said that he was the administrator of the chat group, adding the messaging forum was created to help top party leaders to share information with one another.

“The WhatsApp group was created specially for MIC top leaders where party president G Palanivel and his deputy Dr S Subramaniam are also members in the group,” he said.

On Mugilan’s prediction, Baskaran said that on April 8, during conversation about the party, a party member had asked a question which read, “Heard there will be a re-election in MIC, how true is it? Anyone can confirm?

To this Mugilan replied, “ Yes, re-election and deregister the party.”

Baskaran said that Mugilan also sent another message to answer another question where the latter claimed that MIC would be renamed as MIC Baru, like what happened to Umno back in 1988 when it was deregistered.

“I really have no idea whether Mugilan was serious in his text messages. Even if he was serious, both Palanivel and Subramaniam should be aware of it,” he said.

While several party leaders had been murmuring about the possibility of the party facing severe ROS actions over the alleged irregularities in the party polls, this is the first time a leader of the party had openly mentioned it.

Meanwhile Mugilan said that the text messages were sent in jest and said the party would not hold a re-election, as per the decision of the party leaders.

“I urge those defeated in the polls to work harder so they will have better of chance of winning in the next party election,” he told FMT when contacted.

The party election, held in Malacca on Nov 30, 2013, was said to be marred with various irregularities, including vote manipulation.

Mugilan himself lost in the race for the MIC Youth chief post, defeated with slim majority of 44 votes against C Sivaraajh.

Several MIC leaders have taken up the matter to the ROS but the party’s central working committee had dismissed the allegation and insisted there will be no re-election.

Deepa’s stepdad: Islamic centre lacks wisdom

Mohd Sofi also criticises the IGP as an irresponsible person for refusing to act against Izwan's abduction of his son.

JELEBU: S Deepa’s sorrows would have been averted if Pusat Dakwah Islamiah Negeri Sembilan had exercised wisdom in accepting the conversion of her children, said her stepfather Mohd Sofi Abdullah.

He expressed the opinion today in an interview with FMT following the abduction of Deepa’s six-year-old son by her former husband, Izwan Viran Abdullah.

“Even though it was the Syariah Court that gave custody of the children to Izwan, the mess was started by the Pusat Dakwah, which converted them without getting Deepa’s consent,” he said.

The abducted boy has a nine-year-old sister who was also converted at the Islamic outreach centre.

Sofi said the centre had been “totally unfair” to Deepa. Sofi, a Malay-Muslim, is married to Deepa’s mother who has converted to Islam from Hinduism.

“The officer who converted the children should have consulted Deepa, my wife or myself before making his decision,” he added.

Last week, Deepa, who is a Hindu, won her divorce from Izwan through a decision by the Seremban High Court, which also granted her custody of the children. It also allowed weekly visits for Izwan.

Izwan subsequently abducted his son and reportedly assaulted Deepa in the process.

Despite a public uproar, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar said there would be no police action over the abduction, citing the Syariah Court’s decision last year to give Izwan custody of the children.

Sofi said the outreach centre and the Syariah Court should have checked on Izwan’s character and financial status before allowing the children’s conversion and favouring him with the custody decision.

“I believe the Syariah Court gave custody of the children to Izwan on the basis that a Muslim child must be raised by a Muslim parent. But did the court check whether he had criminal records?”

He said Deepa had lodged about 20 police reports against Izwan for domestic violence.

Last August, the Seremban magistrate’s court granted Deepa an Interim Protection Order (IPO) against Izwan.

“But without due consideration, the Syariah Court awarded custody to him,” Sofi said. “You tell me, is he fit to look after the children?”

He said police could take action against Izwan for violating the IPO, which prohibits him from being near Deepa’s home.

He criticised the IGP as an “irresponsible man”.

“He just wants to to shirk his responsibility,” he said.

‘You can’t phone from the air’

A retired Air Force officer says it is not possible because telco antennas are directed toward the ground.

KUALA LUMPUR: A retired Air Force officer today expressed doubt that anyone on Flight MH370 made a mid-flight telephone call with a mobile phone, as recent news reports have suggested.

Captain Abdul Rahmat Omar told FMT it would be improbable for telecommunication towers to receive cellular signals from a plane because their antennas were directed toward the ground.

“Basically, you can’t make a call from a plane,” he said. “A plane moves fast and the reception is unstable. Furthermore, our telco antennas don’t point skyward. They face the ground.”

He was commenting on a New Straits Times report over the weekend quoting unnamed sources as saying that co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid made a desperate call from his mobile phone when the Malaysia Airlines craft was close to Penang after veering from its KLIA-Beijing route on March 8.

The daily said the plane was then low enough for the nearest telecommunication tower to pick up his phone’s signal before it ended abruptly.

However, Abdul Rahmat suggested that Fariq might have switched on his mobile phone and the signal was picked up by the nearest tower but went off due to the speed of the flight.

“Maybe the co-pilot had his mobile phone turned on and the signal was traced by the telco tower just for a few seconds,” he said.

“But you can’t make a phone call because the reception is not stable. The plane is too fast for the phone to connect with a signal.”

CNN, quoting a US official, has also reported today that Fariq’s phone made contact with a telecommunication tower in Penang.

However, it said there was no evidence to show that Fariq had actually tried to make a call.

It quoted the unnamed official as saying the tower detected the first officer’s phone searching for service roughly 30 minutes after authorities believe the plane made a sharp turn westward.

Mobile signal, not call

A former commercial pilot meanwhile told FMT it was possible that the tower in Penang picked up a telephone signal from the plane.

“In my opinion, there is a chance that it can happen,” he said. “Maybe the telco tower did capture the signal for a few seconds, but I am not saying that the co-pilot managed to call out.”

He said that in the 1990s anyone on a flight was able to make a phone call using the old 010 mobile channel, which has now been discontinued.

“I am not very familiar with the new telco system because nowadays you have 3G, 4G and many others,” he said.

“In those days, you could make a call on air if you were using the 010 channel, but I’m not talking about the new 010 channel.”

MH370 disappeared from civilian radar while flying over the South China Sea. It is believed to have made a sudden turn and was spotted on military radar on the western side of Peninsular Malaysia heading for the Andaman Sea.

Searchers are still looking for the plane in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.

The meltdown of Malaysian institutions

(TMI) – There was a time when Malaysia was known for its institutions – a civil service that facilitated rapid development from an agrarian economy to an industrialised one, a judiciary that was held in high esteem of the Commonwealth, and a military that defeated a communist insurgency.

Today, more than 50 years as a nation spanning from Perlis to Sabah, we see ineptitude and incompetency, a complete meltdown of Malaysian institutions.

The Attorney-General now farms out cases to an Umno lawyer; the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) leads an organisation which does not act when a High Court rules; the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) suffers a credibility deficit; and the air force has not covered itself with any glory.
So who do Malaysians turn to in time of need?

Not any of the above, it appears. Sad but true.

The saga of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared with 239 people on board on March 8, has confirmed what Malaysians have suspected for a long time. That there is not much meritocracy and thinking going on in the civil service.

The authorities, from the minister downwards, have yet to explain what happened in the crucial hours after MH370 was found missing. A CNN and BBC television report yesterday showed Defence Minister and Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein avoiding the question.

Can the civil aviation sector trust the DCA to do the right thing immediately after a flight vanishes from the radar screens? Why wasn’t the air force told that a jet was missing? Why wasn’t plane maker Boeing told immediately? Why didn’t the air traffic control respond to their Vietnamese counterparts when told that there was no contact with the Boeing 777-200ER that was on its way to Beijing?

Why the silence?

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) also has to explain how it defends the country's airspace throughout the day. Yes, we have brave men and women in uniform keeping watch but a mysterious blip on the radar moving east to west was left unmolested.

Not even hailed by radio, let alone scrambling jets to check on the blip. Or even to ask the DCA and air traffic control if they were also seeing the blip.

Does the RMAF have fighter jets on standby? How many can fly these days apart from those used for parades, air shows and F1 races?

The IGP has decided to play marriage counsellor to a divorced couple rather than enforce the law after the ex-husband forcibly took away his son from the ex-wife's legal custody.

Does the IGP or anyone else in the police force know the law and the offence that was committed, or do they assume there is a conflict in the civil and Shariah law that they cannot take any action?

Can anyone cite religion and get away with a crime? How can people trust the police to enforce the law passed by lawmakers elected by the people?

Where is the Attorney-General in all of this? Is it more important for him to go to London to figure out who will have custody of the MH370 black box, once found, rather than stay back in the country and decide on whether to prosecute or take action against a man for abducting his child from his ex-wife's legal custody?

Or just outsource some jobs to an Umno lawyer - from defending the Registrar of Societies (RoS) in a judicial review brought by the DAP to prosecuting opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his sodomy appeal.

Is the Attorney-General's decision to outsource some work a tacit confirmation and acknowledgment that there is no talent left in the A-G Chambers to do the work?

And is there any talent also left in the civil service, police force and military?

Malaysia's civil service was the envy of many – from working on poverty eradication and affirmative action policies to industrialisation and a respected judiciary and prosecution.

They did more with fewer resources and lesser people then. But they had quality talent back then.

These days, Malaysia just has bad jokes passing off as the civil service, police force, military and the public prosecutor. This is the meltdown of institutions that had shaped the country from its formative years to the Asian tiger that it once was.

It might take a generation to possibly set things right with these institutions.

Or is that just a hope that is fading as fast as the chance of hearing another ping in the southern Indian Ocean? – April 15, 2014.

Obama Visit to Malaysia Set for April 27

US President must walk a delicate line in a country facing increasing international criticism

US President Barack Obama is expected to visit Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia this month as part of his push to increase US diplomatic, economic and security engagement with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. But despite the relative size and strategic importance of the other countries, it is his April 27 trip to Malaysia that arguably gives the president his biggest problems.

Given the events of the past few months, Obama will visit a country that has earned some of the worst press in Asia, not only for its fumbling response to the loss of its jetliner, MH370, with 239 people aboard, but to revelations of growing racial and religious intolerance, blatant attempts to silence the opposition through spurious legal action and bizarre charges by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s own newspaper that the Central Intelligence Agency kidnapped the plane to foment trouble with China, 152 of whose citizens were aboard the missing craft. The same newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, also repeated as a real possibility speculation by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that the CIA brought down the World Trade Towers in 2001as a plot to blame Muslims for the destruction.

In recent weeks, an appeals court has reversed a lower court decision against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, declaring him guilty of what were clearly trumped up charges of sodomy. The decision, apparently rushed forward, was designed to deny Anwar an almost certain win in a Kuala Lumpur suburban by-election that would have paved his way to becoming chief minister of the country’s most populous and prosperous state and would have given him a potent rhetorical platform to challenge the government. In an equally dubious decision, Karpal Singh, chairman of the Democratic Party, the biggest in the troika of opposition parties, was declared guilty of sedition for saying a decision by the Sultan of Perak could be questioned in court.

The international press that showed up in Kuala Lumpur after the disappearance of the airliner began asking questions that exposed an authoritarian regime unaccustomed to facing independent scrutiny – questions that a kept mainstream media, all of which are owned by the political parties in power, have ignored for decades. While a vibrant opposition press exists on the Internet, the government simply ignores it or tries to neutralize its reports. Those questions include crony capitalism, gerrymandering and political repression. CNN, the major US and British newspaper s and other media assailed the government as authoritarian, corrupt and befuddled.

The feeling in Washington, however, is that the cost of cancellation to the strategic relationship between the two countries would be too high. Obama reportedly is being urged to visit a Christian church while in the country to show US commitment to human and religious rights. Advocates say the President should make at least some gesture of recognition of the fact that a 50.87 percent majority of Malaysians voted against the ruling coalition in 2013 general elections at 47.38 percent but still hold only 89 of the 222 seats in parliament because of gerrymandering. It’s unsure if he will do so. There is speculation that he may just opt for a “meet and greet” and get out of town as quickly as possible to avoid international criticism for propping up a regime that is starting to assume Zimbabwean characteristics of repression and kleptocracy.

“I don't have any problem with Obama visiting Malaysia, provided he reaches out to Malaysians on both sides of the aisle and all sectors of society, including the Christian community, whose rights are being trampled on by their government,” said John Malott, a former career foreign service officer who served as ambassador to Malaysia from 1996 to 1998 and who has emerged as the country’s severest western critic. “But this has to be a visit that is based on the reality of what kind of country Malaysia really is today – and not to believe the talking points that Malaysia is still a tolerant multi-racial, multi-religious, harmonious, moderate Islamic nation, an economic success story, and a role model for others. It no longer is.”

Najib visited the White House in 2011 and was given a wholehearted endorsement by the President, who said Najib has “showed great leadership, I think, not only in continuing to show great leadership not only in Malaysia’s economy but on showing leadership on a wide range of multilateral issues.”

The president is said to like Najib personally despite the fact that a wide range of issues have never been cleared up, going back to allegations of Najib’s personal involvement in the US$1 billion purchase of French submarines that according to French prosecutors was said to have netted US$114 million in bribes and kickbacks to the United Malays National Organization. The case is still making its way through French courts.

There is also the matter of the still controversial 2006 murder by two of Najib’s bodyguards of Mongolian translator and party girl Altantuya Shaariibuu, who according to a now-dead private detective had been Najib’s girlfriend before she was said to have been passed on to his best friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, a key figure in the purchase of the submarines. The bodyguards were acquitted on appeal despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt, raising questions about Malaysia’s legal system as well.

There have been some rude shocks. Six months ago, in the run-up to his previous failed visit to the region, the US president hailed Malaysia as an “an example of a dynamic economy" and praised its multi-ethnic, moderate Muslim-dominated society only to see just three days later a court decision ordering Christians not to use the word “Allah” when referring to God, making it the only Islamic country in the world to do so.

After that, the government ordered the confiscation of Malay-language Bibles containing the word – but only in Peninsular Malaysia. Christians using Malay-language Bibles in East Malaysia were allowed to keep them. That is because most of the Christians are tribes indigenous to Borneo that are aligned with the ruling party. In Peninsular Malaysia, they form the bulk of the opposition.

“So the issue is -- how can you talk about establishing a ‘strategic partnership’ with such a government?” Malott asked. “Maybe that is what will have to be downplayed or even canned for this visit. To me, the idea of a declaring a strategic partnership with a government whose faults have now been revealed to the world, day after day, seems politically unwise.”

Malott also questioned what strategic benefits the US can obtain from Malaysia.

“What strategic value does Malaysia have that it warrants America to hold its nose and ignore the trampling of democracy and political freedom, not to mention the corruption and cronyism that hurt American business interests there?” he asked. “And with Mahathir, the great anti-American, increasingly calling the political shots and Najib's popularity the lowest of any Prime Minister in polling history, will a ‘strategic partnership’ with the US survive Najib's departure?”

Mini-sub to dive again after aborting first MH370 search

By AFP

Perth (Australia) (AFP) – A mini-sub hunting missing Flight MH370 was set to sweep the Indian Ocean seabed again Tuesday after cutting short its first mission, as Malaysia vowed to reveal any ‘black box’ data found.

The unmanned submarine equipped with sonar gear was deployed Monday night from the Australian ship Ocean Shield, which has spearheaded the hunt for the Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8 with 239 people aboard.

But the dive by the Bluefin-21 detected nothing of interest before it automatically aborted the mission after breaching its maximum operating depth, the US Navy said in a statement.

The Australian agency coordinating the search said the Bluefin-21 “exceeded its operating depth limit of 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) and its built-in safety feature returned it to the surface”.

The unmanned Autonomous Underwater Vehicle was undamaged and set for a second sonar sweep during the day, weather permitting, officials said.

US Navy Captain Mark Matthews said the vehicle had exceeded programmed operational limits and automatically resurfaced.

“In this case the vehicle’s programmed to fly 30 metres over the floor of the ocean to get a good mapping of what’s beneath,” he told CNN from Perth.

“It went to 4,500 metres and once it hit that max depth, it said ‘This is deeper than I’m programmed to be’, so it aborted the mission.”

Officials said the crew would now refine the task to cope with the depth encountered.

“To account for inconsistencies with the sea floor, the search profile is being adjusted to extend the sonar search for as long as possible,” the US Navy statement said.

Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre chief Angus Houston announced Monday officials would end three weeks of listening for signals from the plane’s black boxes and launch the submarine operation.

The mini-sub would conduct a sonar survey of the silty ocean floor for 16 hours at a time in hopes of finding some wreckage from the Malaysia Airlines flight which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The US navy estimated it would take the Bluefin-21 from six weeks to two months to scan the entire search area, which has been deduced using satellite data and the detection of electronic pulses linked to black box recorders which were last heard a week ago.

Houston has described the detections as the best lead in the hunt for the plane, and added Monday that an oil slick had also been sighted in the search area.

It would take several days to test a sample of the oil ashore, but Houston said he did not think it was from one of the many ships involved in the hunt.

The cause of the plane’s disappearance, after being diverted hundreds of miles off course, remains a mystery. No debris has been found despite an enormous search involving ships and planes from several nations.

It is 39 days since the plane vanished, presumably crashing into the southern Indian Ocean, and the batteries powering the black box tracker beacons had a life of only around 30 days.

Ocean Shield detected four signals linked to the black boxes, but the last ping came on Tuesday last week and officials suspect the batteries are now dead.

Houston has stressed the enormous difficulties of working at great depths in such a remote location and cautioned about the difficulties of finding the black boxes.

If they are ever found, Malaysia’s Transport Minister pledged Tuesday to make public any data recovered, as the government battles widespread criticism over the transparency of its investigation.

“It’s about finding the truth. And when we… find out the truth, definitely we have to reveal what’s in the black box,” Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters.

“So there is no question of it not being released.”

The Malaysian government has been tight-lipped about its ongoing investigation into the disappearance of the jet, adding to the anger and frustration of relatives.

It has come under fire for a seemingly chaotic initial response, while the scarcity of official information on MH370 has prompted questions over its transparency.

Hishammuddin said at the weekend that Malaysia’s attorney general had been sent abroad to confer with the International Civil Aviation Organisation and determine which country would have custody of the black box, if it is ever found.

But he shrugged off the importance of the custody issue on Tuesday.

“I don’t think it’s important who gets custody as far as I’m concerned,” he told reporters.

Malaysian authorities insist they are hiding nothing but need to be cautious on commenting on ongoing investigations.

Hishammuddin also said an “international investigation team” that Malaysia plans to set up to probe MH370′s disappearance would be transparent and operate in accordance with international standards.

Gov will intervene to help find solution to jurisdictional dispute: Nancy

The New Straits Times 
by PUNITHA KUMAR

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will initiate talks between the syariah and civil courts to propose a mechanism in solving the long-term jurisdictional dispute faced by both sides.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and de facto law minister Nancy Shukri said she will raise the matter at the next Cabinet meeting.

"Both courts need to sit down together and discuss this.

"It is now beyond the law because both sides are following the law," she said after launching two newly-minted specialist construction courts at the Duta Court Complex here with Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria.

Nancy was commenting this in light of the recent case involving six-year-old V. Mithran who was abducted by his muslim father on April 9 despite his non-muslim mother gaining custody through the Civil Court. 

Arifin, on the other hand, said the case was pending at the Court of Appeal.

"We do not answer academic questions and will see how it is resolved (at the courts)," he said stating that newspaper reports had said the father will be filing an appeal against the civil court's decision to award the custody to the mother.

He also said matters relating to policies will be dealt by the government.

Meanwhile, the two specialist construction courts, which has been operating since April last year, have seen a total of 162 cases filed.

The courts, among others, will deal with cases involving building and construction disputes, engineering disputes and claims by and againt engineers.

It will also handle challenges to decision of arbitrators in construction and construction-related matters.

The establishment of the courts kicked off after the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA) was passed in June 2012. The Act will take effect beginning tomorrow.

Malaysia is the second country in the world that has a specialist court for construction. The first is the United Kingdom which established the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).

Present during the event were Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, chief judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, TCC judge Robert Akenhead and Bar Council president Christopher Leong.

Cooperation In Asean Important To Address Emerging Security Challenges - Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Regional cooperation, in particular in Asean, and the networks of global diplomatic relationships were important to collectively address emerging security challenges, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today.

He said such effective and close cooperation would continue to generate the ability to identify and address threats of any sort which might be detrimental to regional security and stability.

"As such, I am comforted that the world is not only recognising the importance of Asean as a platform for maintaining peace and stability among its members, but as a forum for engagements with regional powers such as China, India, Japan and Korea.

"It is a known fact that since the formation of Asean in 1967, there has not been any open conflict among its member countries," he said in his closing address at the Putrajaya Forum 2014, here, Tuesday.

Muhyiddin said this was because Asean's way of resolving problems and crises through consensus and mutual respect had indeed gone a long way towards avoiding unnecessary conflicts and tension.

Themed 'Strengthening Security and Regional Stability', the forum was organised in conjunction with the four-day 14th Defence Services Asia (DSA) Exhibition and Conference which ends on April 17.

Muhyiddin said: "When Malaysia chairs Asean next year, there will indeed be more challenges that the 10-country grouping needs to face collectively among the Asean family and beyond."

He said the Asean Regional Forum, now consisting of 27 member countries, continued to complement the various bilateral and multilateral arrangements and was indeed an avenue to address security threats in the region, that could be continuously reviewed and upgraded.

"Malaysia is also vying for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council next year with the candidature theme of 'Peace and Security through Moderation'.

"This augurs well for Asean countries, as I am sure we will be able to speak and give our views by taking into account the importance of diplomacy and moderation in all aspects of international relations," he said.

Muhyiddin said maintaining security and stability in this region would largely rely on continued consultations and solidarity in addressing a security threat, common virtues which the Asean family had always espoused.

On the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370, which has affected the nation profoundly, the deputy prime minister said this incident not only brought the whole nation and region together but also instilled camaraderie among the Asean members and beyond.

"Twenty-six nations assisted in the search and recovery operations and coordinating their efforts which we have had to undertake involved many new experiences.

"I believe the trust, respect, transparency displayed and above all, the close cooperation forged among us will put us in good stead in the future when faced with a security challenge," he said.

The incident, Muhyiddin said, had garnered close cooperation that would surely contribute to the overall stability of the region in future, particularly so if Malaysia's bid to be a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council was endorsed.

On the DSA 2014 forum, he said it had provided the right platform for industry experts and players to share a common desire in strengthening cooperation and initiatives that promoted greater security and stability in the region.