Syrian young girls face rape, sexual violence

Syrian women walk past Russia-made tanks as country continues to fall into violence.

CAIRO: Syria is a country facing continued violence, with activists reporting massive bombings on Wednesday as the world’s attention turned to Gaza, where a ceasefire was agreed upon by Israel and Hamas.

But for women and children in Syria, they are continuing to be targeted and reports of rape and execution of women in the country are quickly becoming daily.

According to one female activist, speaking to Bikyamasr.com on condition of anonymity from inside Syria, the media coverage of violence against women in the country is “less than the reality.”

She added that “women in Syria are being raped, often in front of their husbands, tortured and murdered by the government. It is a horrible thing to be a woman in this country.”

The United Nations has called on the government to allow women and children to leave cities under siege, but soldiers appear unwilling to acquiesce, instead raping and murdering women in the city and other areas of the country.

One of the most gruesome events was reported at the end of May by the United Nations observer mission in the country, reporting that most of some 108 people massacred in Houla in the country were shot, execution style. Among those killed were women, children and entire families; killed in their own homes.

The massacre in Houla drew massive international outrage.

“We are at a tipping point,” special envoy at the time Kofi Annan told reporters in Damascus. “The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division.”

The UN report said most of the dead were killed execution-style, with fewer than 20 cut down by shelling. The UN cited survivors blaming the house-to-house killings on pro-government thugs known as shabiha, who often operate as hired muscle for the regime.

“What is very clear is this was an absolutely abominable event that took place in Houla, and at least a substantial part of it was summary executions of civilians, women and children,” said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High commissioner for Human Rights.

“At this point, it looks like entire families were shot in their houses.”

Worse still are the reports being published online, on social-media website Facebook, of soldiers capturing and kidnapping women, often teenagers, and locking them in detention centers, where they are raped repeatedly by soldiers.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 10 former detainees, including two women, who described being sexually abused or witnessing sexual abuse in detention, including rape, penetration with objects, sexual groping, prolonged forced nudity, and electroshock and beatings to genitalia. Many of the former detainees told Human Rights Watch that they were imprisoned because of their political activism, including for attending protests. In other cases, the reason for the detention was unclear but detainees suffered the same abusive tactics.

“Syrian security forces have used sexual violence to humiliate and degrade detainees with complete impunity,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“The assaults are not limited to detention facilities – government forces and pro-government shabiha militia members have also sexually assaulted women and girls during home raids and residential sweeps.”

The reports have outraged women’s activists in the region, who are now blaming the West for doing so little to help the Syrian people.

“Who are we, as a global community, to sit by and allow my friends to be raped and murdered on a daily basis,” one Syrian activist told Bikyamasr.com on Tuesday from northern Syria.

“I have had people tell me how they were stripped, forced to a chair, handcuffed and repeatedly raped by soldiers in a room. They can’t sleep at night, they can’t look at themselves and they wish they were dead. And so many others are just killed after the soldiers rape and mutilate them,” she added.

“What is the world doing for us women?” she asked.

A report by McClatchy newspapers last summer showed that the military is systematically using sexual violence in a way that strikes absolute fear in the population.

“What I have seen with my own eyes, it was indescribable,” said Rolat Azad, 21, who said he’d served as a master sergeant in Idlib province in the northeast of Syria.

There, he commanded 10 men who’d break into houses seeking to arrest men whose names they’d been given by the country’s intelligence agencies, the report continued.

“They gave us orders: ‘You are free to do what you like’,” he recalled.

Starting last July, he said, his unit arrested and tortured five to 10 people daily.

“We had a torture room on our base,” he said. “There was physical torture — beatings — and psychological tortures,” said Azad, a Syrian Kurd who deserted and fled in March to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. “They also brought women and girls through. They put them in the closed room and called soldiers to rape them.”

The women often were killed, he said.

And with it the hope many have for a positive outcome to the horrors that have become the Syrian uprising.

A Tale of Three Converts

Farhan Haji Mose was cut in two this past Friday.  His crime was conversion from Islam to Christianity.  He was 25.
Beheaded before he was severed, Farhan was executed before a crowd of Muslims and Christians.  His body was dumped on a beach in the Somali port city of Barawa, where it was found by a local fisherman.
Farhan became a Christian in 2010 while visiting Kenya on a business trip.  For this, his killers accused him of being a spy and joining a “foreign religion.”
Al-Shabaab is the name of the terrorist/Islamist organization that murdered Farhan.  They run much of southern Somalia, arguably the world’s most lawless state.  Among their most notorious achievements:

• They have “claimed responsibility for twin bombings that killed more than seventy people in Kampala, Uganda (NYT) during the World Cup final on July 11, 2010.” (Source)
• They prevented international aid from getting to the starving people ofSomalia during the recent famine
• It is likely that Al-Shabaab is responsible for a “grenade explosion killed seven people and wounded another 24 on Sunday (November 18) in a predominantly Somali neighborhood ofNairobi”

Morning Star News reports that “Al Shabaab rebels have killed dozens of Christian converts from Islam since embarking on a campaign to rid Somalia of Christianity. The insurgents, variously estimated at 3,000 to 7,000, seek to impose a stricter version of Sharia (Islamic law) on Somalia.”
Rimsha Masih, a young, mentally-challenged Pakistani woman, was freed from prison earlier today after charges that she burned pages of the Quran were found baseless and then dropped.  International pressure on the government of Pakistan played a role, as did the common decency (or political concerns) of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and various Muslim religious leaders.  Rimsha is a Christian.
Asia Bibbi, a young Pakistani Christian wife and mother of five, was arrested and imprisoned in 2010 for “blasphemy” against Islam (she talked to some friends about her faith in Jesus).  She is under a death sentence, but thus far Pakistani fear of international outrage has surmounted the brutality of its courts and religious laws.
One Christian murdered.  Another freed.  Another left dangling over the mouth of death.
Why has God allowed their lives to be so disposed?  Why has He let one captive go free, kept another in prison, and allowed a third to be horrifically murdered?
We don’t know, other than that He is God and is sovereign, loving, just, and deeper in His wisdom and working than we can begin to comprehend.  Yet whatever He permits, however small or large, significant or seemingly unimportant, He is intersecting every event in every life to accomplish purposes which are, for now, obscure to us.  But He never leaves, never forsakes.  He does not exempt us from pain.  Rather, He is with us in it.
May God have mercy on the killers of Farhad and give great comfort to his family.  May He protect Rimsha Masih and her family; they can no longer go back to their village for fear of reprisal.  And may He strengthen and sustain Asia Bibbi as she awaits the liberty that is rightfully hers.
Last week, FRC partnered with our friends at Voice of the Martyrs to highlight the suffering of Christians throughout the world, Christians whose only “crime” is owning Jesus as Savior and Lord.  You can watch it here, and be inspired to take the action steps given at the end to help defend our brothers and sisters in Christ whose lives are at risk simply for following the God of the universe.
“Be faithful unto death,” said the Lord Jesus, “and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation2:10).  Farhad Haji Mose has now been crowned with a life no force on earth or hell can ever take away from him.  It will be joyous to meet him someday.

Dr M: PAS is backed by the devil

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — The PAS president is backed by the devil himself, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir said today, in retaliation against Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s thinly-veiled comment about Malay-majority Umno.

“He himself is working with the devil, that’s the devil I know,” Dr Mahathir (picture) said in a press conference here, referring to Abdul Hadi.

This remark came after the Marang MP spoke at the Islamist party’s annual conference, or muktamar, last weekend, where he criticised a “party of devils”.

“The devil party which is controlled by the devil — the devil that people know — is incapable of upholding justice for all,” Abdul Hadi said in his opening speech last Friday.

At a press conference later, Abdul Hadi was asked to clarify which party did he mean was the “party of devils”, but he refused to name any names.

“Siapa yang makan lada, dialah yang rasa pedas,” he replied, referring to a Malay idiom on knowing that one fits a description.

“Go and ask Mahathir, that was said by Mahathir, he was the one who coined the term,” PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali added.

In his blog entry in August, Dr Mahathir had urged the people to choose the “devil they know” rather than risk the country’s future with an “angel they don’t know”, a reference to Pakatan Rakyat.

The line had since then been used repeatedly to attack the ruling coalition on various occasions.

Alternative schools’ lingering plight

The government must give due recognition to diversity in education and provide full funding to these schools, say several concerned bodies.

PETALING JAYA: The multi-stream education system allows Malaysians a chance to choose the type of schools they want to attend, but it does not provide fair treatment to every school.

This was pointed out by several bodies representing Tamil, Islamic and mission schools when they related the problems plaguing their schools.

To tackle these problems, they have even offered suggestions to the government to integrate alternative schools into the national education system.

They have also asked that greater autonomy be given to these schools so that they can create a common ground for students from many different schools to interact with each other.

Above all, they want the government to give genuine recognition to diversity in education.

Megat Mohamed Amin, head of the Islamic schools umbrella body, Pusat Pendidikan SRI-SMI Bhd, said the government should ideally provide full funding to alternative type schools in the country, as they have contributed to the nation-building process.

However, if full funding is not an option, then the government must offer tax rebates to parents who admit their children to these schools.

“We suggest that the government exclude tuition fees they pay from income tax or give direct deductions,” he said. “This would at least ease the burden of those who send their child to alternative schools.”

In regard to national unity, Megat Mohamed asked for more inter-school activities to be held, particularly between different types of schools.

“Many government-held activities are confined to single type of school, for instance a competition between national schools or Chinese schools.

“When are our children going to interact? There should be more activities between different types of schools so that they can better understand each other,” he said.

Mission schools and national unity

Malaya Christian School Council chairman, Yap Kok Keong, hoped mission schools can retain their English-teaching tradition, especially at a time when the government is keen to strengthen English standard among students.

He said despite mission schools having been converted to national schools in the 1970s, many of them still retain their strength in English.

“They are already English-medium schools in one sense, so why don’t we convert it back to English schools?” he asked.

Yap said currently school authorities only have power to decide 10% of their annual intake, and urged the government to increase the quota to 30% so that schools can continue to have a multiracial profile.

“This is one way in which we have contributed to bringing children of all races together. We want to maintain that. Mission schools can set an example by fostering a national identity,” said Yap.

Meanwhile, Tamil Foundation adviser K Arumugam said the government should accept Chinese and Indians as a general component of society who cannot be homogenised.

He said respect for multiculturism must be reflected in all policies of the government framework.

“Currently, government-aided schools [Chinese and Tamil schools] do not form part of the national system, so the schools are largely dependent on the support of the community.

“Imagine I’m a board chairman of a Tamil school, and I have to collect donation to repair the school toilet,” he said.

Currently there are 1,294 Chinese primary schools, 523 Tamil schools, 428 mission schools and more than 400 religious schools in the country.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak under the Budget 2013 unveiled recently has promised to allocate RM100 million each for Chinese, Tamil and mission schools.

No U-turn in Islam

In Islam renouncing Allah is an act of treason of the highest order against God.
COMMENT

Malaysia, being a multi-religious country, will have to live with the differences in religious beliefs among the various races. Among the differences that have become issues of contention are:

the pursuit by Muslim hardliners to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state;
the supremacy of the Quran versus the Federal Constitution;
the power of the syariah laws vis-à-vis that of the man-formulated (criminal) laws and principles of democracy;
the jurisdiction of the syariah courts versus that of the civil courts; and
an individual’s freedom of choice in religion or beliefs.

In essence, the main contention is the supremacy of the religion of Islam in a Muslim-majority country like Malaysia as advocated by the Muslim community versus the non-Muslims’ recognition of the supremacy of man-made laws over religion.

The Muslims believe everything centres on the teachings of their religion, but the non-Muslims contend that religion should be confined to one’s own personal spiritual belief.

Muslims believe that the religion of Islam, which has been established more than 1,400 years ago, has been proven to provide spiritual guidance and has become a way of life for the ummah (believers) in the Muslim countries till today.

Hence Islam should enhance its role to dictate its terms – vis-à-vis syariah laws – to its ummah. The syariah law is to ensure the religion continues its role as a beacon and custodian of believers.

Muslim scholars would then like to ensure that the syariah laws are implemented in a comprehensive way in the country applicable to Muslims.

On the other hand, the non-Muslims believe the issue of freedom of religion or beliefs is part of the democratic, constitutional and legal rights of an individual; thereby Islam as a religion should be confined to its spiritual teaching only.

In this article, I would like to confine my analysis on the freedom of religion and beliefs.

When the Quran states that there in no compulsion in religion, it means a Muslim cannot force a non-believer to embrace Islam and that a non-Muslim cannot force a Muslim to leave his religion.

However, a non-Muslim can embrace Islam on his own free will but a Muslim cannot leave his religion on his own free will!

In the first place, the terms “to be” or “to become” a Muslim are different from those of being a non-Muslim/non-believer.

Destiny pre-determined and irreversible

A born Muslim is already pre-determined as such by Qada and Qadar (fate and destiny).

Similarly fate pre-determines a person born as male or female, his time and place of birth, his parents, family, his place and time of death.

These matters or events are preordained by his/her personal fate and destiny. Believing that God determines the fate and destiny (pre-destined and the final outcome ) is the sixth pillar of faith in Islam.

It is a fact that the realities involving pre-determined fate and destiny are irreversible.

For a Muslim convert to become a Muslim, he has to declare a spiritual covenant between himself and the one God Allah and His messenger Muhammad (pbuh).

This spiritual declaration is the first pillar of Islam and is irrevocable. For a born Muslim it is mandatory that he declares his faith to Allah and His messenger Muhammad (pbuh), too.

Hence the spiritual agreement which is eternally binding does not give him the right to renounce the religion openly and officially he cannot leave the religion.

Therefore under syariah law it is a crime to renounce his religion. So when a born Muslim or a Muslim convert makes the declaration of faith, he is bound to adhere to all the terms of the teachings of the religion.

A person who renounces the spiritual covenant is called a “murtad” (apostate), while a Muslim who now and then breaches the terms of the vow is called a “munafiq” (hypocrite), which is a common sight in Malaysia, meaning that he is Muslim in name but acts otherwise.

There are many man-made agreements that are irrevocable and punishable.

Acts by a citizen that jeopardise national security is an act of treason against his country with severe penalties meted out; committing serious offences under the man-formulated laws such as the Dangerous Drug Act may result in the death penalty and so on.

‘Renouncing Allah is treason’

A husband/wife who dishonours his/her marriage vow by renouncing his partner or acts to dishonour his/her partner in public may result in divorce or even retaliations which may be brutal in nature.

In Islam, renouncing Allah as his One God is an act of treason of the highest order against God. On top of that he makes a mockery of the religion.

The Jews rejected only the holy prophets Isa and Muhammad (pbuh), yet God cursed them till the end of times.

So I leave it to your imagination the seriousness of the crime when a person declares openly that he rejects God after he declares his faith.

Hence the covenant is a spiritual agreement eternally binding between God and His servant, which is irrevocable in nature.

Therefore before a non-Muslim wishes to become a Muslim, the Muslim officials who preside over such declarations must brief the would-be-convert on the terms and conditions and implications of such oath, the need to discard his old beliefs and to be well-versed with Islamic knowledge, and be prepared to accept the demanding nature of the true Muslim way of life.

If they are very certain that he has decided to leave his old faith and would remain loyal to Islam till he dies, then the Islamic authorities can proceed to get him to declare his new faith; otherwise there is no point for a person to become a Muslim and later leave the religion.

The life or existence of all living and non-living things is a one way journey to God.

Muslims believe every living and non-living thing, once created, is placed on the path of the one way (returning) journey to God, each road paved out according to a pre-determined fate and destiny.

‘Reality debunks Big Bang theory’

Hence the life of a true Muslim involves the preparations for the returning journey to his creator.

Christians and those who believe in God also have similar beliefs. Whereas for the non-believers, life is about the beginning of outward journey to the new life, new world for mankind.

The reality proves that all living and non-living things are on the one-way journey returning to the creator.

All humans, once created, will go on the return mode in a “rush” to his physical death. The “rush” is at different speeds and at times some die young, others later while the rest at old age. Similarly with animals, plants and all cosmic entities – earth, sun, planets, stars and the galaxies.

All are commanded by their creator to rush through space at tremendous, unbelievable speeds towards a central point in space towards their final destination, which is destruction at the end of times.

However, like humans some will lose energy and die early along the way, turning into black holes. Such reality debunks the Big Bang theory which is talking about the outward bound journey towards new life, new space environment.

Hence there is no physical U-turn for any living or non-living thing in this universe. There is no avoiding death or destruction.

So what is the justification of a born Muslim or a convert trying to make a spiritual U-turn when he knows he cannot make a physical U-turn?

Awang Abdillah is a political analyst, writer and FMT columnist

Senawang folk choking in sawdust

Factory owners want DOE to find a permanent solution.

SENAWANG: Factory and workshop owners and their workers in the Senawang Light Industrial Area have been breathing in sawdust for the past six months and they have finally decided that enough is enough.

Senawang state assemblymen P Gunasekaran of DAP has taken up their cause and called on the Negeri Sembilan Department of Environment (DOE) to end the problem permanently.

He told reporters today that he complained to DOE three weeks ago, and the department immediately sent inspectors to the area. The air cleared immediately, but only for a couple of days.

“They came the same day that I called them,” he said. “The problem stopped, but started again after two or three days.”

Several factory owners who were at today’s conference blamed a sawmill operating in the area.

They complained about their workers getting sick and themselves suffering respiratory problems and eye irritation.

Workshop owner Liew Kok Yong said the problem would get worse on windy days.

Gunasekaran also spoke about a damaged bridge in the area and urged the Seremban Municipal Council to repair it.

A steel bar on one side of the bridge is broken. This happened about four months ago, according to Gunasekaran.

“I’ve sent letters, emails and photos to the council,” he said. “But no action has been taken.”

81,950 rakyat M’sia lepaskan kewarganegaraan

Dalam setahun, Malaysia secara purata kehilangan kira-kira 4,097 rakyatnya.

Sekitar Dewan Rakyat

KUALA LUMPUR: Seramai 81,950 rakyat Malaysia dikesan melepaskan taraf kewarganeraan mereka sejak tahun 1992, Dewan Rakyat diberitahu hari ini.

Ini menjadikan purata Malaysia kehilangan rakyatnya kira-kira 4,097 orang dan menjadi warganegara luar dalam setahun.

Jumlah itu dinyatakan Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein berikutan persoalan yang dibangkitkan Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) mengenai jumlah bilangan rakyat yang telah melepaskan kewarganegaraan mereka dalam tempoh 20 tahun lalu.

Adun BN hasut penduduk, dakwa peneroka Gatco

Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad didakwa menghasut penduduk Kampung Serampang Indah, Jelebu untuk menimbulkan suasana tegang di kalangan penduduk.

SEREMBAN: Seramai 16 peneroka Kampung Serampang Indah (Gatco) dari Jelebu membuat laporan polis di Ibu Pejabat Polis (IPD) Daerah Seremban lewat petang semalam dan mendakwa bahawa Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) BN-Sungai Lui, Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad menghasut penduduk kampung tersebut bagi menimbulkan suasana tegang di kalangan penduduk kampung Gatco itu sendiri.

Menurut Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Bertindak Peneroka Kampung Serampang Indah (Gatco), K Krishnan; dalam satu majlis di Balai Raya Kampung Serampang Indah pada 10 November lalu, Zainal Abidin dalam ucapan beliau dikatakan menghasut orang kampung untuk mewujudkan suasana tegang di kalangan penduduk kampung.

“Beliau menyeru kepada sekumpulan orang kampung untuk membuat laporan polis terhadap kami sekiranya kami menghalang pihak luar yang memasuki ladang yang kami usahakan selama ini.

“Kehadiran Datuk Zainal Abidin dalam majlis itu juga seolah-olah untuk meminta sokongan penduduk kampung untuk mempercepatkan usaha-usaha penebangan pokok getah di ladang kami.

“Sedangkan kami telah membuat laporan polis di Balai Polis Air Hitam dan meminta pihak polis mengawal keadaan dan kami tidak akan membenarkan mana-mana pihak memasuki ladang kami ini untuk sebarang aktiviti sebelum masalah peneroka diselesaikan terlebih dahulu”, kata Krishnan.

Krishnan kata peneroka Gatco telah menghantar satu memorandum kepada Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan pada 8 Ogos lepas dan mengutarakan masalah ini kepada beliau. Walaubagaimanapun Krishnan berkata mereka masih menunggu maklum balas dari Menteri Besar.

“Selagi Menteri Besar tidak memberikan jawapan beliau, kami tidak akan membenarkan mana-mana pihak memasuki dan melakukan sebarang kerja penebangan pokok getah di ladang kami.

“Tetapi dalam majlis tersebut Datuk Zainal Abidin mengeluarkan kenyataan yang berbentuk mengancam dan menakutkan kami dengan mengatakan bahawa beliau akan menyuruh Syarikat Thamarai Holdings untuk memasukkan ‘caveat’ terhadap tapak rumah kami dan kami tidak akan diberi seinci tanah pun.

Tindakan bercanggah

“Tindakan dan kelakuan beliau amatlah bercanggah dengan apa yang dikatakan oleh Menteri Besar ketika beliau hadir di Kampung Gatco dalam lawatan kerja pada 13 Julai tahun ini.

“Oleh itu kami mahu pihak polis siasat Datuk Zainal Abdidin dan pada masa yang sama pihak polis juga perlu mengawal keadaan di kampung kami dan menahan pihak-pihak tertentu yang sedang berusaha untuk mengeluarkan kayu getah dari ladang kami’, ujar Krishnan lagi.

Sementara itu Peguam Penasihat Peneroka Kampung Gatco, S Kartigesan pula berkata Zainal Abidin tidak sepatutnya mengugut dan menghasut penduduk kampung tersebut.

“Sepatutnya Kerajaan Negeri selesaikan kemelut hak pemilikan tanah ladang peneroka yang berlanjutan sejak sekian lama.

“Walaupun Menteri Besar mengumumkan setiap peneroka Kampung Gatco yang tetap akan menerima empat ekar tanah setiap seorang tetapi sehingga ke hari ini tiada dokumen atau perjanjian hitam putih tentang tawaran tersebut.

“Saya mendesak Menteri Besar selesaikan isu pembahagian tanah peneroka ini dengan segera’, kata Kartigesan.

Turut hadir menemani peneroka Gatco membuat laporan polis ialah Naib Pengerusi PKR Negeri Sembilan, V Aridass; Timbalan Yang DiPertua PAS Jelebu, Nor Anif Selamat dan Kordinator Hindraf Negeri Sembilan, S Sivakumar.

Perimekar, Terasasi tak terlibat dengan Scorpene

Kelengkapan ketenteraan dilakukan secara pembelian terus antara pembekal kerajaan dengan negara lain.

Sekitar Dewan Rakyat

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan tidak pernah melantik mana-mana pihak ketiga atau orang tengah untuk menjalankan urusniaga pembelian kapal selam Perancis, Scorpene mahu pun jet tempur buatan Rusia, Sukhoi.

Timbalan Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad menegaskan, kelengkapan ketenteraan dilakukan secara pembelian terus antara pembekal kerajaan dengan negara lain.

“Kami tidak pernah melantik pihak ketiga dalam pembelian mana-mana kelengkapan sama ada kapal selam, (Landrover) 8×8, ataupun Sukhoi.

“Semuanya melalui proses G2G (kerajaan kepada kerajaan). Dalam sejarah Malaysia tidak pernah lantik mana-mana ejen untuk beli kelengkapan kita,” katanya dalam Dewan Rakyat malam tadi.

Beliau turut menepis dakwaan penglibatan syarikat Perimekar Sdn Bhd milik isteri kepada bekas pembantu kanan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda sebagai orang tengah dalam pembelian Scorpene.

Sekaligus menafikan wujudnya konflik kepentingan pembelian itu dengan Terasasi (HK) Ltd milik Abdul Razak dan bapanya, Abdul Malim Baginda yang didakwa menerima duit komisyen sebanyak Euro 36 juta (RM144 juta) daripada pembelian Scorpene.

Sebaliknya, Abdul Latiff mendakwa perkara itu sengaja diputar belit pembangkang untuk mencalarkan imej Najib.

“Jelas perkara ini diputar-belitkan untuk menggambarkan kaitan antara Scorpene, Abdul Razak Baginda, Altantuya, dan (ahli Parlimen) Pekan.

“Ini semua nak calarkan nama Pekan (Najib)…fitnah semata-mata,” katanya.

Treat every victim equally

Do we only care when Muslims are attacked and not when people of other faiths face the same oppression?

We should all, regardless of religion, protest at every act of aggression towards anyone because only then can we have any credibility.

Marina Mahathir
AS conflict once again erupts in Palestine, I am confronted with questions about our responses to the conflict. Why is it that Malaysian Muslims are always quick to condemn Israeli aggression in Palestine, especially towards Gaza and slow to condemn similar aggression elsewhere?

It’s a question well worth thinking about. Why have we been quick to voice loud protests about Palestine and begin fund-raising for relief work there, and so much slower to condemn the aggressors in the Syrian conflict, or in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and many other countries in the world?

Do we only care when Muslims are attacked and not when people of other faiths face the same oppression?

Palestine has perhaps a special place in the hearts of Muslims because of the position of Jerusalem as the third most important city for us after Mecca and Medina. It’s also probably the longest ongoing conflict in the world and regularly features in the news.

Whether you sympathise or not, you cannot escape news about Palestine, most of which is violent and depressing.

But the most misunderstood thing about the Palestinian conflict, by both Muslims and non-Muslims, is that it is a religious war. Many people tend to forget that Palestinians are not all Muslims.

About 4% of Palestinians living mostly in the West Bank and 10% of those living in Israel are Christian. They make up about 1% of the population of Gaza.

The majority of Christian Palestinians, however, now live outside Palestine because, like their Muslim neighbours, they were forced to emigrate and into refugee camps when their lands were given to Israel in 1948. Many people do not realise for example, that Dr Hanan Ashrawy, the articulate spokesman for the late Yasser Arafat, is in fact a Christian.

That fact, that in 1948 Palestinians were forced out of their land by an exodus of Jews from Europe, is essentially what the conflict is all about. If immigrants from elsewhere take over land from people who have lived there for thousands of years, then it is bound to create conflict.

Most conflicts around the world are about land and space, rather than about faith. And when that original source of conflict is further exacerbated by more grabbing of land as well as other forms of discrimination in education, housing and jobs, then the conflict will not only continue but will escalate.

When we look at things this way, then we can see the same pattern in other parts of the world. In places like Kashmir, southern Thailand, Sri Lanka, southern Philippines, the roots of conflict are similar.

In Africa, colonial-era division of land cuts across traditional tribal lands, making people of the same tribes citizens of different countries.

The most useful way to look at these conflicts is to view them from a human rights angle. If a wrong is perpetuated on one people, then it must also hold true for all others. Therefore, if we show support for Palestinians because their land has been taken away from them, then we must surely show support for all other people whose lands have been taken away from them.

At the same time, if we show support for all other people who are subjected to violence from far superior forces, then we must surely show support for the Gazans right now, facing daily pummeling from Israeli jets and drones.

And unless we truly believe that all people should face such violence by doing absolutely nothing, then we should look with some sympathy at those who throw rocks and dispatch rockets in retaliation against much superior firepower.

The point is that there cannot be double standards on human rights. The support for Palestine from Muslims comes at least partly from a belief that nobody else cares about them. As the many demonstrations around the world show, this is not true.

There are Israelis and non-Zionist Jews who have protested against the attacks on Gaza. But we should all, regardless of religion, protest at every act of aggression towards anyone because only then can we have any credibility.

Thus while we might protest about American drones killing civilians in Afghanistan, we should also protest at the attempted murder of a teenage Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, for simply wanting to go to school.

What is more, we should be offering solutions for lasting peace, instead of complaining and shouting slogans that we know ultimately will do little beyond making us feel good.

How does it help the Gazans if we go and burn a few foreign flags and then go off to gossip about local politics at the nearest nasi lemak stall?

Malaysia's Anwar Faces an Islamic Revolt

The hadjis are in charge again

PAS says it wants to run any opposition government that might be elected
The always-delicate relationship between Malaysia’s three opposition parties is growing strained again in the wake of the annual general conference of Parti Islam se-Malaysia, the conservative Islamic member of the coalition.

The issues are Hudud – Islamic law – and designation of Malaysia as an Islamic state. The other two wings of the coalition, the Chinese-majority Democratic Action Party and the urban, liberal largely Malay Parti Keadilan Rakyat, want nothing to do with either issue, leaving Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim with the task of trying to bring his coalition back together and particular to keep the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party in the fold.

The controversy gives Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak a made-to-order issue to paint the ruling Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition, as a force for moderation that will look after the well-being of the Chinese against the forces of radical conservative Islam. The Barisan has already begun energetically exploiting those issues through government-controlled media.

Until the Nov. 16 PAS general meeting, according to political analysts in Kuala Lumpur, the issues of Hudud and Islamic law which had been brought up occasionally had been regarded as fealty to rhetoric to keep the conservative wing of the party happy. Indeed, Hadi Awang, the party leader, opened the general conference on Nov. 16 with a speech that emphasized the common agenda – the so-called Buku Jingga, or yellow book on which the coalition is based –and issues over national elections expected to be held in April of 2013, only to have the conservatives stage a revolt.

PAS has managed to stay largely in the moderate camp on the strength of a clique of leaders called the “Erdogans” after the moderate Islamic Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has headed the Turkish government since 2003. In June of 2011, moderate rank and file members staged a dramatic revolution at the party’s annual congress, electing secular leaders and abandoning the rural-based party’s traditional call to convert the country into an Islamic state.

The largest party in Anwar’s coalition, PAS had long turned off urban Malays and other ethnic minorities, particularly the Chinese, with its demands for observance of strict conservative Islamic laws. Given the size of its membership, its organizational abilities and its potential to take votes away from the United Malays National Organization, the country’s biggest political party, PAS unity and support are crucial to the opposition coalition.

At the 2011 party congress, newer, urban followers of PAS, having fled both the racial stridency and endemic corruption of UMNO and the disorganization of Anwar’s PKR, elected a slate of officers headed by Mohamad Sabu, a galvanic public speaker from Penang and former member of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan who was twice detained under the country's Internal Security Act.

Sabu led the moderates' charge, winning the party deputy presidency and crucially defeating a minority of conservatives seeking to lead a splinter group to link up with UMNO. Salahuddin Ayub, Husam Musa and Mahfuz Omar, elected as moderate vice presidents, completed a leadership team reflecting the party's changing membership and leaving the Islamists out in the cold.

The strains have been there ever since. At the party general assembly last week, Fact that the delegates debating Hadi’s speech largely skirted the controversial issues, caused the revolt of the ulamas, or religious councils, and the youth wing, who charged that the party had deviated from PAS’s longtime agenda.

Eventually, the conservatives proved they weren’t just there for lip service to the rhetoric. They won a provision agreeing that PAS would assume the leading role in the three-party alliance, and that Hadi would be the coalition’s pick for prime minister – not Anwar, who cobbled the opposition together and who has led it since 2008. Eventually the assembly approved the conservative agenda with Hadi tacitly going along with the idea.

That has sent shock waves traveling through the Chinese community, who want nothing to do with a government that would restrict alcohol use and the consumption of pork, practice gender segregation, strict dress codes and demand general conformity to Islamic practices.

“Above all these is the implementation of the much feared but little understood Hudud and the Islamic legal system, with all its vague implications. In short, such a new Pakatan rule is envisaged to adversely alter their present way of life,” write Kim Quek, a longtime Kuala Lumpur-based political commentator and a member of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat. “Accuracy aside, these are common perceptions and initial reflexes of many in the Chinese community.”

Bridgit Welsh, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, argued in an analysis printed in the Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysiakini that: “The image of PAS as a group of mullahs defending narrow conceptualizations of tradition and religion, banning social activities and limiting freedoms is no longer fair. “

PAS’s identity as a party is changing,” she wrote. “While some in the old guard and their protégées in the Youth wing are uncomfortable with PAS’s more modern open approach, the leadership as a whole, presided by Abdul Hadi Awang and reinforced by an overwhelming majority of progressives in the central committee and as members of parliament, embraced collaboration and greater tolerance.”

The question is whether the voters – particularly Chinese ones – are going to believe that, and whether they are sufficiently fed up with corruption in the ruling Barisan Nasional to stick with the opposition, The Malayian Chinese Association. Getting the horses back into the stable and his coalition back together is going to be a big job for Anwar.

International Community Must Have Courage To Reject Violence In All Forms - Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- The international community must have the courage, guided by moral clarity, to reject violence in all its forms wherever it occurs and whoever it affects, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the determination of those who spoke out against conflict, those who dedicated their lives to measuring its effects on health and well-being, served as an inspiration, not just for this generation but future generations, as well.

"It is incumbent on us, the governing generation, to make the changes that the children here today deserve. To show through our actions that to be a broker for peace is infinitely greater than a driver of conflict," Najib said in his speech at a dinner held in conjunction with an International Conference on War-Affected Children at Dewan Tun Dr Ismail in Putra World Trade Centre here tonight.

Also present were wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, former prime minister and Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who is also founder of Criminalise War Clubs (Malaysian chapter).

Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and wife, Datin Seri Masnah Rais, also attended the dinner.

Najib also believed that Malaysia had a strong story to tell, as the nation had sent doctors to Kabul, and peacekeepers to the Congo in the 1960s, as well as playing a key role in the Bangsamoro negotiations.

He noted that Malaysia stood ready to help resolve conflicts, whether in the Middle East or close to home, and this readiness had been tested over the past few days as the violence in Gaza intensified.

"Last week, I spoke with President Morsi of Egypt about the prospects for a ceasefire and called for greater international efforts to stop the violence. On Tuesday, the Malaysian Parliament passed an emergency motion, condemning Israeli military aggression. I have raised the matter with President Barack Obama, urging him and the United States to act," he said.

Najib also expressed great relief to the news of a ceasefire in Gaza this morning, and called on both sides to now stand true to the agreement and ensure there was no further destruction of property or loss of life.

"I join with other leaders for a total removal of the blockade of Gaza, so that Palestinians can enjoy the right to life and livelihood that they deserve," he said.

In expressing thanks for the ceasefire, Najib hoped it would hold, and looked forward for a long-term solution as it was time to break the cycle of violence.

"We should focus now on the broader Middle East peace process, in ensuring that the region moves from conflict to stability, so that its people have the security and dignity they deserve," he said.

The prime minister said, today's dinner was to pay tribute to the least deserving victims of conflict, namely the children and young people, whose lives were shattered by war.

He also paid tribute to Dr Siti Hasmah and her team for their efforts and achievements in bringing in the most difficult subject matter to the world's attention.

At the same function, Najib, together with Rosmah, Dr Mahathir, Dr Siti Hasmah, Dr Rais and Masnah, signed the Children's Charter to Criminalise War.

Rosmah also presented a cheque for RM1 million to the Gaza Emergency Fund to KLFCW. The donation, from various parties, was initiated by Rosmah since 2008, under the flagship of Gaza Appeal.

Death in police custody – S Kalaiselvam (Sultan Ismail Hospital; 22 Nov 2010)

Two years ago today, 21-year-old S Kalaiselvam died at the Sultan Ismail Hospital, Johor Bahru, Johore, reportedly of a suspected lung infection.  S Kalaiselvam had been held under the Emergency Ordinance at the Kota Tinggi police station from 21 Sept 2010.  

His father claimed the police had neglected to ensure S Kalaiselvam received adequate treatment for the chest pains and appetite loss he had suffered for over a month.

The Johor Bahru High Court ordered a second post-mortem and an inquest into S Kalaiselvam’s death.  However, at the time of writing, no further details on the inquest were available in the media. 

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.  S Kalaiselvam’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.  

 

Based on the statistics disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 156 persons died in police custody between the year 2000 until February 2011.

We express our heartfelt condolences to S Kalaiselvam’s family and friends on this anniversary of his death.

Death in police custody – S Suria Ramesh (Kota Setar district police lock-up; 22 Nov 2008)

Four years ago today, 29-year-old S Suria Ramesh reportedly died in the Kota Setar district police lock-up two days after he had been arrested in Kulim.

Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it is not clear that an inquest has been conducted into S Suria Ramesh’s death.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.  S Suria Ramesh’s death must not be relegated to a mere statistic.

Based on the statistics disclosed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 156 persons died in police custody between the year 2000 until February 2011.

We express our heartfelt condolences to S Suria Ramesh’s family and friends on this anniversary of his death.

Give us power over our own land, says orang asli

The Sun
by Alyaa Alhadjri

SUBANG JAYA (Nov 22, 2012): An orang asli spokesman from Tasik Chini, Pahang, proposed today for the community to be given more power to administer the ancestral lands which they have been calling 'home' for generations.

Tasik Chini action committee chairman Ismail Muhammad, speaking on behalf of some 5,000 orang asli from the Jakun tribe, said this could be done if the government enact a law which not only recognised the community's right to their lands, but also to prevent "rampant destruction" of natural resources which surround the areas.

"As long as the power (to govern) is left in the hands of politicians, I do not see when there will be an end to (logging and mining) activities, which negatively affects our livelihood," said Ismail.

"We can scream and shout to the heavens, but as long as there is no law (which gives power), nothing will change," said Ismail during the launch of Transparency-International Malaysia (TI-M)'s documentary on Tasik Chini here yesterday.

The 37-minute documentary titled "Hacking at Harmony: Tasik Chini and Ecosystem on the Brink" was produced as part of TI-M's Forest Governance Integrity Programme, in collaboration with NGOs, local communities and government agencies.

Aimed at addressing issues and challenges on forest governance, Tasik Chini was selected as a pilot site for the programme, following concerns over the degradation of Malaysia's only Unesco Biosphere Reserve.

Widespread commercial activities on sites which borders several orang asli villages around Tasik Chini has since caused the once clear blue water to turn murky brown, destroying its once famed lotuses and various fishes - a main source of livelihood for the community.

Peninsula Malaysia Orang Asli Network representative Shafie Dris also claimed that the people in power are largely "ignorant" of demands made by the community.

"The perception is that we are demanding for large acres of lands ... In fact, all we want is for the government to recognise the rights to our ancestral lands, where we have been residing for generations, and will continue to do so for generations to come," said Shafie.

Tenaganita programme officer Katrina Mariamauv meanwhile noted that comments made by the orang asli representatives reflected the "urgency" felt by the people over a need to protect their lands from rampant development.

"While awareness raising (initiatives) are crucial and important, but the time for action is right now!" she said.

Mariamauv called for the parties benefiting from the "destruction" of natural resources to be made accountable for their actions.

Speaking at a press conference, TI-M secretary general Josie Fernandez said the official documentary will also be distributed to policy-makers in hope of inspiring positive change.

Fernandez earlier chaired a forum on threatened forest sites in Malaysia which saw two speakers elaborating on impacts of rampant logging and commercial development to the Segari Melintang forest reserve in Perak, as well as the Tranum forest reserve in Pahang.

Mum wants probe over prison 'negligence'

26/11 Paki Bird Ajmal Kasab is no more. Peace be upon Him.

A STRONG SIGNAL OF INDIA TO GLOBAL TERRORISM.

26/11 Paki Bird Ajmal Kasab hanged to death at Pune’s Yerawada Jail today…

Express news service | Mumbai, |Wed Nov 21 2012 | 08:28 hrs :: A few hours before The Indian Express reported that his mercy petition was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee, Ajmal Kasab, the Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist, was hanged at Pune’s Yerwada Jail where he was shifted earlier from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail.

Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was hanged to death at 7.30 on Monday morning.

Full coverage: Kasab trial

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shine told media that Ajmal Kasab’s mercy plea was rejected by the President on November 5.

Earlier, Ajmal Kasab’s mercy plea was rejected by the government which had then sent its recommendation to the President.

Home Ministry had said that Kasab’s mercy petition was dismissed as he was involved in a grave crime of waging war against India that led to killing 166 people, including foreigners.

The 25-year-old Pakistani and nine other fellow Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists had landed in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 by sea from Karachi and had gone on a shooting spree at various places, carrying out the country’s worst terror attack. While Kasab was captured alive, the other terrorists were killed by security forces.

Kasab’s mercy petition was sent to the Home Ministry by the Maharashtra government in September after rejecting the plea.

After nearly a four-year-long legal battle, on August 29, the Supreme Court had confirmed the death penalty awarded to the LeT operative by the trial court and later upheld by the Bombay High Court. Upholding Kasab’s conviction, the apex court had said he killed without “the slightest twinge of conscience”.

Qatar: bikini models, Piglet from Winnie the Pooh censored

Gov't placed ad recruiting censors in Italian, German and Japanese

Piglet, Winnie-the-Pooh's best friend, censored in Qatar

DOHA - Bikini-clad models on Italian women's magazine Grazia and Piglet, Winnie-the-Pooh's best friend, have fallen under the censorship axe in Qatar.

Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani officially abolished press censorship in 1995, but the government is still blacking out imagery deemed offensive to Islam, such as certain body parts of bikini-wearing models, and the Piglet character, who portrays an animal the Muslim religion says is unclean.

Qatar placed 114th out of 179 countries in the 2011-2012 Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking, but censorship here appears to be more cultural than political: while foreign publications are relatively scarce on national newsstands, in Doha there is Internet access to media with critical viewpoints.

However, the government a few months ago placed a newspaper ad looking for qualified personnel to censor German, Italian, and Japanese publications. An Italian who wishes to remain anonymous applied for the position, and told ANSA that no questions were asked as to professional background. The job interview consisted of translating an article on crimes of passion and domestic violence from Italian into English. The applicant was later told that the government might not go through with the project after all. (ANSAmed).

Israel-Gaza crisis: Tel Aviv bomb blast on bus

Twenty-eight people have been injured in a "terrorist attack" on a bus in Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv, Israeli officials say.

After the bus explosion, huge blasts were heard in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory continued.

Eleven people were killed in Gaza on Wednesday, the health ministry said.

Unnamed Palestinian officials told news agencies a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel would be announced within hours.

After eight days of exchanges of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon are now in Cairo for talks with the Egyptian president.

There were "many details to work out" before a ceasefire could be reached, Mr Ban warned.

Earlier, she and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held talks in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The US "strongly condemns" the bus bombing, Mrs Clinton said.

Militants fired more rockets at Israel, while Israel renewed its naval artillery bombardment of Gaza late on Wednesday.
Celebratory gunfire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman said on his Twitter account that the bus explosion in Tel Aviv was a "terrorist attack".

The Ichilov medical centre in Tel Aviv said that of the 28 injured, 10 had suffered "body injuries" - three of them serious - three received "moderate-light" injuries including shrapnel wounds and burns, and the remainder were suffering from "anxiety".

The bus was passing the military headquarters in the city at the time of the blast.

Police say they believe the blast was caused by a bomb and they are still searching for a suspect.

According to Israel's ministry of foreign affairs, the last bomb attack in Tel Aviv was in April 2006, when a suicide bombing on a restaurant killed 11.

Hamas, the Islamist movement which has governed Gaza since 2007, has praised the attack but has not said it was behind the blast.

Celebratory gunfire reportedly rang out in Gaza when local radio relayed news of the attack.

BBC correspondents then reported a series of massive explosions in Gaza, in an apparent Israeli strike on the sports stadium. Reports from Gaza say the stadium has in the past been used as a site to launch rockets.

Among the casualties on Wednesday was a six-year-old boy.

The health ministry in Gaza says a doctor at the Shifa hospital was called to treat the boy. When he reached the patient, he found it was his own son and the boy was dead, the health ministry said.
'Profound concern'

This is the eighth day of the current flare-up in violence between Israel and militants in Gaza.

Some 152 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed, officials say.

In other developments:

Overnight, Israel's military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said it had attacked more than 100 sites in Gaza - about half of them underground rocket launchers
A key Hamas government compound was reduced to little more than dust and rubble, the BBC's Paul Danahar in Gaza says, in what was probably the largest Israeli attack so far
Iran has admitted sending military aid to Hamas - parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said Iran was "proud" to provide assistance "both financial and military"
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told US public radio that "most of the people who were hit in Gaza deserved it, as they were armed terrorists"

Other sites hit in Gaza included a banker's villa, tunnels to Egypt used by smugglers and a media office, said to be linked to Hamas, that was situated two floors above the Agence France-Presse office in Gaza City.

Earlier, the IDF said 62 rockets fired by militants from Gaza had hit Israel on Wednesday, while another 20 were intercepted by its Iron Dome missile defence system.

The latest violence will further complicate ceasefire discussions taking place in the region.

In the West Bank, Mr Ban expressed "profound concern" at the civilian casualties in Gaza and also called on militants to end immediately their "indiscriminate attacks on Israeli population centres".

Mrs Clinton held talks with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before heading to Cairo.

Officials from Hamas had suggested on Tuesday that a truce would come into effect at midnight, but Israel later said it had not agreed to a text.

Israel's demands include no hostile fire of any kind from Gaza and international efforts to prevent Hamas from re-arming, while Hamas is demanding an end to the blockade on Gaza and targeted killings by Israel.

Israel launched its current offensive a week ago with the killing of Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari. The Israeli government says his assassination, and the subsequent offensive, is designed to end rocket fire from Gaza.

Israel has troops massed along the Gaza border but says it is holding off on a possible ground invasion as talks continue.

Three nabbed in probe on ‘rogue’ 6P firm

Cheras police, investigating the assault of Bangladeshi workers, say one more suspect is still at large.

PETALING JAYA: Police are on the hunt for one more suspect after arresting three foreigners in an investigation against a government-appointed firm in the 6P amnesty programme. The probe follows an exposure of CCTV recordings showing foreign workers being subjected to brutal treatment.

Cheras district police chief Mohan Singh said the three suspects, arrested last week, will either have their remand period extended or be charged, depending on instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers. He declined to provide further details about the suspects and their roles in the case.

“I cannot tell you more, but we are still looking for one person,” he told FMT. “Those arrested will be remanded till the end of this week and we will be referring the investigation papers to the deputy public prosecutor and we’ll see if we need to extend their remands or charge them,” he said.

The case comes under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons (ATIP) Act 2007, which provides for imprisonment of traffickers for up to 15 years.

The act covers a wide range of offences, including the use of force, threat, abduction and deception. “These are all the things that contribute to someone being trafficked,” Mohan said.

On Nov 5, FMT published a report about two CCTV videos showing Bangladeshi workers being assaulted, allegedly by employees of SNT Universal Corporation, a company based in Taman Maluri, Cheras.

The videos were exposed by the Selangor Council Against Human Trafficking (Mapmas) with the help of a whistleblower. The assault victims in the video are said to come from a group of about 200 who were supposed to have been registered by the company under the 6P programme but had realised that they had been cheated.

Under the 6P programme, illegal foreign workers will either be legalised or deported without punishment. The six Ps represent the Malay words for registration, legalisation, amnesty, monitoring enforcement and deportation. The government has appointed more than 300 companies to carry out the registration.

In a statement following the video expose, Mapmas task force member Abdul Aziz Ismail said SNT might have committed fraud by setting up more than a dozen other companies to act as “bogus employers”. It was alleged that these companies had no business infrastructure and were formed for the sole purpose of obtaining fraudulent work permits for foreign workers under the 6P programme.

No green light on Scorpene briefing

The opposition said it will nevertheless proceed with the briefing in Parliament, if not tomorrow, then next week.

KUALA LUMPUR: The opposition has yet to get the go-ahead from the government to hold a briefing on the Scorpene submarine scandal in Parliament tomorrow.

However, it vowed to press on with the briefing even without government approval.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has so far remained silent on the matter and the opposition has considered postponing the briefing to early next week.

He added that the opposition was optimistic of a diplomatic outcome despite the government’s obvious hesitation.

“We will still try and negotiate and see what happens tomorrow,” Chua, the Batu MP, told FMT.

In another development, PKR leader and Subang MP R Sivarasa said the briefing by the French lawyer was also still pending the approval of House Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

“The speaker has not given us an answer if we can invite the lawyer to hold his briefing for the MPs in the parliament,” he said today.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had earlier this month written to Hishammuddin seeking assurance that Suaram’s French lawyers will not be barred from entering Malaysia when they arrive later this month.

The letter came after confirmation from lawyer William Bourdon that he will seek to hold a bipartisan briefing to Malaysian lawmakers on the judicial investigation into the controversial purchase of the Scorpene-class submarines from French defence contractor DCNS.

Bourdon had confirmed in principle to give the briefing on Nov 22 (tomorrow) through a letter dated Oct 29.

Deported

According to Anwar’s letter, the PKR de facto leader had also urged Hishammuddin to respond urgently so that arrangements could be made.

This includes contacting DCNS lawyers to invite them to the briefing.

It was reported that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (in charge of parliamentary affairs) Nazri Abdul Aziz had indicated that there was no problem holding the briefing in the Parliament building.

Bourdon was deported when he was said to have violated his visa by speaking on the issue at a fundraiser in Penang in July 2011.

The event was held by rights group Suaram which hired the lawyer to pursue the matter in the French court, alleging that Malaysia’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, is involved in the kickback scandal worth more than RM250 million.

Najib denied the allegation while the government claimed that the French authorities had never planned on pressing charges as alleged by Suaram and the opposition.

‘Say No to Racism’ petition gathers pace

Since its launch two days ago by Projek Dialog, an online website, hundreds of signatures have already been secured.

PETALING JAYA: Projek Dialog, a website advocating honest dialogue and racial and religious harmony, has initiated an online petition against racism in Malaysia.

The petition aims to put an end to racist politics, political and racial exploitation of the media, the abuse of religion to legitimise racism and persecutions of religious minorities.

It also calls for the release of all detainees held unjustly under draconian measures put in place on the false basis of national security and inter-communal peace, and more dialogue aimed at a peaceful and more inclusive Malaysia.

The petition also calls for the Malaysian government to ratify the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) to show its seriousness in combating racism.

Since the petition was started on Monday, it has already gotten close to 300 signatures, including a number of local NGOs.

“It’s an effort to present a unified voice against racism in Malaysia which has reached a worryingly endemic level,” Projek Dialog managing editor Ahmad Fuad Rahmat told FMT.

“Just look at how racist sentiments are often evoked to strengthen political positions daily. We must do something about it in a unified way,” he said.

“Most thinking people are instinctively against racism. This is a chance to make a statement and show to the rest of Malaysia that they are concerned Malaysians.”

Fuad said that the response so far has been positive, having garnered support by only relying on word of mouth, e-mail and social media.

“It is a good start. Racism is a problem that is not going away anytime soon,” said Fuad, who is also a research fellow at the progressive Muslim think-tank Islamic Renaissance Front.

Call for discussions

He also said that Projek Dialog has not set a target number or date to stop the petition, as it is to be a “long term” campaign.

“In an ideal world, we are talking about getting hundreds of thousands of people to support this cause.

“But we just have to reach a significant number and then we’ll get to the next step, either present it to the Prime Minister’s Office or the National Unity and Integration Department.

Fuad said that Malaysia has yet to ratify the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by the United Nations.

“If the government finally decides to ratify it, we would be bound by certain commitments to internationally recognised principles.”

These principles, said Fuad, should be about more inclusive affirmative action and poverty eradication as well as more opportunities to pursue certain rights such as education.

Another important aspect of the petition was the call for discussions.

“While we want to focus on policy, without discussions, the changes might not be meaningful. Well intended policies might even be seen as offensive,” said Fuad.

Asked why anyone should sign the petition, he said: “Because Malaysia is a complex country and requires harmony between the different ethnic identities for it to progress and flourish.

“But it cannot happen when there is racism, or any form of prejudices. We can only do what we can, and this is one way to speak up.”

Call for better zoo etiquette

Zoos exist not merely to entertain, says an animal welfare group.

KUALA LUMPUR: The next time you take your children to the zoo, make sure they don’t make too much noise. It will unsettle the animals and upset members of myZoo, a coalition of animal welfare bodies.

“We have to point out that animals have feelings” and the screams of children could agitate them, said Sharmini Paramasivam, a myZoo representative.

She was in the myZoo delegation that had a roundtable discussion today with representatives of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan). The discussion centred on animal welfare in Malaysian zoos.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, she said the Malaysian public needed to be educated about zoos —that they are not just places of entertainment, but also of animal conservation.

The meeting with Perhilitan discussed the Wildlife Conservation (Operation of Zoos) Regulations 2012, a law that was gazetted last Feb 1. It gives Perhilitan more bite in going after zoos and wildlife parks that are negligent in their job of caring for animals. It covers, among other things, health care, animal enclosure spaces and wildlife show guidelines.

MyZoo welcomed the new regulations, but said better enforcement was needed. Its delegation said zoos, NGOs and government agencies needed to work together to improve the situation.

MyZoo advisor and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) academic Sumita Sugnaseelan said a lot of reports about animal attacks were exaggerated.

“If a visitor crosses an enclosure’s barrier, do you blame the animal for reacting?” she asked.

She added that parents needed to obey cautionary signs at the zoos lest their children mimic them. “If there is a sign that says don’t feed the animals, and the parents do it, the children might emulate that,” she said.

Perhilitan has agreed to let myZoo representatives join the agency’s zoo audit team, which would routinely inspect Malaysia’s zoos.

PJS 1 residents: Meet us or we will march

The stalled Block E housebuyers of PJS 1 threaten to march to Selangor MB's office at the end of the month if the state government refuses to hold a meeting with them.

PETALING JAYA: Arrange a meeting for us with Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim by Nov 26 or we will march to his office on Nov 29, said Block E residents action committee chairman M Sugumaran today.

He added that the buyers of the stalled low cost apartment project were growing weary of the whole matter.

In 2003, about 200 former squatter settlers were promised low-cost houses by developer Peter Brickworks Sdn Bhd in exchange for development on the land.

Although the developer had built four buildings of low-cost housing for some of the settlers, it reneged on its promise to build the fifth block, citing a court order barring them from working on the land specified.

Last year, the Selangor state government stepped in and promised to resolve their housing problem.

Sugumaran said that the committee had delivered 135 letters of undertakings last Friday, signed by the housebuyers, to declare that the committee was the only group representing the buyers.

In addition, the letters also declared that the housebuyers wanted the state government to resolve 26 outstanding issues, among them, the liquidated ascertained damages (LAD) and bank interest charges.

“We wanted to meet Khalid to deliver the letter of undertakings but instead his officer, Teh Yee Teong came to collect it, claiming MB was not in the office.

“Later, we saw Khalid moving in and out inside the Selangor state secretariat office. When we demanded to see him, Teh insisted the MB was not around. It was an insult,” said Sugumaran.

The committee, he added, was also upset that Teh had only stamped the letter of undertakings without signing them, which was a far cry on how the Petaling Jaya City Council had received them.

“This is the same way the previous state government treated us. We have sacrificed a lot just to fight for our rights. We have no other choice but to take this action as the general election is nearing,” said Sugumaran.

'Sorry Anwar, Australia can't help you'

CARR: Australia is not the election authority for Malaysia.

(Bernama) - Australia cannot and will not influence how Malaysia's elections are run despite a personal plea for help from Malaysian Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said Australian Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr.

Anwar had reportedly written to Senator Carr asking for Australia to help ensure that the next Malaysian general election, most probably to be held early next year, was free of fraud and corruption.

Anwar had reportedly told Carr he had uncovered evidence of fraudulent voter registration and other anomalies in the run-up to the polls. He had also questioned the independence of the electoral commission and claimed that the opposition was being excluded from the media.

But Senator Carr said the Malaysian elections were a matter for the Malaysian people.

"It's very hard for Australia to do anything about how they're run, as hard as it would be for Malaysia or another government to have a say in how Australian elections are run," he told ABC radio.

"We're not the election authority for Malaysia."

Carr said Australia wanted to see free and fair elections in every country. He said Anwar personally raised the concerns directly with him during a recent visit to Malaysia.

Carr also poured cold water on the specific proposal of Australia sending election monitors to Malaysia, saying the Malaysian government would have to ask for the measure.

He dismissed the suggestion that Canberra was reluctant to act because it wanted to maintain good relations with (Malaysian Prime Minister) Najib's government, with which it was still negotiating an asylum seeker swap deal.

In an interview with ABC Radio on Wednesday, Anwar said he was concerned the election, which must be held by next June, would be rigged, and would have a large number of people eligible to vote but who would not be allowed to vote.

Others far too young to vote, between age two and 12, were also on the rolls, he said.

Anwar also claimed that the opposition had been denied access to the mainstream media.

Anwar had discussed his concerns with former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and sent a note to Carr seeking Australian assistance, saying Australia supported free and fair elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and Myanmar, and yet it was silent on Malaysia.

Tony Fernandes is a thief, claims MP

(The Malay Mail) - Barisan Nasional's fiery Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin called businessman Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (pic) a "penyagak" (thief) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The outspoken MP, known for heckling opposition MPs and for being one of the louder voices in the House, was speaking during the Transport Ministry's wrap up during the committee stage of the ministry's Budget 2013 debate when he made his distaste for Fernandes and AirAsia known.

"We all know that Tony Fernandes is a penyagak (thief). He will want 100 per cent profit in everything. He invests in everything, even sports," Bung said, while discussing the issue of whether the low cost airline would shift its operations to KLIA2 once the government completes its construction in April next year.

Bung was unapologetic each time AirAsia's name was brought up during the wrap up, going as far as saying that the airline can "berambus" (get out) from the country, in light of suggestions that the carrier could shift its operations to Indonesia.

"I think on behalf of the people of Malaysia, I would say AirAsia can berambus from the country," he said.

Bung claimed that the government is giving too much consideration to AirAsia's demands, and said that the government's leniency with the low cost airline is what's causing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to be mired in debt.

Earlier, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha told the Dewan Rakyat that the government is not reliant for AirAsia to shift its operations to KLIA2 upon the terminal's completion in order to recoup the state's investment in the terminal.

"In KLIA, we host 60 airline companies, not one company alone. So KLIA2 will be similar," Kong said curtly.

He said that AirAsia had not officially stated that they would shift to KLIA2 yet and went on to add that the airline is currently co-operating in the relocation process.

Do Your Job Right, PTPTN

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
It’s unbelievable how lackadaisical the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) is in collecting loan payments. These, after all, constitute the rakyat’s money, and it is the responsibility of the corporation to be accountable for it. And yet its chief executive officer, Agos Cholan, can say, in an interview with Malaysiakini, that it tells its debtors to pay whatever they can.

Whatever they can! What kind of an attitude is that? Isn’t it encouraging defaulters?

Is PTPTN not concerned about getting back the money because the money belongs to others? Is it plainly incompetent? Is it poorly run? If so, it reflects badly on the government we have.

In fact, the least the Government could do now is crack the whip on the people heading PTPTN to ensure that they do their job well, and if they don’t, it should have them replaced.

After all, we are talking about huge sums of money being loaned out. As it is, the total amount stands at RM45.41 billion, and by the end of the year, it will reach RM50 billion.

That’s not small pickings. It’s money that could be used for the good of the rakyat – a lot of good. If some of it is not recovered when the loans are due, more money will have to be pumped into the fund. Where will that money come from?

Of course, we can say that PTPTN money is for the good cause of higher education so it might be all right if the recipients don’t pay back or take their time to do so, but a loan is a loan. Its terms and conditions have to be respected. If you tak berani tanggung, you shouldn’t take a loan. You can’t say afterwards that paying back will cause you to be in debt. You should know what you’ll be in for.

Of course, if the Government decides to scrap PTPTN and write off the loans, that’s a totally different matter. But until that happens, the loan agreement is sacrosanct.

Even for a scholarship, there is usually the condition of the recipient being bonded by employment to the Government after graduation, which he or she must respect. If they renege, they must pay back in cash.

But more than the issue of money, what is important to consider here is that this is not the way to run a government agency. By not doing its job the way it should, PTPTN is showing a bad example of government operations.

As for Agos Cholan, the things he said in the interview reflect an unseemly attitude. If he brings that to bear in his job, he should seriously reconsider his position.

He said PTPTN wants to do things “the nice way”, i.e. it refuses to come down hard on debtors. How could he say that? It’s not the role of PTPTN to be “nice”.

How could he also say, “So far, we have been quite nice and moderate. We advertise in newspapers, on billboards and hold awareness campaigns to tell the people, ‘Pay back lah’”.

That sounds utterly unprofessional. And of course if PTPTN puts it that way, nobody’s going to pay lah. So perhaps we could say, “Agos Cholan should step down lah.”

He said 130,000 or so debtors have been blacklisted, and of these, only 20 per cent have started paying back. “The rest have not come forward yet. We are still waiting,” he added.

Still waiting? If creditors were to just wait for their debtors to come to them, they’d be out of business in a flash! Sure, PTPTN is not a commercial enterprise or a profit-making organisation, but it is a trustee of the rakyat’s resources.

PTPTN should be proactive instead and go after the debtors. But wait! There is a problem. According to sources quoted by Malaysiakini, many of the students to whom PTPTN gave out loans cannot be traced.

This is incredulous. It reeks of incompetency of the highest order. Keeping track of one’s debtors is the most basic of functions. Otherwise, how can you ensure getting back your money? So how could PTPTN be so lax about keeping proper records and updating them continually?

Agos Cholan is a former banker; he should know better than most people that you can’t lend money and later lose contact with the people you lent it to. What’s his excuse?

Apparently, PTPTN’s database suffered a disaster when it was converted into electronic data under a system that didn’t work well and was then tinkered with under a different system that made it worse. It is now being rebuilt based on the first system, “running on an old engine”. The process has of course cost a lot of money – and a lot of misplacement of data. And “running on an old engine” doesn’t sound like a good prospect.

Agos admits that there was a time when PTPTN couldn’t justify RM5 billion worth of loans – “we didn’t know who took out loans or who has paid; the numbers weren’t there”. This sounds harrowing when so much money is at stake. But he assures us that “it has all been rectified”.

Rectifying it is one thing; using it to spring to action to recover the money is another. Agos eschews using debt collection agencies because he’s worried they might “not be professional enough”.

How about using the legal recourse? After all, there is no excuse for the debtors not to pay. When they signed the loan agreement, they knew what they were in for and they agreed to the terms. So those who have not been paying need to be jolted into honouring those terms. Indeed, if a few debtors were to be hauled to court on this account, it might spook other defaulters into paying up.

But one suspects that PTPTN’s reluctance to enforce legal compliance stems from a fear of offending its loan recipients. These are the youths who will be voting at the upcoming general election. The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) would be worried about losing their votes. Especially with Pakatan Rakyat pledging, if it captures Putrajaya, to write off PTPTN loans and provide free tertiary education.

Furthermore, the ‘Occupy Dataran’ campout staged by university students in April to call for the loans to be scrapped has added pressure on BN.

Be that as it may, the BN government will not endear itself to the rakyat if it is seen to be incompetent, inefficient and cavalier about the people’s resources. It might end up being rejected instead.

In any case, nothing beats doing a job right. If PTPTN cannot do its job right, the Government will be held accountable. Then no amount of appeasing the young voters will be of help to the BN cause.

The point of reckoning may ironically be the ballot box.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia.

Israel's Attack On Gaza Raised At D-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting

From Zarul Effendi Razali

ISLAMABAD, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- Israel's aggression on Gaza was raised at the D-8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, here, Wednesday, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

At the meeting which began at about 11am, local time, Anifah said some of the member countries had touched on the crisis in Gaza and that Malaysia would be voicing out their views after the meeting resumed this evening.

D-8 is an economic organisation which discusses economic matters involving the member states. However, due to the compelling circumstances, we may be discussing this issue," he told Malaysian reporters, here.

The D-8 member countries are Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Bangladesh.

Anifah said some of the other member countries, in their speeches, expressed sadness over what was happening in Gaza.

"Malaysia will be raising the issue later and we have already agreed informally just now to discuss the issue," he said.

At the D-9 meeting this time, Pakistan will take over the chair from Nigeria for a period of two years until 2014.

Several matters were discussed at the meeting including accepting the motion on the D-8 Charter and D-8 Global Vision, which are two important documents containing the organisation's aspirations and vision for the future.

In his speech at the meeting, Anifah again touched on D-8 intra trade which has not met the target set, that is, 15 to 20 per cent.

"To date, the total D-8 intra trade is at 7.5 per cent. We need to look at the existing weaknesses in our effort to make D-8 a competitive organisation.

"We need to work at increasing investment and trade and we should be more creative, whereby Islamic banking is one of the activities that we should be proposing at this meeting," he said.

Anifah said the D-8 member states should be applying the Islamic banking system for the purpose of obtaining investment funds, through sukuk, besides using the conventional banking system.

Declaration falls short of international standards

Malay Mail 
by Andrea Mathew

THE first Asean human rights declaration signed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been labelled as a document to justify human rights violations.

Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan (pic) said the declaration falls short of international standards, specifi -cally the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and has a caveat counter to human rights.

“There is an important caveat that it (protection of human rights) must be ‘in the regional and national context bearing in mind diff erent political, economic, legal, social, cultural, historical and religious backgrounds’ and ‘meet the just requirements of national security, public order, public health, public safety, public morality, as well as the general welfare of the peoples in a democratic society’.

“Thus member states can basically justify human rights violations if it falls under these wide caveats.” Syahredzan said the Declaration is nothing more than a public relations exercise to project a more ‘human-rights friendly’ image of Asean member states.

The Declaration is also said to have some glaring exclusions including freedom of association.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive directo Cynthia Gabriel said the government has signed onto a flawed and incomplete document that leaves out many components.

Gabriel who was involved in civil society discussions with Asean intergovernmental commission of human rights said, “Some recommendations were proposed but not incorporated into the final version of the declaration.

“We are disappointed that this is the final version because many communities are not protected under the Declaration such as rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups.

This is important because they are a vulnerable community that is often harassed by law enforcement agencies.

“We had also suggested compliance of domestic laws with international standards as many Asean countries practice the death penalty.

In addition many socio-cultural rights were generalised as the Declaration focused on civil and political rights.”

Gabriel said many Asean governments are authoritarian regimes and not promoters of human rights.

Mum wants probe over prison 'negligence'

(Malaysiakini) The mother of R Kumarajah, a Kajang prison inmate who died late October, has urged the police to investigate prison authorities for alleged negligence resulting in her son's death.

After lodging a police report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters today, M Sooriakandhi, 51, told reporters that the prison wardens could have provided her son medical attention.

"Why didn't they take him to the hospital? Why didn't they inform me? My son was sick for three days. They didn't inform me at all," said Sooriakandhi in between her sobs.

Her lawyer G Sivamalar said prison laws stipulated that prison authorities must inform a detainee's family members immediately should the person be severely ill or have died.

However, in Kumarajah's case, his family was only informed of his death after 24 hours, said Sivamalar.

Kumarajah, 27, was convicted of motorcycle theft in 2011 and was incarcerated at the Kajang prison. He was scheduled for release in February 2013.

He was pronounced dead on Oct 29, ostensibly of AIDS. Sooriakandhi later challenged the pronouncement, because no autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.

The authorities relented after Sooriakandhi's plight was made public and an autopsy was performed on Nov 2.

A preliminary report has revealed that Kumarajah's death was the result of "heart muscle inflammation caused by bacteria or virus."