SEKSUALITI MERDEKA

1. Masyarakat mana-mana pun tahu adanya orang yang dilahirkan dengan jantina tidak menentu. Ada yang memiliki tubuh badan lelaki tetapi bahagian-bahagian tertentu lebih mirip kepada perempuan. Mereka dikenali sebagai pondan atau ponen dan ada yang sebaliknya, iaitu tubuh badan perempuan tetapi mirip lelaki.

2. Mereka diterima oleh masyarakat sejak dahulukala lagi tanpa banyak masalah.

3. Tetapi di Barat, kerana gerakan bagi mendaulatkan kebebasan (freedom), mereka ini digesa untuk menuntut hak supaya diiktiraf sebagai sejenis yang berlainan. Mereka juga manusia dan manusia mesti diberi kebebasan untuk melakukan apa sahaja.


4. Yang menjadi masalah ialah mereka yang tidak ada apa-apa kecacatan tetapi menuntut supaya larangan agama dan undang-undang terhadap perbuatan seks di luar tabii seperti meliwat dihalalkan.

5. Dari sini tuntutan diteruskan untuk bukan sahaja dihalalkan seks songsang tetapi juga perkahwinan sejenis, lelaki dengan lelaki, perempuan dengan perempuan. Akhirnya perlakuan seks dibebaskan di Barat sehingga apa sahaja diterima oleh masyarakat sebagai hak seseorang manusia. Anak perempuan dan anak lelaki belasan tahun pun boleh tidur dengan siapa sahaja, melakukan apa jenis seks sesuka hati mereka. Tidak ada lagi anak dara atau teruna semasa berkahwin.

6. Kita banyak terpengaruh dan menerima pendapat dan nilai hidup serta adat resam Barat. Kita hidup dalam dunia yang berpusat kepada Eropah (Eurocentric). Kita terima sistem pemerintahan demokrasi umpamanya.

7. Tetapi perlukah kita turut dan terima segala-galanya yang dilakukan di Barat? Sebenarnya budaya dan nilai hidup Barat sudah runtuh, runtuh kerana terlangsung taksub dengan kebebasan (freedom). Apa sahaja yang hendak dilakukan oleh seseorang individu tidak boleh dilarang kerana larangan bermakna menidakkan hak asasi individu atau kumpulan.

8. Sesuatu yang dilarang oleh agama memang mempunyai sebabnya. Mungkin kita tidak kenal atau tahu sebabnya. Tetapi kita harus ingat penyakit HIV Aids dahulu tidak ada. Ia mula dikenali dikalangan mereka yang mengamalkan seks songsang di California, Amerika Syarikat, secara pilihan walaupun tidak ada kecacatan apa-apa. Sehingga kini tidak ada ubat yang boleh menyembuh penyakit HIV Aids. Mereka yang mengidap penyakit ini bukan sahaja akan musnahkan diri sendiri tetapi juga isteri, suami dan anak cucu. Mereka tidak akan hidup sempurna.

9. Manusia yang bertamadun tidak menurut nafsu semata-mata. Budaya Barat menggalakkan manusia mengikut nafsu. Kebebasan bagi mereka bermakna apa sahaja yang didorong oleh nafsu tidak boleh ditegah oleh agama atau undang-undang manusia.

10. Sifat ini adalah sifat haiwan. Manusia memiliki akal fikiran. Orang yang bertamadun menggunakan akal fikiran untuk menghalang diri dari terikut-ikut dengan nafsu. Sebabnya nafsu perlu dibendung ialah sesuatu yang tidak baik akan menimpa mereka yang mengikut nafsu. Tamadun yang utamakan nafsu akan runtuh akhirnya.

11. Kita sedang melihat keruntuhan akhlak dalam masyarakat Barat. Sementara agama mereka melarang seks songsang, paderi mereka secara terbuka mengamalkan seks songsang. Mereka ditugaskan untuk mengahwini sepasang lelaki dan perempuan. Apakah maknanya apabila mereka menasihati pasangan itu supaya setia kepada masing-masing. Sesungguhnya institusi perkahwinan dan kekeluargaan sudah luput dalam masyarakat Barat. Ramai daripada mereka tidak tahu siapa bapa mereka. Kemungkinan besar akan berlaku perkahwinan atau hubungan seks antara adik dengan abang, kakak dengan adik, bapa dengan anak, anak dengan ibu.

12. Mereka yang taksub dengan kebebasan akan berkata apa salahnya jika ini berlaku. Percayalah, masyarakat selepas ini akan dipenuhi dengan manusia yang cacat tubuh-badan, cacat akal fikiran dan besar kemungkinan aneka jenis penyakit baru akan menyerang msyarakat itu.

13. Sementara kita akui ada manusia yang jantina mereka tidak jelas, janganlah kerana ingin tidak memencilkan mereka, kita terima amalan Seksualiti Merdeka atau Free Seks dalam masyarakat kita. Amalan ini bukan sahaja berdosa tetapi akan runtuhkan masyarakat kita.

Fakely popular Najib isn’t man enough for the PM’s job

Isn't it odd that survey after survey released in the past week ostensibly indicates that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak - he with the effeminate pink lips and holding on thanks only to a few hundred semi-literate voters in Pekan - continues to remain popular.
It’s more than a little difficult to swallow the results from such surveys, commissioned as they are by some moneybags, since Najib hesitates to secure his own mandate from the nation. Instead, he piggy-backs on the one obtained by Abdullah Badawi, his predecessor. This is indeed a contradiction in terms.
For another, the surveys - some purportedly from opposition parties and some from the government-controlled universities - seem oblivious to the fact that he has so many skeletons in the cupboard that his conscience must surely be killing him, even if slowly, by now.
To rub it in, his wife Rosmah Mansor is no asset to him in his political career. She has been implicated with him as well in his numerous scandals which have come to public notice.
He seems unable for now to rein her in; much less tell her off for not knowing her place. She comes across to the public as stubborn, bull-headed, and having a fixation with leading a lavish lifestyle at the public expense.
Altantuya will dog him for life
To be fair to the man, he could claim to be as popular as Tunku Abdul Rahman and Badawi in their better moments if not for the fact that the ghost of C4-ed Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu hangs like the proverbial sword of Damocles over his head. He can’t wish it away however much he prayed.
The killing follows him like a bad smell everywhere and that’s suicide in politics. He declined to come clean because there’s no way that he can explain himself. There is also the matter of possible corruption in the related RM7 billion Scorpenes deal.
This is why he has so far trivialized the issue instead. But he’s kidding no one. Perception is all that matters in politics.
An on-going case in a French Court is likely to make things even worse for Najib in the months to come and perhaps just before the forthcoming 13^th General Elections (GE 13).
The moment that we see even Najib’s deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, keeping himself at a good distance in public from his boss, we will know that his (Najib’s) goose is about to be cooked.
Patently, there are still many unanswered questions from the Altantuya killing: her role in the multi-billion ringgit submarine purchase from France and Spain; who erased the records of her entry into the country from the Immigration Department computers; the link between Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib’s aide and reportedly a cousin, and Altantuya; and why the two convicted killers of Altantuya are still behind bars after being sentenced to death. The Judiciary, where heads are long overdue for a rolling, will have much to explain in the wake of GE 13.
These are all questions which will surface once more during GE 13.
Sodomy II
As if the stench from the Altantuya killing isn’t enough, Najib’s reported role in the on-going Sodomy II Trial is the proverbial millstone around his neck.
It has been admitted by the parties concerned that Najib met with Saiful Bukhari, the man who has accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising him. The allegation has been pooh-poohed by expert medical witnesses and seems to suggest, as Anwar has claimed, a high-level conspiracy against him along the lines of Sodomy 1.
Sodomy 1, in hindsight, was engineered by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who had to pay the ultimate price when he was forced out of office by an Umno revolt in the Federal Cabinet led by present Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn and present Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Ultimately, the Court held upon appeal that Anwar did not sodomise Azizan Abu Bakar, his wife’s driver.
Even those who detest Anwar felt sorry for him and abandoned Umno even if they still declined to vote for him. Sodomy 1 cost Umno deeply at the polls.
Sodomy II, like Sodomy 1 engineered by Mahathir, will cost Umno even more dearly at the polls. Perak, stolen from Pakatan Rakyat by Umno several months after GE 12 in 2008, will return to the opposition alliance.
Terengganu and East Malaysia while Najib frolics
Perak aside, PR is set to re-capture Terengganu, add Negri Sembilan to its electoral haul, and make in-roads in Sabah and Sarawak, Umno’s so-called Fixed Deposit states because of the many illegal immigrants there on the electoral rolls. PR has been stepping up the registration of local voters to neutralise the number of illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls.
Najib has also been unable to escape the public perception that Mahathir is blackmailing him into submission at every twist and turn and corner.
This has not endeared him to the man in the street who has since come to see Mahathir for what he’s really like as a person and politician. This is a side that Mahathir kept hidden from the public for almost 22 years in public office i.e. until Sodomy 1.
History has a nasty habit of catching up
Other scandals dog Najib to complete with the Altantuya killing, Sodomy 1 and Sodomy II. These include Najib’s 11^th hour betrayal of Kelantan Umno strongman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the infamous 1987 Battle for the Umno Presidency with Mahathir.
Razaleigh has never forgiven him and continues to withhold his crucial support, preferring not to stand in the way of Pas, a member of the PR coalition.
The stench is equally strong as Altantuya from Abdul Razak, Najib’s father, over his (Razak’s) role in the searing Sino-Malay riots of May 13, 1969 in which Mahathir and former Selangor Menteri Besar Harun Idris were the other masterminds.
All three were also the masterminds in the ousting of Tunku Abdul Rahman as Prime Minister.
No magic can turn Najib from a Frog into a Prince
That Najib is dying a slow but sure death can be fathomed from the hundreds of millions of taxpayers money he is pouring into public relations to air brush his image. Examples are obviously the string of popularity 'surveys'. This recent spate is with compliments from a duly thankful and grateful media chief, newly appointed and based at NST.
But so pathetic is the effort, it is outright embarrassing. As they say, never flog a dead horse. Even Houdini could not transform Najib from a FROG into a PRINCE!
Whether he admits it or not, Najib’s conscience cries out for punishment, and severe cleansing too, and it’s anybody guess how the timing and manner of his downfall will come about.
Few will shed tears for Najib as Malaysia awaits a Messiah to lead her out from the troubles which have been storing up for more than half a century. The chickens are coming home to roost as the past has caught up with us in the present to haunt the future.
Najib is the wrong man for the job.
Malaysia Chronicle

Hate language still holds sway

The Star

SHARING THE NATION By ZAINAH ANWAR

Again and again in Malaysia, those who defend the rights of citizens to exercise their fundamental liberties are treated as offenders.

WHERE should we draw the line between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred? This is a debate that occupies the international human rights system today as governments grapple with the need to fully respect freedom of expression as protected by international human rights law and comply with the prohibition of incitement to hatred.

As democracy matures, the public space for debate opens up further. Citizens, educated and aware of their rights, begin to articulate their demands for justice and social change. Diverse voices will compete for public attention and support. Traditionally marginalised groups will assert their right to be treated as citizens with equal rights and dignity. This is all good for democracy, respect for human rights and the well-being of society.

However, the problem arises when those identified as “others” are constructed by the dominant community “as people who do not share a community’s history, traditions and values” and, as a result, are “all too often perceived as predatory competitors, or at least a threat to the stability of that community’s belief system”, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said.

And thus they get demonised, threatened, discriminated against and even murdered just because they are different.

This is a global problem. In the name of “war on terror”, Muslims are vilified, attacked, or discriminated against. A whole community is demonised for the actions of a tiny minority who abuse Islam to justify their violence and terrorism.

In the name of ethnic or religious homogeneity, whole communities are physically removed from a territory by driving them out, deported to concentration camps, or murdered. In modern times, the forcible expulsion and murder of Jews in Europe, Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, and Tutsis in Rwanda stand out.

In the name of religion and culture, homosexuals are stigmatised, attacked and murdered.

It is obvious that human beings are not born to hate those who think, act or look differently. Just look at a playground of toddlers of all colours and backgrounds playing together.

All too often, hate, fear and insults are manufactured to serve a political agenda. And it is convenient to manipulate and abuse religion, ethnicity and culture to create fear and anxiety in order to delegitimise the rights and interests of the “others”.

In modern times, the media have been used as tools to inflame perceived grievances and rouse emotions, escalating tensions and conflict that can result in violence. Much research has been done to show how in Serbia, Serb supremacists used television to stir up ethnic tensions prior to the civil war. In Rwanda, Hutu propagandists used the radio to lay the groundwork for genocide.

While such atrocities seem impossible in Malaysia, the fact is in our country today, fear and hatred are manufactured on a daily basis and public opinion inflamed through screaming headlines in some mainstream newspapers and television stations, and in the venomous hate language in the alternative new media.

Muslim feminists, human rights defenders, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) groups and individuals are among those most vilified and demonised.

Recent events are cause for much concern. Many feel we are on a slippery slope to potential outbreak of violence. A country that has thrived, celebrated and been enriched by its history of embracing diversity and pluralism is today dominated by extremists who manufacture threats to race and religion supposedly posed by those they disagree with.

Thus, we see the demonising and defaming of Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan for her courage and resolve to go ahead with the Bersih rally.

The fact that government leaders took the lead in depicting Bersih as a threat to national security opened up the space and gave legitimacy to the even more belligerent voices among non-state actors.

Death threats were sent; vile, abusive and hate messages proliferated by SMS and on the Internet, Bersih supporters were labelled “communists”, “anti-Islam”, or “funded by foreign Christian groups”.

The attacks against Seksualiti Merdeka are yet another public contestation that swiftly escalated into a shrill and belligerent public discourse.

First, a forum to discuss the rights of LGBTs was portrayed by the media as a festival to promote free sex and a threat to security. Ambiga who was due to launch the event was once again demonised, this time labelled the “anti-Christ” by the right-wing group, Perkasa, which demanded that her citizenship be stripped.

Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, who defended Ambiga against these unjust attacks, in turn became the target of hate mail.

As expected in Malaysia today, close to 200 police reports were lodged all over the country against the organisers and supporters of Seksualiti Merdeka. The police banned the event and many activists were called in for questioning.

It is one thing to exercise one’s right to differences of opinion, but it is another when stigmatising, demonising, fear and hate-mongering language and accusations are hurled at marginalised and discriminated groups and human rights defenders.

Irresponsible newspapers day after day use inflammatory headlines to build up the frenzy. Mobs are hired to intimidate organisers and the police intervene, not to disperse the hooligans but to raid legitimate meetings held indoors to discuss issues of public interest and concern.

Again and again in Malaysia, those who defend the rights of citizens to exercise their fundamental liberties are treated as offenders, while those who incite fear and hatred and inflame racial and religious sentiments are given the upper hand to dictate the agenda through compliance, support or inaction by key state institutions.

While Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the right to freedom of expression, Article 20 also requires governments to prohibit the “advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”.

While striking the right balance is no easy task, the clear meaning is that freedom of expression is to be upheld for as long as it does not advocate hatred and incite discrimination, hostility or violence against an individual or group. Any limitations should take place only in the pursuit of justice and democratic principles, not against those who stand for justice and democracy.

But all too often, restrictions on freedom of expression are enacted in order to protect the interests of those who benefit most from silencing criticism, dissent and public debate on contentious issues.

That a group like Sisters in Islam which upholds equality and justice for Muslim women is demonised as anti-God, anti-Islam, and anti-Syariah, a coalition like Bersih 2.0 which demands for free and fair elections, is portrayed as a threat to national security and public order, or an event like Seksualiti Merdeka to recognise the human rights of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities is deliberately stigmatised as a “free-sex” festival, arguably does not constitute a legitimate exercise of free speech but incitement to discrimination and hostility that could potentially result in conflict and violence.

The Prime Minister in his Malaysia Day speech promised the dream of a new Malaysia “that practises a functional and inclusive democracy where public peace and prosperity is preserved in accordance with the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and respect for basic human rights and individual rights”.

How do the hate language and the relentless police reports by extremists against those demanding their constitutional right to fundamental liberties, and the continual phone calls to activists to visit Bukit Aman or a police station for yet another round of questioning under one restrictive law or another, create this democratic and inclusive Malaysia?

A government that practises democracy must protect and nurture a public space that promotes justice, equality and democratic and human rights principles.

Who’s afraid of Ambiga Sreenevasan?

The Nut Graph
by Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin

As published in The Nut Graph on 14 Nov 2011

IF there is one word that best explains and describes the virulent reaction towards Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, that word, for me, would be fear. That’s right. Fear.

In fact, it would seem from the continuing attacks against the Bersih 2.0 chairperson that this fear is such that she should be detained without trial under the Internal Security Act and/or denied citizenship. There is so much fear of the menace that Ambiga purportedly is that she, more than any other social or public health issue, has dominated headlines since Bersih 2.0 was launched.

Indeed, Ambiga seems to be public enemy No. 1. And her decision to open a four-day human rights festival for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT), known as Seksualiti Merdeka, has elevated this public-enemy status.

Question is, who exactly is afraid of Ambiga Sreenevasan? And what are they so afraid of?

The power of Ambiga

Before Seksualiti Merdeka became the new cause for Ambiga’s continued vilification, the senior lawyer and former Bar Council chairperson had already been threatened with gang rape and death for being an “accursed infidel” (“kafir laknat”). All for leading the call for free and fair elections through Bersih 2.0. Apparently, calling for electoral reforms that could only strengthen Malaysian democracy constitutes being an “accursed” unbeliever. And being an unbeliever – in this case an unbeliever of the Malaysian electoral system’s integrity – deserves punishment by either rape or death.

Since it was announced that Ambiga would launch Seksualiti Merdeka, which the police have since banned, the personal attacks against Ambiga have resumed with vengeance. This time round, she is a threat to the nation for purportedly violating the Federal Constitution and the “natural order” of human relations, and for insulting Islam while tempting Allah’s wrath.

Ambiga must sure be one powerful woman if she really is capable of doing as much as her detractors say she is. Indeed, it would seem that Ambiga’s actions and the causes she supports don’t just have an impact on public order and national security. It would seem that Ambiga’s agreement to open a festival that helps a marginalised community learn about their rights would also shake the heavens where Allah must reside.

What’s the real problem?

What really is the problem that Ambiga’s detractors have with her? And it must be her they have a problem with, because the truth is, Seksualiti Merdeka has been an annual event since 2008. Up until now, it has not been considered such a danger that the police had to threaten arrests if the festival went ahead as scheduled.

The way I see it, those who vilify, threaten and cast all manner of unsubstantiated allegations against Ambiga are saying only one thing: that really, they’re afraid. They are afraid of having an electoral system that is free and fair, and has more integrity and transparency than it has now. They are afraid that people with different sexual identities and preferences should and do deserve equal rights as Malaysian citizens even if the choices LGBTs make run counter to our hetero-normative culture.

And why would organisations the likes of Perkasa and the police be so afraid of Ambiga? After all, she’s clearly stated she does not have the stomach for politics. She’s a woman in a country where we can’t even meet the government’s quota of 30% women’s participation in public leadership roles. She’s identified as being Indian Malaysian, a minority racial group that cannot wield the same kind of clout a Malay Malaysian leader could. And yet, she is deemed such a threat to the status quo that she must be destroyed, if not her reputation then her very person, including through deliberate misreporting and factual inaccuracies by the Umno-controlled media.

For all intents and purposes, Ambiga is nowhere as powerful as she’s made out to be. Despite this, she has been able to galvanise thousands of Malaysians inside and outside the country without the need for a political party. These Malaysians cut across ideologies, age, race, religion, region and sexuality. And as the 9 July 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally demonstrated, these Malaysians are not afraid of the state’s threats of violence against them. Is that perhaps why Ambiga is such a threat – that she has become an icon for principled and honest leadership that this country is so in need of?

Beyond Ambiga

As Ambiga has rightfully pointed out, what is most shameful hasn’t been the personal threats against her. What has been shameful has been the bile and hatred that has been spewed against the LGBT community, which already faces regular threats of violence and injustice including from state and religious authorities. All done in an effort to further demonise Ambiga.

That is the nature of the beast, isn’t it? Those who dare to stand up and speak up for a more just and compassionate social order, and equal rights and protection for all regardless of who they are, are the ones who will most likely be targeted with violence and threats. Hence, while we cannot condone what the state and non-state actors are doing to Ambiga, Bersih 2.0, Seksualiti Merdeka and the LGBT community, we shouldn’t be too surprised.

After all, this wouldn’t be the first time human rights defenders and marginalised communities are demonised and threatened as being a menace to public order and religious or cultural norms. No less than Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad, women's suffragists, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Gandhi, to name but a few, were all vilified in their time for speaking up against the status quo.

Within the current and local contexts, human rights defenders such as those in Sisters in Islam; opposition politicians such as Karpal Singh; and academics such as Prof Dr Abdul Aziz Bari have all been threatened with harm before. And yet, often it is the likes of these organisations and individuals who are internationally recognised for the value of their struggle and principles. They are the ones who, in time, will have contributed in real ways to the opening up of democratic spaces and to justice.

Hence, what we should be fearful of aren’t the likes of Ambiga or events such as the Bersih 2.0 rally or Seksualiti Merdeka. What we should be fearful of is the state – in particular the Umno-led Barisan Nasional state – and non-state actors who would go to all extremes to deny us a better, safer, kinder and fairer Malaysia. 

---

Jacqueline Ann Surin isn’t afraid of Ambiga Sreenevasan or the LGBT community. She is more afraid of a Malaysian police force and a government administration that cannot protect citizens’ rights to organise, assemble and express themselves peacefully and safely.

BN Winnable Candidates Are Those Accepted By New Generation, Says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the criteria for Barisan Nasional's (BN) "winnable candidates" are those who are accepted by the new generation - the decisive factor in the next general election.

The prime minister said BN leaders should also take advantage of new technology to deliver messages to the people, especially the younger generation who used virtual channels to get information on current developments both within or outside the country.

Najib, who is also BN chairman and Umno president, said BN leaders and prospective candidates, who actively used new technology and virtual channels, would be given bonus points.

"We collect these bonus points. We want 'winnable candidates' who are accepted by the new generation as they will be the decider in the election.

"I have my own blog, Facebook and Twitter. Most of the tweets are my own, and some people are suspicious. For what? Because I wanted to communicate from my heart to the people. I want to communicate directly to the people.

"Previously, we had to go down to the ground but today wherever we are, we can connect with the people. Even when I was performing the haj pilgrimage, I stayed connected with the people as I miss them.

"In this era, if we do not know how to ride the waves, we will be tossed by the waves and we will sink," he said when launching the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention, here Sunday.

Hence, he said BN leaders had to make changes as they could feel the pulse of the people who had expressed their wish to see changes in the country.

Najib said the government had used the 'top to bottom' approach to bring changes to the country, especially through the Government Transformation Plan, the Economic Transformation Plan and the Political Transformation Plan.

"When they bear fruit, the country will emerge from a developing country to a high-income developed country, from a democratic nation to a progressive nation in the practice of democracy, more open and inclusive through the political transformation that we are striving for.

"This is the government's reform agenda that we are pursuing today. All these hinge on public support. We cannot succeed if do not have the people's support," he said.

Francis Loh takes over from Rama at Aliran

Leadership changes in the social reform group Aliran.
It’s been a long day today and a new chapter in Aliran’s history beckons.
Aliran held its 35th annual general meeting today. Rama has decided to step down as president and political scientist Dr Francis Loh is taking over.
What can I say about Rama’s 18-year tenure? He kept the light shining magnificently during the darkest moments of our nation’s history, when all seemed hopeless, especially after Operation Lalang. During the judicial crisis of 1988, sales of Aliran Monthly, which he edited, rocketed.
There was his fearless voice speaking up for justice and democracy. Surely, he will be remembered as one of our nation’s heroes – a true champion of democracy.
Thankfully, we have another voice for greater democracy, Francis Loh, around to take over.
See Aliran’s statement today.

Slaves freed after CNN documentary

By Fred Pleitgen and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, CNN

(CNN) - Hundreds of African refugees have been released from captivity in the Sinai Peninsula and allowed to cross from Egypt into Israel, shortly after a CNN documentary aired detailing the horrendous conditions the migrants face.

The report, "Death in the Desert," which was first broadcast on CNN International on November 5, showed evidence that African refugees, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, were being held captive by Bedouin human traffickers in Sinai, who try to extort massive sums of money from the refugees’ families for their release.

While in captivity the refugees are enslaved, many of the women raped and some even killed. The CNN crew even found evidence that some victims had organs extracted, a practice known as organ harvesting, and were later found dead in the desert.

Shortly after the documentary aired, more than 600 African refugees were released in Sinai, says Hamdi al Azzazy, an activist for the New Generation Foundation for Human Rights who has worked for years in the region, fighting to improve the plight of the African refugees.

His account was backed up by a press release from the EveryOne Group, an Italian non-governmental organization, which has also been raising public awareness about the refugees.

It said that after the CNN documentary aired "many chief-traffickers were afraid of being pursued by the authorities and on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 decided to release most of the groups of refugees they were holding prisoner."

The Sinai Desert is a vast and lawless area where the Egyptian state has virtually no presence and it is nearly impossible to fully verify the accounts.

CNN has contacted a chief of the Sawarka Bedouin tribe. Some rogue members of this tribe have been implicated in the imprisonment of African refugees and in the organ harvesting scheme.

The chief, who has asked not to be named said: "I heard the Sawarka's members involved in this dirty business released more than 600 Africans without them having to pay the ransoms and sent them to the Israeli border due to pressure from the intelligence service, including hundreds who were freed from the house of the assassinated dealer in Nekhel. He has been selling their organs and they found lots of weapons."

EveryOne Group says the alleged trafficker in people and human organs - known as "The Sultan" - was killed in a shootout with some Bedouins of another tribe, who were attempting to free a group of Eritrean refugees.

An Egyptian general, who asked not to be named, told CNN that Egypt's national security agencies were "tracking the rings of organized criminals involved in human trafficking but remain perplexed regarding who exactly is harvesting the organs and where they have been sold."

He said the investigation included "both the Egyptian intelligence and the National Security apparatus because it involves several countries and is not just an internal issue."

The UNHCR, which attempts to keep track of refugees crossing from Egypt to Israel, has confirmed that about 650 refugees have recently crossed the border.

Peter Deck, the Senior Protection Officer for the UNHCR in Tel Aviv, said it was impossible to tell why so many refugees were suddenly crossing the border or what role CNN's Freedom Project program may have played in people getting released from Bedouin detention camps, but he added that November was on track to becoming a record for the most crossings by refugees from Egypt to Israel.

He said that aside from the sheer numbers, the conditions had also changed. Many of those who crossed into Israel had stayed in Sinai for about a week, whereas usually the African refugees are held in Bedouin camps for months, and that most had paid substantially less to be allowed to pass then is normally the case.

Another change he noted was: "We didn’t have any refugees complain of severe physical abuse or violence… something seems to be different in those Bedouin camps."

The American University in Cairo is hosting a conference this weekend at which a delegation from The International Criminal Court will address human trafficking through Africa, Sinai, and Israel.

Kashmir erupts over anti-Islam Facebook page

Srinagar, Nov 18 (IBNS) The anti Islamic page posted on social networking website Facebook has created uproar in Kashmir Valley and from last two days the anger is brewing among Kashmiri youths. Meanwhile, cyber crime sleuths of J&K Police are on the red alert and some arrests are likely to be made in the next 24 hours.

The Facebook page titled 'This Dog will get more fans than Syed Ali Shah Geelani', allegedly the brain child of few Christian youths, was spotted a few days ago on the social networking website with anti-Islamic content.

Authorities feel that attempts are being made to disturb the peace in Valley.

People in large numbers gathered in different parts of Valley especially in Karan Nagar, Chana Pora, Saraibal, Nowhatta, Kral Pora in Srinagar demanding stern action against the operator of the page.

“We want the operator of this page to be hanged and exposed. Why the Jammu and Kashmir Police are silent and why they are not able to track down the 'bloody operator' of this anti-Islamic page,” a protestor told IBNS in Srinagar.

Bilal Ahmed, another protestor, said that at first he thought the page was created to defame Hurriat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani but “as soon as I went through it, I was aghast. I was so disturbed that I logged off. How can one play with the religious sentiments of the people and I just want to know who these ‘rascals’ are.”

Senior hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani had called for post Friday prayer protests against the blasphemous posts on Facebook. However, according to sources, he was placed under house arrest.

Meanwhile, protests rocked Srinagar city soon after Friday prayers.

In Maisuma locality of Srinagar city, youths pelted stones on police and the clashes were going on when this report was being filed.

Police arrested two youths who were allegedly involved in stone pelting. They have been identified as Ishtiaq Ahmed and Mohammad Owais.

Despite the heavy deployment of police and security forces, the downtown area of Srinagar city witnessed heavy stone pelting incidents.

Protestors complained that one of such pages had crossed all limits as “extremely offending” sketches and slogans had been posted to hurt religious sentiments of the population in Kashmir.

They pointed out that entire Internet traffic in India is being regulated and monitored either by government’s own telecommunication companies like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) or the registered private telecommunication companies.

Besides, there was regular surveillance on all Internet operations by Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Home Affairs of Government of India, Central and state intelligence agencies and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

While talking to IBNS, separatist leader and the chairman of Nationl Front, Nayeem Khan, said that those youths who express their anger against India on Facebook are immediately being traced and arrested and why not the operators of this objectionable page are not being exposed.

“If police and other state authorities claim to track operators of anti-national and separatist websites and Facebook pages, why don’t they who who the hell is running these anti-Muslim pages on Facebook?” Khan told IBNS.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, told IBNS that police took cognizance late last night and today it got the “highly objectionable page” blocked with the help of union Ministry of Home Affairs and union Ministry of Communication in New Delhi.

“We have blocked this page and it is nowhere available now. We are investigating the matter and those responsible will be severely punished,” the SSP said.

He confirmed that cyber surveillance had been immediately increased to ensure that nobody got an opportunity to foment trouble and mistrust among the local population, particularly the youth.

Today’s expressions against the Facebook pages included slogans against some recent incidents of conversions.

Mirwaize Molve Mohammad Omar Farooq has called All Religious Party meet on 21st of this month in which according to sources the role of Christian missionaries in Kashmir Valley will be discussed.

Highly placed sources told IBNS that chief priest Khanna has admitted before the Islamic Court that they were able to convert many young men of Valley into Christianity and now they have decided to stop their activities.

(Reporting by Neyaz Elahi)

Susahnya Beribadat

Wang bantuan sekolah RM100 diberi di pejabat Umno

Sebuah sekolah rendah di Ampang membawa pelajarnya ke pejabat Umno bahagian untuk mendapatkan wang bantuan terbabit.

PETALING JAYA: Ahli Parlimen Ampang Zuraida Kamaruddin yang juga ketua Wanita PKR hari ini mendedahkan wang bantuan RM100 kepada murid sekolah diberikan di pejabat Umno.

Zuraida mendakwa sebuah sekolah rendah di Ampang membawa pelajarnya ke pejabat Umno bahagian untuk mendapatkan wang bantuan terbabit.

Malah bantuan tersebut diberikan oleh Ketua Umno bahagian Datuk Ismail Kijo di bangunan Umno Ampang di Jalan Bukit Belacan.

“Saya dapat panggilan dari guru besar dan ibu bapa yang memberitahu murid-murid terpaksa dibawa ke bangunan Umno Ampang untuk menerima wang itu,” kata Zuraida dalam sidang media di Ibu Pejabat PKR di sini hari ini.

Tindakan itu disifatkan Zuraida sebagai petanda jelas Umno begitu terdesak untuk menipu rakyat bagi mendapatkan undi kerana ia sepatutnya disalurkan terus kepada sekolah dan tidak membabitkan campur tangan parti politik.

Diumum Najib

“Sepatutnya bantuan itu diserahkan oleh kakitangan kerajaan atau pun daripada Kementerian Pelajaran,” katanya.

Wang bantuan persekolahan RM100 seperti yang diumumkan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada pembentangan Belanjawan 2012 sepatutnya disalurkan kepada akaun sekolah masing-masing dengan serta-merta.

Wang bantuan itu akan diagihkan kepada pelajar Tahun Satu hingga Tahun Lima dan dari Tingkatan Satu hingga Tingkatan Empat bagi sesi persekolahan 2011.

Manakala bayaran bantuan kepada pelajar Tahun Satu dan Tingkatan Satu sesi persekolahan 2012 akan dibayar pada Januari tahun depan.

Mahathir goes to war on warmongers

Wars cannot be made into a crime against humanity, says the former prime minister when he launched an attack on the purveyors of war.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad lambasted the purveyors of war in a speech laced with heavy sarcasm simply titled “War” delivered at an international conference here today.

“War is good for business. Killing people with weapons is good for business. So reject peace. Reject negotiations. Reject arbitration. Reject courts of law. Go to war. Kill, kill, kill. That’s the way to solve conflicts between nations,” he said sarcastically.

Besides killing people, war could also bankrupt countries, he noted.

“But wars cannot be abolished or made into a crime against humanity. It’s too profitable and it is what gives power to the powerful countries,” Mahathir said at the conference on Arab uprising organised by Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF).

Mahathir, who is PGPF president, said these mass killers now called their war machines their “defence forces” but it was obvious that they were not used solely for defence.

“They are equipped to attack, invade, shock and awe their victims,” Mahathir said, adding that their governments and industries spent huge sums in the invention of new weapons.

“Even children’s toys give ideas for better killing machines. Remote-controlled toy planes for children lead to UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. First used for aerial photography, they’re now fitted with guns, missiles and bombs,” he said.

He said gases, germs and rays of all kind were studied and invariably their potential for killing people was identified and developed.

“All these research, development, tests and production cost a lot of money, running into billions each year. But for these killing machines any amount of money is worth it,” he said.

Mahathir said the irony was that the same people who indulged in mass killings were the ones who were critical of Malaysia’s capital punishment reserved for those trafficking drugs as well as murderers.

-Bernama

Najib Has Shown Great Leadership, Says President Obama

NUSA DUA (BALI), Nov 19 (Bernama) -- United States President Barack Obama said Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has shown great leadership not only in continuing to boost Malaysia's economy but also in showing leadership on a wide range of multilateral fora.

The American leader said "we want to be a strong partner with Malaysia".

"I appreciate the extraordinary cooperation that we've received on a whole range of issues," he said.

"...So, thank you very much, Prime Minister," Obama said in his remarks at a bilateral meeting with Najib here, Friday ahead of the East Asia Summit scheduled for Saturday.

The US president said the bilateral meeting would allow both countries to discuss how they could best use the East Asia Summit to ensure shared prosperity and shared security across the region.

Obama said the meeting also allowed both sides to expand discussions on their bilateral relationship, describing it as "strong", as well the cooperation seen on issues like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

He also alluded to his interaction with Najib at the recently-concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Hawaii.

"I just want to say how much of a pleasure it is to be able to see, once again, Prime Minister Najib.

We just had excellent conversations and consultations at the APEC conference that we hosted in Honolulu," he said.

Meanwhile, Najib, in his statement, noted that the US was Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner and, on a comparative basis, still the largest investor in Malaysia.

"We certainly look forward to expanding trade and investment linkages. And with the TPP, hopefully, we can meet the deadline next year," he said.

Najib said Kuala Lumpur saw great prospects in terms of enhancing trade and investment between the two countries.

"And certainly we look forward to working in other areas concerned," he said.

In addition, Najib stressed that Malaysia was very committed to ensuring peace and stability, pointing out that the Southeast Asian nation was working with the US in the area of nuclear non-proliferation.

"We're doing our part to ensure that Malaysia is not a transit point for illicit goods that can be used for nuclear proliferation," he said.

He said Malaysia was looking at new areas of cooperation, including receiving 50 English teachers from the US in January.

Najib mentioned that Malaysia was also helping out in Afghanistan, in reference to its capacity-building efforts in the war-torn country.

The bilateral meeting was also attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Nancy-Ann DeParle, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State, Kurt Campbell.

The Malaysian delegation included Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Wisma Putra (Foreign Ministry) secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Abdul Rahman and Malaysian ambassador to the US Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis.

Yob spat in face of poppies girl Beth

A YOUNG yob spat in a girl Army cadet's face as she sold Remembrance Day poppies in a city shopping centre, it was revealed yesterday.

One of the three Asian hoodies — all said to be aged about 12 — took a poppy from a box held by Bethany Holmes and spat on it before spitting into her face three times.

In a separate incident, two teenage girl Army Cadets faced a barrage of verbal abuse for selling poppies — because they were Asian.

Others sellers in Bradford, West Yorks, were threatened and attacked.

Poppy Appeal organiser Barbara Allsopp said: "I feel sorry for the cadets. These yobs should hang their heads in shame."

Bethany's mum, Christine, added: "I want to make them apologise. They are disgusting, the lowest of the low."

Police in the city were studying CCTV in a bid to nail the yobs.

My three reasons for not supporting Pakatan

By Raj Dewi,

I write to inform you all that I have decided not to support Pakatan Rakyat on three very important grounds.

First of all, as a civil servant, my ricebowl is at stake since DAP leader Tony Pua has announced that Pakatan will cut nearly 40 percent of jobs in the civil service.

Opposition Anwar Ibrahim has said it is not true. But DAP and its top leaders have not denied Pua's statement.

Compared with the BN under PM Najib Abdul Razak which has extended the civil servants' tenure to age 60 and gave much monetary benefits to civil servants, DAP wants to sack 40 percent of us!

How can we civil servants support such a party. If what Anwar said is true and what Pua said is not true, then to show their sincerity, DAP must apologise to civil servants publicly, and promise not to field Pua as candidate for the 13th general election.

Otherwise, we will campaign against DAP candidates.

Secondly, PAS is insisting on achieving its Islamic state with the implementation of hudud. Can Christians honestly support Pakatan in view of this.

Even Anwar Ibrahim has publicly supported hudud. It is too risky for Christians to support PAS, unless the party publicly promises that it will not implement Islamic law when Pakatan comes to power.

DAP leaders like Lim Guan Eng has been defending PAS, and keeping quiet on the various PAS actions like banning a cinema in Bangi, and calling for the banning of the Elton John concert.
We cannot support Pakatan as it is too dangerous.

Thirdlly, the credibility of many Pakatan candidates is questionable.
There are still DAP people who object to wearing songkok at official functions, although they are prepared to wear hats and Japanese baseball caps.

When Selangor Assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh wore tudung during Hari Raya, she was attacked by DAP leaders and members.

Also, DAP leaders are not that clean after all, they practise cronyism and nepotism, and some are corrupt too.
DAP says they champion human rights and press freedom, yet Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng bans Malay daily Utusan Malaysia in his state.
How can Christians support these hypocrites. For us, it is better to stay with BN which has shows that it can change and will give us a good life.

Pakatan just talks and never delivers. DAP does not even care for the veteran leaders who build up the party, now that upstarts like Pua have come in and taken over.

For these three important reasons, I urge all Christians to stop supporting Pakatan.
All civil servants should also protest against DAP, especially to kick out Pua, who is out to break our ricebowls.

Malaysia’s economy likely to slow despite earlier boom

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Malaysia should brace for a protracted economic slump despite the expected announcement today that its economy has grown by up to 4.8 per cent in the past three months, analysts have warned, as the mushrooming debt cloud from the US and Europe spreads eastwards.
As the country heads into the last six weeks of the year, Bloomberg News reported today that most Asian currencies have been falling in the past three months on concern the nations that led the recovery from the 2009 global recession will falter.

File photo of a weekly night market in Kota Kinabalu. Analysts have said Malaysia should brace itself for a slump despite the recent growth in the economy. — Reuters pic

“It’s part of monetary easing if they let their currencies weaken,” the business news agency reported United Overseas Bank economist Ho Woei Chen as saying. The ringgit has fallen more than five per cent in the past three months while the Thai baht has weakened 3.3 per cent but neither countries have cut their rates even as Indonesia and Australia lowered borrowing costs in this last quarter.
“Probably they are not cutting interest rates that aggressively but letting their currency depreciate,” Ho said, adding he expects Malaysia and Thailand to highlight the risks to growth going forward.
Citing United Overseas Bank Ltd, Bloomberg reported that policymakers throughout the region may allow more weakening to support non-oil exports to Europe and the US, which have been crashing across the board in Singapore.
The republic’s main electronics sector has been battered and dropped by 31 per cent last month compared to the same period last year due to poor demand for disk drives and integrated circuits which plunged more than 50 per cent.
Analysts observed that Malaysia’s growth spurt in the last quarter was due to its strong domestic demand and export before the sovereign debt-crisis deepened in Europe.
Investment experienced a sprint in Southeast Asia’s third- largest economy since the Najib administration last year identified US$444 billion (RM1.37 trillion) worth of private sector-led projects to spur growth, Bloomberg reported.
International Business Machines Corp (IBM), Toshiba Corp and Agilent Technologies Inc are among the companies that have pledged new investments here.
Exports grew at the fastest pace in more than a year in September as companies shipped abroad more electronics and commodities.
But the analysts also warned that the growth could be stunted if the external sectors spilled over into the domestic economy.
“Supply chain disruptions stemming from Thai floods may depress industrial production in the short run,” reported Bloomberg, quoting Daniel Wilson, an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore.

traffic police bikes file pix

Sarawak traffic police pose a threat to road safety, says an opposition assemblyman.

KUCHING: There’s a nickname for the Sarawak’s traffic police, according to Piasau assemblyman Ling Sie Kiong. They’re called ‘ambush drivers’.

Ling said Sarawak’s increasingly cynical public had begun to describe these cops as such because of the manner in which they carry out their job.

He said ‘ambush drivers’ lurk at dangerous corners of the road and wait for an “opportunity” to pounce on motorists and invite corrupt practices that tarnish the image of the police.

Ling said such actions indirectly affect the reputation of the police and the government.

“There are many complaints about traffic police ambushing drivers at dangerous corners of the roads which has caused panic in some people, especially P-license drivers.

“Is such a practice (ambush) really necessary and is the practice safe, especially when such surprise checks at blind corners might cause accidents due to confusion and negative reactions of some drivers?” he asked.

Ling said road blocks were still an issue in the state.

“I was made to understand that an ‘ambush’ is not considered a road block, but rather a spot check where no barrier is required to be placed as a safety measure.

“The traffic police may have the power to set up road blocks, which is useful in checking crimes like car thefts, but it must be used wisely and safely.

“It should not cause too much disruption to traffic flow,” he said, pointing out that according to Section 78 of the Road Transport Act 1987, a barrier must be placed as a reasonable measure to stop vehicles.

Combating corruption

Ling suggested that the service of the traffic police could be better used for directing traffic during peak

hours and when there is a breakdown in traffic lights.

Ling called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to consider monitoring those traffic policemen who stand under the tree and issue summons.

He reminded MACC that combating corruption has to start from the top, not from the bottom, as in the motto “leadership by example” which is far more effective in convincing subordinates and followers to go clean.

The public perception now is that the “big fish” is protected from investigation, while only “ikan bilis” were being caught just to show results.

Such half-hearted efforts lack credibility and is not likely to succeed, he said during the debate on the state 2012 budget.

Dissolve ‘category A and B system’ in sports

Because of the system, many national juniors missed the chance to participate in international level events because of financial problem.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth has called for a revamp of the “category system” in Malaysian sports, saying that the millions spent on ferrying “officials and observers” to international sporting events should be channelled instead towards supporting more sportsmen.

According to its information chief S Subramaniam, Malaysian sportsmen were divided into two categories – category A and category B.

Category A sportsmen’s participation in international events was paid for by the government while those who fell into category B paid their own way.

“We should understand that because of the category system many national juniors missed the chance to participate in international level events because of financial problem.”

“Our Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has allocated millions of money to sport development.

“But, sad to say, many associations spent more on administration than on development of sport.

“We believe it is time the National Sport Council and Olympic Council of Malaysia dissolve the category systems in sports and treat all sportsmen representing the country fairly,” he said, adding that the surprise gold medal win by the national 4 x 400metres quartet in the ongoing South East Asia (SEA) Games was a strong message to both the sport councils to reconsider the category system.

More observers than sportsmen

In the SEA Games in Indonesia, Subramaniam said the bulk of the contingent’s budget had gone towards funding non-players.

“For example, Malaysia spent RM2.2 million for 261 officials, 59 VIPs, 279 observers and 355 sportsmen for the SEA games.

“The rest of the 253 were category B sportsmen who spent their own money to prove themselves.

“What kind of system is this?” he asked.

Subramaniam also pointed out that the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU) had an absurd ratio of more than one observer per government-funded athlete.

“MAAU took 45 observers where the total track and field athletes are 16 under category A.

“Eighteen other athletes in category B financed their own participation. The ratio of observers to fully financed athletes is absurd.

“This means more than one observer for every athlete… it’s too much,” said Subramaniam, who also raised concern over the future of Malaysian athletics.

He said that although athletes under the MAAU won six gold medals, none of them were new faces.

No new faces

Malaysia’s six gold medals in the track and field events came from Noraseela Khalid (400m hurdles), Lo Choon Sieng (20km walk), Lee Hup Wei (high jump), Tan Song Hwa (hammer), Roslinda Samsu (pole vault) and the 4x400m relay team men.

“Despite MAAU achieving its target, it is a clear that MAAU has failed to cultivate new gold- winning athletes.

“The victories in the SEA Games came from the old faces,” he told FMT.

He recalled that Malaysia was once champions in the track and field events not only in the SEA Games but also in Asia, but today other countries such as Thailand and Indonesia have overtaken Malaysia.

He said that part of the blame rested with the poor administration of the MAAU.

He urged the Youth and Sports Ministry to set up a special task force to probe into MAAU’s structure and operation system.

“We believe that the inefficiency of MAAU is one major cause of Malaysian athletes’ performance declining in the international arena,” Subramaniam said, adding that MIC Youth was not the only group that was critical of MAAU.

He said many parties as well as athletes had complained about the system within MAAU.

The latest rant came from national track and field athlete Noraseela Khalid.

On Wednesday, Noraseela reportedly slammed MAAU for neglecting the welfare of its athletes.

She lambasted the MAAU for bringing home the Malaysian 4x400m men’s quartet of S Kannathasan, P Vuvaraj, Schzuan Ahmad Rosely and Mohd Yunus La Salleh even before the medal presentation ceremony.

The quartet were the surprise winners of a gold medal in the event which was held on Monday. The medal presentation ceremony was scheduled for the next day.

Poor excuse

Responding to Noraseela’s angst, MAAU deputy president Karim Ibrahim told her not to be a “poodle” of others who were trying to destroy the union.

Karim said the MAAU did not have the power to reschedule the medal presentation ceremony, which was the prerogative of the organising committee and neither could it delay the quartet’s flight home as the flights were fully booked out of Palembang at the time.

But Subramaniam described Karim’s statement as a “poor excuse”.

‘It’s not impossible to reschedule their return after the medal presentation. What is wrong paying extra money for accommodation and flight for our golden boys?” he asked.

Suspected militants held under ISA

The Sun
by Charles Ramendran

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 17, 2011): Despite it being in its last months of existence before it is abolished in March next year, the Internal Security Act (ISA) was invoked again on 13 suspected members of a militant group in Sabah on Monday.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said today, following investigations and intelligence gathering over several months, police learnt that the suspects were planning to revive militancy in Sabah.

He said in a brief statement that the probe led to the arrest of seven Malaysians and six foreigners between Monday and Wednesday.

He said the suspects are being held and investigated under Section 73 (1) of the ISA which allows detention up to 60 days without a arrest warrant for activities which could affect the security of the country.

Ismail said if the activities of the group can threaten or affect national security if it is not thwarted.

Although it was not disclosed by police, it is believed that the foreign suspects detained are Indonesians and Filipinos.

Low BN attendance at Selangor State Assembly

Quite a number of BN state assembly members have been missing from the Selangor State Assembly in recent days.

Photograph: Hannah Yeoh, yesterday

Selangor state assembly member Hannah Yeoh (Subang Jaya) tweeted yesterday that not a single BN Adun was in the House as at 2.32pm.
I contacted a Selangor state exco member to find out if BN attendance was a problem. He said about five or six BN Aduns (out of the 20 BN Aduns, all from Umno) are usually present. Some of them do not stay for long, just saying what they have to say before leaving, he added.
In contrast, he said nearly all (“99%”) of the 36 PR Aduns have been attending proceedings.

Slavery: A 21st Century Evil - Bridal slaves

Refer Syria's leaders to International Criminal Court

Notre Dame, Indiana (CNN) -- The crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Syria has resulted in at least 3,500 deaths. The United Nations Security Council should immediately request that all charges of crimes against humanity in Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court.

If the claims of gross misconduct by the Arab League and many national governments are correct, then something definitive would finally be done. And if the accusations prove to be wrong, as the Syrian government claims, then the court would confirm that.

The Security Council needs to act because the court lacks jurisdiction to investigate on its own, since Syria has refused to join the court. But with Security Council authorization, the legal door opens for a full-fledged investigation that could reach President Bashar al-Assad himself and, if warranted, indict those accused of responsibility for mass murder.

Russian and Chinese officials, who feel they were taken advantage of by NATO countries when they expanded the Security Council authorization of a no-fly zone for civilian protection in Libya into a military effort to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi's government, have resisted taking strong action against Syria. To encourage them to support a council referral of atrocities to the court, a U.N. resolution could explicitly take international military action against Syria off the table. This would also reassure members of the Arab League who oppose external military intervention even though some want Assad to resign.

To obtain that reassurance, the Arab League simultaneously could ask the Security Council to refer alleged Syrian crimes to the court, while also underscoring its disapproval of the Syrian government's violation of its agreement with the Arab League to stop atrocities.

An investigation by the international court could produce many benefits. It might deter heinous crimes, because Syrian officials would know that the world is now watching and ready to take legal action. If indictments resulted from the investigations, they would discredit any Syrian officials who refused to stand trial, even if arrests of indictees could not be made in the immediate future.

If Assad were indicted, this would add strength to the claim of those arguing that he should step down. Indictments would encourage and empower democratic forces within Syria, while also helping to keep protesters nonviolent, thereby discouraging the kind of civil war that occurred in Libya.

A Security Council referral might even put pressure on Damascus to accept a proposal being advanced by some in the Arab League to deploy 400 to 500 observers throughout Syria from a coalition of 16 Arab human rights organizations. Of course, Assad might refuse to allow them into Syria, fearing that they might find evidence useful for prosecutions. However, if he refused the Arab League offer to observe what is going on, that refusal would undermine his claim that officials are doing nothing illegal.

Finally, a swift Security Council referral would place the killings of several thousand people and the question of wrongful conduct precisely where they should be: in a legal framework where the conduct of officials and others is judged against well-established international laws that few dispute. Such a move, in tandem with European Union economic sanctions already taken to freeze the assets of 74 Syrians and an expanding oil and possibly arms embargo, would reduce the likelihood of violence among Syrians themselves, discourage external military intervention and enable the council to honor its charter obligation to take responsibility for preventing armed conflict.

An indictment could even produce a humanitarian consequence for an accused official. This is suggested by events surrounding Gadhafi's son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, whom the court indicted because of suspected abuses of civilians in the Libyan revolution. He and any accused Syrian officials might prefer going to The Hague to face their legal fate rather than run the risks of a more violent destiny closer to home.

Kissing teenagers wreak havoc in shopping mall

For illustrative purpose only (Getty Images)

A teenager and his girl friend caused furor at a crowded Kuwaiti shopping mall when they kissed each other and walked around hugging each other.

Ignoring rebukes from scores of male and female shoppers, the couple then sat at a coffee shop inside the mall and continued their amorous scene, prompting the mall’s security men to intervene and kick them out.

“The two still did not give up…they went out of the mall and resumed hugging…people had to call the police to the area,” the Arabic language daily Alwatan said. “When the police arrived, the two ended their obscene performance, smashed through the surrounding crowd and ran away.”

Bantu usahawan RM 100 juta, India Muslim tersepit

School aid suggestive of vote-buying

Opposition MPs query ministry directive for BN reps to be present during the distribution of funds to schools.

PETALING JAYA: A recent Education Ministry directive for BN parliamentarians and assemblymen to be present at the distribution of schooling assistance to parents has raised eyebrows in the opposition camp.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had announced in the 2012 Budget that all primary and secondary students nationwide would receive RM100 by the end of this month.

The funds would be deposited into the Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) accounts of the schools and subsequently handed out to the students or their parents.

Last Sunday however, the ministry issued a circular requesting all BN representatives to be present during the distributions to act as a “touchpoint” between the government and the people.

PKR’s Subang MP, Sivarasa Rasiah, said that the one-off payment in itself is suggestive of vote-buying and that the presence of politicians appeared as an attempt to seal that connection between the “gift” and the intended vote.

“If this allocation was made a permanent benefit and the right of poorer familes, then these questions wouldn’t arise,” he said. “And this is the difference between the BN and Pakatan budget. Our aid programmes are continuous.”

“My other problem with this aid is that it is part of a budget that hasn’t yet been approved in its entirety which makes the distribution of funds inappropriate at this point.”

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, meanwhile, observed a contradiction between this new directive and an earlier one in in January barring all politicians from entering school compounds.

‘Education should be above politics’

She also noted that BN parties appear to be dominating government schools in the country and this isn’t welcome by all Malaysians.

“Look, while I appreciate the government fulfilling its promises to the people, you also have to look at the procedures involved,” she said. “It goes beyond the issue of vote buying and into clouding the governance of education.”

“It isn’t about whether this will affect my rice bowl as a politician but about the fact that a responsible government should prioritise education above politics.”

Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong added that the directive appeared to be part of a last- minute campaign before an election spurred by the belief that the gesture would garner votes.

“There is no need for their presence,” he said. “It won’t make a difference because it’s not about improving the system. What is needed is a genuine open policy on the country’s future.

“Instead of just being a touchpoint, there should be open engagement with parents. In this situation, it is not enough to literally stand there and be counted.”

According to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, a Taiping school board chairman had recently given the government a tongue lashing over politicians entering school grounds.

“He said that politicians don’t belong on a holistic campus and I fully support his stand,” he said. “Let the aid be distributed by the principals without any political presence or involvement.”

Hasan Ali: Muslims being converted by solar-powered talking bible

Hasan said Jais research shows Christian were spreading their faith through free classes and counselling. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Evangelical Christians are using high-tech devices such as solar-powered talking bibles to proselytize to Malay Muslims in Selangor, state lawmaker Datuk Hasan Ali said today.


Hasan, who is in charge of the state’s Islamic affairs portfolio, said the state’s religious authority (Jais) had discovered that Christian missionaries were now spreading their gospel through technologically-advanced means apart from setting up welfare groups providing cash and other financial aid to single mothers and the destitute.

He added that Jais’s research showed Christian evangelists were spreading their faith to young Muslim students in free tuition classes and counselling sessions, besides distributing Christian pamphlets in public places, homes, universities and places that were ostensibly called “community centres” to carry out their evangelical work.

The website claims the device’s batteries can be recharged using solar power.

The ex-PAS state commissioner disclosed this in a written reply to a question from Umno-Sungai Burong assemblyman Datuk Mohd Shamsudin Lias.


According to a website called Book of Joe, the palm-sized radio-like device contains all the books in the New and Old Testaments and is fitted with batteries that will run for almost 10 hours before needing to be recharged, whether by the sun, a light bulb or a nine-volt AC adapter. It costs only US$99.95 (RM310).

 This latest disclosure, after a controversial August 3 raid by Selangor Islamic authorities on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya, could trigger another Christian-Muslim conflict.

Christian leaders have consistently denied claims that they are attempting to convert Muslims, but relations between the two creeds with roots in the Middle East continue to smoulder in multi-religious, multi-cultural Malaysia where the religion of the federation is Islam as stated in the Federal Constitution.

Hasan said Jais is working to counter Christian proselytism of Muslims by holding sessions to clarify Islamic doctrine and its laws.

The lawmaker said Jais is also seeking to strengthen the enforcement of the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988 as well as the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1995.

NFC beat target, says Shahrizat’s husband

Shahrizat’s husband and children operate the RM250 million NFC project. — File pic

GEMAS, Nov 17 — The controversial national cattle farming project went beyond its set target, chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail said today, disputing a federal audit describing the scheme as being “in a mess”.

“In fact, [National Feedlot Corporation (NFC)] has raised 8,016 head of cattle in 2010, surpassing its target of 8,000 head of cattle. We are importing cattle from Australia and we have to feed them for between four and six months.

“We do not slaughter them soon after arrival,” Mohamad Salleh, husband to Cabinet Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil, was reported saying in a Bernama Online report today.

Today was the first time Mohamad had spoken up on the brewing scandal that began after the RM250 million federally-funded project made it into the pages of the Auditor-General’s Report for 2010.

The report released last month had criticised the NFC, pointing out that it was now “in a mess”. It further said production in 2010 was only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1 per cent of the target set.

Mohamad’s figures today echoed Agriculture Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar’s interpretation of the project’s objectives

Noh previously informed the Auditor-General “the total number of cattle brought into the farm was 8,016 between 2008 and 2010.”

“Of that total, 5,742 were slaughtered up to November 2010. Therefore, the target of 8,000 cattle by 2010 was met. It (the NFC project) is a success,” Noh told Parliament on October 31.

The project operated by Mohamad and his two children ran into further controversy when PKR revealed that RM9.8 million from government loans to the corporation was used to buy a luxury condominium unit in Bangsar.

During a press conference today, Shahrizat’s husband disputed PKR’s numbers and said the project had purchased not one but two units of the condominium, adding that these had cost over RM6 million each.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin earlier defended the condominium purchase as an investment when the project found itself with excess liquidity after the government ran out of funds to develop satellite cattle farms.

Mohamad today called the decision to purchase the two condo units “a good business decision” that reportedly yielded a claimed RM900,000 in rental and developer rebates during the first year.

Despite clamour for the project to be investigated for irregularities, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has passed the case to the police by saying the matter should be probed under the Penal Code.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar today said, however, that he has yet to receive anything on the matter from the MACC.