Don’t manipulate historical facts, Isma

MCA publicity bureau chief Chai Kim Sen questioned Isma's prerogative in questioning the Chinese comminity.

PETALING JAYA: MCA told Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) to stop manipulating historical facts and at the same time refrain from making racist remarks since their statements only serves to make Malaysia a laughing stock to the international community

“From time to time, we can see some ignorant extremists attempting to stir racial sentiment, such as calling the Chinese community ‘pendatang‘ (foreigners) and asking them to to “return to China”, etc, which are nonsensical and absurd.

“Who are these people to challenge the legitimate citizenship of the Chinese community here?” MCA publicity bureau chairman Chai Kim Sen said in a press statement today.

“Isma’s statements have put Malaysia to shame in the eyes of the international community that after all these years since independence, the nation is still trapped in a racist predicament,” he added.

In a statement made on Isma’s website on Tuesday, the NGO president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman said that the Chinese came to the country with the British as intruders and were given citizenship as well as wealth.

Abdullah Zaik said the ancestors of Chinese Malaysians today were “in cahoots with the British” to oppress and bully the Malays.
He called the Malays to protect the sovereignty of Islam and the race in “Tanah Melayu”.

Chai who is also deputy national organising secretary also accused Isma as being ignorant about the history of Chinese in Malaysia.

“I wonder which “sejarah” (history) text book did these Isma fellows read to the extent that they are shamefully wrong about the historical facts of Malaysia. Isma has zero ideas about the contribution of the Chinese community in nation building,” he said.

He also added that the Malays, Chinese and Indians put up a united front in their quest for an independent nation.

“They, as Malaysians, should be ashamed of themselves for not recognising the contribution of the various races for this nation to achieve independence,” said Chai.

Dr M to Isma: Stop unconstructive comments

The former prime minister also says the government should stop people from instigating racial riots.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ultra Muslim NGO, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) should stop making unnecessary comments which do not help any group in the country, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The country’s fourth prime minister said this in response to Isma president, Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman, who said that the Chinese brought by the British into Malaya, were “trespassers”.

“The Chinese are Malaysian citizens and as citizens they have their rights. (Also), we do not want people to instigate racial riots,” he told reporters.

Dr Mahathir also lashed out at Abdullah, asking the Isma president to read the Quran properly as the Islamic penal code or hudud is not applicable on non-Muslims.

He said this in reply to Abdullah’s assertion today that hudud should be enforced on non-Muslims.

“The Quran says that God does not like people who create turmoil in the country, so he should follow the Quran,” said Dr Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir said this after launching a book, ‘Reminiscences of Insurrection: Malaysia’s Battle Against Terrorism 1960-1990′, authored by Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Mohd Azzam Mohd Hanif Ghows.

Najib in a difficult situation

When asked if the recent extremist statements were due to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak having failed to control the situation, Mahathir said Najib is “trying to do a good job in a difficult situation”.

“This extremism is a result of one faction saying nasty things and then the other has to reply, that is why I say it is not constructive. Also, we did not give him (Najib) a strong enough mandate,” he said.

He explained that Najib was in a difficult situation because when action is taken, the government is accused of not being liberal.

“The opposition demands us to be liberal, but when we are liberal they misuse that liberalism and if we take action against them, we are accused of not being liberal.”

Commenting on attacks carried out by extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab in Africa, the former prime minister said that the groups were misled and their actions, un-Islamic.

“They think they are doing something in accordance with the teachings of Islam, but it is wrong. Muslims are supposed to be brothers, but they are fond of killing other Muslims,” he said.

On another matter, in conjunction with Umno’s 68th anniversary of its founding this Sunday, Mahathir admitted that support for the party has lessened.

“Although Umno is still accepted, support seemed to have lessened. Umno should take this as a lesson and rectify the situation,” said Mahathir.

As advice to the top party leadership, Mahathir said that they should listen to what the rakyat wants.

“But they should not take heed of the Opposition too much since their aim is to take over the government. However, if we ignore all their criticisms, we will continue losing support,” he said.

RESPONSIBILITY OF AIRFRAMER

1. Boeing is the designer and assembler of all Boeing aircrafts. It also subjects the new aircrafts to rigorous test. It is totally responsible for the certification of the aircrafts and all the parts, avionics and safety features of the aircrafts.

2. The parts may be supplied by contractors and vendors but Boeing is responsible for the correct installation, testing and certification. Certainly the communication system is selected, tested and installed under Boeing supervision.

3. The communication system is the lifeline of the aircrafts. In any emergency the aircraft can speak directly with ground stations. Under no circumstances should communication equipment fail.


4. Currently the location and movement of all commercial aircrafts are monitored. Anybody can see on their hand phone the symbol of the aircrafts flying anywhere in the world. Their registered number, their makes, their owners, departure airports and destination can all be obtained through anyone’s mobile phone. Yet MH370 could disappear completely apparently even from the monitors of the countries owning sophisticated spy satellites.

5. In the case of MH370 the only thing that we know for certain is that after the co-pilot said “Alright, Good Night” there was no more communication. There was no call from the aircraft and ground station could not contact the aircraft at all. In other words there was total communication breakdown.

6. How was this possible! The pilot may disable it! Are the communication systems in a Boeing 777 so easily disabled? Is there no backup? Is there no fail-safe system for so important a facility? Or did a third party disable MH370’s communication system?

7. Whatever the stoppage of communication was sudden and total. One or the other of the pilots must have become aware of this communications failure unless of course both were responsible for disabling the system. At some stage the cabin crew must notice that the aircraft was not keeping to the correct flight path. Did they not try to ask the pilots why? If they fail to contact the flight deck, wouldn’t they be concerned?

8. All the cabin crew must be carrying mobile phones. Surely upon not getting explanations from the pilots as to the flight path change, they would be alarmed enough to call someone on the ground. But as far as we know they did not. Were their phones disabled? Or were they incapacitated in some way?

9. The passengers too, at some stage must feel alarmed. Did any of them try to phone their relatives? They did not. Were they also disabled or their phones disabled?

10. Some relatives on the ground in Malaysia rang up the passengers. They could hear the phone ringing but was not picked up. There was no answer. Could it be that the passengers have all been disabled?

11. As I said the position of commercial aircrafts are constantly monitored. They all appear on the screen of our phones. MH 370 disappeared from the screen. Why? What equipments do passenger aircrafts carry so that their position can be chartered and broadcast? If a plane disappears wouldn’t someone notice. Yet the plane vanished and no one seems to know. Can Boeing explain how this can happen? But Boeing is deathly quiet! No explanation at all as to how the communication system and monitoring of position can fail in a Boeing aircraft.

12. If this can happen to MH370, a 777 Boeing, is it safe to fly in such planes. When will another plane disappear??

13. The assumption is that MH370 fell into the Indian Ocean. Can a plane that heavy, made of glass, aluminium, titanium and composites, plunge into the sea and not break up, leaving broken parts and oil slicks. Even if the sea was calm a plane would break up. The engines too can break off and leave traces of oil etc. Whether the pilots were in control or not, when the fuel was exhausted the plane must drop. It cannot achieve a soft landing like the Hudson River case. It must drop into the sea violently. Even if the sea was calm, the plane must break up. But the suggestion is that the whole plane sank intact into the sea! Is this possible?

14. Until now nothing has been found to indicate the breakup of the plane.

15. Boeing has a lot to answer. Until the plane is found and the causes of the failure of communication equipment and the disappearance are fully explained, one must conclude that Boeing aircrafts are dangerous to fly in.

For May 13 generation, Malaysia still a country divided by same old topic of race

(Malay Mail Online) – The spate of hate speeches aimed at driving a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims appear to be unravelling nation-building efforts made since May 13, 1969, and suggests not much has changed since that watershed 45 years ago, civil society leaders and opposition lawmakers have said on the eve of the anniversary of the country’s worst race riots next Tuesday.

Although 45 years have passed since the May 13 riots, racial tensions continue to simmer beneath the surface of a robust economy, they said at a small public forum here last night.

According to them, the recent spate of racially venomous remarks and actions point to a dangerous future for Malaysia and must be tackled by the authorities which have mostly stayed silent.

“It can be said that there is evil in the air. Venom, poison, baggage of hate based on language,” DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang told the forum.

“Never has it been this serious, I think. Where are we heading? We have lost our direction on nation building.”

The Gelang Patah MP pointed out the recent inflammatory statement made by Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), which accused the Chinese of being intruders into Malay land, and had been brought by British colonialists to oppress Malays.

“Nothing I can see that shows anything new between 1969 and 2014. We see remarks, actions and nuances that depict it as if we want to return to racial tensions, by invoking ancient history,” said PAS’ Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

Mujahid, who claimed he was raised with the May 13 incident as a bogeyman, claimed that sentiments against the Chinese and Indians have stayed the same among some Malays, where the two ethnic groups are still considered as immigrants.

“These are jarring voices, whose ears are deaf, whose eyes are blind… who do not know the direction of our future,” the Parit Buntar MP added, referring to Isma.

Besides Isma, the panellists also mentioned Muslim speakers at a seminar on Christology in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), who claimed last Tuesday that the Gospels in the New Testament were “fake” and that Jesus Christ was simply a “human slave to Allah”.

Meanwhile, PAS’ Mohd Nasaei Ismail alleged that there was a series of events involving hudud, arrests of Islamic militants and negative comments from Islamist groups, which he claimed were linked together to make Islam look bad.

The forum last night, organised by Shah Alam PAS, saw Lim relating his times during the racial riots, which he only experienced through news as he was away in Kota Kinabalu at that time.

Joining him was veteran journalist Subky Abdul Latiff, who experienced first hand the riots as he was residing in Kampung Baru at that time.

The riots were said to be started at the house of Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Harun Idris of Umno, where two Chinese were reportedly killed on the spot after it broke out.

The incident subsequently ignited Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, leading to a nearly one-hour riot that saw deaths, injuries, and arson.

Official police figures said 196 people died and 149 were wounded, but the numbers were disputed with unofficial figures almost three-fold.

A state of emergency and curfew was declared, while Parliament was suspended as the National Operations Council (Mageran) took over until 1971.

The aftermath saw the Malaysian pledge of allegiance Rukunegara introduced, and affirmative action policies for the Malays such as the as the New Economic Policy (NEP).

In the forum, Lim urged the public to “save the country” adding that his opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat must step up if the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional fails to do so.

He also repeated his calls for a truth and reconciliation body to conduct an independent probe on the incident, similar to the one in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid.

“Do we want the incident to repeat itself? If it does, I worry of the intervention from foreign powers,” added Subky, who started his career in Malay broadsheet Utusan Melayu before joining PAS.

Disciplinary action against lawyer in Altantuya case on hold after counsel removes himself

A lawyer for the Bar Council has removed himself from the ongoing disciplinary proceedings against corporate lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham for allegedly preparing a statutory declaration (SD) for the late private investigator P. Balasubramaniam (pic), who was not his client.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider said senior lawyer Lambert Rasaratnam was not comfortable to lead evidence and cross-examine Abraham because of a "latest development", which was not specified.

A source familiar with the proceedings declined to go into detail what triggered Rasaratnam from appearing for the Bar Council, which is the complainant in the case.

"The proceeding is stuck as the council is looking for a replacement lawyer," a source told The Malaysian Insider.

It is understood that because of the personality involved in this disciplinary hearing and the possibility of other senior lawyers stepping forward to be in involved one capacity or another in the hearing, lawyers with the necessary seniority and standing have been slow to offer their help.

Legal circles said it would be a shame if this disciplinary hearing comes unstuck because senior lawyers are uneasy over a face-off with a prominent member of the Bar.

Disciplinary proceedings against Abraham started in March and the next hearing is scheduled later this month with Balasubramaniam's lawyer, Americk Singh Sidhu, slated to take the stand.

Abraham is being investigated by a three-man Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board (ASDB) committee for professional misconduct.

The contentious sworn statement was to counter Balasubramaniam's first sworn statement, which had incriminated Datuk Seri Najib Razak and several other personalities in relation to the 2006 murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The ASDB decided to hold the proceedings after finding there was a prima facie case against the lawyer for professional misconduct.

The committee, comprising two lawyers and a layman, is looking into alleged misconduct under Section 94 of the Legal Profession Act (LPA) 1976 for "conduct or omission to act by a lawyer in a professional capacity which amounts to grave impropriety".

"This misconduct is in relation to Abraham, who is alleged to have drafted the SD for Balasubramaniam, when the late private investigator was not his client.

"At all material times, Americk was on record as the counsel for Balasubramaniam," a source said.

The Bar Council lodged a complaint against Abraham to the ASDB last year and council chairman Christopher Leong appeared in March before the committee to give evidence in a closed-door session.

The ASDB, which is a body independent of the Bar Council, is statutorily tasked to investigate professional misconduct.

Americk would be the next witness to appear before the committee while carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan is also slated to testify.

Deepak had earlier admitted that he helped to get Balasubramaniam repudiate his first SD by finding two lawyers to draft the new statement.

Americk had thrown light on the contentious SD when he read out a prepared statement at the Malaysian Bar's 67th annual general meeting (AGM) last year where he had said: "Tan Sri Cecil Abraham admitted to me that he was the one who drafted the second statutory declaration".

Americk later told reporters at the sidelines of the AGM that the directive to Abraham came from Najib, who was then the deputy prime minister.

"I'm not interested in lodging a complaint with the board. That is not my agenda. My agenda is just to find out who instructed him to do it," he had said.

Leong, had also on the sidelines of the AGM, had suggested that the Attorney-General’s Chambers relook Altantuya’s case based on evidence from Americk’s revelation, as well as Deepak’s admittance of involvement in the case.

“Much has been said about the obvious lack of motive for the two police officers to commit the crime. That remains the unanswered question,” Leong had said.

Two former police commandos – Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri – who were charged with Altantuya's murder, were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court.

Their convictions, however, were overturned by the Court of Appeal last year.

Putrajaya is appealing the decision by the Court of Appeal. Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged with abetting them, was also acquitted in 2008.

Balasubramaniam or "PI Bala" accused several top federal government personalities of being involved in Altantuya's murder in his first SD in 2008, two years after the woman's murder.

But he retracted the SD the following day and signed a new one, where the names of the personalities, including Najib, were omitted.

Bala died of a heart attack on March 15 last year, weeks after returning home from self-exile.

Lawyers familiar with disciplinary proceedings said the committee would make its findings and recommendations to the board, including the punishment to be meted out for misconduct.

Under the LPA, a lawyer found guilty of misconduct could be reprimanded, fined, suspended from practice for up to five years, or struck off the roll. – May 9, 2014.

Saudi Arabia orders 1,000 lashes and ten-year sentence for editor of website that discussed religion

(The Independent) – A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced the editor of a website that discussed religion in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes.

Raif Badawi, who started the “Free Saudi Liberals” website, was arrested in June 2012 and charged with cyber-crime and disobeying his father – a crime in the Arab state, local media has reported.

His website included articles that were critical of senior religious figures such as Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and allegedly insulted Islam and religious authorities, according to Human Rights Watch.

Prosecutors had demanded Badawi be tried for apostasy, a charge which carries the death penalty, but this was dismissed by the judge.

Badawi was originally sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes in July last year, but an appeals court overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial – which then earned him a more severe sentence.

His punishment comes shortly after Saudi Arabia criticised Norway’s human rights record and accused it of not doing enough to counter criticism of the prophet Mohammed.

The gulf state also demanded all criticism of religion and of the Prophet Mohammed be made illegal in Norway.

Badawi’s lawyer, human rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair, will not be able to represent him in an appeal because he has also been jailed and is currently awaiting trial on criminal charges that include “breaking allegiance with the king,” and “making international organisations hostile to the kingdom”.

His retrial led the judge to impose a harsher punishment and fine him one million riyals (£157,000).

In April, the Kingdom introduced a series of new laws which define atheists as terrorists, according to HRW.

In a string of royal decrees and an overarching new piece of legislation to deal with terrorism generally, the Saudi King Abdullah has clamped down on all forms of political dissent and protests that could “harm public order”.

Saudi Arabia also announced in March it intended to close the local office of the Qatari-owned al Jazeera satellite television over Qatar’s backing for the Muslim Brotherhood, local media said.

The geopolitics of MH370

THERE will be no let-up in the efforts to find the missing Malaysian Airlines jet Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, vowed on May 5th. Despite his promise, however, there is growing acceptance that it will take months even years to find any trace of flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8th. Hopes that any of its passengers might still be alive must also be cast aside. The new search area in the Indian Ocean will alone cover 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 square miles)—and that is on top of the 4,600,000 square kilometres already scoured. Because the focus of the search-and-rescue mission has now moved to the west coast of Australia, Malaysians have some breathing space to reflect on a traumatic two months in the glare of the world’s attention. The country has taken a battering, but the longer-term damage is another matter. The saga has emphasised how much Malaysia matters in the geopolitics of the region: the two Pacific superpowers, America and China, have both come to play big roles in the search for the missing plane, if in very different ways.

In any reckoning, Malaysia’s handling of the loss of MH370 has been a public-relations disaster. The tone was set during the first week by the authorities’ confusion, stonewalling and contradictory messages. One of the gravest flaws has been a deep reluctance to release information, however innocuous. This antagonised the victims’ families. And the problem persists. On May 1st the Malaysian government published a much-heralded report on the disappearance of the plane. This turned out to consist of just five pages, containing little new information. But, as one government adviser admitted: “If we had got this out there in the first week, there wouldn’t have been a nine-week drumbeat of everyone calling us lying bastards.”

Opposition politicians and critics of the government say that the damage to Malaysia’s reputation is a result of the country’s poor governance. Malaysia, the argument goes, is more authoritarian than democratic, with little transparency or accountability in government.

There is some truth to that. But government officials are justified in feeling frustrated that the failures of communication have overshadowed their success in efficiently putting together an extraordinary coalition of countries to look for the plane. On the technical side, many acknowledge that Malaysia has done an adequate job with the relatively limited means at its disposal. It has also gone beyond the call of duty in opening up to its search partners, sharing sensitive details of its military radar system, for example, with the Chinese.

One person who has stood up for Malaysia over MH370 is Barack Obama. During a recent long-scheduled visit to Malaysia, the American president went out of his way to laud the country’s leadership of the search operation. America has contributed a vast amount of equipment, man-hours and money to the search for the missing plane, out of all proportion to the three Americans (out of 227 passengers) lost on the flight. This has brought the two countries closer, at a time when America is searching for new and reinvigorated alliances in the region. Historically, there has been a good deal of anti-Americanism in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but for the time being that seems to have been stilled. Mr Obama got a hero’s welcome from everyone.

That in turn may help account for the zigzag course of China in the MH370 affair. The flight was en route to Beijing, and over half the passengers were Chinese. But rather than support the Malaysian government in the first month or so, China seemed to incite the distraught families into ever fiercer, often histrionic, criticism of Malaysian officialdom, perhaps to deflect attention from the possibility that the plane might have been downed by home-grown terrorists. The Chinese did nothing to dispel some of the alternative, wilder conspiracy theories circulating in Beijing.

In recent weeks, however, the tone has changed. The Chinese ambassador to Malaysia has told the Chinese-language press in Kuala Lumpur that his country accepts that the disappearance of MH370 was not some dark conspiracy and that Chinese-Malaysian relations are unaffected. The wave of criticism in the official Chinese press has largely abated. Perhaps China feels, in the regional battle of wills with America, that it needs good relations with Malaysia and that these were threatened by its attacks. Malaysia is China’s largest trade partner in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). It also has a large ethnic-Chinese population, and thus could be helpful in its disputes in the South China Sea with other ASEAN countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, both firmly backed by America.

Mr Najib makes an official visit to China at the end of this month, marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, initiated by Malaysia’s then prime minister, Abdul Razak, Mr Najib’s late father. With power so finely balanced in the region, China will strive to make the visit go smoothly, including keeping angry families at a face-saving distance.

From the print edition: Asia

Hate groups getting louder as long as Putrajaya stays mute

 

As Isma and others in academia amplify their hatred for a section of the Malaysian population, 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his party Umno remain silent.

 – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 9, 2014.

In the past week, groups like Isma and others in academia have amplified their hatred for a section of the Malaysian population, going as far as to distort the country's history to make it clear that Malaysia belongs to the Malays.

It does not help that Putrajaya has remained mute, except for some parties in the ruling coalition making some noises and calling for action to curb such talk. But the dominant Umno and its president, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, remain silent.

Also, these parties are not members of the administration and their voices have been ignored and in fact, Isma has even asked them to shut up.

If the prime minister cannot find it in himself to silence these groups that appear to ignore history and harmonious interfaith ties, then he and his government should just apologise to the Chinese and Christians for their inability to do anything about the matter.

Because their silence has emboldened a group funded and encouraged by the government to spew hatred and distort history of Malaysia – which is just more than Malays, Chinese, Indians as it also includes fellow citizens in Sabah and Sarawak.

The loudmouths at Isma should understand the meaning of the word trespass – the crime of going into someone's land without permission – but that would be asking too much of the intellectually-challenged.

The fact is, Najib and Umno have encouraged the rise of groups like Perkasa and Isma rather than the usual blame that they rose up because of weak Malay support and stronger Chinese support for the opposition.

Results in the past two general elections show that the swing is among the Malay electorate, as much as it is among the Chinese and Indians – who are a minority in Malaysia.

Perhaps it is time for Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties such as the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and others to give the PM an ultimatum on quelling this dangerous trend of hate speech and distortion of the country's history.

The PM's silence on whether Chinese are trespassers will be nothing more than a confirmation that he shares the sentiment of Isma, a group purportedly about Islam but becoming more racist every day.

And that being the case, how can MCA or any other Chinese-based political party justify remaining in BN today? Perhaps the DAP is right, MCA does not want to jeopardise its place in the Cabinet while the Gerakan is still lamenting its loss unlike its former leaders who have the intellectual gravitas to challenge groups such as Isma.

Ultimately, the man whose face was emblazoned on all election posters and who pushed his 1Malaysia concept must open his mouth and speak his mind on this matter.

Does he want 1Malaysia to be a footnote in history or a laughing stock in Malaysia and the world?

Is his deafening silence a tacit realisation that his party is going the opposite way of his ideas and he cannot stop them? Or in fact, he agrees with them on this?

It is time the prime minister speaks, not squeaks.

Two years on, sedition law replacement still on drawing board, says minister

Malay Mail
by YAP TZU GING AND MELISSA CHI

KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — The replacement for the Sedition Act 1948 is still being drafted two years after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak pledged to replace the controversial law with the National Harmony Act, Minister Nancy Shukri said.

The new law is being drafted by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) and members expect to show the bill to the Cabinet before a date set for its presentation in parliament is determined.

“We are still drafting it actually, there are more things to come,” Shukri, the de facto law minister told The Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.

The minister in Prime Minister’s Department declined to elaborate over the phone, saying she was currently abroad.

However, NUCC member and PAS MP Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said that aside from content, members were also concerned about the bill’s passage through Parliament.

He added the NUCC will seek public input before the bill goes before the Dewan Rakyat, putting the earliest date by December this year.

The 66-year-old law, which critics denounce as a government tool to silence dissent, continues to be used even today.

In the latest, senior DAP MP Teresa Kok was charged with sedition this week over her satirical video during Chinese New Year.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said  Kok’s sedition charge reflected the Najib’s administration’s failure in fulfilling its promises for reform.

“It is hypocritical to go after Teresa Kok for her satirical video. There are other parties like Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), still no action being taken against them,” the DAP lawmaker said, referring to the Islamist group’s controversial statement this week.

Its president, Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman, called the Chinese migration in the country a “mistake” that must be “rectified”.

But the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police were investigating Isma and has pledged stern action against those provoking racial tensions, following widespread uproar.

Najib, Rosmah Get Taste Of Orang Asli Life

GERIK, May 9 (Bernama) -- The visit to the Belum-Temenggor Rain Forest by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, provides the couple with an opportunity to experience the culture of the Orang Asli community there.

After opening Phase two of the Belum Rainforest Resort, Najib and wife, accompanied by several other VIPs, were taken to Kampung Budaya Orang Asli Tanjung Satu nearby.

They were welcomed by the Orang Asli from several villages in the area and then taken to see the handicraft products, like mat and basket made from mengkuang or screw-pine, produced by the community there for income.

Najib and Rosmah also visited a child centre where 10 Orang Asli children were taught to learn using the iPlay Toy Library approach, an initiative by the Emkay Foundation.

At the venue, Rosmah spent some time with the children and got them to eat banana dip in chocolate, which is a new experience for the Orang Asli children.

The prime minister and wife were then feted to a feast of the Orang Asli food, like grilled tapioca and fish and rice cooked in bamboo, followed by coffee served in bamboo cups.

Before leaving the Orang Asli community, Najib and Rosmah also spent some time with children participating in the Malaysian Green Ranger Camp, a programme to expose children to wildlife and environment conservation.

Why Muslims, too, are rejecting hudud

 

 I wrote these sentences on my Facebook status page this week:

“ …  SIMPLY PUT, ON THE HUDUD...

seriously speaking... i have a few questions:
you kidnap innocent girls and sell them, in the name of religion
you shoot girls in the face - those who only wish to go to schools
you rape women and put them on trial for immodest behaviour
you spew hatred towards people of other faiths and race
you ask those who disagree with you to leave the country
you do all these - in the name of protecting religion?
and now you wish to implement the hudud and force us to agree or you wage war against us?
what cult do you actually belong to? – ar

Malaysia is undergoing a rupture out of this growing complex debate on the Sharia law and the hudud. The Muslims are deeply divided on this issue, depending on how each understands the religion, judgments of who is more Muslim than others aside.

All Muslims are not created equal these days; each one is a complex construction of the history, culture, and politics of Islam. Even of the metaphysics of Islam. Most importantly education and socialisation are the twin pillars of this idea of ‘to have or not to have hudud’ or ‘to what extent must the Sharia law govern the lives of Muslims’.

Is a Muslim educated in Yemen, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, or even Indonesia, or even Kelantan, created as equal as those educated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Europe, Singapore, or even in Johor?

Which Muslim educated in which country and state has the right to impose the ideas of Sharia law and hudud more than those in other places?

Boko Haram Muslims in Malaysia?

Who has the right to say the ‘liberal Islam’ is less Islam than Boko Haram’s type of Islam? Why would Malays of the Islamic faith be kow-towing to the dictates of those other Malay-Muslim who not only are happy to be ignorant of Western foundational ideas but also think that because they are educated in Arab-speaking countries and louder in their chants for an Islamic state they have the right to speak about Islam and become guardians of the “morality of the ummah”?

What makes those calling for the implementation of a comprehensive Sharia, the hudud, en route to an ‘Islamic state’ think that all Muslims must also agree?

What makes them believe that these Malay-Muslims are not already fed-up and even nauseated by the urging for this or that type of ‘Islamic-ness’ which includes waging war on other races and religion in multicultural Malaysia - instead of waging peace and ensuring that Malaysia will not see the rise of Boko Haram’s type of Muslims?

Aren’t peace-loving Muslims in Malaysia more interested in having their children learn about diverse ideas to become world-wise citizens able to live is a complex and globalising world, rather than follow the urgings warning Muslims against ‘liberal ideas’ these Boko-Haram-inspired Muslims think only mean Western ideas that will turn human beings into lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals, and transgenders?

How obsessed with the libidinal and the sexual can these groups be?

Is that how much these Muslims understood what knowledge is about? Should we even care? Should progressive Muslims care when, in order to succeed in many ‘Western and infidel nations of liberal institutions of the advanced nations’ the foundational courses are all about ‘liberal ideas’?

Do you think these progressive Muslims are going to care about those ‘liberal-bashing’ Boko-Haram-inspired Muslims to discourage their children to even explore what ‘liberalism’ means?

And these ‘enemies of liberal ideas’ got their college/university degrees, did they not? Did they not learn about western and liberal ideas and pass their exams and at least learn a bit of good things about it?

This is a similar situation of the hypocrisy we see demonstrated in the case of those who oppose the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English. Many are distinguished professors who wrote their dissertations in English yet they are intoxicated by a strange out-of-whack nationalistic sentimentality, chose to produce hypocritical and damaging statements denying especially the Malay-Muslim children and youth of the importance of exploring liberal ideas and other languages including the English language; the lingua franca many of the Boko-Haram-type of Muslims would call “language of the infidels/kaffirs”.

Who need these kinds of Muslims and their urging for an ‘Islamic state’ when the stench of hypocrisy has filled the Malaysian air - like the poisoning of the sky through the Kuala Lumpur haze?

Think about it? - What actually is this hudud debate about? Who is benefitting from this?

Teach them well

Leave the fruitless debate on hudud and the Islamic state behind. They are not going to happen, most probably. Spend time and energy on good nation-building. Teach our children to make friends from people across cultures, religious beliefs, and the children of the wealthy having empathy over those working hard to get out of poverty.

Focus on getting our university students to create multicultural clubs and have loads of fun playing sports, playing music together, or simply have frequent teh tarik sessions together, and of course studying together and sharing and creating new knowledge together

If I were the education minister, these are the things I would work on and hold on to as top priority and not some ‘ranking’ of this or that or building more one-superior-race schools. I’d work on collaboration, cooperation, co-creation in everything - from the philosophy of education right till college teaching and learning and beyond.

We see time wasted on entertaining groups out to destroy each other in a Malaysia we all care for. We ought to be teaching each other to see life as a gift and to create a ‘state of peace’ in ourselves, our family, communities, and nation - rather than be obsessed in creating this or that ‘religious state’, in the process crafting a ‘we versus them’ enmity.

And some of you politicians have been the biggest culprits in nation-destroying rather than nation-building.

Aren’t we tired of all these?

So - where do we go from here?

---

DR AZLY RAHMAN, born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in four areas: Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored four books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), and the latest Dark Spring: Ideological Roots of Malaysia's GE-13 (2013). He currently resides in the United States. Twitter, blog.

Isma agrees to hudud for non-Muslims

Even before the dust has settled on the "Chinese are intruders" controversy, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has dropped another bombshell.

This time around, Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman agreed that  hudud law be applied to non-Muslims as well.

Responding to a question, he said this is to streamline civil and syariah laws in order to safeguard national security.

"I agree (for hudud to be implemented on non-Muslims).

"We can understand hudud from two aspects. For Muslims it is kifarah (absolving of sins) but for non-Muslims, they can consider it for the sake of national security."

"In matters involving public interest, it has to be implemented on all," he told a press conference in Bangi today.

Abdullah Zaik's suggestion appears also to sync with a recent statement by ex-mufti of Perlis Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, who similarly argued that for the sake of public safety's, a uniformed hudud law should apply to all.

But Abdullah Zaik said he would not tolerate non-Muslims having their say on hudud.

"For a non-Muslims to intervene in hudud, it is encroaching into Islam. They have no such right to do so.

"We respect their right to get rich but when we want to apply our religious rights, they say no.... What right do they have to block us? They have to be more mindful of others."

To a question, he explained that MCA's bid to reject hudud may just be an attempt to fish for votes.

"I won't take MCA's views seriously because in my opinion MCA is only trying their luck, for me they are testing the market," he said.

Ambiga: A 'Nazi-like' agenda at work

As certain groups are hell-bent on dividing the nation along racial and religious lines, former Bar Council president S Ambiga is convinced that an insidious hidden agenda is at work.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, she said the recent spate of incendiary remarks and incidents appeared to have been masterminded by an extremist, Nazi-like faction.

Ambiga refused to speculate on who were pulling the strings and also noted that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak seemed powerless to quell these destructive elements.

"We should not rise to the bait but at the same time, not sit back. We must speak our minds," she stressed.

Ambiga was commenting on the  statement by Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman (right) that Chinese Malaysians are "intruders" in this nation.

His statements drew flak from various leaders and groups, who also called for the authorities to charge Abdullah under the Sedition Act.

"While I don't believe in using the Sedition Act. However, I expect all leaders to make a decisive stand on this issue," Ambiga said.

"All leaders must show their disgust... I am not only talking about those in the ruling party, but also people like (opposition leader) Anwar Ibrahim," she added.

Peaceful resistance needed

The former Bersih chairperson said this concerned setting the tone for the nation.

"If we are interested in progress, there must be a basic standard of decency. We must speak our minds," she added.

Calling for peaceful resistance, Ambiga said that extremism must be countered with moderation.

"When they are aggressive, we must be peaceful. We must show them with our conduct. We must not descend to their level nor rise to their bait," she added.

Meanwhile, Ambiga also suggested that a survey to be conducted to determine if Isma represented the views of all Malay Muslims, as claimed by the movement.

"I believe otherwise. They are a minority who speak with loud voices," she added.

'Bukan mudah jatuh hukum hudud kepada bukan Islam'

Rescuing Nigerian girls risky, complicated

U.S. offers to help create 'coordination cell' to provide intelligence

By Faith Karimi CNN

The Boko Haram leader took credit this week for the Chibok kidnapping. "I abducted your girls," he taunted with a chilling smile. "There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell."

He operates in the shadows, leaving his underlings to orchestrate his repulsive mandates. And they have been busy. Days after his video surfaced, details emerged of another abduction of eight girls between ages 12 and 15 on Sunday night in the northeast. And a grisly assault on a local village left hundreds dead.

The bounty on his head may not help much

Shekau has been on the U.S. radar since he came to power five years ago. The United States offered a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to his location. But that may not yield immediate results.

"African warlord Joseph Kony's had a bounty for years. Osama bin Laden was not given up because of the $25 million bounty. And who knows whether this will be the case," said Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international correspondent.

310 people killed in latest Boko Haram attack

Witnesses say well-coordinated attack began shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time
 

ABUJA, Nigeria (CNN) —Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, whose country's effort to subdue Boko Haram has been largely ineffective, declared in a speech Thursday that the terror group's abductions of schoolgirls would be its undoing.

"I believe the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of the end for terror in Nigeria," he said at the opening of the World Economic Forum meeting in Abuja.

But the task of recovering the girls appeared to grow more complicated Thursday.

U.S. intelligence officials believe the 276 girls abducted last month have been separated, according to a senior U.S. official who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information.

The source declined to say how U.S. officials came to the conclusion.

Seven members of the U.S. military are scheduled to arrive Friday in Nigeria to join a team of advisers supporting the Nigerian efforts to rescue the girls, the official said. About 11 U.S. Africa Command advisers are already in country working with the Nigerian government, the official said.

Britain, France and China are also providing assistance.

The girls have not been seen since Boko Haram militants abducted them from a school in northern Nigeria April 14. Recently, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said he plans to sell them.

Now, the militants may be going after those trying to find the girls. On Thursday, Nigerian police said one officer was wounded in the neck during a gunfight with suspected Boko Haram militants on the road between Maiduguri and Chibok, where the schoolgirls were abducted April 14.

And on Monday, Boko Haram militants attacked Gamboru Ngala, a remote state capital near Nigeria's border with Cameroon that has been used as a staging ground for troops in the search for the girls. Some of the at least 310 victims were burned alive.

The assault fits a pattern of revenge-seeking by Boko Haram against those perceived to have provided aid to the Nigerian government.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said what's happening in Nigeria has "captured the public's attention about extremism in faraway places."

"And it has also helped to focus the world's attention on Boko Haram, a concern that we have been focused on for some period of time," he said. "Our interagency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working in concert with President Goodluck Jonathan's government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls to their families and their communities."

The latest assault

Witnesses described the Gamboru Ngala attack as a well-coordinated onslaught that began shortly after 1:30 p.m. Monday at a busy outdoor market in the town.

Wearing military uniforms, the militants arrived with three armored personnel carriers, villagers said.

The attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar" -- "God is great" -- and opened up on the market, firing rocket-propelled grenades into the crowd and tossing improvised explosive devices, witnesses said.

Some marketgoers tried to take shelter in shops only to be burned alive when the gunmen set fire to a number of the businesses, the witnesses said.

A few Nigerian soldiers who had been left behind at the village could not hold off the assault and were forced to flee, they said. Many sought safe haven in nearby Cameroon.

The fighters also attacked the police station during the 12-hour assault, initially facing stiff resistance. They eventually used explosives to blow the roof off the building, witnesses said. They said 14 police officers were found dead inside.

Residents who returned to the village said they found 310 bodies.

International effort

The attack came about three weeks after militants snatched the 276 girls from their beds at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok.

And Sunday night, villagers in Warabe said Boko Haram militants snatched at least eight girls between the ages of 12 and 15.

Amid the growing international outrage, world leaders lined up to provide assistance.

The United States is sending a team of law enforcement experts and military advisers. France said Thursday that it would send a "specialized team" to help. The British government is also sending a small team, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said. Neither country said exactly what expertise their teams would bring.

British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used, and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network, the Nigerian government said.

It's unlikely U.S. combat troops would be involved in operations against Boko Haram, U.S. officials told CNN Wednesday.

Nigerian police also announced a reward of about $310,000 for information leading to the girls' rescue.

'I will sell women'

The increased global response came after a chilling video described what may happen to the girls.

A man claiming to be Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, made the following claim:

"I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah," he said. "There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women."

Boko Haram translates to "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language. The group has said it wants a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

The militants have even been known to kill Muslim clerics who dare criticize them.

The United States has branded Boko Haram a terror organization and has put a $7 million bounty on Shekau. But his location is as uncertain as the whereabouts of the girls.

Perkasa says will take Putrajaya to court if ‘race’ dropped from official forms - TMI

Malay rights group Perkasa said today that it was prepared to take Putrajaya to court if the
government drops the "race" column in official forms.

Its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali (pic) said the NGO will hire law firms if the suggestion is taken up by Putrajaya, and will prove that it was contradictory to the Federal Constitution.

"Perkasa will bring this to court to declare that the removal of race identity goes against the Constitution.

"We are in the midst of researching the matter in-depth and carefully," he said in a statement.

Ibrahim said the Cabinet was free to make any decisions but it should not violate the Constitution.

"Perkasa will fight this through legal means till the end," the former Pasir Mas MP said in response to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun’s announcement yesterday, that the government had studied the matter and decided to do away with the "race" column in stages.

Belaun had said that for now, the column would be dropped if it is found not adding value, such as forms for the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) and housing loan scheme for the low-income group.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, however, has denied this, saying there was no plan to drop the "race" column in official forms.

"The statement is inaccurate. We did discuss it in the cabinet but our decision was to let it remain," he told reporters in Taiping today.

Najib reportedly said the column for race was needed to ensure "every community is given fair consideration" and not left out from government policies.

Malay daily Berita Harian quoted Najib as saying that Joseph will release a statement to correct his statement. – May 8, 2014.

Who’s in charge? Najib or Ibrahim, asks DAP

  

The 'race' column in government forms is still needed, says the prime minister. 

– The Malaysian Insider pic, May 8, 2014.

Who is running Putrajaya – Perkasa or Barisan Nasional? DAP has asked, following the prime minister’s decision to maintain the "race" column in official government forms, backtracking from an earlier announcement by a minister that it will be removed in stages.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today questioned whether Datuk Seri Najib Razak or Malay rights group Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali was in charge of the federal government.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun said Putrajaya had decided to do away with "race" in stages.

However, Ibrahim threatened to take legal action opposing Putrajaya's decision to drop the "race" column from official government forms, claiming it was a violation of the Federal Constitution.

Today, Najib said there were no plans to drop "race".

"The statement is inaccurate. We did discuss it in the cabinet but our decision was to let it remain," the prime minister had said.

Najib reportedly said "race" was still needed to ensure "every community is given fair consideration" and not left out from government policies.

Lim said Najib's announcement on a subject, which had no value, raised questions on whether BN or Perkasa was running Putrajaya.

"Joseph Entulu meant well with his announcement yesterday as the 'race' column does not add value in forms such as 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M)," Lim said.

"Removing 'race' would be a step forward towards creating a single national identity."

Yet after more than 50 years of independence, organisations, such as Perkasa, were still tearing the social fabric of national unity, Lim said in a statement.

He said extremist and racist groups like Perkasa had acquired such prominence that they enjoyed legal immunity for making violent remarks against non-Muslims.

"Not only do they make inflammatory remarks, but they appear to also influence government policies and decision-making at ministerial levels," Lim said. – May 8, 2014.

Chinese press slams Isma over ‘trespassers’ remark

Chinese-language newspapers today trained their guns at Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), calling it an “extreme rightist group like Perkasa, based on racism and narrow-minded religious views” after its president declared all Chinese migrants brought to Malaya to be “trespassers”.

The police investigation against Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman (pic) for his allegedly seditious remarks was featured on the front pages of Oriental Daily and Sin Chew Daily, following Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s confirmation that Abdullah would be probed under the Sedition Act.

An editorial published in Sin Chew Daily entitled "Citizens of equal status, not trespassers" described Isma as an "extreme rightist group like Perkasa".

“Abdullah Zaik takes the Chinese as ‘trespassers’ instead of citizens of equal status and he has also been trying to deny the contribution of the Chinese in the formation of the country,” the editorial said.

“He claimed that the Chinese obtained citizenship and wealth through oppression and bullying others.

“Such a distorted argument is not only slander to the Chinese, but also a provocation against the national idea… calling the Chinese ‘trespassers’ not only hurt the feelings and dignity of Malaysian Chinese, but also misled the perception of some Malays,” Sin Chew said.

It said the “trespassers” remark was even more “lethal” than “immigrant” labels thrown at the Chinese community in the past, as it showed a stronger intention to stir up racial sentiments.

The daily lauded police action taken against Abdullah, but warned that if such remarks were allowed to ferment, it would destroy national harmony and trust.

“The people are waiting to see whether he will be charged after the investigation is completed. If he is only investigated but not charged, it will not have a deterrent effect.

“No legal action has been taken against those involved in similar cases in the past and thus, various sensational and extreme remarks have been made, challenging the rule of law, harming social harmony and unity, and victimising the country and the people,” said Sin Chew.

It also called on leaders from both sides of the political divide to publicly oppose Isma, as it would convey a message to society that Malaysia must remain united and harmonious to maintain stability and promote progress.

Yesterday, MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong slammed Isma for its remark, saying it was dangerous to society and could elicit a negative reaction from the Chinese community.

“It’s bad, it’s unacceptable, and the authorities should investigate Isma. In fact, this investigation is overdue and the police would know best which law to investigate them under,” the Ayer Keroh MP told The Malaysian Insider.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also condemned Isma’s “dangerous lies” which he said preached religious and racial extremism.

The party’s national organising secretary Anthony Loke said yesterday that DAP members would lodge police reports nationwide against Isma and its president.

On Tuesday, Abdullah had asked on Isma's website: ‎"Who gave them (the Chinese) citizenship and wealth until the results of their trespassing are protected until this day?

"This was all the doing of the British, who were in cohorts with the Chinese to oppress and bully the Malays."

Abdullah also said this was a mistake which had to be corrected but he did not say how.

"Nobody has the right to mortgage the sovereignty of Islam and the Malays on this land,” he said in a statement posted on the website. – May 8, 2014.

Isma now labels Chinese as ‘extremists’ for opposing hudud

After the Chinese were told that they are "trespassers", a preacher is asking if they can be called "extremists" as well for allegedly interfering in matters related to Islam.

The preacher, Ustaz Sharipudin Ab Kadir, who heads the Syura Council of Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and the group's Pasir Puteh branch, wrote in his column on Isma's website that the Chinese were uneasy with the Malays.

He questioned why they interfered in matters related to Islam, which was the religion of the Malays.

"Why do DAP and MCA, which are Chinese parties, fighting hudud when its implementation only affects Muslims? Is this not overstepping their boundary and does it not show the extreme nature of the Chinese?

"Why do they stand in the way of the wishes of the Malays to practise their religion in their own country, when the Malays have never interfered or curbed them from practising their religions?

"Why are they so insolent towards the Malays when the Malays have accorded them such a high degree of respect?"

Sharipudin asked if the Chinese were actually using that as a strategy to realise the "Nam Thien" slogan of their forefathers, which refers to the "southern invasion” of the Chinese into Southeast Asia.

He said the Malays had allowed other races to live in peace in Malaysia, even though they themselves were marginalised when the country was heading towards independence.

He said the Malays were "homeless" in their own land.

"The British gave each Malay family an acre of land to plant padi. Their children studied only up to Standard Six, except for the children of the rich.

"For 500 years, the Malay race had been sidelined in all areas of life but they still shared the wealth of the country with the migrant races, even when they were often betrayed.

"How unfortunate that the migrants fail to respect the Malays, except in matters that are profitable to them," he said.

Isma had, of late, been targeting the Chinese and non-Muslims in Malaysia as the hudud issue escalates.

On May 1, Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman (pic) questioned the contributions of non-Muslims to the country that gave them the right to make demands.

On Tuesday, Zaik called the Chinese, who came to Tanah Melayu with the British, "trespassers" and accused them of being in cohorts with the colonial power to bully the Malays.

He also questioned the citizenship and wealth given to the Chinese and said it was all a mistake that needed to be rectified, although he did not say how. – May 8, 2014.

Lawyers cry foul as 3 more activists are to be recharged under assembly law tomorrow - TMI

  

Badrul Hisham Shaharin @ Chegubard (centre) and two other activists are to be recharged tomorrow under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 with the same 'offence' – a move described by lawyers as ‘unhealthy and dangerous trend’. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, May 8, 2014.

It is wrong of the Attorney-General to recharge any person for an offence that does not exist following a superior court ruling, criminal lawyers said, as three more activists are expected to be charged again tomorrow under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 with the same "offence".

The lawyers said Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail must respect and follow the rule of law, and should wait for the outcome of his appeal in the Federal Court before taking the next course of action.

On April 25, the Court of Appeal declared that a rally organiser could not be penalised for a peaceful assembly as such gathering was constitutional.

The A-G is appealing the decision.

Earlier this week, Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was recharged under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for failing to provide authorities with a 10-day notice over the Black 505 rally held at the Kelana Jaya stadium in May last year.

Tomorrow, Badrul Hisham Shaharin @ Chegubard, Edy Nor Reduan and Mohamed Bukhairy Mohamed Sofian will be recharged under the PAA for failing to give the authorities a 10-day notice of last year's Turun rally held at Dataran Merdeka on New Year's Eve.

Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen said the three were served the summons yesterday.

They were first charged on January 29 but were given a discharge on April 28 by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

"By ignoring the Court of Appeal ruling, Gani is in serious contempt of court," Paulsen said.

On Tuesday, the Sessions Court threw out the charge against Nik Nazmi, saying it was bound by the ruling of the superior court, and gave Nik Nazmi a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

Lawyer Datuk V. Sithambaram said judge Yasmin Abdul Razak should have acquitted Nik Nazmi for he was charged with an offence which no longer existed.

"By striking out the punishable section in the PAA , the Court of Appeal does not recognise the offence.”

He said the issue of punishing a person twice for the same offence did not arise as the court had ruled that the punishment for failure to give notice before organising a rally no longer existed in the statute book.

"It is the A-G’s prerogative to appeal to the Federal Court but until then the Court of Appeal ruling must be respected.”

Criminal law lecturer Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu the second attempt to prosecute Nik Nazmi revealed an unhealthy and dangerous trend by the prosecution.

"Going by what the A-G's Chamber's has done, an unhealthy and dangerous trend is emerging and this is not good for the criminal justice system," he said.

Baljit, who also practises law, said public confidence in the system would erode if the executive, legislature and judiciary were inconsistent in their actions. – May 8, 2014.

MCA kaji kedudukan dalam BN jika Umno sokong hudud

BN portal: MCA hudud stance 'biadap'

 

Fissures among BN parties over the hudud issue appear to be widening with the BN Backbenchers' Council running a scathing editorial against MCA in its website.

In the editorial on their official site BNBBC.my entitled 'No need for MCA to also wail about hudud like the DAP', MCA was labelled “biadap” (insolent) for openly opposing hudud.

“It doesn't matter if PAS or Umno proposes (hudud), DAP will maintain its stance against it...

“However, when MCA, a component party in the BN also questions it, then we have ask the Chinese party's motive, especially when its deputy president Wee Ka Siong (left) makes public statements about reviewing MCA's position in the BN,” the editorial read.

It added that Wee, who is “speculated to be filling a cabinet post soon”, spoke as if MCA is a dominant party in the BN “without respecting Umno”.

The article also said MCA does not even consider the fact that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is still offering cabinet posts to MCA despite the latter's poor showing in the 13th general election.

“MCA should not jump up or try to be a hero...in fighting for the Chinese community.

"The rakyat knows, DAP is more successful than MCA,” it said.

“MCA need not pretend or threaten to seek support of thousands to surround the Parliament to stop hudud as only a handful of Chinese voters still trust the party.”

It also advised MCA to “keep its silence” if it disagrees, instead of “stabbing” Umno by openly opposing hudud.

Wee blames Malaysiakini

Meanwhile in a separate article BNBBC.my quoted Wee saying Malaysiakini had “twisted” his remark at a forum yesterday regarding MCA's position in BN.

“I said that 'if we are not meant to be' (tidak ada jodoh), but we did so diplomatically. I never said if (Umno) agrees to hudud, we will leave the BN. I never did.

“I said, if that happened, we will discuss our position, not that we will leave BN..

“Malaysiakini twisted what I said. The more I speak to Malaysiakini the more I get walloped.

"This is why I don't answer or say anything to Malaysiakini,” Wee was quoted saying.

Malaysiakini yesterday reported Wee saying MCA may review MCA's position in BN if Umno supports hudud.

MCA has been vehemently opposing Kelantan's move to table a Private Members Bill at the next Parliament sitting in order to allow the state to implement the hudud enactment first passed at state level in 1993.

However it has remained painfully silent on Umno's role in encouraging PAS Kelantan and vocally supporting the move.

Don't shoot your mouth off, Isma warns MIC man

 

Furious that S Vell Paari likened the organisation to a sexually transmitted disease, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has told the MIC leader not to shoot his mouth off.

Isma vice-president Abdul Rahman Mat Dali (right) was also furious with Vell Paari for describing his organisation as a “clown who is not amusing”.

"It is better for him to keep quiet and not make ridiculous remarks.

"And he should also not get involved in issues which do not concern him,” Rahman is quoted as saying by Ismaweb.

However, he said the remarks of the MIC director of strategy were extreme and could be considered as challenging Isma and all Malay Muslims.

"What he said reveals that he is the one who is sick and a clown. I would also say that he is being childish," Rahman added.

Vell Paari had lambasted Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abdullah Rahman for calling the Chinese "intruders" in response to the community's opposition to the implementation of hudud.

Abdullah Zaik had also said the ancestors of Chinese Malaysians were "in cahoots with the British to oppress the Malays."

Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told Malaysiakini that the Isma president's remarks are being investigated under the Sedition Act.

'Sedition transmitting disease'

Responding to Isma's criticism, Vell Paari laughed it off, saying: "I am trembling with fear."

"On a serious note, I still believe that Isma is a STD.

"But it is not a sexually transmitted disease but rather, a sedition transmitting disease," he told Malaysiakini.

Vell Paari also said that the issue was of concern to him because unlike Isma, he believes in national unity.

"So they think I am childish... Well I am sure their statements exhibit the highest level of maturity and wisdom that would even put great intellectuals to shame.

"And when given a taste of their own medicine, Isma finds it a bitter pill to swallow," he added.

Vell Paari also disagreed that his comments were a challenge to all Malay Muslims, saying that Isma's views are not supported by all Malay Muslims.

PM: Race column will remain in govt forms

Prime Minister Najib says that the Cabinet has decided to keep the column in line with existing policy and practise.

TAIPING: The Cabinet has not decided to do away with the ‘race’ column in government official forms, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said today.

He said there had been no change in the government policy pertaining to the forms.

“We (the Cabinet) discussed the matter and the decision was to retain the existing policy and practice,” he told reporters after opening the Taiping Umno building here, reported Bernama.

The media today reported quoting Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Joseph Entulu Belaun that the Cabinet had decided to drop the ‘race’ column in government official forms that had no value added.

Najib said he had been informed that Entulu would issue a statement of apology over the mistake.

“For the sake of statistics, we need it (the race column). Otherwise, we will not have the statistics (by race),” he said.

The prime minister said the statistics by race was necessary to facilitate government monitoring of the progress of every community in the country.

“It is the responsibility of the government to do whatever it can for any community left behind to ensure a balance in the distribution of wealth and opportunities in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malay rights group Perkasa is grateful that Najib has denied that the government plans to write off the race column in the government official forms.

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, in a statement today, insisted that Perkasa will not hesitate to bring matters like this to court.

“Whatever the government wants to do, it should not violate the constitution,” he said.

Ibrahim said Perkasa has hired two law firms to study the case with the intention of taking the government to court if it continued with its plans.

Gerakan: Don’t fall for Perkasa’s empty threats

Responding to Perkasa’s threat to sue the government over the matter, Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang the Malay right-wing movement was wrong in saying the removal of the ‘race’ column would be unconstitutional.

“There’s no provision in the Federal Constitution that makes it mandatory for the government to include the ‘race’ column in all official forms.

“We would like to reiterate that the insertion of the ‘race’ column in official forms is at the discretion of the government,” he said today.

He reminded Perkasa not to make empty threats if “they can’t even state which provision in the Federal Constitution that make it compulsory to insert ‘race’ column”.

He added that Gerakan Youth believed that the removal of the ‘race’ column in official forms was the way forward for Malaysia.

Isma man cries ‘double standard’ over police report

An activist says Malaysia needs more people like Abdullah Zaik to stand up against non-Malays.

PETALING JAYA: An activist of Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) today accused critics of the organisation’s leader of practising a double standard in calling for his punishment under the Sedition Act.

“These are the same people who cried foul whenever their leaders were convicted for seditious remarks,” said Zaizul Azizi Zaman in a comment on the current outcry over Isma president Abdullah Zaik’s remark that the forefathers of Chinese Malaysians were “intruders” into the country.

“Now they want to use this very same act to silence the voice that merely quoted from an academic publication.”

In making the offending remark, Abdullah had referred to Rubert Emerson’s Malaysia: A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule, published in 1937.

Zaizul said Abdullah’s statement was long overdue because the Malays had been too complacent, allowing others to take advantage of their leaders’ lack of political will.

“There should be more people like Abdullah Zaik and more NGO’s like Isma,” he said.

“It is good indeed that someone is finally using facts to stand up and call a spade a spade.

“We’ve been too accommodating. We’ve allowed the non-Malays to be too outspoken in their publications and electronic media, degrading and criticising everything controlled by Malays.

“We are always associated with negativity.”

Meanwhile, Abdullah has posted an article on ISMAweb in which he accused DAP of being chauvinistic and questioned its decision to make a police report over his earlier remark.

“DAP is battling for democracy and freedom of speech,” he said. “Yet it seems that they’re only doing it for the benefit of their own community. When we voice out our rights, they immediately make a police report.

“Do they think that it will stop Isma and silence other Islamic NGO’s?”

MIC blames Najib for delay in senate appointments

Palanivel has allegedly told the party's CWC that the Prime Minister confused him.

PETALING JAYA: MIC President G Palanivel has blamed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over the delay in appointing senators from the party, according to a member of the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC).

Palanivel made the accusation at an emergency meeting of the CWC yesterday, the source told FMT today.

He allegedly said Najib had confused him on the appointments.

According to the source, he made the remark in response to a question posed by party vice president M Saravanan.

“Answering a question raised by Saravanan over the delay in filling up the three vacant senator positions, Palanivel said the appointment process was delayed because of Najib.”

The source also said Palanivel told the meeting MIC had been allocated six positions in the senate, not seven as reported in the media.

Three of the positions are now held by former party secretary-general Jaspal Singh and CWC members V Subramaniam and A Sivapakiam. Their terms end next month.

The source said Palanivel did not mention the extra senate seat promised to MIC after it withdrew from contesting for a Perak state seat in the last general election to make way for an Umno candidate.

Palanivel said last week that the new senators from MIC would be sworn in during the coming Dewan Negara sitting in June. That statement appears to have been overtaken by what he allegedly told the CWC yesterday.

Yesterday’s alleged statement also contradicted earlier news reports that quoted him as claiming to have the final say in appointments of MIC members to the senate.

“Now we are confused,” said the source. “How is it possible for Najib to confuse Palanivel when the party president has the prerogative to give the names to the PM? Or is he trying to confuse everyone else?”

The source also said Palanivel had promised senate positions to more than 50 MIC leaders.

“I believe it is Najib who has been confused by Palanivel,” he added.

‘UiTM seminar detrimental, un-Islamic’

1Malaysia Foundation director, Chandra Muzaffar, says the seminar was conducted in a manner contrary to the Islamic faith.

PETALING JAYA: The UiTM seminar on Islam and Christianity is un-Islamic and detrimental to inter-racial and inter religious ties in Malaysia, said 1Malaysia Foundation director, Chandra Muzaffar.

“What they said is detrimental and inimical to inter-racial and inter-religious ties of various communities and the nation. It is also against values espoused by Islam.

“Islam does not condone attacks on other faiths,” said Chandra, and quoted Chapter 49, Verse 13 of the Quran to show that Islam embraces diversity.

In the day-long seminar on the topic of Islam and Christianity, various speakers advocated several points to 1,000 people who were present in UiTM on Tuesday.

One speaker outlined 10 reasons why Christians should convert to Islam. Another praised Malaysia for banning the word ‘Allah’ from being used by non-Muslims.

Another warned that the number of Christians would overtake that of Muslims in Malaysia by 2100 and yet another forbade Muslims from celebrating New Year and wishing Merry X’mas.

There were also claims that Christian priests disguised themselves as football coaches here to spread Christianity. Reportedly, about a dozen students converted to Islam after the seminar.

Islam against forced conversions

Chandra also condemned the alleged forced conversions that took place involving 12 non-Muslim Bumiputera students from UiTM.

“Islam is specifically against coercion in matters of faith and this is clearly stated in the Quran,” he said, citing Surah al-Baqarah, Verse 256.

Islamic Renaissance Front director Ahmad Farouk Musa, meanwhile, dismissed claims that Christians would outnumber Muslims by 2100.

“Islam is the fastest growing religion worldwide. What are their claims based on? Going by their xenophobic statements, I wouldn’t be surprised even if Muslims no longer want to be recognised as Muslims,” said Ahmad Farouk.

“They only serve to create xenophobia towards the Christians,” he added.

He also said that during parliament sitting in March this year, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said that there were no Muslims who had converted to Christianity for over a decade.

“On the contrary, the seminar did not come up with any statistics to back the claim that the number of Christians would overtake the number of Muslims,” he added.

MCA should requisition for an emergency BN Supreme Council meeting for a policy decision to be taken on hudud as 11 or even 12 of the 13 component BN parties would oppose any hudud implementation

By Lim Kit Siang

The Barisan Nasional BackBenchers Club (BNBBC) comprising Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament have sprung a surprise on its website, lambasting MCA and advising MCA leaders that they “should not spew nonsense or act as a hero as if trying to show the Chinese community that it fights for them” over the controversial hudud issue.

In an anonymous opinion piece on the BNBBC portal, MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong was called “rude” for suggesting yesterday that the party will consider its membership in the ruling coalition should Umno continue to support hudud.

The BNBBC stand is a surprise as the question that is inevitably asked is whether it represents the views of all 133 BN MPs, i.e. 88 from UMNO, 14 from PBB, 7 from MCA, 6 from Sarawak People’s Party (PRS), 4 each from MIC, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Parti Demokratik Progresif Sarawak (SPDB); 3 from UPKO; 1 each from Gerakan, SUPP and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) or just the views of the 88 UMNO MPs.

If the BNBBC anonymous opinion piece does not represent the consensus views of all the BN MPs, will the seven MCA MPs ask the BNBBC portal to publish an open retraction and apology?

Or will the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the MCA Deputy President Datuk Wee Ka Siong just keep quiet as they do not want to jeopardise the three ministerial and five deputy ministerial seats the MCA leadership is hoping to get when there is a Cabinet reshuffle and MCA returns to the BN Cabinet and government before the reconvening of Parliament on 9th June?

In fact, this will be a crucial test whether to the MCA leaders, particularly to Liow and Wee, despite all the “hot air” the MCA is blowing recently, they are prepared to forgo all the three ministerial and five deputy ministerial seats on an important principle.

What Liow and Wee should do is to act on the advice of the former MCA President Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek and immediately requisition for an emergency Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting for a policy decision to be taken on hudud, as out of the 13 BN component parties, 11 or even 12 of them would oppose any implementation of hudud, whether PAS or UMNO.

Will this be on the immediate agenda of Liow and Wee?