PM: Malaysia Can Become Choice Centre For Arbitration In Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, through the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) is well-positioned to become a premier centre for arbitration in this region.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said arbitration had today emerged as a strong alternative dispute resolution for commercial and corporate entities in South East Asia, and the government, in recognising its growing importance in this region, was willing to invest in its future.

He said the government had also prepared the right environment for arbitration to grow, including amending the Legal Profession Act 1976, a few months ago.

"The amendment will allow foreign arbitrators and lawyers to enter Malaysia to participate in proceedings here, while foreign practitioners are also exempted from applying for work permit to enter Malaysia to conduct arbitration proceedings," he added when launching the new KLRCA's premises at the historic Bangunan Sulaiman here today.

Najib said Malaysia was well-positioned to thrive in this environment, and "our courts support the arbitration process and the finality of arbitration awards, so matters can be settled in months, not decades."

He said this was also in line with the government's commitment to openness and growth for Malaysia's services sector, and "we want more competition and more opportunities to come to Malaysia."

Citing the latest case of the Malaysia-Singapore joint venture firm M+S Pte Ltd involving in paying development charges for several parcels of lands in Singapore which was resolved through arbitration, Najib said the case could be a model for other countries to pursue in resolving their disputes.

"Instead of allowing disputes to fester and tensions to wrap up, countries can use arbitration as a method to solve disputes and we (Malaysia and Singapore) have shown the way," he added.

On KLRCA, Najib said the centre which was formed in 1978 had now become an integral part of the international arbitration scene and it "must make full use of Malaysia's competitive advantages to continue to thrive and succeed in the international arena."

"We are convinced that KLRCA, the first institution of its kind to be established in South East Asia, possessed all the right qualities to become the region's arbitration centre of choice," he added.

Apart from KLRCA, Bangunan Sulaiaman is expected to house an office of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Sport Arbitration, the Chartered Institute of Arbitration Malaysia and the Malaysian Institute of Adjudicators.

It will also host I-Cells, the think-tank and research arm of the Attorney-General's Chambers and the National Legal Aid Foundation.

Meanwhile, KLRCA director Prof Datuk Sundra Rajoo said the centre had last year, handled 253 cases, as compared to only 22 in 2010.

Also present at the launch were Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who is also the centre's Advisory Board Chairman, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

Minister: Re-open probe on Ibrahim Ali's Bible remark

Gov't passes buck on interfaith child custody

Fatwa haramkan SIS: Izzah saran beri ruang dengar keluhan

France: Several large-scale jihad mass murder attacks foiled

“Reports of the foiled attacks come after Islamic extremists from Isis called on followers to launch attacks on French soil…” If the planned jihad murders were a response to that call, they once again show the appeal of the concept of the caliphate, which makes the Islamic State immediately more influential among many Muslims in the West than other jihad terror groups have been. But government and mainstream media analysts cannot acknowledge that appeal, much less study it, for to do so would be to admit that the Islamic State has something to do with Islam.

“Several ‘planned terrorist attacks’ foiled in France,” The Local, November 3, 2014:

Several terrorist plots against France have been foiled in recent months including one planned to target the famous Nice Carnival, French security services revealed on Monday. The news comes as France remains on high alert for attacks from extremists.

Details were revealed on Monday of three alleged terror plots on France that were thwarted by the country’s anti-terror police….

Nice:

According to reports, this was the most developed plot and was designed to target the annual Nice Carnival. Police arrested a man in February on the French Riviera and found him to be in possession of the explosive TATP, which can be manufactured at home and was used in previous terrorist attacks including the Marrakech bombings in 2011.

The explosives were found in three drinks cans, one of which had screws and nails taped around it. The arrested man had just returned from Syria and was allegedly plotting an attack similar to the one carried out at the Boston Marathon in April 2013.

Ile-de-France:

According to separate reports in Le Parisien newspaper on Monday, a young Frenchman was arrested in Creteil in the Paris region. He had reportedly been researching possible targets for an attack using the internet and trying to raise money so he could buy arms.

He was arrested in the summer and charged with “criminal association with a links to a terrorist organisation” before being jailed but he has denied the allegations against him.

Lille:

A man named Lyes Darani was arrested in the northern French city a year ago with a manual explaining how to make a bomb and a letter containing a religious pledge to commit a suicide attack, RTL radio reported.

“He had just returned from Syria through Lebanon, where he had prepared an attack against Shiites and was inquiring about targets in France for a suicide attack,” RTL reported.

Reports of the foiled attacks come after Islamic extremists from Isis called on followers to launch attacks on French soil, prompting the government to increase security at transport hubs and large shopping centres.

MH370, MH17 Tragedies Were Caused Due to Un-Islamic Behaviours like 'Serving Alcohol and Exposing Flesh': Malaysian Official

IBTIMES

A senior lecturer of the National Defence University recognised as Ridhuan Tee, has offered a theological contention as the main reasons behind the tragedies of MH370 and MH17, implying that if the Malaysian airlines had adhered to Islamic behaviours or customs, the accidents would never have happened.

In his column titled "Buka Minda" (Open your mind) written for Malaysian publication, Sinar Harian on Monday, Tee said that Malaysian airlines MH370 went missing and MH17 was shot down earlier in the year simply because Malaysians are increasingly refusing to be more 'Islamic'.

He latched on the idea that more Islamic culture should be observed on board Malaysian flights, by narrating his own experience while flying a Royal Brunei Airlines fight recently.

"The flight began with a beautiful reciting of prayers and well wishes," that made him feel that "Allah was with us," he said in a quote translated by Free Malaysia Today.

"Aren't the lessons of MH17 and MH370 not enough?" Tee asked adding that these days the in-flight crew do not bother to dress in a more Islamic manner and that they serve alcohol – something that is prohibited in Islam.

Noting that the tourists "are practically bathing in alcohol in their own countries", the official concluded by offering an advice to Malaysian airlines in order to avoid accidents in future:

"My advice: observe a more Islamic way of life before Allah unleashes his wrath on you."

"Forget those who are not interested in entering heaven. They are but products of the West bent on destroying Muslims in our country."

This is the first time a relatively renowned senior official has provided a theological explanation on why the two flights met their fate earlier in the year.

ISIS 'to set up Islamic Caliphate in Sinai'

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, NOVEMBER 3 - The Islamic State (ISIS) has issued a statement saying that an Islamic Caliphate will be established in the Sinai, calling it the ''first step towards the invasion of Jerusalem''. The statement threatens Egyptian security forces, which were suffered an attack on October 24. ISIS urged jihadists in the region to ''destroy police checkpoints and stations, launch RPGs at their gatherings and show the world that the Rule of God must be imposed''.

Bibles belong to the Christians, Azmin tells Selangor sultan

The Malay- and Iban-language Bibles seized by the state religious authority in January do not belong to the Muslims and must be returned to the Christians, Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said yesterday.

Azmin told some 1,000 DAP supporters at the party’s fund-raising dinner that he informed the Selangor palace of this, with the hope that the prolonged issue will finally be resolved.

“I have brought this matter to the Sultan... how the Alkitab does not belong to the Muslims. They belong to the Christians, whom we must respect,” Azmin said in his speech at the MBPJ Civic Hall in Petaling Jaya.

“Islam has never asked its followers to disrupt the harmony of other faiths. It is our duty to respect the practise of the other religions in the country. This is a multi-religious society. This is not Saudi Arabia or Sudan. This is Malaysia. This is Selangor.

“This is why we are working on a formula, and I am confident that if they understand the true Islam, then the Bibles must be returned back to the Christians.”

He said that as the new menteri besar, he took his position seriously and would look after all Selangor folks, regardless of their background.

He added that Muslims must respect the other faiths in Malaysia, and that the rights of non-Muslims to practise their religion was guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.

“I don’t care what (Perkasa chief Datuk) Ibrahim Ali says… As the menteri besar, I have to defend the people of Selangor, irrespective of race and religion.”

Azmin’s predecessor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, was widely panned by DAP and even his own party, PKR, for not taking a firmer stance over the Bible issue, which had dragged on for months with no resolution in sight.

But, Azmin, who was sworn in as the 15th menteri besar on September 23, told reporters yesterday he had met with the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and the Selangor Islamic Affaris Council (Mais) and that the outcome would be made known soon.

Jais seized the 321 Bibles during a raid at The Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) office in January.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail ordered the Bibles to be returned to BSM, after the Selangor government under, Khalid, referred the matter to him.

Although Gani concluded that the Bible distributor had done nothing wrong, Mais insisted there were grounds to prosecute it under the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation among Muslims) Enactment 1988.

Khalid referred the matter to the Sultan of Selangor who ordered Jais to refer it to the state public prosecutor.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah's private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani said that the sultan's order was in line with the minutes issued by the A-G's Chambers that "Jais has to act in accordance to the law on the issue of the seized Bibles".

"Jais should promptly refer it to the state public prosecutor for it to be brought to court for final determination," the sultan said in the statement.

He also said the issue should not be politicised by any quarter resulting in confusion by proposing solutions which were not based on the law.

But the ruler did not state which court the authorities should refer the matter to, civil or shariah. – November 4, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bibles-belong-to-the-christians-azmin-tells-selangor-sultan#sthash.eiP72LVP.dpuf

Sarawak’s Masing remains outspoken, says good for Malaysians

Sarawak minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing has vowed to continue speaking up against injustices in the country even if it means going up against his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleagues and leaders, all for the good of the people.

The outspoken Land Development Minister, who is also a fierce critic of Putrajaya, said he will never change despite receiving brickbats from BN leaders, who have accused him of being the opposition tool to destroy the ruling coalition.

"I did lose some friends. But I am breaking ranks for the good of the community. People who do not understand this are not my friends anyway," he told The Malaysian Insider.

This, he said, was the legacy he wanted to leave for his children and the young people of Sarawak. A legacy of fighting for the victimised and for justice.

"I am not a rich man. I can only leave who I am during my lifetime. I want people to remember me as Masing's son, the one who fought for the people," the 65-year-old added.

Masing, who is the president of a BN component party in Sarawak – PRS, said that it has been ingrained in him from his undergraduate days in New Zealand, to "fight for what is right".

"It was put in me that there must be a sense of fairness in everything one does. So when I find something is not right, I am there to correct it.

"I don't care who it is, if I think they are not being fair, I will go after them. I really cannot stand it when I see others being victimised," he said.

Masing revealed that he had shared similar sentiments with former Umno leader Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who is now the chief executive officer of the Global Movement of Moderates, who is also known as a moderate who is vocal in his views even if they differed from those of his party.

"I had a chat with him once and told him not to be worried about breaking ranks (with BN) for the good of the people. I told him not to be scared of doing the right thing," he said.

"Malaysia cannot afford not to have a moderate society because we are multicultural. If you are not a moderate, you have no place in this society."

Masing was commenting on the criticisms he had received from BN leaders, including from former information minister Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin, who had accused him of unknowingly becoming a tool for Pakatan Rakyat while causing much confusion with his comments.

The Sarawak minister had earlier likened the Customs Department’s seizure of Christian materials containing the word Allah on October 25 to growing religious extremism in the country.

He had also previously slammed former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whom he had worked closely with while the latter was BN chairman, for defending Perkasa's Datuk Ibrahim Ali over the Bible-burning issue.

Masing had said that he had lost all respect for the man he had once held in high esteem, adding that the former prime minister seemed to advocate that there was only one religion in Malaysia.

"I used to have the highest respect for Tun Mahathir. Now I have second thoughts on his wisdom.

“In the name of Islam, and in defence of the sanctity of Islam, anything goes now,” Masing had said, referring to Dr Mahathir's comments in defending Malay rights group Perkasa and its call for Malay-language Bibles to be burned.

He had also hit out at Putrajaya for going on a sedition blitz against a number of politicians, academics, lawyers, a journalist, activists and a preacher.

When commenting on the sedition investigation against Edmund Bon, he had said that should the activist-lawyer be charged with sedition for stating legal facts, then the government “is a bit way out of line”.

Besides that, the Sarawak minister flayed Putrajaya for threatening to throw pro-secession activists behind bars without listening to them.

He had said that even though their dissatisfaction with Malaysia was currently all talk, it would still be unwise of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to treat their unhappiness lightly.

“We must look at the complaints and do our best to remedy them if indeed they are justifiable,” Masing had said.

Earlier in the year, Masing had also lambasted federal BN leaders whom, he said, were "gutless" for tip-toeing around the Allah issue with an unsound policy apparently aiming “to appease everyone”.

“Leaders (in the federal cabinet) must be brave enough to take the bull by the horns and decide once and for all which set of religious laws Malaysians must abide by."

He was exceptionally critical of the policy where Christians in the peninsula are banned from using the word Allah in their Bibles and religious publications in line with the Court of Appeal's ruling last October. The policy, however, exempted Christians in Sarawak and Sabah from the ban under a 10-point solution agreed to by the Federal Cabinet in 2011.

Today, Masing reiterated that this was proof that the element of religious extremism was beginning to creep in to Malaysia, and Sarawak was no exception.

"We don't have this problem here (Sarawak). We do not distinguish people according to their races. We look at a person as a friend.

"And we are a bit worried in Sarawak. That people from the West will start importing their rubbish here," he added.

He once again took a swipe at his BN colleagues, saying that they have stopped being self-critical and have grown to look at criticism as dissent while becoming increasingly arrogant.

"You must learn to be self-criticial in order to grow. We make mistakes all the time. But we can improve if people point it out to us.

"A lot of BN people cannot accept criticism. They become ministers and then they think they are Gods and are above any reproach. That is the first downfall," he warned.

He attributed his love for BN as a reason behind his outspokenness on certain issues, saying that he wanted to turn BN from a coalition that was losing its relevance to one that would last another 50 years in power.

"I love BN. I want to make it better. Those who criticised me do not realise we are on the same boat. If the boat is leaking, I must say something, otherwise I would sink with them," he said.

He told The Malaysian Insider that this was how he was using his position as a minister in the state government constructively.

"If I was not in this position, who will care to listen to me? They will brush it off as the rantings of an old man.

"But because I am a minister, at least people stop and listen. At least, people bother to read my statements. And now I use it (ministerial position) to tell the world what Malaysia must do," he said. – November 4, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sarawaks-masing-remains-outspoken-says-good-for-malaysians#sthash.MCqZEhjl.dpuf

Shafee: DNA presence proves penetration

The prosecution for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II appeal said today Anwar's DNA has been found in four areas on alleged victim Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and this is ample evidence to prove there was penetration.

This is despite Pusrawi doctor Dr Mohd Osman Abdul Hamid and the three Hospital Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) doctors having said in their reports that in their initial examination of Saiful, there was no sign of penetration.

Government-appointed prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said Anwar's DNA was found in the perianal swab, two high rectum swabs and one low rectum swab taken from the complainant.

“There is only one prevalent DNA in those swabs, that is of the accused/appellant (Anwar), who has been identified as 'Male Y', besides Saiful's,” he said during his submission today as the appeal went into its fifth day.

Showing the chart the prosecution prepared, Shafee said the perianal swab from Saiful showed the DNA of Anwar and Saiful were present from "top to bottom".

He adds that Anwar’s DNA was also found on the high rectal non-sperm extract.

"It is on every locus," he said.

During the initial trial, Saiful had testified that Anwar had ejaculated inside his rectum as he had done on previous occasions, and the complainant had kept that region unwashed for two days before going to the Pusrawi Hospital and HKL on June 28, 2008, for his medical examination.

As for the DNA of another unidentified 'Male Y' that was also found in the DNA analysis, Shafee explained that it could have been the result of Saiful "sitting on a toilet seat".

Shafee later told the Federal Court panel that the 18 allele of the unidentified male should not be taken into consideration, as chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong had testified it is to be considered a "dropout".

Shafee added the HKL doctors had been careful when examining Saiful as they had used a sterilised proctoscope, and the possibility of contamination was much lower.

"The doctors could not say there was penetration (on initial examination). After they looked at the samples taken four centimetres deep into Saiful's anal region (and compared it with the swab readings) they then found there is penetration,” the senior lawyer said.

'Accept lockup evidence'

In his submission Shafee also argued on the acceptability of items - a toothbrush, mineral water bottle and white towel - retrieved from Anwar's lock-up cell, as evidence.

Shafee said the items should be considered as valid evidence despite defence counsel Sangeet Kaur Deo arguing they had been obtained through trickery and deception.

The Umno-linked lawyer provided a Singapore case law where such evidence was accepted, and argued that here in Malaysia, such evidence should also be accepted under the Evidence Act.

The prosecutor said that while the defence questioned the manner in which the arrest was made, which it claimed is unlawful, Shafee said the fact was that the charge was read to Anwar during his arrest on July 16, 2008, and the warrant was shown to him at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

“Furthermore, for an offence under Section 377, there is no need for a warrant of arrest to be issued.

“The defence is saying the arrest is unlawful, which I say it is not.

"But even if the arrest is unlawful, the evidence gained from Anwar’s cell can be accepted as evidence as this is the accepted law in Singapore, Malaysia, and I understand, in the Commonwealth,” Shafee said.

The samples were analysed by a separate chemist, Nor Aidora Saedon, and the prosecution used the finding of DNA samples of 'Male Y' from the toothbrush and mineral water bottle to draw a link to the DNA found by Seah in Saiful's samples to link to Anwar as the alleged perpetrator.

Shafee further persuaded the court to accept the alleged past incidences of sodomy as claimed by Saiful as this was backed by the complainant's testimony.

The senior lawyer also questioned what happened to Anwar's alibi as the politician had initially claimed to have 13 witnesses for his alibi, but none of them had been called or have come forward to testify that he was in the other condo unit and not the one where the alleged act was said to have taken place.

The hearing continues tomorrow in the Federal Court before a five-member bench led by Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria, with Shafee is expected to wind up his submission, after which the defence will proceed with its reply.

MP: SPM model paper has racial conflict posers

 

A DAP lawmaker today expressed concern over a "model paper" published in a SPM reference book with essay topics on racial conflicts between Chinese and Malays, and even portraying the Chinese community in a bad light.

In the book published by Info Didik this year, a Bahasa Malaysia essay topic asks students to write about "Chinese willing to even kill Malays" and vice-versa, among a host of other racial innuendos.

Sibu MP Oscar Ling said he was unsure if this was an actual past year question that was being published in the book or if merely a model paper.

He demanded that the Education Ministry investigates the matter.

The book, titled 'Kertas Model Sebenar SPM Bahasa Malaysia', is authored by Khairudiin Ayip and Yusanizan Shafie.

However, Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told the Dewan Rakyat the ministry is powerless to rectify the problem if the publication is private and did not come from the ministry.

“We hope this did not come from the ministry. If it is from a private publisher, it is beyond the scope of the ministry,” Muhyiddin said.

Ling described Muhyiddin’s statement as irresponsible.

“Any SPM reference book, even if it is a private publisher, must be supervised by the Education Department,” he said.

In the topic for the modern essay, the author states that vernacular schools breed a racial divide from a young age, and asks students to write about communities that are “enemies”.

Perkasa: Kurup's anti-Ibrahim call 'seditious'

Malay right NGO Perkasa has condemned Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Joseph Kurup for urging the Attorney-General’s Chambers to relook the case involving Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali’s threat to burn bibles.

Perkasa’s Islamic affairs bureau chief Shamsuddin Moner said that Kurup is "playing up religious issues and stirring hatred towards Perkasa among Christians", Kurup could cause a "riot".

"He is purposely raising the ire of Perkasa members, and this is clearly seditious. As such, we urge the police to call Kurup to give a statement to back his ill-assumptions against the Perkasa chief," he said in a statement.

"As a minister, Kurup should not be a Christian extremist."

He said that the minister was "unwise" to make the open call as he can share his views behind closed doors in cabinet meetings.

He also urged Kurup (left) to "appreciate the concept and principles of wasatiyah (moderation)" stressed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Kurup in winding up debates in Parliament Monday suggested that the Attorney-General’s Chambers relook the case against Ibrahim, as it would help ease tensions.

However, he reiterated that this was only a suggestion as the government cannot meddle in the AGC’s decision.

The AGC said it will not prosecute Ibrahim for the remark made in Penang last year as he did not intend to cause disharmony and was only protecting the sanctity of Islam.

Absolutely ignorant

Meanwhile, Shamsuddin said that Kurup is "absolutely ignorant" of what Ibrahim had meant when he made the call following claims that bibles were distributed to Muslim school children in Penang.

He said that Ibrahim had only referred to the bibles which were translated to Bahasa Malaysia and used the word 'Allah' to refer to God.

"This is as the original Bible is not in Bahasa and never used the word 'Allah' to refer to God. It is clear that Ibrahim never meant to influence anyone to torch the holy book of the Christians," he said.

No future in political Islam, academic says

(Malay Mail Online) – Islam-based parties have no future in the current political arena as they set themselves apart in exclusive bubbles rather than participating in the global society, International Islamic University Malaysia professor Dr Maszlee Malik told a forum today.

The outspoken speaker also warned Islamist parties against taking democracy for a temporary ride like a “taxi” to come into power, stressing that parties must decide whether they wish to be political or religious missionary movements.

“The future is not with political Islam. The future is not going to be with Islamists, the future is not going to be with Islamic political parties in Muslim countries. That is a fact,” Maszlee told the World Forum for Muslim Democrats here.

“The future is with the open society. Political Islam, or democrat Islamists, should not live in exclusivity.”

In Malaysia, Islamist PAS is the most influential and successful Islam-based party, a member of the federal opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

In the 13th General Elections last year, PAS won 21 parliamentary seats out of the 89 won by PR, down 2 seats from the last polls in 2008.

Maszlee said Islamists cannot continue to deride anything from jahiliyyah civilisations as ”bad”, using the Arabic term for “ignorant” that refers to non-believers.

“You want to play with democracy you have to toe the rule of the game. You have to submit and really believe in it. You cannot use it as taxi,” said Maszlee, referring to democracy as the global zeitgeist.

Maszlee also pointed out to the recent fate of Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda, which lost to secular party Nida Tunis in an election last week, despite being the first Islamist movement to secure power after the 2011 Arab spring revolts.

“You want to be a political party, [but] you want to maintain your Islamic dakwah (preaching) orientation mentality, it never works such a way,” he added.

Fellow panelist Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad from PAS, subsequently defended the Islamist party by saying that it sees democracy as the way forward for Muslims as it provides a space for check and balance.

“It is not about rhetorics, no longer about saying ‘Islam is the solution’ … It is for us to provide convincing, compelling solutions that needs to be proposed,” Dzulkefly said, referring to policies on good governance, tackling poverty, discrimination, and unemployment.

In an environment that focuses on contestation of ideas, Dzulkefly said the challenge for PAS now is to convince voters of what it offers, rather than coerce them using divine authority.

Analysts told Malay Mail Online in September that PAS is already losing ground among middle Malaysia as the Islamist party grows more religiously conservative but it can reverse the decline if its leaders correct its course.

PAS emerged out of its annual congress, or muktamar, this year as an apparently divisive party, with the party’s once all-powerful clergy class fighting hard to keep PAS true to its Islamic roots.

The two-day forum was jointly-organised by Japan’s Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Indonesia’s Habibie Center, Turkey’s Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, and Malaysia’s Institut Kajian Dasar.

Give finance post to someone better, PM told

PAS' Raja Bahrin says the job needs to be handled full time by someone with the right experience.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: MPs from PAS are generally not known to be as aggressive as their counterparts in DAP or even PKR in articulating economic issues or attacking the Prime Minister. One of the few exceptions is newbie Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah of Kuala Terengganu. He did both today.

Raja Bahrin, an acclaimed architect, called for Najib Razak’s resignation from his post as Finance Minister, telling him to hand over the portfolio to somebody experienced in economics and finance and who could handle the job full time.

Speaking to reporters covering Parliament, he accused the Prime Minister of concentrating power in his hands.

“We see the same problem in the audit report every year,” he said, adding that scant attention was given to ensure that government contracts were given out properly.

He said Najib, as Prime Minister, should concentrate on tackling the numerous other problems the country was facing, such as communal strife and high crime rates.

He gave his support to a letter that Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah distributed to MPs last week, in which the Gua Musang MP made a detailed criticism of the government’s handling of the national economy.

He praised the six-page letter for its erudite arguments.

Raja Bahrin also accused the government of neglecting the agriculture industry and criticised its alleged over dependence on oil revenue.

“Next year, oil revenue is expected to drop further,” he said. “How will the government look for other sources of revenue? Even our rice is imported, and that too is monopolised.”

Hindraf: FT Minister must make a stand on Ashram

Waytha tells Tengku Adnan to act in the public interest instead of acting powerless.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf Chairman P Waytha Moorthy expressed his shock at the Federal Territory Minister’s blatant ignorance regarding the laws and his responsibility to protect and save Malaysia’s heritage.

He said in a statement that Tengku Adnan’s claims that the government has no power to stop the private development and can only “advise” the land owner to retain the Vivekananda Ashram building in Brickfields “clearly shows the minister is ignorant on the laws available” and demonstrates “his shallow attitude towards our national heritage.”

Waytha pointed out that it was widely known that the National Heritage Department had gazetted the Ashram earlier in 2008 & 2009.

He said the argument put forward by the FT minister and KL mayor that the board of trustees could go ahead with the development plans while maintaining the heritage site was “utter rubbish”.

“It does not take a rocket scientist to tell that the planned development would cause permanent destruction to the heritage building,” said Waytha.

He was disappointed with Tengku Adnan’s lackadaisical attitude towards the fight to save the Ashram and accused him of making a mockery of Malaysia’s status as a committee member of the World Heritage Committee.
“The minister seems to have conveniently ignored and failed to consult the heritage department on the buffer zone requirement, and whether a prior study existed following the guidelines set by the relevant authorities.

“As a Minister, he should not open his mouth if he is not aware of the facts, the laws and the need to protect our national heritage,” said Waytha who felt that the public would not be so foolish as to accept his “passing the buck” statement.

He told Tengku Adnan to invoke his powers to suspend the development plan and to do what is best to serve the public interest.

Malaysian Courts on Trial: The case of Anwar Ibrahim

I have been a trial observer in Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trials since 1999. In fact, I have only missed to observe his trial once -that was when the Malaysian Court of Appeals overturned the High Court’s previous decision acquitting him from all charges.

I made it a point hence to observe oral arguments in Ibrahim’s case before the Malaysian Supreme Court. Similar to ours, the Malaysian Supreme Court sits in many divisions. The proceedings I had the chance to observe had five justices on it.

Unfortunately, my commitments at home did not allow me to observe for more than two days of oral arguments. I thought that the two days would be enough because in our own Supreme Court, very seldom will the Court hear a matter for more than two sittings.

But the Malaysian Court is different, Unlike ours, which will only hear issues of law, the Malaysian Court heard arguments point by point on why the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the High Court. I had the privilege of hearing two children of the revered but recently passed barrister Karpal Singh, both of whom argued that the Appellate Court erred in convicting Ibrahim on the basis of dubious DNA evidence.

While DNA as a science is itself accepted, what made the use of DNA evidence dubious in Ibrahim’s case was the fact that while the DNA extracted from a towel, a comb and a tooth brush allegedly used by Ibrahim came from one and the same person, there was nonetheless no direct evidence that they were in fact the DNA of Ibrahim! DNA as a science would itself confirm if DNA found from an object is from a particular person. But in the case of Ibrahim, the Appellate court overturned his conviction on the basis of mere circumstantial evidence that they could only have come form Ibrahim, despite the absence of scientific link to him.

This kind of a conclusion would not have been possible in the Philippine or any other jurisdiction with the semblance of an independent judiciary. The fact that the Malaysian Appellate Court convicted him under this dubious condition could only mean that it abdicated its independence and agreed to be a tool of the ruling party, UMNO, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, in an effort to stymie Ibrahim and the rest of the country’s opposition into surrender.

But battle tested democrats don’t succumb to threats easily. By highlighting the obvious, Anwar has turned the table on the Malaysian Judiciary. No court in this planet could have convicted him on the basis of DNA evidence with no direct link to him. The questions now is whether the Malaysian Supreme Court will exhibit independence and acquit Ibrahim, or be swayed by the ruling party as did the Court of Appeals. In a way, what I observed was the Malaysian Courts on trial, and not just Anwar Ibrahim’s case.

All freedom loving people of the world eagerly await the outcome of this trial. For with it is also a verdict on the independence and integrity of the Malaysian Courts.

Harry Roque

Roque & Butuyan Law Offices
1904 Antel Corporate Center
121 Valero Street, Salcedo Village
1227 Makati City, Philippines

A brother-sister great debate - Isma vs SIS

 

The current debate between Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Sisters In Islam (SIS); the former a masculinist-Islamist-para-jihadist group and the latter a feminist-Islamist study group, seems to present an interesting case-study analysis of Malaysia’s own 16th Century ‘Protestant- Lutheran Reformation’ breakthrough.

Ironically it is a debate  on the word ‘liberalism’, seemingly as confusing a concept as ‘democracy’ and also of ‘Islam’. Here is why, as I see it, the debate is interesting and Malaysians should pay attention to it:

Malaysian Muslims are yet faced with another challenging situation; one which presents an interesting extrapolation of the historical dilemma the Muslims have been facing intellectually.

Coming soon would be a public intellectual crisis that involves the grand and subaltern voices in Islam. Those of the Wahabbi, Salafi, Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, and the ‘denominations derived from traditional and indigenous practices’ (the tariqats primarily) will come out in the open to assert the ‘truth-ness’ of their perspective and practice of Islam.

Essentially now, Islam seems to have many ‘denominations’ based on cultural, geographical, political, economic, and intellectual factors - as a consequence of globalisation. Muslims are all part and products of the various authorships of these ‘denominations’ - thanks to the power/knowledge matrix of the evolution of Islam. These denominations are even mutating, depending on class and consciousness of the adherents.

On a crude psychological plane in Malaysia, here is the situation, stated in simple terms:

The subaltern voices in Islam are clashing with each other. Examples abound.

The Sufis are saying that the Wahabbis are on the wrong path, the Wahabbis claim they are preaching the one and true tauhid and that Sufism is a strange invention, the Shiites in Iran are probably building more powerful weapons against the Sunnis the Mid-East over, the Malaysian government is propagating Hadhari and the halal hub in a haram casino-capitalistic environment, the Malays have produced their own messiahs or Rasul Melayu (Malay prophets) and their variants of Ayah Pins and their Sky Kingdoms, the anti-hadiths are roaming cyberspace declaring themselves Quranic-only Muslims, the liberal Muslims are at loggerheads with the strict ones bent on moral policing, the gangsta-rapper-Busta Rhymes-type Muslims are angry with the soft-spoken Raihan-a capella-type-Muslims, the Sisters in Islam are angry with the Malaysian Brotherhood of Islam called Isma, the Death Metallists are having a field day with all these chaos amongst Muslim ideologues, the Catholics are fighting in court over the issue of the ‘Allah’ ban, the whirling dervishes are still whirling... it is a postmodern situation in the field of Islam in Malaysia.

I hope this is a useful sketch of the postmodern Muslim condition. Now we have the rose of violent Islam as in the Islamic State of the self-proclaimed Khalifah Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, Islamic conspiracy theorists said to be a child of America’s Foreign Policy and trained by the Mossad.

How to read the Quran then?

Are Muslims then better off reading the Quran hermeneutically? Is it better for them to remove themselves from the philological, historical, and most importantly cultural context, take the scripture in whatever meaningful language it has been translated into, and take only the spirit of it, and like a Prometheus unbound, soar to greater theological heights? This is a challenging question.

Or maybe religious sentimentality and critical sensibility must come from one’s own exploration using a triad of sense awareness, intellect, and intuition, drawn from purely cultural sources? - We can then be free from cultural biases and these ‘geographically and politically-bound’ schools of thoughts?

In that case then we will be going into the realm of what I consider ‘truly spiritual democracy’ and use reason and rationality to read the Quran (or any religious text) for that matter. Will the collection of hadiths be necessary any more? I think this question has been answered by the subaltern Muslims that has already begun their systematic critique of the narratives of the Great Prophet.

There is a growing number of Muslims who are beginning to assert that the highest faculty is human reason, which we must exercise in order for us to be truly human. This is the essence of the Enlightenment and of the Renaissance in that only through reason and feeling that we can arrive at an understanding the meaning of who we are.

Some say through lots of zikir, chanting, and even dancing (whirling dervishes included) that one can reach what needs to be reached mystically. The dancer danceth the dance of the dance itself (like what Michael Jackson lived for, maybe), and in his/her dance, as she whirls and twirls, he loses himself into the abyss of nothingness... profound... even looking from the outside.

But in all these and applicable to all religions, the question remains: at what point is innovation in religion allowed, acceptable, and tolerated? At what point is the ‘denominationalisation’ of Islam acceptable without the religion being demonised by those who think they have understood the Divine presence but actually clutched by the Devil’s right hand?

We are prisoners of language, trapped in a prison-house of language. We can avoid the answers but we can never run away from more questions. Like in the song Hotel California (by the California rock group Eagles) that goes “you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave”.

Perhaps, in all these lie a possible marriage between philosophy and religion - finally. In Malaysia though, is this at all possible?

Bring on the debate, O brothers and sisters! But debate wisely without raising voices.

---

DR AZLY RAHMAN, born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in four areas: Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored six books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), a first Malay publication Kalimah Allah Milik Siapa?: Renungan dan Nukilan Tentang Malaysia di Era Pancaroba (2014), and Controlled Chaos: Essays on Mahathirism, Multimedia Super Corridor and Malaysia’s ‘New Politics’ (forthcoming 2014). He currently resides in the United States where he teaches courses in Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Political Science, and American Studies. Twitter, blog.

Muhyiddin Dismisses Allegations Of Injustice In Giving Funds To Schools

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today dismissed allegations of injustice in the distribution of financial allocations to schools.

Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, said the government had never marginalised any school under its jurisdiction.

The approved annual allocations had been distributed equally in accordance with requirements to all schools without heed for the type of school or location, he said when winding up debate on the Supply Bill 2015 for the Education Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat.

"For example, this year, the operating expenditure allocated to 8,300 national (primary and secondary) schools is RM10.9 billion while that for 1,294 national type Chinese schools is RM2.4 billion and for 523 national type Tamil schools, RM0.97 billion," he said.

Muhyiddin said the distribution of allocation to Chinese and Tamil schools was much better than that for the national schools in poor condition, especially in remote and rural areas and on islands.

Muhyiddin cited Budget 2015 and said RM450 million in maintenance allocation would be distributed to more than 8,000 primary schools, including government Chinese and Tamil schools, as well as national secondary schools compared to only RM50 million to 889 government-aided Chinese schools and 336 government-aided Tamil schools.

Therefore, he said, it was wrong for anyone to allege injustice in the distribution of allocations to schools.

He also said that Budget 2015 had raised the allocation for utilities payment for national type schools from RM2,000 to RM5,000. The government allocated RM5.284 billion as development expenditure for education for the three years from 2013 to 2015, he said.

Of the sum, the biggest allocation was for Sabah and Sarawak, with Sabah getting RM559.87 million and Sarawak, RM609.89 million, he added.

On the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), Muhyiddin said the government agreed to have hardcore defaulters listed on the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) beginning next year to educate them to be more disciplined and responsible in paying their debts.

"Defaulters can go to PTPTN to settle their debts and obtain a 20 per cent discount or make installment payments over 12 months and get a 10 per cent discount.

"They are also allowed to reschedule their payments by extending the period of repayment up to age 60," he said.

As of Sept 30, PTPTN was able to collect only RM5.4 billion of the RM12 billion that was to have been paid back.

"Based on records as of Oct 1, some 173,985 hardcore defaulters had not repaid their loans for the 1999-2010 period (exceeding three years), estimated at RM1.23 billion," he said.

On the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025, Muhyiddin said the Malaysian Higher Education Master Plan was being drawn up for streamlining with the blueprint.

"This will provide for seamless continuity in the education value chain from pre-school right up to tertiary level and on to the world of employment.

"God willing, if everything goes according to plan, the Malaysian Higher Education Master Plan would be launched in the first quarter of 2015," he said.

-- BERNAMA

Guan Eng slams 'uncommitted' party in Pakatan

Police not trigger happy', Zahid on Penampang shootout

NGO: Build police stations, enough churches

ISLAMIC STATE JIHADIS FILMED LAUGHING IT UP DISCUSSING YAZIDI SEX SLAVES, WHO HAS AND WHO DOESN’T OWN ONE YET…….

A recent video has emerged from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul that shows militants belonging to the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIL or ISIS) excited as they discuss that they are on the day when they will sell and buy Yazidi female captives that are treated as sex slaves. Most of those filmed are believed to be Saudi from their accent.


NOTE: This is all legal according to Islamic law (sharia), booty divided up between the jihadi maraurders in accordance with the dictates of the koran, hadiths and sira.

Maori Muslim backs Islamic State

By TONY WALL AND MARTY SHARPE

An influential Maori Muslim leader is openly supporting the Islamic State militant group and believes Kiwi fighters should not be stopped from joining.

Te Amorangi Kireka-Whaanga is the head of the Aotearoa Maori Muslim Association and in 2010 was named one of the world's 500 most influential Muslims by a group in Jordan, one of only two New Zealanders to make the list.

The Sunday Star-Times began investigating him after discovering his Facebook pages were festooned with Islamic State imagery. He has 905 friends on Facebook, many of them Muslim converts from around New Zealand. His pages have been repeatedly taken down in recent weeks by Facebook administrators.

Islamic State has been taking over towns and cities in Syria and Iraq, conducting massacres and beheadings of hostages, as it tries to establish an Islamic caliphate. Its followers in the West have been conducting "lone wolf" terrorist attacks in recent weeks.

At home in Hastings yesterday, Kireka-Whaanga told the Star-Times Muslims were being killed all over the world, the United Nations "doesn't care" and he understood Islamic State' actions.

"If you practise your religion then of course you'll be 100 per cent behind Islamic State," he said, adding that he was not a violent person. His comments come as tension rises between Muslim New Zealanders and others in the community following statements by Prime Minister John Key about the domestic terror threat.

Muslim leaders and senior police met in Auckland on Friday to discuss the issues.

Federation of Islamic Associations (FIANZ) president Anwar Ghani said they expressed concerns about the amount of harassment they were getting, including women wearing veils being abused, while police asked that community leaders keep an eye out for changing behaviour among potential radicals.

Kireka-Whaanga said John Key was right to be worried because Islamic State was going to "bring down Western civilisation". He said his family wanted to move to Syria but he expected his passport would be cancelled. He claimed to have one "brother" in Syria at the moment.

"If I want to go to Syria that should be my right and my choice. It's like the Jews going to fight for Israel to kill the Palestinians. They don't stop that."

On Wednesday Key will make a speech outlining the Government's plans to combat foreign fighters.

Security Intelligence Service director Rebecca Kitteridge said Islamic State propaganda material telling followers "every Muslim should get out of his house, find a crusader and kill him" brought the threat closer to home than people thought. "There is a range of people who we are concerned about here," she said. She refused to discuss individuals. Kireka-Whaanga, 40, who has Mongrel Mob connections, said he used Facebook to "propagate the faith. I am pushing the religion. I like going into chatrooms and talk about Islam."

He said Islamic State supporters among local Muslims were in the minority but this would change "once we start talking to each other".

He said he had been regularly visited by police and intelligence agents since 9/11.

"If I say a word out of line [on Facebook] the police can show up. They get worried I'm going to go and blow up people. Once they understand I'm not like that they're OK."

FIANZ says Kireka-Whaanga's views are misguided and not shared by most Muslims.

The Star-Times revealed 10 years ago that Kireka-Whaanga was visiting prisons as part of a project to convert inmates to Islam. The visits were banned after the article.

A senior Corrections source said there were new concerns that a small number of Maori Muslim inmates were becoming radicalised and might pose a threat on their release.

Bevan Hanlon of the Corrections Association said the issue of Muslim radicals in prisons was brought up with staff on a recent nationwide tour but no-one raised it as a concern.

- Sunday Star Times

BN: Obama's silence means he supports Najib

 

 United States President Barack Obama's silence and not criticising Malaysia shows he supports Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration, said Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Tengku Adnan, who is also Federal Territories Minister and the secretary-general of the Barisan Nasional (the ruling coalition in Malaysia), said Obama actually respected the decisions taken by Najib in leading the nation.

Although the influential newspaper The Washington Post had criticised Obama's stance (on Malaysia) yesterday, Tengku Adnan said Obama did not give any reaction because the president did not want to interfere in how Najib chose to lead.

"In fact, Obama supports whatever action is taken by Najib. The opposition will say all sorts of things, they want to tarnish the image of Malaysia," he said after opening a 1Malaysia Breakfast programme themed 'Together We Celebrate Diversity' organised Federal Territory Wanita Barisan Nasional (BN) today.

Tengku Adnan (left, in yellow) was commenting on the editorial in the The Washington Post yesterday which had urged Obama to uphold his pledge to defend democracy by turning his attention to the events taking place in Malaysia.

The newspaper had alluded that Malaysia needed to be reprimanded, alleging that Najib's administration had launched an extraordinary crackdown on opposition leaders, academics and journalists over the past two months.

"I thank President Obama who has issued a statement whereby he agrees with what Najib is doing as a leader of a multiracial and multireligious country, using his "wasatiyyah" (moderation) concept and for all that he (Najib) is doing in the best interest of Malaysia," Tengku Adnan added.

- Bernama

No place for extremism in Selangor, says MB

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has vowed that the state will do its best to uphold justice and moderation.

Speaking at the World Forum for Muslim Democrats in Petaling Jaya, he said there are many groups who fail to appreciate the Quranic imperatives of justice and yet call themselves "extremist".

These "extremist" and "fanatical" groups, he said, have "no place" in the state of Selangor.

"In this regard, I must stress that such sentiments will have no place in the administration of the state of Selangor and we will do our utmost to ensure that the principles of justice and moderation will prevail at all times," he said.

Azmin (right) also echoed the words of the newly-installed Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Julian Leow Beng Kim, who urged mutul respect and cooperation.

Azmin’s urging comes after he was quoted as urging that the fatwa against NGO Sisters in Islam (SIS), for allegedly spreading "liberalism and pluralism" to be "respected".

SIS is seeking a judicial review on the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) fatwa, gazetted in July, and has named Mais, the Selangor Fatwa Council and the Selangor government as respondents.

It argues that the fatwa, which bars SIS from publishing anything including online, breaches its fundamental liberties.

Meanwhile, Azmin conceded as a "microcosm of Malaysia", the way the authorities respond in Selangor would have an effect on the nation.

Selangor’s ethnic and religious distribution is reflective of Malaysia as a whole, he said.

NGOs protest new church, say insult to Muslims

VIDEO: 6:12 MINS

A group of NGOs today protested against the planned construction of a church in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya in what they say is a predominant Malay-Muslim area.

Ishak Maarof, who heads the Protem Committee against the Construction of PJS8 Church, said 70 percent of the population in the area are Muslims.

"We feel that it would be an insult if they (the local council) build a four-storey church in a Malay-Muslim area," he was quoted as saying by KiniTV.

Ishak (below in grey), who led some 50 residents and activists in the protest, said he was not against the construction of churches but it should be located at a suitable area.

He added that aside from the demography factor, the site was also unsuitable as the four-storey church can be seen from Federal Highway and the new LRT extension line.

The protesters also hung up banners which read: "MBPJ don't be a yes-man" and "Long Live Malays" at the planned site for the church.

Ishak said the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) had informed residents of the planned church construction and claimed it had already called for a public hearing.

"But we were never called to attend the hearing, nor were representatives from the surau or mosques or even other residents.

"The fact that it is being done quietly, to our mind, is an ill-intentioned agenda against the Muslims here," he said.

He said the area would be better off with other infrastructure, such as a police outpost.

'Why so slow for mosques?'

Ishak also slammed PKR's Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is the state assemblyperson for the area, for not being "sensitive" to the feelings of Muslims in the area.

The NGOs present include Gerak Kerja Gabungan Ayahanda Selangor (Gegas) and the Mentari Court residents' association.

Also present to show support was Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia (MJMM) president Abdul Rani Kulup Abdullah (right in picture) who questioned the local authorities’ "haste" in dealing with the church's planned construction.

"I am curious why when there is a planned church, it immediately appears but when there is a surau or mosque to be built, the process if often slow.

"The majority in Selangor are Malays... the sultan is Malay, the menteri besar is Malay, the state police chief is Malay, the administration is also Malay, what religion are they (the local authorities)?" he said.

The Praise Emmanuel Assembly Church is to be situated along Jalan PJS 8/9 and if approved, will comprise one floor for parking, one floor for prayers, and two mezzanine floor for other facilities.

Earlier, pro-Umno blogs had also questioned the church’s location next to a low-cost flat, questioning if there is a hidden agenda to convert to mostly Muslim urban poor to Christianity.

Barisan approved Petaling Jaya church site in 2001, says MBPJ councilor

The site of a planned church in Petaling Jaya, which became the focus of a demonstration today was alienated and gazetted in 2001 as a place of worship during Barisan Nasional (BN) rule, a Petaling Jaya city hall (MBPJ) councilor said today.

MBPJ councilor Cynthia Gabriel (pic) said there was no issue with the building of the four storey Praise Emmanuel Assembly church as all legal requirements had been met by the church.

"The land was gazetted in 2001 during BN's time. So if all legal and procedural requirements had been followed, then MBPJ sees no issue with the building of the church," Cynthia told The Malaysian Insider responding to reports that a Muslim NGO Pertubuhan Sahabat had organised a demonstration this morning to protest the construction of the new church.

The NGO said there are three churches in the vicinity while complaining it was not appropriate in a neighbourhood that counted 70% of its residents as Muslim.

The group had demonstrated at the church building site at Jalan PJS 8/9, saying that building a four-storey church in the area would be an insult to the Muslims living there.

He said they were not against the construction of churches but it had to be in suitable locations.

A spokesperson for the NGO, Ishak Maarof, reportedly said that MBPJ had told them that they had called for a public hearing, but maintained that neither his group nor the surau or mosque representatives were informed.

The fact that it is being done quietly, to our mind, is an ill-intentioned agenda against the Muslims here," the news portal reported him as saying.

Ishak also complained that apart from the area being a Muslim area, the location was also unsuitable as the four-storey church can be seen from the Federal Highway and the new LRT extension line.

"I am curious why when there is a planned church, it immediately appears but when there is a surau or mosque to be built, the process if often slow.

"The majority in Selangor are Malays... the Sultan is Malay, the menteri besar is Malay, the state police chief is Malay, the administration is also Malay, what religion are they (the local authorities)?" he was quoted as saying in the Malaysiakini report.

Ishak also hit out at Seri Setia state assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad for not being sensitive to the feelings of Muslims living there. – November 2, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/barisan-approved-petaling-jaya-church-site-in-2001-says-mbpj-councilor#sthash.mGsFicms.dpuf

Sedition blitz, 1Malaysia ‘joke’ will cost Barisan votes, says MIC

A MIC central working committee member today warns that voters, namely the non-Malays, will reject Barisan Nasional in the next general election if Putrajaya is not careful in implementing its policies.

Datuk Henry Benedict Asirvatham, in his speech at the Penang MIC Deepavali open house took a swipe at Putrajaya over the 1Malaysia slogan, the sedition blitz and inaction against Datuk Ibrahim Ali's "burn bibles" threat.

He said the 1Malaysia slogan is a "mockery and mere window dressing without real values behind it" and risks becoming a laughing matter if the current "trend" was left unchecked and uncorrected.

Asirvatham cited one of the issues that had "disappointed" everyone was the sedition blitz against ordinary citizens and opposition leaders over their comments and speeches.

Such prosecutions, he said had resulted in two people seeking political asylum in other countries, referring to sex blogger Alvin Tan and student activist Ali Abdul Jalil, who had fled to the United States and Sweden, respectively, to escape charges against them.

"Since Merdeka, only on very rare occassions do we see our citizens seeking asylum overseas. No one wants to leave this beautiful and peaceful country.

"However, we find that Perkasa and its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali can say anything, condemn other religions and hurt the feelings of other races and still get away with it.

"He can say burn the bibles and the A-G (Attorney-General) says it is alright," he said.

Ibrahim had remarked that Bahasa Malaysia Bibles using the word "Allah" to refer to God should be burned in response to allegations that such publications were being distributed at a school in Penang in January last year. The "Bible distribution" allegations were later proven to be false.

The A-G's Chambers has since decided not to press charges as police investigations found that Ibrahim's remark was only directed at the particular incident and not meant as a threat to larger society.

Asirvatham, who is also the state MIC treasurer and Bagan division chief, said the 1Malaysia slogan preached by Putrajaya should be more than just about "giving BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Aid) to Malaysians".

"(Our) Laws also must be seen to be implemented against anyone without considering race or religion.

"This latest trend is worrying because it has given ample ammunition to the opposition to stir and fuel anti-BN sentiments, which is also growing," he said.

Meanwhile, Henry also criticised his own party leadership, namely president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel over their choice of candidates for the Bagan Dalam and Prai state seats, which MIC contested but lost in the polls last year.

He claimed the party had a fighting chance to win Bagan Dalam from DAP and the matter was highlighted to the party president.

"But our views fell on deaf ears. We lost the seat not because we didn't have enough support but because the local sentiments of the political parties and voters were not taken into account by the president.

"Many of us also feel that Penang MIC has been completely neglected and ignored by our president," he said.

Without any assemblyman from MIC to represent the Indian community in Pakatan Rakyat-held Penang, Henry said Penang MIC should have had someone appointed as Senator.

He said the position would have given MIC a platform to work and regain the trust of Indian voters in Penang to support BN.

"To our disappointment, that position was snatched from us and given to (MIC in) another state," he said.

Henry said he was not ashamed nor afraid to admit that MIC, a party with a rich and long history of representing the Indian community, had lost support and standing.

He also did not mince his words when he said in his speech that the party needed a new president.

"I strongly feel that the time has come for our deputy president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam to take over the party leadership, give us a new drive and vision, and take us to the next level.

"All the recent developments in the party has reinforced growing calls among leaders and branch chairmen that the time has come for MIC to undergo a leadership change and transformation to revitalise and re-energise the party."

Henry said the change in leadership needed to happen as soon as possible as all BN component parties prepare for the 14th general election, which is expected to be a tougher fight than last year.

Subramaniam, who was invited as the guest of honour for the event was unable to attend.

Party vice-president Datuk M. Saravanan, who was present, said the grouses and issues raised by Henry would be brought to the party leadership's attention for further action.

"I am here as Subramaniam's representative. All I can say is the party leadership will be notified," he said.

Saravanan praised Henry and another CWC member from Penang, J. Dhinagaran, for organising the open house and urged them to continue with preparations for the next general election. – November 2, 2014

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sedition-blitz-1malaysia-joke-will-cost-barisan-votes-says-mic#sthash.W6VXxCxB.dpuf

DAP tells Pakatan allies to be consistent, says willing to leave coalition

In a sign that all is still not well between DAP and its Pakatan Rakyat partner PAS, Lim Guan Eng today took a swipe at the Islamist party for failing to adhere to set decisions.

"We want to see a commitment that any agreement achieved will be carried out. Don't make a decision today and the next day it is overruled by the president.

"If even the president can reject the central committee, we do not know how to deal with this party," the DAP secretary-general was quoted as saying by KiniTV at the Kuala Lumpur DAP convention today, adding that DAP is "not afraid to go on our own if needed".

Although he did not name any party or individual, it is understood that he was referring to PAS and its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

The Selangor Menteri Besar crisis which dragged on for months opened up differences between PAS and its Pakatan Rakyat partners DAP and PKR.

At the height of the crisis, Hadi went against the decision of his party central committee, which had earlier endorsed PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the only candidate for the state MB post.

He had submitted several names to the palace, which was contrary to the stand of PKR and DAP which had only put in Dr Wan Azizah's name.

Eventually, the palace picked PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali as the new menteri besar.

Lim said today the future of Pakatan does not hinge on the fate of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is facing jail for allegedly sodomising his former aide.

"It does not make any difference whether Anwar is around or not, if there are parties in Pakatan who do not fulfil its commitments or pledges.

"What's the point of Anwar being free and is with us if we have a component party that cannot walk the talk, cannot fulfil its promises and hold on to its commitments?" he asked.

He said DAP is willing to go it alone if the issues facing Pakatan was not resolved.

"DAP is holding on to its principles, which we have fought for since 1966 and we are not afraid to go on our own if needed," he said, adding that Anwar would agree that Pakatan's survival depends on all three allies holding on to their promises and commitment. – November 2, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-tells-pakatan-allies-to-be-consistent#sthash.rtl1Voi9.dpuf

Wrong to ban SIS, allow different views, Anwar tells Muslim authorities

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that Muslim authorities should allow public space for divergent views promoted by groups like Sisters In Islam (SIS)

The opposition leader said while it was the right of the National Fatwa Council to disagree with SIS, it should not have banned the group.

Anwar also defended Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali's stance on the fatwa, saying that the latter merely said he respected it.

"My position is that there must be an avenue for people to agree to disagree and to continue to have discussions in a proper forum," Anwar told reporters after giving a speech at the Muslim Democrats Conference dinner in Petaling Jaya tonight.

"I have reservations about the fatwa. It can express disagreements but I don't think they should ban discourse in the first place."

SIS is filing a judicial review on a fatwa gazetted in July which declared that SIS and any other similar organisations that promote religious liberalism and plurality as being deviant to the teachings of Islam.

In addition, any publication that promoted liberal and pluralistic religious thinking would be declared unlawful and confiscated.

SIS have named the Selangor Fatwa Committee, Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and the state government as respondents in the judicial review.

The group said it was challenging the fatwa on constitutional grounds.

In his remarks today, Anwar said religious authorities should not place a blanket ban on concepts such as liberalism and pluralism without first looking at how they are being used in Muslim intellectual discourse.

Muslim authorities, Anwar said, should allow for more space in society to discuss the different interpretations of these concepts.

“Liberalism can mean openness and pluralism is an ideal that has been advanced by (famous Tunisian Muslim scholar) Rachid Ghonusi, who said that Islam is pluralistic. You cannot label Ghonusi as deviant.

“If pluralism means that you reject the Muslim faith as the true faith, then that is different. But pluralism can also mean diversity, which is respected and noble.”

Meanwhile, Azmin said that he was not qualified to comment on whether the fatwa was properly done as he was not a part of the Fatwa Council which issued the decree.

He added that the Selangor Muslim Affairs Council (Mais) will meet SIS over the fatwa that declared the latter a deviant organisation.

Azmin said the meeting would allow Mais to listen to SIS's point of view while the latter would also have the chance to learn the reasons behind the fatwa.

"This is a positive development to enable SIS to discuss the fatwa with Mais and for the Mufti's office to look into the matter.

"I urged both parties to take this consultative approach and the Mufti has agreed to this.

"This is the best way so that both parties can get explanations from each other," Azmin told reporters when met after the Muslim Democrats Conference.

Azmin was criticised today by SIS for saying that the state government respected the Fatwa Council’s decision to issue the decree. – November 2, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/wrong-to-ban-sis-allow-different-views-anwar-urges-muslim-authorities#sthash.MzWr6uKC.dpuf

Ku Nan powerless to stop ashram development

The FT Minister says his ministry cannot do anything as the ashram is on private land.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territories Ministry has no power to stop development at Vivekananda Ashram in Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, as it sits on private land.

Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the ministry would discuss the issue with the parties concerned.

“We will talk to them (property owner, project developer and Vivekanda Ashram (board of trustees) and hope they listen to the public outcry (on development of the area).

“We will advise them to retain the heritage elements but don’t expect the government to take over the project. The people will be outraged,” he told reporters after launching the “Sarapan Pagi 1Malaysia” programme organised by Federal Territory Wanita Barisan Nasional (BN).

News reports said that a 23-storey apartment building and an eight storey car park would be constructed on a 0.4 hectare land in the ashram area.

The ashram area has a facade over 100 years old and a bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda.

The Vivekanda Ashram board of trustees reportedly sold the land to F3 Capital with commitment the ashram was retained while the funds obtained were to be used for operating SJKT Viveknanda (Brickfields) and SJKT Thamboosamy Pillai (Sentul).

Kuala Lumpur Mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib who was also present said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) did not have the right to reject any application to develop the area.

“As the planning authority, we have to process the developer’s application. If the public says it cannot be developed as it is sensitive and has heritage value, it is up to the trustees to reconsider the decision (development plan).

“They (the trustees) can withdraw and we are ready to do the same, there is no problem. As far as we are concerned, the application has been made since early this year. We have to process it,” he added.

- Bernama

Sanjeevan: Perak CPO soft on gambling syndicates

MyWatch chairman tells IGP to replace CPO since he is doing little to wipe out gambling syndicates in Perak.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: Chairman of MyWatch R Sri Sanjeevan has accused Perak acting Chief Police Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Police of not taking a hard stance on the thousands of illegal and online gambling dens operating openly in the state of Perak.

In a statement Sanjeevan said, “MyWatch expresses our deepest regret and disappointment with Perak Police and the current acting CPO/DCP A Paramasivam for failing to act against all these illegal gambling outlets”.

Saying there were at least 2,500 such gambling dens in Perak, Sanjeevan added that they were “operating freely without fear of action by police.”

He also said, “Being the acting CPO, I believe Paramasivam should go hard on all these activities and launch a major crackdown on the entire syndicate.”

Accusing A Paramasivam of waiting for orders from the Inspector General of Police before taking any action Sanjeevan added, “If so then we don’t need you to be there as CPO in Perak.”

Expressing further his disappointment with the state of affairs in Perak and the CPO’s apparent non-action, Sanjeevan said, “If he (CPO) fails to do so then IGP Khalid Abu Bakar should put serious consideration in replacing him with someone who can do a better job because failure to perform cannot be tolerated in an enforcement agency like PDRM.”

In said this in light of the recent call by IGP Khalid to put an end to all illegal and online gambling dens nationwide.

Praising Khalid, Sanjeevan said, “…this clearly shows his commitment in combatting crime and criminals.”

Wan Junaidi explains return of seized items

Federal Cabinet’s 10-point agreement on the use of ‘Allah’ in Christian literature is “permissible in East Malaysia under the law".

FMT

KUCHING: Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, a Sarawakian, has clarified that Christian books and CDs were seized on October 25 at KLIA2 from a pastor from Sabah and would be returned.

“Once the process of clearing and all is done, the Bibles or whatever documents they are, will be returned to the rightful owner,” said Wan Junaidi in the Sarawak capital yesterday on the sidelines of the Kuching North City Commission’s Siol Mountain Bike XC Challenge at Bukit Siol.

He was commenting on the detention of 574 books (133 titles), 419 CDs and five DVDs by Customs through a detention notice dated October 25 at 3.17pm.

Wan Junaidi said the return of the Christian books and CDs was in line with the Federal Cabinet’s 10-point agreement on the use of ‘Allah’ in Christian literature. “There’s a need to protect religious materials in Sabah and Sarawak,” he reiterated.

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in confirming likewise on clearing the items which are “permissible in East Malaysia under the law”, implied that the Customs Department acted unilaterally.

“They should have consulted the Home Ministry before taking action,” he said in a media update. “There’s a need for agencies manning the country’s entry points to streamline their operations to avoid confusion.”

Pastor Maklin Masiau from Sabah vowed to take the Home Ministry to Court, if necessary, after he was detained for 40 minutes at KLIA2 and had his religious books and CDs seized by the Customs Department. He was advised by Customs to deal with the Home Ministry to seek the return of the items seized from him.

“I know the football game has just started,” wrote Maklin in a posting on his Facebook page, indicating that he was prepared for the long drawn process of getting his materials back from the authorities. “I have been cheated as a Sabahan to practise my religion as guaranteed under the Malaysia Agreement.”

“Even though I pleaded with them not to seize my things with all kinds of concrete reasons, they were steadfast in seizing them. Their main reason for the seizure was that the books and the CDs contained the word Allah.”

Maklin was in Kuala Lumpur en route to Kota Kinabalu from Medan in Northern Sumatra where he had bought the CDs, costing RM10,000, as Christmas gifts for his church, Bethel Mawar Saron.

Jill Ireland, a Melanau Christian from Sarawak, has meanwhile reminded the Home Ministry for the third time since July 21 to return the eight religious CDs seized from her on May 11, 2008 at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur on her way home from Medan, Northern Sumatra.

Justice Zaleha Yusof ruled on July 21 that the seizure by Customs officer Suzana Muin was illegal and that only the Home Ministry had such powers.

In her third letter, at the month end, Jill gave the Home Ministry and the Federal Government seven days to return the items she’s seeking as per the July 21 Court order which however did not set a compliance date. The Court also awarded her RM5,000 in costs. Her earlier letters, dated August 13 and August 21, were also written on her behalf by her lawyers, and addressed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers which did not respond.

Instead, the Home Ministry appealed on August 22 against the July 21 Court decision and cited the Appeal as a reason not to return the items despite the Court ordering their return.

Jill’s lawyer Annou Xavier warned that the Home Minister and the Federal Government will be cited for contempt of Court if they failed to comply with the third reminder.

All parties are scheduled to return to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on December 2 and the Court of Appeal on 10 February 2015 on various issues.

Tindak M’sia: Maps for fairer elections ready for review

NGO proposes its Electoral Assessment and Constituency Development System (EACDS) for fairer elections.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: In a move to make general elections fairer and more democratic, non-governmental organisation Tindak Malaysia announced that its EACDS maps were ready for download from their website.

Essentially, the EACDS proposal, also known as the Electoral Assessment and Constituency Development System was put together as a proposal to the Election Commission for the next general election.

In a statement, founder of Tindak Malaysia PY Wong said, “The ramifications of any constituency delineation are severe and the effects long lasting.

“It can result in a democratic spring or announce its death. Indifference is not an option.”

Considering the severity of the issue, Tindak Malaysia was meticulous in putting together its proposal, spending three years on research and development to get it right.

Built into a geographical information system (QGIS), the basic principles governing Tindak Malaysia’s proposed equitable delineation were based on the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, and the Federal Constitution’s Thirteenth Schedule.

Explaining the proposal in greater detail, Wong said, “The proposal maintains the present 222 seats in the Federal Parliament and the allocation of Parliamentary seats to each State” as well as the present number of seats in each Dewan Undangan Negeri or DUN (state assembly).

Wong added, “Apart from this, the maximum allowable deviation from the electoral quotient for both Federal Parliament and DUN seats shall as far as possible not exceed 20%.”

The maps are available at Tindak Malaysia’s website and members of the public are encouraged to analyse and give their feedback so the proposal can be improved.

The public is also advised to participate in the public consultation process when the Election Commission announces their delineation proposals soon.

Tindak Malaysia’s EACDS maps may be downloaded free of charge.

Unity Will Ensure Continued Harmony, Prosperity - Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Tun RazakKUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysians will continue to enjoy harmony and prosperity if they remain united, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the concept of unity in diversity in Malaysia which had been inculcated among the people all along could not be found elsewhere in the world, hence making Malaysia a very special country.

"If we stay united, there's no reason why all Malaysians cannot enjoy harmony and prosperity in our own beloved country," he said in his latest posting titled 'Malaysian Deepavali Open House 2014' on his najibrazak.com blog Sunday.

He said at the the open house held in Melaka yesterday, he also promised that the government would continue ensuring that the Indian community would advance together with other races in Malaysia.

In connection with this, Najib said the government had set up a Cabinet committee on Indian community affairs, which he personally chaired.

"In fact, in the 2015 Budget, I have announced several special initiatives for the Indian community, including National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (TEKUN) loans amounting to RM50 million, Indian community entrepreneur development schemes and microcredit loans amounting to RM30 million through Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia," he said.

Besides, he said the government had also introduced an entrepreneur scheme, for Indian women, an allocation of RM30 million for Indian youth skills training and another RM50 million for the repair and maintenance of Tamil-type national schools.

"All those initiatives were taken to inculcate and strengthen the spirit of 'nambikei' (trust) towards making Malaysia a fully developed nation by 2020, he added.