Sunday 12 October 2014
4,000 girls kidnapped by Islamic state in Sinjar and sold as slaves. Women found raped and hanged from a pipe by cable wire
Young widow chooses suicide over marriage to Isis commander
Nicola Smith, Baghdad
The Yazidis are at risk (Adam Ferguson)
Nada Qasim, 20, had been a widow for 40 days when she put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Her suicide was prompted not by her husband’s death, but by her father’s attempt to make her marry a commander in Isis.
Nada’s story provides a glimpse of the cruelty Isis reserves for women amid growing reports of forced marriages, sexual slavery, kidnapping and young girls being bartered between fighters.
In a dusty, rundown suburb of Baghdad, her sister Fatima recalled how a “happy, loving” young woman’s life had unravelled after her 21-year-old husband Adil, a police officer, was shot dead in June while fighting to protect the Shi’ite town of Amerli from the Sunni terrorists.
“Nada did not see the body and she was so shocked that she would not believe that he was dead,” said Fatima. “She cried all night cuddling a bird that he kept as a pet. Over the next days she could not talk because she was so sad.”
Her misery was compounded when her father, a Sunni who had cut her off for marrying a Shi’ite, telephoned to say an Isis commander would marry her the next day on the outskirts of the town.
Nada was horrified. The women of Amerli had been living in fear of Isis after hearing reports of atrocities in the neighbouring Shi’ite village of Payshir.
“Many young men ran to Amerli and told us they [Isis] had taken their wives and daughters,” said Fatima. “When they returned they found 15 women who had been raped and then hanged from a pipe by cable wire.”
Nada is thought to have gone into shock after her father’s call. “Early in the morning we heard a huge sound in our home. We ran to Nada’s room and saw that she had shot herself in the head,” Fatima said.
Amerli’s traumas have been repeated in other parts of northern Iraq under Isis occupation. In several villages, men have reportedly been lined up and executed while their wives and children have been abducted and trafficked across the country.
Bedal Al-Yas Khder, the chairman of a charity helping the Yazidi minority, which has been besieged by Isis in its ancient homeland of Sinjar, estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 women and girls have been kidnapped by militants to be sold as brides or abused as slaves. Witnesses from Sinjar claim young women have been separated from their families and driven away in lorries and buses.
Last week Amnesty International accused Isis of carrying out a systematic campaign of “ethnic cleansing” against the Yazidis, including the abduction of “hundreds, if not thousands” of women and children. Wealthy Yazidi businessmen have been trying to negotiate their release, offering to buy them back but with little success.
Anwar Darweesh, the owner of a trading company, said he had paid £3,000 to a taxi driver to help rescue two female cousins, aged 15 and 16, who were being held prisoner in Fallujah, Anbar province, and who had managed to contact relatives by phone.
After buying the girls safe passage to Baghdad, Darweesh secured a flight for them back to Erbil, northern Iraq, to be reunited with their families. “I did not ask them what happened inside the house. I did not want to break their hearts,” he said.
Dawood Shammo Kheder, a Baghdad hotel owner who helped to rescue eight girls said that three had since committed suicide.
“Two threw themselves off of Mount Sinjar, and one burnt herself alive. It is very hard for girls to face society after being raped,” he said.
The Yazidis are at risk (Adam Ferguson)
Nada Qasim, 20, had been a widow for 40 days when she put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Her suicide was prompted not by her husband’s death, but by her father’s attempt to make her marry a commander in Isis.
Nada’s story provides a glimpse of the cruelty Isis reserves for women amid growing reports of forced marriages, sexual slavery, kidnapping and young girls being bartered between fighters.
In a dusty, rundown suburb of Baghdad, her sister Fatima recalled how a “happy, loving” young woman’s life had unravelled after her 21-year-old husband Adil, a police officer, was shot dead in June while fighting to protect the Shi’ite town of Amerli from the Sunni terrorists.
“Nada did not see the body and she was so shocked that she would not believe that he was dead,” said Fatima. “She cried all night cuddling a bird that he kept as a pet. Over the next days she could not talk because she was so sad.”
Her misery was compounded when her father, a Sunni who had cut her off for marrying a Shi’ite, telephoned to say an Isis commander would marry her the next day on the outskirts of the town.
Nada was horrified. The women of Amerli had been living in fear of Isis after hearing reports of atrocities in the neighbouring Shi’ite village of Payshir.
“Many young men ran to Amerli and told us they [Isis] had taken their wives and daughters,” said Fatima. “When they returned they found 15 women who had been raped and then hanged from a pipe by cable wire.”
Nada is thought to have gone into shock after her father’s call. “Early in the morning we heard a huge sound in our home. We ran to Nada’s room and saw that she had shot herself in the head,” Fatima said.
Amerli’s traumas have been repeated in other parts of northern Iraq under Isis occupation. In several villages, men have reportedly been lined up and executed while their wives and children have been abducted and trafficked across the country.
Bedal Al-Yas Khder, the chairman of a charity helping the Yazidi minority, which has been besieged by Isis in its ancient homeland of Sinjar, estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 women and girls have been kidnapped by militants to be sold as brides or abused as slaves. Witnesses from Sinjar claim young women have been separated from their families and driven away in lorries and buses.
Last week Amnesty International accused Isis of carrying out a systematic campaign of “ethnic cleansing” against the Yazidis, including the abduction of “hundreds, if not thousands” of women and children. Wealthy Yazidi businessmen have been trying to negotiate their release, offering to buy them back but with little success.
Anwar Darweesh, the owner of a trading company, said he had paid £3,000 to a taxi driver to help rescue two female cousins, aged 15 and 16, who were being held prisoner in Fallujah, Anbar province, and who had managed to contact relatives by phone.
After buying the girls safe passage to Baghdad, Darweesh secured a flight for them back to Erbil, northern Iraq, to be reunited with their families. “I did not ask them what happened inside the house. I did not want to break their hearts,” he said.
Dawood Shammo Kheder, a Baghdad hotel owner who helped to rescue eight girls said that three had since committed suicide.
“Two threw themselves off of Mount Sinjar, and one burnt herself alive. It is very hard for girls to face society after being raped,” he said.
Child abuse policy at school run by Muslim hardliner was based on sharia: Islamic scholars were to be consulted in welfare cases
- Leicester school under scrutiny for citing sharia in child welfare cases
- Al-Aqsa was founded by Ibrahim Hewitt, an Islamist fundamentalist
- He has said in the past that homosexuals should be lashed
- At Al-Aqsa Islamic scholars are involved in child protection concerns
- Ofsted sent into the £1,800-a-year school after MoS exposed Hewitt's views
A school run by a Muslim hardliner was citing sharia in its child protection policies, it emerged yesterday.
Ofsted inspectors found that Al-Aqsa school in Leicester operated on the basis that ‘Ulama’ – Islamic scholars – should be consulted in child abuse and welfare cases, as well as ‘relevant outside agencies’.
The school – founded by Ibrahim Hewitt, an Islamist fundamentalist who says homosexuals should be lashed – declared ‘sharia and the law of the land will be the prime arbiters in child protection concerns’.
This raised the prospect of a different level of protection for Muslim children, said critics.
Ofsted made it clear only British law should be followed.
The school then revised its protection policy to exclude references to sharia law.
Ofsted had been sent into the £1,800-a-year independent school, which has 260 pupils aged three to 13, after the Department for Education ordered an inspection following the exposure of Hewitt’s extremist views by The Mail on Sunday earlier this year.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2789447/child-abuse-policy-school-run-muslim-hardliner-based-sharia-islamic-scholars-consulted-welfare-cases.html
Non-Malays provoked us into calling for vernacular schools to be shut down, says Perkasa
The Malays have been provoked into calling for vernacular schools to be abolished, said Datuk Ibrahim Ali who blamed non-Malays for constantly challenging the community’s special rights that are enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
The Perkasa president said the Malays would not be interfering in the rights of other races if they respected the Malays' special position, as guaranteed in the constitution.
"These suggestions (to close vernacular schools) are emerging because they (the Malays) feel that as Malays, their rights that are guaranteed in the constitution are being disturbed by other races.
"All this time, the position of Islam as the religion of the federation, Bahasa Melayu, the sovereignty of the rulers and the special rights of the Malays, are being challenged by certain quarters despite the fact that they are enshrined in the constitution," he told The Malaysian Insider.
MCA Youth yesterday said the rights of the Chinese and Indians to study their mother tongues in vernacular schools not be challenged, adding that the school system was not an obstacle to national unity.
MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon had said that non-Chinese students studying at Chinese primary schools throughout the country now comprised 12% of the total number of students, meaning that the vernacular schools were now more diverse than national schools.
On October 5, Umno Petaling Jaya Utara division deputy head Mohamad Azli Mohamed Saad had reportedly said that the party's general assembly next month should debate whether Chinese vernacular schools should be abolished.
This, he said, was because Chinese schools were being used by the opposition to breed racial and anti-government sentiments.
Cheras Umno division chief Datuk Seri Syed Ali Al Habshee reiterated the call on October 7, urging the government to abolish vernacular schools and to set up a single-stream school system which, he said, could help in fostering national unity in the country.
He had said that abolishing single-stream schools was not meant to kill off the mother tongue of other races, but they could also learn those languages in national schools.
Ibrahim said the proposals were raised in response to the non-Malays repeatedly challenging the constitution.
"They disturb this, they challenge it. They say we are backwards, that we should be equal in this day and change. They challenge all sorts of things.
"When they challenge us, they say it is a basic human and democratic right, even though it is in the constitution," said Ibrahim.
He said those who attempted to remind the public of the articles in the constitution were condemned and even labelled as racists.
Ibrahim said non-Malay parties were not practising what they preached on equality as they still championed the vernacular school system.
"Those who defend the constitution are accused of being racists. They say there is no more race-based politics because they wish to abolish Bumiputera rights.
"They also say they disagree with the Sedition Act, yet they lodge a report against Azli under that same act," said Ibrahim. – October 12, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/non-malays-provoked-us-into-calling-for-vernacular-schools-to-be-shut-down#sthash.jytySUo5.dpuf
It's Islam on top, kafir below, reminds Isma
An Isma activist by the name of ‘Rijal’ said that the history of mankind had shown how the world had become prosperous when Islam was in power for 1,300 years.
“Before and after that era, the world suffered due to oppression, murder, exploitation, manipulation by the media as well as deterioration in morals and culture,” said Rijal, at ismaweb.net.
He also said that the disunity among Muslims in Malaysia, due to hoping for non-Malay votes, had led to Islam’s status to be questioned by the non-Muslims.
“At
the same time, the non-Muslims are free to engage in out-of wedlock sex
and revel in beer festivals openly. They are even defended by some
Muslims.”Pointing out how the principle of ‘Islam on top of kafir’ is best shown in Saudi Arabia, he said non-Muslims in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam do not have alcohol parties, fight the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, or question the position of Islam.
“If Islam is strong in Malaysia, then non-Muslims will have no choice but to conform to the rules,” he said, adding that ‘Islam on top while kafir below’ is needed for the wellbeing of humanity.
He further explained that the ‘Islam on top’ principle obligates all Muslims to reach a consensus to strengthen the position of Islam.
“It is still not too late to ensure Islam’s position continues to be protected,’ he said.
PM: Don't ask from us, then support Pakatan
Prime Minister Najib Razak said the Chinese
community should not make demands of the government if it then goes on
to support the opposition.
"I like to do more (for the Chinese community), maybe one day I can do more, but I also need the Chinese community to support BN, come on.
"You
have to do your part, you cannot demand and then support DAP, you
cannot demand (and then) support Pakatan Rakyat," he said at the MCA
annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
"(If) you demand, and you support BN, we will be fair to the Chinese,” added Najib, who is also BN chairperson.
After BN made its worst ever electoral showing in recent decades at last year's 13th general election, Najib blamed the loss of his popular vote majority to an alleged 'Chinese Tsunami'.
The remark has since unleashed endless scapegoating of the Chinese community over BN's sliding support.
At the AGM today, Najib also ticked off MCA factions for infighting to the point that the people have gotten "fed up".
MCA, he said, has "lost its way" and called on the Chinese based party to close ranks.
"I like to do more (for the Chinese community), maybe one day I can do more, but I also need the Chinese community to support BN, come on.
"You
have to do your part, you cannot demand and then support DAP, you
cannot demand (and then) support Pakatan Rakyat," he said at the MCA
annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur this morning."(If) you demand, and you support BN, we will be fair to the Chinese,” added Najib, who is also BN chairperson.
After BN made its worst ever electoral showing in recent decades at last year's 13th general election, Najib blamed the loss of his popular vote majority to an alleged 'Chinese Tsunami'.
The remark has since unleashed endless scapegoating of the Chinese community over BN's sliding support.
At the AGM today, Najib also ticked off MCA factions for infighting to the point that the people have gotten "fed up".
MCA, he said, has "lost its way" and called on the Chinese based party to close ranks.
Chinese are not beggars, Najib told
Seremban MP Anthony Loke said the prime minister's statement was as though the latter considered the Chinese as a "community of beggars".
"It is as if he thinks that the Chinese always beg the government and the Chinese do not appreciate the hand that gives," he added in a statement today.
He reminded Najib that Malaysians, regardless of race, were not beggars."But as citizens of the country, anyone has the right to demand for fair treatment from the government," he added.
Speaking at the MCA annual general assembly this morning, Najib said he would like to do more for the Chinese community but needed the community to support BN.
Meanwhile, Loke also reminded Najib that those who did not support BN in the last general election were not only from the Chinese community.
"(So) I want to ask him, does that mean the 52% of Malaysians who did not support BN cannot make demands?
"If the rakyat cannot make demands to the government, are they exempted from paying any tax, including the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?" he asked.
Balik! Anti-Sedition Act activists chased away
"Balik! Balik!" they shouted and shoved the protesters, whom they outnumbered.
Members of the group included those from Persatuan Mukabuku Pulau Pinang and Umno Youth members from Tanjong, who wore T-shirts with the words, 'Pertahankan Akta Hasutan' (Defend the Sedition Act).
Among those who were chased away from Padang Kota were Suaram's Ong Jing Cheng, Prema Devaraj and Bersih' Toh Kin Woon.Jing Cheng was harassed the worst, with a scuffle nearly breaking out.
A member of the angry mob hurled abuses at Jing Cheng, calling him, “Cina yang paling jahat di Malaysia.”
Before the activists were chased away, a spokesperson from Persatuan Mukabuku Pulau Pinang used a loud hailer and proclaimed that "as long as the group is around, the Sedition Act will continue."
Later after the incident ended, the group thanked their supporters who reportedly came from Perak and Kedah.
As the group were shouting, heckling and chasing the activists away, several policemen followed to prevent further altercation but did not stop the troublemakers.
When the mob hurled abuses at Jing Cheng, calling him names like “babi”, the policeman asked them to stop.
The angry mob also chased away by two passers-by, shouting among others, "It's the Jews! It's the Jews!"Aliran spokesperson Anil Netto, who was at the scene, expressed disappointment over the incident.
"It seems this group now owns the public space and they dictate who speaks.
"This is not fair as this is public space. The authorities are supposed to protect the space and not allow others to chase people away," he said.
Speakers Square, where the incident took place, has been designated as a public place for free speech by the Penang government in May 2010.
Does PERKASA reflect Malay ideology?
Will the real Malays of the 21st century in this 19th century country stand up?
Umar Mukhtar
Does the Australian political party, One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson, reflect Australian ideology? No. It is rightfully recognised as a splinter movement advocating trashy racial politics. But here in Malaysia, similar extreme organisations like PERKASA are spun by the alternative media as if PERKASA represents the inner wishes of the majority of the Malays.
This is most convenient because the leadership of such trashy organisations are often stereotypes that speak trash and fit into the preconception of these media’s advocacy of Malay stupidity. But really. Would the majority of Malays actually hunt high and low for the most stupid idiots to be their mouthpieces? Just so that you can brand Malays as stupid, etc? Just because their existence fit into your agenda does not not make those perceptions real.
On the contrary, believe that misconception at your own peril. Could it be that a great majority of Malays are keeping quiet either way because the prominent Malay players on either side of the continuum are not to their liking? Not much of a choice to die for?
There’s the ultra nationalists on the right; a small, inarticulate disparate and dumb PERKASA and most Malays would not want to be caught dead with them. Then there’s the Taliban-like ISIS-lovers living within their own religious dreams. Right in the middle is the immoral feudalistic ruling class propped up by the self-serving corruption of the non-Malays.
Then there is a sprinkling of oddballs like Zaid Ibrahim, Zainah Anwar and Mariam Mokhtar who are on their own intellectual ego-trip trying to tell us how to live in this utopia of their minds where self-hate is a virtue.
The non-Malays love to hate these groups and love the Mariam Mokhtar-type. For the bloody Malays are the cause of all that is not right with Malaysia or their own pathetic existence. The Mariam Mokhtars and Zaid Ibrahims articulate for them how to hate with class and finesse, which most of them by themselves are incapable of because the material and money thingy confuse them off the straight and narrow intellectual path.
The moment Zaid strays off the kiasu path of Malay-bashing, he will get hell from them. Ask Raja Petra. They don’t reason to the truth. They just want to be assured that their racist inclination is right all along. Never admitting that they are the descendants of pariahs and misfits who deserted their own 5,000-year old civilisation. Ask a mainland Chinese leader. From a Sin Kheh to a member of the commercial class by default is quite a jump. Too heady for some.
Will the real Malays of the 21st century in this 19th century country stand up?
They already are. They are all around you. Ready to surface when the right leader (not any type you have seen) comes along. This progressive generation is already testing the chinks in the armour. Some like the Anwarinas (without Anwar!), the Saifuddins (not Nasution) and an enlightened clergy-class (not Azhar Idrus/RidzuanTees) are making their stand. Do not be surprised that the Malays you love to hate and the Malays you love to love are one!
After all, some of PERKASA’s bitching are quite on the dot. They just say the right thing the wrong way. Many of Zaid’s tirades are not baseless. He just speaks over the top of heads. Mariam just wants to be somebody else. It is natural that feelings overlap and the Mahdi who gingerly picks through them with tact and truth will rule the day.
The true Malaysian non-Malays will welcome them but the closeted racists among them who use the so-called Malay stupidity as a convenient showcase for their transitory agenda will have to find a new mule to ride or just continue the family’s age-old tradition.
Does the Australian political party, One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson, reflect Australian ideology? No. It is rightfully recognised as a splinter movement advocating trashy racial politics. But here in Malaysia, similar extreme organisations like PERKASA are spun by the alternative media as if PERKASA represents the inner wishes of the majority of the Malays.
This is most convenient because the leadership of such trashy organisations are often stereotypes that speak trash and fit into the preconception of these media’s advocacy of Malay stupidity. But really. Would the majority of Malays actually hunt high and low for the most stupid idiots to be their mouthpieces? Just so that you can brand Malays as stupid, etc? Just because their existence fit into your agenda does not not make those perceptions real.
On the contrary, believe that misconception at your own peril. Could it be that a great majority of Malays are keeping quiet either way because the prominent Malay players on either side of the continuum are not to their liking? Not much of a choice to die for?
There’s the ultra nationalists on the right; a small, inarticulate disparate and dumb PERKASA and most Malays would not want to be caught dead with them. Then there’s the Taliban-like ISIS-lovers living within their own religious dreams. Right in the middle is the immoral feudalistic ruling class propped up by the self-serving corruption of the non-Malays.
Then there is a sprinkling of oddballs like Zaid Ibrahim, Zainah Anwar and Mariam Mokhtar who are on their own intellectual ego-trip trying to tell us how to live in this utopia of their minds where self-hate is a virtue.
The non-Malays love to hate these groups and love the Mariam Mokhtar-type. For the bloody Malays are the cause of all that is not right with Malaysia or their own pathetic existence. The Mariam Mokhtars and Zaid Ibrahims articulate for them how to hate with class and finesse, which most of them by themselves are incapable of because the material and money thingy confuse them off the straight and narrow intellectual path.
The moment Zaid strays off the kiasu path of Malay-bashing, he will get hell from them. Ask Raja Petra. They don’t reason to the truth. They just want to be assured that their racist inclination is right all along. Never admitting that they are the descendants of pariahs and misfits who deserted their own 5,000-year old civilisation. Ask a mainland Chinese leader. From a Sin Kheh to a member of the commercial class by default is quite a jump. Too heady for some.
Will the real Malays of the 21st century in this 19th century country stand up?
They already are. They are all around you. Ready to surface when the right leader (not any type you have seen) comes along. This progressive generation is already testing the chinks in the armour. Some like the Anwarinas (without Anwar!), the Saifuddins (not Nasution) and an enlightened clergy-class (not Azhar Idrus/RidzuanTees) are making their stand. Do not be surprised that the Malays you love to hate and the Malays you love to love are one!
After all, some of PERKASA’s bitching are quite on the dot. They just say the right thing the wrong way. Many of Zaid’s tirades are not baseless. He just speaks over the top of heads. Mariam just wants to be somebody else. It is natural that feelings overlap and the Mahdi who gingerly picks through them with tact and truth will rule the day.
The true Malaysian non-Malays will welcome them but the closeted racists among them who use the so-called Malay stupidity as a convenient showcase for their transitory agenda will have to find a new mule to ride or just continue the family’s age-old tradition.
Islamic scholar barred from Malaysia
Home Minister says he may mislead Muslims with his brand of Islamic liberalism.
FMT
KUCHING: Home Minister Zahid Hamidi has confirmed that Islamic scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla of Indonesia, scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to speak at a public forum, has been placed on the Immigration Department’s blacklist and will be barred from entering the country.
“He was invited by local NGOs to speak about liberalism. But we received various reports from those who are against his idea of liberalism,” said Zahid on Saturday here after a Security and Public Order seminar. “He may mislead Muslims with his brand of liberalism.”
Zahid also launched a book, “A Policeman”, by Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar which tells of his life in the force.
Umno, Jakim, Isma and various fringe groups have spoken out against Ulil’s visit.
Ulil was scheduled to speak at the forum, “Religious Fundamentalism Threat in This Century”, organised by the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM) and the Islamic Renaissance Front.
The National Fatwa Council declared in 1996 that Muslims in Malaysia must adhere to the practices of the Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Shafie sect) of Islam.
Ulil is an Orientalist scholar affiliated to Jaringan Islam Liberal (Liberal Islam Network) in Indonesia.
In 2003, a group of Indonesian Islamic clerics from Forum Ulama Umat Islam issued a death fatwa against him for an article he wrote in ”Kompas” in 2002 entitled “Menyegarkan Kembali Pemahaman Islam” (Rejuvenating the Islamic Understanding) that they considered heretical.
In March 2011, a letter bomb addressed to Ulil at Komunitas Utan Kayu exploded, injuring a police officer.
Ulil also defended the right of the Ahmadi people, which is an uncommon stance within conservative Islam and opposed numerous fatwas issued by the Majlis Ulama Indonesia.
KUCHING: Home Minister Zahid Hamidi has confirmed that Islamic scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla of Indonesia, scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to speak at a public forum, has been placed on the Immigration Department’s blacklist and will be barred from entering the country.
“He was invited by local NGOs to speak about liberalism. But we received various reports from those who are against his idea of liberalism,” said Zahid on Saturday here after a Security and Public Order seminar. “He may mislead Muslims with his brand of liberalism.”
Zahid also launched a book, “A Policeman”, by Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar which tells of his life in the force.
Umno, Jakim, Isma and various fringe groups have spoken out against Ulil’s visit.
Ulil was scheduled to speak at the forum, “Religious Fundamentalism Threat in This Century”, organised by the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM) and the Islamic Renaissance Front.
The National Fatwa Council declared in 1996 that Muslims in Malaysia must adhere to the practices of the Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Shafie sect) of Islam.
Ulil is an Orientalist scholar affiliated to Jaringan Islam Liberal (Liberal Islam Network) in Indonesia.
In 2003, a group of Indonesian Islamic clerics from Forum Ulama Umat Islam issued a death fatwa against him for an article he wrote in ”Kompas” in 2002 entitled “Menyegarkan Kembali Pemahaman Islam” (Rejuvenating the Islamic Understanding) that they considered heretical.
In March 2011, a letter bomb addressed to Ulil at Komunitas Utan Kayu exploded, injuring a police officer.
Ulil also defended the right of the Ahmadi people, which is an uncommon stance within conservative Islam and opposed numerous fatwas issued by the Majlis Ulama Indonesia.
Stop questioning Chinese schools
MCA President Liow Tiong Lai re-affirms his party's stand on vernacular education.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: “Malays will not be less Malay, and Chinese will not be less Chinese even if we learn each other’s language,” MCA President Liow Tiong Lai said today in response to calls from Umno for the abolition of Chinese vernacular schools.
Addressing the MCA general assembly, Liow made a strongly worded statement to stress his party’s support for vernacular education.
“MCA strongly opposes anyone or any quarter that challenges or questions the position of Chinese education in this country,” he said.
He maintained that Chinese education was not the reason behind the country’s racial disharmony and that calls to abolish these schools would not help Barisan Nasional (BN) gain support from the rakyat.
Urging the government to ensure the maintenance of Malaysia’s multilingual character, he paid tribute to Mandarin as “the second most-used language in the world for commerce and education”.
He also said that Chinese educational institutions had produced many professionals with impeccable skills who had contributed immensely to the country’s development.
He pointed out that vernacular schools had always been part of the national education system and reiterated MCA’s resolve to continue fighting for the right of the Chinese to pursue education in their mother tongue.
Praising Prime Minister Najib Razak for his generous budget allocation for vernacular schools, Liow said it was an acknowledgement of the government’s endorsement of the importance of Chinese education.
KUALA LUMPUR: “Malays will not be less Malay, and Chinese will not be less Chinese even if we learn each other’s language,” MCA President Liow Tiong Lai said today in response to calls from Umno for the abolition of Chinese vernacular schools.
Addressing the MCA general assembly, Liow made a strongly worded statement to stress his party’s support for vernacular education.
“MCA strongly opposes anyone or any quarter that challenges or questions the position of Chinese education in this country,” he said.
He maintained that Chinese education was not the reason behind the country’s racial disharmony and that calls to abolish these schools would not help Barisan Nasional (BN) gain support from the rakyat.
Urging the government to ensure the maintenance of Malaysia’s multilingual character, he paid tribute to Mandarin as “the second most-used language in the world for commerce and education”.
He also said that Chinese educational institutions had produced many professionals with impeccable skills who had contributed immensely to the country’s development.
He pointed out that vernacular schools had always been part of the national education system and reiterated MCA’s resolve to continue fighting for the right of the Chinese to pursue education in their mother tongue.
Praising Prime Minister Najib Razak for his generous budget allocation for vernacular schools, Liow said it was an acknowledgement of the government’s endorsement of the importance of Chinese education.
Residents seek heritage status for Indian village
Kampung Tai Lee is one of the earliest Indian settlements in Ipoh.
FMT
IPOH: Residents of Kampung Tai Lee here are urging Putrajaya and the Perak government to declare the village as a national heritage because it was one of the earliest settlements for the Indian community in Ipoh.
DAP vice-chairman M Kula Segaran, who had a meeting with some of the residents today, said they had decided to seek the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s assistance in acquiring the land.
“It is not going to be easy as the federal and state governments may disagree with this proposal since a large fund could be required to acquire this land and to maintain it,” he said in a press statement.
DAP would nevertheless “go all out” to assist the residents, he added. “If need be, we are ready to take this matter to be adjudicated in court.”
Kula said he would seek the help of the Heritage Society of Malaysia, other NGOs and political parties in procuring heritage status for the land.
Located in Buntong, said to be the area with the largest Indian population in the country, Kampung Tai Lee was alienated on Oct 23, 1914. The majority of its early Indian settlers were labourers employed in and around Ipoh.
Fifty-five poor Indian families currently live there in wooden houses they erected themselves.
In 1997, the owners of pieces of land that make up the village sent out eviction notices to the residents. They also filed legal suits against the residents, branding them as squatters.
After a protracted legal battle, the Ipoh High Court last December ordered the land owners to pay RM10,000 per resident but ordered the residents to move out by April this year.
Kula fired a broadside at the Perak government for failing to fulfill its three-decade-old pledge to relocate the villagers to better homes.
He noted that the state government had promised to build low-cost flats on a four-acre state-owned land next to the village for the residents.
Kula said his legal team had filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal for a higher compensation while asserting that the residents had a right to stay on the land.
IPOH: Residents of Kampung Tai Lee here are urging Putrajaya and the Perak government to declare the village as a national heritage because it was one of the earliest settlements for the Indian community in Ipoh.
DAP vice-chairman M Kula Segaran, who had a meeting with some of the residents today, said they had decided to seek the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s assistance in acquiring the land.
“It is not going to be easy as the federal and state governments may disagree with this proposal since a large fund could be required to acquire this land and to maintain it,” he said in a press statement.
DAP would nevertheless “go all out” to assist the residents, he added. “If need be, we are ready to take this matter to be adjudicated in court.”
Kula said he would seek the help of the Heritage Society of Malaysia, other NGOs and political parties in procuring heritage status for the land.
Located in Buntong, said to be the area with the largest Indian population in the country, Kampung Tai Lee was alienated on Oct 23, 1914. The majority of its early Indian settlers were labourers employed in and around Ipoh.
Fifty-five poor Indian families currently live there in wooden houses they erected themselves.
In 1997, the owners of pieces of land that make up the village sent out eviction notices to the residents. They also filed legal suits against the residents, branding them as squatters.
After a protracted legal battle, the Ipoh High Court last December ordered the land owners to pay RM10,000 per resident but ordered the residents to move out by April this year.
Kula fired a broadside at the Perak government for failing to fulfill its three-decade-old pledge to relocate the villagers to better homes.
He noted that the state government had promised to build low-cost flats on a four-acre state-owned land next to the village for the residents.
Kula said his legal team had filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal for a higher compensation while asserting that the residents had a right to stay on the land.
Former M’sian student runs off to join IS
Police confirm former KUIS student Syamimi Faiqah is at Turkey-Syria border waiting to join IS.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have confirmed that former Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) student, Syamimi Faiqah left for Syria October 4 and is believed to join militants of the Islamic State (IS) there.
Federal Police Special Branch principal assistant director (Counter-Terrorism Division) SAC Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay said Syamimi, 20, left from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 11.55pm on that day.
“Based on the latest information available, Syamimi is now believed to be at the Turkey-Syria border and is waiting to slip into Syria. When she arrived at Istanbul airport there were already two individuals waiting for her to bring her to Syria overland through the Hatay province (in Turkey).
“Once she reaches the border area, a syndicate will smuggle her into Syria,” he told Bernama today.
A local daily today reported that Syamimi had run off to Syria to marry an IS militant known as Akel Zainal, whom she got to know via Facebook.
Akel Zainal is understood to be a former member of a local rock group which was famous in the 1990s and was now in Syria to fight for IS.
Ayub said Akel was believed to be trying to entice women, in particular Malay girls, from local institutions of higher learning to join IS militants.
“What is worrying is that just through Facebook they were able to convince her to leave her family and could even make arrangements to fetch her from her home to be brought to KLIA,” he said.
He added that since police started monitoring Malaysians’ involvement in Syria, so far five have been reported killed and six others injured in clashes between militants and the security forces there.
It has been reported that so far 22 Malaysians including three women have been detected to be with militant groups in Syria.
Twenty-three others have been detained in the country for alleged links with these groups.
- BERNAMA
Federal Police Special Branch principal assistant director (Counter-Terrorism Division) SAC Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay said Syamimi, 20, left from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 11.55pm on that day.
“Based on the latest information available, Syamimi is now believed to be at the Turkey-Syria border and is waiting to slip into Syria. When she arrived at Istanbul airport there were already two individuals waiting for her to bring her to Syria overland through the Hatay province (in Turkey).
“Once she reaches the border area, a syndicate will smuggle her into Syria,” he told Bernama today.
A local daily today reported that Syamimi had run off to Syria to marry an IS militant known as Akel Zainal, whom she got to know via Facebook.
Akel Zainal is understood to be a former member of a local rock group which was famous in the 1990s and was now in Syria to fight for IS.
Ayub said Akel was believed to be trying to entice women, in particular Malay girls, from local institutions of higher learning to join IS militants.
“What is worrying is that just through Facebook they were able to convince her to leave her family and could even make arrangements to fetch her from her home to be brought to KLIA,” he said.
He added that since police started monitoring Malaysians’ involvement in Syria, so far five have been reported killed and six others injured in clashes between militants and the security forces there.
It has been reported that so far 22 Malaysians including three women have been detected to be with militant groups in Syria.
Twenty-three others have been detained in the country for alleged links with these groups.
- BERNAMA
Racism an issue only in national schools
If there had been instances of racism in vernacular schools, the media would have screamed about it by now.
By Joshua Wu - FMT
The issue of vernacular schools has popped up yet again, with at least two Umno divisional leaders saying that they breed racism.
Let us consider that allegation and the obvious implication that national schools are better at promoting national unity.
According to Dong Zong, 14%, or some 80,000 of the 600,000 pupils enrolled in Chinese schools are non-Chinese. If indeed schoolchildren attending SJK(C)’s were racially indoctrinated, wouldn’t we have heard about this in the news? If such an abhorrent thing had happened, the children would have complained to their parents, and the press would have a field day covering the issue.
A little research would show that racism is a problem in national schools, not vernacular schools.
I did some digging and unearthed the following:
In May 2008, at SMK Telok Panglima Garang, a history teacher allegedly called Indian students “keling pariah” and “black monkeys” among other derogatory descriptions. It was also alleged that the teacher said Indians were stupid and prone to being thugs and robbers.
In 2010, the headmistress of SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra allegedly said, “Chinese students are not needed here and can return to China or Foon Yew school. As for the Indian students, the prayer strings tied around their necks and wrists make them look like dogs.”
A short time later, the principal of SMK Bukit Selambau told her Chinese pupils to “return to China”. She uttered the derogatory remarks because students were eating in the school compound during the fasting month of Ramadan. As an educator, shouldn’t she have reprimanded them in a more appropriate fashion?
Also in 2010, a teacher in SMK Raja Jumaat had allegedly censured Indian and Chinese students when they arrived late to the examination hall by telling the Chinese to return to China and the Indians to India if they couldn’t understand instructions in Malay.
In 2011, a teacher in SMK Tun Abdul Razak told her students to go back to China because the students didn’t do well in the Bahasa Malaysia exam. Does this mean that if students do badly in their history paper, they should go back to prehistoric times?
Just last year, the headmistress of SMK Alam Megah told her non-Malay students to “balik India dan China” for making noise while the national anthem was being sung.
There are many other examples of such incidents in national schools, but in my research I failed to find any news item about racial abuse in a vernacular school.
The people claiming that Chinese schools promote racism never attended a vernacular school. Their skewed views are either their own concoctions or based on hearsay.
Furthermore, one cannot say for sure that national schools would trump vernacular schools when it comes to promoting national harmony. After all, having a single school system would not guarantee that students of all races would mix and get to know one another. All it does is ensure that students of various races see one another in class five days a week.
If our politicians and influential figures continue to churn out racist statements like “Malays are lazy” (Mahathir Mohamad), “keling” (Zulkifli Noordin), “Petronas was built by Malays and belongs to the Malays” (Perkasa), and “Chinese migrants are intruders” (Abdullah Zaik, ISMA), how do we expect unity amongst students?
Racist statements from influential people would very likely lead to suspicion and distrust between students of different races. This is one of the root causes of racism, and we should address it. Swift action must be taken against those who utter racist remarks—regardless of who they are—to show our society’s distaste for racism.
Don’t abolish vernacular schools until the root causes have been identified and addressed, and an effective integrated school system has been devised. Getting rid of vernacular schools for the sake of national unity is akin to killing a fly with a sledgehammer.
Joshua Wu is an FMT reader
The issue of vernacular schools has popped up yet again, with at least two Umno divisional leaders saying that they breed racism.
Let us consider that allegation and the obvious implication that national schools are better at promoting national unity.
According to Dong Zong, 14%, or some 80,000 of the 600,000 pupils enrolled in Chinese schools are non-Chinese. If indeed schoolchildren attending SJK(C)’s were racially indoctrinated, wouldn’t we have heard about this in the news? If such an abhorrent thing had happened, the children would have complained to their parents, and the press would have a field day covering the issue.
A little research would show that racism is a problem in national schools, not vernacular schools.
I did some digging and unearthed the following:
In May 2008, at SMK Telok Panglima Garang, a history teacher allegedly called Indian students “keling pariah” and “black monkeys” among other derogatory descriptions. It was also alleged that the teacher said Indians were stupid and prone to being thugs and robbers.
In 2010, the headmistress of SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra allegedly said, “Chinese students are not needed here and can return to China or Foon Yew school. As for the Indian students, the prayer strings tied around their necks and wrists make them look like dogs.”
A short time later, the principal of SMK Bukit Selambau told her Chinese pupils to “return to China”. She uttered the derogatory remarks because students were eating in the school compound during the fasting month of Ramadan. As an educator, shouldn’t she have reprimanded them in a more appropriate fashion?
Also in 2010, a teacher in SMK Raja Jumaat had allegedly censured Indian and Chinese students when they arrived late to the examination hall by telling the Chinese to return to China and the Indians to India if they couldn’t understand instructions in Malay.
In 2011, a teacher in SMK Tun Abdul Razak told her students to go back to China because the students didn’t do well in the Bahasa Malaysia exam. Does this mean that if students do badly in their history paper, they should go back to prehistoric times?
Just last year, the headmistress of SMK Alam Megah told her non-Malay students to “balik India dan China” for making noise while the national anthem was being sung.
There are many other examples of such incidents in national schools, but in my research I failed to find any news item about racial abuse in a vernacular school.
The people claiming that Chinese schools promote racism never attended a vernacular school. Their skewed views are either their own concoctions or based on hearsay.
Furthermore, one cannot say for sure that national schools would trump vernacular schools when it comes to promoting national harmony. After all, having a single school system would not guarantee that students of all races would mix and get to know one another. All it does is ensure that students of various races see one another in class five days a week.
If our politicians and influential figures continue to churn out racist statements like “Malays are lazy” (Mahathir Mohamad), “keling” (Zulkifli Noordin), “Petronas was built by Malays and belongs to the Malays” (Perkasa), and “Chinese migrants are intruders” (Abdullah Zaik, ISMA), how do we expect unity amongst students?
Racist statements from influential people would very likely lead to suspicion and distrust between students of different races. This is one of the root causes of racism, and we should address it. Swift action must be taken against those who utter racist remarks—regardless of who they are—to show our society’s distaste for racism.
Don’t abolish vernacular schools until the root causes have been identified and addressed, and an effective integrated school system has been devised. Getting rid of vernacular schools for the sake of national unity is akin to killing a fly with a sledgehammer.
Joshua Wu is an FMT reader
Make Najib’s UN speech basis to build Malaysia, says Ambiga
Impressed with Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent speech in the United Nations, which derided discrimination and subjugation, and promoted inclusive politics and co-existence of faiths, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan now wants it to be used as a basis for nation-building at home.
The former Bar Council president and now patron for people's movement, Negara-ku, said the prime minister had managed to capture the strength of the nation in the speech delivered on September 26.
“We must use this. We must say to all the people who are trying to divide us, this is what the prime minister of this country has said, and this is what we should do,” she said, in a veiled reference to right-wing groups inflaming racial issues in Malaysia.
She said four particular paragraphs – marked as paragraphs 23 to 26 in his official transcript – should be adopted verbatim to guide programmes and policy in Malaysia.
Commending Najib for uttering them in the international arena, she also invited the prime minister to make the very same delivery on home soil.
In the speech at the 69th UN General Assembly in New York, Najib had said: “We must break the cycle where one group gains power only to wield it against the other. Where marginalisation leads to radicalisation, as people lose confidence in the state’s ability to provide both security and co-existence.
“Individuals and ethnic and religious groups need to feel they have a stake in a nation’s success, not its failure. So we should commit to more inclusive politics. This is difficult work; it demands pragmatism and compromise. And it must come from within.
“Malaysia stands ready to share its experience; of marginalising extremism; maintaining a multi-religious country, where different faiths coexist and prosper; and showing that Islam can not only succeed, but drive progress and development in a pluralistic society.
“Like all nations, we have had our growing pains. Stability is never permanent; it must be actively maintained. But in Malaysia, there are streets in which mosques, temples and churches stand side by side. Ours is a society in which religions may differ, but do so in peace; in the knowledge that we are all citizens of one nation."
Speaking at a fund-raiser for human rights NGO Aliran in George Town last night, Ambiga said what was needed was for Najib to say the exact same words in Malaysia. The call sparked applause from the crowd of more than 500.
“I only regret the prime minister will not make a speech like this in Malaysia," she said. "Because that’s all we need.”
“He has captured the strength of this nation. He knows, in other words, exactly what is needed in this nation.
“They all know,” added the former co-chair of electoral reforms group Bersih 2.0, referring to politicians in Putrajaya.
She also said the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) should come up with a blueprint for an anti-discrimination programme, based on UN guidelines, for children in schools.
She said this in light of recent allegations by Umno and hard-line Malay leaders that Chinese schools were impeding racial harmony.
On October 5, Umno Petaling Jaya Utara division deputy head Mohamad Azli Mohamed Saad had reportedly said that the party's general assembly next month should debate whether Chinese vernacular schools should be abolished.
This, he said, was because Chinese schools were being used by the opposition to breed racial and anti-government sentiments.
Cheras Umno division chief Datuk Seri Syed Ali Al Habshee reiterated the call on October 7, urging the government to abolish vernacular schools and to set up a single-stream school system which, he said, could help in fostering national unity in the country.
“Why don’t we introduce this programme in every school?” Ambiga asked.
“I think we should start developing an anti-discrimination policy in this country.”
She said the UN has guidelines for programmes among pupils in schools “to reverse the effects of the brainwashing and discrimination”.
She said such a programme has been adopted by many countries where people were genuine about fighting racial discrimination.
“Because when we free their minds from this, from the shackles of bigotry and racism, it will be a different Malaysia.” – October 12, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/make-najibs-un-speech-basis-to-build-malaysia-says-ambiga#sthash.qDLzMNR3.dpuf
Kobane: Islamic State battles to encircle Syrian Kurds
The Kurdish defenders of the Syrian border town of Kobane have held back advancing Islamic State fighters, with the US supplying air support.
BBC
The Kurds repulsed a pre-dawn attack and still control the town's border crossing point with Turkey.
Correspondents say the crossing point is a vital supply and exit route.
The Pentagon reports that US planes have been bombing IS targets to the north and south of Kobane since Friday.
US and other aircraft from the international coalition also carried out air strikes on IS targets inside Iraq as well as dropping supplies to Iraqi government forces at Baiji, where Iraq's biggest oil refinery is located.
In Iraq's Anbar province, officials reportedly made an urgent appeal for military help against IS.
Haze and dust
As the sounds of battle continued on Saturday, haze and dust obscured Kobane, making air strikes more difficult but not impossible, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville said in a tweet from the Syria-Turkey border.
The Kurdish militiamen have pushed back the latest IS advance but the militants are being easily resupplied from the south and the east and are able to launch further attacks, our correspondent says.
Amid the sound of gunfire, black plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the south and west of the town, another foreign journalist at the scene, Derek Henry Flood, tweeted.
According to the Pentagon, the new US air strikes on IS targets at Kobane hit an IS fighting position, damaged a command and control facility, destroyed a staging building; struck two small units of fighters; and destroyed three lorries.
Several hundred civilians are still believed to be in Kobane. UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has warned they could be massacred by IS if the town falls.
Read more http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29581728http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29581728
The Kurds repulsed a pre-dawn attack and still control the town's border crossing point with Turkey.
Correspondents say the crossing point is a vital supply and exit route.
The Pentagon reports that US planes have been bombing IS targets to the north and south of Kobane since Friday.
US and other aircraft from the international coalition also carried out air strikes on IS targets inside Iraq as well as dropping supplies to Iraqi government forces at Baiji, where Iraq's biggest oil refinery is located.
In Iraq's Anbar province, officials reportedly made an urgent appeal for military help against IS.
Haze and dust
As the sounds of battle continued on Saturday, haze and dust obscured Kobane, making air strikes more difficult but not impossible, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville said in a tweet from the Syria-Turkey border.
The Kurdish militiamen have pushed back the latest IS advance but the militants are being easily resupplied from the south and the east and are able to launch further attacks, our correspondent says.
Amid the sound of gunfire, black plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the south and west of the town, another foreign journalist at the scene, Derek Henry Flood, tweeted.
According to the Pentagon, the new US air strikes on IS targets at Kobane hit an IS fighting position, damaged a command and control facility, destroyed a staging building; struck two small units of fighters; and destroyed three lorries.
Several hundred civilians are still believed to be in Kobane. UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has warned they could be massacred by IS if the town falls.
Read more http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29581728http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29581728
Muslim Married British Woman, Killed Her, Sold Children into Slavery
This probably isn’t the worst Muslim marriage story. I’m not sure there can be such a thing when Mohammed “married” women be had enslaved and raped and married a child, but this horrifying story is yet another reminder of the dangers of marrying into a religion that views women with such unmitigated hatred.
Gaby grew up with her Yemeni father, Ali Abdulla Saleh Yafai, her mother, Mary, who was from Birmingham, and her three sisters Ablah, Ismahan (Isyy) and Yasmin (Yas)
“One witness was our next-door neighbour who gave evidence that she heard Mum screaming ‘No! No! Please don’t… I’m sorry, don’t’ the day mum disappeared.
“A little while later she said she heard scrubbing sounds coming from our kitchen. She also told how she saw Dad and two men carry out a big rolled up carpet later that night and load it into Dad’s meat van.”
Her father was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served four.
In May 1977 Ali took three of his daughters to his home country, which he had told them was a magical place where fruit would fall out of the trees into their hands.
By magical country, he meant a place where women could be sold.
One of Gaby’s sisters, Issy, resorted to suicide to avoid marrying a 60-year-old man. Issy tried to take an overdose and then cut her wrists but each time she was stopped. She finally succeeded by jumping off the roof of a building before anyone could stop her.
Gaby suffered horrific abuse, and described the aftermath of one beating: “When I finally came around [he] had left me on the floor, soaked in my own blood.
Her father also attacked her and her children and at one point brandished a shotgun and told her: “Today I’m going to kill you the same way I killed your mother.”
What could be the possible cause of all that?
“It was his culture, his traditions “
And the more that culture enters the UK and the US, the more such cases will pile up.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/muslim-married-british-woman-killed-her-sold-children-into-slavery/
DAP dares Nancy Shukri to speak out against A-G
De facto law minister Nancy Shukri must show she is independent and speak out against the Attorney-General (A-G) for failing to charge Datuk Ibrahim Ali over his threat to burn Bibles, a DAP lawmaker said today.Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo (pic) said that Nancy had evidently distanced herself from Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail's reasoning on why police had not taken action against the Perkasa president.
However, he urged the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department to play a greater role in the issue and openly criticise the A-G for failing in his duties as a public prosecutor.
"As the de facto Minister of law, Nancy must play a greater role. She must demonstrate that she is independent and that she has the courage to speak up against the A-G and do what is right.
"I call upon her to step up and criticise the A-G for not prosecuting Ibrahim Ali in this case," said Gobind, who is the DAP national legal bureau chairman.
"Malaysians have no reason, in the circumstances of this case, to expect any less from whoever holds her portfolio in the federal government," he said in a statement.
Nancy has in the past few days taken to Twitter to deflect criticism over her written parliamentary reply, saying that Ibrahim had not been charged for calling Bibles to be burned as he was merely defending Islam.
She told detractors that she was simply conveying the views of "other agencies" and that she was not defending Ibrahim.
"My grandma was a non-Muslim, you think I would do such a thing? Wake up," she tweeted to a user by the handle @ET_WORLD96.
She then issued a statement on Thursday night, saying that it was the A-G Chambers' decision not to charge Ibrahim as his threat was in line with Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution.
Gobind, reacting to her statement, said today: "That makes matters worse. It is quite clear that nothing in Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution makes it a defence for any person to commit criminal offences.
"Such an argument is not only legally flawed but also highly offensive and insulting to the Federal Constitution."
Gobind added that Gani must step down as A-G as he was seen to be weak and selective in his choices of prosecution.
"No one has the right to commit criminal offences in defence of their religion in this country and if Gani is going to start this unlawful and dangerous trend in Malaysia, then he is to my mind, certainly unfit to be A-G."
Gobind said Gani had also lost the moral ground to remain as A-G as he had failed to act against such open and extreme disregard for racial and religious sensitivities advocated in this case.
Meanwhile, former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said in his latest blog post that the A-G and the police had passed the buck to Nancy to explain Ibrahim's case as they were unwilling to face the public's ire.
"The smart cookies in the government do what they have always done: ask the Cabinet member they call the de facto law minister to take the rap."
He said Nancy did what was asked of her as she wanted to remain a minister. – October 11, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-dares-nancy-shukri-to-speak-out-against-a-g#sthash.gea7v4vV.dpuf
When a minister is just a messenger, not a leader
Cabinet Minister Nancy Shukri gave a written reply in Parliament this week over the government's inaction on Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali's threat to burn bibles.It was a written reply because the question by Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not make to Question Time when Parliament convened this week.
Now, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and de facto Law Minister is blaming The Malaysian Insider for making it look like she defended Ibrahim Ali and she took to her Twitter microblogging account to say she was merely conveying the views of government agencies.
In her written reply, she said the police concluded that Ibrahim's words were only directed at specific individuals, and not a threat to larger society.
"The statement he made was not intended to cause religious chaos but only to defend the sanctity of Islam," Nancy said in the written reply.
Right. So that conclusion and Ibrahim's desire to defend the sanctity of Islam came from the police and the Attorney-General and Nancy is just the messenger?
So is that the role of a minister? Postman and messenger? Is she one of the 35 postmen and messengers in the Najib government?
We already have a state broadcaster and news agency, do we need more messengers for government departments and agencies now?
And is Nancy now saying she does not agree with the police or the A-G's position on not taking the case further against Ibrahim?
Is she going to quit in protest? That is what Datuk Zaid Ibrahim did on principle. Will Nancy follow suit or is she just happy to be a messenger?
There are 35 Cabinet ministers, 10 of them in the Prime Minister's Department, which also has one deputy minister. There used to be parliamentary secretaries whose job was to answer questions on behalf of ministries but those jobs were abolished to save money.
But Nancy seems to suggest that is her duty now. She is not responsible for what the police and the A-G decides, but will merely and dutifully put up their replies in Parliament.
That really is not the job of a minister. The Prime Minister has a Cabinet that helps him run the country as part of the executive, which also includes the A-G and the police. It is a heavy responsibility but comes with perks and respect.
So, Nancy cannot have it both ways. She wants to be a minister, enjoy the perks but can't take criticism for an indefensible position.
French philosopher Voltaire said "With great power, comes great responsibility", so Nancy must learn to take the bouquets with the brickbats. And if she does not agree with what the police has concluded, she should say so.
We do not need any more messengers, we just need leaders. The ones who will take responsibility no matter what. – October 11, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/when-a-minister-is-just-a-messenger-not-a-leader#sthash.tSP6BQcl.dpuf
Real obstacle to national unity - Ketuanan Umno
This me
ntality
leads some Umno leaders to equate their party to the nation, seeing
opposition to or even criticism of the Umno/BN government as disloyalty
to the country, and democratic choices as manifestation of national
disunity.If in the past, Chinese schools get attacked vaguely for undermining national unity, this time its “crime” was made plain and simple by Umno’s Petaling Jaya Utara deputy division chief Mohamad Azli Mohemed Saad: promoting “racism and anti-establishment sentiments.”
Mohamad Azli told the NST: “Many are of the opinion that Chinese vernacular schools have been exploited by opposition parties to incite hatred towards other races, and [to] spread
racial and anti-government sentiments."
For authoritarian-minded Umno politicians like him, voters must support Umno/BN even if/when they are tyrannical, corrupt or incompetent, otherwise, there is no national unity.
All they care is that they remain the Tuan (master) that rules Malaysia.
Under this 'Ketuanan Umno' mentality, not just Chinese schools, any institutions that may produce independent-minded voters, from independent Islamic schools, independent-minded non-Muslim bodies, independent media, NGOs critical of the government, to opposition parties will eventually appear in the 'to be prohibited' list.
Where hypocrisy, opportunism abound
Already, the authorities are trying to stop Malaysians from using the word 'negaraku'!
These Umno leaders' hypocrisy and opportunism are obvious. No Umno leaders question the legitimate existence of our multistream education system in federal or state elections.
However,
when Umno has its elections or annual general assemblies, Chinese- and
Tamil- medium public schools will often be the bogeyman.What Azli and his supporters – including some with good intention to see “national unity” through homogenisation – is that Chinese- and Tamil-medium “national-type (primary) schools” (SJKCs and SJKTs) today are more than just mother tongue education for the ethnic minorities.
They employ the same curriculum as the Malay-medium “national (primary) schools” (SKs) but provide linguistic options for all Malaysian parents and children regardless of ethnicity. They can be and are a boon to a more inclusive notion of national unity and integration.
In fact, as high as 13% of students in Chinese-medium national-type primary schools (SKCs) are non-Chinese, as compared to 6% of non-bumiputera students in the national primary schools (SKs).
In Sabah, the percentage of non-Chinese children in Chinese-medium primary schools is even as high as one-third.
Sounding an empty drum
In supporting efforts to make SKs more attractive, we must abandon the unexamined argument that the growth of Chinese school enrolment threatens national unity.
After
all, what is the logic to claim the nation has become more divided with
more Malay children learning in Chinese and giving their Chinese
classmates more opportunities to mix with native speakers of Bahasa
Malaysia?In terms of ethnic diversity, SKCs with 13% non-chinese students are definitively more national than Umno which only accepts bumiputera members.
Mohamad Azli reportedly also proposed to mandate a 60% intake of Malay and Indian students and teachers in Chinese schools.
If he is so religious about inter ethnic-mix, he should first take up the farsighted proposal of their founding president Dato Onn Jaafar 63 years ago: open the door of Umno to non-Malays (in today's context, non-bumiputeras), and transform it from a communal party to a national party.
It would be great to see the day Umno having 13% of non-bumiputera members.
Surely Datuk Hishamuddin Hussien who always speaks proudly of his grandfather would be supportive of this idea.
While we rebut exclusivist statements by the likes of Azli, we must also categorically defend the freedom of anyone to call for any change to any public policy or public institutions.
If an issue is important, then it cannot be swept under carpet in the name of sensitivity. No messengers should be shot at no matter how much the messages annoy us.
I believe that the existence of multilingual educational streams is a blessing for Malaysia to capitalize on her diversity and make it a niche in the increasingly globalised world.
But the system will only be stronger when it is subject to public scrutiny and rigorous debates.
Chinese schools must not become another “sacred cow” in Malaysia’s public discourse like some faiths and some unelected institutions.
Any call for the Sedition Act to be used against those who oppose the existence of Chinese- and Tamil-medium schools is not helping the schools but rather harming them by sustaining an authoritarian political culture.
Umno leaders like Azli should be allowed to freely speak their mind on the issue so that Malaysians may form their informed opinion.
WONG CHIN HUAT earned his PhD from the University of Essex with a thesis on the electoral system and party system in peninsular Malaysia. He is a fellow at the Penang Institute.
Can Adenan stop Umno’s influence in Sarawak?
This question was posed by Sarawak DAP Youth chief Wong King Wei at a media conference today when commenting on the inability of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri to do anything against Ibrahim Ali who threatened to burn the Malay language Bible.
“Chief Minister Adenan Satem has loudly declared that the state would not allow Umno to come to Sarawak to expand its politics of extremism,” Wong said.
What Adenan has said does nothing to improve the current situation in Sarawak in respect of religious freedom, Wong (right), who is the Padungan assemblyperson, added.He said Nancy Shukri who is a senior PBB leader and a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, could not do anything against the Perkasa president for threatening to burn the Bible.
“A mere statement by Adenan cannot help to prevent Umno’s influence in Sarawak, even if Umno does not come to Sarawak. Look at the Islamisation efforts by Umno in Belaga and Betong.
“This is because Umno is the federal government in Malaysia. It makes policies that also affect Sarawak,” he said.
Anger rising against Umno
Wong then asked whether the chief minister could ensure that the Umno policies would not damage the racial and religious harmony and freedom prevailing in the state.
The state DAP has made a strong stand against outsiders who come to Sarawak to convert Christians by offering money.
“I have also heard that in certain remote areas the natives were promised identity cards if they converted to Islam. They told the natives that without identity cards, they would not be able to send their children to schools and would not be able to seek medical treatment.
“This is something very serious and should not happen in Sarawak or in any part of the country as this is against the Federal Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom.
“The federal and state governments have to carry out immediate investigations to find out whether these groups of people in Belaga and Betong have committed any act of sedition and whether they have violated the constitution which protects the basic and the ultimate rights of the people.
“If they did, then they should be charged with sedition,” Wong said.
Speaking at the same media conference, the MP for Stampin, Julian Tan (left),
said if it is true that the group was offering RM6,000 to anyone
converting to Islam, then such an act is the lowest of form of
disrespect and insulting to fellow human beings. “Enticing poor people to embrace a religion through money is cruel, of low moral and unethical. Aid should be given with the pure intention of helping the poor, without any strings attached.
“It has been the practice of religions in Sarawak that aid is a given to those regardless of their religion or race,” Tan said.
He said what this group in Belaga did, if it was found to be true, was threatening the harmonious spirit of Sarawakians as well as disrespectful of the people’s culture.
“If left unchecked by the authorities, such activities may be difficult to control later on. It is best that action is taken now,” he said.
More Islamic conversion attempts in Sarawak
After reading in the media allegations over Islamisation of poor Christians in Belaga, parents in Sarawak are also worried that their school-going children are the targets of unscrupulous individuals to convert them to Islam.
They have brought their complaints to Sarawak DAP vice-chairperson Leon Jimat Donald (left)
that there were also attempts to convert their children in schools in
Betong which is within the Layer state constituency represented by
Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu Anak Numpang."These parents who are very worried came to see me that their children in MRSM Betong were enticed into converting to Islam by unscrupulous individuals.
"They came to see me after reading in the media about Islamisation efforts by certain groups in Belaga,” said Leon, who is the Sri Aman DAP branch chief.
The parents told him that their children were not allowed to bring Bibles to their boarding schools and male students were forced to wear ‘songkok’.
"If the allegations are true, I would like teachers at MSRM Betong to stop all these rulings immediately.
"I will be writing a formal letter of complaint to the education minister,” he said, pointing out that such happenings in schools would discourage Christian Dayak parents from sending their children to MRSM or MARA junior science college, thus denying them a good education.
Leon added that such reckless covert actions do not bode well for the citizens of this state, pointing out that some 80 percent of the1.3 million Dayak in Sarawak are Christian.
It was reported yesterday that Christians in Belaga had complained of attempts by a group of outsiders to convert them to Islam by offering RM6,000 to each person.
The group has visited several longhouses in Belaga under the ‘goodwill and welfare’ programme.
Their next visit would include Punan Bah, Punan Biau, Uma Tanjung and Nanga Merit.
The group’s efforts have shocked many Christians who wanted the authorities to put a stop to such activities.
Ibrahim Ali is not the law, lawyers say
While acknowledging that Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution prohibits the preaching of non-Islamic faiths to Muslims, they said the powers to enforce such curbs were conferred to federal and state authorities, not private citizens.
“Ibrahim Ali’s statement is clearly not federal or state law,” criminal defence lawyer Joshua Tay from Bon Advocates told Malay Mail Online this week.
“Even if the context of the statement is made within the spirit of Article 11(4), it’s not a defence because one of the ingredients of Section 298 (of the Penal Code) is the intention to wound the religious feelings of another,” the lawyer added.
In Penang last year, Perkasa president Ibrahim allegedly urged Muslims to torch Malay-language bibles that refer to God as “Allah”, an Arabic word commonly used by Christians in the Middle East and East Malaysia.
De facto law minister Nancy Shukri said in a statement Thursday that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had decided not to charge Ibrahim, who was investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code, because the context of his speech was in line with the spirit of the Federal Constitution’s Article 11(4).
Nancy also told Parliament earlier this week that the police had concluded that the Malay rights group leader was merely defending the sanctity of Islam, and had not intended to create chaos.
According to the minister, the police investigation had also found that Ibrahim’s statement was directed at individuals who purportedly distributed Christian bibles containing the word “Allah” to students, including Malays, at Penang’s Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jelutong.
Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan said Article 11(4) does not allow acts of religious provocation such as threatening to burn the holy texts of any faith, particularly not by an ordinary citizen.
“We must also remember that Article 11(4) gives power to the states to restrict or control, not private individuals,” Syahredzan told Malay Mail Online.
“Is the government saying that Ibrahim Ali is a state institution? So it is a fallacious argument and fuels the perception that certain people can act with impunity,” he added.
Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong also said Article 11(4) was not licence to incitement, threats of violence to people or damage to property.
“Anyone would know that the incitement or threat to burn the religious books of any faith or religion is inexcusable,” Leong told Malay Mail Online.
“It cannot be rationalised in terms of the law or common decency and respect. The Federal Constitution, in fact, advocates respect and protection for all religions, not just for a particular religion,” the Bar Council chairman added.
Leong also said that Nancy’s reported Parliament reply that threatening to burn another’s holy books is justified on the purported grounds of defending Islam contradicted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent speech at the United Nations’ general assembly against extremism.
“Further, it was reported in the news media that Ibrahim Ali had said those words at a press conference, so whether he intended his statement to be directed at specific individuals or not, it was addressed to the world,” the lawyer added.
Who are the bullies and who are the bullied?
Only an independent study will put the issue of Malays bullied by non-Malays or vice-versa to rest for good.
By Koon Yew Yin - FMT
Not satisfied with labelling the non-Malays, especially Chinese, as “intruders” brought over by the British to oppress the Malays, Isma is now putting forward the argument that Malays have been subjected to bullying by non-Malays since the colonial period and that the bullying continues today.
“Who are the bullied and who are the bullies” is a question asked by Mohd Zul Fahmi, a self annointed analyst of the country’s history and constitution who, just like his Isma colleague, Abdullah Zaik Abd. Rahman, is blaming all the ills of the country and the problems of the Malay/Muslim community on the non-Malays.
Many Malaysians, whilst disagreeing with Isma’s view of the Malays as the oppressed in Malaysia today, will agree that the question of who are the bullies in Malaysia and who are to be blamed for all the problems of the Malays and other communities is a reasonable and pertinent question to examine in depth.
But instead of answering this question based on Isma’s potted and racist interpretation of Malaysian history and the biased opinions of Isma and its members, I would like to suggest that a proper survey and study of the topic be conducted by a reputable and independent survey research or academic organization.
Coverage of Proposed Survey and Study
The survey can cover feedback from all the communities, Malay and non-Malay. Besides posing the question to the public on whether the phenomenon of racial bullying exists as Isma has described it and who is bullying whom if racial bullying is indeed taking place. The survey can also cover other charges made by Isma, such as alleged non-Malay and non-Muslim responsibility for the problems of the Malay community as they are to be found today.
The survey can also cover the claim made in a blog article by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad that the Chinese (and Indians) are the real masters of the country. He wrote: “Because they (the Malays) are willing to share their country with other races, the race from the older civilisation of more than 4,000 years and who are more successful, as such today whatever they have now is also being taken away from them.”
This allegation and similar comments made by Mahathir are an important source of inspiration to ultra-nationalist and extremist forces and are partly responsible for many of the unfounded opinions circulated by Isma and similar groups and individuals on how the rights and privileges of the Malay community have been usurped by the immigrant communities and how badly they are presently doing.
Our former national leader has since modified his position by emphasising that, despite the surfeit of policies and opportunities provided to Malays, they still remain retarded in their socio-economic standing due to laziness, lack of honesty and other bad habits. This hard hitting view has only reinforced racial stereotypes on both sides of the racial divide and should not go unchallenged. The study should ask respondents whether they are in agreement or otherwise with this damning analysis of the Malay community and what policies are necessary to change such a mindset, if it indeed exists and is peculiar to the community.
Meanwhile the allegation that the non-Malays are the real owners and master of the country and that the Malays have been bullied and persecuted to the extent that they need more special protection has also been taken to a new level with religion being brought into the picture. New groups such as proxies of Jewish Zionist evangelists and other agents of foreign powers are alleged to be interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.
It is possible that Isma’s witch hunt aimed at rallying the Malay and Muslim community to stand firm against those intent on burying Islam and “want the Malay race to be in their control, want to see us insulted as our religion is raped, the dignity of our race trampled on and our country pawned to the point we cannot do anything” may end in tragic violence if nothing is done to refute them or persuade them otherwise.
Hopefully the results of the study can address the fears and concerns of Isma, Perkasa, Mahathir and other paranoid Malays and assure them that they have nothing to fear from the other communities, as well as convince them that Malay dominance in the country’s polity is unshakable and that alarm over a non-Malay takeover is totally unjustified.
Funding for the Study
To ensure that this proposal for a scientific and objective survey and study of present race and religious hot button issues now dominating the country’s discourse and media can be carried out, I am willing to fund the work in its entirety.
My only condition for the work is that a reputable and independent group of scholars from the nation’s universities and abroad should be responsible for drafting the survey questionnaire and determining the methodology; and that the findings of this study will be widely disseminated, including to the government and the National Unity Council so that quick and effective action can be taken to stop the rot in the deterioration of the country’s race and religious relations.
Not satisfied with labelling the non-Malays, especially Chinese, as “intruders” brought over by the British to oppress the Malays, Isma is now putting forward the argument that Malays have been subjected to bullying by non-Malays since the colonial period and that the bullying continues today.
“Who are the bullied and who are the bullies” is a question asked by Mohd Zul Fahmi, a self annointed analyst of the country’s history and constitution who, just like his Isma colleague, Abdullah Zaik Abd. Rahman, is blaming all the ills of the country and the problems of the Malay/Muslim community on the non-Malays.
Many Malaysians, whilst disagreeing with Isma’s view of the Malays as the oppressed in Malaysia today, will agree that the question of who are the bullies in Malaysia and who are to be blamed for all the problems of the Malays and other communities is a reasonable and pertinent question to examine in depth.
But instead of answering this question based on Isma’s potted and racist interpretation of Malaysian history and the biased opinions of Isma and its members, I would like to suggest that a proper survey and study of the topic be conducted by a reputable and independent survey research or academic organization.
Coverage of Proposed Survey and Study
The survey can cover feedback from all the communities, Malay and non-Malay. Besides posing the question to the public on whether the phenomenon of racial bullying exists as Isma has described it and who is bullying whom if racial bullying is indeed taking place. The survey can also cover other charges made by Isma, such as alleged non-Malay and non-Muslim responsibility for the problems of the Malay community as they are to be found today.
The survey can also cover the claim made in a blog article by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad that the Chinese (and Indians) are the real masters of the country. He wrote: “Because they (the Malays) are willing to share their country with other races, the race from the older civilisation of more than 4,000 years and who are more successful, as such today whatever they have now is also being taken away from them.”
This allegation and similar comments made by Mahathir are an important source of inspiration to ultra-nationalist and extremist forces and are partly responsible for many of the unfounded opinions circulated by Isma and similar groups and individuals on how the rights and privileges of the Malay community have been usurped by the immigrant communities and how badly they are presently doing.
Our former national leader has since modified his position by emphasising that, despite the surfeit of policies and opportunities provided to Malays, they still remain retarded in their socio-economic standing due to laziness, lack of honesty and other bad habits. This hard hitting view has only reinforced racial stereotypes on both sides of the racial divide and should not go unchallenged. The study should ask respondents whether they are in agreement or otherwise with this damning analysis of the Malay community and what policies are necessary to change such a mindset, if it indeed exists and is peculiar to the community.
Meanwhile the allegation that the non-Malays are the real owners and master of the country and that the Malays have been bullied and persecuted to the extent that they need more special protection has also been taken to a new level with religion being brought into the picture. New groups such as proxies of Jewish Zionist evangelists and other agents of foreign powers are alleged to be interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.
It is possible that Isma’s witch hunt aimed at rallying the Malay and Muslim community to stand firm against those intent on burying Islam and “want the Malay race to be in their control, want to see us insulted as our religion is raped, the dignity of our race trampled on and our country pawned to the point we cannot do anything” may end in tragic violence if nothing is done to refute them or persuade them otherwise.
Hopefully the results of the study can address the fears and concerns of Isma, Perkasa, Mahathir and other paranoid Malays and assure them that they have nothing to fear from the other communities, as well as convince them that Malay dominance in the country’s polity is unshakable and that alarm over a non-Malay takeover is totally unjustified.
Funding for the Study
To ensure that this proposal for a scientific and objective survey and study of present race and religious hot button issues now dominating the country’s discourse and media can be carried out, I am willing to fund the work in its entirety.
My only condition for the work is that a reputable and independent group of scholars from the nation’s universities and abroad should be responsible for drafting the survey questionnaire and determining the methodology; and that the findings of this study will be widely disseminated, including to the government and the National Unity Council so that quick and effective action can be taken to stop the rot in the deterioration of the country’s race and religious relations.
Do we still need a race-based budget?
A prominent economist says Budget 2015 was crafted to make everyone happy, but falls short on addressing structural economic issues.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Economist Ramon Navaratnam believes Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak tries too hard to give Malaysia a people-friendly budget and does it at the expense of addressing key structural economic issues.
Navaratnam, a former Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, said in an interview with FMT that Budget 2015′s emphasis on Malay and Bumiputera policies, in particular, was no longer necessary now that Malaysia was moving towards developed nation status.
“The budget is racially based,” he said. “Why do we need race-based policies anymore? We’ve passed that stage.
“That is the weakness of the budget. We shouldn’t keep thinking along racial lines anymore. It slows down progress.”
Navaratnam sees “too many political gimmicks” in the budget. “Politics shouldn’t have any role to play in the economy,” he said.
Explaining his opposition to race-based policies, he said the trouble was that they were too often and too widely abused, leading to wastage.
“The worst Bumiputera contractors are getting the job, which is why despite our spending on infrastructure, there’s very little return,” he added.
“These policies limit opportunities,” he said and he blamed them for capital flight out of the country.
Navaratnam also said he was discouraged that the budget took the easy way of ensuring the government’s popularity, handing out grants to the people without addressing structural issues for the longer term.
“This is definitely a people’s budget,” he said. “Every demographic is given something, although some not necessarily as significant as others.
“This does not build capacity, but consumption orientated indulgence. Does the BR1M grant generate income?”
Referring to Najib’s budget speech, he said the Prime Minister should have highlighted economic reports and the real macroeconomic outlook, providing specific figures on capital outflows, brain drain and other key structural problems that the nation faces.
He said he doubted that the government would achieve its target of reducing the national deficit by 3.5%, adding that he foresaw Najib tabling proposals for supplementary budgets in the months to come.
KUALA LUMPUR: Economist Ramon Navaratnam believes Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak tries too hard to give Malaysia a people-friendly budget and does it at the expense of addressing key structural economic issues.
Navaratnam, a former Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, said in an interview with FMT that Budget 2015′s emphasis on Malay and Bumiputera policies, in particular, was no longer necessary now that Malaysia was moving towards developed nation status.
“The budget is racially based,” he said. “Why do we need race-based policies anymore? We’ve passed that stage.
“That is the weakness of the budget. We shouldn’t keep thinking along racial lines anymore. It slows down progress.”
Navaratnam sees “too many political gimmicks” in the budget. “Politics shouldn’t have any role to play in the economy,” he said.
Explaining his opposition to race-based policies, he said the trouble was that they were too often and too widely abused, leading to wastage.
“The worst Bumiputera contractors are getting the job, which is why despite our spending on infrastructure, there’s very little return,” he added.
“These policies limit opportunities,” he said and he blamed them for capital flight out of the country.
Navaratnam also said he was discouraged that the budget took the easy way of ensuring the government’s popularity, handing out grants to the people without addressing structural issues for the longer term.
“This is definitely a people’s budget,” he said. “Every demographic is given something, although some not necessarily as significant as others.
“This does not build capacity, but consumption orientated indulgence. Does the BR1M grant generate income?”
Referring to Najib’s budget speech, he said the Prime Minister should have highlighted economic reports and the real macroeconomic outlook, providing specific figures on capital outflows, brain drain and other key structural problems that the nation faces.
He said he doubted that the government would achieve its target of reducing the national deficit by 3.5%, adding that he foresaw Najib tabling proposals for supplementary budgets in the months to come.
Najib Outlines Three Factors For BN Victory In GE14
TUMPAT,
Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said
three factors namely suitable candidates, strong machinery and a united
Barisan Nasional (BN) have to be established to ensure victory for BN in
the 14th general election (GE14).Najib, who is also BN chairman, said the combination of the three factors was proven with the big win for BN in the Pengkalan Kubor state by-election on Sept 25.
"The candidate has to be right... choose the candidate favoured by voters," he said on the first factor while speaking at a 'Leader with the People Session: An Evening with the Prime Minister' at the Kampung Geting community service centre in Pengkalan Kubor, here Saturday.
Taking the example of selecting Mat Razi Mat Ail as the BN candidate in the Pengkalan Kubor by-election, Najib said Mat Razi fulfilled the needs of voters as he had a respectable image apart from his knowledge on religion as well as being a teacher at a private religious school.
Najib said the strong election machinery also contributed to the success of BN as all parties worked as a team.
Najib also pointed out that unity in Umno and among BN component parties without any feelings of jealousy haD to be the core spirit to ensure victory for BN.
The Prime Minister stressed that the formula for BN's win in Pengkalan Kubor would be the watershed for Kelantan BN in GE14.
He also called on Kelantan BN to work harder in the effort to win the people's support for BN.
He also thanked Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Pengkalan Kubor by-election machinery director, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and the entire BN machinery who worked hard to ensure BN is firmly rooted in the constituency.
In the Pengkalan Kubor by-election last month, Mat Razi defeated Wan Rosdi Wan Ibrahim of PAS and independent Izat Bukhary Ismail by a majority of 2,635 votes.
Also present were Mustapa, who is also Kelantan BN chief, Umno secretary- General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Umno Information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan and Mat Razi.
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