Deputy speaker aims jibe at Bung's actress wife

Umno MP calls DAP lawmaker 'pondan'

Obama Responds to Jerusalem Synagogue Attack: 'Too Many Palestinians Have Died'

President Obama has responded to today’s terrorist attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem in which four Israeli Jews attending morning prayers condemning the attack, and stating that “the majority of Palestinians” want peace.

In a statement delivered to the White House press pool, President Obama responded to the attack by declaring that “too many Palestinians have died,” as well as Israelis, in the struggle between the state of Israel and the terrorist group Hamas and its affiliates, including the internationally active Muslim Brotherhood. “At this difficult time,” the President told reports, “I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions and reject violence.”

“We have to remind ourselves that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis overwhelmingly want peace,” the statement concludes, before the President begins remarks on the Ebola crisis in West Africa. The President did not take questions.

The President’s remarks follow Secretary of State John Kerry’s response to the terrorist attack, in which he called “on Palestinian leadership at every single level to condemn this in the most powerful terms.” Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, on his end, nominally condemned the attack while “stressing the need to end the causes of such attacks like tensions over what Jews call the Temple Mount and Palestinians call al-Aqsa Mosque.” Such a dismissal of the increasingly out-of-control terrorist activity by Palestinian extremists received the typical benefit of the doubt from mainstream media.

As previously mentioned, four were killed during the attack– three, the New York Post reports, were American citizens. Photos released by the IDF office show significant bloodshed, indicating that the axes were used in killing those praying in the synagogue. Those congregated there had assembled for morning prayers; the assailants were armed with both guns and axes. Both assailants were Arab Palestinians, and both were killed on sight.

This attack is the latest in a string in Jerusalem in recent months. Two such attacks perpetrated on Israeli Jewish residents of Jerusalem were done so using a car. In one incident, a Palestinian assailant drove his car into a group of Jewish Israelis, killing a three-month-old Chaya Zissel, a US citizen. In the aftermath of that attack, a senior Palestinian Authority aide called the killer a “heroic martyr,” and both Hamas and Fatah applauded the attack.

5/10 Brave mujehideens at work in Denmark: 97 year old lady badly hurt after being attacked by "Turkish-looking" "youths"

http://www.uriasposten.net/archives/61515


(The photo above is not from the incident with the 92 year old lady. The photo is from Sweden where a couple was visciously attacked with no apparent cause by "youths" in a Muslim dominated area in Nyköping)

"On Thursday afternoon a 97-year-old woman was victim of a serious assault in Nivå, when three young boys tried to steal her bag. ...
The assault took place at the Care and Activity center 15.00 Thursday. Here the 97-year-old came walking with her walker when three young boys began to run after her. The boys pushed the older lady, so she fell down and landed hard on her knees, while they tried to rip the 97-year-old bag out of her hands. ...
According to the police, the older lady was so badly hurt that she could not even stand up. Therefore an ambulance was called and the 97-year-old was taken to hospital."

Resolving the issues arising from inter-faith, inter-racial marriages

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was blunt about the issue of inter-faith and inter-racial marriages that could risk national harmony, particularly the tussle over children in the different court systems in Malaysia.

It is not a new issue, but perhaps Malaysia's top federal lawyer was mistaken over the real problem from such unions. It really is not about two people from different races or religions marrying but more about a breakdown when one spouse converts to Islam and the other does not.

Because, anyone who marries a Muslim in Malaysia has to convert to Islam. No two ways about it.

But the issue of one spouse from a marriage between two non-Muslims, converting to Islam and then converting any children the couple had during their civil union, has become a nightmare for many.

“The increasing number of cases has also raised allegations of racial discrimination by the courts and authorities. The anguish to the families cannot be overstated and that is a fact.

“In this regard, the failure of the converting spouses to resolve the family arrangements prior to conversion and, in fact, attempting to use the different jurisdictions of the civil and Shariah courts to their advantage, jeopardises not only family harmony but potentially national harmony,” Gani said at the ILKAP National Law Conference 2014 last week.

He said the problem of enforcing conflicting orders from the civil courts and Shariah courts in such disputes then calls into question the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and police’s integrity, adding that this would hamper their ability to effectively carry out their duties.

According to him, proposed amendments to three laws were mooted in 2009 to ensure that matters such as child custody and child maintenance would be decided by the court where the marriage was registered.

The three laws are the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993.

But Gani said the amendments remain pending.

That is the pity, because the A-G is right that it risks national harmony and brings the issue of discrimination against one party in any court.

So what must be done? Simple, Putrajaya must ensure that the relevant laws that have loopholes or have too much grey areas must be amended to make them clearer and unambiguous.

After all, there was a Cabinet decision, during the Tun Abdullah Badawi administration, whereby it was stated that in disputes between a wife and husband over the religion of their children, the religion of the couple at the time of marriage should be the guiding principle.

In other words a man/woman cannot convert their children, who were born out of a civil union, to Islam without the consent of the spouse, who is a non-Muslim.

However, the problem is that a Cabinet decision cannot be enforced because it is not law. And the existing laws are too ambiguous or rather have loopholes that some are exploiting.

As is being done now, to the detriment of some spouses and the larger community and country.

At the heart of the matter is not the issue of inter-faith or inter-racial marriages that risk national harmony, but the decisions of those in the Shariah courts that ignore the laws of the land and decide based on faith. – November 19, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/resolving-the-issues-arising-from-inter-faith-inter-racial-marriages#sthash.X9xAlk4C.dpuf

Najib pictured as Hindu priest, NGO files report

 

A photo of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak photoshopped so that he looks like a Hindu priest, has drawn the fury of Malay rights NGO Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia (MJMM).

MJMM filed a police report yesterday against the Facebook page ‘Bolehland’, which posted the photo.

The photo showed Najib’s face superimposed to the body of a shirtless Hindu priest.

The accompanying caption urged Muslims to embrace Hinduism, which according to the picture, was the religion of Najib’s ancestors.

MJMM president Abdul Rani Kulup Abdullah said this was an act of insult against the leader of the nation and called on the police to take immediate action.

“It is strange and surprising that these kinds of pictures are getting more widespread on social media lately. Stern action should be taken,” Rani said.

He also urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to take action against the perpetrators, as issues such as this might cause religious unrest in the country.

Rais: Doctored Najib photo a crime against society

 

A former minister has admonished those responsible for doctoring a photograph, where Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was portrayed as a Hindu priest.

According to Rais Yatim, such actions reflect a "society which is sick in terms of its thinking".

To counter this, the former information, communications and culture minister said ethics must be taught in schools and other institutions of learning.

He also pointed out that all religions stressed on the importance of ethical behaviour.

Rais is currently president of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) and special adviser to the government on socio-cultural matters, with ministerial status.

Terming the doctored photograph as a "crime against society", Rais said Najib could initiate legal action against those behind it in terms of filing a defamation suit.

However, the veteran politician is confident that the prime minister would not resort to such measures and would instead let the people judge it for themselves.

“But in the long term, we need to teach our society to respect others,” he said today.

Yesterday, the NGO Melayu Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia (MJMM) lodged a police report against the Facebook page ‘Bolehland’ for publishing the edited picture of Najib.

The picture shows Najib’s face superimposed over that of a Hindu priest.

‘Little room for legal action’

Rais said that using Malaysia’s “backward” laws, there is little room for victims of such publications to take legal action, even within the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act.

Although legal avenues are still open, he said the authorities and the attorney-general would have to study the matter carefully before taking action.

On another matter, Rais said Section 3 and Section 4 of the Sedition Act should be retained. The two sections defines what is a seditious tendency, and spells out the penalty.

Critics of the draconian law had argued that the law defines sedition too vaguely and leaves it susceptible to abuse, while proponents of the law claimed that it is needed to maintain racial harmony and protect institutions such as the royalty, the judiciary and the special position of bumiputras.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had pledged to abolish the law and replace it with the National Harmony Bill, but is now under pressure from right-wing groups to change his stance.

Rais said although not all criticism towards the government is seditious, action should be taken against any incitement towards the Agong because he is a figurehead of the country and no mere individual.

“Likewise, action should be taken against incitement towards judges because they are the symbol of the judiciary,” he said.

As for critics who argue that the Sedition Act invalid as it was passed before Merdeka Day and is not an act of parliament, Rais replied, “They forget that under the constitution, there are transitional provisions from pre-merdeka laws to post-merdeka laws.”

Law lecturer Azmi Sharom’s legal defence team, which is fending off Azmi’s sedition charge, had raised issue with the law’s colonial origins and argued that it is unconstitutional, and hence invalid.

Non-Malays are supporting the ‘tuans’ in Pakatan

 

YOURSAY ‘Syed Ali is making a mockery of the 1Malaysia logo on his shirt.’ 
             
'Chinese can do business because 'tuan' tolerant'

Malaccan: The Chinese in general have decided to support Malay leadership in another form, i.e. PKR and PAS rather than Umno.

Umno does not have monopoly on Malay leadership. In fact, Umno has betrayed the Malays in their five decades of unrestrained greed.

There is in no foundational document nor stand made by any political party, other than Umno, which speaks of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’.

Umno is being propped up by lies and seditious statements and supported by their lackeys in MCA, Gerakan and MIC, all of which are slowly but surely rejected by thinking and peaceful Malaysians of all races and religions who just want to get along and progress together as a nation.

It is the rakyat's patience that Umno and its Cheras division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee are testing. And it is they and their policies which are being rejected at the polls.

Syed Ali's statement and those which will come at the Umno general assembly next week will be seen as the dying throes of a rotten, self-indulgent and decayed entity that no longer deserves our attention or forbearance.

Anonymous$&@?: This is part of the continuation of brainwashing the rakyat via (not in any order): biased history books in schools, hate speeches by politicians like this one and his ilk, use of religion to scare the Malays, racist stories in Utusan Malaysia, and indoctrination by BTN (Biro Tatanegara).

Psychologists have found that repeated lies will slowly change the perception of the people over time whereby lies will become truths. This tactic was used by the Nazis and is now being copied by Umno to create a new ‘ketuanan Melayu’ generation that will grow up to believe that they are the God-chosen 'tuans' in this country.

Don't believe me, just ask any secondary Malay school children.

Proarte: The constitutional 'special position' of the Malays was recognising their relative backwardness and was never intended to create a 'chosen people' in the mould of Zionism.

Provisions were made to uplift the Malays with the 'privileges' designed to have a limited time frame. However, this has not been the case.

Syed Ali must be made aware that Malays do not have any 'special rights'. 'Privileges' can be taken away but 'rights' cannot. This explains why the federal constitution in Article 8 guarantees equal rights for all citizens.

Let me also educate this half-caste Umno racist that the Orang Asal are the real 'tuans' and that it is the Malays who must accept this fact. Shockingly, Orang Asal have been exploited and abused by Umno and their cronies to the extent that these 'tuans' of Malaysia are now the poorest community.

Malay, Chinese and Indian 'foreigners' must be more sensitive towards the Orang Asal and recognise their 'special position'. The exploitation and abuse must stop.  

Swipenter: When the Umno Baru AGM is round the corner, the annual chest thumping and hollering contest by Umnoputras starts in earnest without fail.

They jump on the bandwagon to see who can say the most racist thing and who the most ardent defender of race and religion is. In this contest, the constitutional Malays are usually the most vociferous of them all.

Last year, we let the ‘God-chosen race’ to continue ruling Bolehland and now we have to bow to their Malay hegemony.

Dr Suresh Kumar: Take my advice folks, especially our right-thinking Chinese brethren - Syed Ali is another sore Umno Baru loser who is trying to seek cheap publicity before the Umno AGM.

Don't fall into his trap and curse the larger Malay community who may not have even heard of this man. If he wants to 'knight' himself, so be it, let him 'syiok sendiri'.

There is a Tamil saying which goes like this: “When a dog barks at the moon, it's only hurting its own mouth.”

Starwars: The Malays know very well that these are rhetorics of a Umno politician who lives in a big bungalow, drive expensive cars and dine out at expensive places.

The Malays have come to realise that whatever said by such politicians, at the end of the day they are solely responsible for their own survival in this world and no Umno politician is going to come and give them money, food or house simply because they are Malays.

The real threat Umno Malays are facing is not from the Chinese but the Malays themselves. So don’t confuse yourself and deviate from the real problem confronting Umno.

The ordinary Malay people are going about their daily life without any issues with the Chinese and the majority of them work for their Chinese bosses without any complain. Just go around some of the workplaces and see how the Malays and non-Malays interact.

RSOH: I agree that Malays should be the leaders. But visionary Malays leaders such as Pak Samad (A Samad Said), Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah, Prof Azmi Sharom, etc, who place the interests of the nation over all else. Not these BN garbage that only know how to incite hatred and tell lies.

KSD: Syed Ali, you are making a mockery of the 1Malaysia logo on your shirt. I suggest that you start wearing the white robes of the Ku Klux Klan because you are exactly like them.

P Dev Anand Pillai: There is no use thumping our chests and calling ourselves the ‘lords’ when the ‘lords’ still depend on the ‘serfs’ to run the economy of the country.

If the blackman had accepted the theory that the whiteman is the "lord" and he is the "serf", we would not be seeing a black president of the United States today.

So please, we want equality for all, if you can't give us that, then please tell us so in plain words.

Lim Chong Leong: “This clearly shows that the Chinese support the opposition, this attitude must change and Chinese voters should be on the side of the government,” said Syed Ali.

He forgot that there are ‘tuans’ in the Pakatan that the Chinese supported and not the ‘tuans’ in Umno. Not supporting Umno is not anti-Malay but only anti-Umno.

'Muslim MPs must back Federal Syariah Court'

 

Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) ulama council has urged Muslim leaders – especially the lawmakers – to support the formation of the Federal Syariah Court.

The council chairperson Prof Aznan Hasan said today it is compulsory for all Muslim MPs to support the motion if it is tabled at the Dewan Rakyat.

Aznan said Muslim leaders should support the issue in the interest of Islam and Muslims, and not based on their political interest.

“For the non-Muslims, the Isma council urges them to respect that Islam is the religion of the Federation as stated in the Federal Constitution. Islam has a special position and this has to be respected by all.

“Hence, efforts to question the religion's standing in Malaysia is an attempt to disrupt the peace which we have today,” Aznan said in a statement today.

He was commenting on a proposal by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom on having a five-tiered syariah court system compared to the present three, which includes the formation of a Federal Syariah Court.

Support for 'equal jurisdiction'

Jamil was quoted to have said the government is waiting for a decision from the various state Islamic councils on establishing these courts to strengthen the syariah judiciary.

Presently, courts within the syariah system include the Lower Syariah Court, Syariah High Court, and the Syariah Court of Appeal which operate in the various states.

Each state has jurisdiction over Islam, which falls within the state’s powers.

Jamil says the Federal Syariah Court will have the same jurisdiction as the civil Federal Court.

DAP and MIC, among other political parties, are said to oppose such formation.

Aznan said Isma supports its formation and efforts to strengthen the syariah judiciary in an attempt to improve the Syariah Court in the country.

He also reiterated the NGO's support of any effort for the syariah system to have equal jurisdiction as the civil courts.

"For me, the effort is one way to uplift Islam from the legal aspect, and also to avoid any conflict in decisions made by the syariah courts which are challenged in the civil courts," he said.

Umno MP calls DAP lawmaker 'pondan'

 

VIDEO | 3.24 mins

PARLIAMENT An Umno lawmaker today called Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua "pondan" in the Dewan Rakyat after the latter refused to allow the former to interrupt his speech.

Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim called the DAP leader a "coward" and used the word "pondan", but was asked by deputy speaker Ismail Mohamed Said to calm down and sit down.

No further action was taken against Abdul Azeez (right), as Pua left the House soon after.

The altercation happened when Pua was debating the budget at committee stage for the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, asking the ministry to clarify on the status of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) subsidiaries which have not submitted their financial statements.

Abdul Azeez had asked Pua to give him space to interrupt during the speech, but Pua chose to give way for Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) instead.

This riled Abdul Azeez, who started shouting and interrupting Khalid’s speech.

"You are a coward, you are pondan! I asked you to give me space, I asked nicely, but you didn’t want to give, you are a coward!" Abdul Azeez ranted.

"You are not qualified to sit in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). You should be ashamed!" he said.

"Shah Alam (Khalid) and Petaling Jaya Utara (Pua) should go play badminton with each other.

"Why not give way to Baling (Abdul Azeez)?" he asked.

Abdul Azeez continued standing up after Khalid's speech, and started ranting when Pua concluded his speech without giving room for Abdul Azeez.

Khalid called out Abdul Azeez for trying to interrupt the debate, but no MPs or speakers called out on Abdul Azeez's use of the word.

'Can't charge Ibrahim under Penal Code since no intent'

 

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who has come under fire for not hauling Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali to court over his threat to burn the Bible, today further explained his reason for not doing so under the Penal Code.

Responding to queries on the matter at the recent Judicial and Legal Training Institute (Ilkap) national law conference, he said Ibrahim could not be charged under Section 505 (b) and (c) of the Penal Code because the “intent” element was not qualified.

"Therefore, how could Ibrahim be considered to have a committed a crime in that context?

"It should also be realised that with the ‘intent’ requirement under Section 505, it would be more difficult to prove a case under Section 505 than under the Sedition Act 1948,” he added.

According to Abdul Gani (right), the Perkasa chief explained that his remark was not aimed at creating racial disharmony.

He then quoted Ibrahim as saying, “This is not a statement to cause any religious conflict but to defend the purity of Islam as stated in the laws.”

Reasonable suspicion propogation

Abdul Gani also said Ibrahim (below) was not calling for copies of the Bible to be torched but was urging to “stop the propagation of a religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam”.

“The intention element would not be satisfied for an offence under either Section 505(b) and (c).

“Further, if there were reasonable grounds for believing that there was an attempt to propagate a religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam contrary to Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution, the action would fall within the exception as well,” he added.  

Section 505 concerned “statements conducing to public mischief”.

Section 505 (b) states: With intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby  any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or against public tranquility;

Whereas Section 505 (c) states: With intent to incite or which is likely to incite any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community of persons.

Previously, Abdul Gani also issued a similar explanation as to why Ibrahim could not be charged under the Sedition Act.

He had said that an in-depth examination found that the Perkasa chief had carefully laid out his statement.

Right to defend religion

Abdul Gani also said that each person was entitled to defend his own religion, so long as it was not against the law.

“It is not easy to charge someone in court, without complete facts, information and report.

“It is better if the department takes one case to court and win, rather than bringing 10 cases to court and win only five,” he added.

Last January, a slew of police reports were lodged against Ibrahim for urging Muslims to seize and burn copies of the Bible which contained the word ‘Allah’ or other Arabic and Jawi religious words at a media conference after a Perkasa convention in Penang.

Harmony laws will protect royals and Malays’ special position, says A-G

New National Harmony laws may end up further tightening Putrajaya's grip on free speech on the topics of race, special privileges and the royal institution, judging from a recent speech by Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail.

The country's top prosecutor said that among the principles set down by the prime minister for the new laws, there must be nothing that "would incite hatred and contempt or disloyalty to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong or any Ruler".

All provisions regarding the different ethnic groups in Malaysia under Articles 152, 153 and 181 of the Federal Constitution would also be protected, Gani said.

"The new law would also proscribe promotion of ill will and enmity among races or different groups of peoples in Malaysia, and would prohibit the questioning of any rights, position, privileges, sovereignty and prerogatives as prescribed or protected under the provisions (of the Federal Constitution)," the text of his speech at the recent Ilkap National Law Conference 2014 said.

Gani was talking about the current debate over the Sedition Act 1948 and whether it should be repealed or amended and retained alongside National Harmony laws to regulate race relations.

The A-G likened the current debate as a "nationalistic struggle" about the future of the colonial-era law, enacted by the British and broad in its definition of what can be deemed seditious as well as loose in requiring proof of seditious intent.

"Those that advocate its wholesale repeal and substitution with a 'national harmony', 'race relations' or 'hate-crime' type legislation modeled on the laws in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States of America say that (the Sedition Act) is archaic.

"However, those that fear its repeal will lead to social disorder, anarchy or compromise of the special position of the Malay Rulers, which in turn would jeopardise the Malay Rulers ability to uphold Islam and safeguard Malay/Bumiputra rights, now argue for its retention," the A-G said.

He reiterated that the government was still in talks with various groups about the new national harmony laws, and it was still undecided if there would be new legislation, or if the Sedition Act would merely be amended.

Gani said the government "refused to be hurried" despite pressure from civil society on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to uphold his promise, which was first made in July 2012, to repeal the Sedition Act.

The A-G indicated, however, that he was open to having separate laws to deal with contempt of court and criticism of the government if there was "consensus" that such criticism should no longer be treated as having seditious tendencies.

He said he was personally of the view that contempt of court should come under a separate law, but that issues related to the Malays' and Bumiputeras' special position, the Malay Rulers and the position of Islam should remain in the Sedition Act.

"I believe it would be a problem to take these out of the realm of sedition and the Sedition Act 1948. I would like to make it clear that this is because these matters are embodied in the Federal Constitution.

Therefore, they will have to be protected under the Sedition Act 1948 unless those provisions themselves are first amended.

The position of Islam and the citizenship rights of the non-Malays must also be similarly protected," Gani said.

But he also said the rights of non-Malays under Part III of the constitution on citizenship requirements, should be similarly protected as these were "part of the social contract".

The proposed National Harmony laws are being drafted by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), a government committee under the purview of the National Unity and Integration Department.

The council, which comprises senior civil servants, academicians, civil society representatives and even an opposition MP from PAS, recently drew flak from ruling government MPs who said that it had jumped the gun in releasing its draft to the public, giving the impression that Putrajaya had endorsed the draft.

The NUCC's work appears to be in doubt, based on Gani's speech in which he said that the A-G's Chambers would be "taking up the gauntlet to prepare this new era legislation for Malaysia". – November 19, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/harmony-laws-will-protect-royals-and-malays-special-position-says-a-g#sthash.ukftHOi7.dpuf

Fiesty girl fights back as road bully slaps her

Young woman slaps road bully back and pinches his chest after he manhandles her for refusing to reverse her car.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Although this article comes with a strong recommendation to refrain from ever doing as this young woman did, it nevertheless does serve to show that road bullies are a growing menace in our country and come in all shapes and sizes.

This recent case of road bullying occurred on November 17 behind a hotel in Jalan Raja Chulan, this time involving a young girl and a much older taxi driver.

Relating the incident, the victim said a taxi driver, who looked around 60 years old, lost his cool when she refused to reverse her car after he deliberately blocked her path in a busy back street in the city.

The victim remarked there was no reason for the taxi driver to stop his car right in front of hers in that manner since it was a two-way lane and the “uncle” could have easily moved aside so she could pass.

Clearly annoyed at her refusal to reverse although according to the victim, “There was no space for me to reverse,” the taxi driver began shouting at her using foul language and even banged her car slightly.

Alighting from her vehicle to take a photo of the taxi driver and his car, the man then yanked open her car door and made as if to drive off with her car.

At this point, the young woman asked him loudly why he hit her car at which he told her to remove her car immediately. He then slapped her on the left side of her face.

Not to be cowered by a road bully, she slapped him back at which point he slapped her again, this time on the right of her face and grabbed her face in his hands.

She said that to defend herself, she pinched his chest until he let her go. Posting a picture of herself with a bleeding lip, she wrote, “The slap caused a cut on my lips”.

With the licence plate of the car clearly visible in the photo that was uploaded, it is hoped that police will do the necessary to ensure road-bullies who slap women around, are banned from driving on our streets.

Navaratnam threatened for criticising MACC

Police are probing threats made in 'harsh and vulgar' text messages.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Police are investigating threats made against prominent public figure Ramon Navaratnam over his criticism of MACC proposals aimed at curbing illegal land clearing in Cameron Highlands.

Navaratnam lodged a police report after receiving four text messages that he described as “harsh and vulgar”. He said they threatened to harm him and his family.

“They have vilified me for stating in the Malay Mail last week that the points provided by MACC to prevent slope slides in Cameron Highlands won’t win public confidence because they are merely administrative proposals,” he told FMT.

Last July, at a Pahang meeting of the National Security Council, MACC submitted 12 recommendations to overcome illegal and excessive land clearing in Cameron Highlands. The recommendations called for a joint effort by all authorities to prevent any space for corruption and abuse of power and overcome administrative weaknesses in the enforcement and management of land in the area.

Navaratnam said the recommendations were not sufficient to solve “major lapses of, inter alia, poor laws, soft enforcement and a weak political will to seriously address the huge problems of bad slope management in Cameron Highlands and all over our beautiful hilly country”.

Navaratnam is adviser to SlopeWatch, a community-based organisation which monitors slopes for signs of landslides and conducts simple maintenance such as clearing of overgrowth in drains.

He called for better government policies and an improvement in the attitudes of local governments, saying these were necessary “if we are to effectively tackle bad slope management and reduce deaths from landslides.”

Referring to his police report, he said he hoped the culprits would be caught soon.

“Some people cannot accept honest criticism as it might break their rice bowls,” he said. “They try to stifle constructive criticism and public discussion in order to continue their rape of our environment and pursue their corrupt practices.

“The same tactic is perpetuated by extremists against the silent majority. Moderate Malaysians must therefore stand up for justice and resist and reject the corrupt and the bigots in our country.

“The government should go all out to warn hate and fear mongers that they will be hunted down and punished for attacking honest critics who want to protect public interests and the nation’s future against unscrupulous and greedy Malaysians.

“The fundamental freedoms of the press and the public must be protected. Constructive critics should not be put off by these minority fringe bigots and zealots who can undermine our democratic way of life and our progress.”

Perkasa forces Islamic seminar to be put off

Putrajaya only recognizes the Sunni denomination and the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence.

FMT

SEREMBAN: A seminar on denominational differences and variety of beliefs in Islam, organised by the newly set up NGO Projek Pluralisme Malaysia in Seremban, has been postponed after Perkasa lodged a police report against it.

The seminar was to have taken place on Thursday and Friday at a state government-owned hotel in the Negri Sembilan capital. The hotel has since reportedly said that it would not allow the event to go ahead at its place.

“I had to cancel it. I can’t afford confrontations. The hotel had rejected the event anyway, it even refunded our payment,” said organizer Khalid Mohd Ismath, who heads Projek Pluralisme Malaysia, in a media update via text message.

“I got a call from them on Monday. It said orders from above. The hotel did not want to be involved in problematic programmes.”

Dr Mohd Faizal Musa, a lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia who is also an award-winning novelist popularly known as Faisal Tehrani, was scheduled to be one of the three guest speakers.

The others are co-ordinator of charity group Religion of Love, Hussain Sajjad; and a vocal writer and activist known as Benz Ali.

Muslims make up 61.3 per cent of the Malaysian population, followed by Buddhists at 19.8 per cent, and Christians at 9.2 per cent, according to the latest census data from 2010.

There’s freedom of worship in the Federal Constitution.

However, Putrajaya only recognizes only the Sunni denomination.

Shi’ism, Islam’s second-largest branch and practised by an estimated 15 per cent of the 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, is regarded as deviant by Malaysia, which strictly adheres to Sunni teachings.

Malays make up 50.4 per cent of the country’s population, according to the Department of Statistics figures for 2010, but Muslims form 61.3 per cent.

Azmin played out Azizah, says Chegubard

He says the PKR Deputy President coaxed five Selangor assemblymen to withdraw their support.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: While the popular perception has been that it was PAS that blocked PKR President Wan Azizah Ismail’s bid to take the Selangor Menteri Besar post, it now appears that she was played out by elements in her own party.

At the height of the Selangor crisis, 30 Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen signed statutory declarations in support of Wan Azizah.

However, according to former PKR supreme councillor Badrul Hisham Shaharin, five of the 30 subsequently withdrew their support.

They signed their second SDs at the behest of Azmin Ali, he told a press conference today.

To prove his point, Badrul Hisham, also known as Chegubard, produced a photocopy of an SD allegedly signed by PKR vice-president Xavier Jayakumar, who is the assemblyman for Sri Andalas.

He said he would name the other four assemblymen after reporting the matter to the PKR leadership.

The allegation against Xavier has surfaced before, although he denied signing the second SD and claimed he had made a police report that his signature was forged. However, Badrul Hisham said he had made a search for the police report and found none.

“If the SD is genuine,” Badrul Hisham said, “then Xavier can be sacked from the party. Let’s see whether PKR adheres to the rule of law.”

Badrul Hisham’s membership in PKR has been suspended indefinitely because he criticised the party’s election process.

Joseph Pairin’s greatest act of patriotism is to put an immediate end to the 40-year “merry-go-rounds” on the Sabah illegal immigrants problem and not to be a party or to give his blessing to another “merry-go-round” by heading a committee to review the RCIIIS Report

By Lim Kit Siang Blog

Kudos to the PBS President, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan for being hailed as a “true Malaysian patriot” by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Sunday.

I do not know whether this implied that Joseph Pairin’s brother is not a “true Malaysian patriot”, but in keeping with his responsibility as a “true Malaysian patriot”, Joseph Pairin’s final and greatest responsibility is to end the 40-year “merry-go-rounds” to resolve the long-standing problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah which had mushroomed from the 140,000 figure which I cited in 1978 to some 1.5 million to 1.9 million today, completely changing the political demography and socio-economic circumstances in Sabah.

Pairin said his party had called for the formation of the RCI since it was established in 1985.

When I spoke in Parliament in March 1986 on the Fifth Malaysia Plan, where I devoted the bulk of my speech on Sabah and the problem of illegal refugees in the state, I estimated that there were about 300,000 Filipino illegal immigrants in Sabah.

I called on the Federal Government to take firm action to uphold the law, honour the Rukunegara, liberate Sabahans from the menace posed by the illegal immigrants by sending increased reinforcements of police and security forces, in particular marine police, to protect Sabahans from internal unrest and external threat fomented by the illegal immigrants.

I proposed in Parliament (in 1986) that the illegal immigrants should repatriated to their own country, warning that there was a conspiracy to illegally enfranchise the illegal immigrants and give them voting rights to change the political map of Sabah as it was an “open secret” that the illegal immigrants had been given blue identity cards and been registered on the electoral register.

I calculated at the time, i.e. 28 years ago in 1986, that out of 48 Sabah State Assembly seats, 21 were Kadazan majority seats, 8 Chinese majority seats and 19 Malay majority seats. If the illegal enfranchisement of illegal immigrants were allowed to take place unimpeded for another just three years, it was feared that the electoral complexion could be changed to 16 Kadazan majority seats, 2 Chinese majority seats, and 30 Malay/Filipino/Indonesian seats.

All these concerns which I had expressed in Parliament in 1986 had come to pass, with fundamental changes in the political demography and socio-economic circumstances in Sabah as a result of the illegal enfranchisement of illegal immigrants, which is the subject of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS).

Are we, at the end of 2014, at the end-stage of this 40-year betrayal of the native Sabahans or at the beginning of another sickening “merry-go-round” which will see no solution or conclusion to the problem, but instead see a greater influx of illegal immigrants following the announcement by the Prime Minister of a review committee into the report of the RCIIIS headed by Joseph Pairin?

Joseph Pairin’s greatest act of patriotism and even statesmanship is to put an immediate end to the 40-year “merry-go-rounds” on the Sabah illegal immigrants problem and not to be a party and give his blessing to another “merry-go-round” by heading a committee to review the RCIIIS Report.

What is needed is not to further review, but to immediately implement, the recommendations of the RCIIIS.

Friday’s Cabinet meeting cannot be more critical and crucial for the resolution once-and-for all of the 40-year illegal immigrants problem in Sabah. It is in fact the D-Day whether there is going to be a solution or another “merry-go-round” procrastination for the problem.
Joseph Pairin, together with the three Sabah Ministers, as well as all Sabah MPs, should convince the Prime Minister and the Cabinet that Sabah does not need another “merry-go-round” to the 40-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah, as what was needed now is action to resolve the problem in the form of an Implementation Committee for the RCIIIS Report.

Is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet prepared to give Joseph Pairin the full powers to implement the RCIIIS Report recommendations, and in areas where it is not possible to implement the recommendations, to give the Implementation Committee two months to report to Parliament and to seek guidance?

It is no use for Joseph Pairin to be praised as a “truly Malaysian patriot” if the Prime Minister is not prepared to vest in the PBS President the full powers to implement, wherever possible, the recommendations of the RCIIIS report to resolve once-and-for all the 40-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Would Najib ask all the 34 UMNO/BN Ministers who send their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign, to resign for their lack of confidence in the Umno/BN national education policy and system?

By Lim Kit Siang Blog

Malaysians must thank the former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad for highlighting the scandal of more and more Umno/BN Ministers and leaders sending their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign, as it has been a standing example in the past decades of the hypocrisy of UMNO/BN leaders who preach one thing for ordinary Malaysians but do the exact opposite for themselves and their family.

Would the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak ask all the 34 Umno/BN Ministers who send their children to private or international schools, whether local or foreign, to resign for their lack of confidence in the Umno/BN national education policy and system?

I have been informed that one of the first things a Minister of the Najib Cabinet did on his appointment was to transfer one of his children to an international school.

Why?

Is this because Malaysia’s education system sucks, stuck in the bottom third of the countries surveyed in international assessments and not making any significant moves towards the upper tier of the top one-third of the countries with 15-year-olds in Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea performing as though they had four or even five more years of schooling than 15-years-olds in Malaysia in mathematics, science and reading?

Recent world university rankings show a power shift from the West, in particular the United States and United Kingdom, to the East, with for example 24 Asian Universities listed in the top 200 universities in the 2014 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings compared with 20 a year earlier – led by Tokyo University and National University of Singapore in the top 25.

But this seismic shift in the continuing erosion of United States and United Kingdom domination of global higher education and the inexorable rise of Asian universities seemed to have completely by-passed Malaysia, despite our annual massive expenditures on education.

This trend was confirmed in the release of the US News and World Report’s 500 Best Global Universities Ranking 2015 last month, where the country’s premier university, the University of Malaya is the only university listed in the very lowly position of No. 423.

Even more serious, Malaysia is only placed in two of the 2,100 slots for 100 Best Global Universities for 21 subjects, i.e. Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) placed in the 54th rank in the 100 Best Global Universities for agricultural science, and University Sains Malaysia (USM) ranked No. 87 in the 100 Best Global Universities for engineering.

It is scandalous and shameful that out of the 2,100 slots for 100 Best Global Universities for 21 subjects, Malaysia’s 21 public universities which have a total of over 200 schools for different disciplines, could only manage to be placed in the 100 Best Global University slots for two subjects – agricultural science for UPM and engineering for USM.

Malaysians would have expected the University of Malaya, as the premier university of the country which have 12 faculties, two academies, five institutes and five centres, to be ranked among the 100 Best Global Universities in at least half a dozen subject areas since it got ranked as No. 423 in the 500 Best Global Universities Rankings 2015.

This is because universities which were on par with UM in terms of academic excellence and standards half a century ago, like University of Hong Kong, National University of Singapore, University of Melbourne and University of Sydney are ranked in the 100 Best Global Universities in more than a dozen subject areas.

National University of Singapore is 100 Best Global Universities for 15 subjects, University of Hong Kong in 13 subjects, University of Melbourne for 16 subjects and University of Sydney in 13 subjects.

Singapore, with three universities, wins 20 of the 2,100 slot for the 100 Best Global Universities for 21 subjects, i.e. National University of Singapore (15), Nanyang Technological University (4) and Singapore Management University (1).
Even Mahidol University of Thailand, which is below University of Malaya, being ranked No. 453 in the 500 Best Global Universities Rankings 2015, is rated as the 100 Best Global Universities for two subject areas – immunology and microbiology.

But Umno/BN Ministers and leaders are not really concerned about the deteriorating standards of education and higher education in Malaysia because they have themselves no confidence in the Umno/BN education system and policy and have long ago ensured that their children opted out of the system altogether.
How many Umno/BN Ministers and leaders dare to declare that they do not send their children to private or international schools, local or foreign?

Will UMNO delegates next week demand that all the 18 UMNO Ministers and 17 UMNO Deputy Ministers should each make a public declaration whether their children and grandchildren are educated under the national education system or whether they have been educated in private or international schools, local or foreign?

AGC objecting to submissions at death inquest a bad precedent, says lawyer

The lawyer for the family of Cheah Chin Lee, who died in police custody in August 2012, has expressed concern over an apparent precedent set by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in objecting to the family's submissions at the inquest on Cheah’s death.

M.Visvanathan said the AGC's move, through deputy public prosecutor Nur Farhana Hashim, to file a preliminary objection in the Penang High Court on October 31 could lead to a peculiar situation.

"The notice of objection is unprecedented in this country," he said at a press conference today.

"I would say the AGC should be happy that we are helping the court to reach the findings," he said, adding that the administration of justice should be open and transparent.

He said AGC did not respond in the same manner in the previous inquests such as Teoh Beng Hock and R.Gunasegaran who also died while in custody.

Visvanathan also cited the inquest on the death of Lim Chin Aik who was pinned into the ground by falling concrete from the Menara Umno building in June last year, where counsel Gobind Singh Deo who held the watching brief for the family was allowed to make extensive submissions.

"So why this different approach in Chin Lee’s case?" he asked. "All the while can, now suddenly cannot."

Stressing that the objection helps to create “an atmosphere of mistrust”, he said: "The administration of justice must be jealously guarded."

"We are very concerned that this case has created a very peculiar situation, a bad precedent so to speak," he added.

Also present were Chin Lee’s mother Lim Gaik Suan and uncle Cheah Eu Yeow.

On November 6, a High Court ruling by Judicial Commissioner Datuk Noordin Hassan upheld Coroner L. Umma Devi’s refusal to allow Visvanathan to make submissions, and to have notes of evidence and the court recording transcription (CRT) of the inquest.

Several human rights lawyers and activists have called the decision shocking, saying it had reversed the tradition of allowing lawyers, holding watching brief on behalf of the deceased's family members, to address the court.

Chin Lee’s auntie Leanne Cheah said the family is also mindful of the impact the decision would have on other cases.

"There were 19 deaths (in custody) in Penang alone this year and if this (denying access to records) happens now, if they change the ruling now, they can easily change the ruling for all the cases," she said.

Earlier this morning, Visvanathan told the inquest at the Penang court that he has since filed an application with the Court of Appeal (CoA) on November 13 on behalf of the family.

He requested for proceedings to be adjourned until after the CoA’s decision.

Umma Devi moved the proceedings, to be held for three days beginning January 21 next year.

She said she was doing so not because she agreed with Visvanathan’s request but to allow Bar Council representative S.Rethinakumar, who appeared for the first time to hold a watching brief, to get himself updated on the case with the help of necessary documents and audio materials.

"We welcome the good intentions of the Bar Council for this watching brief," she said.

A total of 17 witnesses have thus far been heard and another 15, including a few from the police, are expected to be called.

Chin Lee, 31, died in the Tanjung Tokong police station lockup on August 13, 2012, after he had been arrested for allegedly stealing a motorbike. – November 18, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/agc-objecting-to-submissions-at-death-inquest-a-bad-precedent-says-lawyer#sthash.xbzCIIIQ.dpuf

A case for Syariah court

The Star
by M. MAGESWARI

KUALA LUMPUR: Only the Syariah court has the exclusive jurisdiction to deal with the case against academician Kassim Ahmad for insulting Islam, the High Court heard yesterday.

Federal counsel from the Attorney-General’s Chambers submitted yesterday that Kassim’s application for an order to quash a decision by the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) to prosecute him for allegedly insulting Islam should be deemed as academic.

Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan submitted that the civil court has no jurisdiction to deal with matters related to Islam.

“We submit that it is a matter where only the Syariah court has the exclusive jurisdiction to deal with,” she argued before High Court judge Justice Asmabi Mohamad.

Suzana submitted that it was clearly stated in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

Federal Counsel Maisarah Juhari submitted that Kassim’s application for a judicial review concerning the issuance of his warrant of arrest and search warrant, as well as the decision of Jawi to prosecute him for allegedly insulting Islam should be deemed as academic.

“It is academic as the applicant has been charged in the Syariah High Court,” she said.

Maisarah said if Kassim was dissatisfied with all procedures leading to his prosecution in the Syariah court, he could make use of the Syariah High Court’s revisionary and supervisory power to review and make relevant direction over the matter as justice required.

She said the contention that Kassim was not informed of his charges is a total lie and that it could be noted from the police report lodged on March 26.

Kassim filed the application on June 26, to get a court order to quash the decision of Federal Territory Syarie chief prosecutor Ibrahim Deris to charge him at the Putrajaya Syariah High Court in March.

Kassim is seeking an order for the High Court to assess compensation for the trauma, fear, losses, difficulty and damage to his reputation and good name due to Jawi’s alleged wrongful arrest and prosecution.

He had named Minister in the Prime Minister’s department (Islamic affairs) Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, Ibrahim, Jawi and the Government as respondents.

Among others, Kassim is applying to the court to set aside the action of the Jawi’s enforcement officers in raiding and seizing his publication materials as well as for arresting him in Kedah.

However, Kassim’s lead counsel Rosli Dahlan argued that Jawi’s actions in prosecuting his client for allegedly insulting Islam were illegal.

Among others, Rosli argued that Jawi had created its own document with a tampered date and claimed that there was a first information report in the case against Kassim.

Rosli argued there was inconsistency on the period of Kassim’s detention and it could be noted in the time stated in the police report and the respondents’ affidavit with regard to his arrest.

He said that Jawi acted in bad faith by depriving Kassim of his liberty without due care, caution and responsibility when it, despite knowing that he is an 82-year-old, subjected him to detention for more than 27 hours. Justice Asmabi set Dec 19 to deliver her decision on the judicial review application.

ASEAN To Develop SME Sector Under Malaysia's Stewardship - Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- ASEAN will develop a comprehensive regional small and medium enterprise (SME) sector under Malaysia's chairmanship, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The prime minister said the commitment reflected the importance of the SME sector in the Malaysian economy and the region.

"I hope to announce a strategic plan to this effect next year," he said when addressing the ASEAN-Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) at a dinner in Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday night.

The prime minister said more measures would be formulated in near term to help SMEs access to finance.

"Some of these companies do not even keep proper books or understand how to present their business when seeking bank loans.

"Banks, in turn, are sometimes too risk averse when it comes to financing SMEs. That is why in some countries like Malaysia, there are SME banks," he said.

Reiterating a proposal from ASEAN-BAC to set up the ASEAN SME Bank, he said ASEAN banks that wished to operate in another ASEAN country, should be compelled to set aside a proportion of their assets for SME lending.

Najib said the coming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) presented great opportunities, but also serious challenges.

"As chair during this momentous time, Malaysia will lead - with the cooperation of member states - to achieve as much of the ASEAN blueprint as possible," he said.

Najib said companies looking for the full benefit of the AEC must bear in mind that they might lose the first mover advantage if they were to wait too long.

"It's not just ASEAN companies looking at the economies of scale of a single production base for a large and free market - but also global companies looking for a foothold in Southeast Asia.

"Already, non-ASEAN multinationals are establishing themselves and planning ahead," he said.

Najib said a centralised data bank in ASEAN could provide SMEs with outsourced information to facilitate and grow their business.