Nurul Izzah’s statement in the Kaum Muda-Kaum Tua context

by AB Sulaiman - CPI

The case of Nurul Izzah Anwar, the PKR vice president, making the statement that there is no compulsion in religion and that this should apply not only to non-Malays but to Malays as well is now commanding the public domain.

Thanks to Utusan Malaysia and the Internet, the speed at which Nurul’s statement spread was staggering. The very next day, it appeared as a front-page headline in the Malay daily but with a twist: it was reported that she had been ‘suggesting’ Malays could commit apostasy; or showing the way to do so. (Apostasy is considered the greatest sin in Malay reckoning.)

To the Malay-Muslim, she has committed a grave offence for which she must be taken to task.

I will try to identify what really is at issue by way of asking some pertinent and relevant questions.

Cutting through the confusion

First question: Nurul quoted the Quranic edict that “there is no compulsion in religion”. Is she right? The answer is yes, she is, as in Surah 2.256.

Following question: Did she state that this edict should apply to Malays as well? Her words spoken at the Nov 3 forum held at the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Subang Jaya, according to the transcript provided by Malaysiakini, were:

“How can anyone really say, ‘sorry, this only applies to non-Malays.’ It has to apply equally.”

Her statement can be understood as meaning that the Article 11 constitutional provision on the freedom of religion must apply for Malays as well. Since nowhere in the Quran does it mention the Malay ethnicity, we should logically infer that Nurul’s remark was a comment on Malaysian law rather than on Islamic jurisprudence.

Next: why then did former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa reportedly say that the Surah was not applicable to Malays? I do not wish to answer for him, but according to the reports it is because as a religious scholar he feels qualified to comment on such things while others are not.

Sri Gading Member of Parliament Mohamad Aziz raised the Nurul issue in the House on Nov 7 saying

“Apa hukum dari segi syariat Islam atas kenyataan Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai yang menyatakan orang Melayu Islam bebas memilih agama yang diminati? Dalam erti kata lain, boleh keluar daripada agama Islam yakni murtad. Kenyataan ini seolah-olah meraikan orang Islam menjadi murtad.”

Translated into English, the MP had described Nurul’s remark as more or less as a statement to celebrate Malay conversion because apostasy will now be permitted among Muslims.

You might ask: Did she actually encourage apostasy for Muslims? The answer is no.

Syariah augmented by civil laws

In her reply to Mohamad Aziz, Mashitah Ibrahim – the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs – said that under the law, anyone found guilty of mocking or maligning Islam could be sentenced to prison not exceeding two years, fined RM3,000 or both.

If wielded, this piece of prohibitive legislation portends a conflict and tussle pitting a reformist and progressive Malay-Muslim mind such as Nurul Izzah’s on the one hand, and the orthodox and conservative mind represented by Mashitah, Nasharudin, Mohamad Aziz and the rest of them on the other.

This conflict is common enough in any religion and Islam is not spared. In Islam, this conflict stemmed from the tussle between Revelation and Reason, which I shall delve into immediately.

For this discourse, I will refer to a scholarly work Crisis in the Muslim Mind by Dr Abdul Hamid Ahmad AbuSulayman who was a Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). In his 1993 book, the author explained the relationship between Revelation and Reason.

Which takes precedence?

Revelation in Islam decrees that all knowledge comes from God via His Revelations found in the Quran which is ‘God’s word’. Reason is Man’s ability to rationalise by using his God-given intelligence and memory. Reason is God’s way of making mankind understand Revelation.

As Revelation is ‘stored’ in the Quran, mankind must use his reasoning ability to adhere to all of the edicts, rules and regulations inherent in this holy book. It is at this point that there appears a split in understanding between the orthodox and the progressive.

To the orthodox, as the Quran is God’s Words, its entire contents are to be the ultimate Truth. The Quran has to be adhered to without any hesitation, doubt, scepticism.

To progressives the Quran might indeed be God’s Words but mankind has been given intelligence by God. The Muslim can and should employ thought and rationality to everything, even to the Quran.

Bow and obey

An illustration taken from Islamic history might help you to understand the point. For this I will refer to the writing of Pervez Hoodbhoy’s work, Islam and Science (1992) from where I take the case of Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi or better known as al-Kindi (801-873 CE) – a philosopher, mathematician, and musician during the Caliphate of Al-Mutawwakil in Baghdad.

Al-Kindi pointed out that Surah 55.5 of the Quran states that the sun, moon, stars, mountains, trees and beasts ‘bow themselves’ before God. For the unsophisticated, this invokes an idea wherein all creation literally bends in prayer – a bowing tree, a bowing mountain (for example) bending in prayer.

He had some doubt over this term in its literal sense. After a long mental search, al-Kindi interpreted that ‘bow’ could mean ‘obey’ – the mountains and trees and all other creations obeyed God’s Words but did not bow in doing so.

A point to note is that al-Kindi lived during the period when human civilisation was rudimentary and the literacy rate was low. The aristocratic class was all-powerful and feudalism was the norm. There was also an emergent clergy or ulama class of citizens, usually aligned with the aristocracy. In the event, al-Kindi’s radical views had to be acceptable to the rulers and the ulama class.

Apparently in this specific ‘bowing’ case, they did not agree and deemed his opinion a heresy.

The reaction was swift to his heretic and dangerous beliefs. The Caliph had al-Kindi flogged in public and confiscated his library the ‘Al-Kindiyah’. The old philosopher fell into depression and silence, and died a broken man.

Revelation had won over Reason. God’s Words (and by extension the Syariah) are an immutable set of rules which cannot be modified according to the times.

Sure enough when the four Imams – Maliki (d.795 CE), Hanafi (d.767 CE), Shafii (d.820 CE), and Hanbali (d. 855 CE) – codified the Islamic jurisprudence that is applied right up to today, they were all under the influence of Revelation over Reason.

“There were slight differences in weight they attached to various Quranic verses and degree of validity they assigned to various Prophetic traditions”, says Hoodbhoy. Nonetheless their philosophies were otherwise uniform: Revelation over Reason.

The orthodoxy and conservatism of Islam was later strengthened by the immensely influential Al-Ghazzali (d.1111 CE).

Islamic commentators claim that by the end of the 11th century, all major problems of Islamic jurisprudence had been resolved between these Islamic schools. After that, all the doors for discourse or Ijtihad were slammed shut.

Bolting the Gates ofIjtihad

Let’s pause a little over the points made in the last paragraph. Before the closing of Ijtihad, the flame of learning had burnt bright in Islamic civilisation. Scholars like al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, Omar Khayyam and many others were leading the known world in intellectual development and study. Modern day scholars and adherents of Islam will not miss the opportunity to remind the non-Muslim world of Muslim contributions to human knowledge and science.

But after this glorious era, there was the ascendency of an ossified religiosity making it harder for secular pursuits to exist. It appeared that the closing of Ijtihad had also closed the minds of the Islamic civilisation.

Partly because of this closed mind, the Muslim civilisation missed out in the subsequent human intellectual developments: the thoughts of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton and a long list of illustrious names that had led to the explosion of science and scientific thinking; the growth of democracy, capitalism, the Industrial Revolution. It missed out from the burgeoning economic, social, political, intellectual and technological opportunities and advancements faced and undertaken by the universal human civilisation.

When Islam was brought into this country (circa 1403 CE), it was this orthodox and conservative version that arrived. I have not come across of any record of any meaningful intellectual development from the Malay civilisation from this date.

Kaum Tua, Kaum Muda

Malay intellectual discourse began in the early 20th century, as shown by recent Malay social history. During this time there appeared the tussle between the Kaum Tua and Kaum Muda. Farish Noor has written a concise and fairly authoritative account of these factions under an article titled Pre-Net Reformists in Malaysiakini (22 March 2001).

According to Farish who is presently a senior fellow at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the Kaum Tua comprised mainly the traditional ruling elite led by the royals and aristocrats of the Malay sultanates on the peninsula while the Kaum Mudawere the modernist reformist Malay and Peranakan intelligentsia based in the more cosmopolitan centres on the West coast.

Both groups were worried about the future development of the country and their collective fate under British rule.

The royal families and aristocrats, Farish writes further, launched a number of initiatives that were aimed at protecting the interests of the local communities against the onslaught of British political and economic hegemony. One such effort was the Majlis Agama Kelantan (Kelantan Religious Council) that was formed in 1915. But the Majlis and many other bodies like it soon came under the leadership and patronage of Malay rulers who were more interested in protecting the interests of the traditional ruling elite than the Malay masses.

Another source quoted the conflict between Kaum Muda and Kaum Tua as centring on the validity of Reason to verify religious matters (or Ijtihad) versus those who blindly followed the teachings of early scholars (or Taqlid), see Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 7 (special issue of ‘Diversity of Knowledge on Middle East’: 07-13, 2011 © IDOSI Publications, 2011).

The advocators of taqlid, Kaum Tua, rejected the use of reason in religion as they claimed that the practice conflicted with the Quran. The task of genuine social reform and political organisation therefore devolved instead to the new generation of Malay reformers and modernists who came to be known as Kaum Muda, writes Farish Noor.

Kaum Muda had this modernist opposition towards blind imitation (taqlid) and their emphasis was on the dire need to use Reason. To them, instead of simply accepting the words and opinions of the religious scholars, Man is required to make use of Reason to distinguish between the valid and invalid opinions, or to reinterpret them.

Those arguments are strikingly familiar and from this I can safely deduce that they refer to the tussle of Revelation over Reason in the Malay social context.

In that pre-Internet era, the Kaum Muda was trying to disseminate the new mental order via newspapers, journals and magazines. One prominent personality, Syed Sheikh al-Hadi who hailed from Penang went over to Singapore and Malacca to open madrasahs or religious schools hoping to spread progressive Islam.

The win goes to Kaum Tua

From what I can gather, the inter-generational tussle was ‘won’ by the orthodox Kaum Tua, replicating the win by the clergy over al-Kindi in the early years of Islam as mentioned earlier.

What could have caused this loss by the Kaum Muda? Again I would attribute it to the social environment surrounding the Malay community during the material time or to borrow Farish’s label, the ‘pre-Net’ period.

During that era, the country was under colonial British rule and the rural Malays were an agrarian society. Coupled with this were a low literacy level and the great influence of informal education which centred religion, Malay customs and local traditions.

I remember Malay schools teaching students just the rudiments of reading and writing, basic arithmetic and some history and geography. There was this glaring absence of imparting to the students the ability to think and intellectualise – an endeavour which requires the ability to look for alternatives in the search for truth. There was no teaching them to be critical, innovative, creative, and imaginative.

Without these abilities they had very little capacity to accept change.

Post-Net and info-have era

All this brings us back to the present ‘post-Net’ also known as the ‘info-have’ era. What do we have and where are we today?

We have an independent Malaysia, a higher level of formal education and literacy, knowledge, the ability to analyse and an open mind that can roam far and wide. We have economic progress and a huge middle class.

We are living in the ‘info-have’ era of the second decade of the 21st century.

We have the potential and opportunity to give Reason precedence over Revelation. We have the opportunity to join the Reason-based post-modern universal human civilisation. And within this context, I feel that in addition to Nurul’s answer to the question being spot-on, she is also a true champion of the progressive Kaum Muda of today.

Her Kaum Tua detractors appeared inadequate in clear and independent thinking. Utusan Malaysia had to use the power of suggestion to smear the truth. Nasharudin had to add his own prejudice to corner Nurul by claiming that Surah 2.256 was not meant for Malays. Mashitah had to admit that Malaysian legislation prohibited missionaries to proselytize other religions to Muslims but our law failed to cover Nurul’s situation.

In their ‘Revelationist’ enthusiasm (or blindness) to ‘protect’ Islam, they had all been intellectually dishonest.

Nurul Izzah seems to me to be a victim of the type of criticism levelled by the Kaum Tua mentality that overtly and habitually champions Revelation over Reason in any religious dispute.

Capitalizing on the orthodox and conservative Kaum Tua mindset, it is no surprise that her political enemies seem to be seizing the opportunity to dampen and destroy her promising political career.

The Malaysian government is “broken” and that’s why it must be “fixed” in 13th GE

Over the weekend, in his speech to the state-sponsored NGO gathering “Himpunan Barisan 1Malaysia” at the Putra World Trade Centre, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said:

“Why fix it (the government) if it’s not broken? It’s not broken, far from it. Our country is the envy of many other nations.”

Both at the thousand-people Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat dinner in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday night and the People’s Green Assembly at Dataran Merdeka this morning at the conclusion of the historic 14-day 300-km Kuantan-Kuala Lumpur trek, I had posed the same question whether the “Malaysian government is broken and needs to be fixed?”, and the answer is a thunderous, powerful and united affirmative!
Fortunately, the Malaysian government has not broken down completely, all the more why it must be “fixed” immediately before it reaches a point of no return.
There is a long list why the Malaysian government is “broken” after 55 years of UMNO/BN rule and needs to be “fixed”, but I will only refer to the following instances:
1. Truly independent judiciary and just rule of law.
Malaysia has yet to regain its international reputation as a land where there is truly independent judiciary and just rule of law.
Twenty-four years after the initial and most heinous assault on the judiciary in 1988, resulting in the sacking of the Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and two Supreme Court judges, Tan Sri Wan Sulaiman and Datuk George Seah and the cowing of more than a generation of judges, public confidence in the professionalism, independence, impartiality and integrity of Malaysian judiciary has yet to be restored.
2. Subordination/subversion of key national institutions.
A major example of a “broken” government that needs to be “fixed” is the subordination/subversion of the independence, impartiality and professionalism of key national institutions, whether the public service, Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, the Election Commission or the Anti-Corruption Commission.
3. World’s best education system.
Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is now talking about having the world’s best education system. But this was promised by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak 17 years ago when he was Education Minister and introduced the Education Act 1996 to replace the Education Act 1961.
The Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 has however admitted the failure of the Education Act 1996 to ensure that Malaysia has the world’s best education system, with the growing gap between Malaysia’s education system with those of other countries in student performance and attainments.
When Malaysia first participated in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1999, its average student score was higher than the international average in both Mathematics and Science. By 2007, the last published cycle of results, the Malaysian system’s performance had slipped to below the international average in both Mathematics and Science with a commensurate drop in ranking. Critically, 18% and 20% of Malaysia’s students failed to meet the minimum proficiency levels in Mathematics and Science in 2007, a two to fourfold increase from 7% and 5% respectively in 2003.
The results of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009+ were also discouraging, with Malaysia ranking in the bottom third of 74 participating countries, below the international and OECD average.
A comparison of scores shows that 15-year-olds in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai are performing as though they have had three or more years of schooling than 15-year-olds in Malaysia.
4. Among World’s top universities.
In the sixties, University of Malaya was recognised as one of the world’s top universities. Today, we are struggling to get at least one Malaysian university accorded recognition as one of the world’s top universities to rectify the perception and reality that “the best education is only available abroad”.
5. Economic Performance and Competitiveness
Malaysia fell four places from 21st to 25th spot out of 144 countries in the latest Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 of the World Economic Forum. But even more ominous is the country’s losing out to more and more countries although the country was the most developed in Asia after Japan when we achieved independence in 1957, ahead of others like South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong but now at risk of being overtaken by other countries like Thailand, Vietnam and even Indonesia.
6. Worsening crime and Safety of Person and Property
Despite claims that Malaysia is the safest country in the region and that the fear of crime is a problem of public perception, the fact is that the increasing incidence of crime, the lack of personal safety and security of property have become major problems affecting not only Malaysians but also investors and tourists.
As a result, crime and the fear of crime have become major problems in the country which have yet to be seriously addressed by the authorities.
7. Worst corruption problem than under any previous Prime Minister
Despite the GTP and NKRA priority to fight corruption, corruption today under Datuk Seri Najib Razak is in a worse condition than under any previous Prime Minister, as testified by the 17 annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index since 1995.
Malaysia was ranked No. 23 out of 41 countries in 1995, but it has fallen to the worst 60th placing out of 183 countries in 2011 with the lowest-ever score of 4.3 – in sharp contrast both to improved rankings and scores of other countries whether in South-East Asia, Asia-Pacific or other Islamic countries in Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
8. Flight of two million of the best and brightest Malaysians abroad in the past four decades.
“Chronic and sustained human flight” is one of the indices of a “failed state”. There will be a renewed exodus of the best and brightest Malaysians abroad if Malaysians prove to be incapable of “fixing” a “broken” government in the 13GE.
9. Respect for human rights and environmental/ecological heritage.
The refusal of the Prime Minister or anyone of the Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs to engage with Himpunan Hijau at the People’s Assembly at Dataran Merdeka this morning at the conclusion of the 14-day 300-km Kuantan-Kuala Lumpur trek to oppose Lynas, affirm sustainable development and halt/review hazardous projects like the gold mine in Bukit Koman, Pahang, the high-tension electrical tower in Rawang, Selangor, refinery and petrochemical integrated development project (RAPID) in Pengerang, Johore is powerful proof that the government is “broken” and needs to be “fixed”.
10. Clean, free and fair elections.
Are the Umno/BN leaders prepared to foreswear conducting the dirtiest election campaign in the forthcoming 13GE?
Najib said Malaysia is the “envy of many other nations”!
What is there for Malaysia to be proud that we are the “envy” of nationals in “failed states” like Somalia, Congo, Sudan, Chad, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan or Haiti.
Malaysians can only hold their heads high if they are the “envy” of successful developed nations like Scandinavian countries, the advanced European countries or others like Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada.
Najib said that a change of government is not necessary for the country as the ruling BN government is ready to change.
Let Najib prove that the Umno/BN government is still capable of “big change” by meeting three challenges in his UMNO presidential speech later this week, to set forth the case that the government is not so “broken” that it needs to be “fixed”, viz:
• Firstly, declare that corruption is the No. 1 problem in UMNO and the country and introduce an Automatic Enforcement System (AEA) to fight grand corruption with unaccountable and extraordinary wealth of political leaders deemed in law as corruption with the ill-gotten wealth to be confiscated by the state unless the accused could prove their lawful origins in a court of law;
• Secondly, establish the Prime Minister’s sincerity in his 1Malaysia concept and slogan where every Malaysian regards himself as Malaysian first and race, religion, socio-economic status or region second by declaring that Ketuanan Rakyat Malaysia is the overarching UMNO objective and not Ketuanan Melayu; and
• Thirdly, demonstrate full democratic credentials and loyalty to the objective to make Malaysia “world’s best democracy” by declaring UMNO’s respect of the right of voters to choose the government they want and full commitment to transfer power peacefully to Pakatan Rakyat if this is the voters’ verdict in the 13th General Elections.

Resolve Disputes Through Negotiation, Not War - Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stressed that conflict between countries should be resolved through negotiation, arbitration or legal process, rather than through war.

As each country has conflicts with other countries, he said war was not a solution for it would not bring any benefits, including economic growth.

He said civilised people should not use war or killing to get things done.

"On the contrary, civilised people should exercise patience and use peaceful means, namely through negotiation or by considering the views of a third party as a facilitator or refer any dispute to the international court," he said.

Dr Mahathir was speaking at a luncheon hosted by him for the participants of the International Forum on 'Conflict and Conciliation in People's Politics - Looking Back or Looking Forward' in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2012 here Monday.

K'tan govt firm on implementing Islamic law on non-Muslims

KOTA BAHARU (Nov 25, 2012): The Kelantan government remains firm on implementing Islamic law on non-Muslims despite strong objection from DAP national chairman Karpal Singh.

State Housing, Tourism, Arts and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the state government was prepared to face the risk of being sued by non-Muslims as each policy made in Kelantan was in line with the provisions in the Constitution.

"I don't want to comment on Karpal's statement. Firstly, I did not hear it directly from him, and secondly, if Karpal sees this legislation, he will agree with me. He's a lawyer.

"It's his right to sue the Kota Baharu Municipal Council (MPKB)...but read this law carefully, otherwise he (Karpal) will have to pay the (court) costs. We are not trying to be smart when we draw up a law or an act," he told a press conference at the MPKB building, here, today.

Newspapers reported today that Karpal has called on the Kelantan PAS government to explain the enforcement of Islamic law on non-Muslims in the state.

Karpal had said that non-Muslims in Kelantan who were issued summonses by MPKB based on Islamic law could challenge the summonses in court.

It was recently reported that a Kota Baharu hair salon manager, Ong Lee Ting, claimed that she was issued with a summons 11 times by the local authority since 2010 because her non-Muslim women workers had cut the hair of non-Muslim men. As result, she was fined RM200 to RM350 each time and she also claimed that other hair salons also faced the same problem.

Takiyuddin said the state government implemented the policy to protect women's honour, whether they were Muslims or not, in order to prevent them from being exposed to sexual harassment and prostitution.

He said hair salons had often been reported to be doing business only as a guise but behind that, were involved in illegal and immoral activities.

"Is a father willing to allow his daughter to be sexually harassed while at work or a husband willing to accept his wife being disturbed by male customers?" he asked.

Kelantan refuses to budge from unisex hair salon ruling

The Star 
Reports by SYED AZHAR,FLORENCE A.SAMY,MOHD FARHAAN SHAH and CA ZULKIFLE

KOTA BARU: Kelantan refuses to back down from enforcing its gender-segregation rules for unisex salons where women are prohibited from cutting the hair of men and vice-versa.

State Local Government, Culture and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the by-law was enforced by the Kota Baru Municipal Council in line with the Islamic policies propagated by the PAS government more than 10 years ago.

“It is in line with our government's policy to safeguard women and curb sexual harassment at work places,” he said, adding that the rule applied to all districts in the state.

Takiyuddin, who is PAS assistant secretary-general, cited the Local Government Act 171, Section 107 (sub section 2) and the Local Government Act, which stipulate that licences and permits can only be issued based on the local government's rules and conditions and can be revoked at any time.

As far as the state government was concerned, the ruling for unisex salons was a non-issue, he said at a press conference at the council yesterday.

“But we need to clarify the matter because the media has blown it out of proportion.

“We need to provide the rationale behind the introduction of the by-law,” he said while holding up Friday's copy of The Star.

He said the by-law was introduced in 1991 when the councils froze the issuing of licences and permits to unisex salons state-wide in line with the PAS state government's slogan of “Growing with Islam” that applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Takiyuddin said the Kota Baru council decided to include stricter conditions in 1999 after it found salon operators continually violating certain conditions stipulated in their permits.

“It is a known fact that hair salons and unisex establishments are the most convenient places for immoral activities. They provide a cover for men and women to engage in illicit activities.

“If I were Chinese, I will never allow my wife to patronise such salons or even consider allowing my children to work in such places because of their reputation as a hotbed for immoral activities.

“And even a Chinese wife will feel uneasy to allow her husband to go to such places. Frequenting such places will always lead to scandals,” he said.

He said there was nothing wrong for a woman salon worker to provide hairdressing services to a female patron or for a male barber to cut a male customer's hair.

“But when a woman worker gives upper body massages to a male customer, one thing will eventually lead to another, ending with illicit activities,” said Takiyuddin.

He said that in Kuala Lumpur, there were special coaches provided by KTM Komuter and Rapid KL for women.

“My question here is when it comes to salons, why is it a forbidden cut and when it comes to trains, why not call them forbidden coaches ... They are not forbidden, it is just man for man and woman for woman,” he said.

Custodial sentence for statutory rape in future

The New Straits Times 
by AUDREY DERMAWAN

MANDATORY: No more lighter sentence once Section 376 is amended, says Nazri

PADANG RENGAS: A MANDATORY custodial sentence awaits those convicted of statutory rape, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said yesterday.

The de facto law minister said the Attorney-General's Chambers has advised that Section 376 of the Penal Code be amended so that judges can no longer exercise discretionary powers to reduce the sentence for statutory rape.

At present, the law allows judges to invoke Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code to impose a sentence based on their discretion.

Nazri said the mandatory jail sentence would apply to all statutory rapists once the amendment is tabled and passed at the next Parliament session.

"We hope that it will be followed (by the judges) because once we amend Section 376, there can never be a lighter sentence any more."

Section 376 of the Penal Code states that those convicted of rape, including having sex with those under the age of 16, must be jailed for not less than five years and not more than 20 years, and shall be liable to whipping as well.

Nazri also welcomed Penang High Court judge Datuk Seri Zakaria Sam's decision to sentence an electrician to 10 years and six months in jail on two counts of statutory rape against a minor.

"The judge's decision was clearly in line with the public's wish to see a more heavy sentence imposed in the interest of minors," he added.

Chuah Guan Jiu, 22, was convicted by the Penang Sessions Court of raping the girl, who was then 12 years and 10 months old, at his flat in Air Itam between 7am and 1pm on July 18 last year, and between 2.25pm and 2.45pm the next day.

He was spared a custodial sentence and the court instead ordered that he be bound over on a three-year RM25,000 good behaviour bond.

Chuah appealed against his conviction but Zakaria dismissed it and sentenced him to five years jail for the first offence and five years six months jail for the second offence.

Zakaria ordered for both sentences to run concurrently.

Earlier, Nazri, when presenting his keynote address at a gathering with the Perkumpulan Wanita here, said there were about 6,000 reported statutory rape cases between 2007 and 2012.

"This means that there are at least four such cases every day. Many of these cases involved the victims' family members, including their own fathers.

"This is a serious matter and the government needs to do something urgently to protect young girls."

Death in custody – M Ayadurai (Sungai Buloh prison; 26 Nov 2005)

Over seven years ago today, M Ayadurai was found dead at the Sungai Buloh prison. The post-mortem report revealed he had died of injuries inflicted on his chest.

According to a news report, his wife, M Mageswary, received a telephone call on 28 Nov 2005 informing that her husband had passed away due to multiple injuries to the head and body after being assaulted by his cellmates. Police reports were lodged at the Brickfields district police station and Sungai Joram police station.

Despite the requirement that all custodial deaths be investigated by inquiries conducted pursuant to Chapter XXXII of the Criminal Procedure Code, it does not appear that an inquest has been conducted into M Ayadurai’s death.

Every death in custody must be thoroughly and impartially investigated. M Ayadurai’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 2000 until February 2011.

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

Penang Island: Paradise … for developers

Many parts of Penang could soon see a three- to five-fold increase in density – without adequate infrastructure to support it, warns Penang Forum representative Dr Lim Mah Hui. This could have a disastrous impact on the quality of life.
These high-density guideline will reportedly affect “only” 109ha. (That’s 270 acres of our tiny island, mind you.) Already 14 projects have been approved in places like Macalister Road, Lorong Perak, Bukit Gambir, Lembah Permai, Jalan Paya Terubong and Pantai Jerejak.
It is not just 109ha that will be affected. Think of the cumulative traffic congestion in all the surrounding areas and approach roads. Remember, all this is being approved and carried out as policy – even before the Penang Transport Masterplan has been made public and even before consultation for ‘Penang Paradigm’ (which increasingly looks like a waste of time) can take place later this week. And there has been very little open consultation with the public over the “fine-tuning” of high-density guidelines.
Why are more and more developers so keen on building so-called small office/home office (Soho) units? Well, they offer the potential of even higher density – up to five times higher!
Before long, as we draw closer to gridlock, Penang will be transformed into a giant car park, with concrete and tarmac wiping out greenery and displacing trees.
Ironically, this comes even as the state government is touting Penang’s green credentials and liveability to overseas investors and target groups.
This is Mah Hui’s speech at the full council meeting of the MPPP today:

I would like to raise two urgent issues – the guidelines for 87 units per acre and for small office/home office (Soho) – that require public consultation under the policy of Competence, Accountability and Transparency (CAT). These two issues will significantly have an impact on the lives of residents in Penang because of the three-fold increase in density (from 30 units/acre to 87 units/acre) for the first set of guidelines and a possible five-fold (156 units/acre) increase under the guidelines for Soho – compared to the (aborted) Penang Global City Centre project of 37 units/acre.

See his full address here.

Hindraf wants 'Ministry of Minority Affairs' established

(Malaysiakini) Hindraf has launched its five-year blueprint today, which calls for a Ministry of Minority Affairs headed by the movement.

Its national advisor N Ganesan (left) said whichever political coalition endorses it in a "formal treaty" would receive its support.

"The trickle-down approach to solving these kinds of problems just doesn't work. What we need is targeted, focused and pointed efforts like what we are suggesting.

"We believe there needs to be adequate political will to carry this through... and we believe that Hindraf is the only organisation in the country that would be see through a programme for the minorities," he told a press conference today in Kuala Lumpur.

He explained that Hindraf should head the ministry because people have grown distrustful of politicians for making promises they cannot keep.
Six problem areas
Ganesan said the blueprint identifies six problem areas that the Indian Malaysian community faces that needs to be resolved in the next five years and proposes some solutions.

The six are: Displaced estate workers, stateless persons, lack of access to education and job opportunities, police brutality including deaths in custody, and institutionalised racism.

Some of the proposed solutions include providing adequate compensation and skill training for displaced estate workers, implementing the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC), and ratifying the UN's International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

When asked what if neither Pakatan Rakyat nor BN would endorse the blueprint, Ganesan pointed at the crowd leaving the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall where the press conference was held and said the matter would be left to the people.

The blueprint's unveiling was held in conjunction with the 5th anniversary of its 2007 protest, and was attended by some 1,500 supporters.

Some of them had to watch the event from TV screens outside the venue, due to the full-house crowd.

However, the movement's de facto leader and Human Rights Party chairperson P Uthayakumar was absent from the event.

When asked, Uthaya's brother and Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy (right) said it is "because he has gone and formed the Human Rights Party. We are running a people's movement here."

Earlier at the conclusion of the anniversary rally, the audience recited a declaration supporting the blueprint and called for the ban on Hindraf to be lifted.

"We, the representatives of 1.5 million Indian Malaysian poor, hereby accept and whole-heartedly support the blueprint to achieve a practical and comprehensive final solution to the tragedy that has fallen on the Indian Malaysian community for 200 years.

"We fully support Hindraf's move to pressure the government to fully execute this plan.

"We also unanimously urge the Malaysian government with withdraw the ban on Hindraf and allow it to operate as a human rights organisation," the enthusiastic crowd said.

Exco Kedah dedah salah urus zaman UMNO

Hindraf wants 'Ministry of Minority Affairs' established

Statue of Lord Shiva Stolen From New Jersey Temple

Wayne (New Jersy) : A 300-pound metal idol of Lord Shiva was stolen from the grounds of the Indian Cultural Society Hindu Temple and Mahatma Gandhi Center here Nov. 13 night, just hours after Diwali celebrations ended, temple officials said.

"The thieves could lift the heavy statue of Shiva … but left the statue of Nandi Bull untouched," said Durgesh Mehta, manager of the temple facility.

The theft has been reported to the police and an investigation is under way, according to CBS local news. The case is being investigated as a possible heist for metal to be sold as scrap, the report said. The statue, valued at around $6,200, is made of a five-metal alloy that contains copper, gold and silver. Because of the weight, police believe at least a few thieves were involved in the heist, CBS reported. The ground was disturbed where the idol was likely put down just before being loaded into a vehicle, police said.

While the temple building has surveillance cameras, the theft was not caught on tape as the outdoor area where the statue was located was completely under darkness and beyond the reach of the camera.

"During the nighttime, outside lights are turned off to save power," Mehta said.

Recreating mythical belief of Lord Shiva's abode at Mount Kailasa, the trustees of the temple had installed the idol outside. "The statue of Shiva and his ride, the holy Nandi Bull, were placed without a solid base in the open," said Jayesh Patel, secretary of the center.

The theft has baffled community members, with many questioning why anyone would, or could, steal something so large and so important to the temple. "It was never suspected that such thing could ever happen," said Jyotindra Patel, the temple board chairman. “We are a peaceful community. The trust was considering to place the statues inside a small Shiva temple to be constructed at the same spot.”

The temple board now plans to increase security at the temple. Jyotindra Patel said that the main driveway will be closed and surveillance equipment will be upgraded. "A reward of $2,500 has been offered to anyone who could provide information about the stolen statue," he said.

Activists slam marriage of 12-year-old in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian activists on Friday slammed the wedding of a 12-year-old to her 19-year-old boyfriend, renewing their calls for the government to outlaw child marriages.

Nur Fazira Saad and Fahmi Alias married last week in northern Kedah state after the girl's father agreed to the union and an Islamic court granted permission, The Star daily reported.

"It is better for them to get married rather than doing something improper," Saad Mustafa, the girl's father, was quoted as saying.

But Ratna Osman, executive director of activist group Sisters in Islam, described the young couple's marriage as "shocking".

"I don't understand why this is allowed in a country like Malaysia... We are talking about a developed country," she told AFP. "The concern is that this is a child being married off... No parents should be doing this."

Child marriages are not uncommon in the conservative Southeast Asian country, where 60 percent of the population of 29 million people are Muslim.

Two years ago, the marriage of a 14-year-old Muslim girl to a 23-year-old schoolteacher triggered similar calls for reform.

Girls below the age of 16 must obtain the permission of Islamic courts, which regulate civil matters for Muslims. But activists say such permission is too readily granted.

There was another outcry in October when two men, aged 19 and 22, were released on probation after courts convicted them of statutory rape.

In both cases the girls, aged 12 and 13, had not been forced, lawyers said.

But activists slammed the judges for freeing the men, saying the question of consent should not have arisen as the victims were below 16.

Earlier this week, a high court overturned the ruling in one of the cases, jailing the 22-year-old man for five and a half years.

SHARIA4BELGIUM LEADER QUOTES KORAN AND INCITES FOLLOWERS, PROSECUTION WANTS CONVICTION FOR INCITEMENT…….

The Koran incites violence, period.

The leader of Sharia4Belgium incited his followers with praise for a woman who attacked a police officer, and the riots that ensued after the incident. His lawyers are making the case that he only recited known Islamic verses (intolerant and violence inspiring) verses from the koran, a normal happening around the Islamic world.

Hijab first in British parliament

Youth Parliament member elected to represent views of young people in their area to government. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON: A 16-year-old girl is thought to have become the first person to speak from the House of Commons despatch box in the British parliament while wearing a hijab, The Times newspaper reported Saturday.

Sumaiya Karim a biology, chemistry, history and maths student, was speaking as the Youth Parliament held its annual session in the lower house’s chamber, where Britain’s MPs gather.

Karim, from Wokingham, west of London, said: “Wearing the hijab was my own choice.”

British ministers and opposition shadow ministers stand at the despatch boxes when they address the Commons.

The democratically elected Youth Parliament members, aged 11 to 18, are elected to represent the views of young people in their area to government.

Anti-Lynas protesters say will occupy Dataran for the night

Thousands of Himpunan Hijau supporters descend upon Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur November 25, 2012. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 ― Himpunan Hijau protesters vowed to stay overnight at Dataran Merdeka after arriving here following a 300km march from Kuantan to rally against the start-up of the Lynas rare earth plant in Pahang.

The police have, however, said they will investigate the Himpunan Hijau rally organisers under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012, for allegedly failing to give notice of their protest here against Lynas Corp’s refinery in Kuantan.

Several thousand protesters were gathered near the historic Dataran Merdeka here, some of whom marched all the way from Kuantan across 13 days.

Earlier, Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad told the crowd that the leaders of the environmental protest had failed to inform police of the assembly, and referred to Section 9 (1) of the PAA.

He also said the organisers will be investigated under Section 9 (5) of the PAA.

Section 9 (1) states that the organiser of an assembly must give 10 days’ notice to the police, while Section 9 (5) specifies that those found to be in breach of the aforementioned clause will be liable for a fine of up to RM10,000.

Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack, in his brief speech to the mostly green-shirted crowd, said that he will stay overnight within the Dataran Merdeka area.

Wong was later informed by Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) would allow Himpunan Hijau protesters to stay overnight, as long as tents were not set up.

The protestors also did not breach the barricades set up by DBKL directly outside Dataran Merdeka.

Mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib was previously reported as saying that City Hall — which administrates Dataran Merdeka — had issued a notice warning the public against rallying at the square, which is temporarily closed to enable upgrading works to be carried out.

The core group comprising hundreds of Himpunan Hijau protestors is expected to stay overnight at Dataran Merdeka, after the thousands that joined them dispersed peacefully this evening.

On April 28, the historic square saw violent clashes between the police and participants of the Bersih rally for electoral reform ― an event that also led to the government bringing legal action under the PAA 2012 against the organisers and opposition leaders.

The rally organisers were sued for damage to property amounting to RM122,000 under Section 6(2)(g) PAA, while three opposition leaders were charged with participating in a street protest, which is prohibited under Section 4(2)(c) of the same law.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said when tabling the PAA in Parliament last year that it would be “revolutionary” and allow Malaysians to participate in public gatherings “in accordance with international norms”.

Unprecedented public anger against the Lynas plant in Kuantan has been fuelling Malaysia’s green movement that could affect voter sentiment ahead of key national polls due soon.

Himpunan Hijau is among several grassroots movements that have sprouted in the last few years that have gained traction in the run-up to the 13th general election.

The group has held several rallies in Pahang — the home state of Najib — and here, to pressure the prime minister to stop Australian miner Lynas Corp from firing up its RM2.5 billion refinery in Gebeng.

The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) is said to be the world’s biggest rare earth plant outside of China.

About 100 containers of rare earth concentrate arrived in Kuantan this week and Lynas has said it is ready to fire up its kiln.

Lynas has been ready to begin operations since early May but faced delays due to environmental and safety disputes, which are pending in court.

Activists and Kuantan residents have challenged the government’s decision to award Lynas a temporary operating licence (TOL), which is scheduled to be heard on November 30.

They recently failed to get the court to further suspend Lynas’s TOL in their bid to permanently block the plant from operating.

Huge amounts of superheated sulphuric acid are required to separate the rare earth elements from impurities found in the ore.

The Sydney-based company has repeatedly said its plant is safe and is not comparable to a rare earth plant in Bukit Merah, Perak by a unit of Mitsubishi Chemicals in 1992, which has been blamed for causing birth defects and a high rate of leukaemia cases among workers and residents nearby.

‘Education blueprint has no ulterior motive’

Deputy Prime Minister says Dong Zong should stop making accusations at the government, adding that their action was politically motivated.

SERDANG: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said that the National Education Blueprint (PPPM) 2013-2015 was launched with no ulterior motives or hidden agenda to sideline other languages.

Describing the query on the status of Chinese education raised by the United Chinese Schools Committees Association of Malaysia, or better known as Dong Zong, as a misunderstanding, Muhyiddin said the government was fair to all schools.

“The blueprint which was introduced to develop the country’s education is being seen as something done at the expense of Chinese education, that is not true at all.

“All schools, except Chinese private schools which want to be independent, will benefit from the plan because we want to upgrade all schools,” he told reporters after visiting the Malaysian International Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA) Exhibition here today.

Today, Dong Zong staged a gathering to protest the blueprint for fear that it would sideline vernacular schools. It also called on the government to be fair to all schools.

On the issues raised by Dong Zong, Muhyiddin said there was no mention in PPPM that Chinese or Tamil schools would be sidelined, in fact, it clearly stated all national-type Chinese (SJKCs) and Tamil (SJKTs) schools would be maintained.

He said the additional teaching time for Bahasa Malaysia in SJKCs and SJKTs would be carried out by conducting extra classes without affecting the time for the teaching of Chinese or Tamil.

On the abolition of transition or ‘remove’ classes, which Dong Zong objected, Muhyiddin said the classes would be unnecessary if the learning of the Malay language in SJKCs and SJKTs was on par with normal schools.

The deputy prime minister said Dong Zong should stop making accusations at the government, adding that their action was politically motivated.

He said Dong Zong always looked at efforts made by the government as having ill-intentions and aimed at diminishing the Chinese language.

“If that is the intention, it could have been done ages ago. The proof is that after 55 years of independence, the Barisan Nasional government did not do it. No Chinese schools were closed. There is no ruling that Chinese cannot be taught, instead there are more Chinese teachers and also Chinese schoolw now,” he added.

This, he said, proved that the views of the Dong Zong were wrong and hoped that the Chinese community would not be misled by them.

Bernama

Where are the textbooks in English?

It is nearing the end of 2012 but yet again, the very same problem persists and repeats and it is worse. No Science and Mathematics in English textbooks are available in bookstores now.
COMMENT

By Tunku Munawirah Putra

On behalf of parents who are stuck in the current doldrums of confusion and uncertainty of the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI), we are completely outraged and feel betrayed by the way the Education Ministry is handling this PPSMI issue for those who are “privy” to it.

The directive to allow the continuation of PPSMI last year dated Nov 4, 2011 stated that those who have started with PPSMI may continue to do so as per status quo.

However apparently the directive is just a decoy to make parents believe that the ministry will give that flexibility. In actual fact, we see clear elements of direct sabotage to hammer the nail in the coffin of PPSMI.

How so? Control the printing of textbooks; control the principals and teachers, no direction in science and mathematics in the Malaysian Education Blueprint, all done to ensure that PPSMI stays out.

We had the same problem last year of not having enough text books for Science and Mathematics in English. Some schools carried on this year without the English books even though they had access to them the previous years.

The state and district education departments were sending science and mathematics examination papers in BM only and it was left to the schools to translate them.

Where is the EDU, the Education Delivery Unit? If it is to kick off next year, it should be ready for pilot testing now.

It is nearing the end of 2012 but yet again, the very same problem persists and repeats and it is worse. No English textbooks are available in bookstores now.

Printers, when contacted, admitted they were not told to print textbooks in English at all for next year. This smacks of foul play and is just one of many more connected problems to come next year.

Can the minister prove us wrong?

The ministry and its support services must supply the needed Science and Mathematics textbooks in English immediately.

There must be a cooperative effort to ensure that the children do not become victims or collateral damage in a war of policy changes.

The slogan “Janji Ditepati” has been trumpeted continuously to us by the government. Therefore we expect the minister to keep to his promise of allowing PPSMI to continue unhindered for those who want it.

Leave your ego aside and put the children first, for the sake of their future and the future of our nation.
The writer is the secretary of Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE). 

Muhyiddin lambasted for bad education policies

An Indian NGO rep tells some 6,000-strong crowd at the Dong Zong rally that Muhyiddin is a failed education minister.
FULL REPORT

PETALING JAYA: The Dong Zong rally against the National Education Blueprint kicked off today with various speakers training their guns at the ruling government, including one who labelled Muhyiddin Yassin as the “dumbest education minister in the world”.

Dubbed as “Peaceful Appeal Against National Education Blueprint”, the rally saw more than 6,000 people gather at the Padang Timur here since 10am, many holding umbrellas under the hot Sunday weather.

The protesters also displayed banners that among others read: “Safeguard SJK (C) and SJK (T)”, “Guarantee existence and development of multi-stream schools”, “Education blueprint stumbling block to unity” and “National school syllabus to fuse Chinese school”.

Both Barisan Nasional and the MCA were targeted by the protesters, as several placards were spotted reading: “Shameless MCA president betrays Chinese education”, “BN MCA, Corrupt and Abuse of Power”.

Thasleem Mohd Ibrahim, who heads the National Indian Rights Action Team (NIAT), said in his addressing speech that the people respected Bahasa Malaysia as the national language and only demanded the rights to learn their mother tongue.

He criticised Muhyiddin, who is also the deputy prime minister, over his controversial policies such as the introduction of the Interlok novel to secondary school students and the National Education Blueprint.

“What does he know? He knows nothing about education. He is the most stupid education minister in the world,” he said, drawing the protesters’ applause.

Elaborating on this to FMT later, he said Muhyiddin was obstinate in pushing through the controversial policies despite objections from various quarters.

“I believe that he does not even listen to his officials nowadays,” said the NGO leader.

Thasleem also surprised the crowd by saying that the education blueprint was against Islam because it was racially-oriented and unfair to the alternative type of schools.

“I challenge the mufti to prove that this blueprint is acceptable from the Islam point of view,” he said.

By 12pm, the crowd size increased to about 10,000 people, who were made up from some 700 organisations nationwide.

Protect vernacular education

Dong Zong president Yap Sin Tian, while addressing the crowd, hit out at the proposed drastic increase of Bahasa Malaysia learning time in Chinese primary schools, from the current 180 minutes a week to 570 minutes.

“The students would not have sufficient time to learn subjects such as geography and science if the proposal is passed under the blueprint. Chinese schools would slowly lose its unique feature,” he said,

He also denounced the marginalisation of Islamic religious schools, deterioration of the standard of conforming schools and Muhyiddin’s recent statement against the construction of new Chinese independent schools.

Meanwhile, a grassroots MCA leader drew a mixture of applause and boos when he was invited to the stage to give a speech.

He cited the example of Black American activism in the 1960s to encourage the crowd to continue the struggle.

KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing, meanwhile, said the education blueprint was ill-intended as it was designed to contain the rising number of students in vernacular schools.

He warned that the government would face severe consequences should there be any attempt to modify the vernacular schools.

PKR vice-president N Surendran, DAP vice- president Tan Seng Giaw, PAS central committee member Khalid Samad and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) representative Chua Soon Boi also spoke against the blueprint while supporting the multi-stream education policy.

The two-hour rally concluded with the unanimous adoption of two motions, which are to oppose the blueprint; and to urge the government to comply with the global education development and to reflect the Malaysia’s multicultural background in the blueprint.

Sri Lankan president won’t be visiting M’sia

The Sri Lanka High Commission confirmed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will not attend the World Islamic Economic Forum due to unavoidable circumstances, and not because of protests.
UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: With various Indian groups objecting to the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Malaysia early next month for an international forum, it has now been confirmed that Rajapaksa will not be coming after all.

This has been confirmed by the Sri Lankan High Commission’s media affairs counsellor, Rizvi Hassen.

“President Rajapaksa will not be coming due to unavoidable circumstances,” Rizvi said in an e-mail correspondence to FMT.

Rajapaksa was invited to attend the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Johor Baru from Dec 4 to 6.

The invitation, however, had sparked off protests from leaders of the Indian community here.

The Sri Lankan leader’s absence, however, is not due to the various protests by political and non-political entities, said Rizvi.

“It is not due to the protests. The decision [to not attend the WEIF] was decided before the protests took place,” he said.

On Friday, MIC Youth sent a protest memorandum to the Foreign Ministry objecting to the planned visit by Rajapaksa.

Separately a committee was also set up by Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy to object to Rajapaksa’s presence here.

Yesterday, Sri Lanka War Victim Concerned Team (Api) protested in front of the Sri Lankan High Commission over the proposed visit. MIC Youth members also lodged a police report against Rajapaksa for alleged war crimes.

The Indians in Malaysians who are largely made up of ethnic Tamil have been expressing their displeasure due to Rajapaksa’s role in quashing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009 after a 26-year civil war.

It was reported that some 100,000 civilians including 40,000 Tamils were killed while more than 300,000 people were displaced during the long-standing conflict.

Najib’s role?

In an immediate reaction, MIC Youth chief T Mohan thanked Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for the latest development.

“I must thank the prime minister for being the middleman between the Indian community and the WIEF organisers,” he said

He added that the opposition to Mahinda’s visit was raised by MIC president (and Minister in Prime Minister’s Department) G Palanivel and deputy president (and Human Resources Minister) Dr S Subramaniam during the cabinet meeting on Friday.

“I was told that even Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein supported the motion against the arrival of Mahinda,” he said.

However Najib’s purported role in ensuring Mahinda did not come to Malaysia was not shared by two other groups who also opposed the Sri Lankan leader’s visit to Malaysia.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy had no sweet words for Najib.

“Najib should be criticised for inviting Rajapaksa in the first place. He is afraid of losing the Indian vote bank. He was forced to cancel (Mahinda) Rajapaksa’s trip,” said Ramasamy who is also DAP’s national deputy secretary general.

Api representative S Barathidasan also echoed similar sentiments and claimed that the whole episode as being Najib’s drama.

“It is Najib’s game. He invited Mahinda and is now trying to create a positive image to woo the Indian vote bank. It is a drama,” he said.

He also added that a protest at the Parliament would proceed as planned. “We want Malaysia to cut its diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka. Malaysia must not recognise that country,” said Barathidasan.

Conspiracy to oust Karpal?

Karpal Singh however dismissed such claims, saying that they always surfaced whenever there was a party election.
UPDATED

GEORGE TOWN: Is there a grand design – purportedly mooted by the Lim Dynasty faction – to oust DAP national chairman Karpal Singh in the party national election next month?

According to former DAP grassroots leader Tan Tuan Tat, such a plan is already allegedly in place to vote Karpal out from the central executive committee (CEC).

Tan, a former Selangor DAP publicity secretary, said the plan was hatched to protect the self-interest of a few.

“The warlords don’t want the Singh to be their King. They feel Karpal is against their selfish interests,” the former DAP’s Taman Seri Sungai Pelek branch chairman told FMT here.

These ringleaders, he said, were extremely upset with Karpal’s insistence on one man-one seat electoral formula as part of party strategy to face the next general election.

Karpal’s single seat proposal for a party candidate to contest only either a federal or a state seat, albeit some exemptions, has been overwhelmingly popular among party grassroots and lay public.

But Tan said some of the party’s current nine double-seat holders from the Lim Dynasty were unhappy with Karpal’s initiative to streamline their multiple positions and multiple perks.

He alleged that the warlords were also unhappy with Karpal outspoken criticisms against PAS Islamic state and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim’s unsuccessful Sept 16 Putrajaya coup in 2008.

A MP for seven terms, veteran Karpal joined DAP in 1970 and has been party supremo since Sept 4, 2004.

Tan alleged that the ringleaders’ ultimate goal is to maintain the dominance of Lim Dynasty in the party after the internal polls to be held during the national party convention on Dec 15 – 16 in Penang.

Lim Dynasty is a popular political idiom expressed by DAP grassroots to taunt the internal faction led by party’s national advisor and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang and his son and secretary general Guan Eng, who is also the Penang Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Karpal as saying today that claims that there was a conspiracy to topple him at the party’s elections next month was a mere fabrication.

He said such claims always surfaced whenever there was a party election.

“This is a minor thing. I don’t respond to such things…there is no problem (in the party), all these are fabrications. People can say whatever they want but it is the delegates who will decide,” he told a press conference here today.

MIC wings postpone AGMs, focus is on GE

The main body's annual general meeting however will proceed on Dec 9 at the Putra World Trade Centre.

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC Youth, Wanita, Puteri and Putera wings have decided to postpone their respective annual general meetings to focus on the 13th general election.

MIC Youth chief T Mohan said that the four wings were supposed to hold their respective AGMs on Dec 2 at the Putra World Trade Centre, a week before the party’s main national AGM on Dec 9.

“We felt it is appropriate to postpone because we want to focus on strengthening the party and enhancing the development of Indian community in various sectors to face the 13th general election,” Mohan told Bernama today.

Furthermore, Mohan said that 35 youth delegates would still have their voice heard as they would be participating at the national AGM to share their views.

Meanwhile, MIC secretary-general S Murugesan said that party had shortened its 66th annual general meeting to a single day to save time and cut costs, as the party would need more than RM1 million to conduct the meeting over two days.

The AGM to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on Dec 9 would be attended by 1,500 delegates and 2,000 observers, he said.

- Bernama

BN Bosses Fight Over NCR Landgrab! – EXCLUSIVE

BN top dogs scrapping over NCR land – MP Aaron Dagang (left) and Raziah Mahmud, sister of Chief Minister Taib Mahmud are rivalling to lay hands on Sampadi

NCR landowners in Sampadi have learnt the hard way how nothing can be trusted in the hands of BN, with party top dogs now fighting with each other to get hold of their lands.
In July a group of 12 villagers from Kampung Gerunggang had decided to sell some of their NCR (Native Customary Rights) land to a keen buyer.
That purchaser, no surprise to learn, was none other than a BN politician.  Aaron Dagang is the PRS MP for Kanowit, who will be standing again for office in the up-coming federal elections.
Dagang seems to think that his salary for serving his constituents is not enough for his needs and had set about parting this poor community from their birthright lands for what is doubtless a good price that will give him a good profit.
The agreement shows he planned to buy the 77 acres, not far from Kuching, for RM231,000, which is then to be converted to yet more oil palm.
Given that Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s brother Onn Mahmud has been touting his own oil palm plantation at RM31,000 per acre, this land should eventually be worth ten times the price that the villagers have agreed to sell it for.

From the agreement drawn up between the PRS MP Aaron Dagagang to buy 77 acres of Native Customary Rights Land from villagers in Sampadi

So, Dagang must have been pleased at the way he was ‘looking after the interests’ of the trusting people, who had voted for BN and were then selling him their heritage for what to a poor person might seem a life-saving amount.
Encouraged by the prospect of the sale and following the advice of the Land & Survey Department, the villagers spent a considerable sum of money to get their land properly mapped and surveyed and they were informed by the Land & Survey Department that their plot was 155 Block 8 Sampadi District.

‘Lot 155′ – expensive mapping that was to prove a waste of money!

Raziah had got there first!
However, as the parties set out to finalise their transaction concerning the purchase of Lot 155 Block 8 Samapadi Land District, they made a discovery that was shocking to both sides.

‘Replaced’ by Lot 154 – the Lot 155 which used to belong to the villagers has been absorbed without notification or of course payment!

It seemed that Lot 155 had suddenly disappeared from the records!
After much research and many weeks it emerged that the lot had somehow become “replaced”.  According to a note in the Land Registry, this meant it was now part of the neighbouring Lot 154.
And it turned out that this very much larger Lot 154 had already been granted by the Land & Survey Department to another company in 2010.
This meant that the villagers are no longer the officially registered owners of their NCR land. Yet they had never been told a thing about it and had even been encouraged to go ahead spending money on useless plans!
So, who was the influential person that was able to achieve such an alteration to the Land Registry without even a notification being made to the rightful owners?

“Replaced” – the scribbled alteration in the Land Registry that removed these people’s land and gave it to Raziah Mahmud!

A search of the Land & Survey Department shows that in 2010 Lot 154 (now including the old Lot 155) was granted by the Department in the guise of ‘state owned land’ to the company Saradu Plantation, which grows bananas.

From 2010 – 2070 – the land is being made available for Nil cost, apart from an apparent rent of RM425 a year!

This company used to be named Emerald Discovery as can be seen in the official records and it largely belongs to Taib’s sister Raziah Mahmud!

Saradu Plantation, previously Emerald Discovery is run out of Raziah Mahmud’s offices in Kuching.

Saradu Plantation has in fact benefited from a good number of sales from the Land & Survey Department, according to our leaked copy of the secret registry, which has enabled us to at last reveal exactly who has been the beneficiary of handouts by Taib’s Planning and Resources Ministry over the past 30 years.
In case there is any doubt as to who controls Saradu, let us take a look at the entry from our leaked document.

Saradu Plantation, formerly Emerald Discovery Sdn Bhd, is listed in the land registry under the name of Taib’s sister Raziah Mahmud.

Taib’s sister Raziah is the person listed as the contact for the company.  As in the case of Lot 154 Block 8 Sampadi District (below) there is no evidence in the registry that she paid anything at all for the privilege of taking the land.

ZERO PAYMENT! – the 170 hectares of ‘State Land’ in Lot 154 includes the 77 acres belonging to the villagers!

The Land records (above) strangely do not mention who was the recipient of Lot 154 Block 8 Sampadi, however our separate Land & Survey Department documents prove that the banana plantation refers to Saradu Plantation Sdn Bhd.

Proprietor of Lot 154 – Saradu Plantation Sdn Bhd

Saradu Plantation
Put simply, our investigations show that this NGO land has been taken for free and given by the Land & Survey Department to Taib’s own sister Raziah Mahmud!
Official records confirm that Saradu Plantation is very clearly a Raziah family company.  In fact the first Director listed is none other than her youthful daughter Eliah, who is well-known for her party-loving behaviour and her acquisition of other large tracts of land from the State of Sarawak (and NCR landowners), thanks to her mother’s interventions at the Land & Survey Department.

Raziah’s daughter Eliah is a Director – the biggest shareholder of the company is Organic Treasure Sdn Bhd, which is largely owned by Raziah Mahmud and her husband Robert Geneid.

Raziah Mahmud is obviously concerned that her daughter should become ever more pampered and rich by taking NCR lands, even

Eliah Abbas/ Geneid – has acquired a clutch of lands and directorships in her name, thanks to the influence of her mother, who is Taib’s sister. The fact that these lands actually belong to natives of Sarawak seems not to trouble the family.

though this has deprived the people of Kampung Gerunggang of the small opportunity to make some little profit out of the sale of their plots.
The main shareholder of Saradu plantation, furthermore, is a company called Organic Treasure.  Organic Treasure is largely owned by Raziah herself and her husband Robert Geneid.
Various other BN cronies also have stakes in Saradu Plantation.
With an election coming in just a few weeks, surely these Sampadi villagers, who previously voted for BN, must be starting to wonder if it was wise to put their administration in the hands of such a greedy family as the Mahmuds?
After all Taib has destroyed all the normal checks on his power, purely so he can give out lands as likes.  Why else would he take on not only his own job of Chief Minister, but also that of Finance Minister and of Planning and Resources Minister, the position that controls state lands?
For an old man to hold on to all the three big jobs in government makes little sense under normal circumstances.
However, as our many researches have shown, for the last 30 years Taib has used this unnatural power to enable him to grab more than half of Sarawak for his own family, his political supporters and business partners.
The people of Gerunggang are his latest victims amongst many others in Sarawak.

The company Organic Treasure is the largest shareholder of Saradu Plantation and look who owns the lion share of that – Raziah and her husband Robert Geneid

Tengah connection?
Questions are now arising as to how Raziah achieved this latest land grab?
Some are asking whether Raziah’s close relationship with Taib’s Deputy Minister of Planning and Resources, the unaccountably wealthy Awang Tengah, could have provided the crucial contact who arranged her land grab in this case?
Tengah’s own record of grabbing lands from local peoples has already been examined by Sarawak Report.
We ask at what stage are local people going to realise that the only way they can protect themselves from these notorious land grabbers is to vote them out of office and appoint a government ruled by law?

Powerful ally for Lot 155, but what about the other NCR landowners of Gerunggang?

Life is such a party for the fabulously rich Geneids, who have stolen an area larger than Singapore from the state of Sarawak

At least in this particular land grab case the poor village victims may for once have a powerful ally from within the government itself!

MP Aaron Dagang is said to be outraged and furious that he has been done out of his land deal by a willy Raziah, who managed to get hold of the land not just for cheap but for free by using her influence at the Land & Survey Department!

Dagang is apparently now making representations and fighting for the Lot 155 to be removed back out of the Saradu concession, which may mean that eventually the NCR land owners are in a position to sell it over to him.

However, while the BN bully boys fight it out, this case has opened up concerns for all the other NCR landowners in the Gerunggang area.

We understand that much of the rest of the 170 hectares of comprising Lot 154 Block 8 Sampadi is also being farmed by their NCR owners, who until now were oblivious that Raziah and her husband and daughter, together with their business partners, now ‘own the concession’ and are planning to raze their rubber trees and orchards so that they can cover the area with bananas.

Election time is coming

Is it time to finally call time? BN’s record of greed and excess is out of control.

The people of Sampadi stand warned and so do the people back in Kanowit, where Aaron Dagang (left) was returned to Parliament in 2008 without even having to fight any opposition candidates.

If the people do not take action this time around it is plain that their land will all be taken.

Both these areas do now have strong opposition candidates who are arguing that it is time for change, before all the last remaining trees and lands are taken and destroyed for the benefit of the jet-setting Mahmud family and their friends, who now spend most of their lives in other countries.

Of course, Taib cheats in elections, but a determined people must now resist this cheating and take their chance to end these land-grabs and restore their country.

Time to save Sarawak from Taib’s land-grabbing “development policies”?

Adun Umno Hina Wanita Dalam Sidang DUN - Detik Semasa

DAP worried hudud will cover non-Muslims

(The Star) - The DAP is worried that hudud law will be extended to non-Muslims, with the latest controversy involving hair salon operators in PAS-led Kelantan.

Its chairman Karpal Singh said he was surprised that Kelantan decided to enforce a ruling prohibiting non-Muslim women from cutting the hair of men and vice versa.

“The Kelantan Government has publicly declared that Islamic laws will not be extended to non-Muslims. PAS has also stated that hudud will only be applied to Muslims.

“There's a lot of concern among the public on what has just happened in Kelantan. If hudud is allowed, they will come to be extended to non-Muslims,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Karpal, who is the Bukit Gelugor MP, said the municipal council ruling was unconstitutional.

“In fact, it should be challenged in court. Those concerned should not pay the fines imposed. It is unlawful.

“The municipal council in Kelantan is collecting fines on the basis of an unlawful law.

“I hope that the PAS leadership will intervene on this matter and do something about it as soon as possible,” he said.

Karpal said Barisan Nasional should not be presented with issues that could be exploited with the general election looming, likening the law relating to hairdressers as an “unkind cut”.

On the upcoming two-day DAP national conference from Dec 15, he said 66 party members had been nominated for 20 positions in the central executive committee.

Himpunan Rakyat Kudat Sabah 25/11/2012

Tweets on 20,000 patriotic Malaysians at Dataran Merdeka protesting against Lynas

Tweets by Lim Kit Siang today

From Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat Sabah KK 2Himpunan Hijau Dataran Merdeka KL – quickening of awakening of Malaysians all races religions regions
3hrs ago

Final day of 13-day 300km trek from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur to protest against Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng Pahang culminates in 20,000-ppl massive demo
3hrs ago

Most humbling/inspiring sea of confident hopeful patriotic Malaysian faces particularly young generation prepared to stand up for clean/green country
3hrs ago

I told Wong Tack as I joined 20k patriotic Malaysians who loved/cared 4Msia in last lap of 300km Kuantan/KL trek @ Sogo KL, he has made history
3hrs ago

28 Greenwalkers who completed 300km anti-Lynas trek have made history as with massive support of 20k people today, they have sent a powerful messsage.
3hrs ago

The word has gone out 2country and world “era the government knows best” is really gone/past and Msians who want clean green safe future must be heard
2hrs ago

PM Najib should respond positively to Kuantan/KL trek by leading a Cabinet team to dialogue with anti-Lynas activists @ Dataran Merdeka 9 am tomorrow
2hrs ago

PR fully support anti-Lynas campaign. Among PR leaders @ DataranMerdeka include PKR Chmn Azizah PR MPs FongKuiLun TeresaKok WongHoLeng ChongChiengJen ErTeckHwa etc
2hours ago

20,000 join green march against Lynas – by Lee Long Hui (Mkini) http://goo.gl/RBYzp
2 hours ago

Women Abuse Victims Should Not Be Afraid To Lodge Report

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Women who are victims of abuse or violence should not be afraid to lodge complaints with the relevant authorities to enable them to get help.

Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Mnister Datuk Noriah Kasnon said Malaysia had specific laws to protect the rights of women and from any form of abuse, whether physical or mental.

"The government enforces laws and formulates acts to protect woman including the Domestic Violence Act 1994, the Penal Code and Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

"As such, women who are victims of abuse should immediately lodge a report with the authorities so that appropriate assistance can be given," she said in a statement, here, Sunday night.

She also urged women to use the Nur Service Line 15999 which was created by the ministry in 2007 for them to report any form of violence that took place.

Noriah said that in conjunction with the campaign to prevent violence against women and to ensure women lived in a safe environment free from any form of abuse, violence and victimisation, the ministry, through the Women's Development Department planned numerous programmes to expose women to efforts to curb violence.

Do Not Let Opposition Derail Government's Transformation Efforts, Najib Advises Young Women

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak advised the young women of Malaysia to not sacrifice the nation's future by allowing the opposition to derail all the government's efforts thus far.

Young women should not be influenced by the opposition parties' political propaganda, which kept questioning the Barisan Nasional's (BN) ability to administer the country, said Najib.

He said the opposition should be more constructive in their criticisms and not just find faults with every government project, when in fact these projects stimulate the economy and provide job opportunities.

"The opposition tries to derail projects such as Rapid in Pengerang, Johor and Felda's listing on the Bursa Kuala Lumpur, on the basis that it does not wish to see BN succeed and show its ability to govern the country.

"All our plans will remain stunted as mere plans if the transformation is derailed by the opposition and it does not get the political support of the people," he said while closing the 2012 National Young Women's Gathering, here Sunday.

Therefore, Najib said the young women of this country needed to fully support the present government, which was committed to helping them fulfill their inspiration, dedication, expression and aspiration.

He said the BN government guarantees that it will do the best for a brighter future.

"If young women want to have their inspiration, dedication, expression and aspiration fulfilled, then support the present government. And I assure you that we'll do our best not to disappoint your expectations," he said.

Najib said the government has fulfilled the younger generations' aspiration for jobs through its Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and Economic Transformation Plan (ETP), by creating more than 313,000 opportunities.

"According to a global survey, the younger generations considered employment as top priority among all the issues they faced.

Najib emphasised that the government has never stopped women from progressing, as evidenced by their most encouraging diligence, dedication, loyalty and achievements.

He noted that young women outnumbered men almost double, 25,000 to 13,000, when it came to the intake in institutions of higher learning.

"This means we've never limited their chances to progress and that such an encouraging performance may have surpassed that of most other countries," he added.

Women's performance was also proven by the fact that 31 percent of the highest posts in the public sector was held by them, including important ones like Bank Negara Governor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, said Najib.

"I believe we can expand this success to the private sector because the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is training a group of women with the potential to be appointed as directors in Bursa Malaysia listed companies," he elaborated.

Najib presented 12 'Kesatria Puteri' awards at the event, among them to Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Taruddin (Performance Arts), Pandelela Rinong (Sports) and Nurul Iman Welfare Society for Children of People Living with HIV/AIDS president Norlina Alawi (Humanitarian).

Tunku Panglima Besar Kedah Tunku Puteri Intan Shafinaz was the Nusa Mahsuri award recipient for her local and international level contribution in various community and humanitarian movements.