Lawyers: PKR risks being deregistered if Anwar runs for party president

The Star
by TAN YI LIANG

PETALING JAYA: PKR risks being de-registered by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) if party supremo Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim continues to contest for the party presidency, said constitutional lawyer Edmund Bon on Monday. 

According to Bon, a person could not contest to be an office bearer in a society if the person is convicted of an offence.

"Anwar shouldn't contest. So when they (PKR) submit his name as party president to the ROS, it may lead to a dispute that may cause the deregistration of the party," said Bon, adding that such a move by Anwar was "illegal" under the Societies Act 1966. 

Similar views were shared by another constitutional lawyer, New Sin Yew, who pointed out that Section 9A(1)(b) of the Societies Act made it illegal for someone with a conviction to contest or hold office in a society.  

"Section 9A(1)(b) of the Societies Act says a person shall be disqualified from being, and shall not become or remain an office-bearer of a registered society if he has been convicted of any offence under any other law and sentenced to a fine of RM2,000 or imprisonment of not less than one year," said New. 

He added that the provision in Section 9(A)(1)(b) was exactly the same as the disqualification clause for a Member of Parliament under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution - with one key difference. 

"Under Article 48, you're only disqualified if your sentence still remains after you've disposed of all your appeals. Until then, your status as a Member of Parliament is still intact," said New. 

He pointed out that such a clause was not present in the Societies Act.  

"The Societies Act allows for the Registrar to grant exempt someone from disqualification but this is not automatic, and as of right. By contesting, there is a risk that the Registrar may cancel the registration of PKR under Section 13(1)(iv) of the Societies Act for willfully contravening the provision of the Societies Act," said New. 

He said that Anwar might also face a fine and a jail sentence if he continued to run for the PKR top office. 

"To prevent this, he should withdraw now. Also, he further risks himself to be prosecuted of an offence under Section 9A(6) which if convicted, can be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding 10,000 or both," said New. 

However, PKR lawyer Radzlan Jalaludin said that Anwar could still contest based on provisions under Section 9(4) of the Societies Act. 

Under Section 9(4), the Registrar of Societies may grant a disqualified person exemption from their disqualification, provided an application is submitted to the Registrar. 

"There is still room for Anwar to be nominated and elected, provided the exemption is given by the Registrar," said Radzlan. When asked if Anwar had filed such an application, Radzlan said he had no knowledge on this.

Najib Visits Perth To Observe Search Operations For MH370

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak will leave for Perth, Australia for a two-day working visit from today (Wednesday) to observe the multi-national operations into the search for missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 from the western Australian city.

The Prime Minister will observe the operations from the Joint Agency Coordination Centre at the Pearce air base of the Royal Australian Air Force in Perth.

"The visit is appropriate to record the appreciation to the Australian government, teams and members who were involved in the search, including from Malaysia," the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said in a statement here Wednesday.

While in Perth, Najib is also scheduled to meet with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to discuss various issues, specifically the latest developments in the search operation and the direction it will take.

After Perth, Najib will leave for a three-day official visit to Vietnam, beginning April 3 to foster closer cooperation between the two countries.

Najib will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and senior officials of the ministries.

While in Vietnam, the Prime Minister will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in agriculture.

He is also scheduled to pay courtesy calls on Vietnam Communist Party Head, Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung.

"The visit provides the best opportunity for the Prime Minister to renew friendship ties with Vietnamese leaders and exchange views on bilateral issues which are of common interest such as trade and investment, cooperation in agriculture and fisheries, education, defence, tourism and regional and international issues," Wisma Putra said.

Data shows that from January till December 2013, trade between Malaysia and Vietnam increased by 13.51 percent to RM10.25 billion compared to RM9.03 billion during the same period in 2012.

In Vietnam, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to host a joint session with notable business people from Malaysia and Vietnam. The session is aimed at creating a new business network to improve and strengthen business and investment ties.

It also provides the opportunity for business representatives from both countries to share views and ideas towards improving the economic ties between Malaysia and Vietnam.

Najib to head to Perth, Hisham to Hawaii

Women activists, religious parties differ on domestic violence

PESHAWAR: Women rights activists and female members of the provincial assembly from a religio-political party seemed to be at odds over the definition of domestic violence during a consultation in the capital city on Friday on lacunae in a bill tabled in the last House on the subject.

“Isn’t it breaking up a family if husband goes to jail for beating up wife,” said veiled woman legislator from Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Fauzia Bibi justifying domestic violence by giving different cultural and religious perspectives.

She ended up saying the passage of the bill would westernise the society.

It seems nothing has ‘changed’ as just like the legislature of the previous PPP-ANP coalition provincial government, some members of the current provincial assembly still seem opposed to the Domestic Violence Bill calling it a western agenda and interference in privacy of homes. PPP woman legislator Noor Sehar had an anti-domestic violence bill in the previous assembly but it remained pending during the five-year term of the last government.

The current draft, circulated among the participant, seems an improved version of the previous bills. “It defines domestic violence as all acts of gender based or other physical or psychological abuse committed by an accused against women, children or any other vulnerable person with whom the accused is or has been in a domestic relationship…,” Uzma Mehboob, a legal consultant and rights’ activist, told the participants at a gathering of MPAs, women rights activists and journalists.

The event was organised jointly by Shirkat Gah and Provincial Commission on the Status of Women to discuss how loopholes could be removed and more members of the provincial assembly Women activists, religious parties differ on domestic violence could be consulted on it.

“Some oppose the bill in the previous assembly saying it would westernise the society and promote divorce, while others called it intrusion in privacy of home,” said Uzma Mehboob.

“This bill is not just for women. It would protect all sharing a household against domestic violence,” said Provincial Commission on the Status of Women chairwoman Neelam Toru dispelling the impression that this bill was just for women who faced violence at the hands of husbands.

Neelam Toru also seemed quite agitated that sometimes in the name of Islam and at others in the name of culture, women were denied rights.

Yet, she seemed hopeful as she said the ongoing consultations with the legislators would help remove lacunae and pave the way for tabling the bill in the provincial assembly to become a law.

The struggle to make law to prevent domestic violence in the province has been going on since 2005. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lags behind as Sindh has passed the law and Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory are preparing such laws.

The attendance of MPAs at the consultation was thin but one woman member of the JUI-F Fauzia Bibi conveyed a mindset, which is still present in the provincial assembly that could be a hurdle to the passage of the bill if it’s ever tabled in the House.

Two legislators of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf however, seemed very positive and suggested that male members of the assembly be taken into confidence.

“The draft should be polished and if it has nothing in conflict with Islam, then lobbying with the 99 members to pass it is needed. I hope it will become a law,” said Zarin Zia, an MPA from PTI.

A number of women rights activists said domestic violence existed in every household. There was a need to make a law to deter such behaviours as defined in the bill.

“Many feel domestic violence is not our issue but it is very much happening in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Sherin Javed, programme officer working with Aurat Foundation, who compiled data of violence against women under a project.

Roohi, another young woman rights activist, who works with a shelter for women victims of violence, said she had dealt with many cases of domestic abuse.

“There may be concerns regarding implementation of laws in our country, but it doesn’t mean we don’t need such special laws,” she said.

Treating women with love and care and giving them due share in inheritance are rights of women in Islam, which doesn’t say confining them to the four walls as is projected by religious bigots, said a woman rights activist, who seemed to be bent on going with lobbying for the legislation on the issue of domestic violence.

Gordon Brown: Create Pakistan child marriage-free zones

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-26801597

Gordon Brown: "There are seven million who are not going to school - this is completely unacceptable."

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has announced that "child marriage-free zones" are to be set up in Pakistan.

Mr Brown, the UN's special envoy on global education, said the practice of forcing girls into marriage is "not acceptable in the modern world".

"It deprives a girl of her education and her childhood," he told the BBC.

Speaking on a visit to Islamabad, he revealed the UN is giving $10m (£6m), and the EU 100m euros (£83m), to get more Pakistani children into education.
Pilot project

"What we want to do is to encourage girls themselves to be aware of their rights, to encourage teachers and girls to work together to say that when people try to force them into early marriage, it's not acceptable," he said.

"And so in Pakistan, we are going to do a pilot project where we declare an area to a marriage-free zone, a child marriage-free zone."

He added that there was support for such a scheme in Pakistan and that funding for it would be made available.

Child marriage-free zones have already been set up in other countries, according to the former Labour leader.

Mr Brown said: "There are groups in Pakistan who want to make it easier for people to sell off their children in marriage at an early age, and that is not acceptable.

"It deprives a girl of her education and her childhood and indeed changes her life, and is something that is not acceptable in the modern world.

"So as part of our campaign to get every child at school, we want to remind people that the world does not want girls to be married as girls, as brides when they should be at school."
'Global commitment'

There is greater support amongst the general public for a ban of forced marriage for girls, Mr Brown believes.

"I think that people are realising that it is unfair for a girl to be pushed into marriage when she's still a child," he added.

There has been a global commitment to get every child into education by December 2015, which the UN and EU money will help to achieve, said Mr Brown, who is visiting Pakistan at the invitation of prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

"There are seven million children who are not going to school," he said. "This is completely unacceptable in the modern world and I know the prime minister wishes to do something about it.

"What we've got to do is find a way that Pakistan can increase the money its spending on education and we can give support from the international community for them to do so.

"We don't want girls forced into early marriage, we don't want child labour, we don't want girls and boys that are trafficked, we want schools that have teachers and we have got to make a huge impact on this problem as quickly as possible."

Buka semula kes Memali sebelum jadi isu perkauman, kata bekas polis

Mangsa peristiwa berdarah Memali 1985, Ibrahim Libya (kiri) bergambar bersama beberapa rakannya. Gambar fail milik keluarga Ibrahim Libya.Bekas Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah (JSJ) Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim menggesa kerajaan membuka semula penyiasatan kes pembunuhan beramai-ramai di kampung Memali, Baling, Kedah pada 1985 yang meragut 18 nyawa termasuk empat anggota polis sebelum ia dijadikan isu perkauman.

Mat Zain berkata, jika kes pembunuhan beramai-ramai di Batang Kali atau "Batang Kali Massacre" pada 1948 yang melibatkan kaum Cina dan kerajaan British boleh dibuka semula, bukti baru didedahkan bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tun Musa Hitam minggu lalu mengenai Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad berada di Malaysia semasa kejadian dan bukan di China seperti dipercayai sebelum ini, cukup kuat untuk dijadikan asas memulakan semula siasatan.

"Saya berpendapat jika kerajaan gagal atau sengaja enggan membuka semula penyiasatan tragedi Memali yang meragut 18 nyawa termasuk 4 anggota polis, selepas pendedahan mengejut yang dibuat oleh Musa beberapa hari lalu, ia mungkin akan dijadikan isu perkauman yang boleh menggugat ketenteraman awam lebih-lebih lagi dalam suasana politik negara hari ini," katanya kepada The Malaysian Insider, hari ini.

"Sekiranya kes ini tidak dibuka semula, besar kemungkinan ada pihak yang akan menimbulkan persoalan mengapa kerajaan sedia menyiasat semula Batang Kali Massacre dengan semua mangsa yang terbunuh adalah orang Cina, sedangkan kerajaan enggan menyiasat semula tragedi Memali kerana semua mangsanya adalah orang Melayu yang beragama Islam,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, Batang Kali Massaccre dibuka semula selepas 45 tahun laporan dibuat, manakala bagi kes Memali pula, ia ditimbulkan semula hanya selepas 29 tahun kemudian.

"Soal sama ada Dr Mahathir berada dalam negara atau berlepas ke China atau negara lain pada hari kejadian, atau ada di Malaysia tidak sepatutnya dijadikan isu kerana kedua-duanya, Dr Mahathir dan Musa dipercayai dimaklumkan dan mengetahui operasi Memali sebelum ia dilaksanakan pada 19 November, 1985,” katanya yang juga Ketua Polis Daerah Padang Terap, Kuala Nerang, Kedah pada ketika itu.

Balai polis itu terletak hampir dengan Balai Polis Daerah Baling, lokasi kejadian tragedi Memali berlaku.

Mat Zain berkata, beliau turut terlibat secara langsung dengan operasi menahan Ibrahim Mahmud yang juga dikenali sebagai Ibrahim Libya mengikut Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).

Beliau berkata, Dr Mahathir dan Musa yang juga menteri dalam negeri pada ketika itu tidak boleh lari daripada mengambil tanggungjawab tertentu secara persendirian atau secara kolektif, di atas peristiwa berdarah tersebut, sama ada mereka berada di dalam atau luar negara.

"Sebelum peristiwa di Kampung Memali itu, daerah Padang Terap dianggap daerah paling 'panas' di Kedah, setelah tercetusnya peristiwa berdarah di Felda Lubuk Merbau pada pertengahan Januari 1985, dengan seorang penyokong PAS terbunuh ketika kempen Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) yang diadakan pada masa itu.

"Ketika kejadian, saya baru sahaja seminggu mengambil alih jawatan ketua polis daerah Kuala Nerang. Saya yang menangani kes di Lubok Merbau itu. Peristiwa berdarah Lubok Merbau turut diambil kira semasa mesyuarat perancangan Ops Memali tersebut," katanya ketika mengulas artikel disiarkan The Malaysian Insider semalam bertajuk Luka Memali berdarah kembali.

Selepas 29 tahun peristiwa Memali berlaku, Musa mendedahkan perdana menteri ketika itu, Dr Mahathir berada di Kuala Lumpur, bukannya China sebagaimana yang diberitakan sebelum ini.

Musa mendedahkan perkara ini dalam Diskusi Politik Malaysia: Dulu dan Sekarang anjuran Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan yang diadakan di Kota Baru minggu lalu.

Turut serta dalam majlis itu sebagai panel adalah Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Husam Musa dan moderatornya adalah Profesor Madya Datuk Dr Mohmamad Agus Yusof.

Musa ketika menjawab soalan Agus berkata, Dr Mahathir berada di Kuala Lumpur ketika kejadian itu bahkan, "Dua tiga hari selepas kejadian itu pun dia berada di Kuala Lumpur."

Ia disambut oleh Agus dengan berkata "Oh my God," dengan nada terkejut ekoran pendedahan Musa itu kerana media melaporkan Dr Mahathir berada di China ketika kejadian itu berlaku.

"Ok, my God, our God," kata Musa menyambut kenyataan Agus sambil ketawa dengan pendedahan itu.

Dalam diskusi itu, Musa berkata:"Titik hitam dalam politik saya adalah Memali, saya cakap terus terang."

Peristiwa berdarah Memali mengorbankan Ibrahim Libya dan 13 pengikutnya serta empat polis yang bertugas dalam operasi tersebut.

PAS menyifatkan Ibrahim Libya dan 13 pengikutnya mati syahid manakala Sultan Kedah yang kini merupakan Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim pernah menziarahi kubur Ibrahim Libya dan pengikutnya serta menyiramkan air mawar di atas pusara mereka. - 31 Mac, 2014.

Ex-judge: Give converts special rights as Malays

 

Former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah has proposed that mualaf or new Muslim converts be given the same special rights as Malays.

Mohd Noor, who is also the adviser to the Darus Sa'adah Association, Negri Sembilan, said the special rights include buying reserve land, purchasing Amanah Saham Bumiputera shares as well as the quota to enter tertiary institutions.

"However, at the moment many of the recent Muslim converts have not been receiving such benefits by certain government officers who consider them as non-Bumiputera.

"They are special Malays which is a product of the constitution," he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

The former judge was speaking at the launch of the Darus Sa'adah Association's annual general meeting yesterday.

Mohd Noor said the opportunity given to the mualaf is not towards seizing the rights of the Malays but directed at increasing the economic cake and social status of Muslims in the country.

Minister deflects probe queries despite grilling

 

MH370 Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today took a grilling from the international press as Malaysian authorities continue to be tight-lipped about details of investigations 24 days after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing.

However, Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, refused to shed light on the authenticity of various leaked information on the Internet and instead said he will be answerable to various inquiries that will be set up in future.

"If you are asking questions which are part and parcel of the investigation (such as) talking about (cockpit) transcripts, you must be fair to us because only those who are doing the investigation can give us the okay (to release information).

"When there comes a time they can be shared with the public with their (investigators) consent, by all means I will reveal it.

"But in any event, at the end of the day I am answerable to the royal commission of inquiry or parliamentary select committee  and the international inquiry board (that will be set up)," he told a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

Hishammuddin insisted that the government was not attempting to cover up by refusing to release details of investigations.

"We are not hiding anything, we are just following procedures that are being set," he said.

The minister was queried about a transcript of MH370's cockpit conversation with tower controllers and the exact nature of the aircraft’s trajectory which have been leaked on the Internet, but authorities have adamantly refused to address them.

'I don't want to debate'

Hishammuddin’s explanation did not placate the demand for more information, as an ABC journalist quizzed him on why details of the probe could be released elsewhere, including in briefings to family members, but not to the media.

"I will not go into a debate... here we have our press conferences every day, if there is something that is informed by us, we will clarify it, there is no big deal.

"As for information revealed outside of press conferences, speculations and diagrams in Google or in anything else on the internet, I cannot confirm or discount them," he said.

Hishammuddin added that any information obtained by family members that were not released to the press were through closed-door briefings.

Later, Hishammuddin was again asked about the ongoing probe, this time on whether the statement by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that investigators have cleared the pilot of Flight MH370 was true.

At this, he replied: "Any indications, 'yes', 'no' or otherwise coming from the FBI, they (media) have to take it at FBI’s face value.

"On our part, I would like to go through the process of the inquiry."

However, after being pressed several times, Hishammuddin finally repeated his promise to talk to investigators about possibly releasing the cockpit’s transcript.

Hishammuddin: Cops not leaking info to Daily Mail

UK tabloid Daily Mail comes under the spotlight over its sensational reports on the MH370 pilot.

VIDEO INSIDE

KUALA LUMPUR: Acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein today denied claims that the Malaysian police were revealing confidential information to UK tabloid Daily Mail on the status of MH370 investigations, especially on matters involving pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his family.

Hishammuddin, who is also the Defence Minister, was responding to a question posed by a foreign journalist if police sources were responsible for leaking details of their investigations to Daily Mail.

The daily has been constantly publishing sensational news quoting investigative sources on matters involving Zaharie and his family.

“I can confirm to you that the information did not come from the police and you should ask Daily Mail how they get the information,” Hishammuddin said.

Over the weekend, the tabloid quoted Zaharie’s wife and daughter to claim that the pilot was in an emotional turmoil over the break-up of his marriage.

The article written without a byline also said that Zaharie had been distracted and withdrawn in the weeks before the aircraft’s disappearance – and had allegedly rejected pleas to attend marriage counselling sessions.

The news report quoted Zaharie’s wife, Faizah Khanum Mustafa Khan who allegedly told investigators that the 53-year-old pilot had stopped speaking to her in the weeks before the fateful flight on March 8, and spent time alone in his room where he had built a flight simulator.

Today, his daughter Aishah Zaharie responded angrily by saying that Daily Mail had fabricated quotes attributed to her as she had never spoken to them.

She said she would not forgive the Daily Mail for ‘making up’ stories.

“May God have mercy on you souls. You can bet your a** that I will never forgive you,” Aishah wrote on her Facebook account.



MAS CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya who was also at the press conference today said that Malaysia Airlines had full confidence on their pilots on board the missing jetliner.

“As an organisation we fully cooperate with the investigators. But we know our pilots…of what they are capable of and we know they are qualified to fly the aircraft.

“We have also announced their backgrounds and records,” Jauhari said.

MH370 disappeared from the radar on March 8 while on a routine flight from KLIA to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew members on board.

Investigators deduced that the plane’s communications and transponder had been disabled, the plane then diverted from its original course and headed towards the Indian Ocean.

Activist Irene Fernandez dies

She was hospitalised five days ago after suffering from heart complication.
FULL REPORT

PETALING JAYA: PKR’s former vice president and famous activist Irene Fernandez passed away at 10.58am this morning due to heart failure.

Fernandez was a PKR vice-president during the initial years of the party’s foundation.

The 67-year-old social activist was also Tenaganita’s co-founder and director. Tenaganita is an NGO that champions migrant worker rights.

Five days ago, Fernandez who lived in Seremban, was rushed to Serdang Hospital after suffering from heart complication.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua was among the first to confirm the news.

“Sad news: rights activist Irene Fernandez passed away in Serdang Hospital a while ago. We have lost a dear comrade & old friend,” he tweeted.

A message posted in Tenaganita’s Facebook stated: “Irene’s beautiful, courageous & loving heart rested peacefully at 10.58am this morning, 31st March 2014.”

Irene’s sister, Josie told FMT that Irene’s body would be taken back to her home in Seremban today.

“And then on Thursday, we will be bringing her to her other residence at 29, Jalan SS15/5E (in Subang) and then to a church from there,” said Josie who is also an activist.

The service is to be held in Church of Divine Mercy, Shah Alam at 3 pm on Thursday.

“Her body would be cremated as per her wishes after the church service and the ashes would be buried next to our parents’ grave in Sungai Petani,” Josie added.

Josie said Irene, who leaves behind a son and two daughters, would be remembered as a “good mother, great daughter, great sister and an activist par excellence”.

A great daughter of Malaysia

Meanwhile tributes started pouring in for Irene.

Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam said Irene was a human rights advocate to the word and was the voice for human trafficking victims.

“She never looked for rewards and even risked her life to ensure victims received the justice and attention they needed. I hope the younger generation will follow in her footsteps,” he said

Lawyer and former Bersih chairman S Ambiga expressed her condolences on Twitter by saying: “Irene Fernandez. Always there for the marginalised, you have fought the good fight with passion and courage. Rest now my friend. RIP”

Bersih 2.0 also mourned the passing of Irene Fernandez, saying that it was saddened by the passing of “one of Malaysia’s foremost human rights activists and a great daughter of Malaysia”.

“Irene had a formidable record in activism that spanned across decades and a whole range of difficult, non-mainstream issues related to the poor and marginalised – from people living with HIV to plantation, domestic, sex and migrant workers. Her indefatigable lifelong work for the people earned her the prestigious Right Livelihood Award in 2005.

But Irene never rested on her laurels and continued to give her invaluable contributions to many struggles, including for free and fair elections,” said Bersih 2.0 in a statement.

A Vaithilingam, former president of MCCBCHST said there was “no one else who could be so brave as her in whatever task she set on”.

“This brave lady never surrendered. She kept on caring for the downtrodden, even during her recent difficult times of ill health. Her family can be proud of she choosing the right path in life of selfless service,” he said.

Hisham: PM never said MH370 had crashed

The Acting Transport Minister says that his cousin only stated that MH370's last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

VIDEO INSIDE
PETALING JAYA: Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today defended Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the latter’s announcement made last week on the fate of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Responding to a question posed during today’s daily briefing, Hishammuddin said that claims of the plane having crashed was “totally erroneous”.

“He (Najib) said that based on analysis, Inmarsat and AAIB concluded that MH370′s last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

“He also said that it was a remote location, far from any possible landing sites.

“However, there was no mention of a crash or that there were no survivors at all,” said Hishammuddin.

Najib on March 24 had said that the new radar analysis had concluded that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

Family members of passengers in the ill-fated jetliner, especially those from China, had been highly critical of the government’s announcement that the plane had “ended in Indian Ocean”. They want the government to provide them with tangible proof to show that the plane had crashed in the ocean.

“We understand that it has been a difficult time for all the families. And we appreciate that many families want to see physical evidence before they will accept that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean,” said Hishammuddin today.

“We find ourselves in a difficult position. I repeat: the question that the families principally want answered, is the question we simply do not have the answer to – namely, where their loved ones are, and where is MH370,” he added.

He added that the government, together with its international partners, will continue searching, and will keep investigating.

“We will never give up until we find out what happened to MH370,” he said.

Hishammuddin’s clarification on what Najib had said – or did not mention – only added confusion to the situation.

Najib’s statement on March 24

This is what Najib said in a hastily arranged 10pm press conference on March 24:

“This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). They informed me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path.

“Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

“We will be holding a press conference tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation.

“Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time.”

An hour earlier on the same day, Malaysia Airlines sent SMS to family members to state:

“Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.”

Taken as a whole, the prime minister’s statement on March 24 gave the clearest hint yet that MH370 had indeed crashed in the Indian Ocean, although he never used the ‘crash’ word.

This morning, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters that all evidence points to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 being lost in the remote Indian Ocean.

“The accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean,” he told reporters at the Perth military base coordinating the search.

“That’s the absolutely overwhelming wave of evidence and I think that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was perfectly entitled to come to that conclusion, and I think once that conclusion had been arrived at, it was his duty to make that conclusion public,” he said.

Najib to visit Perth

On a related matter, Hishammuddin said that Najib will be travelling to Perth on Wednesday for a working visit to the Pearce Air force base.

“He is going there to see the operations first hand and also to thank the personnel involved in the multinational search effort, including the Malaysian personnel,” he said.

Hishammuddin on the other hand will be attending the Asean Defence Minister’s meeting in Hawaii from tomorrow until April 3. The meeting is convened by the United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

“I will leave tonight for the US Pacific Command in Hawaii. On behalf of the Malaysian government, I will share with my Asean counterparts and the government of the US, the latest developments regarding the search for MH370,” he said.

He added that he will also discuss the possibility of deploying more specific military assets in the event Malaysia needs to embark on a more complex phase of the operation.

“I shall be discussing with the US, and our other friends and allies, how best we can acquire the assets needed for possible deep sea search and recovery.”

Search continues

On the operational update, Hishammuddin said that nine military aircraft and one civilian aircraft travelled to the search area today.

These planes were two Malaysian C-130, one Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, one Japanese Coast Guard G5, one Australian P3 Orion, one New Zealand P3 Orion, one New Zealand civilian aircraft, one American P8 Poseidon, one Japanese P3 Orion and one Korean P3 Orion.

Eleven ships were also deployed to the search area which include eight Chinese ships, namely, the Xue Long, the Kunlunshan, the Haikou, the Qiandaohu Jian, the Jing Gang Shan, the Haixun, the Dong Hai Jian and the Nan Hai Jian. The three Australian ships were the HMAS Success, the HMAS Toowoomba and MV Barkley Pearl, which is currently transiting in the search area.

The Malaysian ship, the KD Lekiu, is expected to arrive in the search area on April 3.

The ADV Ocean Shield – fitted with the towed pinger locator and a Bluefin 21 autonomous underwater vehicle – is due to arrive in the search area also on April 3.

MH370 disappeared from the radar on March 8 while on a routine flight from KLIA to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew members on board.

Investigators deduced that the plane’s communications and transponder had been disabled, the plane then diverted from its original course and headed towards the Indian Ocean.

Is Hishammuddin Hussein, voice of Malaysia on flight MH370, headed for the top?

After a brush with death and addressing world's media on flight MH370, Hishammuddin Hussein's personal journey may yet take a dramatic turn

When Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing, the country's defence minister and acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, may have recalled his own brush with death.

Just last year, a helicopter he and his family were travelling in toppled over onto its side after landing at a site in Kuala Lumpur.

Strong winds were blamed. No one was hurt, but the incident left the minister dazed.

The 52-year-old would surely have never imagined that almost a year later, he would be behind efforts to co-ordinate more than two dozen nations to crack the biggest mystery in modern aviation history.

Hishammuddin has also become the face of Malaysia to the international media.

When the Boeing 777 went missing on March 8, Prime Minister Najib Razak initially turned to civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, an unknown civil servant, to hold the fort.

But after a series of blunders, the former air traffic controller was promptly replaced by Hishammuddin as the man to handle the intense global scrutiny at the daily press conference.

It was no easy task. Information about the flight and its possible fate came at a snail's pace and to make things worse, some of the statements were soon after retracted, leading to confusion and contradiction.

This fanned the flames of anger in Beijing - two-thirds of the passengers on the flight were Chinese nationals.

And all this took place under the relentless gaze of the modern 24-hour news operation and its incessant demand for information.

But as talking heads on television channels and angry relatives continued to attack the credibility of Hishammuddin and Malaysia over their jittery handling of the crisis, there could be a surprising twist in the tale.

Despite the controversies, the saga may unwittingly provide the extra impetus Hishammuddin needs to become the next prime minister of Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy.

"If all these relentless foreign [media] attacks persist, Malaysian people may indeed rally around him as a reaction," said Oh Ei Sun, who was political secretary to Najib when he became prime minister in 2009.

"Domestically, it has actually enhanced his credentials as most locals perceive him as doing reasonably well under very tough circumstances."

Local reporters covering Hishammuddin's daily press conferences emphatically say there isn't anyone else in the Malaysian cabinet who could do a better job of handling the crisis. One of them, who works for a popular newspaper, said: "If you have met any of our other ministers, you will know why. Najib is the only one that can maybe do equally well, but probably not better."

And it's not just the Malaysian media that holds this view. A taxi driver, who wanted to be known only as Tan, said: "The government here is no good and there is always a lot of corruption.

"But Hishammuddin is not corrupt and he isn't embarrassing Malaysia on television. He is doing his best, I can see."

Malaysians are also favourably comparing Hishammuddin's handling of the MH370 crisis with his previous poor performance dealing with the country's biggest security threat of recent times, when a group of armed Filipino rebels who claimed allegiance to its former rulers invaded Sabah last year claiming the Malaysian state belonged to them.

"He wasn't good and there was much criticism from locals back then," said Sivamurugan Pandian, of the School of Social Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

"Now he's so much different and it's true that most Malaysians feel he is doing a good job."

Oh, who worked for Najib for two years, explained why there is an apparent dichotomy in terms of foreign and local perceptions of how Hishammuddin is handling the flight crisis.

"I think this is mainly because the foreign media is more used to confronting specialists who know the subject matter by heart and not politicians who depend on prior briefings, especially when it comes to press conferences. The local media, on the other hand, are mostly used to 'reporting' and not 'critiquing'.

"The local audiences are also more easy going [so] they might think what Hishammuddin has been doing is adequate enough," said Oh, now a senior fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Hishammuddin's tilt at the premiership is still far from assured. Even though he beat the son of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad last October to become one of the three vice-presidents in the dominant party in Malaysia's ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), it will take more than just popularity to become prime minister.

"Umno politics is not so much about being popular. It is about clever distribution of largesse to various interest groups in Umno, which in turn would usher in political support," said Oh.

"So far, it appears that his [rivals] are doing quite well on that score."

But Malaysia is no stranger to producing surprising political results. In the early 1970s Mahathir Mohamad didn't attract very favourable odds as a prime ministerial contender. He went on to hold the post for 22 years from 1981, making him Malaysia longest serving premier.

Pundits also thought it was unlikely that Abdullah Badawi would one day become the leader of the country before his six years as premier from 2003.

However, Hishammuddin has his fair share of controversial baggage that's weighing him down. In 2005, he waved a keris ( a Malay sword and symbol of Malay nationalism) while giving a speech at the Umno assembly. This angered the Chinese and Indian communities in the country who saw the gesture as a form of racial politics.

Then in 2009, when a Hindu temple was to be relocated to a Muslim majority area, some Muslims protested by marching with the severed head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism.

Hishammuddin - the then the interior minister - defended the actions of the protesters.

Yet Hishammuddin does have a lot going for him on the political legacy front.

The social-media savvy minister, who recently quoted US hip hop musician Puff Daddy's lyrics on Twitter, is a cousin and close ally of Najib. His grandfather, Onn Jaafar, founded Umno and his father, Hussein Onn, was prime minister.

If that isn't enough to propel him to the political elite, he is also married to a princess from the state of Pahang.

Oh said: "Like Najib, whose father [Abdul Razak Hussein] was also a prime minister, Hishammuddin too is imbued with a sense of purpose of stepping into his dad's shoes as prime minister.

"But unlike cool-headed Najib, Hishammuddin has a more impetuous temperament. Like most shrewd politicians, if need be, he could get things done quickly."

Glimpses of his impatience have surfaced at the daily flight MH370 press conferences, but they have been rare. Even when asked silly questions, he has answered with good humour.

During a particularly enthusiastic media scrum, a calm Hishammuddin said to the crowd: "Guys, if you are going to behave like this, then you are going to get nasty visuals beamed all over the world. And then you are going to blame Malaysian officials for that. That is not fair."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Voice of Malaysia could emerge as country's leader

Elton John to marry long-time partner

(AFP) - Pop icon Elton John says he will tie the knot with partner David Furnish now that his native Britain has legalised gay marriage.

The top-selling artist told NBC’s “Today” show that “we’ll do it very quietly.”

“But we will do it and it will be a joyous occasion,” John added.

The couple, who have two children together, entered into a civil partnership in 2005.

A historic law legalizing same-sex marriage took effect in England and Wales on Saturday, the final stage in the long fight for legal equality for gays and lesbians.

Civil partnerships have been legal there since 2005.

“I’m very proud of Britain and the laws that we’ve seen come into existence since we’ve been together,” John said in excerpts of the interview set to air Monday.

“For this legislation to come through is joyous, and we should celebrate it. We shouldn’t just say, ‘Oh, well we have a civil partnership. We’re not going to bother to get married.’ We will get married.”

Furnish told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a separate interview that an intimate ceremony would take place in May.

“I think what we’ll do is go to a registry office in England in May, and take the boys with us, and a couple of witnesses,” the publication quoted him as saying.

Kenapa Umno tidak pernah membawa usul hudud ke dalam parlimen?

(FMT) – Kenyataan Ahli Majlis Tertinggi (AMT) mno, Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki (gambar) yang menggesa PAS agar membentangkan draf undang-undang hudud di Parlimen jika benar-benar mahu menyaksikan satu perubahan besar dalam pelaksanaan undang-undang Islam di negara ini disifatkan sebagai bermotif politik semata-mata dan berhasrat untuk memecahbelahkan Pakatan Rakyat di mana beliau sedar bahawa PAS hanya mempunyai 21 kerusi parlimen sahaja di Dewan Rakyat.

Menurut Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Negeri Kelantan (DPPNK), Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, kenyataan AMT Umno tersebut, hanya bermain politik dan tidak ikhlas dalam isu ini.

“Adakah beliau sedar bahawa seseorang ahli parlimen bukan kerajaan yang ingin membawa rang undang-undang persendirian perlu memohon izin selama sebulan sebelum tarikh pembentangan dan empat belas hari untuk usul,

“Ia berbeza dengan menteri yang hanya memerlukan sehari sahaja untuk proses memohon keizinan untuk membentangkan rang undang-undang,” katanya.

Jelasnya, hal ini menunjukkan bahawa Umno selaku parti tunjang kerajaan lebih berkuasa untuk membentangkan draf undang-undang hudud atau sekurang-kurangnya membuat pindaan perlembagaan bagi membolehkan kuasa mahkamah syariah di negeri-negeri diperluaskan.

Ahmad Fadhli turut mempersoalkan kenapa Umno tidak pernah membawa usul hudud ke dalam parlimen.

“Adakah hudud hanya menjadi kewajipan PAS sahaja dan tidak Umno atau dalam erti kata lain, adakah Umno juga merupakan parti yang dianggotai oleh orang Islam?” Soalnya.

Jelasnya lagi, pada 25 Mac 1988, Dato Seri Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang (sekarang Presiden PAS) pernah mengemukakan usul membincangkan gejala murtad di Parlimen, tetapi usul itu ditolak daripada dibincang.

Selepas itu, sekali lagi pada 2 November 1999, beliau juga tidak dibenarkan membentang rang undang-undang ahli persendirian untuk mencegah murtad.

Pada Mac 2006 pula, Salahuddin Ayub (pada masa itu Ahli Parlimen Kubang Kerian) mengemukakan rang undang-undang persendirian yang dinamakan Rang Undang-Undang Murtad.

“Rang undang-undang itu bukan sahaja tidak dipedulikan oleh ahli-ahli Parlimen Umno malah ditolak mentah-mentah,

“Lebih terjamin sekiranya draf undang-undang hukuman hudud ini dikemukakan oleh pihak yang mempunyai kuasa sekarang, iaitu Umno,” Tambahnya.

Dalam masa yang sama, Ahmad Fadhli menggesa kerajaan negeri Kelantan agar mempercepatkan pewartaan Enakmen Undang-undang Kanun Jenayah Syariah (ii) 1993 (Hukum Hudud) yang telah diluluskan oleh Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan pada tahun 1993.

READ MORE HERE

US lawmakers are kept informed and placed in the loop of US investigations into missing MH370 while Malaysian legislators are kept completely in the dark about the latest developments of the MH370 disaster

By Lim Kit Siang,

This is the 24th day in the fourth week of the multi-national sea and air search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft, with today’s search outcome by a total of 10 aircraft and 10 ships from Australia, Malaysia, US, China, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea as empty-handed and fruitless as the earlier 23 days.

Except there is now an element of desperation as the search is in a race against time, with only about two weeks left to find the aircraft’s pair of black boxes before they stop emitting locator pings.

The boxes, designed to ‘ping’ for at least 30 days, contain sounds recorded in the cockpit and data on the plane’s performance and flight path that could help answer why it diverted sharply west from its overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8th March.

What has made the new search area 1,100 km north east of the old site in the southern Indian Ocean frustrating is that it contained a higher volume of ocean trash that may be mistaken for wreckage.

The present search zone has been described as an area of the Indian Ocean where currents drag in all manner of flotsam and rubbish – what an oceanographer has described as “just outside what we call the garbage patches”.

Today’s media carried a report from Washington quoting “senior US lawmakers” as saying that US investigators had found no evidence thus far pointing to terrorism in the disappearance of Flight MH370 more than three weeks ago, and that it was critical to find the plane to understand what happened on board.

The two “senior US lawmakers” quoted are the House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein who told Sunday talk shows that they had seen no evidence of foul play.

Roger said: “I have seen nothing yet that comes out of the investigation that would lead me to conclude that (this was) …anything other than a normal flight that something happened and something went wrong.”

Separately, Feinstein told another TV talk show that she had not seen any evidence indicating a terrorist act brought the airplane down.

US officials close to the investigation said the FBI examined data it received from a home-made flight simulator and other computer equipment used by MH370′s pilots, but found nothing illuminating.

Clearly, US lawmakers are kept in the loop in the US investigations into the missing MH370 and are regularly informed of the latest updates, which is not the case with their Malaysian counterparts as Malaysian Members of Parliament, whether from BN or PR, are kept completely in the dark about the developments of the MH370 disaster crisis – although a Malaysian airliner is in the centre of the longest and largest-ever global multi-national sea, air and satellite search for the missing Boeing 777.

This attitude must change. The Government has still to respond to my call that regardless of whether the “black boxes” are retrieved or not, a Parliamentary Select Committee on MH370 disaster should be set up and be prepared to start work and investigations six to eight weeks from March 8.

This has become even more imperative with the report that a scientist who was part of the team to develop the black box was very dubious that the MH370 “black boxes” would be found.

The scientist, Bill Schofield, told Xinhua news agency in an interview: “I’ve got to say I think their chances of finding this black box in very deep water when they don’t know where it went down within an area of 1,000 km, are practically nil.”

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 31st March 2014)

Three Bars concerned over denial of entry into S'wak

Malaysiakini 

As published on Malaysiakini on 27 Mar 2014.

The three Bars of Malaysia - Advocates’ Association of Sarawak, Sabah Law Association and the Malaysian Bar - jointly express their deep concern in relation to the Sarawak government’s move to deny entry into the state by opposition politicians, Rafizi Ramli, Chua Tian Chang and Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on March 25, 2014.

Rafizi and Chua are Members of Parliament for Pandan and Batu constituencies, respectively. All three were held upon their arrival at Sibu Airport by Immigration officers before being placed on board a flight back to Kuala Lumpur that same day.

This measure by which the state government has chosen to act goes directly against the guarantee of freedom of movement enshrined in Article 9 of the federal constitution. Under Article 9, every citizen of Malaysia has the right to move freely throughout the federation.

Notwithstanding the special safeguards accorded to Sarawak under the federal constitution, the three Bars of Malaysia strongly urge the Sarawak government to exercise sparingly, fairly and with just cause the statutory powers it has over immigration and border controls.

Section 67 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 makes it clear that the state’s powers to restrict entry shall not have effect on a citizen who can show that he or she enters the state for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity.

In a country that professes democracy and free elections, such powers to restrict must not be used to obstruct the rights of citizens to participate freely and legally in the country’s public affairs.

The three Bars of Malaysia urged the Sarawak state government to immediately reconsider the entry ban that it has imposed, and to cease and desist from resorting to such action unless with a justifiable cause. Further, the three Bars of Malaysia urge both the state and federal governments to take positive steps to safeguard each citizen’s right to travel freely and peacefully within his or her own country.


KHAIRIL AZMI MOHD HASBIE is president, Advocates’ Association of Sarawak; and GBB NANDY @ GANESH is chairperson, Sabah Law Association.

PM To Visit Pearce Air Force Base In Perth Wednesday

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be visiting Perth, Australia this Wednesday to see first hand the search operation on missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370 in the Indian Ocean.

"Our Prime Minister has decided to travel to Perth on Wednesday for a working visit to Pearce Air force base, to see the operation first hand and also to thank the personnel involved in the multinational search effort, including the Malaysian personnel," Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein told a media conference here today.

On search operations today, he said a total of 10 aircraft and 10 ships searched an area of 254,000 square kilometres in the southern Indian ocean.

Indonesia had given clearance for 94 sorties - by aircraft from nine different countries - to fly in its airspace, as part of this search, he added.

The Malaysian Boeing 777-200ER, with 239 passengers and crew on board, vanished on March 8, about an hour after the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight took off from the KL International Airport at 12.41am.

On March 24, Najib had announced that (the flight path of) Flight MH370 ended in a remote region of the southern Indian Ocean based on detailed analyses of satellite data.

The announcement had sparked frustration among many relatives of those on board the missing aircraft who called on the authorities to arrive at concrete evidence in their findings.

Hishammuddin, who is also Defence Minister, said he would be leaving for the United States Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii Tuesday to attend the US-Asean Defence Ministers' meeting.

He said on behalf of the Malaysian Government, he would share with his Asean counterparts and the Government of the United States the latest developments on the search for MH370.

"I will convey to our ASEAN neighbours and the United States, Malaysia's utmost appreciation for their invaluable help in the multi-national search effort," he said.

He said he would also discuss the possibility of deploying more specific military assets, in the event that Malaysia needed to embark on a more complex phase of the operation.

On the relatives of those onboard MH370, he said the Government was due to hold a high-level briefing soon for these families, to update them on the latest developments regarding the search for MH370.

"We find ourselves in a difficult position. the question that the families principally want answered, is the question we simply do not have the answer to - namely, where their loved ones are, and where is MH370," he said.

He promised Malaysia would continue searching, and keep investigating, and would never give up until it found out what happened to MH370.

Gempar : Raja Bomoh Buat Ritual Seru Mayat MH370

Tinjauan: Kehilangan pesawat MH370 ubah persepsi rakyat kepada kerajaan

Pakistani Christian Gets Death in Blasphemy Case

A court convicted a Pakistani Christian man and sentenced him to death Thursday in a blasphemy case that sparked a riot last year in the eastern city of Lahore, according to his lawyer.

Naeem Shakir, the lawyer for Sawan Masih, said a judge announced the verdict during a hearing at the jail where the trial has been held out of fears that Masih might be attacked on his way to court. Shakir said he would appeal.

Although Pakistan has never executed anybody under the law, crowds angered over blasphemy accusations have been known to take the law into their own hands and kill those they suspect of violating it. Once an accusation is made it is extremely difficult to reverse, in part because law enforcement personnel do not want to appear to be going easy on suspects.

Such vigilantism has created a climate of fear, forcing frightened judges into holding court sessions inside jails and keeping witnesses from coming to the defense of those on trial.

Many human rights activists say the blasphemy law, which allows for punishment of life in prison or death, is misused as a way to target people for personal gain or revenge.

The incident that led to Thursday's conviction began March 7 last year when a young Muslim man accused Masih of maligning the Prophet Muhammad. Police arrested Masih, but the next day a mob ransacked the neighborhood where he and other Christians live, setting fire to homes and destroying household possessions.

Fearing for their safety, hundreds of Christian families fled the area overnight ahead of the riots. Many in the neighborhood have since moved back, and their homes have been rebuilt.

The police arrested 83 suspects following the rampage, including the man who brought the complaint against Masih, said a Lahore police official, Rana Taseer Riaz. But so far none of the suspects have been convicted and all were released on bail, he said.

Pakistan's blasphemy law has existed since even before the country's 1947 founding. During the 1980s, the U.S.-backed military dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq, amended it to add the death penalty and single out Islam as the religion that may not be insulted, among other changes.

Killer of far-right Dutch gay politician Pim Fortuyn to be freed early

The man who shot dead far-right Dutch gay politician Pim Fortuyn is to be freed in May.

Volkert Van der Graaf, 44, is serving an 18-year sentence for the 2002 murder of Fortuyn.

The animal rights activist said he killed Fortuyn because he was worried about the way he stigmatised vulnerable groups, including Muslim immigrants and asylum seekers.

Van der Graaf “can be freed on parole from May 2,” junior Justice Minister Fred Teeven told journalists on Wednesday.

Mr Teeven rejected freeing Graaf in October last year as he still “posed a threat to public order.”

Van der Graaf is eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence and had asked the State to rule on his request to push forward his release date.

“All the advice and enquiries indicate the same thing, that there’s little chance of re-offending,” AAP reports Mr Teeven said.

On release Van der Graaf will have to report to authorities once a week and wear an electronic ankle tag. He will not be allowed to go to Rotterdam, the city where Fortuyn was a politician, or to Hilversum, where he was killed.

Fortuyn provoked controversy with his views about multiculturalism, immigration and Islam.

He called Islam “a backward culture”, and said that if it were legally possible he would close the borders for Muslim immigrants.

During his life, Fortuyn always rejected being labelled a far-right populist by the Dutch media.

Fortuyn was assassinated by Van der Graaf on 6 May 2002. The attack took place in a parking lot outside a radio studio where Fortuyn had just given an interview. This was nine days before the general election, for which he was running.

The assassination shocked many residents of the Netherlands and highlighted the cultural clashes within the country.

Officials warned last year that Van der Graaf’s early release could reopen old wounds, given the widespread public anger that followed Fortuyn’s assassination.

Don’t wait for black box, set up panel to probe MH370 disaster immediately, say DAP

The Cabinet should not wait until the black box from the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is retrieved to begin a probe into the disaster, said DAP parliamentarian leader Lim Kit Siang.

Calling on Putrajaya to support an opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the events surrounding the disappearance of the aircraft 20 days ago, Lim said the Cabinet should immediately lay the basis for a full-scale investigation.

He was responding to the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, that the government would consider setting up a parliamentary select committee or a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the MH370 disaster only after the black box was discovered.

"More and more questions have come up with each passing day since MH370 went missing, many of which have nothing to do with the technical explanations of the disaster or the retrieval of the black box," Lim said in a statement today.

Describing Shahidan's statement as "highly debatable and questionable", he asked if there would be no investigation into the incident if the black box was never found.

"This will make Malaysia an even bigger laughing stock," he added.

The DAP adviser and Gelang Patah MP noted there were many questions surrounding the plane's disappearance which has nothing to do with the black box.

The fact that the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) had not intercepted MH370 when it was detected on military radar flying in Malaysian air space on March 8 due to the "assumption" that the flight had been ordered to turn back by the civil aviation control tower, was one such question, Lim said.

Yesterday, Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri told Parliament that the RMAF had detected the plane but as it was a non-hostile aircraft, they had assumed that it was under instructions from the control tower located in Subang.

Today, Abdul Rahim retracted his statement. He said his statement in Parliament was "just an assumption and that it might be incorrect".

"Wasn't the failure to cross-check with the civil aviation authorities a gross dereliction of duty, especially as national security was involved?" asked Lim.

Besides that, whether or not the search and rescue operation was launched in a timely manner, "when time was of the essence in an air disaster to ensure the safe rescue of passengers and crew", should also be investigated, he said.

"I call on the Cabinet to decide tomorrow to support an opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on MH370 to be established at the current meeting of Parliament."

Lim said the establishment of a select committee on the MH370 disaster is imperative to restore national and international confidence in Malaysia and to lay a basis for a larger investigation into the incident later on.

"It will send a clear and unmistakable message that the Malaysian government has nothing to hide and wants a full and transparent accounting of the whole series of events constituting the MH370 disaster," he added. – March 27, 2014.

Rare closed court called in ex-sultanah's case - Malaysiakini

 

In an unprecedented move, the Johor Syariah Court of Appeal today ordered the appeal to the divorce proceedings of former Sultanah Johor Tuanku Zanariah Tuanku Ahmad be conducted in a closed court.

The court also disallowed her children by the late Johor sultan Mahmud Iskandar (right), - Tuanku Masera and her siblings, to be present in court.

Tuanku Zanariah, who filed the application to appeal the earlier Johor Syariah High Court decision that affirmed the divorce, could not be present as she was unwell and wanted her daughters to represent her.

Even lawyers who are assisting the lead counsel for Tuanku Zanariah were given the boot by the court.

One of Tuanku Zanariah's lawyers, Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman, confirmed that this was what transpired at today's court proceedings.

A closed court is only normally called in civil cases involving sex crimes, when the victim is testifying, or when a child is testifying in custody battles.

However, even then the lawyers assisting the lead counsel are allowed to be present.

The Syariah Court of Appeal is the highest religious court in the state.

'Never happened before'

The court session began with a three-member panel led by justice Syed Ali Syed Abu Bakar, Marsid @ Morsid Mahrof and Jainuddin Mt Sum.

It is understood the proceedings took place in a special court that was to hear the Johor Islamic Religious Department as an intervener in the case on the side of the respondents, that also comprises the fatwa council.

It is learned that the Syariah Court of Appeal had not sat for some time, and was hastily formulated to hear the present appeal.

The proceedings began with one of the judges reciting the Al-Fatihah for the late sultan Mahmud.

It then proceeded with the judges ordering those in the public gallery to leave the court.

“This resulted in reporters and special branch officers having to leave the court,” said Kamar Ainiah.

She added that the judges then ordered the late sultan's children to leave the court as well.

“Tuanku Masera then stood up and said, 'We are the siblings by our mother whom the court and fatwa council may have accused of committing zina (adultery),” Kamar Ainiah said.

"But the court remained persistent and ordered them to leave the courtroom."

Kamar Ainiah said when she wanted to sit beside the lead counsel, the court also ordered that lawyers assisting the lead counsel to leave.

“This has never happened before. I do not know what to say,” she said, adding that the court then postponed proceedings to Monday.

Divorce backdated after sultan's death

Tuanku Zanariah’s plight began last August, after she received a letter informing that the divorce which had been backdated to Jan 23, 2009, despite Sultan Mahmud Iskandar having passed away on Jan 22, 2010.

The letter from the Johor mufti Mohd Tahrir Syamsuddin to her, was accompanied by three other documents including a divorce certificate dated Oct 8, 2010, that states the divorce took place on Jan 23, 2009.

The second letter was from the former Johor menteri besar Abdul Ghani Othman dated Dec 9, 2010, informing her of the Johor fatwa committee’s decision on Aug 6, 2010 that recognised the validity of the divorce.

The final document was from the Lower Syariah Court dated Sept 30, 2010 that affirmed the divorce.

Sultan Mahmud Iskandar passed away on Jan 22, 2010. He and Tuanku Zanariah were married on Aug 19, 1961. It was Mahmud's second marriage and they have 10 children.

Tuanku Zanariah claims the divorce is not valid and wants the Lower Syariah Court order to be set aside as she was not called for any divorce proceedings.

She also sought the court to investigate whether Sultan Mahmud Iskandar's proclamation in Jan 2009 that was allegedly witnessed by Abdul Ghani and the Johor royal committee chairperson Tengku Osman Tunku Temenggong Ahmad was valid, based on a statutory declaration they made.

"A person who passed away on Jan 22, 2010 does not have the legal capacity to initiate any court proceedings unless it is for the administration of its estate.

"Furthermore, during his lifetime the sultan had not filed for any divorce proceedings at any Johor syariah court against me,” she said in court documents challenging the divorce.

Her title as a former sultanah was also revoked following this.

However, the Johor Syariah Court had dismissed the review application in upholding the Lower Syariah Court's decision and issued a gag order not to report it, resulting in this proceeding.

Thai satellite sights 300 objects near search area

The Thailand Earth Observation Satellite (Thaichote) has spotted 300 floating objects in the Indian Ocean, some 200 kilometre southwest of the area being searched for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

 

Thailand is the fifth country that has produced satellite images of floating objects in the same area after Australia, France, UK and China.

According to the AFP, the floating objects were identified by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency. 

 

It said that the objects ranged from two to 15 metres in size, scattered over an area about 2,700 km southwest of Perth.

The images were taken on March 24, top financial daily The Wall Street Journal reported.

 

Thai newspaper The Nation reported that the images have been submitted to the caretaker premier it will be forwarded to Malaysia. 

Yesterday, acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced that French satellites spotted 122 pieces of suspected debris in the search area, which is slightly larger than the size of Sabah. 

 

The multinational search, which resumed this morning was called off after about four hours due to bad weather in one of the roughest seas in the world. Ships, however, remain in the ocean. 

 

The Nation said that Thaichote is a remote sensing satellite for natural resources observation.

Japan reports sightings

Meanwhile in the evening Japan's Kyodo News and NHK reported a Japanese satellite has spotted about 10 "suspicious objects" about 2,500 km south-west of Perth in the vicinity of other similar sightings.

The objects were seen drifting in a roughly 10km radius, with one measuring about 8m long and 4m wide

According to government sources, the images were taken from 9am to 3pm Japanese local time on Wednesday.

Malaysia has been briefed on the sighting, it said.

Hisham: Malaysian delegation to leave for Perth

The team, which will include officers from DCA, MAS and the military will assist the Australians in the search for MH370.

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian delegation would be leaving for Perth, Australia soon to assist in the search and rescue operation in the Indian Ocean

In a press statement today, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the high level team will comprise officers from the Department of Civil Aviation ( DCA), Malaysia Airlines, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

“The team will work closely with the Australian Rescue Coordination Centre to assist with the search operation, “ he said.

Earlier today, British media Sky News reported that the Thai satellite had picked up images of about 300 objects floating in the Indian Ocean, possibly from the crashed flight MH370.

The items’ size were said to be in the range from two to 15 meters (6.5 to 50 feet) and were scattered over an area of about 1,700 miles southwest of Perth.

The sightings was announced by Thailand’s Geo Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISDA)

However, search and rescue effort at the area was hampered due to bad weather in the Indian Ocean

There are now five different satellite leads which are pointing towards debris, possibly from MH370′s wreckage.

Hishammuddin, who is also Defence Minister, said that he had met a Chinese delegation yesterday, led by Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, to brief him on the technical aspect of the search and rescue work and their findings that led to the conclusion that MH370 has crashed in the Indian Ocean.

“And today, Zhang met the Chinese relatives of those on board flight MH370, who are currently in Kuala Lumpur.

“Rest assured that Malaysia is committed to working closely with China and will share all information pertaining flight MH370,” said Hishammuddin.

On the search and rescue operation, he said that nine planes were deployed to the Indian Ocean to find the debris today, which included planes and ships from China, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

“However, the SAR operation was suspended at 11.40am due to bad weather conditions,” said Hishammuddin.

Why cops mum on MH370?

The world is waiting for the police to clear the air on the ill-fated MH370.

The Malaysian police have been overly cautious in revealing information on the investigations into the ill-fated Beijing-bound MH370 flight which has crashed in the southern Indian Ocean according to satellite data received.

Although the response from Malaysia Airlines, Department of Civil Aviation and the Transport Ministry has been good, there is lack of information from the police.

Of course, the police will not disclose the full information which may jeopardise their investigation but this is not a normal case.

Citizens from 14 nations were on the plane and the governments of these countries want to be kept abreast with the status of investigations.

To make matters worse, more than half of MH370′s passengers were Chinese nationals. China is demanding answers and pressure is mounting for a full disclosure of information related to the case.

The families of the 50 Malaysians on board the plane are also demanding answers.

The lack of information on the outcome of investigations has resulted in Malaysia being accused of withholding information.

But the police are also in a quandary. Should they reveal what they know? What happens if the families decide to sue MAS or the government based on police information?

Critics say the authorities owe it to the families of those on on board and a full disclosure is necessary.

Now, after 19 days since the Boeing 777-200ER went missing, the police have yet to come out with any solid information of what might have happened on board the aircraft.

All eyes are now on Bukit Aman CID director Hadi Ho Abdullah, who is heading the investigation.

The Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has so far only announced that more than 100 people have been questioned as part of their investigations.

Khalid, who has attended several daily press briefings on the MH370 alongside Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, has been tight-lipped on the status of investigations and this has lead to speculations, some absurd.

For now, MH370 pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah remains the main suspect. Some reports have even labelled him as a political fanatic. Some reports have mentioned that he decided on a suicide mission due to marital problems.

Close friends of the pilot have come out in droves to defend the man. They say Zaharie was a successful and kind man with no ill intention to hurt anyone.

Burning questions

There are several questions unanswered.

If hundreds have been quizzed, what sort of information have the police gathered and what can be concluded from it.

Have the police retrieved the deleted flight simulator data with the help of computer geeks?

If yes, was there any concrete proof that Zaharie has practised flying over the Indian Ocean? How many times did he succeed or fail?

If he did commit the act, where is the note explaining his action? What is the point of undertaking the act if the world does not know why he did it?

What about the four angles of investigation “Sabotage, hijack, personal differences between the crew and passengers and psychological problems of the crew and passengers”? Have the police narrowed down the angle of the investigation? Are they going to cancel out all four angles or add more to it?

Intelligence agencies have cleared the passengers for terrorism so it leaves 12 crew members as suspects. What have the police received so far?

These and many other burning questions need to be answered by the police. They owe this to the family and friends of relatives of those on board.

The foreign governments are also waiting for answers so that they can move on from this tragedy.

This is not a minor case which can be swept under the carpet. It is not only Malaysians, the whole world is waiting as well.

The police must not only disclose what they have found but also be answerable to the method of the investigations.

They must also explain how they came to a conclusion. The onus is now with the police. Will they do it?

Marina Mahathir questions need to interrogate Kassim Ahmad until 4am

(The Rakyat Post) - Social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir today lashed out at the way former political and social activist Dr Kassim Ahmad was charged by religious authorities.

“It’s so cruel and unfair. They (authorities) had questioned the elderly man until 4am, what is that?

“They even wanted to have him remanded for a week, I don’t think that is the best solution,” she tearfully told reporters at the Syariah High Court here today.

Marina appeared in the court today as Kassim’s surety after the court agreed to a bail with one surety on condition that the guarantor resides in the Federal Territory.

Kassim, when asked to comment on the conditions set by the court, said the existing law should be changed because it is difficult for the accused to find a guarantor.

“The system needs to be changed. A guarantor must reside in the Federal Territory?

“This law is trivial and stupid. The conditions are ridiculous. We cannot continue to live in a stupid system like this.”

In a related matter, the Sunnah Wal Jamaah Association of Malaysia (Aswaja) has shown its support to the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) for arresting Kassim, who is believed to have sown anti-Hadith sentiments in the country.

Aswaja’s president Zamihan Mat Zin said the ideology of Kassim had been deemed as deviant by some states as it may lead to apostasy.

“Aswaja gives full support to the arrest and charges made by Jawi because Kassim’s ideology is clearly against the teachings of Islam and is upsetting to the Muslims in the country,” he said in a statement.

“Aswaja supports the arrest that was done in a “civilised” manner and followed protocol.”

Zamihan said that his group once had a meeting with Kassim to persuade him to repent and return to the true path of Islam, but he remained defiant and continued to defend his anti-Hadith leanings.

MH370 mystery complicates last rites for the missing

A relative of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has said all 239 people aboard flight MH370 are believed dead, but the failure to recover bodies is complicating efforts to lay their souls to rest, relatives and religious leaders said on Thursday.

The flight carried passengers from around the world following a number of major religions, and the failure to achieve closure via last rites has added to the anguish of grieving relatives.

Hindus traditionally perform special prayers on the first, 16th and 30th day after a person's death.

"I will not do any solemn prayers until I am really convinced my son is dead," said Subramaniam Gurusamy, 60, a Malaysian Hindu whose son was on the plane.

"How can we say everyone is dead when we have not found the plane or the black box?" he added, referring to the trove of on-board flight data that is being sought for clues to what happened.

"There have been instances when someone is lost in the jungle and is believed to have died but comes out alive after many years."

The Malaysia Airlines flight went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. Malaysia believes it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean but no wreckage has yet been found, despite an ongoing multi-nation search.

Jamil Khir Baharom, Muslim-majority Malaysia's minister in charge of Islamic affairs, was quoted by local media as saying Muslims aboard MH370 were still seen as "missing", and that proper funeral rites cannot be performed until the search is called off.

Hindus were being advised, however, to "accept fate" and go ahead with their prayers, said Mohan Shan, president of Malaysia Hindu Sangam, the country's main advisory body on Hindu worship.

"They can't do the funeral rites until they get the bodies. But they can perform prayers at home or in temples on the 30th day," he said.

"It's a difficult time to pass through. Without the body we cannot 100 per cent confirm they are dead. But we have to ask them to accept the fate. There is no point in waiting."

Usually in a deadly accident, Taoists must perform funeral rites at the site where the death occurred, said Tan Hoe Chieow, president of the Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia.

But he said due to the unprecedented nature of MH370, families could go ahead with such ceremonies elsewhere, perhaps in their homes.

"We hope they can come to terms with this unfortunate incident. They have to come to terms with the reality. Some are still holding on to hope," he said. "In this particular disaster I don't think it's possible to retrieve the bodies."

Christians also could lay their loved ones to rest without a body if they are convinced they died, said Reverend Wong Kim Kong, a Christian community leader.

"They should not be discouraged, but acknowledge the fact that their loved ones are in a better place, that is - heaven," he said.

Need For Asean To Address Conflict-Hit Areas - Najib

From Muin Abdul Majid

MANILA, March 27 (Bernama) -- Following the historic signing of a Malaysia-brokered peace accord for southern Philippines Thursday, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has expressed hope that Asean would have addressed trouble spots in this region by the time Asean Community 2015 comes into being.

"We must ensure that all areas that have become areas of conflict no longer continue to be in conflict but strive to find a political solution.

"This is so that when Asean is declared a community, it will truly portray the image of a region that is truly peaceful and progressive," the prime minister told Malaysian media after witnessing the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement (CAB) on the Bangsamoro here.

The peace agreement between the Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) seeks the creation of the self-governing political entity called Bangsamoro that will have greater political and economic powers.

The new entity will replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao in accordance with the Bangsamoro Basic Law to be passed by the Philippine Congress and ratified by the affected populace.

Najib said Kuala Lumpur hoped that the momentous pact, hammered out following arduous negotiations spanning 17 years between GPH and MILF, would result in a more peaceful and prosperous southern Philippines that may well benefit people living across the border in places like Sabah.

Malaysia came on board the peace process in 2001.

"The spill over effects (of peace) will continue to be felt, more so by Malaysians particularly in Sabah. They will get to enjoy a situation that is more peaceful. Besides this, economic development that will follow in the area will also have spill over effects in Sabah," said Najib.

The prime minister pointed out that Malaysia had shown a leadership role in the crafting of the CAB.

"It means that Malaysia is acknowledged as a country that's able to help out in conflict resolution, especially in this region.

"It goes to show that we're not only a peace-loving country but also one that's prepared to play an active role in contributing towards the good of our Southeast Asian region," Najib said.

He reckoned that Malaysia's image had been given a boost in the eyes of the international community as a result of its role in the Bangsamoro peace accord.

The prime minister said Malaysia was committed to continuing its role as peace facilitator and part of the International Monitoring Team in southern Philippines.

"Our role will continue until we reach the end, that is the creation of the Bangsamoro government," he said.

He added that Kuala Lumpur was prepared to extend a helping hand in skills development and creating economic opportunities in southern Philippines, including in the field of agriculture.

Najib was accompanied on his working visit to Manila by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Also in his delegation were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Armed Forces Chief Gen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zain, as well as senior government officials.

Najib is scheduled to leave Manila tonight after attending a dinner at Malacanang Palace.