MH370 exposes Hall of Shame

 

The grand self-proclamation of “Malaysia, the Best Democracy in the World”, with its fantastic education system which rivals the British, American and German systems is a myth designed for die-hard Umno Baru supporters. This fairy-tale was shattered by the disappearance of MH370.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, like the prime ministers before him, has let down the nation, but the investigation into MH370 has trashed Malaysia’s reputation.

We need a cull of the political class to regain our credibility as a nation. We should start with the following initiates of the ‘Hall of Shame’. Politicians head the list, then civil servants. If the civil servants were to be replaced before the politicians, the new ones would be corrupted by their political masters, who dictate to them.

Malaysia has been on auto-pilot for several decades and the nation has been performing like a rudderless aeroplane. MH370 signals the beginning of the end of Umno Baru.

The Malaysian Hall of Shame

Number One: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. Two words describe the MH370 “investigations”: Mismanaged. Mishandled. (MM).

MH370 may have been an unprecedented incident but the crisis management team was shambolic, with several people issuing contradictory official statements. Our confidence and trust has been shaken to the core despite all the big talk and the hundreds of billions of ringgits spent on military hardware and sophisticated equipment. We may have the best machinery that money can buy, but are monkeys operating them?

In the first few days of MH370’s disappearance, Najib and his wife, the self-styled ‘First Lady of Malaysia’ (FLOM), sought to gain cheap publicity by “weeping with the families of the passengers and crew of MH370”.

Did Najib make a premature announcement that MH370 had crashed into the Southern Indian Ocean, based on one mathematical interpretation by one company? The local press are conditioned not to ask awkward questions but foreign journalists demand answers.

Number Two: Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. Hishammuddin (left in photo) justified Malaysia’s mismanagement of the MH370 investigations by saying that history will judge Malaysia well.

People ask, “Who writes the history books if not the Malaysian cabinet and their proteges?”
Hishammuddiin told the families of passengers and crew of MH370 that miracles do happen. The act of giving false hope is as bad as trading on people’s grief.

Number Three: Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. His response to the stolen passport fiasco at KLIA is symptomatic of a sick nation. He told parliament, “Furthermore, Interpol’s information of lost (passports) may slow down the process of immigration checks at counters.”

Zahid prefers speed to efficiency and safety/security concerns. Interpol has since given Zahid a dressing down and said the checks take 0.2 seconds per passport.

Malaysia is a hub for human trafficking and people have alleged that our police and immigration officials are involved. Will Zahid clean up his department?

Number Four: Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri. Abdul Rahim told Parliament that the RMAF “assumed” that Flight MH370 had been ordered to turn back by the civilian air traffic controllers.

Following a public outcry, he backpedalled and said that HE had made this assumption. So did the RMAF make this assumption or was Abdul Rahim forced to retract his statement. His U-turn is typical of the tactics of the government of Malaysia.

Lack of communication

Number Five: The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman. Azharuddin contradicted the statements of the home ministry and the inspector-general of polcie (IGP). More worrying than this is the lack of communication between the military and civil aviation authorities.

The MH370 investigation has lacked transparency and is mired in intrigue. This incident has reminded us of the question, by the opposition MP Nurul Izzah Anwar in June 2012, about the roles of the DCA and the Transport Ministry in the award of the contract for the supply of the RM128.4 million air traffic control system to a minster’s family through “closed tender”.

Three weeks ago, we were told that the final words from the cockpit were “All right, good night”. In the past few days, the DCA issued a correction and said the final words were “Good night. Malaysian Three-Seven-Zero”.

How can the public be expected to put their faith in the DCA or the investigative bodies with such a simple error as this? So what else is wrong?

Number Six: MAS CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. When the reputations of the pilot and co-pilot on MH370 were being trashed, Ahmad Jauhari (right) failed to defend his men. Although he did speak on their behalf, he waited several days and the damage was already done. His failure to act immediately demoralised all of the MAS employees.

The sending of a text message to the families of the passengers and crew of MH370, ahead of Najib’s announcement that MH370 had gone down in the southern Indian Ocean, is symptomatic of the poor customer relations in MAS. Many people have previously stated that their complaints are rarely acknowledged or addressed.

Number Seven: Chief of the Armed Forces Zulkifeli Mohd Zin. He despatched ships from Lumut on the night MH370 disappeared. He then claimed that a C-130 plane was sent to scout the area the following morning.

What made Zulkifeli confident that he was scouring a potential crash site, thousands of kilometres from where Najib had directed others in the search and rescue (SAR) operations? Is Zulkifeli hiding something from us?

Number Eight: Chief of the RMAF Rodzali Daud. An unidentified plane was picked up by military radar around 200 nautical miles northwest of Penang in the Straits of Malacca, at about the time MH370 went missing. The military failed to act on this information, wasting both time and opportunity.

Number Nine: IGP Khalid Abu Bakar. When asked about the contradictory descriptions of the men using stolen passports, a dismissive Khalid said, “Why ask me? Ask Immigration, or ask Interpol.”

The defence minister asked everyone to avoid speculation, but Khalid said that his policemen were analysing all the speculation on the Internet to help in the MH370 investigations.

The IGP should focus on facts, rather than investigating speculation and rumour. He should chase criminals, rather than hound opposition politicians and NGOs.

Number Ten: Witch-doctor Ibrahim Mat Zain, or Raja Bomoh. This shaman heaped ridicule on the country when, at the entrance to KLIA, he used his bamboo binoculars and two coconuts to divine that MH370 had been hijacked by elves and the plane was either suspended in mid-air or had crashed into the sea. He should be jailed if he refuses to say who sent him to KLIA, to mock the suffering of the passengers and crew of MH370.

Bonus: It is reported that Najib’s favourite number is 11. When former PM Mahathir Mohamad resigned, he continued to make his presence felt by refusing to hand over the controls of the airship Malaysia, which he was flying to mediocrity. Mahathir completes the list by being the eleventh member of Malaysia’s Hall of Shame.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).

June tabling for hudud bill?

The New Straits Times
By SULAIMAN JAAFAR

SEEKING EXPERTS' VIEWS: Deputy menteri besar says draft of the bill is ready

KOTA BARU: THE private bill seeking a declaration that Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II or hudud can be implemented in the state will be tabled in Parliament, the earliest by June.

Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said the draft of the bill was ready and needed only experts' views for further improvement.

"We want to table it possibly this year. If there is time, it will be done in June, and if it is not possible, then, in December.

"However, we have not decided who will table the bill," he said after chairing the inaugural technical committee meeting on the enactment here yesterday.

On the much delayed meeting, Amar said it was attended by most of the 19 committee members, including state police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman.

The notable absentees were former Chief Justice Tun Salleh Abbas and former International Islamic University lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari.

Pengkalan Chepa Prison director Zawari Abdul Rashid did not attend the meeting but sent a representative.

The technical committee was formed in October 2011 and the first meeting was postponed several times although several forums and discussions had been held in Kuala Lumpur.

Amar said the findings made during the pre-committee meetings were tabled in yesterday's meeting and would be presented to the state executive council.

"Another suggestion made at today's meeting was to improve the enactment to clarify further several issues.

"This includes whether a rape victim, who is unable to bring four witnesses, which is virtually impossible, can be sentenced for qazaf (making false accusation).

"We will bring these issues to the state exco meeting next week."

Najib Reminds People Against Changing Government Arbitrarily

KUANTAN, April 10 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Thursday reminded the people against moving to arbitrarily change the government of today.

He said the government of today had proven that it could implement the change and development that the people desired.

"Let's not change the government (of today) just because we want a change; more importantly, we want change and progress. Why must we change if the (Barisan Nasional) party can fulfil and implement the change and progress?" he said at the presentation of land titles for the Seri Damai Collective Land Scheme near Kuantan.

Najib said there was a possibility that what the people hoped for could not be fulfilled if they were to go for the change.

"We must know the ultimate outcome," he said.

Najib, who is the MP for Pekan, said many countries where the government had been overthrown by the people did not achieve the desired outcome.

He said the people should maintain their trust in the government of today to help realise the government's mission to make the country a developed nation by 2020.

At the event, the prime minister handed out land titles to 167 participants. Each individual received a 0.4-hectare plot.

The Seri Damai scheme was initiated in November 1985 along with 36 other schemes in the Kuantan district.

'Raja bomoh' off to Oz, says passengers alive

Latest developments:

• 'Raja bomoh' says passengers are alive, not in ocean
   
• 'Plane not at US Diego Garcia naval base'
   
• Visit Malaysia tourism roadshows in China scrapped
   
• Search area refined four fold with ping findings
   
• Floating objects retrieved not from MH370

Will no one ever be blamed for MH370?

1:55 pm: "We only get denials and apologies but is no one going to take the blame for MH370?” A Malaysian whose husband, Azrai Izet, was on the still missing plane, asked this in an open letter published on AstroAwani's website.

Fadzilah Abdul Rahim questioned why the authorities cannot own up to mistakes or give the truth. She said that more than false comforts offered by MAS, the passenger's families really wanted the truth.

"I am sure Malaysians don't want 239 people to perish for no good reason. We want an assurance that such an incident cannot happen again to anyone else," Fadzilah wrote in Malay.

Specifically, Fadzilah added she would like to know:

"Who is responsible for passenger and aircraft safety, airline industry standards and for guarding Malaysia's airspace? And has anything been changed since?"

She noted that authorities have yet to explain why the army and the airport control tower could not trace or intercept the flight in time and how two stowaways could have boarded using false passports.

Read her full letter here.

Now 'raja bomoh' is heading down under

12.15pm: Since his last 'raise the dead' ritual on Pulau Sembilan late last month didn't get any clear signals from the afterworld, self-styled 'Bomoh King' Ibrahim Mat Zain is now saying passengers on board MH370 may still be alive.

In his latest offering, Ibrahim says he will go to Australia so that Malay traditional methods can work hand-in-hand with “science and technology” methods now being used in the search operation.

"In my view, as a raja bomoh, they are alive. It (the plane) can be in the air, on an island somewhere, but surely not in the ocean," Ibrahim says in a YouTube video uploaded by Suara TV yesterday.

Speaker: No intention to mislead with 'assumption'

12pm: Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia finds that Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri did not intend to confuse Parliament when he initially claimed the Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) had "assumed" the missing Flight MH370 was ordered to turn back by air traffic control.

 

The speaker today says he accepts Rahim's added-on explanation that the latter had relayed his own personal "assumption" when informing MPs on March 26 that that was the reason the RMAF did not act to intercept the plane when it had the chance to on the day it went missing.

Read more here.

M'sia needs 'more than PR exercise'

11.40 am: Bloomberg columnist William Pesek says the Malaysian government has much to do, much more than a major PR exercise, to regain its reputation that in the aftermath of the MH370 crisis, saying it must be "nothing less than a political revolution".

Ahead of possible upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama - the first by a US leader to Kuala Lumpur in 50 years - Pesek recommends Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak end all affirmative action policies based on ethnicity, which he dubbed "apartheid economics."

Writing from Tokyo, Pesek urges Najib to also take a break from his punitive campaign against the opposition and the ‘Allah’ issue.

"The Flight 370 crisis has fully exposed the dangers of allowing one party to rule a nation for six decades," Pesek writes in an editorial on Bloomberg View.

US: Deigo Garcia conspiracy untrue

11.18am: The United States denies the conspiracy theory that the missing jetliner is at its Indian Ocean naval base Diego Garcia.

"The speculation that passenger Philip Woods had sent a photo message from Diego Garcia is not true...

"There is no sign that MH370 flew anywhere close to the Maldives or Diego Garcia," an unnamed spokesperson for the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is quoted by Sinar Harian as saying.

The spokesperson adds that it only provides information upon request and Malaysia has not requested for data from US satellite located in Pine Gap, Australia.

What is the black box?

11am: The black box contains a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder. In 1960, Australia became the first country in the world to make black boxes mandatory for all commercial aircraft.

The black box is especially useful in the aftermath of a plane crash, with its underwater locator beacon (ULB). The ULB is activated as soon as the recorder hits water and can transmit from a depth of up to 14,000 feet (4.3 kilometres).

According to the National Geographic Channel, the cockpit voice recorder picks up all sounds within the cockpit, including pilot and crew banter, engine noise, warning pings and pops. Located in the tail end of a plane, it records on a two-hour loop.

In the case of MH370, other than recording the last words of the pilots before the plane went down, this recorder may not be able to shed much light at to the reason it deviated course as the plane had continued to fly for more than two hours after it ceased contact with air traffic control.

The flight data recorder, meanwhile, picks up the plane's altitude, airspeed and direction among others. It can help generate computer video reconstructions of a flight to help investigators visualise a crash and can record for 25 hours straight.

Also, to help investigators find them: a black box is not actually black at all, but bright orange.

Total four pings detected from man-made device

10am: To recap, the towed pinger locator being used by Ocean Shield has to date detected four ping signals northwest of Perth - two on Saturday and another two were reacquired on Tuesday.

Acoustic analysis of the first two transmissions assessed they were not of natural origin, but were emitted from a man-made electronic equipment, most likely a flight data recorder such as those contained in a plane's black box.

The signals were, however, getting weaker, possibly indicating that the black box battery is dying out as it has surpassed its 30-day expected lifespan.

According to a map from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the four pings heard so far came from a triangular zone with one side almost 30 kilometers long.

Yesterday, JACC chief Angus Houston (left) told reporters it would be a "matter of days" before a torpedo-like mini-submarine drone is deployed to the bottom of the ocean, some 4.5kilometres down.

Searchers want to exhaust use of the pinger locator until they are certain the black box’s emergency beacon has ceased all transmissions.

The underwater device, called Bluefin-21 and loaned from the US Navy, will hopefully give conclusive evidence as to MH370's “final resting place”, he said.

Nazri to visit Chinese ambassador

9am: In his capacity as Inter-Parliamentary Union Malaysia chairperson, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, along with several other MPs, will visit Chinese ambassador Huang Huikang today.

The Star Online reports that the visit is an "expression of solidarity" with the Chinese people who are grieving over missing Flight MH370.

Nazri (right) also reiterates that he is halting all tourism roadshows in China until there is closure for MH370.

"So long as there is no closure, I do not think it is appropriate to continue the roadshows in China."

China is Malaysia's third largest market for tourism and the MH370 incident, with 152 China nationals on board, have affected tourist arrivals during Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

Search area significantly reduced

6am: The Australia-led search for Flight MH370 has successfully narrowed the search area by nearly four-fold after discovering four transmissions, a from likely black box, by using a towed pinger locator to comb the south Indian Ocean from last Friday.

As the eight-nation backed search enters its 34th day, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) says today they are now confident of spotting the Boeing 777 within an area of 58,000 square kilometre northwest of Perth.

This compares to the initial search area of 217,000 sq km when the pinger locator was first deployed into the waters on April 4.

Up to 10 military aircraft, four civil aircraft and 13 ships will assist today's search, while the main underwater search will still be led by Australia’s defence vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield, assisted by Chinese ship Haixun 01 and the HMS Echo.

"Aircraft and ships reported spotting a large number of objects during yesterday's search, but only a small number were able to be recovered.

"None of the recovered items were believed to be associated with MH370," JACC adds in its daily statement.

On the weather, JACC ays it expects moderate winds and isolated showers, although visibility is expected to be fair.

Background:

• The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft went missing not long after taking off from KL International Airport in the early hours of March 8, with 12 crew members and 227 passengers.
   
• Authorities have determined the plane intentionally turned back and altered its course shortly after cutting communications with tower controllers for unknown reasons.
   
• "Groundbreaking" data analysis on the six last 'pings' between MH370 and British company Inmarsat's communications satellite has yielded clues to the aircraft's position and heading, leading investigators to narrow down the search area to the south Indian Ocean.
   
• Australia leads the search in the south Indian Ocean. As of March 30, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) is tasked with overseeing the operations, led by retired air marshal and former defence chief Angus Houston.

Pakatan files motion to condemn Sodomy II judges

HRW: Malaysia accused of shocking human rights violations, abuses against Shiite minority

Brief “Among the marginalized in Malaysia, there is a single group perhaps more marginalized than many. They are the people that Malaysia has forgotten. They are the Shiite Muslims” says Loyar Burok, a popular Malaysian blog. The article is entitled “Shiite Muslims in Malaysia: A Cultural Genocide.”

Malaysia has a serious human rights problem, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which released a 100+ page report entitled “No Answers, No Apologies” detailing abuses by Malaysian authorities. The report comes on the heels of accounts that Malaysia arrested infants from the country’s minority Shiite Muslim sect, based upon the “crime” of engaging in Shiite religious practices.

International attention has been given to Malaysia after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing last month, and human rights watchdogs welcome the focus.

“Unjustified shootings, mistreatment and deaths in custody, and excessive use of force in dispersing public assemblies persist because of an absence of meaningful accountability for Malaysia’s police force, the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP),” says the HRW report.

The human rights abuses are directed at all sectors of Malaysian society, however significant media attention has been drawn towards the plight of Shia Muslims in Malaysia, who are facing increased discrimination on a daily basis.

“Among the marginalized in Malaysia, there is a single group perhaps more marginalized than many. They are the people that Malaysia has forgotten. They are the Shiite Muslims” says Loyar Burok, a popular Malaysian blog. The article is entitled “Shiite Muslims in Malaysia: A Cultural Genocide.”

The issue of anti Shia human rights abuses is slowly becoming endemic to the country’s populace. On Reddit, on a discussion of human rights abuses in Malaysia, one user wrote “In Malaysia, Shia is considered deviant […] You also not allowed to form a group to practice your faith. Yes we are stern in protecting our faith and our children faith and to keep it pure from innovation. Regarding Allah words, it was the right move, because there were underground movement to spread confusion among muslim youth in the country.”

When questioned about the morality of the behavior of the Malaysian government, the same user replied with a horrific account of conditions in Malaysia: “They were not oppressed, most probably they would end up in rehabilitation center to correct their faith.”

Last summer, government officials in the Malaysian state of Kedah announced their intention to curb Syiah (the Malaysian word for Shia Muslim) practices, authorities view as illegitimate. Malaysian media reported that elected officials said “When the fatwa is [announced], it will be enforced immediately to ensure Muslims do not deviate from the true teachings of Islam.”

The same official also expressed an interest in preventing Shia Muslims from exercising their funeral rights, and Free Malaysia Today reports he said “It is contrary to our usual practice as a Sunni Muslim. So, this is one of the things that is happening and we will try to avoid it from spreading.”

Malaysia’s “The Sun Daily” reported that a nearby state, Pahang, also banned Shia teachings “because [Shia] teachings are different.”

The national government later also banned all Shiite teachings, “All states have agreed that Syiah teachings should not be allowed in the country” said Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, according to the Sun. Earlier this year, an Imam was arrested and imprisoned for possessing books on Shiite teachings. In a startling incident, the deputy president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party was obligated to prove he had no ties to Shia Muslims, after he was accused of making positive remarks about Shia individuals.

Another government official complained that more was not being done to combat the religious belief set. “Since the Syiah was gazetted as illegal by the National Fatwa Council in 1984 and 1997, not much enforcement was done,” said Home Ministry Security and Public Order assistant secretary Zamihan Md Zain Al-Ghari according to the Sun.

Other Malaysian media was quoted as saying “Those who practice [sic] Syiah will be severely dealt with, regardness [sic] of status or political ideology, and will not be accepted in the country.”

The campaign has not gone unnoticed by Middle Eastern countries and business leaders.

“An unofficial boycott of Malaysian goods by Iranian businessmen has left rubber products worth some RM2 million lying in a warehouse in the Middle East nation, a backlash against Umno’s recent anti-Shia campaign,” reported The Malaysian Insider.

“Since the anti-Shia campaign in Malaysia last year, Iranian businessmen refused to buy Malaysian-made products,” said one individual to the paper.

Malaysian leaders have refused to back down in the face of economic ruin, and Mufti Datuk Wan Zahidi Wan Teh told the Malaysian paper Berita Harian that “Shiism could be regarded as a ‘poison’ that can destroy the harmony and security of the country.”

The Mufti made the remarks at a conference held in Malaysia’s capital entitled “Facing the Shiite Virus.”

The Human Rights Report features a 7 page section on recommendations the country can take to halt police abuses, however stopped shy of recommendations on other pervasive human rights abuses.

Shariah Court is on par with civil court, say Muslim lawyers group

The Shariah Court is on par with the civil court under amendments to Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution in June 1988, the Muslim Lawyers' Association of Malaysia told the Ipoh High Court today.

Lawyer Mohamed Hanif Khatri Abdulla (crt) said this was supported by the Federal Court which had made judicial pronouncements on three occasions between 1992 and 2008.

"To suggest that the High Court has supervisory role over the Shariah Court is an affront to the purpose and intent of Article 121 (1A)," he said.

The association is appearing as amicus curae (friend of the court) on the invitation of High Court judge Lee Swee Seng to assist him in making a ruling since the civil court and Shariah Court have issued separate custody orders for three underaged children.

Hanif was submitting in a contempt proceeding brought by kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi against her estranged husband who had converted to Islam.

He subsequently converted the children – Tevi Darsiny, 16, Karan Dinish, 15, and Prasana Diksa, 3 – and obtained custody from the Shariah Court in September 2009.

Indira obtained her custody order from the High Court in 2010.

However, her husband, Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah, refused to return their youngest child, Prasana Diksa (Ummu Habibah), to Indira.

Ridzuan, who was known as K. Patmanathan, has been holding on to Prisana Diksa since April 2009 when she was 11 months old.

Last July 25, Lee, in a landmark decision, quashed the certificates of conversion of the three children and ruled that the certificates were null and void because they were unconstitutional.

Under the Perak state enactment, it was a statutory requirement for a child to be present before a certificate of conversion could be issued.

He also cited provisions under the Perak Shariah law, where the children must be present to utter the affirmation of faith (Dua Kalimah Syahadah).

Indira married the then K. Patmanathan (Muhammad Riduan), 20 years ago according to Hindu rites.

Hanif said Islam, under Article 3 of the Constitution, was the official religion of the Federation and was above all other religions which were allowed to be practised in peace in the country.

"The word Islam is not restricted to ritual only but must be interpreted as a way of life. So Article 3 imposed an obligation on the Federation to protect, defend and safeguard Islam," he added.

In the light of judicial pronouncements and special position of Islam, he said it was beyond doubt that the religion was a basic structure in the Federal Constitution and could not be moved or altered.

He said another basic structure of the Constitution was that there was a separation of power between the Federation and the states to enact laws as provided under the ninth schedule of the supreme law.

"It is crystal clear that on matters pertaining under the state list, the Federal government cannot legislate on subjects relating to Islam," he said.

He also said the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 and the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 were not applicable.

He said under the Law Reform Act, Indira Gandhi could only dissolve her marriage with her spouse and the civil court had no jurisdiction to give her custody of the children nor can it hold the estranged husband to being in contempt of court.

Lee adjourned hearing to April 16. – April 9, 2014.

'Convert ex-husband snatched my son, kicked me' - Malaysiakini

 

 A mother tried in vain to stop her ex-husband, a Muslim convert, from snatching away their six-year-old son from her home in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, today.

"I held on to his leg as the car was moving but he kicked me and I fell on the road.

"I have injuries on my head, legs, ankles and elbows," said S Deepa when recounting this morning's ordeal.

According to Deepa, her former husband, Izwan Abdullah, 30, came to her house in Jelebu around 9am and called out their son's name.

When the boy appeared, she said, Izwan, who works with an Islamic NGO, grabbed their son and immediately ran to the car, with another person at the wheel.

The 30-year-old clerk later filed a report with the Seremban district police headquarters.

Court decision

On Monday, the High Court in Seremban granted Deepa a divorce and custody of the couple’s son and nine-year-old daughter.

However, the children remain Muslim converts and Deepa must pursue a separate case to revoke their conversion.

Izwan, who converted to Islam last year and later converted the two children without their mother’s knowledge, was visibly upset with the court decision.

Deepa's lawyers will be filing a contempt of court application against Izwan, formerly known as N Viran, tomorrow.

Malaysiakini was earlier notified about the incident by Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) advocacy officer Sally Wangsawijaya, who has been helping Deepa in her fight for the custody of her children.

In her police report, Deepa said her former husband took their son away in a green Mitsubishi Pajero.

She also stated that when she attempted to stop him, her clothes got caught in the car door and she was dragged on the road as the vehicle was driven off.

PM wants MIC ministers, deputies to deliver

The Prime Minister wants them to submit detailed reports on their "portfolios" regularly.

PETALING JAYA: MIC’s two ministers and two deputy ministers are now requested to submit detailed reports of the “portfolios” set aside for them specifically on a regular basis to the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional chief, wants the ministers and deputy ministers in the party to ensure the Malaysian Indian community is not sidelined in aids and assistance.

“The PM also wants them to submit reports of what they have done and what needs to be done for the community. They have been asked to submit reports every three months when the cabinet committee for Indian Affairs meets,” said a source.

On his part, said the source, Najib has divided areas which should be focused by the MIC leaders.

MIC, the largest Indian based political party in the country, has two ministers and equal number of deputy ministers. Party president G Palanivel and his deputy Dr S Subramaniam are Natural Resources and Environment, and Health Ministers respectively.

Party vice president M Saravanan is Youth and Sports deputy minister while MIC central working committee member P Kamalanathan is deputy Education minister.

After the 13th general election last year, Najib appointed Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy to the cabinet as a deputy minister to look into the Indian affairs. Waythamoorthy however resigned earlier this year saying that Najib did not have the political will to walk the talk when it came to Indian matters.

The ball was back on MIC’s court and the party leaders were once again entrusted to look into matters pertaining to the two million strong Malaysian Indian community.

The four leaders were given specific portfolios to help the Indian community by the Prime Minister more than a month ago, when the cabinet committee met for the first time since the general election.

Palanivel is entrusted to look into woes faced by temples, construction of multi-purpose halls, crematoriums, MIC seat allocations and small and medium industries. Dr Subramaniam on the other hand will handle health matters, identification papers for Indian without MyKads or birth certificates, promotion of Indian in the civil sector and estate workers.

Saravanan is in charge of youth empowerment and skills training and agriculture including poultry while Kamalanathan will look at education.

The move by Najib to designate portfolios to these leaders is to ensure that they do their part for the community apart from serving as ministers and deputy ministers.

“Since Waythamoorthy resigned, the burden has come back to the MIC. The PM wants them to produce. It is not enough to just say we have the support of the Indian community. The MIC must show that they do indeed have the support through programmes which are beneficial to the community.

“So far only one of them have started working on the ground, which is good. But what about the other three. It is hoped that they will pull up their socks and get to work for the betterment of the community,” said the source, who declined to name the leader who has hit the ground.

The source also said that Najib was concerned if allocations for the community had indeed reached its intended target.

“Four of them were shocked at the last meeting when the Prime Minister brought up more than 20 unresolved issues. It showed that Najib had done his homework. MIC leaders then agreed to the tasks allocated to them.

“They now cannot come back and complain. They have to do their job first and show results,” he added.

Orang Hindu perlu bertaubat?

Dari Ezry Fahmy Bin Eddy Yusof, melalui e-mel

Jika Hinduisme “abang sulung” kepada Islam, apakah “si abang” perlu bertaubat?

Mungkin ramai yang teruja dengan buku “Hinduisme: Agama Tauhid Terawal?” (2014) karya Kamaludin Endol seperti mana ulasan Uthaya Sankar SB bertajuk “Hinduisme, ‘abang sulung’ kepada Islam?” (FMT, 1 Mac 2014).

Ulasan persamaan dan perbezaan ajaran Hindu dan agama Islam bukanlah suatu subjek yang baru bagi para pelajar yang biasa dalam ilmu perbandingan agama. Hal ini telahpun diulas oleh tokoh-tokoh perbandingan agama seperti Allahyarham Sheikh Ahmad Deedat, Dr Zakir Naik dan sebagainya serta boleh dibaca dan dilayari secara meluas di alam maya.

Saya bersetuju dengan pujian Uthaya bahawa “Kehebatan Kamaludin ternyata bukan hanya sebagai pengarang kreatif dan buku ‘Hinduisme: Agama Tauhid Terawal?’ menjadi bukti pemikiran kritis beliau dalam meneroka pelbagai sisi yang selalunya jarang berani dijelajah penulis tempatan; khususnya penulis Melayu.”

Namun, saya kurang bersetuju dengan ulasan Uthaya bahawa setiap hujah atau pandangan yang dikemukakan penulis adalah berdasarkan fakta dan maklumat daripada pelbagai sumber yang sahih. Hal ini adalah kerana penulis tidak peka terhadap penggunaan Hadis sehingga mencampur-adukkan ulasan dengan menggunakan Hadis lemah; bahkan Hadis bertaraf palsu dalam cubaan berhujah.

Buku kajian separa akademik ini juga diakui oleh penulis sebagai hanya merujuk kepada rujukan sekunder dalam bahasa Inggeris dan hanya banyak merujuk pada kitab “Ihya Ulumuddin” oleh al-Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah sebagai rujukan tunggal dalam mengulas hampir semua aspek hipotesis yang dibawa.

Rujukan tunggal terhadap kitab Ihya dalam hampir semua aspek ulasan mengingatkan saya terhadap komentar Imam Ath-Thurthusi (520H) terhadap kitab Ihya dalam suratnya kepada Abdullah bin Al Muzhaffar:

“Sebahagian besar orang yang mencintai kitab ini dengan kecintaan yang berlebih-lebihan adalah orang-orang soleh (ahli ibadah) yang tidak memiliki pengetahuan tentang kewajiban-kewajibannya terhadap akal dan dasar-dasar agama, tidak memahami (konsep-konsep) ketuhanan dan tidak mengetahui hakikat sifat-sifat (Allah).”

Seperti mana kepercayaan bahawa ajaran agama asal yang dibawakan oleh Nabi Isa AS (Jesus) disalah tafsir dalam agama Kristian, kandungan buku ini juga menghidangkan hipotesis bahawa Hinduism asalnya merupakan agama tauhid terawal berdasarkan jumlah Rasul pilihan dan Nabi lantikan.

Disertakan juga kenyataan bahawa setiap Nabi dan Rasul telah diberikan dan dikurniakan al-Kitab dan Suhuf. Hanya sahaja ajaran Tauhid dalam ajaran asal Hinduisme telah diseleweng sehingga menyebabkan ajaran Tauhid sebenar telah disalahtafsir oleh para penganut ajaran Hindu.

Pemikiran penulis bercanggah akidah

Antara hipotesis penulis, jika boleh diringkaskan berdasarkan 5 perkara berikut:

1 Hinduisme ialah agama tertua yang dianggarkan melebihi 4000SM.

2 Nabi Adam AS diturunkan di bumi India dan berada di sana selama 100 tahun sebelum mengharungi Lautan Hindi dalam pencarian cinta terhadap isterinya, Siti Hawa.

3 Istilah Hindu difahami sebagai Sanatara-Dharma – “agama yang abadi” atau “agama yang tiada permulaan dan tiada kesudahan”.

4 ‘Sruti’ bagaikan menyamai tradisi penurunan wahyu sementara ‘smirti’ menghampiri tradisi Hadis dan Sunnah Rasul.

5 Hinduisme juga agama yang diturunkan dari langit dan bukannya agama budaya.

Dalam pada mencari unsur Tauhid dalam ajaran Hindu, saya berpandangan bahawa penulis dalam tulisannya turut mempromosi pemikiran tasawuf ahli al-Tajalli wal-Zahir wal-Hadarat atau lebih dikenali sebagai Wahdatul Wujud dengan meluas dalam buku ini.

Pertentangan pemikiran ini dengan ahli zahir syarak memang tidak asing lagi kerana pemikiran jenis tasawuf yang kabur ini sukar difahami dan tiada asal dan dalil syarak yang jelas.

Seorang Muslim wajib beriman/beriktikad bahawa hanya agama Islam yang diterima di sisi Allah. Islam itu agama yang diajarkan Nabi Muhammad SAW dan para nabi sebelum baginda. Firman Allah SWT yang bermaksud:

“Dan sesiapa yang mencari selain Islam sebagai agamanya, maka sama sekali tidak diterima daripadanya dan dia di akhirat nanti termasuk dalam kalangan mereka yang rugi.” (Surah Ali-‘Imran, ayat 85).

Namun, sayang kerana tiada satu pun petikan ayat Quran ini diguna pakai dan/atau diulas dalam mengingatkan para pembaca akan kepentingannya.

Islam mengiktiraf kewujudan agama lain dan hak mereka untuk berpegang dengan apa yang para penganut agama lain yakini. Firman Allah SWT yang bermaksud:

“Tiada paksaan dalam agama (Islam), kerana sesungguhnya telah nyata kebenaran (Islam) dari kesesatan (kufur).” (Surah al-Baqarah ayat 256).

Barangkali jika buku ini diteliti pegawai Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN), bukan isu unsur Tauhid dalam ajaran Hindu yang bermasalah, tetapi unsur pemikiran tasawuf Wahdatul Wujud yang jelas bercanggah dengan akidah Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah yang perlu ditelusuri.

Buku ini dipromosi dan dijual kepada umum, maka saya beranggapan kesilapan yang tersebar secara umum mesti juga diperbetulkan dengan sebaran umum juga (menerusi surat ini) supaya masyarakat khususnya para pembaca boleh menilai perkara yang betul dan salah dengan lebih tepat.

‘Bandar seks’: Guan Eng kena jawab

(Bernama) - Kerajaan Pulau Pinang perlu memberi penjelasan berhubung laporan sebuah badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang mendakwa negeri ini ‘bandar seks’ berikutan kononnya terdapat sekurang-kurangnya 200 kawasan panas yang menawarkan perkhidmatan seks.

Ketua Pembangkang Pulau Pinang, Datuk Jahara Abdul Hamid berkata, semua pihak terutama rakyat negeri ini mahu Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng tampil memberi penjelasan mengenai perkara itu berikutan laporan itu memberi imej buruk kepada Pulau Pinang.

“Umno mahu Guan Eng beri penjelasan mengenai perkara itu dan jika beliau enggan berbuat demikian, kami akan bangkitkan pada sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri yang akan bersidang bulan depan.

“Laporan itu bukan sahaja memberi imej buruk malah menunjukkan pihak berkuasa tempatan tidak buat kerja mereka kerana saya difahamkan 200 premis yang menawarkan perkhidmatan berkenaan mempunyai lesen dan bagaimana perkara itu boleh terjadi,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Program Kembara Kebajikan 1Malaysia Family Care (IMFC), di Dewan Sungai Dua, di sini hari ini.

Jahara yang juga Pengerusi Majlis Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (MPWKM) mengulas dakwaan Jaringan Utara Migran dan Pelarian (Jump) itu.

Laporan kajian itu berdasarkan temu bual membabitkan 172 pemandu teksi di negeri ini yang mendakwa pernah membawa penumpang ke kawasan panas berkenaan sekurang-kurangnya sekali.

RM300 million ESSCOM should not be a costly “April Fool’s joke” for Sabahans and Malaysians

ESSCOM (Eastern Sabah Security Command) has become a costly “April Fool’s joke” for Sabahans and Malaysians.

It celebrated its first anniversary on April 1, boasting about its success as “guardian” of security of Sabahans, and I quote from a Bernama write-up:

“ESSCOM Celebrates Its First Anniversary with Confidence.

“Come Tuesday (April 1, 2014), after officially starting operations on April 1, 2013, the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) celebrates its first anniversary…

“…Sabahans are increasingly confident with the ESSCOM’s ability in protecting Sabah’s sovereignty and maintaining security at the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE)”

The Director General of ESSCOM Datuk Haji Mohammad Mentek was then quoted as saying:

“ESSCOM has succeeded in stopping the attempts by foreigners to enter Sabah illegally to commit criminal acts like the kidnapping of Taiwanese tourists in Pulau Pom-Pom on 15 Nov 2013″.

However, within 24 hours of the ESSCOM first anniversary celebrations, there was a second abduction of a tourist from China and a hotel employee of Singamata Reef Resort in Semporna on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at about 10.30 pm

As a result, ESSCOM has become a costly “April’s Fool joke”, giving Sabahans a false sense of security although more than RM300 million has been spent on establishing it.

Barisan Nasional MPs have called ESSCOM a “toothless tiger” but it would be more accurate to call it a useless “white elephant” costing over RM300 million with an establishment of over 500 people.

This is especially the case as ESSCOM has said that it is powerless to act in the abduction cases, as it has no authority to command, direct or order any action.

I agree that ESSCOM might as well be abolished if the government is incapable of carrying out a total revamp of ESSCOM to ensure the safety of Sabahans.

I believe needs an organization like ESSCOM to ensure the security of the East Coast of Sabah.

I call on the Cabinet at its next meeting to give top priority for the revamp of ESSCOM so that it would not be a “white elephant” or a “toothless tiger”.

It is no use of the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ordering ESSCOM to boost its level of preparedness, surveillance and intelligence following the second kidnapping incident in the waters of Sabah without ensuring that ESSCOM can function authoritatively and effectively to ensure the security in the ESSZONE.

Barisan Nasional MPs have said the problem about the ineffectiveness of ESSCOM was because a Sabahan and a civilian had been appointed as its director-general, and who could get the police and military heads to take orders from him.

This should not be the nub of the problem, as the question is not whether a Sabahan or a civilian had been appointed ESSCOM Director-General, but whether he has been vested with the full authority to carry out the powers and duties assigned to ESSCOM.

If this is indeed the problem, then the Cabinet should immediately ensure that the civilian and Sabahan ESSCOM director-general is given full authority and powers to carry out the tasks of ESSCOM, and any person, however high-up in the police and military hierarchy who countermands the directive of the civilian Sabahan ESSCOM director-general or guilty of insubordination should be disciplined immediately and severely.

Start behaving like world-class universities, Ambiga tells local varsities

The Malaysian Insider 
BY ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH

Malaysian institutions of higher learning should start behaving like world-class universities, says Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, following Universiti of Malaya's (UM) refusal to allow the prominent lawyer to speak at its law convention last week.

Claiming it was a ridiculous move by the university, the former Bersih co-chair said UM was setting a bad example by curtailing the rights of students and clamping down on academic freedom.

"This has to stop. We cannot have narrow-minded people up there telling us this. Public institutions of higher learning  should start behaving like world-class universities," she told The Malaysian Insider.

Ambiga, who is the former Bar Council president, was scheduled to speak at the Law Faculty’s Law Career Convention on Public Interest Litigation on March 29.

A student representative said an official letter was sent to the university's deputy vice-chancellor of Student Affairs to seek permission for Ambiga to deliver the lecture on March 25.

The university had initially agreed on condition that there should also be a pro-establishment speaker at the convention to make it more balanced.

However, the approval was retracted with the excuse that Ambiga's lecture was not part of the programme, which was organised by the UM Law Society.

A group of UM students handed a memorandum to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs yesterday to protest the university's decision and its attempt to violate their rights.

Student group Progressive University Malaya president Richtyne Yusuf said the university seemed to be practising double standards when it came to speakers allowed to deliver lectures.

“When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was invited to give a lecture, there were no issue. But when Ambiga was invited, the seminar was cancelled. This seems unfair,” he said.

Ambiga praised the students who stood up against the university's move, noting that it shows that there is still "hope in the country".

"I was pleasantly surprised that the students are not letting this go. I feel encouraged by what they are doing now, that they will not let their right to academic freedom be taken away.

"I am happy that they realise the world is at their feet," said the lawyer.

Ambiga said she has not faced such a situation before but was told that students were afraid of inviting her for fear of getting into trouble with university officials.

"I learnt that previously, students had wanted to invite me to speak but backed down because they knew they will run into trouble with the university.

"This shows that they are practising self-censorship and this is wrong," she said.

Meanwhile, Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) chairman, Datuk Kuthubul Zaman, also took a swipe at UM, saying the university should have considered Ambiga's vast experience as a top lawyer than her "presumed political inclination".

"Proham calls on the university to reconsider their decision and to allow Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan to address the law students on Public Interest Litigation. It is a clear violation of the students’ rights and a contravention of a universal human right to freedom of speech and expression.

"Ambiga herself had personally appeared as counsel in the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal Court on issues concerning public interest. Her valuable experience is an asset for her to share with the law students. In the circumstances, the decision by the university in refusing her to address the law students is puzzling," he added in a statement.

The Malaysian Insider sent emails and made telephone calls to the offices of the university vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin and the Dean of the Law Faculty, Associate Professor Dr Johan Shamsuddin Sabaruddin, but they have not responded at press time. – April 9, 2014.

Malaysia Wants To Be Educational Destination Of Choice For West Asia

DUBAI, April 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia aims to be a higher educational destination of choice for West Asian students, including that of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by raising its profile through participation in top educational exhibitions and government-to-government cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the UAE wished to foster cooperation with Malaysia in the field of education.

He said the wish was expressed by UAE Education Minister Mohammed Al Qatami and Culture, Youth and Community Development Minister Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan whom he received Wednesday during working visit to Dubai.

The UAE ministers later accompanied Muhyiddin to visit the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre where he opened the Education Malaysia pavilion.

"The UAE leaders greatly appreciated our cooperation and wanted us to broaden the scope of educational areas offered.

"I told them that is what we want to do and they were glad that we want to expand various fields," he told Malaysian journalists covering his five-day working visit here since Monday.

Muhyiddin said the UAE felt that Malaysia's participation in Getex 2014 as one of the biggest exhibitor reflected close ties between the two countries in the field of education.

The Education Malaysia pavilion boasts the participation of 27 public and private institutions of higher learning, including University of Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sunway University, and SEGi University College.

Muhyiddin said participation in high-profile education fairs like Getex and close ties with UAE leaders could help promote Malaysia as a higher education hub for West Asian students.

It will also help entice UAE's participation in educational programmes in Malaysia and foreign institutions collaboration in specific fields such as science and technology, he added.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said about 160 UAE students were currently studying in Malaysia in various fields, including engineering, science and technology, and he hoped the number could increase in future.

"While promising more UAE students would pursue higher studies in Malaysia, the UAE leaders also want our students to study in the UAE. That's why we want to forge a long-term partnership," he said.

Among fields of educational cooperation that could be pursued by Malaysia and the UAE are science, technology, oil and gas, and language, he said, adding that one of Malaysia's pull factors was competitive cost. Muhyiddin said Malaysia, which had participated in Getex since 2004, would continue to take part in the education fair in an effort to woo more students from West Asia. Between 25,000 and 27,000 students from West Asia are currently studying in Malaysia.

Malaysia Wants To Be Educational Destination Of Choice For West Asia

DUBAI, April 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia aims to be a higher educational destination of choice for West Asian students, including that of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by raising its profile through participation in top educational exhibitions and government-to-government cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the UAE wished to foster cooperation with Malaysia in the field of education.

He said the wish was expressed by UAE Education Minister Mohammed Al Qatami and Culture, Youth and Community Development Minister Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan whom he received Wednesday during working visit to Dubai.

The UAE ministers later accompanied Muhyiddin to visit the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre where he opened the Education Malaysia pavilion.

"The UAE leaders greatly appreciated our cooperation and wanted us to broaden the scope of educational areas offered.

"I told them that is what we want to do and they were glad that we want to expand various fields," he told Malaysian journalists covering his five-day working visit here since Monday.

Muhyiddin said the UAE felt that Malaysia's participation in Getex 2014 as one of the biggest exhibitor reflected close ties between the two countries in the field of education.

The Education Malaysia pavilion boasts the participation of 27 public and private institutions of higher learning, including University of Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sunway University, and SEGi University College.

Muhyiddin said participation in high-profile education fairs like Getex and close ties with UAE leaders could help promote Malaysia as a higher education hub for West Asian students.

It will also help entice UAE's participation in educational programmes in Malaysia and foreign institutions collaboration in specific fields such as science and technology, he added.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said about 160 UAE students were currently studying in Malaysia in various fields, including engineering, science and technology, and he hoped the number could increase in future.

"While promising more UAE students would pursue higher studies in Malaysia, the UAE leaders also want our students to study in the UAE. That's why we want to forge a long-term partnership," he said.

Among fields of educational cooperation that could be pursued by Malaysia and the UAE are science, technology, oil and gas, and language, he said, adding that one of Malaysia's pull factors was competitive cost. Muhyiddin said Malaysia, which had participated in Getex since 2004, would continue to take part in the education fair in an effort to woo more students from West Asia. Between 25,000 and 27,000 students from West Asia are currently studying in Malaysia.

Malaysia Wants To Be Educational Destination Of Choice For West Asia

DUBAI, April 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia aims to be a higher educational destination of choice for West Asian students, including that of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by raising its profile through participation in top educational exhibitions and government-to-government cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the UAE wished to foster cooperation with Malaysia in the field of education.

He said the wish was expressed by UAE Education Minister Mohammed Al Qatami and Culture, Youth and Community Development Minister Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan whom he received Wednesday during working visit to Dubai.

The UAE ministers later accompanied Muhyiddin to visit the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre where he opened the Education Malaysia pavilion.

"The UAE leaders greatly appreciated our cooperation and wanted us to broaden the scope of educational areas offered.

"I told them that is what we want to do and they were glad that we want to expand various fields," he told Malaysian journalists covering his five-day working visit here since Monday.

Muhyiddin said the UAE felt that Malaysia's participation in Getex 2014 as one of the biggest exhibitor reflected close ties between the two countries in the field of education.

The Education Malaysia pavilion boasts the participation of 27 public and private institutions of higher learning, including University of Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sunway University, and SEGi University College.

Muhyiddin said participation in high-profile education fairs like Getex and close ties with UAE leaders could help promote Malaysia as a higher education hub for West Asian students.

It will also help entice UAE's participation in educational programmes in Malaysia and foreign institutions collaboration in specific fields such as science and technology, he added.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said about 160 UAE students were currently studying in Malaysia in various fields, including engineering, science and technology, and he hoped the number could increase in future.

"While promising more UAE students would pursue higher studies in Malaysia, the UAE leaders also want our students to study in the UAE. That's why we want to forge a long-term partnership," he said.

Among fields of educational cooperation that could be pursued by Malaysia and the UAE are science, technology, oil and gas, and language, he said, adding that one of Malaysia's pull factors was competitive cost. Muhyiddin said Malaysia, which had participated in Getex since 2004, would continue to take part in the education fair in an effort to woo more students from West Asia. Between 25,000 and 27,000 students from West Asia are currently studying in Malaysia.

MH370: Beijing families mark one month anniversary

Isma preacher labels liberalism a manifestation of ‘Satan’s agenda’

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Liberalism, the philosophy founded on liberty and equality, is the manifestation of Satan’s struggle to mislead mankind, a leading member of Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) said today.

According to Isma central committee member Mohamad Ismail, liberalism has tried to unravel the faith of Muslims through the use of slogans and rational arguments, which he claimed to be distorted from the truth.

Liberalism encompasses a wide array of ideas, but its supporters usually push for civil rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, free trade, private property, and free and fair elections.

“Their work methods are not much different,” Mohamad said in a column on Isma’s website, where he drew parallels between liberals and Satan.

“They hide behind false arguments and jargons which look pretty, but in spirit are deviant and far away from the guidance of syarak,” the preacher added, using the Malay word for the Islamic moral code.

In Quranic lore, Syaitan, or Satan, is the Devil who was originally a djinn that refused to bow down to Adam, the first Man, and was cursed by God to spend his life in hell for eternity.

However, Satan requested for his punishment to be deferred until the Day of Judgment, until which he and his minions are said to entice humans into committing sin.

In his mission to mislead mankind, Mohamad claimed that Satan had managed to turn humans away from God through the pursuit of certain philosophies.

He named as examples Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Islamic figure Abdullah Saba’, whom Sunni Muslims see as one of the founders of the Shiah school of Islam and which has been branded deviant in Malaysia.

Mohamad also complained about the rise of Muslims who allegedly deny the truth as laid down in the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

The preacher claimed that this group of Muslims accused the Quran as being unfair for discriminating between genders, in addition to being open to interpretation by anyone, and free to be criticised like any other literature.

“Whoever does not agree with them are said to be outdated, unintellectual, do not read much, and do not understand the problem,” Mohamad said.

“This is the essence of liberalism which calls for the freedom of humankind… That is the manifestation of Iblis. Iblis wants humans to be his companions in hell,” he added, using another name for Satan.

Isma has gained prominence among the more conservative Malay-Muslim community since the last general elections for its strident push for Malaysia to be an Islamic state.

Civil rights movements and human rights defenders have regularly been in Isma’s crosshairs, especially the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (Comango).

Isma had previously accused Comango of trying to challenge the position of Islam in the nation and spreading “liberalism teachings” backed by Western powers.

The group has also consistently labelled liberalism, Christianisation, non-Muslim’s chauvinism and religious pluralism as threats against the Malay-Muslim community.

Ex-judge, now MP, laments bomoh actions in court - Malaysiakini

PARLIAMENT Judges face all sorts of challenges on the job - and, not least of all - from the supernatural forces.

This is according to Che Mohd Zulkifly Jusoh (BN-Setiu), who said he faced all sorts of interventions from shamans when serving as a sessions court judge.

"There would be yellow rice scattered in front of the door... and there was a time when I was the only one who smelled joss sticks in court.

"I am telling you that bomoh are not only found in the KLIA," Che Mohd quipped, referring to the infamous self-styles Raja Bomoh who tried to track the missing Flight MH370 from the KL International Airport.

Debating the Judges' Remuneration (Amendment) Bill, he said supporters filling up the public galleries were also a challenge for judges.

"For example, during the (PKR de facto leader) Anwar Ibrahim case, the supporters will be lined up at the Kuala Lumpur High Court at the crack of dawn," Che Mohd lamented.

The Bill, which is in its second reading, sparked heated debate in the Dewan Rakyat on the independence of the judiciary.

Although MPs from both sides appeared to support the amendments, which will raise judges' pensions, Pakatan Rakyat MPs had much to say about judicial integrity.

Retired judges on company boards...

M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) questioned the issue of retired judges finding themselves on boards of construction companies that win plum contracts from the government.

"Is it because (the judge) has been a good boy?" Kulasegaran asked.

Anwar (PKR-Permatang Pauh) used the debate to decry his sodomy conviction, while scandals ranging from the VK Lingam judge-fixing case to the Perak constitutional crisis were revived again by other MPs.

Before Anwar arrived, a shouting match between MPs over Anwar's conviction prompted Idris Jauzi (PKR-Batu Pahat) to remark, "BN seems to like things like sodomy."

Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Lenggong) shot back: "You watch what you say. BN doesn't like sodomy!"

Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak), who is also Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister, joined the fray by saying that he has known Anwar for longer than most of those in the House.

Tajuddin said he had stoutly defended Anwar throughout his career, but Anwar had "brought it on himself, and now the matter is with the court".

The shouting match continued until deputy speaker Ismail Mohd Said told the MPs to not stray from the topic, especially since Anwar was not in the House to respond.

Security breach: Nazri flays cabinet peers

Minister Nazri Aziz says security arrangements in Sabah east coast "unsatisfactory”.

KOTA KINABALU: Is Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz’s candid remark on last Wednesday’s kidnapping an indication of an imminent review of the security policy or is there a surfacing rift at the top over Sabah?

Is this the reason why Chief Minister Musa Aman declined to reveal what the state government planned to do to secure the Sabah maritime borders when assuring island operators?

All Musa said yesterday was that no island resort will be closed in response to Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar’s incredulous remark that police and military could not assure customers of their safety and that island resort operators should cease operations.

Balking at Wan Junaidi’s statement, Nazri criticised the Home Ministry’s security arrangements in Sabah.

The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), was set up in April following the Sulu incursion, is under the Home Ministry.

Nazri today told reporters that Sabah’s security was “unsatisfactory”.

“This is not the first time this has happened. The arrangements in place should have ensured it did not happen.

“If we want tourists to come here, we must ensure that they feel safe and security has to be at the best.

“There should be no excuse. Security has to be improved,” he said adding that in view of the latest kidnapping, it is obvious that security arrangements in Singamata Island, barely five minutes off Semporna was not up to mark.

Nazri’s remarks flayed the defensive stand taken by his cabinet colleagues Shahidan Kassim and Wan Junaidi.

BN MPs castigate Putrajaya

Shahidan told parliament yesterday that Esscom carried out regular patrols on the Sabah seas and that last Wednesday, the Maritime Enforcement Agency personnel had visited the Singamata Reef Resort three hours before the kidnapping incident.

Despite the reality of this being a second incident since Esscom was established, Shahidan argued that Esscom had managed to defend the 1,400km of coastline from Kudat toTawau.

His remarks come on the heel of Sabah opposition and BN MPs who castigated Putrajaya over the lax security arrangements despite RM millions being spent since April last year.

Although Sabah BN MPs, except Kalabakan’s Abdul Ghaful Salleh, were less harsh on Esscom and the federal government, they nonetheless shared equal concern over Sabah’s security and demanded immediate action.

BN backbenchers Wilfred Tangau (BN-Tuaran), Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) and Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) said Esscom should not be written off and instead called for the organisation to be given more assets and greater powers.

They also called for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to take direct command of Esscom as he had “all the powers under the Malaysian sky” to give orders.

MPs from both sides also called for the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the illegal migrants in Sabah to be released immediately.

The disclosure of the RCI finding has been postponed so many times since even before the 13th general election last May, they said.

“Now the minister tells me that it could be released in May, but only maybe,” said Sandakan MP Stephen Wong, who moved the motion to debate security lax in Sabah.

MCA: Stop playing games with Bible issue

Both MCA and DAP today urges the state government to be more proactive on the Malay bibles issue rather than passing the buck to the Attorney General Chambers.

PETALING JAYA: A MCA leader today questioned why Selangor Tourism exco, Elizabeth Wong wrote a letter to the Attorney General (AG) demanding the release of the Malay and Iban language bibles instead of menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim or Islamic Affairs Exco, Sallehin Mukhyi.

“The proper authority rests with the Khalid,Jais and Sallehin. It gives an impression that the state government is not serious about the matter,” said MCA Religious Harmony Bureau Deputy Chairman, Ng Chok Sin, in a statement.

Earlier today, the news portal Malay Mail Online, reported that Wong had writen to the AG, Abdul Gani Patail to request for the release of Al-Kitab and Bup Kudus.

Ng said that the Selangor state government should stop playing a charade as the people are getting tired of it.

“The people aren’t fools to have mind games played on them,” he said.

On related matter, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said that Khalid should take it upon himself to approach the AG in regards to the Malay bible issue.

“Khalid cannot and should not run away from this matter,” he said.

Having said that, Gobind agreed with Khalid saying that the matter is still under investigation, thus, needing the approval from the AG Chambers.

“Nevertheless, Khalid should inspire confidence by taking a proactive approach on the matter rather than passing the buck to Gani,” he said.

On January 2, Jais raided the BSM’s office, confiscating more than 16 boxes of the holy books meant for the Sabah and Sarawak Christians.

The Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II is unconstitutional

Karpal Singh

The insistence by Kelantan Menteri Besar, Datuk Ahmad Yakob, that Kelantan will go ahead for PAS to move a private member’s bill in Parliament ‘to seek a declaration that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II, or hudud, can be implemented in the state’ is ill-advised. He adds that the state government will use the next six months to carry out an information campaign so that no party would doubt the benefit of implementing syariah laws and that this was the perfect time to table the bill. He adds further that it was timely to implement syariah laws for the peace and welfare of all. [NST 06.04.2014 page 24].

Kelantan UMNO has promptly jumped on the bandwagon with Kelantan UMNO liaison committee chairman, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad, publicly proclaiming that UMNO members of parliament from Kelantan will support the private member’s bill to be tabled by the Kelantan government to seek the declaration, adding that it was their duty as Muslims to support the implementation of syariah in the state.

It is obvious, both PAS and UMNO are seeking to derive political mileage from the implementation of hudud in Kelantan despite knowing fully well that under the law the legislation of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II was clearly unconstitutional. The Kelantan State Assembly did not have the power to have passed the enactment.

I have said time and again, and I repeat, Parliament cannot approve for implementation, by way of a private member’s bill, a state law which is unconstitutional.

In any event, the Supreme Court, the country’s highest court then, has as far back as 1988 in Che Omar B Che Soh v PP through a strong five-man bench headed by Salleh Abas (the then LP) ruled that the country was governed by secular law which makes Malaysia a secular state as only a secular state can be ruled by secular law. It would be incongruous to accept hudud, which is Islamic law in a secular state. This case has not been overruled by the Federal Court and has obviously stood the test of time. From the ruling of the Supreme Court, it must follow that hudud, which is Islamic law cannot be reconciled with the country being ruled by secular law through a judicial pronouncement by the highest court in the land. Even if Parliament passes hudud as criminal law applicable to the whole country or to a specified state like Kelantan, it would mean Parliament has acted unconstitutionally as the passing of that law would destroy one of the basic structures of the constitution, namely that Malaysia was a secular state as it was ruled by secular law. It must be emphasized, in Malaysia, it is the Federal Constitution which is supreme, and not Parliament unlike the position in the United Kingdom.

In view of the constitutional constraints and further in view of hudud being unsuitable for the present time and age and the multi-racial and multi-religious structure of society in Malaysia, the 38 DAP Members of Parliament cannot, in the national interest, support any proposed move by PAS to initiate a futile private member’s bill to provide for the introduction of hudud in Kelantan.

Hudud: ‘Laksanalah kami sokong’, kata Ku Li

(Sinar Harian) – Ahli Parlimen Gua Musang, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah hari ini menyatakan bahawa beliau menyokong penuh usaha kerajaan negeri untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud di negeri itu.

Menurut Ku Li yang juga bekas menteri Kabinet, beliau percaya, Umno Kelantan juga menyokong penuh perkara itu kerana tidak membantah semasa pembentangan Rang Undang-Undang tersebut sebelum ini.

“Laksanalah kita sokong, saya tidak tentang.

“Masa Rang Undang-Undang itu dibentang di Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan, kita tidak tentang, tidak ada masalah, mana mungkin kita hendak tentang hukum ALLAH,” katanya ketika ditemui Sinar Harian Online di lobi Parlimen hari ini.

Terdahulu, Kerajaan Kelantan menetapkan sasaran untuk menguatkuasakan Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah II (1993) yang membawa kepada perlaksanaan hukum hudud pada 2015.

Ia berikutan kesediaan kerajaan pusat untuk memberi laluan kepada penguatkuasaan enakmen tersebut, sebagaimana jawapan diberikan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri di Parlimen, baru-baru ini.

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says government is concealing information

The Malaysian government has deliberately concealed information concerning the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, Anwar Ibrahim, the country’s main opposition leader, has claimed.

Mr Ibrahim, who knew one of the pilots of the Boeing 777 personally, said the handling of the MH370 investigation was “ clearly suspect” and claimed “information critical to our understanding” is missing.

In an interview with The Telegraph , Mr Ibrahim slammed Malaysian authorities and called for an international committee to take over the investigation because “the integrity of the whole nation is at stake”.

He indicated it was even possible there could have been complicity by authorities on the ground over what happened to the plane after it disappeared on 8 March en route to Kuala Lumpur from Beijing with 239 people on board.

The politician told the newspaper that when he was the country’s finance minister in 1994 he personally authorised the installation of “one of the most sophisticated radar” systems in the world, based near the South China Sea and covering Malaysia’s mainland and east and west coastlines.

The radar would have instantly detected the Boeing 777 as it travelled east to west across “at least four” Malaysian provinces, he said, describing the fact that the plane was not spotted by the sophisticated radar immediately after it changed course as "not only unacceptable but not possible, not feasible".

His accusations came as a high-tech US Navy pinger locater was deployed in the race against time to find the black box from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, just days before its batteries are due to run out.

Two ships with sophisticated equipment are searching underwater in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean in an operation led by the Joint Agencies Coordination Centre (JACC).

The pingers on the plane’s black box transmit signals for about 30 days after a crash – giving search teams just days to find the recorder and potentially discover what happened to the jetliner.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-opposition-leader-anwar-ibrahim-accuses-government-of-concealing-information-9237766.html

Satellite data analysis suggests MH370 flew inverted to site of acoustic signals

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 ― New analysis of partial satellite communications with Flight MH370 that places it in the Indian Ocean location where acoustic signals were detected by search teams have led authorities to believe they may have found the site of wreckage.

British daily, The Telegraph, reported today that the final satellite contact or “half-handshake” ― as it is referred to in aviation jargon ― could have been the moment when the plane ran out of fuel, turned upside down and plunged into the water.

Citing Chris McLaughlin from British satellite company Inmarsat, The Telegraph reported that analysis of the new signals were made at 00.19 GMT ― 8.19am Malaysian time ― on March 8, just eight minutes after Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370's last regular hourly handshake.

The daily reported that the signals were further scrutinised by an international team of experts and the latest analysis showed the plane to be travelling faster than previously presumed, burning up more fuel, and would have landed even further north along the same arc.

“The partial handshake would be the plane running out of fuel and faltering for a moment, so the system went off network and then briefly powered up and had communication with the network. The plane looked for a final communication before it went off ― and that was it,” McLaughlin was quoted saying.

The daily also cited a former British Airways pilot who flew Boeing 777s, Stephen Buzdygan, as saying that the jetliner would have continued staying airborne but may have turned over on its back as the engines shut off one after the other.

“Without fuel, assuming the crew were unconscious and no one was flying the plane, it would glide.

“Engines have separate fuel supply, so the chances are it won't go in with the wings level. With no autopilot correction, it would slowly turn on its back and go down at an angle and the wings will be ripped off,” the pilot was quoted saying.

International searchers are racing against time to find the crucial flight data and cockpit voice recorders that may hold the only clues in the “unprecedented mystery” of the disappearance of the Beijing-bound plane carrying 239 passengers and crew on board.

Batteries powering the emergency locator transmitters equipped on the black boxes have a rated life of 30 days; the plane went missing on March 8 or 31 days ago.

An Australian ship, Ocean Shield, had picked up two sets of signals consistent with the beacons from aircraft black box recorders over the weekend had not registered any further pulses and are reportedly separate from those picked up by a Chinese search ship that had placed the site farther south.

The first set was heard on Saturday and lasted for two hours and twenty minutes; the second set lasted 13 minutes.

Ocean Shield, which is towing a deep-sea pinger locator, has since lost track of the pings but is trying to relocate the signals.

Retired Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is leading the multinational search, said the second set included two distinct sounds which would be consistent with transmissions from separate pingers attached to the black box's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

“In the search so far it is probably the best information that we have had,” Houston was quoted saying by The Telegraph.


“We are encouraged that we are very close to where we need to be. I would want more confirmation before we say 'this is it'.”
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/satellite-data-suggests-mh370-flew-inverted-at-site-of-acoustic-signals#sthash.wVZTCUSt.dpuf

Hindu mother gets custody of children in conversion tussle

The Sun

SEREMBAN: The High Court today ordered that custody of two children, converted to Islam by their Muslim father, be given to their Hindu mother.

Judge Datuk Zabariah Mohd allowed the custody application by S. Deepa in chambers. Zabariah also allowed Deepa's application to dissolve her civil marriage as the husband Izwan Abdullah had converted to Islam.

The High Court decision overrides a syariah court order early last year that granted custody of the children to Izwan, who became a Muslim in April last year.

Izwan's lawyer Muhammad Faiz Fadzil told a news portal that the judge made it clear that Deepa's application was allowed as the civil court had jurisdiction over the matter and provided relief for custody and dissolution of the couple's marriage.

He said the court has granted the father limited visitation, but not overnight stays.

Faiz said he had instructions to appeal against the decision in the Court of Appeal.

In December last year, Deepa had filed an application to obtain custody of the children who were converted by the husband after he embraced Islam in 2011 and to quash the custody order by the syariah court.

The 30-year-old clerk from Jelebu said her lorry-driver husband N. Viran, 30, left her and her children three years ago and never supported them financially. He is said to have subsequently become a Muslim.

She found out that their children – Sharmila (Nurul Nabila), 9, and Mithran (Nabil), 6, had been converted to Islam without her knowledge by her husband in April last year.

On April 4, she went to a kindergarten to pick up Mithran but he was not there and was told that her husband had taken him away.

"Coincidently, I went to Pusat Dakwah Islamiah Negeri Sembilan in Paroi to collect the confirmation letter of Viran's conversion into Islam to submit to the court for a divorce.

"I was shocked to see Mithran and Sharmila with my husband at Pusat Dakwah Islamiah Negeri Sembilan," she added.

She then found out that he had converted Sharmila and Mithran without her knowledge and permission and the syariah court had given him custody of the children.

Said Deepa: "I am happy that my ex-husband did not resist when he was told to hand over the children following the court ruling."

Deepa, who was assisted by the Women's Aid Organisation in her legal battle, said she has to file another application to obtain a declaration that the conversion of the minors by their father was illegal and unconstitutional.

"It is not going to be easy but I am prepared to face whatever that comes my way," she added.

Malaysia Grateful Over UAE Assistance In Search For Flight MH370

From Leslean Arshad

DUBAI, April 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has expressed gratitute to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for assistance rendered in search and rescue (SAR) efforts to locate the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin took the opportunity to convey the country's gratitute to UAE when delivering his keynote address at the 4th Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) 2014 at the Dubai Convention and Exhibition Centre in Dubai, Tuesday.

"Allow me also to take a moment to convey, on behalf of my Government and the people of Malaysia, our heartfelt gratitude to the United Arab Emirates, for the assistance rendered in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"These are difficult times for the loved ones of those who were on board MH370, and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with them," he said.

UAE has sent two aircraft to assist in the SAR operation involving the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it left the KL International Airport at 12.41am on March 8.

About an hour later, it disappeared from the radar screens while flying over the South China Sea. It was to have arrived in Beijing at 6.30am on the same day.

Following an unprecedented type of analysis of satellite data, United Kingdom satellite company Inmarsat and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded that Flight MH370 flew along the southern corridor and its last position was over the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on March 24 - 17 days after the disappearance of the aircraft - that the flight path of MH370 "ended in the southern Indian Ocean".

Representatives from more than 100 countries are attending this year's AIM, which is organised by the UAE Ministry of Economy under the patronage of Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum.

The event has established itself as a platform that will shape investments and partnerships to achieve sustainable growth in emerging markets worldwide.