Wednesday 7 January 2015
Bosnian imam attacked seven times over call to stay out of Syria
TRNOVI, Bosnia-Herzegovina: The long-bearded man burst into the mosque’s yard and pinned Selvedin Beganovic to the ground. Shouting “Now I will slaughter you!” he plunged a knife three times into the imam’s chest and fled.
It was no random attack: Beganovic has suffered seven assaults blamed on Muslim extremists in the past year – with three just last month.
The apparent reason for the jihadi wrath? Beganovic uses his pulpit to tell the faithful in predominantly Muslim Bosnia they have no business fighting in Syria or Iraq. And he vows to keep preaching the message no matter how many times extremists try to silence him.
“That is not our war,” the imam told the Associated Press in his small northwestern town. “Our jihad in Bosnia is the fight against unemployment. The care for our parents who have small pensions. The care for the socially jeopardized.”
Some 150 Bosnians have joined Islamist militants in Syria or Iraq, officials estimate, with many fighting for the jihadi group ISIS. All are apparently members of a small community that follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam. Last month, a court in Bosnia charged a man believed to be the spiritual leader of the group with recruiting Bosnians to fight with Islamist militants in Syria and organizing a terrorist group.
Beganovic, who preaches every week to a full mosque, tells his followers that groups like ISIS are spreading a “perverted” version of Islam. “When did [the Prophet] Mohammad ever behead anyone? When did he take a knife and slaughter an innocent journalist?”
Of Islam’s 99 names for God – including The Mighty and The Avenger – the ones Beganovic likes most are The Exceedingly Merciful and The Exceedingly Gracious.
“That is what we teach our children here,” he said.
Dragan Lukac, the director of federal police, blamed fighters returning from Syria’s front lines for the attacks against Beganovic, which include severe beatings and knife slashes to the face, shoulders and hands. Investigators are still hunting for the attacker in last week’s knife assault.
“Every person who comes back from that front line is a danger,” Lukac said. “These people are able to perform attacks on citizens, on property, on state institutions.”
Militant Islam was all but unknown to Bosnia’s mostly secular Muslim population until the 1990s Balkans wars when Arab mercenaries turned up to help the outgunned Bosnian Muslims fend off Serb attacks. These fighters, many of whom settled in Bosnia, embraced a radical version of Islam that Bosnia’s official Muslim community opposes.
The community’s leader, Husein Kavazovic, has repeatedly warned Bosnians not to fall for extremist rhetoric aimed at pulling them into the fight in Syria.
“Our job is to keep repeating, to keep warning that this is evil and cannot be justified,” he said.
That’s exactly what Beganovic has been doing – at the risk of his life.
“These are dangerous people,” he said. “Their place is in a mental institution.”
- See more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Jan-06/283169-bosnian-imam-attacked-seven-times-over-call-to-stay-out-of-syria.ashx#sthash.skcnVG5V.dpuf
Najib on private trip to Thailand, says report
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was in Thailand on a private trip to meet his Thai counterpart Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and also to rest during the New Year's holiday, Bangkok Post reported today.Quoting sources, it stated that Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor made a visit to Thailand on January 2.
The report coincided with the presence of the government jet in the Thai capital where the Airbus A319 had been tracked flying from Dubai to Bangkok early that morning.
"They went shopping, played golf and stayed overnight at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok," the report added.
During the visit, Najib also met with Prayut and held informal talks for 90 minutes at the Thai PM's residence.
Among the topics discussed, according to Bangkok Post, included Malaysia's Asean chairmanship.
The report added that since it was a private trip, the news of his visit was not highlighted as per standard protocol and for "etiquette" reasons.
"The Malaysian PM had to tweet that he had lunch with Prayut, thanking Thailand for donating 500 tonnes of rice to help flood victims in Malaysia to avoid criticism," the source told Bangkok Post.
Many Malaysians had criticised Najib after photographs of him playing golf with US President Barack Obama in Hawaii went viral.
The issue, however, became worse when the prime minister did not return to Malaysia on the government jet but instead flew home on a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) passenger aircraft, fuelling further speculation as to the whereabouts of the government jet and those on board.
It was reported yesterday that the Airbus A319, bearing tail number 9M-NAA, was parked at Subang Airport, after landing safely at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) the night before.
Prior to that, the plane was reported to have been in three different cities in the United States, followed by stops in London, Dubai and finally, Bangkok.
The Prime Minister's Office, in a statement to veteran journalist Datuk A.Kadir Jasin, said Najib had not been able to to use the official jet to return to Malaysia on December 27 as it had "technical issues".
Najib had also defended his golf game with Obama, calling it “golf diplomacy” which had been practised by Malaysian leaders in the past, including his father, the late Tun Abdul Razak.
He said the invitation by Obama “was difficult to decline” as it was planned based on other schedules. – January 6, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/najib-on-private-trip-to-thailand-says-report#sthash.MMn45CWH.dpuf
Moderate Muslim groups meet Dr M to discuss G25 open letter
In a bid to get Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to meet with moderate Muslims, three civil society leaders met privately with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week to discuss their concerns about the lack of national leadership and Putrajaya's inaction against worsening religious and racial rhetoric.The groups – Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), Sisters in Islam (SIS) and Movement for a Just World (JUST) – sought out Dr Mahathir in the hopes of getting Najib to meet with the group of 25 prominent Malays, now dubbed the G25, who signed an open letter appealing for rational discourse on Islam.
The meeting with the former prime minister came about last Tuesday after Najib snubbed the G25's requests for a meeting with him.
The three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are among 93 other groups that have expressed support for the G25, which have urged Najib to address religious and racial tension and exercise his leadership in guiding Malaysia back to moderation.
JUST chairman Dr Chandra Muzaffar and SIS founding member Zainah Anwar, when contacted by The Malaysian Insider, confirmed that there was a meeting but refused to divulge details, stressing that it was held in private.
IRF chairman Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa told The Malaysian Insider that the meeting with Dr Mahathir was to discuss the current situation in the country.
"He (Dr Mahathir) wanted to have a look at their (G25) statement and their stand first.
"We arranged for the meeting to allay our worries about the current situation in the country and Tun M agreed. In fact, he was also not happy with what is happening now," Dr Ahmad Farouk said.
The request by the G25 to meet Najib was thwarted after the Malay Consultative Council (MPM) claimed that the 25, who are retired leading civil servants, had to meet them first if they wanted to meet Najib.
MPM claimed that the Prime Minister's Office has appointed it as an intermediary to meet the G25 and that they would plan a closed-door meeting, but this was refuted by G25 spokesperson Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin.
MPM is a caucus of more than 200 Malay NGOs. This ethnic group is the largest in Malaysia and in recent times, conservatives from within have grown more vocal about communal rights and privileges under the government's affirmative action policies for Malays and Bumiputeras, leading to polarising and inflammatory rhetoric in public.
Dr Ahmad Farouk, who is also the former deputy chair of Bersih 2.0, said that Najib's refusal to meet with the G25 did not make sense, as even United States President Barack Obama himself had met with NGO during a visit here.
"No point in us talking to MPM or the likes of them, we have to meet Najib and tell him clearly.
"In fact, when I was still with Bersih, we wrote to Najib to request a meeting but he never replied. This shows that he doesn't care about the country."
He compared Obama's readiness to meet with representatives from 10 NGOs in April last year when he made a trip to Malaysia as part of his Asia tour, with Najib's refusal to meet the G25.
"Najib should be pressured. When Obama came to Malaysia, he met with representatives from 10 NGOs.
"If Obama was willing to meet us then, Najib should have learnt from there. Look at how Obama treats civil society," the IRF head said.
Dr Ahmad Farouk also suggested that the G25 meet with Dr Mahathir to discuss the issues they had raised in their open letter.
"They (G25) can take the initiative to meet Dr Mahathir. From there, it can be a stepping stone to meeting Najib."
The open letter decried the "lack of clarity and understanding" of Islam's place within Malaysia's constitutional democracy, as well as a "serious breakdown of federal-state division of powers, both in the areas of civil and criminal jurisdictions".
They also called on Najib to establish an inclusive consultative committee and called for dialogue on Islamic laws.
Signatories of the letter were former high-ranking civil servants, including directors-general, secretaries-general, ambassadors and prominent individuals.
Since it was published on December 8, public support for the content of letter and for its 25 signatories has been strong, with many writing to media organisations expressing their thanks and solidarity with the signatories, while an online petition called #iam26 has drawn thousands of signatures.
Last week, Noor Farida said G25 had grown in number, with 10 more Malays, many of whom were former but influential members of the government service, adding their names to the group. – January 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/moderate-muslim-groups-meet-dr-m-to-discuss-g25-open-letter#sthash.PxGXkyBX.dpuf
'Shocked' Dr Subra jabs party boss
Breaking his silence, Dr S Subramaniam expressed "shock" over Palanivel’s decision to act on his own in meeting the Registrar of Societies (ROS) over the party's re-election order.
"I was shocked by the revelation that the president had met with the director-general of ROS alongside Senator V Subramaniam (popularly known as Barat Maniam) and passed a letter on behalf of the MIC on Dec 24," he said.
In the Dec 18 emergency meet, the party agreed that Subramaniam must accompany Palanivel to meet ROS.Palanivel, however, had acted on his own in communicating with ROS thereafter, including writing to the ROS on Jan 2 appealing for an extension to conduct re-elections.
Subramaniam also said that Palanivel had not responded to his requests for a meeting for weeks now.
"It was decided that the president and myself would go to the ROS with those decisions (made at the meeting), as a way forward to resolve the issues," he said.
"Since that day I had sent numerous text messages to the president requesting him to set up the committee (to look into ROS issue), and initiate discussions. I had requested to meet him," he added.
The health minister said that he did not "have answers" to the questions being posed to him by party members regarding Palanivel's actions.
"Frankly I don't have answers to the questions being directed at me. Only the president knows the answers," he said in a statement.
Subramaniam hoped that "good sense" would prevail and consultations would still occur in the future.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, two MIC senators and a former MIC Youth chief also expressed "shock" at Palanivel still being in "denial mode" about accepting the outcome of the ROS investigations.
"But rather he is claiming the losers as minorities who are dissatisfied in a democratically held election causing the party to be in this situation with ROS," said the statement issued by senators Jaspal Singh and S Vigneswaran as well as former Youth chief T Mohan.
Zaid: No court higher than the civil court
According to former de facto law minister Zaid
Ibrahim, a judge at a civil court should not say that a remedy cannot be
found here at a High Court.
Zaid, who was present at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to hear the verdict in the Kassim Ahmad matter, said he had been brought up to recognise that there is only one court system in Malaysia - namely, the civil court.
Describing the whole country's law situation as being in disarray, Zaid noted that he was not surprised with today's decision.
"The Syariah Court is considered the subordinate court, which is inferior. A judge at a civil court should never say that the remedy is not here (at the High Court), as there is no such thing," he added.
"If
you want to dismiss (an application) based on the facts, it is all
right. If you want to dismiss it based on the law, make sure it is the
right law.
"But in this country, there is no court higher than the civil court. There is no remedy that one could get anywhere else except the civil court," Zaid stressed.
Throughout the verdict, Justice Asmabi Mohamad did not rule on the possible constitutional violations raised by Kassim's (right) lawyer, following the Federal Territory Islamic Department’s act of arresting him outside their jurisdiction at his home in Kulim, Kedah.
In dismissing the 82-year-old’s judicial review, Justice Asmabi ruled that Kassim should seek remedy at the Syariah Court.
However, Zaid pointed out that constitutional issues should be decided by the civil courts and not the Syariah Court.
This is because civil courts are empowered to interpret on constitutional issues.
Zaid, who was present at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to hear the verdict in the Kassim Ahmad matter, said he had been brought up to recognise that there is only one court system in Malaysia - namely, the civil court.
Describing the whole country's law situation as being in disarray, Zaid noted that he was not surprised with today's decision.
"The Syariah Court is considered the subordinate court, which is inferior. A judge at a civil court should never say that the remedy is not here (at the High Court), as there is no such thing," he added.
"If
you want to dismiss (an application) based on the facts, it is all
right. If you want to dismiss it based on the law, make sure it is the
right law."But in this country, there is no court higher than the civil court. There is no remedy that one could get anywhere else except the civil court," Zaid stressed.
Throughout the verdict, Justice Asmabi Mohamad did not rule on the possible constitutional violations raised by Kassim's (right) lawyer, following the Federal Territory Islamic Department’s act of arresting him outside their jurisdiction at his home in Kulim, Kedah.
In dismissing the 82-year-old’s judicial review, Justice Asmabi ruled that Kassim should seek remedy at the Syariah Court.
However, Zaid pointed out that constitutional issues should be decided by the civil courts and not the Syariah Court.
This is because civil courts are empowered to interpret on constitutional issues.
Court orders Muslim convert to produce son - Malaysiakini
The Federal Court today ordered Muslim convert
Izwan Abdullah to produce his son in court, failing which it would not
allow the hearing of his application for a stay of the recovery order
that is due to be heard on Jan 14.
The order was made by Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, who chaired a five-member bench, following a preliminary objection made by S Deepa's lawyers.
“The court will give the applicant one more chance, on condition the child must be brought to court on the next date,” Justice Zulkefli said, adding that failure to do so would risk Izwan facing action for contempt of court.
Deepa's lawyers, led by Aston Paiva (left), objected to the stay application to be heard on grounds Izwan was in contempt of court for snatching
the child from his mother's home in Jempol two days after the Seremban
High Court order granting her custody of their two children.
The other judges sitting with Justice Zulkefli were the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judges Suriyadi Halim Omar, Abdull Hamid Embong and Md Apandi Ali.
Besides Aston, Fahri Azzat and Joanne Leong appeared for Deepa. Leong, when contacted, informed Malaysiakini of today’s Federal Court decision.
Leong said if Izwan @ N Viran failed to produce the son, he would risk facing contempt and may not be able to proceed with his appeal.
The High Court in Seremban on April 7 last year granted custody of the couple's six-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter to Deepa (right).
Izwan took the child away on April 9, two days after the Seremban High Court order, resulting in Deepa suffering injuries when she tried to stop her former husband from escaping with the child in a car.
Boy's grandmother also pleads for return
The Court of Appeal last month unanimously dismissed Izwan's appeal against the Seremban High Court order granting custody of their two children to Deepa.
A recovery order for the boy was made following Izwan's taking away the underaged boy by force.
A three-member bench of the Court of Appeal granted a three-week stay of execution on the order for the recovery of the child, resulting in the appeal being heard by the Federal Court today.
Inter-faith custody battles in the country have been a thorn, as there were many cases, such as that of R Subashini and Dr M Jeyaganesh, brought before the civil High Court and Syariah High Court.
Besides the S Deepa vs Izwan case, there is an on-going case of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi (right) vs Mohamad Ridhuan Abdullah, Indira's former husband.
Deepa and Viran were married in 2003. He converted to Islam and as Irwan obtained custody of both their children from the Syariah High Court in Seremban on Sept 19 2013.
The children were converted to Islam in April 2013, without their mother’s knowledge.
A day after the Court of Appeal decision, Deepa's mother, Siti Aishah Abdullah, pleaded to her former son-in-law to return her grandson.
Siti Aishah said the court (of Appeal) had made a decision and she hoped Izwan would abide by it.
Lawyer Hanif Khatri Abdullah appeared for Izwan in today's proceedings.
WAO welcomes court's decision
The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) welcomed the Federal Court’s order that Izwan to bring his six-year-old son to court.
WAO further adds that the apex court’s decision also agreed that Izwan would be in contempt if he did not comply with the custody order issued by the Seremban High Court.
"Izwan cannot appear in court until he purges his contempt. The Federal Court ordered Izwan to comply with the custody order by bringing his son to court by Jan 14.
"The decision is yet another affirmation - this time by the highest court in the land - of Deepa's rights as a mother to be with her children whom she had lawfully obtained custody," the NGO said in a statement.
WAO warned that the court's decision would be meaningless unless Izwan complied with it and urged him to respect the rule of law and return their six-year-old son to the mother.
The order was made by Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, who chaired a five-member bench, following a preliminary objection made by S Deepa's lawyers.
“The court will give the applicant one more chance, on condition the child must be brought to court on the next date,” Justice Zulkefli said, adding that failure to do so would risk Izwan facing action for contempt of court.
Deepa's lawyers, led by Aston Paiva (left), objected to the stay application to be heard on grounds Izwan was in contempt of court for snatching
the child from his mother's home in Jempol two days after the Seremban
High Court order granting her custody of their two children.The other judges sitting with Justice Zulkefli were the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum and Federal Court judges Suriyadi Halim Omar, Abdull Hamid Embong and Md Apandi Ali.
Besides Aston, Fahri Azzat and Joanne Leong appeared for Deepa. Leong, when contacted, informed Malaysiakini of today’s Federal Court decision.Leong said if Izwan @ N Viran failed to produce the son, he would risk facing contempt and may not be able to proceed with his appeal.
The High Court in Seremban on April 7 last year granted custody of the couple's six-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter to Deepa (right).
Izwan took the child away on April 9, two days after the Seremban High Court order, resulting in Deepa suffering injuries when she tried to stop her former husband from escaping with the child in a car.
Boy's grandmother also pleads for return
The Court of Appeal last month unanimously dismissed Izwan's appeal against the Seremban High Court order granting custody of their two children to Deepa.
A recovery order for the boy was made following Izwan's taking away the underaged boy by force.
A three-member bench of the Court of Appeal granted a three-week stay of execution on the order for the recovery of the child, resulting in the appeal being heard by the Federal Court today.
Inter-faith custody battles in the country have been a thorn, as there were many cases, such as that of R Subashini and Dr M Jeyaganesh, brought before the civil High Court and Syariah High Court.
Besides the S Deepa vs Izwan case, there is an on-going case of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi (right) vs Mohamad Ridhuan Abdullah, Indira's former husband. Deepa and Viran were married in 2003. He converted to Islam and as Irwan obtained custody of both their children from the Syariah High Court in Seremban on Sept 19 2013.
The children were converted to Islam in April 2013, without their mother’s knowledge.
A day after the Court of Appeal decision, Deepa's mother, Siti Aishah Abdullah, pleaded to her former son-in-law to return her grandson.
Siti Aishah said the court (of Appeal) had made a decision and she hoped Izwan would abide by it.
Lawyer Hanif Khatri Abdullah appeared for Izwan in today's proceedings.
WAO welcomes court's decision
The Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) welcomed the Federal Court’s order that Izwan to bring his six-year-old son to court.
WAO further adds that the apex court’s decision also agreed that Izwan would be in contempt if he did not comply with the custody order issued by the Seremban High Court.
"Izwan cannot appear in court until he purges his contempt. The Federal Court ordered Izwan to comply with the custody order by bringing his son to court by Jan 14.
"The decision is yet another affirmation - this time by the highest court in the land - of Deepa's rights as a mother to be with her children whom she had lawfully obtained custody," the NGO said in a statement.
WAO warned that the court's decision would be meaningless unless Izwan complied with it and urged him to respect the rule of law and return their six-year-old son to the mother.
AirAsia flight to Chennai diverted due to thick fog
Flights affected were those scheduled to land or take off from 6am to 8am today.
FMT
NEW DELHI: An AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai in Tamil Nadu was among few other flights delayed and diverted to nearby cities due to thick fog engulfing the airport in the South Indian city today.
A check on flight data revealed that AK11, which was scheduled to land in Chennai at 7.25am local time, was diverted to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The aircraft carrying 168 passengers later arrived safely at 11.15am local time when visibility got better.
“The rare fog condition created some chaos in Chennai airport for the past few days. AirAsia was not the only flight that was affected.
“Flights which were delayed or diverted were those scheduled to land or take off from 6am to 8am today,” said an official based in Chennai airport.
Thick fog condition is a common problem often faced by northern Indian airports during winter season, but not in southern Indian cities.
Asked why it was diverted to Colombo, the official said every airport would have some space to absorb flight diversion and it was often the closest and the available ones that would be chosen.
“It’s a common practice in the aviation industry,” he told Bernama.
A Times of India report yesterday said the visibility started to dip about midnight on Saturday to as low as 50 metres and since then, several flights scheduled in and out of Chennai were affected.
It quoted an unnamed official from the Meteorological Office as saying that the fog was rare in Chennai but condensation of water due to a combination of northerly winds and high moisture levels of air affected visibility for about five days in a year in the first two weeks of January.
Hence, similar conditions were likely to prevail for a few more days, he was quoted as saying in the report.
– BERNAMA
FMT
NEW DELHI: An AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai in Tamil Nadu was among few other flights delayed and diverted to nearby cities due to thick fog engulfing the airport in the South Indian city today.
A check on flight data revealed that AK11, which was scheduled to land in Chennai at 7.25am local time, was diverted to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The aircraft carrying 168 passengers later arrived safely at 11.15am local time when visibility got better.
“The rare fog condition created some chaos in Chennai airport for the past few days. AirAsia was not the only flight that was affected.
“Flights which were delayed or diverted were those scheduled to land or take off from 6am to 8am today,” said an official based in Chennai airport.
Thick fog condition is a common problem often faced by northern Indian airports during winter season, but not in southern Indian cities.
Asked why it was diverted to Colombo, the official said every airport would have some space to absorb flight diversion and it was often the closest and the available ones that would be chosen.
“It’s a common practice in the aviation industry,” he told Bernama.
A Times of India report yesterday said the visibility started to dip about midnight on Saturday to as low as 50 metres and since then, several flights scheduled in and out of Chennai were affected.
It quoted an unnamed official from the Meteorological Office as saying that the fog was rare in Chennai but condensation of water due to a combination of northerly winds and high moisture levels of air affected visibility for about five days in a year in the first two weeks of January.
Hence, similar conditions were likely to prevail for a few more days, he was quoted as saying in the report.
– BERNAMA
Lim embarrassed by Zahid’s ‘atrocious’ English
Penang chief minister says the standard of English in Home Minister’s letter to the FBI is “embarrassing” to all Malaysians.
FMT
PETALING JAYA: The topic on most people’s lips these days is the questionable letter sent by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), requesting the release of gambling suspect Paul Phua.
However while jumping on the bandwagon and criticising Zahid for the negative implications the letter was having on the Malaysian government, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng took it a step further and zoomed in on the home minister’s “atrocious” English that he said even caused him to doubt the authenticity of the letter.
Speaking to reporters today, Lim said, “The letter’s language is not conforming to international standards,” and added, “I mean what I want to say is that this shouldn’t be the standard of correspondence coming from the Ministry of Home Affairs”.
“Standards expected by the government of Malaysia to the US government should be better.”
While questioning the “veracity” of the letter, Lim was more concerned about the bad command of English and asked, “… can’t he get a better person to draft letters?
“It is a bit embarrassing the standards that is demonstrated. The language used is atrocious, especially for the government of Malaysia.”
Commenting that the even the date appearing in the letter was written in Malay, not English, Lim said he doubted if the correspondence was genuinely from Zahid’s ministry.
“He (Zahid) must come out and clarify if the letter is genuine and if it is, he should explain himself.”
On a more serious note, Lim asked why the Malaysian government was so intent on securing the release of a suspected gambling kingpin.
He asked, “If the letter is genuine, a lot of people want to know is this the kind of people our Home Minister is associated with?
“Is this the company our ministers keep? With gamblers and kingpins? And he is supposed to be one of the candidates for Deputy Prime Minister?
“This affects the image of the Malaysian government. He should explain. I hope there will be no cover up.”
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid had reportedly sent a letter requesting the FBI to withdraw the case of Phua, who is currently facing charges in Las Vegas for illegal gambling.
Ahmad Zahid reportedly addressed the letter to FBI deputy director Mark F Giuliano, claiming that Phua, who was arrested in Las Vegas in July, was neither a member nor associated with the 14K triad in Malaysia.
Phua’s counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the letter from the home ministry was released in answer to a request from Phua’s legal firm, Chesnoff & Schonfeld, to share any information directly with the American authorities.
* FULL TEXT OF AHMAD ZAHID’S LETTER
PETALING JAYA: The topic on most people’s lips these days is the questionable letter sent by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), requesting the release of gambling suspect Paul Phua.
However while jumping on the bandwagon and criticising Zahid for the negative implications the letter was having on the Malaysian government, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng took it a step further and zoomed in on the home minister’s “atrocious” English that he said even caused him to doubt the authenticity of the letter.
Speaking to reporters today, Lim said, “The letter’s language is not conforming to international standards,” and added, “I mean what I want to say is that this shouldn’t be the standard of correspondence coming from the Ministry of Home Affairs”.
“Standards expected by the government of Malaysia to the US government should be better.”
While questioning the “veracity” of the letter, Lim was more concerned about the bad command of English and asked, “… can’t he get a better person to draft letters?
“It is a bit embarrassing the standards that is demonstrated. The language used is atrocious, especially for the government of Malaysia.”
Commenting that the even the date appearing in the letter was written in Malay, not English, Lim said he doubted if the correspondence was genuinely from Zahid’s ministry.
“He (Zahid) must come out and clarify if the letter is genuine and if it is, he should explain himself.”
On a more serious note, Lim asked why the Malaysian government was so intent on securing the release of a suspected gambling kingpin.
He asked, “If the letter is genuine, a lot of people want to know is this the kind of people our Home Minister is associated with?
“Is this the company our ministers keep? With gamblers and kingpins? And he is supposed to be one of the candidates for Deputy Prime Minister?
“This affects the image of the Malaysian government. He should explain. I hope there will be no cover up.”
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid had reportedly sent a letter requesting the FBI to withdraw the case of Phua, who is currently facing charges in Las Vegas for illegal gambling.
Ahmad Zahid reportedly addressed the letter to FBI deputy director Mark F Giuliano, claiming that Phua, who was arrested in Las Vegas in July, was neither a member nor associated with the 14K triad in Malaysia.
Phua’s counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the letter from the home ministry was released in answer to a request from Phua’s legal firm, Chesnoff & Schonfeld, to share any information directly with the American authorities.
* FULL TEXT OF AHMAD ZAHID’S LETTER
Gobind urges Najib to explain Zahid’s FBI letter
The Home Minister has chosen to play deaf, dumb and blind on the matter.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo has called on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to explain the letter that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wrote to the FBI on an alleged felon, Paul Phua, since the Home Minister has chosen to play deaf, dumb and blind on the matter.
The IGP, added Gobind, has also chosen to avoid making comments on the matter “not because he was scared of Zahid but because there’s a court case going on”.
“Zahid wrote the letter in his official capacity as Minister of Home Affairs. So, the Prime Minister must now be accountable and take full responsibility for the actions of his minister as head of government,” said Gobind in a statement which avoided mentioning the bad English in Zahid’s letter.
“He cannot and must not run away. He must explain the circumstances under which the letter was written.”
The MP said he wanted to know in full the basis on which the Home Ministry issued the said letter.
“He must also explain if the advice of the Attorney-General was sought before the said letter was issued as it involved an ongoing criminal prosecution in the US and spoke of ‘international relations’ between Malaysia and US ‘especially in the exchange of information’,” said Gobind.
Further, continued Gobind, it was reported that the letter was allegedly written to correct a mistake the police had made in an earlier report they gave the FBI about Paul Phua and that he (Phua) was in fact assisting Malaysia on matters concerning national security.
“The Prime Minister must respond to this and put the record straight,” said Gobind. “This is not just a matter of public importance locally but one which has generated international attention.”
“It is shameful to find that Malaysia seems to have contradictory, if not odd, positions taken by the police, the Home Ministry and its government over the matter and it makes it even worse to find the Prime Minister silent in the light of this all.”
This reflects poorly on our country, he warned. “He is duty bound to speak up.”
If the Prime Minister does not as of now yet have the requisite information to respond, said Gobind in holding out an olive branch, “he should say so and immediately direct a full, open and transparent inquiry into the matter so that all doubts surrounding the matter can be resolved”.
KUALA LUMPUR: Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo has called on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to explain the letter that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wrote to the FBI on an alleged felon, Paul Phua, since the Home Minister has chosen to play deaf, dumb and blind on the matter.
The IGP, added Gobind, has also chosen to avoid making comments on the matter “not because he was scared of Zahid but because there’s a court case going on”.
“Zahid wrote the letter in his official capacity as Minister of Home Affairs. So, the Prime Minister must now be accountable and take full responsibility for the actions of his minister as head of government,” said Gobind in a statement which avoided mentioning the bad English in Zahid’s letter.
“He cannot and must not run away. He must explain the circumstances under which the letter was written.”
The MP said he wanted to know in full the basis on which the Home Ministry issued the said letter.
“He must also explain if the advice of the Attorney-General was sought before the said letter was issued as it involved an ongoing criminal prosecution in the US and spoke of ‘international relations’ between Malaysia and US ‘especially in the exchange of information’,” said Gobind.
Further, continued Gobind, it was reported that the letter was allegedly written to correct a mistake the police had made in an earlier report they gave the FBI about Paul Phua and that he (Phua) was in fact assisting Malaysia on matters concerning national security.
“The Prime Minister must respond to this and put the record straight,” said Gobind. “This is not just a matter of public importance locally but one which has generated international attention.”
“It is shameful to find that Malaysia seems to have contradictory, if not odd, positions taken by the police, the Home Ministry and its government over the matter and it makes it even worse to find the Prime Minister silent in the light of this all.”
This reflects poorly on our country, he warned. “He is duty bound to speak up.”
If the Prime Minister does not as of now yet have the requisite information to respond, said Gobind in holding out an olive branch, “he should say so and immediately direct a full, open and transparent inquiry into the matter so that all doubts surrounding the matter can be resolved”.
MIC leaders warn Palanivel to accept reality and move on!
“Whoever caused election irregularities has brought the party to this stage. The President must address this issue.”
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Three MIC leaders have issued a joint statement in which they allege that the irregularities during the recent party elections had affected the outcome and therefore the results, and if accepted, would be a violation of the party Constitution and the Societies Act 1966.
They urged MIC President G. Palanivel to be seen as doing the right thing or risk being held party to illegalities and thereby bringing the party into public disrepute and contempt.
The thrust of their complaints in the media is that Palanivel cannot claim prerogative and discretionary powers in the matter. “”He would in fact stand accused of abusing his powers and condoning matters which involve conflict of interest,” said the trio in their statement. “We are shocked that the President is in a state of denial, unwilling to accept the ROS finding that numerous irregularities had been found in the way the MIC elections were conducted in 2013.”
“He can’t blame those who complain as sore losers and a minority dissatisfied with a democratically held election and putting the party in a delicate situation with the ROS.”
“I contested for the VP position in the 2013 election. In the original count I was declared as one of the winners. Subsequently I was called back for a recount. I lost. I asked for another recount. because the ballots in the recount had increased by a substantial number . However the election committee ignored my request and protest,” said Senator Jaspal Singh.
Senator S. Vignewaran added that they appealed in writing to the Secretary- General for an independent committee to conduct a full inquiry.
“Our request and appeal was rejected by the CWC without any reason,” he said. “How can the very CWC whose standing is being questioned be asked to decide on our appeal?”
“There were numerous issues with the MIC election. Dead or bankrupt people voted, defunct branches took part, members were added at the 11th hour, and new branches were formed in an election year, and the number of delegates and others did not tally.”
T. Mohan pointed out that the ROS informed MIC that it found that the election held in November 2013 for the post of 3 Vice- Presidents and 23 CWC members was not valid. “ROS was also unable to accept the election of office bearers at a number of divisions and branches.”
“Palanivel was the returning officer for the November 2013 election. Instead of establishing a panel to investigate what caused the discrepancies in the election, he chose to blame us as a dissatisfied minority which brought in the ROS,” he said.
The trio demanded free, fair and transparent elections.
“The ROS has confirmed with clarity that the MIC election was tainted with irregularities,” they said. “Whoever caused election irregularities has brought the party to this stage. The President must address this issue.”
KUALA LUMPUR: Three MIC leaders have issued a joint statement in which they allege that the irregularities during the recent party elections had affected the outcome and therefore the results, and if accepted, would be a violation of the party Constitution and the Societies Act 1966.
They urged MIC President G. Palanivel to be seen as doing the right thing or risk being held party to illegalities and thereby bringing the party into public disrepute and contempt.
The thrust of their complaints in the media is that Palanivel cannot claim prerogative and discretionary powers in the matter. “”He would in fact stand accused of abusing his powers and condoning matters which involve conflict of interest,” said the trio in their statement. “We are shocked that the President is in a state of denial, unwilling to accept the ROS finding that numerous irregularities had been found in the way the MIC elections were conducted in 2013.”
“He can’t blame those who complain as sore losers and a minority dissatisfied with a democratically held election and putting the party in a delicate situation with the ROS.”
“I contested for the VP position in the 2013 election. In the original count I was declared as one of the winners. Subsequently I was called back for a recount. I lost. I asked for another recount. because the ballots in the recount had increased by a substantial number . However the election committee ignored my request and protest,” said Senator Jaspal Singh.
Senator S. Vignewaran added that they appealed in writing to the Secretary- General for an independent committee to conduct a full inquiry.
“Our request and appeal was rejected by the CWC without any reason,” he said. “How can the very CWC whose standing is being questioned be asked to decide on our appeal?”
“There were numerous issues with the MIC election. Dead or bankrupt people voted, defunct branches took part, members were added at the 11th hour, and new branches were formed in an election year, and the number of delegates and others did not tally.”
T. Mohan pointed out that the ROS informed MIC that it found that the election held in November 2013 for the post of 3 Vice- Presidents and 23 CWC members was not valid. “ROS was also unable to accept the election of office bearers at a number of divisions and branches.”
“Palanivel was the returning officer for the November 2013 election. Instead of establishing a panel to investigate what caused the discrepancies in the election, he chose to blame us as a dissatisfied minority which brought in the ROS,” he said.
The trio demanded free, fair and transparent elections.
“The ROS has confirmed with clarity that the MIC election was tainted with irregularities,” they said. “Whoever caused election irregularities has brought the party to this stage. The President must address this issue.”
Calls for strict audit that government had spent RM800 million on flood victims as Kelantan entitled to ask where the money had gone as it should get RM500 – RM600 million as the worst flood-stricken state
By Lim Kit Siang Blog Today, accompanied by the former Bersih co-chairman and patron of Negara-Ku, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, DAP MPs Anthony Loke (Seremban), Liew Chin Tong (Kluang), DAP State Assembly members Lee Chin Chen (Ketari- Pahang), Wong May Ing (Pantai Remis) and DAP and social activists in four FWDs, with a container of essential supplies for Manek Urai, I made my third flood victims relief mission to Kelantan.
We left Kuala Lumpur at 5 am, first stop at Bentong for breakfast, arriving in Gua Musang before 10 am, where we were given a briefing by DAP and PAS Gua Musang leaders on the floods devastation in Gua Musang beginning on Winter Solstice (Dongzhi festival) on Dec. 22, 2014.
Gua Musang, which literally means “Cave of the Civet”, is the largest of the 10 districts in Kelantan and Gua Musang town had never experienced serious flooding before.
It therefore took the people in Gua Musang by complete surprise when Gua Musang, together with Kuala Krai (another district which had never suffered serious flooding before) became the two worst flood-stricken areas in the December 2014 floods catastrophe.
When we visited Gua Musang town, the people were busy valiantly trying to clean up their houses, shops and inns – a puny effort compared to the enormous ravages caused by the floods.
It was two weeks since Gua Musang had been stricken by the unprecedented floods catastrophe, with water as high as 10 to 12 ft, submerging the whole town but Gua Musang still looked forlorn and desolate.
From the slow pace of recovery that I saw in Gua Musang, the Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yaakob may be right when he said that Kelantan will need at least six months to fully recover from the devastation of the worst floods that hit the state in the past few weeks.
But six months to recover from the devastation of the floods catastrophe is too long and will impose great problems and grave burdens on the flood victims in Kelantan.
This is why there must be a total change of mindset of the Federal, state and local authorities to ensure that this recovery period is slashed from “at least six months” to two months, and why a declaration of state of emergency to centralize and mobilise all available resources to help the floods victims in Gua Musang and other parts of Kelantan to start life anew after the devastation of the floods is urgent and imperative.
During the worst of the floods catastrophe, an emergency is needed to save lives. In the post-flood scenario, an emergency is needed to restore living and ensure livelihood – to help the flood victims rebuild life and business anew in the shortest possible time.
From Gua Musang, we left for Manek Urai where the container of essential supplies was down-loaded at the PAS Manek Urai Relief Centre, and we met up with the PAS MP for Kuala Krai, Dr. Mohd Hatta Ramli, PAS Vice President and Kelantan State Assemblyman for Salor Datuk Husam Musa and former Kelantan Assembly Speaker and Kota Bharu MP, Dato’ Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah.
It is Ground Zero in Manek Urai, where the devastation of the floods catastrophe was most bleak and desolate as if there had been a tsunami or the aftermath of a war zone.
We visited Kg Manjor, where only 15 out of 220 houses survived the floods catastrophe, and a living testimony of the power and might of Mother Nature when it expressed its fury at the despoliation of the environment.
Everywhere we saw houses destroyed after being flung about like toys by angry floods, with a chair left on a roof as evidence of the height of the waters, and vehicles thrown around, some atop another vehicle while others somersaulted.
The villagers of Kg Manjor were lucky to be able to flee to higher ground, where they spent five nights and days until the floods subsided – without water, food, power or contact for the first two days!
There were other Ground Zero devastating damages from the floods catastrophe, like Manek Urai Lama, Kg Karangan, Kg Laloh, Kg Dabong, Kg Kemubu.
I am not aware that any Cabinet Ministers, including the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister, had visited any of these Ground Zero zones of the floods catastrophe in Kuala Krai.
My visit to Ground Zero zones has reinforced my view that an emergency must be declared to help the flood-stricken victims to rebuild and start life anew, that the 150,000 in the armed forces should be mobilized to help a million flood victims to start life anew, not only to provide security and prevent the outbreak of diseases post-floods, but to help restore essential utilities like safe water and electricity, erect temporary shelter for the flood victims and to allow them to start life anew in shortest possible time.
I am shocked that the Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Ahmad Maslan announced yesterday that the government had so far spent about RM800 million through the National Security Council to help victims in states affected by floods in the provision of food supply, logistics and cleaning houses of victims.
As Kelantan is the worst flood-stricken state in the floods catastrophe, the bulk of the expenditure, say RM 500 million – RM600 million, should have been spent in the state.
But where has this vast sum of money gone to as no one in Kelantan would feel that the Federal Government had spent RM500 million to RM600 million in Kelantan in the past two weeks of the floods catastrophe to help flood victims.
I have visited Kota Bharu three times, been in Kuala Krai twice, even in the Ground Zero zones of Manek Urai as well as Gua Musang, and I definitely do not feel or sense that RM500 million to RM600 million had been spent in Kelantan in relief efforts for the flood victims.
Let Maslan reveal out of this RM800 million, how much had been spent in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perak – so far the worst flood-hit states.
There should be strict audit of the so-called RM800 million already spent to help flood victims, and the other expenditures still to be made, to ensure that there is no hanky-panky whatsoever.
No money should be spared to help the flood victims, but not a sen should be wasted.
All government expenditures spent in the floods catastrophe must directly benefit the flood victims and not the “floods” barons, entrepreneurs or cronies.
For a start, let the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin announce that every student affected by the floods catastrophe will be provided free two sets of school uniforms, text books, exercise books, and all other necessary school supplies, which will be evidence of such expenditures directly benefitting the flood victims and not some chimerical figure of RM800 million said to be spent on flood victims but without them being the direct beneficiaries.
There should be no rigid requirement for student to wear school uniform at least for the first month of school for the flood-stricken areas, until every student have been supplied with two sets of free school uniforms.
On Sunday night, I sent an email to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on my five-point action plan on the floods catastrophe which have caused 23 dead, evacuation of a quarter of million people, with a million people adversely affected by the floods, and losses running into billions of ringgit.
I also asked for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister before the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, as Malaysians expect the Cabinet to make important decisions on the floods catastrophe especially with Ministers on vacation abroad and the Cabinet had not met for 20 days – including during the worst periods of the December 2014 floods catastrophe.
As the Prime Minister is suffering from E Coli after floods visits, I am not pressing for a meeting with Najib before the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
I wish him speedy recovery to be able to chair the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to ensure that the Ministers can take collective decisions on the five-point action plan which I had outlined to him in my email, namely:
(1) the declaration of a state of emergency for the flood-stricken states;
(2) the formation of a BN-PR Joint Action Council on Floods Catastrophe;
(3) Convening of a Special Parliament this month on the Floods Catastrophe which can also discuss the deferment of the implementation of GST so as not to add further burdens on the flood victims;
(4) Doubling of the RM500 million allocation for relief of flood victims to RM1 billion to enable every flood victim whose livelihood/business had been wiped out by the floods catastrophe to apply for interest free loans, ranging from RM1,000 to RM250,l000 to start life and business anew, and
(5) Establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the weaknesses and failures of the Floods Disaster Preparations Plans to provide relief and help to the flood victims of the current floods catastrophe.
I hope the Cabinet tomorrow will have good news for the million flood victims, especially those in the worst-hit areas like Gua Musang and Kuala Krai in Kelantan and Temerloh and Mentakab in Pahang.
In fact, it would be a good idea if the Cabinet tomrrow makes it compulsory for every Minister, including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, to visit Ground Zero areas in Manek Urai, in particular “devastation” areas like Kg Manjor and Kg Maneki Urai Lama, for such visits will make Ministers not only more knowledgeable but more humble and committed to ensure that mega flood relief expenditures directly benefit the flood victims and not the “flood” barons, entrepreneurs cronies.
(Media Conference Statement at Pengkalan Chepa Airport, Kota Bharu on Tuesday, January 6, 2014 at 5 pm)
Ex-manager jailed for raping minor whom he later married
The Star
by STEPHANIE LEE
by STEPHANIE LEE
KOTA
KINABALU: Former restaurant manager Riduan Masmud has lost his appeal
against his conviction and 12-year jail sentence for raping an underage
girl last year whom he later married.
The
42-year-old, who has been out on bail, kept his head low when High
Court judge Justice Stephen Chung dismissed the appeal yesterday.
He then ordered that Riduan start serving his sentence, which included two strokes of rotan.
Justice
Chung said the jail term would begin immediately and dismissed an
application by Ram Singh, Riduan’s counsel, for a stay of execution,
adding that there was no reason for Riduan not to be sent directly to
prison.
He
said he had taken into account the points raised by Ram, including
those pertaining to the competency of the two child witnesses, and found
nothing to disturb the Sessions Court ruling on the case.
The victim and her school friend had testified against Riduan during the trial.
“Before
recording the child witnesses, the trial judge had asked a series of
questions on their competency as witnesses and after enquiring, the
judge was satisfied that the children understood the procedure of court
and proceeded to record their evidence under oath,” Justice Chung said.
“The
trial judge also had the advantage of hearing and seeing them giving
evidence in court and found that they were competent witnesses.”
Also,
Justice Chung said, there was independent evidence that Riduan had had
sexual intercourse with the victim inside the car and that there was
penetration.
“Thus, rape has been established,” he said.
He said he had also taken into consideration the DNA evidence that was recovered from several items in the vehicle.
Riduan,
a father of four children aged between two and 17, was found guilty on
Jan 24 last year of raping the schoolgirl, who was about 12 at the time,
in a parked vehicle near the Kionsom Waterfall in Inanam between 9am
and 10am on Feb 18, 2013.
He
married the girl in May that year in a bid to escape conviction and
later admitted to attempting to bribe her father with RM10,000 to
withdraw his police report.
For
that offence, the Sessions Court sentenced him on June 22 last year to
three day’s jail and fined him RM10,000 in default two months
imprisonment.
Ram said he would appeal against the High Court decision today.
Early Schooling Special Aid Distributed From Today
Datuk Ahmad Yakob and Tan Sri Muhyiddin YassinKOTA BAHARU, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- The Early Schooling Special Aid of RM100 for each student will be distributed beginning Tuesday, and parents can claim for the aid from their children's schools.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister, said a total of 5.6 million students would receive the aid involving an allocation of RM560 million.
"We have given the warrants to each state, so the respective State (Education) Director and the District Education Office (PPD) will be given the allocation according to the number of students," he told reporters after chairing the Kelantan State Post-Flood Coordination Action Plan meeting, here.
Also present were Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob and the Chairman of the Kelantan Flood Disaster Committee Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
Muhyiddin said for schools that could not be used after being affected by the floods, parents must go to the school nearby to collect the cash aid.
"If it involves a school that had been submerged by flood waters or is being occupied by flood victims and is still not opened, the process of payment will be made at schools which are not affected by any problem.
"We will use the school hall and parents can go to the nearest school to claim the cash immediately, the directive has been issued," he said.
He also said that the ministry would ensure that the school session for the year 2015 in Kelantan could commence according to the schedule set.
"We have an option whereby if any school cannot be used, the students can go to the nearest school to share (classrooms), if there is no space, the lessons will be postponed briefly and only in special cases.
"Ninety schools in Kelantan are affected by the floods and so far, 30 per cent have been cleaned for commencement of the new schooling session," he said.
The schooling session for the year 2015 in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor begins on Jan 11, 2015 (Sunday), while for the other states the new schooling session is Jan 12, 2015 (Monday).
-- BERNAMA
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