Guard Post Window Damaged In Protest Demo Outside Malaysian Embassy In Jakarta

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya

JAKARTA, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- Issues concerning the Malaysia-Indonesia border in West Kalimantan which were played up by the Indonesian media caused a group of Indonesians to stage a demonstration outside the Malaysian embassy here Wednesday.

However, the protest went out of control resulting in a glass panel at the guard post at the entrance to the embassy to be damaged while nine Indonesian policemen who were part of a team for crowd control and guarding the embassy were injured.

The group calling itself Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR) numbering some 650 people hurled hard objects at the guard post and perimeter ligthing and also at the policemen.

They began gathering there at about 1pm local time and dispersed about an hour later after venting their anger over news reports that Malaysia had seized 1,000 acres of land belonging to Indonesia along the Malaysia-Indonesia border in West Kalimantan.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Indonesian counterpart Dr Marty Natalegawa following the 11th Joint Commission for Bilateral Commission Cooperation Meeting between the two countries in Kuala Lumpur, at a joint press conference, had said that the removal of markers at the border there, either by mischievious individuals or natural disasters, could easily be replaced by their joint survey team.

They added that the coordinates had been established during colonial times.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Syed Munshe Afdzaruddin Syed Hassan said the embassy would be sending a diplomatic note to the Indonesian government over the incident.

He said in the note, the embassy would also be asking the Indonesian government as to how it could help the embassy avoid such incidents from recurring.

Missing police boat engines an inside job?

First it was jet engines that disappeared from an air force base; this time four patrol boat engines have mysteriously ‘walked away’ from a marine police store in Penang. 
 
The engines weigh about 200kg each. Police are investigating the possibility that it could be an inside job.
Check out this Sun report.

What’s next?

PAKISTAN: A 12 year-old Christian is gang raped for eight months, forcibly converted and then 'married' to her Muslim attacker

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-199-2011



10 October 2011
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PAKISTAN: A 12 year-old Christian is gang raped for eight months, forcibly converted and then 'married' to her Muslim attacker

ISSUES: Gang rape; abduction; forced conversion of religion; child rights; miscarriage of justice; impunity
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that A 12-year-old Christian girl was abducted and raped for eight months. The rapists have not been arrested because of their affiliation with a militant Muslim organization. The police are also refusing to order a medical checkup. The Judicial Magistrate of the area took her statement under section 164 Cr Pc (Criminal Procedure Code) but has not made any orders for her security. One of the rapist claims that he has married the girl but she denies that any marriage took place during her abduction and captivity.

The police have warned the Christian parents that it would be better to hand over the girl to her 'legal' husband (the rapist) otherwise a criminal case will be filed against them.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Miss Anna (name withheld), is a 12-year-old Christian girl and the daughter of Arif Masih. Arif is employed as a street sweeper (scavenger) at WAPDA. He is a resident of quarter number 44, WAPDA colony, Shahdra, Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. Anna was kidnapped by two Muslim men on December 24, 2010, one day before Christmas. According to the report sent by the Pakistan Minority Movement, on that day in the morning her friend, Miss Nida, who lives in her neighbourhood, came to her house and asked Anna to go shopping. According to the plan of the perpetrators, her friend took her to a street where they waited in a car. Miss Nida introduced the perpetrator her as her uncle.

Anna was then taken a long distance and dropped at a house where she was raped. After two days some women, relatives of the rapists, namely Mumtaz Bibi.Farzana Bibi, Kiran Bibi along with her friend Nida came with some papers and told her to sign them otherwise she would not be released. Eventually she did sign with hesitation but was not released. The papers were about her marriage to one of the perpetrators, Muhammad Irfan. She was taken to several places and was forced to convert to Islam. When she refused she was manhandled and beaten.

After her abduction, her father filed an FIR against unknown people on 5/1/2011.F I R NO 18/11. Sr. No 2138 to the Factory area police station district Shaikhupura, Lahore. However, the police took no action for eight months.

In the first week of September 2011, more than eight months after her disappearance, Anna called her family from Tandianwalla, district Faisalabad, 190 kilometers from Lahore, and told them that she had been abducted but had escaped and was hiding at a bus stop. The parents went there and recovered her. She was brought back to her home and the parents produced her before the First Class Magistrate, factory area, Shadra, Miss Aasma Tehseen, who recorded her statement under section 164 of Cr Pc but did not order any action for her protection or a medical checkup.

The rapists then immediately contacted the police through their religious group and produced a marriage certificate showing that one of them, Muhammad Irfan, was married to her. When Anna's parents went to the factory area police station to change the FIR to include the names of the rapists in the case the police flatly refuse to allow this and said she that as she had married and converted to Islam it would be better to hand over the girl to her legal husband. If they refused they were told that a criminal case would be filed against them.

The Christian family is in hiding from the rapists and the police and according to the Christian community, the religious extremists, who are from a banned organization, the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, are searching them. The abductors are claiming that she is pregnant but her mother denies that this is true. And in fact, make no difference whatsoever to the girl's plight.

The irony of the matter is that the police never thought to ask the rapists and their religious groups as to how a girl of 12 could be married when according to the law marriage under the age of 16 is illegal. This is yet another example of how the Punjab provincial government is allegedly patronizing banned militant organizations.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

In Pakistan it is has become a common practice from the religious groups to abduct girls from religious minority groups and rape them and when caught they produce marriage certificates and even then do not allow them to meet their parents. The law enforcement authorities never try to prosecute such perpetrators because the religious groups are doing great work in the name of Islam.

Religion can also function both as a primary motivation and as a determinant of criminal complaint outcomes. The increase in forced marriage and forcible conversion by Muslim extremists may owe in part to the aversion of the state to protecting the rights of religious minorities. The U.S. State Department 2009 Human Rights Report for Pakistan concludes that both organic reluctance and outside pressure contribute to the courts’ religious bias: Courts routinely failed to protect the rights of religious minorities. Judges were pressured to take strong action against any perceived offense to Sunni orthodoxy. The judiciary rarely heard discrimination cases dealing with religious minorities. Other manifestations of religious bias include socially condoned instances of harassment at work.

Information regarding this incident can also be found from the following links:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10317283;
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10317283;
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10317283;
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10317283.

As many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community are abducted every month and converted forcibly, according to Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Many abducted girls are raped, others are never heard from again by their families; all cases involved a struggle to access their right to redress. The AHRC has documented numerous cases in which police have ignored or excused themselves from investigating crimes that involve a Madrassa or Muslim cleric. The protection of the national religion does not involve the promotion of its figureheads above the law; this tendency has simply allowed Islam to become a shield behind which human rights violations can take place.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters to the following authorities on the gang rape and abduction of a 12 years old Christian girl for eight months. Please urge the authorities that to prosecute the perpetrators and the officials of the Factory area police station, Lahore for providing protection to rapists and members of banned religious groups. Also urge to provide protection to Christian family and the victim and also to the religious minority who are facing such practices from the extremist Muslim groups.

Please note that the Asian Human Rights Commission has written seperate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Independent Expert on Minority Issues requesting their urgent interventions on this regard.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

PAKISTAN: A 12 year-old Christian is gang raped for eight months, forcibly converted and then 'married' to her Muslim attacker

Name of victim:
Miss Anna (not her real name) 12, daughter of Arif Masih, employed as street sweeper (scavenger) at WAPDA, resident of quarter number 44, WAPDA colony, Shahdra, Lahore, capital of Punjab province,
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Muhammad Irfan, (rapist) resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
2. Muhammad Irshad, (rapist) resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
3. Mumtaz Bibi.resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
4. Farzana Bibi.resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
5. Kiran Bibi resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
6. Nida, resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
7. Station House Officer (SHO), factory area police station, Shadra, Lahore, Punjab province,
8. Investigation officer, Arif Masih, employed as street sweeper (scavenger) at WAPDA, resident of quarter number 44, WAPDA colony, Shahdra, Lahore, capital of Punjab province,
Date of incident: WAPDA Quarters resident of Shadra, factory area, Lahore, Punjab province
Place of incident: December 24, 2010

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the gang rape of a young Christian girl who was then forcibly converted to Islam and then 'married' to one of her attackers by the members of a banned religious organization.

I learned that Anna was kidnapped by two Muslim men on December 24, 2010, one day before Christmas. According to the report sent by the Pakistan Minority Movement, on that day in the morning her friend, Miss Nida, who lives in her neighbourhood, came to her house and asked Anna to go shopping. According to the plan of the perpetrators, her friend took her to a street where they waited in a car. Miss Nida introduced the perpetrator her as her uncle.

Anna was then taken a long distance and dropped at a house where she was raped. After two days some women, relatives of the rapists, namely Mumtaz Bibi.Farzana Bibi, Kiran Bibi along with her friend Nida came with some papers and told her to sign them otherwise she would not be released. Eventually she did sign with hesitation but was not released. The papers were about her marriage to one of the perpetrators, Muhammad Irfan. She was taken to several places and was forced to convert to Islam. When she refused she was manhandled and beaten.

It is very distressing that after her abduction, her father filed an F I R against un known people on 5/1/2011.F I R NO 18/11. Sr. No 2138 to the Factory area police station district Shaikhupura, Lahore. But police did not take action on the case for eight months.

Further to my information, in the first week of September 2011, after more than eight months of her disappearance, Anna called her family from Tandianwalla, district Faisalabad, 190 kilometers from Lahore, and told them that she had been abducted but had escaped and was hiding at a bus stop. The parents went there and recovered her. She was brought back to her home and the parents produced her before the First Class Magistrate, factory area, Shadra, Miss Aasma Tehseen, who recorded her statement under section 164 of Cr Pc but did not order any action for her protection or a medical checkup.

The rapists then immediately contacted the police through their religious group and produced a marriage certificate showing that one of them, Muhammad Irfan, was married to her. When Anna's parents went to the factory area police station to change the FIR to include the names of the rapists in the case the police flatly refuse to allow this and said she that as she had married and converted to Islam it would be better to hand over the girl to her legal husband. If they refused they were told that a criminal case would be filed against them.

It is appalling to know that this Christian family is in hiding, not only from the rapists but also the police and according to the Christian community, the religious extremists who are from a banned organization, the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, are searching them. The abductors are claiming that she was pregnant but her mother denies that this is correct.

The irony of the matter is that the police never thought to ask the rapists and their religious groups as to how a girl of 12 could be married when according to the law marriage under the age of 16 is illegal. This is yet another example of how the Punjab provincial government is allegedly patronizing banned militant organizations.

In Pakistan it is has become a common practice by the religious groups to abduct girls from religious minority groups and rape them and when caught they produce marriage certificates and even then do not allow them to meet their parents. The law enforcement authorities never try to prosecute such perpetrators because they are told that the religious groups are doing great work in the name of Islam.

I am shocked that the government who always claim that religious minorities are enjoying full security and rights as equal citizens turn a blind eye to the actual situation which is that the religious minority groups have no protection, even by the law enforcement authorities, who prefer to work under the pressure of religious groups.

The situation of rule of law is that the police also accept the marriage of a 12-year-old girl and her forcible conversion to Islam whereas according to Pakistan law that no girl can be married before the age of 16 years.

I urge you to investigate the case of Miss Anna and prosecute all the perpetrators involved in the gang rape of a 12 years old girl for eight months. The police officers who failed to act of the complaint of the father must be prosecuted for their negligence. The tolerance of the government toward the actions of the religious militants and the forcible conversation of minorities must be brought to a halt. The government must put a halt to the abduction, rape and forcible conversion of young girls.

I also urge you to provide full protection to the girl and her family and all possible medical and counseling treatment.

Yours sincerely,

----------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: 92-51-9204801-9214171
Fax 92-51-9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk

2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk or pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk

3. Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9204108
Email: sarfraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

4. Mr. Lateef Khosa
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99203044
Email: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk

5. Mr Nasir Mehmood Khosa
Chief Secretary of Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 7324489
E-mail: chiefsecy@punjab.gov.pk

6. Mr. Rana Sana Ullah
Minister of Law
Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Ravi Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99212004
E-mail: law@punjab.gov.pk

7. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

8. Mr. Tariq Saleem
Inspector-General of Police, Punjab
Police Head Office, Lahore, Punjab province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 9921006


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

HRP again files judicial review for registration (Malaysiakini)

The political platform of Hindraf, the Human Rights Party of Malaysia, has once again filed an application for a judicial review of the government’s rejection of its efforts to be registered as a political party.

The party’s pro-tem secretary-general, P Uthayakumar, named Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein as the first respondent and the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and the Federal Territories Registrar of Societies as the second and third respondents in the application he filed this morning.

“We hope that before the next general election, we will be able to contest under our own banner as the Human Rights Party of Malaysia,” Uthayakumar (left) said at the Jalan Duta Court Complex this afternoon.

The application , filed through M/s M Manoharan & Co, comes after the Home Ministry’s failure to respond to HRP’s appeal on the rejection of its application for registration by the ROS.

Uthayakumar is seeking an order of certiorari to set aside the presumed rejection of the registration of HRP by the Home Ministry, basing this on the ministry’s failure to respond within 14 days of the appeal being made on Aug 19, and the letter of rejection from the ROS.

He also wants a writ of mandamus to compel the respondents to reply to its appeal and approve HRP as a registered political party within seven days of the court making such an order.

Uthayakumar had in April filed his first application for a judicial review after the ROS ignored the HRP application to be registered as a political party.

‘Constitution 99 percent similar to DAP’s’
High Court judge Rohani Yusof had then ordered the ROS to respond to the application.

The ROS replied that it rejected the HRP’s application because it was not in order and that it did not provide a constitution it required.

“Almost 99 percent of HRP’s constitution is the same as the DAP’s. Are they saying that the DAP’s constitution is not in order? Why then has the DAP been registered for 45 years?” Uthayakumar asked.

This, he said, showed that the ROS decisions were not free from the BN’s political influence and were done in bad faith, with the intention of impeding HRP’s efforts in championing the rights of poor Indians.

“Prime Minister Najib (Abdul Razak) is saying we are heading towards becoming the world’s best democracy, but they wouldn’t even approve one political party. What democracy (are they talking about)?”

The HRP has expressed its desire to contest in constituencies with a significant Indian population in the next general election, which has caused friction with Pakatan Rakyat as most of the seats HRP is eyeing are held by the opposition coalition.

However, the HRP recently offered an olive branch to Pakatan for a fresh start to work together to unseat the BN.

Probe may hurt Ananda Krishnan’s Aircel loan plans, says Indian daily

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — India’s fifth-largest mobile operator Aircel will find it tough to get banks to fund its expansion with police investigating its biggest shareholder T. Ananda Krishnan for criminal conspiracy over his stake in the company, the Times of India reported today.

Indian investigators have named Ananda (picture), his top executive Ralph Marshall and two Malaysian companies, Maxis Communications Bhd (Maxis Communications) and Astro All-Asia Networks (Astro), in their probe which centres on graft allegations against former Indian telecommunications minister Dayadhini Maran and his media mogul brother, Kalainidhi.

“Naming Aircel in the FIR is not significant. But with others like [Ananda] and Marshall named in the FIR, it would become difficult for Aircel to raise funds from banks,” a lawyer told India’s top English-language paper today, referring to the First Investigation Report.

Aircel, which has 55 million subscribers, recently partnered Virtela — the world’s largest independently-managed network in security and cloud computing services — to boost their global business operations through faster, safer and more mobile networks.

The Indian telecommunications company had budgeted US$1.4 billion (RM4.4 billion) for its nationwide coverage expansion in June last year.

Aircel planned to double its India investment to US$10 billion over the next four years to roll out new services and expand its existing network to include wireless broadband coverage nationwide.

“We have already invested US$5 billion, including 3G spectrum price and network rollout, and by 2014, we will pump another similar amount to take up our investment to US$10 billion to ramp up our capacity,” Aircel chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh was reported saying in February this year by several Indian media

Ananda owns a 74 per cent stake in Aircel through Maxis Communications which also has a 70 per cent stake in Malaysia’s telecommunications giant, Maxis Bhd.

The 73-year-old telecommunications, media and property tycoon is reported to be worth US$9.6 billion and is ranked by Forbes as Southeast Asia’s second-richest man and the world’s 89th.

The controversy centres on Maxis’ 74 per cent stake in Aircel, which was said to have been bought for Rs78.81 billion (about RM506,556,185).

Apart from the case filed against the Maran brothers, Ananda, Marshall and the Malaysian companies, India’s Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has named the Maran brothers’ Sun TV Network.

All three companies are at the centre of an ongoing criminal investigation since they were used to route the alleged ‘pay-off’ money that Dayanidhi earned for providing favours to Ananda’s companies.

Maran has openly described Ananda as a family friend, the Times of India said.

Another lawyer said with Ananda named, the publicity-shy Malaysian mogul will be required to go to India and explain his case. If he refuses, Interpol may step in and request he be extradited there.

The newspaper cited CBI sources as saying the agency is in touch with Malaysian authorities to verify the details of Maxis Communications’ ownership structure and for information on its other companies, including Astro.

The agency is now examining the financial transactions that the accused companies have carried out in the last four years to build a strong case against them based on circumstantial and material evidence.

Ibrahim says Pemandu has ‘hidden agenda’

Opening up the economy to foreign ownership is also an opposition idea, according to the Perkasa chief.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s liberalisation efforts took another beating from influential Malay rights group Perkasa which warned today against opening up the economy to foreign ownership.

At the unveiling of Budget 2012, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced the opening up 100 percent foreign ownership of 17 sub-sectors aimed at recapturing straying investments.

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, a staunch advocate of Mahathir-era protectionist policies, said the move would sideline Bumiputera businesses, adding that liberalisation is an opposition idea.

He also took a swipe at the Performance and Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) for advocating the move to open the 17 sub-sectors.

Ibrahim, the independent Pasir Mas MP, in his speech during the Budget 2012 debate in the Dewan Rakyat, said Pemandu had a “hidden agenda” in promoting liberalisation.

“Liberalisation is an idea promoted by the opposition… the Malay Chamber of Commerce had even made a strong statement against it but it is not heeded.

“I urge the government not to listen to Pemandu because if it implements liberalisation (as advocated by Pemandu), the latter’s hidden agenda would take place,” he said.

Key sectors remain caged

Najib is trying to make liberalisation a key aspect of his New Economic Model (NEM) as he aims to resuscitate the country’s ailing economy.

Race-based affirmative action and Bumiputera protectionist policies have prompted capital flight and caused a deep drop in foreign investments, forcing Malaysia to play catch-up with its neighbours despite being Asean’s economic powerhouse once.

But pressure from groups like Perkasa and hardliners within Umno has pushed Najib’s economic reforms to take a backseat as the unelected premier needs stronger Malay support in the coming general election in a bid to consolidate his position in the party.

Najib’s liberalisation policies are also said to have failed in stimulating the private sector as key industries like oil and gas and finance remain caged in protectionism.

Even if there is any real plan to free the lucrative oil and gas industry, Ibrahim has already warned of potential Malay backlash.

“If the oil industry is liberalised, some 3,000 vendors under (national oil company) Petronas would be sidelined, so what will happen to them? Beware, do not listen to Pemandu,” he said.

He has in the past described Pemandu “as not Malay enough”, accusing the body of trying to influence Najib to implement policies that would threatened the position of the country’s ethnic majority.

DAP: Cancel Deepavali eve Parliament sitting

Party calls on government to cancel eve of Deepavali parliament sitting to allow Hindus to take part in family reunions and traditional prayers.

KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP leader urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to cancel the parliamentary session on Oct 25 out of deference to the sensitivities of Hindus who will be celebrating Deepavali the following day.

M Kulasegaran, the Ipoh Barat MP, said the eve of Deepavali was when Hindus, in a time-honoured tradition, gather for family reunions and offer prayers to their ancestors.

At a press conference at Parliament house today, Kulasegaran said he was taken by surprise when he learnt that the parliament session has been scheduled for Oct 25.

Also present were Bagan parliamentarian Lim Guan Eng, P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan), Fong Kui Lun the Bukit Bintang constitunecy member and Teluk Intan’s M Manoharan.

Najib had at the launch of the 1Malaysia Indian Students Movement at Universiti Malaya in July, announced that the curriculum and exam schedules would be revamped to ensure that it did not clash with Deepavali so that students can celebrate the festival with their families.

Najib was quoted to have said that the decision was made to resolve the two-decade old problem affecting Indian students who had to miss Deepavali celebrations as their examinations almost always fell either a day before or even on the day of the festival.

“By scheduling the parliament session a day before Deepavali, the government had reneged on its word and deliberately failed in its pledge to look after the sensitivities of the Indian community,” said Kulasegaran.

Where are the MIC reps?

He also took to task government officers involved in planning meetings and urged them to have better knowledge of all national festivals in the country.

Kulasegaran added: “The traffic situation will be massive on all the main roads on the Oct 25. So, it is not a good idea to have a meeting on that particular day.”

Ramasamy, who is also Penang Deputy Chief Minister, slammed the Umno-BN government for scheduling the parliamentary session on Deepavali eve.

“Would they arrange a parliament session a day before Hari Raya Aidilfitri?” asked Ramasamy.

He rapped MIC MPs for not being aware about the session on Oct 25. “What are all the MIC representatives doing?” asked Ramasamy.

Penang CM and DAP secertary-general Lim Guan Eng said DAP will ask Minister in PM’s Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, and Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to cancel the session.

Meanwhile, Manoharan slammed the education ministry for assigning Indian Hindu teachers to check PMR question papers the day after Deepavali.

“It is embarrassing to assign Indian teachers to check question papers when they will be celebrating Deepavali. We want the education ministry to revoke the idea as well,” he said.

Malaysia upah perunding sokong Israel, hina Nabi Muhammad

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan Malaysia mengupah perunding asing, FBC media yang terlibat dalam kempen menyokong serangan tentera Israel terhadap konvoi misi bantuan Mavi Marmara ke Gaza Mei lalu, kata Ahli Parlimen Machang, Saifuddin Nasution.

Menurut Saifuddin, FBC yang menerima bayaran daripada kerajaan Malaysia sebanyak 19.6 juta Euro (RM94 juta), memuji tindakan Israel menghentikan misi bantuan kemanusian kapal Mavi Marmara ke Gaza, yang menyaksikan beberapa orang terkorban.

“Peranan FBC Media untuk mengukuhkan imej Malaysia sebagai negara Islam yang berjaya, terang-terang bercanggah. Dia dapat duit kita, dia puji Israel.

Kalau baca kempen online mereka, Nabi Muhammad diserang dengan begitu hina dan jijik sekali,”
“Kerajaan mesti menjelaskan kedudukan perkara ini,” kata Saifuddin Nasution dalam perbahasannya di Dewan Rakyat semalam.

Pada 31 Mei lalu, komando Israel menyerang kapal bantuan Mavi Marmara menyaksikan lebih 10 aktivis terbunuh, manakala 12 sukarelawan Malaysia yang berada di atas kapal itu ditahan.

Menurut Saifuddin, tindakan itu disokong FBC Media, sebuah firma penerbitan TV dan komunikasi strategik Britain yang dilantik kerajaan Malaysia dan kerajaan Sarawak.

FBC Media menerbitkan program TV berkaitan Malaysia yang kemudian ditayangkan syarikat penyiaran antarabangsa seperti CNBC, CNN dan BBC.

Sementara itu jawapan bertulis daripada perdana menteri pada  hari ini mengesahkan  kontrak  untuk FBC Media  disambung sebanyak dua kali dan ditamatkan pada tahun 2010.

Manakala nilai kontrak untuk tiga tahun itu ialah sebanyak Euro 19.6 juta (RM94 juta)
Saifuddin menambah, kontrak FBC media yang bermula pada 2007 dan berakhir pada 2010 itu berperanan menasihat, mengurus kempen komunikasi kerajaan, meningkatkan profil kerajaan dan Perdana Menteri serta menangani persepsi negatif negara di peringkat antarabangsa.

Tindakan FBC mendapatkan bayaran dari kerajaan Malaysia bagi menghasilkan program TV berkenaan, bercanggah dengan etika kewartawanan.

“Selepas siasatan badan regulasi media di Britain iaitu Ofcom, semua program FBC Media digantung,”
“Begitu juga di CNN dan CNBC yang menghasilkan program-program mengenai Malaysia,” kata Saifuddin.

Sebelum ini, dokumen-dokumen kerajaan Amerika Syarikat turut mendedahkan FBC Media membayar syarikat perunding Israel, Apco Worldwide sebanyak AS$70,000 sepanjang dua tahun lepas untuk melobi Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat bagi pihak Kerajaan Malaysia

Short URL: http://www.keadilandaily.com/?p=21597

No Police Report Needed For Lost Birth Certificate, Passport, Driving Licence

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- The public no longer need to make a police report for lost or damage birth, marriage, academic and vehicle registration certificates, a Malaysian passport, a driving licence and a land grant.

This is stipulated under General Circular No. 3 of 2011 issued by the Prime Minister's Department on Sept 29.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said the decision to abolish the requirement was made at the Public Complaints Standing Committee's meeting on April 6 as police reports were actually a non-administrative practice not provided under any law.

He said in 2010, the police received over 2.8 million reports, of which 1.1 million or 40 per cent were referred to other agencies.

"This shows that most of the reports lodged did not merit police actions. The requirement not only inconvenient the public but also does not reflect the image of an effective and consumer-friendly public service.

"On the other hand, the practice adds to police workload in handling police reports. This requirement also resulted in rising cost in police operations and does not add value to the police service delivery," he added.

Following the abolishment, Mohd Sidek asked all government agencies to identify matters that need the public to submit a police report to government agencies as stipulated under the law.

However, he said this circular did not prevent the public from making police reports and government agencies cannot deter the public from doing so.

Cops kicked boy, pushed girl to ground, Bersih inquiry told

Protesters fleeing after another round of tear gas during the Bersih rally, from the file pics.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — Riot police violently shoved a tudung-clad reporter to the ground while others repeatedly kicked a boy during the Bersih 2.0 rally crackdown, a witness told a public inquiry into the July 9 protests today. Kenneth Steven Chan Wen Chin told the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) inquiry he saw a Selangor TV female reporter accosted in Brickfields.
“We were headed to Jalan Tun Sambanthan where we heard police personnel shouting “Tangkap! Tangkap!” (Arrest! Arrest!). We saw a Malay girl with a tudung, police grabbed her and pushed her to the ground very roughly, pushing her head down on the road,” said Chan.
He said his girlfriend, who is a reporter, was present with him when the incident happened and they took pictures.
Chan also claims he saw several policemen kicking a boy in Jalan Pudu, and that he had also taken photographs of the alleged incident.
“The police warned us against taking pictures, saying they would break our camera. The boy was saying something about the police and they moved in on him.”
Chan is the first witness to testify in the inquiry which has set itself three terms of references- to identify human rights violations on or before July 9, to determine how the violations occurred, the process and agency involved and to make recommendations to prevent any recurrence.
The inquiry is led by Suhakam vice-chairman Professor Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee, commissioners Datuk Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid and Detta Samen.
The Bar Council is represented by Roger Chan and Richard Wee, while the police is represented by ASP N Rajagopal and ASP Lim Chee Wah.

Sultan’s ruling given cautionary welcome

Harapan Komuniti's lawyer says that the Sultan's statement suggests that proselytising did take place during the NGO's Thanksgiving dinner.

PETALING JAYA: The Sultan of Selangor’s ruling that no group should be prosecuted over the controversial raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on Aug 3 has been cautiously welcomed by a lawyer of one of the accused parties.

The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raided a Thanksgiving dinner organised by NGO Harapan Komuniti following a tip-off that proselytising activities were taking place during the event.

Harapan Komuniti denied this and insisted that the event was a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS supporters.

In a statement yesterday, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ruled that the JAIS report on the raid indicated that its actions were correct and had not breached any state laws.

The sultan also ordered JAIS to provide counselling to the Muslims present at the dinner to restore their belief and faith in the religion.

While DUMC has “warmly welcomed” the sultan’s ruling, Annou Xavier of Messrs Azri, Lee Swee Seng & Co who represents Harapan Komuniti has refrained from expressing the same sentiments.

“I can’t say if I’m happy or not because the sultan’s statement was neither here nor there,” he told FMT.

“If you read it carefully the sultan appears to have alluded to the fact that proselytising had indeed taken place during the dinner.

“Also the manner in which JAIS had conducted the raid was thoroughly unprofessional in its casting of aspersions and leaking details of the initial findings of its investigations.”

Death threat on Harapan Komuniti

A six-minute video clip showing scenes of the raid surfaced on pro-Umno blogs two weeks after the raid followed by photographs and personal details of the Muslim dinner guests.

Questions were raised as to how supposedly confidential JAIS evidence had fallen into these bloggers’ hands.

Xavier also said that he hadn’t yet seen JAIS’ final report and wasn’t privy to any of the details.

“Since we are the accused party, the least JAIS could do is give us a copy of the final report,” he said.

“I’ll have to ask the DUMC lawyers whether they have already requested one from JAIS.”

He added that DUMC and Harapan Komuniti are expected meet later this week and issue a joint statement on the sultan’s ruling.

On another note, Xavier said that no progress had been made on investigations into the death threat received by Harapan Komuniti on Aug 26.

“Everything is still status quo and we don’t expect it to change,” he stated.

“If the police didn’t investigate the death threat received by (Home Affairs minister) Hishammudin (Hussein) then who are we to expect any different?”

Abolish all forms of death penalties, says Amnesty

The Star (Used by permission)
by SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: Parliament should not just look into abolishing the mandatory death sentence for certain offences in Malaysia but all death penalties.

Amnesty International-Malaysia (AI-M) executive director Nora Murat said Malaysia made history on June 27 when an inter-parliamentarian caucus under Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz agreed to push for a resolution to abolish the mandatory death penalty.

However, she urged political leaders to not just abolish the mandatory death penalty but completely abolish the death penalty in Malaysia.

“We need to follow the human rights trend of the 140 UN member states who are abolitionist either in law or practice,” said Nora, in conjunction with the ninth World Day against Death Penalty yesterday.

She said Malaysia was already taking the right step - there was only one execution between January and September 2010.

Nora said the mandatory death penalty stripped judges of their ability to make good sentencing decisions, adding that there had been cases where the mandatory death penalty resulted in miscarriage of justice and unfairly discriminated against the poor and uneducated.

Describing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's Malaysia Day speech as breaking the ground for a better human rights culture, Nora said Malaysia would be seen as a state that placed human rights as its guiding principle by “executing the death penalty.”

Nora is among the speakers at a public forum to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Thursday.

Others include Nazri, who will deliver the keynote address, and Lord Alf Dubs of the British House of Lords.

This is the first seminar under the Anti-Death Penalty Campaign - a joint effort by the Bar Council's Human Rights Committee, Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia and Suhakam.

Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr sentenced to 90 lashes, year in jail for role in My Tehran for Sale

 

Scene from My Tehran For Sale...actresses Marzieh Vafamehr and Asha Mehrabi. Source: Supplied

AN Iranian actress who helped make a movie with Australian film producers has been sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in jail.

Actress Marzieh Vafamehr was handed the sentence on the weekend, according to a Iranian opposition website Kalameh.com.

'A verdict has been issued for Marzieh Vafamehr, sentencing her to a year in jail and 90 lashes. Her lawyer has appealed the sentence, which was handed down yesterday (Saturday),' the website stated.

Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in 'My Tehran for Sale,' which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles.

The film, produced in collaboration with Australia, tells the story of a young actress in Tehran whose theatre work is banned by the authorities.

She is then forced to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically.

The Fars news agency said the movie had not been approved for screening in Iran and was being distributed in the country illegally.

Vafamehr was released in late July after posting unspecified bail.

Anwar on MPs' allowances

Lagi video ‘Anwar’ di Bangkok ditayang

Video dalam blog upahan Umno pagi tadi mendakwa kejadian itu berlaku semasa Anwar berada di Patpong, Bangkok.

(Video Didalam) PETALING JAYA: Skandal klip video adegan lucah yang didakwa melibatkan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim didedahkan lagi, kini dikatakan berlaku pada 13 Januari lalu di Bangkok, Thailand.

Klip video kira-kira dua minit itu mula dimuat naik dalam blog upahan Umno pagi tadi, mendakwa kejadian itu berlaku semasa Anwar berada di Patpong, Bangkok dua hari sejak 12 Januari lalu.

Bertajuk “Paman Anwar di Patpong Bangkok”, adegan itu dirakam dalam sebuah bilik dan kamera difokuskan ke arah katil menunjukkan tempoh masa bermula pada pukul 1.54 pagi dan waktu terakhir pada 8.30 pagi.

Manakala pelaku yang dikatakan ‘Anwar’ itu kelihatan memakai jubah mandi sedang berlegar-legar disekeliling bilik sambil memegang telefon bimbit.

Bagaimanapun, visual kamera itu gagal menunjukkan jelas rupa paras individu dalam video tersebut, tambahan ia rakaman hitam-putih.

Penulis blog upahan Umno ‘Papa Gomo’ dalam blognya mendakwa Anwar berlepas ke Bangkok pada 12 Januari lalu menggunakan pesawat Malaysia Airlines (MAS) bernombor MH 782 dan berlepas pada jam 3.15 petang dari Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA).

Katanya, Anwar kemudiannya tiba di Bangkok pada jam 4.20 petang waktu Thailand atau jam 5.30 petang waktu Malaysia.

“Video ini adalah rakaman tulen dan sahih seratus peratus ketulenannya. Pelaku didalam video ini juga adalah Datuk Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim yang mana beliau tahu dan pasti beliau adalah pelakunya,” kata penulis blog itu.

Beliau mendakwa setelah lebih kurang 19 jam berada di Bangkok untuk ‘aktiviti-aktiviti’ dan ‘tugas-tugas rasmi’ tertentu, Anwar pulang ke tanah air pada pukul 11.05 pagi dengan menggunakan pesawat MAS bernombor MH 785 dan tiba di KLIA pada pukul 2.15 petang dan kemudiannya ke Ibu Pejabat PAS di Kuala Lumpur pada pukul 5.30 petang.

Penulis blog itu turut membangkitkan persoalan mengenai kegiatan setiap kali pemergian Anwar ke Thailand sejak dua tahun lalu, soalan sama yang pernah diutarakan ahli perniagaan ‘Datuk T’ Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah sebelum ini dalam skandal video seks yang lalu.

“Rakaman penuh akan menyusul dan harus kita ingat bukan kami nak mengaibkan Anwar Ibrahim dan para keluarganya namun demi menyelamatkan rakyat Malaysia maka pekara sebegini haruslah didedahkan agar rakyat memilih pemimpin yang berkaliber bagi memimpin kita,” katanya.

Kohilan eyeing Puchong seat?

It is said that the deputy minister from Gerakan is sharpening his blade to recapture the parliamentary constituency from DAP.

PETALING JAYA: Deputy Foreign Minister A Kohilan Pillay is said to be eyeing the Puchong parliamentary seat, currently held by DAP’s Gobind Singh Deo.

Despite DAP’s easy victory in the last general election, there is no guarantee that the party would be able to retain the seat in the coming polls.

An unofficial report revealed that Puchong had now become one of the largest constituencies in the country with almost 100,000 voters as opposed to 75,625 voters in the last election.

Kohilan, who is the Gerakan vice president, would be able to win if the Indian voters swing back to Barisan Nasional.

The former Stamford College lecturer became a full-time politician after he was appointed senator in 2008.

Kohilan, who is also the Selangor Gerakan chairman, is said to be well-liked by the Indian community due to his ability to mingle with people from all walks of life.

Contacted later, a MIC branch chairman from Puchong admitted that there is a possibility for BN to recapture the Puchong seat.

Noting the importance of Indian votes for that seat, he said: “If it is true that BN will field an Indian candidate then BN stands a good chance of winning the seat.”

“We should understand that in 2008, DAP won the seat because of a major swing in Indian votes for the opposition due to the Hindraf rally,” he added, declining to be named.

‘Not happy with DAP’

Meanwhile, a local PKR branch chairman claimed that party members in Puchong were unhappy with the DAP administration there.

“As branch chairman, till today, I have not received a single cent from Gobind or (Kinrara assemblywoman and state exco) Teresa Kok.

“I’m a Pakatan Rakyat loyalist, but at the same how are you going to serve the community without help from the man in charge of the constituency?” he asked.

However, Puchong division PKR chief S Murali rubbished the branch chairman’s allegation.

“Gobind is doing a lot of good things in the constituency. So, why should the people vote against him?” he told FMT.

It aso rumoured that Gobind might replace his father Karpal Singh for the Bukit Gelugor parliament seat in Penang as the latter was expected to retire from politics.

“I have also heard about the rumour, but I believe Gobind will stand here again,” said Murali.

Budget alone can’t win back Penang

BN leaders admit that the 'feel good' factor in Budget 2012 will not win back the state. More must be done to inspire voters' confidence, they say.

GEORGE TOWN: The state Barisan Nasional acknowledges that the impressive Budget 2012 will not be enough to wrest back Penang from Pakatan Rakyat.

State BN information chief M Loga Balan (photo) said although the budget was much applauded as a people’s budget, the state BN needed to work a lot more to regain voters’ confidence.

“The prime issue of the budget is not winning elections. It’s the nation’s wealth being distributed for the people to enjoy. Budget alone won’t win back Penang for us,” the state PPP chairman told a press conference after a state BN working committee meeting here today.

Also present were committee chairman and Gerakan state chief Dr Teng Hock Nan, state MIC chief Senator PK Subbaiyah and state BN secretary Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Tun Razak tabled the Budget in parliament last Friday.

Among the goodies for the people were RM500 cash gift each for households earning less than RM3,000 per month; RM100 cash gift each for all school pupils; and RM200 voucher each for Form Six and higher learning institute students.

State BN would set up a state secretariat to deal with the cash handouts to the people.

BN service centres of all 11 Umno state assemblymen, state constituency coordinators and two senators – Subbaiyah and Bukit Gelugor Umno women wing chief Norliza Abdul Rahim – would assist the secretariat.

The secretariat would be set up by the end of this year

Teng said the state BN had received positive grassroots feedbacks on the budget, while many people had inquired on details pertaining to the cash gifts.

‘Twist and turn’ Guan Eng slammed

Commenting on the unstable four-storey car-park near the Penang Hill lower station, Loga Balan slammed Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for resorting to his trademark politics of “twisting, turning and twirling” to blame BN for the project.

The completed car park raised public concern on the building’s stability following an independent soil investigation report carried out by UD Geotechnics Sdn Bhd on the structure in February 2009.

Referring to the October edition of state-published Buletin Mutiara, Loga Balan accused Lim of implying that the previous administration was responsible for the problem.

He said the question regarding the car park was not its viability but the technical details approved by the local council MPPP for the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) in 2009.

“The technical details were approved by the current government. Lim should stop spreading lies and blame others. He should have the guts to admit flaws of his administration,” he said.

The soil study was commissioned by PDC Consultancy Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of PDC, to UD Geotechnics.

Raja Nazrin asks Islamic religious council to review programmes

(Bernama) - IPOH: The Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, wants the State Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIP) and Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) to review their programmes towards developing the Muslim community's economy in a sustainable manner.

He said greater attention should be given to economic activities involving the role of the Perak Islamic Economic Development Corporatision, zakat and Baitulmal, and managing of funds to ensure viability and high impact of every programme implemented.

Speaking at the 177th MAIP Conference here on Monday, Raja Nazrin said he not only wanted to see figures on vouchers and receipts audited, but also evaluation of programmes in terms of quality and impact towards achieving the objectives.

He said for a meaningful impact, MAIP and JAIP needed to place the Key Performance Indicators at a more dynamic level.

"The existing management culture needs to be revamped and the work culture of 'business as usual' be changed in every activity organised.

"Each year, I attend functions organised by MAIP and JAIP such as the Maulidur Rasul and Maal Hijrah celebrations. A lot of time and money were spent on organising these events, but each year the programmes were the same without the injection of innovative ideas to make them more dynamic.

"Such programmes have become ritual, merely to fill the calendar of events, and devoid of the spirit to touch the hearts of the attendees, thus not meeting the objectives."

In fact, he said, those who came were just obliging the invitations and returned home spiritually unfulfilled.

Raja Nazrin said MAIP and JAIP needed to take a new approach by giving a new image and content to the programmes to be organised in 2012.

He said the content and venues for the programmes should be planned early and carefully and after approval by the committee, be presented to him for his views and consent, especially on the financial implications.

The MAIP conference on Monday also recorded its condolences to the Raja Kecil Besar of Perak, Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah, on the demise of his mother, Raja Perempuan Muzwin, on Oct 6.

Raja Nazrin also presented the letter of appointment to State Financial Officer Datuk Ghazali Jalal as a member of MAIP, replacing Datuk Jamaluddin Al-Amini who has gone on compulsory retirement. - Bernama

Malaysian Tycoon Embroiled in India Scandal

Ananda Krishnan in happier times

Ananda Krishnan, friend to top politicians, is charged in telecoms mess
Billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan, Malaysia’s richest man, has been ensnared in the giant telecommunications scandal that has wracked India and played a major role in fueling the protest led by Anna Hazare that threatens to bring down the Indian government and change the nature of politics.

Indian investigators have filed charges against the tycoon and a top Krishnan executive, Ralph Marshall, along with former Indian telecommunications minister Dayanidhi Maran and Maran’s brother, Kalanidhi, according to the Press Trust of India, on charges of criminal conspiracy over a controversial deal involving the telecommunications giant Maxis Communications Bhd. and a sister company of Krishnan’s, Aircel.

Few details have been given of the charges. Local media in Kuala Lumpur reported that Krishnan’s headquarters said they were aware of the charges but made no further comment and that the charges would have no effect on the stock. The Press Trust of India reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed charges in connection with the purchase by Maxis of Aircel India in 2006.

A sister company of Aircel invested R6.75 billion (US$137.5 million at current exchange rates) in the Maran family’s Sun TV DTH venture in 2006, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. Under the terms of the agreement, Ananda planned to produce TV channels catering to the Indian market, particularly to the Indian diaspora in the United States and Europe. Krishnan was said to also be planning TV services featuring Web-based interactivity.

The 73-year-old Krishnan was listed by Forbes Magazine as Asia’s second-richest businessman, with US$9.6 billion in assets, behind sugar king Robert Kuok. Born of Sri Lankan parents in relatively modest circumstances in Kuala Lumpur, Krishnan’s association with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is considered to have played a major role in amassing his fortune. His publicly traded gaming company, Tanjong, operates three lotteries in a predominantly Muslim country that frowns on gambling. He especially endeared himself to Mahathir by agreeing to become the anchor tenant in the country's iconic Petronas Towers, owned by the national energy company.
After Mahathir’s departure from power, Krishnan has continued to remain close to members of the ruling Barisan Nasional, He holds the title of Tan Sri, one of the highest accolades in Malaysia’s odd system of titles.

Krishnan has a dizzying number of businesses including media, satellites, oil and gas, telecommunications and a wide variety of other holdings involving power generation, gaming and leisure facilities across a broad swath of Southeast Asia including Singapore and Indonesia. His MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems boasts three communications satellites.

It isn’t the first time that Krishnan has found himself in a joint venture gone sour. In Indonesia, a high profile partnership between Krishnan's Astro and the Lippo Group's First Media pay TV operation was unwound and in dispute shortly after it reached the air. That JV, Direct Vision, ended up in private arbitration in Singapore as the two sides each accused the other of wrongdoing. Astro sought $250 million in damages. The arbitration court found in Astro's behalf but the bitterness reportedly lingers and the two sides have yet to come to a settlement.

The telecommunications scandal, involving the licensing of spectrum for 2G services in 2008, has been cooking in India for more than a year. So far more than a dozen top businessmen, government officials and politicians have been implicated, including another former telecommunications minister, A. Raja, who was forced to resign in November 2010.

The Indian treasury is said to have lost nearly US$40 billion after the ministry sold the licenses at 2001 prices on a first-come, first-serve basis instead of auctioning them as other countries do. The sale was designed to benefit a select few bidders, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Among those implicated are some of India’s most illustrious companies including Reliance Communications, run by Anil Ambani, and the Essar Group, run by the Ruia family. Mukesh Ambani, who runs the separate Reliance Industries group and is an active rival of his younger brother, has also been linked to ministers involved.

The prime minister’s office itself has been tarnished by the scandal as it has come clear that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh knew what Raja was up to and declined to do anything about it.

The scandal might have disappeared as other corruption scandals have in India. However, the opposition parties capitalized on the auditor general’s report to drum up rising public anger. Singh and his Congress Party political boss, the ailing Sonia Gandhi, who was recently operated on for cancer in the United States, have both been attempting contain the crisis with little effect, especially after Hazare, a 74-year-old retired army driver, went on a hunger strike that attracted millions of followers. Hazare was jailed but public outrage soon freed him. One lawyer said he would produce evidence implicating Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi’s own son-in-law.

Hazare’s movement appears to have raised the political temperature across the entire country, with his hunger strike bringing together an unprecedented demand for cleanup crossing caste, class, regional and religious lines, with Hindus and Muslims both demanding reform. There seems little hope of stemming corruption, however, from officials’ street-level bribes and killings to national scandals – despite the Hazare movement.

However, according to widespread anecdotal reports, officials at all levels of government are becoming so frightened of facing corruption accusations that they are reluctant to make decisions, seriously delaying policy implementation.

“I am extremely Melayu”

Ramli Ibrahim (all pics below courtesy of Ramli Ibrahim)

LEGENDARY Malaysian dancer Ramli Ibrahim, 58, has been captivating audiences with his performances and choreography of Indian classical dance for almost three decades. After returning from Australia, Ramli founded Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983. He has gone on to perform and win awards both locally and overseas, and has also groomed many a talented dancer.
In this 11 March 2010 interview with The Nut Graph in Petaling Jaya, Ramli talks about his staunch yet fluid Malay-ness, and his desire for a Malaysia that can be comfortable with its own diversity. A fuller version of this interview was published exclusively in Volume 1 of Found in Malaysia.

Ramli's parents

TNG: Where and when were you born?
Ramli Ibrahim: I was born in Kajang, on 20 May 1953, and brought up in Kuala Lumpur.
Where in Kuala Lumpur did you grow up?
I grew up in Jalan Pekeliling, which is now Jalan Tun Razak. I went to the Pasar Road Malay School and then to the infamous Cochrane Road School, where all the gangsters were, then to the Royal Military College (RMC), and then to Australia.
I didn’t do my “O” levels but did my matriculation. I was the earliest of the Mara (Bumiputera Council Trust) batch of matriculation students who were sent to Perth.
I did my degree in engineering, knowing very well that my eventual destiny would be in the arts as a dancer or in theatre.
Just to digress: I have always been interested in the healing aspect of mak yong. I started delving into mak yong when its public performance was banned in the early 1990. I have looked at mak yong through main ‘teri (from “main petri”).
I am interested in the use of myth to heal the psyche. I am fascinated by the two polarities of personality-types of dewa muda and dewa pechil (dewa terpencil), the extroverted and the introverted in traditional Malay character archetypes found in mak yong and used in healing.
Main ‘teri is a compelling example of how traditional psychotherapy functions through the performance of the tok ‘teri (shaman) who manipulates the metaphors found in these myths to enable him to heal through the release of blocked angin and strengthening of the semangat. The approach found in traditional healing of “unusual sickness” or sicknesses of the mind, is fascinating for me.

Among a thousand pillars in Tanjavur, India (pic by Karthik Venkataraman)

But on this subject of culture and tradition, can you trace your ancestry?
I was told that my father was from Rawa, Sumatera. My mother was more or less from the Malacca area, or Kelemak. Is there such a thing as “pure Malay”? I don’t know; my mother and grandmother looked a bit Chinese. My father is dark; he could look like a mamak. That has never been a problem for me. Anyway, I’m not into tracing my family tree (yet).
But I think we are as Malay as you can get.

A chubby Ramli, the heart-breaker at two and half years old (1955).

So growing up in Jalan Pekeliling, what is your strongest memory?
As a child I read Hikayat Malim Deman, and [all the others] in Jawi! My father was a Malay literature lecturer. So we were surrounded by Syair Siti Zubaidah, Sejarah Melayu and the old Malay books. I recited those syairs, and I was even johan syair kebangsaan (national syair champion) in Kuala Lumpur when I was 11. It was only after my remove class that I started to speak English.
There must be a link somewhere between all of this and doing classical Indian dance.
It’s a progression. My mother and father were religious and staunch Umno supporters. My mother was in the Kaum Ibu. I was brought up on that wave of perjuangan. So I am familiar with stalwarts like (Tan Sri) Aishah Ghani. But this is a bygone era — the perjuangan thing is over. It probably died with Tun Ghafar (Baba). I find the present globalised era devoid of the true perjuangan ethos, and there is cynicism when altruism is mentioned, especially in politics.
Are there are any stories from your parents or grandparents that stick in your mind?
My mother always talked to me about the Haw Par Villa (in Singapore): the concept of good and evil, and in neraka how you’re going to be paralysed and potong lidah (have your tongue cut off) and all those things. She terrified me with images of the hereafter.
One of the things she told me as a child that I thought was cruel was that I was a Chinese anak angkat (adopted child) from a Chinese vegetable seller. I found that this is the kind of story every parent tells all the time. They don’t know that this has an incredible effect on their own child.
[…]
But my mother’s stories were character forming. My father was quiet. His influence, not to say that he [did not have] much effect on me, was not the same.
I think eventually the balancing of my anima and animus was important because I am now very comfortable with my anima. It balances my androgyneity, which is important for Indian dance. I tell my students, “If you are a good performer, you have to balance the ‘male’ and the ‘female’ within you.” You have to be almost neutral [so as to] inhabit the character and feel the “rasa”. And especially in Indian classical dance where you have to take on many roles, you have to be quicksilver when making this transformation.
One of the saddest things about the present Malay situation is not being able to understand the energy transforming from one manifestation to another. You cannot pinpoint and say, “This is the only way you can do it.” But the Malays through the introduction to a more patriarchal and Semitic religion, have become literal-minded rather than [exercise] their ability to use metaphors — which they used to be able to do. Now they want only the concrete thing, whereas the real thing is not so easy to grasp.

A five-year-old Ramli already showing off as a singer at a wedding function, Kerling (1958)

As a Malaysian is there anything you struggle with about yourself or your identity?
Whatever happens, I’m psychically connected with this place. I was in Australia for 14 years but was less psychically connected with Australia. I can’t remember much of my time there; except for some performances, nature, or surfing. Whereas in Malaysia or in this region, with India and Indonesia, I have an intense psychic connection.
This where I am. I have been fighting my battle in Malaysia. Come what may, this is where I’m going to be. I see it as a process. Nothing is going to be completely good, but I must have the equanimity to accept it, and be with it and do whatever I can.
But there’s this current debate about what it means to be Malay, “Jangan cabar Melayu,” “Jangan cabar Islam,” — what do you think of all this?
Look, I do Indian classical dance because I find it’s one of the most challenging and difficult art forms for solo [dance]. In that sense I’ve always been a global person, because I am into all the best that [the world] can offer. At the same time, I’m very nationalistic. I don’t like it when I see mak yong, main petri and wayang kulit being banned. I think they’re the best of Malay traditional pastimes that we have.

Ramli (in songkok), a “freshie” at RMC, roped in to do the Malay joget. Back row (left), 1969

As an advocate of Malay culture, do you think now that some people who claim to champion Malay culture have things back to front?
The people who [truly] champion Malay culture now are not necessarily Malay. We go back to being Malaysians. And Malay culture is part of Malaysian culture. So now there are non-Malays championing makyong or wayang kulit. They also champion Chinese opera and Indian classical dance. They see it as, “The richer we are in culture, the better.”
What about the politicians who say, you cannot challenge this or that, this is what it means to be Malay.
I think the Malays have got their own insecurities. Having said that, life is not easy. That’s why the mak yong has a tendency to identify with the dewa pechil, or dewa terpencil. Dewa pechil is a Malay archetype. He is complex as he is very sensitive. But when he leaves, the nation is bereft of “seri”. He is the kind of person who always merendahkan diri, (appears) to want to be in the background. This is one aspect of the Melayu that I find endearing, and at the same time exasperating. Not pushy, very accommodating, affectionate and loving.
And I think the Malays have always been in between the entrepreneurial races, with the Chinese on one side and so on. It’s difficult now to make a shift to being tough, because it is against the grain. But it can be done. It is a complex problem: how do we balance this?

Ramli, the trendsetter, modelling the sarong during a university student function

But [spoon-feeding Malay Malaysians] is not going to help either, because the entire political scene is suspect. And the more you are spoon-fed, the weaker you get. So this has got to be a balancing act, and we need visionary leaders whom we can trust and who can change a lot of atrophied mindsets.
It’s hard to find a solution — the problem lies in the nation’s psychic make-up which is not homogenous and cannot be measured quantitatively in profit and loss. It’s one of the complex human dramas which can be alluded to in an artistic manifestation, in literature, film or theatre. That’s why art is so important as a moderator and as an agent of understanding that brings about change of the nation’s psyche.
So then what kind of Malaysia do you want to see?
I want to see Malaysians only. The generations of non-Malays are fully Malaysians, [as are] Malays also. Malays now are changing, especially the urban ones. But we don’t know what the non-urban ones are thinking because there has been insecurity there. The ketuanan Melayu thing, the religious upbringing, the madrasah, the indoctrination through Friday khutbah, is happening on different and subversive levels. And this is indoctrination from young. It’s not a homogeneous society.
I think Malaysia has to resolve her issues about Malaysian-ness. How this process [will] be brought forward is going to be difficult, because Malays will feel like they are losing something, whereas they are already losing a lot.
For example, when it comes to religion, I think one of the worst things is what fundamentalist Islamism has done to women [and] to men. We don’t want this kind of fanatical and rigid Islam. What do you think? What I’m saying is true, isn’t it? That kind of Islam is a regression — it’s the worst that could befall us.

Kerajaan Negeri Hormati Titah DYMM Sultan Selangor

Kenyataan Akhbar
10 Oktober 2011
Kerajaan Negeri menghormati titah DYMM Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah berhubung laporan pemeriksaan terhadap Dream Center di Damansara Utama yang telah diperiksa oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS).

Kerajaan Negeri yakin dan percaya, titah baginda ini adalah keputusan terbaik dan adil serta mengambil kira keharmonian masyarakat berbilang kaum dan agama di negeri ini dan Malaysia amnya.
Sebagai rakyat Selangor, kita mesti menghormati dan menerima titah ini dengan hati terbuka dan positif kerana baginda adalah ketua negeri dan tempat masyarakat berbilang kaum berlindung.

Kerajaan Selangor tidak akan menoleh ke belakang lagi disebabkan isu ini. Sebaliknya isu ini memberi kesedaran tentang keperluan untuk mengukuhkan penguatkuasaan JAIS serta pengumpulan bukti.

Justeru, Kerajaan Negeri akan menubuhkan jawatan kuasa khas untuk memperkasakan Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) di JAIS agar jabatan itu dapat memantau cubaan untuk memesongkan kepercayaan dan akidah umat Islam dengan teliti dan berkesan.
Jawatan kuasa khas ini akan dianggotai tokoh perundangan dan pakar agama selain pegawai kanan kerajaan yang mana nama-nama mereka ini akan diumumkan kelak.
TAN SRI DATO’ SERI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIM
DATO’ MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR

Green Voters 2.0 movement reaches Penang

The Green Voters 2.0 movement has landed on the shores of Penang..

The Green Voters 2.0 movement arrives in Penang

The movement had its Penang launch at the Dewan Sri Pinang yesterday.
Green Voters is a national non-partisan movement working towards setting up voters’ committees in all constituencies.
One of the Green Voters demands is sustainable development – and not ad-hoc development causing irreversible damage to our environment such as traffic jams, pollution, loss of green spaces, hill-cutting, reclamation and “dirty” industries.
The movement is also calling for Freedom of Information and the restoration of local council elections. Check out their website.
Rock on, Green Voters!

‘Justice not seen to be done’

A human rights lawyer says a Court of Appeal decision on a death-in-custody case has not served justice and gives the impression the police are above the law.

KUALA LUMPUR: The family of the man who died in police custody is dismayed. A human rights lawyer is disappointed. This because a Courts of Appeal ruling gives the impression the police are above the law.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal, headed by a three-person panel consisting of Abu Samah Nordin, Mohd Hishamuddin Mohd Yunus and Aziah Ali, decided to set aside a 2009 High Court decision which had found the police liable for the death of Mohd Anuar Sarip, 31, and had awarded the family some RM1.5 million in damages.

Human rights lawyer P Uthayakumar said his client, Suzana Md Aris, the widow of the Mohd Anuar, who died more than 10 years ago while being remanded in the Rawang police station, was devastated yesterday and was “immediately speechless”.

“Despite 12 years waiting for justice in respect of her husband who was ‘killed’ after police beat him to death, she has to hear the awful decision from the court,” said Uthayakumar.

He said the Court of Appeal ruling on a death-in-custody case, was akin to “condoning the various police abuses that are occurring in the country”.

Uthayakumar, the Human Rights Party (HRP) pro tem secretary-general, said he was disappointed with the court’s decision which would “send a wrong signal that the Royal Malaysian Police are above the law”.

“The judgment amounts to just that. Are the courts condoning the abuse of police powers, the continuing of the countless deaths in police custody, and the police shoot-to-kill policy?” asked Uthayakumar.
He said the Court of Appeal ‘s reason was that the victim was a drug addict.

“So what does that mean? That he deserved to die in the police lock-up?”asked Uthayakumar.
He said other grounds cited was that Mohd Anuar had a pre-condition of pneumonia, but he argued that no one should die in police custody, but rather in a hospital.

Full scale cover-up

Uthayakumar also said the court also reasoned that a clinic which treated Mohd Anuar was not cited as a party in the law suit, but he argued that the family had no way of knowing that fact as the police had “stonewalled us all the way”.

“We wrote about 20 letters, but all the relevant documents were never given to us. There was no way we knew that a hospital had treated him, it was only revealed in court later. An inquest should have been held in the first place,” said Uthayakumar.

He alleged that Mohd Anuar’s death was a “full scale cover-up” by the police, with the collusion of the medical authorities.

“The court also ruled that when Mohd Anuar had vomited blood the police brought him to a clinic and were therefore negligent as the hospital attendant did not refer him to a doctor or got him admitted to a hospital,” said Uthayakumar.

On Friday , the Court of Appeal delivered its decision on an appeal by the government and former Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai over a High Court decision to award RM1.4 million in damages to Suzana after finding the former negligent over the death of Mohd Anuar.

Last June, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted the damages to Suzana, 44.

On Oct 20, 2009, High Court judge Kang Hwee Ghee had ruled that the police had been negligent after failing to take reasonable steps to aid Mohd Anuar, who was in the Rawang police lock-up on suspicion of being a drug addict.

Mohd Anuar, a trader at a wet market, died in the lock-up in August 1999 due to lung complications; specifically, his cause of death was “massive pleural effusion secondary to bronchalpneumonia”.

Suzana had filed the law suit in 2000 against DSP Ishak Hussin, then the Gombak CID chief, the district police chief ACP Massari Hashim, and Norian as well as the government.

The High Court had later dismissed the summons against the two lower-ranked officers (Ishak and Massari) and ruled that only the former IGP and government are responsible for paying the damages.

Uthayakumar said he would be filing an appeal to the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal decision.

Undilah video is a message on democracy

The Sun Daily
by Pauline Wong

PETALING JAYA (Oct 9, 2011): Despite the storm in the teacup that is the Undilah video, director Pete Teo remains unperturbed, even if slightly baffled, that its message on democracy would have attracted such a controversy.

The 4.48-minute video which features many well-known local personalities from celebrities to politicians and man on the streets, have been yanked from the air following a directive from the Malaysian Communication and Mulitmedia Commision (MCMC) - sparking off criticisms against the regulatory body.

Even though the MCMC clarified that the directive was made because the video had yet to be approved by the Film Censorship Board, the criticisms especially in the social network continues unabated..

Teo, despite it all, is still steadfast in spreading the message behind the video: that every Malaysian has a right to vote.

The inspiration for the video came to Teo when he was invited to speak at TED x Kuala Lumpur early last year.

"I was asked to speak on What Malaysia Needs. When researching for the talk, I realised what Malaysia needs is actually something simple - for the public to reclaim the country. Since this is a democracy, we can do it through the ballot box," he told theSun in a recent interview.

"As it is, we have about four million out of 15 million eligible voters who haven't registered. Of these four million, 75 percent are under the age of 30.

"This means that a huge proportion of the people who ought to be propelling the transformation of Malaysia aren't even registered to get their voices heard," he said, adding that he had enlisted the collaboration of well known actor, writer and director Adflin Shauki during a late supper in a meeting in Australia.

According to Teo, they agreed to turn the venture into a three-way collaboration, and sought out controversial rapper/actor Wee Meng Chee, better known as Namewee.

Namewee - the producer and main actor of hit local movie, Nasi Lemak 2.0, gained notoriety when he let loose a series of no-holds-barred videos on everything from Tenaga Nasional Berhad to Negaraku.

The collaboration was on hold until the trio could synchronise their busy schedules.

"It wasn't until when all our schedules cleared enough for a meeting a couple of months later that the project started in earnest," said Teo.

"Namewee came out with a song that Adflin and a friend added Malay and Tamil lyrics to. The video took almost a year to complete," he said.

Having produced the well-received 15Malaysia, a series of short films, Teo was eager to put his experience to full use.

"The concept of the video is fairly simple, as most good things are. A pop video is not a place to get all intellectually deep and argumentative.

"The message is: this is our country. Own it. Claim it. Citizens can do this by participating in the process of electing its government," he said.

Teo's message is echoed by his leading man, Namewee.

"The message of the video is to tell Malaysians that they are the boss," said the controversial rapper.

"If we are not happy (with the way things are run) then we can register, vote, and be in control."

The video has now gone viral on YouTube, despite the controversy, and comments from Information, Culture and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim that the video might be 'offensive to some people'.

With 400,000 views and counting, it would seem that the message is out there, and still going strong -- offensive or otherwise.

Deadly dreams: Man slaughters his children in their sleep

Farooq butchered Saba,3, and Waheed, 5, claimed to have had a vision. PHOTO: FILE 

MULTAN:A man killed two of his children in their sleep on Saturday evening. According to police officials, Mumtazabad Ram Kali resident Muhammad Farooq slaughtered his three-year-old daughter Saba and five-year-old son Waheed while the children were asleep. Farooq told police that he had seen a dream in which he had been ‘commanded by Allah to sacrifice his children in his name’.

 

The children’s mother came to know about the murder the next day when she found their decapitated bodies in their beds. “I immediately called police,” Mahnoor Bibi said.

A large number of people gathered outside Farooq’s house and protested.

“My son is mentally ill and we were trying to conceal his condition from our neighbours because there is discrimination.

He did not know what he was doing. This is a tragic incident but he is not to blame,” said Farooq’s mother Basheeran Bibi.

Police officials said that there were conflicting reports as to why Farooq had committed the murders. “His wife said he did it after seeing it in a dream but his mother insists that he did it because he was concerned about finances and didn’t think he could feed his children,” inspector Shahid said.

The bodies of the children have been shifted to Nishtar Hospital for an autopsy. Two of Farooq’s children, Akhtar and Sadaf, who were sleeping in another room survived. Police have arrested Farooq and registered a case.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2011.

Bersih: Police corporal ‘scapegoat’ in Tung Shin scandal

Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah said that pinpointing one scapegoat is not going to give the public any confidence that any investigation is going to be fair. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Bersih 2.0 said today authorities have made a scapegoat of the policeman held solely responsible for firing tear gas into Tung Shin Hospital during the July 9 rally for free and fair elections.

“This is ridiculous. Everyone saw ... the whole world saw the video. The poor guy is the scapegoat.

“If you say just one, did they really do a proper investigation? How can they say it’s one?” Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah told The Malaysian Insider.

Kuala Lumpur police had said yesterday that the police corporal who breached standard operating procedure (SOP) during the rally would be disciplined.

“Just like the minister of health (Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai) who denied Tung Shin was attacked by police, this is a denial that more than one police officer was involved,” Chin added.

In a report made public on Tuesday, the Health Ministry had determined that police acted in an unethical manner and breached SOP when dispersing demonstrators who had converged on the hospital to escape riot police.

The report prompted a statement from Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam that the matter would be referred to the police disciplinary committee.

“If you deal with abuse in this manner, having one scapegoat is not going to give the public any confidence that any investigation is going to be fair,” Chin said.

Police had absolved themselves of any wrongdoing during the July 9 rally after setting up six internal teams to investigate claims of police brutality that followed after nearly 1,700 were arrested, scores injured and an ex-soldier died during chaotic scenes in the capital.

But Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai ordered a second probe into the Tung Shin incident on July 14 after a group of medical consultants had written to the media refuting the hospital board and police who claimed that no gas canisters or water cannons were fired into the hospital.

Police finally admitted on July 21 that Tung Shin was hit with tear gas canisters and water cannon during the rally, but denied shooting directly into the compound.

But this claim flies in the face of various video clips uploaded on the YouTube video-sharing site showing water cannon and tear gas being fired into the hospital area.