Sodomy II: Saiful says ‘thankful’ for judge’s decision

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan is thankful for the High Court ruling today ordering Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to defend himself on the charge of sodomising him.
In an immediate reaction to today’s ruling by trial judge Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah, Saiful (picture), the complainant in the Sodomy II trial, said he hopes further trial proceedings will be carried out smoothly.
“I am thankful with today’s decision... I hope that the next stage of the trial will be carried out smoothly. Will keep on praying religiously, will be patient,” said Saiful on popular micro-blogging site Twitter.
Mohd Zabidin concluded that there was a prima facie case against Anwar, the 63-year old Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader, who is facing a second sodomy case charge in 13 years.
He was sacked as deputy prime minister and finance minister after the first case came to light in 1998.
“Prosecution proven all facts to define charge. Prima facie case made out against accused. Accused therefore called to enter defence,” said Mohd Zabidin today.
MORE TO COME

Osama bin Laden’s reported porn video stash: Propaganda?

By Laura Rozen

A stash of pornographic videotapes was among the "treasure trove" of computer files, video tapes and documents U.S. forces scooped up from the compound where Osama bin Laden resided in Abbottabad, Pakistan early this month, Reuters reports, citing current and former U.S. officials.
"The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound ... consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity," Reuters' Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria write.
The officials told Reuters, however, they did not know who at the compound "had acquired or viewed the materials," and weren't sure where in the three-story compound the material was found.
The reported discovery has provoked more than a little skepticism among chroniclers of the war against terrorism. It's not unusual, after all, for U.S. intelligence officials to float claims such as this to sully the image of jihadist piety maintained by bin Laden and his al Qaeda operation. The idea is to demoralize al Qaeda adherents who might otherwise pledge themselves to acts of vengeance such as today's bombing in Pakistan.
U.S. officials declined to comment, although one source, who insisted on anonymity, said that the report of the porn stash at the compound is true, and not an intelligence-engineered propaganda claim.
But Wired's Spencer Ackerman is not so sure:

If this is a CIA information operation — and how could it not be? — it's the greatest one of all time. In public, bin Laden is the pious, self-proclaimed vanguard of a violent Islamic uprising. Alone in his compound, he's beating it like it owes him cash. ...

Are the reports true? You'll have to be the judge.
The Reuters report cites three U.S. officials saying "the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases."
One regional expert said whether true or not, the report could inflame tensions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Muslims may perceive it as an insult against them.
(Undated image from video seized from Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, released by the Defense Department on May 7, 2011: Department of Defense, File/AP Photo)

‘Datuk T’ ready to be charged for sex video, says Shazryl

Shazryl is confident the police will soon reveal the identity of the man in the sex video. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah has declared “Datuk T” is ready to face charges for showing a sex video of a man resembling Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his confidence fuelled by the police’s recent confirmation of the recording’s authenticity.

Shazryl also expressed confidence the police would soon reveal the identity of the man in the video first shown on March 21, despite acknowledging the law does not require the identities of those appearing in pornographic films to be exposed.

“I believe the police will soon reveal the identity.

“Just give them a little time since their team just got back from the US,” he told The Malaysian Insider in an SMS from China.

Shazryl, the key protagonist behind the video’s exposure, also asked in the SMS for any information on when he would be charged in court.

Asked if this meant he was prepared to face legal action, he replied. “Yes, Dato T will all be in court when they charge us.”

He was referring to the “Datuk Trio” behind the video, namely him, former Malacca Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and ex-Perkasa treasurer-general Datuk Shuib Lazim.

Shazryl had earlier promised more exposes on Anwar once it is revealed the PKR de facto leader is in the 21-minute sex video which features a fair-skinned woman, believed to be a foreign prostitute.

When pointed out however that the police had already declared they would not reveal the man’s identity unless compelled to do so, Shazryl reiterated that he was sure they would.

“As I had mentioned earlier, let’s give them a little time since they just got back from the US. I think they will make that announcement soon,” he said in another SMS.

On April 14, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar declared the video as authentic, likely proving claims that the man featured in the 21-minute recording was indeed Anwar.

Ismail had said the identity of the man was verified based on strong evidence obtained during investigations, although he declined to identify he man in the video as it could interfere with the on-going investigation.

The police were also reported to have sought the assistance of experts from the United States to study the authenticity of the controversial video.

On Friday, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said that new findings have backed up earlier conclusions that the video had not been doctored.

“We have received the report from foreign experts and from the report it reaffirms our experts’ findings about the authenticity of the video... that it is authentic, and not edited.

“If the video is authentic, you can make your own assumptions,” he told reporters.

Khalid, however, said current legislation does not require people recorded in pornographic materials to be exposed or charged, reiterating that the police were only investigating the public screening and distribution of the video under section 292 of the Penal Code.

“If there is a need under the law [to identify the people in the video]... if the law requires us to disclose, then we will disclose,” he said.

The video first made headlines on March 21 after it was shown to selected media outlets at the Carcosa Seri Negara here by an individual identifying himself as “Datuk T”.

Two days after the screening, the trio of Shazryl, Abdul Rahim and Shuib came forward to reveal themselves collectively as “Datuk T”.

Following a police investigation into the screening, the trio claimed to have surrendered the only extant copy of the sex video to the police.

The unedited video had also been uploaded to video sharing website YouTube on April 28, but was taken down shortly after for violating the site’s terms of usage. Prior to that, two “teasers” of the clip had also been uploaded to the same site.

Shazryl has since taken a “sumpah laknat” or an oath to swear on Allah’s name, declaring that he had spoken the truth when alleging that Anwar is the man in the video.

His challenge to Anwar to do the same was however turned down.

Melihat ‘Pandi Kutti’ dalam kerangka ‘Interlok’ dan ‘Kamus Dewan’

Walaupun kedengaran jelek, frasa itu adalah panggilan manja dan mesra Anwar kepada Najib.COMMENT

Perkataan Tamil, “Pandi Kutti” tiba-tiba menjadi sebutan di seluruh negara dan ruang siber sejak belakangan ini. Saya membaca berita di Free Malaysia Today (8 Mei 2011) bahawa Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menggunakan istilah/frasa itu semasa berucap di Dewan Hamzah, Klang pada malam 7 Mei.

Perkara pertama yang saya lakukan adalah merujuk Kamus Pelajar Bahasa Malaysia (DBP: 1988) untuk mencari perkataan “Pandi Kutti”. Saya tahu makna frasa/perkataan itu dalam Bahasa Tamil tetapi saya juga teruja untuk mengetahui kalau-kalau ia sudah diterima pakai dalam konteks “bahasa Melayu, budaya Melayu” dengan konotasi yang berbeza.

Hal ini penting kerana portal rasmi Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia sudah menegaskan: “Sehubungan dengan perkataan-perkataan dalam bahasa Melayu yang terdapat dalam kamus-kamus bahasa Melayu terbitan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, ia hendaklah dilihat dari kaca mata bangsa Melayu, dan bukan dari kaca mata bangsa lain”.

Maka, tentulah saya tidak mahu masuk campur urusan “bangsa Melayu” jika “Pandi Kutti” adalah sebahagian daripada “perkataan-perkataan dalam bahasa Melayu yang terdapat dalam kamus-kamus bahasa Melayu terbitan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka”.

Terbukti bahawa “Pandi Kutti” bukan perkataan bahasa Melayu; sekali gus tidak termasuk dalam kerangka “hendaklah dilihat dari kaca mata bangsa Melayu, dan bukan dari kaca mata bangsa lain” seperti dicadangkan oleh Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.

Saya nyatakan demikian kerana Umno Online pada 9 Mei melaporkan bekas Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan, Profesor Datuk Dr Muhammad Yusoff Hussein sebagai berkata bahawa “tindakan Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menggelar Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak sebagai ‘pandikutti’ atau anak babi adalah tindakan orang tidak berpelajaran”.

Turut dilaporkan bahawa “Islam melarang sama sekali perbuatan menggelar seseorang dengan panggilan yang mengaibkan” dan “Anwar sepatutnya tahu Islam melarang keras menggelar seseorang itu dengan panggilan yang tidak baik kerana ianya [sic] adalah satu penghinaan dan menjatuhkan maruah”.

Apa yang menarik, FMT pada 9 Mei melaporkan Setiausaha Agung Umno, Tengku Adnan Mansor sebagai berkata, “Anwarlah Pandi Kutti, bukan Perdana Menteri saya” pada sidang media di ibu pejabat Umno di Kuala Lumpur.

Umno Online pada 9 Mei pula melaporkan Ketua Pemuda Umno, Khairy Jamaluddin berkata, “Cercaan Anwar yang melabel Perdana Menteri sebagai ‘pandikutti’ atau anak babi, sebagaimana yang dilapor oleh Free Malaysia Today pada 8 Mei lalu, adalah suatu yang biadap dan sangat kurang ajar” serta “ia menampakkah kejelekan serta kedudukan beliau (Anwar) yang kini amat terperosok dan tertekan dengan permasalahan peribadi serta perbalahan yang meledak sesama anggota pembangkang”.

Di sebalik segala “kekecohan” itu, Perdana Menteri pula dengan tenang mengatakan bahawa kata-kata yang diucapkan oleh Anwar “has not caused me to lose sleep” (Bernama, 10 Mei 2011).

Saya tidak mahu masuk campur dalam hal-hal dalaman mana-mana parti politik kerana bagi saya, parti-parti politik umpama sarkas yang seronok disaksikan dari luar; tetapi menjijikkan kalau kita masuk menyertai dan menjadi sebahagian daripadanya.

Manja dan mesra

Sebaliknya, saya mahu mengekalkan sikap apolitikal dan meneliti secara ringkas isu “Pandi Kutti” dalam kerangka “Interlok” dan “Kamus Dewan” kerana amat sesuai dan wajar dengan konteks Malaysia.

Sudah terbukti bahawa isu “Pandi Kutti” tidak boleh dilihat dalam konteks “bangsa Melayu” dan “bahasa Melayu” kerana perkataan/frasa itu tidak (belum) terkandung dalam Kamus Dewan.

Sebaliknya ia adalah perkataan/frasa Bahasa Tamil dan “hendaklah dilihat dari kaca mata bangsa Tamil, dan bukan dari kaca mata bangsa lain” sebagai meminjam pendirian Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.

Saya merujuk “Kamus Bahasa Tamil – Bahasa Melayu – Bahasa Inggeris” (Fajar Bakti: 1998) dan mendapat pengesahan bahawa “Pandi” (panri) adalah “sejenis binatang” iaitu “babi” atau “pig”. Maka, “Pandi Kutti” bermakna “anak babi” atau “piglet”.

Ternyata tidak ada apa-apa unsur penghinaan dalam frasa “Pandi Kutti”. Malah, kedengaran “manja” dan “mesra” apabila diucapkan oleh dua individu yang rapat – atau pernah rapat seperti bersaudara.

Untuk berlaku adil, saya menggunakan “Pandi Kutti” dan bukannya “pandi kutti” kerana saya masih ingat akan pelbagai hujah yang digunakan (antara lain) oleh Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan dari Gapena, Profesor Teo Kok Seong dari UKM dan Raja Rajeswari Seetha Raman dari Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia Kampus Bahasa Melayu.

Dalam mempertahankan novel Interlok Edisi Murid (DBP: 2010), mereka mengatakan bahawa penggunaan perkataan “P****” adalah tindakan memuliakan kaum India kerana menggunakan huruf besar “P”, sekali gus menjadikannya ‘kata nama khas’ dan bukannya ‘kata nama am’.

Dalam konteks ini, sedangkan perkataan “P****” boleh diterima dengan gembira – serta dipertahankan bermati-matian oleh kelompok akademik, persatuan penulis dan NGO – saya tidak nampak mengapa panggilan manja “Pandi Kutti” oleh Anwar kepada Najib dianggap menyentuh sensitif.

Jangan kita lupa (atau buat-buat lupa) bahasa Anwar tidak memanggil seluruh kaum dengan panggilan “manja dan mulia” itu tetapi khusus kepada seorang individu yang (pernah) rapat dengannya.

Bagi Khairy yang melihat penggunaan frasa “Pandi Kutti” sebagai “kejelekan” amat wajar segera bertemu Presiden Pena, Mohamed Saleeh Rahamad untuk memenangkan fikiran.

Dalam isu Interlok Edisi Murid, pensyarah Jabatan Pengajian Media, Universiti Malaya itu berpendirian bahawa “Biarpun ada unsur kejelekan pada sesetengah tempat, pengakhirannya membawa kepada pemahaman bersama bahawa perpaduan antara kaum penting” (Berita Harian, 20 Disember 2010).

Berbalik kepada pandangan Datuk Dr Muhammad Yusoff (Umno Online, 9 Mei 2011) yang menegaskan bahawa “Islam melarang sama sekali perbuatan menggelar seseorang dengan panggilan yang mengaibkan” dan “sepatutnya tahu Islam melarang keras menggelar seseorang itu dengan panggilan yang tidak baik kerana ianya [sic] adalah satu penghinaan dan menjatuhkan maruah”.

Betapa baik jika beliau telah tampil mengeluarkan pandangan dan hujah yang sama sebaik kontroversi novel Interlok Edisi Murid bermula pada akhir Disember 2010 untuk menyedarkan orang ramai bahawa “Islam melarang sama sekali perbuatan menggelar seseorang dengan panggilan yang mengaibkan”.

Uthaya Sankar SB suka membaca dan menulis. Paparan mindanya boleh dilayari di www.uthayasb.blogspot.com

Hisham says newspapers should be given leeway

By Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
May 15, 2011

SUNGAI BESAR, May 15 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today that newspapers should be given leeway despite stringent laws under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).

“The law is very clear but everybody, every paper has crossed that line one time or another. This is probably Utusan’s time. Before this there was China Press, Nan Yang, I know, because it happened under my watch.

“But in such situations, we give them a little space. We find which is really news that can benefit us as one race, 1 Malaysia but they shouldn’t go past the boundaries which touches on sensitive issues such as religion and race,” he told reporters after launching the Sungai Besar Umno division meeting here at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Sin Min.

The latest controversy to rile the country’s dominant majority was the “Christian Malaysia” report first published by the Umno newspaper Utusan Malaysia on May 7.

The Umno daily carried a front-page article headlined “Kristian agama rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?), claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the religion of the federation.

Utusan Malaysia’s report had been based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by two pro-Umno bloggers, alleging that the leaders had taken a pledge during the gathering promising to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.

The paper also published a grainy photograph showing what it described as a secret pact between the DAP and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.

DAP and Christian leaders have since voiced their rage over the allegations and vehemently denied taking any part in such a pledge.

Hishammuddin said he wants to call the chief editors of every newspaper for a discussion.

“There are times when the Malay community is not happy with the reporting of the Chinese papers. And now the Chinese community are not happy with the reporting at Utusan.

“I think it is time now for us to get together and get the chief editors to tell me this change that is happening in the world that we cannot stop information from going across borders if it doesn’t go through the main papers, it will go through Facebook, it will go through the multimedia context and it will go through SMSes,” he said.

Hishammuddin said that he had met with chief editors individually but now, he wants “them as a whole to be responsible for their actions”.

“So this new landscape will require some internal soul-searching of the mainstream papers and this I will talk to all the papers across the board.

Hishammuddin to meet chief editors of newspapers
Malaysiakini
May 15, 11

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein plans to meet chief editiors of newspapers on the reporting of sensitive issues.

He said he wanted to ensure that the chief editors exercised caution in the reporting of sensitive issues on race and religion and that they understood they would be held responsible for their action.

Commenting on a report published in Utusan Malaysia recently alleging that certain groups wanted to make Christianity the official religion, Hishammuddin (right) said:

“There are times when the Malay community were unhappy with the reporting of the Chinese newspapers (on sensitive issues) and vice versa.

“It is the responsibility of the chief editors to ensure that their organisations do not go beyond the boundaries set in reporting such issues,” he told reporters after opening the Sungai Besar Umno division delegates meeting near Sabak Bernam.

Despite the clarity of the country’s publishing laws and guidelines, he said, “every paper has crossed the line (in reporting sensitive issues) one time or another. Now it’s Utusan (which has crossed the line).”

Hishammuddin said that it was difficult to control the flow of information on sensitive issues, especially with the emergence of the new media.

“If it (the information) does not make it to the mainstream papers, it will somehow or rather get to the new media like online news portals, Facebook and the short messaging service,” he said.

Referring to the acid splashers who have been terrorising women in the Klang Valley, Hishammuddin urged people with information on the suspects to come forward and help police with their investigation.

He said he was making the appeal on behalf of the police who had so far received 22 reports on women being splashed with acid.

- Bernama

Ban wi-fi, mobile phones in schools: European body

Mobile phones and computers with wi-fi connections pose a risk to health and should be banned from schools, a committee of the influential Council of Europe has asserted.
The committee had examined evidence that the technologies have “potentially harmful” effects on humans, and concluded that immediate action was required to protect children.
See reports from the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail.
This is an extract from the resolution adopted by the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs of the Council of Europe:

4. While electrical and electromagnetic fields in certain frequency bands have wholly beneficial effects which are applied in medicine, other non-ionising frequencies, be they sourced from extremely low frequencies, power lines or certain high frequency waves used in the fields of radar, telecommunications and mobile telephony, appear to have more or less potentially harmful, non-thermal, biological effects on plants, insects and animals as well as the human body even when exposed to levels that are below the official threshold values.
5. As regards standards or threshold values for emissions of electromagnetic fields of all types and frequencies, the Assembly recommends that the ALARA or “as low as reasonably achievable” principle is applied, covering both the so-called thermal effects and the athermic or biological effects of electromagnetic emissions or radiation. Moreover, the precautionary principle should be applicable when scientific evaluation does not allow the risk to be determined with sufficient certainty, especially given the context of growing exposure of the population, including particularly vulnerable groups such as young people and children, which could lead to extremely high human and economic costs of inaction if early warnings are neglected.
6. The Assembly regrets that, despite calls for the respect of the precautionary principle and despite all the recommendations, declarations and a number of statutory and legislative advances, there is still a lack of reaction to known or emerging environmental and health risks and virtually systematic delays in adopting and implementing effective preventive measures. Waiting for high levels of scientific and clinical proof before taking action to prevent well-known risks can lead to very high health and economic costs, as was the case with asbestos, leaded petrol and tobacco.
7. Moreover, the Assembly notes that the problem of electromagnetic fields or waves and the potential consequences for the environment and health has clear parallels with other current issues, such as the licensing of medication, chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals or genetically modified organisms. It therefore highlights that the issue of independence and credibility of scientific expertise is crucial to accomplish a transparent and balanced assessment of potential negative impacts on the environment and human health.
8. In light of the above considerations, the Assembly recommends that the member states of the Council of Europe:
8.1. in general terms:
8.1.1. take all reasonable measures to reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields, especially to radio frequencies from mobile phones, and particularly the exposure to children and young people who seem to be most at risk from head tumours;
8.1.2. reconsider the scientific basis for the present electromagnetic fields exposure standards set by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, which have serious limitations and apply “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) principles, covering both thermal effects and the athermic or biological effects of electromagnetic emissions or radiation;
8.1.3. put in place information and awareness-raising campaigns on the risks of potentially harmful long-term biological effects on the environment and on human health, especially targeting children, teenagers and young people of reproductive age;
8.1.4. pay particular attention to “electrosensitive” persons suffering from a syndrome of intolerance to electromagnetic fields and introduce special measures to protect them, including the creation of wave-free areas not covered by the wireless network;
8.1.5. in order to reduce costs, save energy, and protect the environment and human health, step up research on new types of antennas and mobile phone and DECT-type devices, and encourage research to develop telecommunication based on other technologies which are just as efficient but have less negative effects on the environment and health;
8.2. concerning the private use of mobile phones, DECT phones, WiFi, WLAN and WIMAX for computers and other wireless devices such as baby phones:
8.2.1. set preventive thresholds for levels of long-term exposure to microwaves in all indoor areas, in accordance with the precautionary principle, not exceeding 0.6 volts per metre, and in the medium term to reduce it to 0.2 volts per metre;
8.2.2. undertake appropriate risk-assessment procedures for all new types of device prior to licensing;
8.2.3. introduce clear labelling indicating the presence of microwaves or electromagnetic fields, the transmitting power or the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the device and any health risks connected with its use;
8.2.4. raise awareness on potential health risks of DECT-type wireless telephones, baby monitors and other domestic appliances which emit continuous pulse waves, if all electrical equipment is left permanently on standby, and recommend the use of wired, fixed telephones at home or, failing that, models which do not permanently emit pulse waves;
8.3. concerning the protection of children:
8.3.1. develop within different ministries (education, environment and health) targeted information campaigns aimed at teachers, parents and children to alert them to the specific risks of early, ill-considered and prolonged use of mobiles and other devices emitting microwaves;
8.3.2. ban all mobile phones, DECT phones or WiFi or WLAN systems from classrooms and schools, as advocated by some regional authorities, medical associations and civil society organisations;
8.4. concerning the planning of electric power lines and relay antenna base stations:
8.4.1. introduce town planning measures to keep high-voltage power lines and other electric installations at a safe distance from dwellings;
8.4.2. apply strict safety standards for sound electric systems in new dwellings;
8.4.3. reduce threshold values for relay antennas in accordance with the ALARA principle and install systems for comprehensive and continuous monitoring of all antennas;
8.4.4. determine the sites of any new GSM, UMTS, WiFi or WIMAX antennas not solely according to the operators’ interests but in consultation with local and regional government officials, local residents and associations of concerned citizens;

Blackout at KLIA disrupts flights

The incident resulted in several flight delays, and many baggages left behind.

KUALA LUMPUR: The KL International Airport (KLIA) suffered power breakdown this morning.
Although it was restored shortly after, the incident had resulted in several flight delays, according to a statement from Malaysia Airlines.

“Of the 42 scheduled flights, 13 were delayed and more than 300 bags were left behind due to the power interruption,” said the national carrier.

It said both Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and Malaysia Airlines were currently working to sort out all baggage that were left behind during the interruption as well as making every possible effort to restore the flights and ensure minimal disruption to passengers’ flights.

The airline advised customers to check with the Malaysia Airlines office at their destination upon arrival in the event that they had missing baggage.

“Our representative offices would be able to advise on the arrival times or provide a status up-date of their baggage,” it added.

All passengers who have confirmed flights are advised to log onto the Malaysia Airlines’ website to check the status of their flights before making their way to the KLIA.
- Bernama

Religious issues not resolved by three PMs

Prime Minister Najib Razak's very responsible action in meeting both Muslim and Christian leaders separately has defused the unnecessary tension caused by the irresponsible journalism of a major national daily.

Failure to nip the problem in the bud by the authorities caused much uneasiness amongst the different communities.

Our young home minister (Hishammuddin Hussein) could have eased so much tension if he had made a statement calling for calm. He and a leading police officer instead cautioned those who were alleged to have brought the so-called 'Christianity as official religion' issue. This was done before conducting a thorough investigation.

Further, a surprise accusation by a veteran government leader Rais Yatim did not help.

Of late, the image of the Home Ministry and the Royal Malaysian Police leaves much to be desired. One gets the impression that they see in just one opposition leader a bogeyman, not realising that they are making him a hero to the new generation of young educated Malaysians.

As the tension increased with NGOs and other leaders 'lashing' at each other, the nation waited for the PM's timely involvement. The PM's assurance to look into outstanding religious issues is soothing.

But, although I welcome the assurance of the PM, it must be understood that most of the religious issues facing us today have not been resolved over a period where three PMs have been at our nation's helm. I sincerely hope that all parties show much greater understanding to reach a mutual agreement.

In my more than 50 years of religious and inter-faith activities I have not come across any non-Muslim NGO intending to change or replace the status of Islam in Malaysia. The Federal Constitution amply protects the rights of Islam and all other religions.

The writer is former president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST).

Deadly border clashes mark Israel's founding, Arab 'catastrophe'

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces erupted along Israel's borders Sunday, leaving at least 12 dead on a Palestinian mourning day marking the birth of the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried what he called "violent demonstrations" aimed at undermining Israel's existence.

"We hope for the peace and restfulness to return quickly, but no one should be mistaken -- we are determined to defend our borders and our sovereignty," Netanyahu said.

The conflicts broke out on "Nakba Day." Nakba -- Arabic for "catastrophe" -- marks the period when more than 700,000 Arabs were displaced from their homes during the fighting following the creation of Israel in 1948.

Two protesters were killed and 170 were wounded when fighting broke out in the Golan Heights area, the Syrian Arab News Agency said. And at least 10 were killed and 112 others were injured in clashes along the border with Lebanon, Lebanon's state news agency reported.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops fired on demonstrators who were illegally crossing the borders from Lebanon and Syria and damaging "security infrastructure." But Syrian and Lebanese officials criticized what they said were Israeli attacks, state media reported.

Israel's military accused Syria of inciting a crisis to divert attention from its own clampdown on anti-government demonstrations.Ten Israeli soldiers and three officers were injured in the clashes, the Israel Defense Forces reported.

The Israeli military also was attempting to push back demonstrators near the Gaza border, where medical sources said at least 70 people had been injured. Large clashes broke out between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians near a checkpoint that separates the West Bank from Jerusalem as well.

Some protesters hurled rocks, while Israel's military met approaching protesters with volleys of tear gas and rubber-bullet fire.

"We tried as best as we could not to hit anyone innocent," said Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman. "At the end of the day, we are protecting civilians here in Israel."

Israeli soldiers fired warning shots in the air after dozens of Syrians broke through the border fence and entered the Golan Heights, she said. Israel captured the region from Syria in 1967 and has occupied it ever since.

A statement from the military said forces "fired selectively towards rioters who were targeting security infrastructure and some were injured as a result."

"The Syrian regime (was) attempting to divert world attention from their brutal crackdown and to incite violence on the Israel-Syrian border," Leibovich said.

Reports from non-government organizations suggest between 700 and 850 people have been killed since the start of anti-government protests in Syria and "thousands of other people have reportedly been arrested," the United Nations said Friday.

"Syria condemns Israel's criminal practices against the people in Golan, Palestine and South Lebanon which resulted in a number of martyrs and injured people," the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported, citing an official with the country's foreign ministry.

Syrian state television Sunday showed protesters along the border using Palestinian flags to fan an injured victim lying on the ground.

Different accounts were emerging Sunday of clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border, where ambulances stood by as the steady crackle of gunfire filled the air.

Lebanon's state news agency said five people were killed and 56 others were injured. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots after protesters attempted to breach a border fence.

It was unclear who fired the shots that killed and injured protesters. The Lebanese military was also deployed along the border, Leibovich said, and they were using live fire to stop protesters as well.

"The IDF sees the governments of Syria and Lebanon as responsible for any violence or provocation towards Israel that emanates from their respective territories," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri issued a statement supporting the Palestinian cause and criticizing what he said was Israel's "blatant and intolerable aggression" toward peaceful demonstrators Sunday.

"On this day, we cannot but strongly condemn Israel's continuous violation of human rights, and the fact that it faces peaceful movements of the Arab citizens in Lebanon, Golan and Palestine with killing and murder," he said.

The commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon "urged antagonists to exercise maximum self-restraint," Lebanese state media said.

Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai told CNN affiliate Channel 2 that dozens of men had broken through a crossroad and entered the Erez crossing near Gaza. The Israeli military was trying to push back demonstrators using live ammunition and anti-demonstration weapons, he said.

Medical sources reported that 70 people had been injured there, and 15 of them were in critical condition.

"The Nakba is the defining event in our history and collective struggle," Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat said in a statement released Sunday.

"Once Israel recognizes the right of return, Palestinian refugees must be given options and allowed to choose how they want that right to be implemented. Those options must be meaningful and must include return to their original homes and villages," he added. "For there to be a just and lasting peace, their choices must be respected."

New questions about the viability of the stalled peace process were raised this month in the wake of a formal reconciliation agreement between the two largest Palestinian factions: President Mahmoud Abbas' party, the West Bank-based Fatah, and the Islamist group Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Both Israel and the United States consider Hamas a terrorist organization and have voiced strong opposition to the inclusion of the group in any unity government, demanding that it first renounce violence, recognize the state of Israel and abide by all previous agreements.

Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian lawmaker who helped negotiate the Fatah-Hamas agreement, said Sunday that the reconciliation signaled a "golden opportunity to make peace" between Israelis and Palestinians.

An Israeli government spokesman said Sunday that the country would continue to push for peace, but he said the agreement with Hamas was a significant stumbling block.

"It's clear that there's really a problem here if the Palestinian leadership has chosen Hamas as a partner," he said.

Barghouti criticized Israel's reaction to the news.

"I think this Israeli government unfortunately is working against the interests of its own people, against the interests of peace and against the interests of Palestinians," he said.

Perkasa ready to crusade against ungrateful Christians

Gerakan wants Ibrahim’s ‘crusade’ threat against Christians investigated

Dr Koh Tsu Koon: No place for local leaders to be provocative.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Dr Koh Tsu Koon today called on the police to investigate Datuk Ibrahim Ali for inciting racial and religious hatred in his recent speeches, especially Ibrahim’s threat last night to wage a crusade against Christians.


Dr Koh, who is unity affairs minister in the Prime Minister’s department, accused the Perkasa president of being “uncouth” in his outburst, saying Ibrahim had clearly violated the government’s 1 Malaysia concept and call for moderation among the various communities.

“I feel disgusted that he should beat his chest this way, trying to be a hero, especially after the Prime Minister has just met Muslim and non-Muslim leaders separately, calling for calm, understanding and mutual respect,” Dr Dr Koh said in a statement today.

Dr Koh reminded Ibrahim that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, together with Christian leaders, had met last week to discuss the row over allegations by Utusan Malaysia of Christian conspiracy, and had decided to put the matter to rest.

Christian leaders, Dr Koh pointed out, had strongly denied any involvement in such a conspiracy, and had given their commitment towards respecting and upholding the spirit of the Federal Constitution and the status of Islam as the religion of the federation.

“The Christian leaders have also reiterated their stand that they will work with the government to sustain peace and harmony, while seeking for amicable solutions to various outstanding issues.

“So how could Ibrahim Ali keep talking about the Christian ‘agenda to usurp Islam?’,” he asked.
Dr Koh also chastised Ibrahim for proclaiming himself a defender of the dignity of Islam and for declaring that the Muslim community “placed peace and harmony above everything”, arguing that the Pasir Mas MP, in waging a “jihad” last night, had failed to stand by his own words.

“If so, he should not have uttered such words and behaved this way,” Dr Koh said.

Dr Koh added that in multi-racial Malaysia, local leaders should work to promote moderation and become mediators to manage divergent views instead of being provocative.

He said the police should swiftly investigate Ibrahim’s speeches over the past two days for elements of racial and religious incitement.

“I appeal to Malaysians to stay calm and not to fall into his trap to divide and push the people of Malaysia to take extreme stands and not to fall prey to emotions and sentiments,” Dr Koh said.

He was referring to the fiery speech Ibrahim made last night to about 200 people in Kampung Changkat, in Gombak, where Ibrahim challenged Christians to a holy war should they proceed with their agenda to usurp Islam.

He also declared that he was willing to take the fall for his statement for the sake of defending the dignity of Islam.

Despite complaining of fatigue from his nine ceramah stops from Kelantan to Kampung Changkat since Friday night, the Pasir Mas MP also said his blood was boiling with rage and “hairs standing on end” following recent reports of a Christian conspiracy between religious leaders and opposition party politicians.

“In Kelantan earlier, I declared before the police, I told the security forces present that if they want to send my messages to Bukit Aman (police), please go ahead,” he said.

“Please record my words — if there is any party in Penang, especially the Christian priests who are being backed by the Penang DAP, should continue with their agenda which we already know, I would like to offer that if they want to hold a crusade, we can.

“This is in the spirit of Sultan Saladin Ayubi . . . if they want to fight a crusade, we can.”
Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and led the Muslim forces during the Crusades — a series of religiously sanctioned military campaigns taken by the Christians to recover the Holy Land from the Mohammedans.

Ibrahim also warned non-Muslims not to take the silence Muslims to mean they were complacent. He said it was because Muslims placed peace and harmony above everything.

“But we are ready. Silence does not mean fear; we have been silent because we prioritise peace and harmony.

“But these people, if they feel the peace that they have enjoyed all these years is insufficient, or the stability and progress of this nation is not enough and they want to do something that has never once crossed our minds, go ahead . . . we will be ready,” he said.

Ibrahim was referring to the row over Utusan Malaysia’s “Kristian Agama Rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?) report. The report alleged that DAP leaders and Christian priests were conspiring to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation, and install a Christian prime minister.
Christian leaders and members of DAP have denied the reports, and Najib has hosted separate meetings with religious leaders to resolve the issue.

Ibrahim last night insisted that allegations in the Utusan report were true.
He pointed out that a Muslim member of the DAP had on Friday lodged a report claiming to know the truth of what transpired at the meeting at a hotel in Penang.

Police are investigating Utusan Malaysia’s report of a Christian conspiracy.
DAP Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, among those implicated in the controversy, said eight pastors and 13 DAP members and people who attended the event have been called to give their statements to the police.

Family wants independent inquiry into teen’s fatal shooting

A tearful Salmah speaks to reporters outside the Damansara police station, May 15, 2011. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

PETALING JAYA, May 15 — The family of Johari Abu Bakar have demanded an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the  17-year-old’s shooting, accusing the police today of giving inconsistent accounts of the incident. The family will also file a court petition tomorrow, seeking for a second post-mortem on the school dropout, due to “suspicious” signs of assault found on the boy’s body, including a broken right arm.
Johari, an odd-job worker, was killed in a shootout with the police behind a budget hotel at the Cyber Valley Commercial Centre, Dengkil, at about 10.30pm on Friday.
According to a media statement by Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah following the incident, the suspect had been in his “20s” and was believed to have been hiding in the hotel after stealing a Toyota Alphard multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) near Taman Megah, Kelana Jaya, on May 10.
Upon spotting the vehicle parked behind the hotel on Friday evening, the police ambushed Johari as he was attempting to leave the vicinity in the MPV that night.

Sivarasa holds up pictures of Johari and his arm, outside the Damansara police station, May 15, 2011.

The police also claimed that the boy had reversed the MPV into a patrol car and fired several shots, forcing the cops to retaliate in kind. Injured from the shots, Johari eventually stumbled out of the car onto the road and died moments later. He was found with a semi-automatic gun and several bullets.
But Johari’s mother, housewife Salmah Mohamed Shariff, insisted today that her son was not a criminal and had never been in possession of any weapon.
“He is a good and obedient boy. I refuse to believe that he was in possession of any gun,” she told reporters today after lodging a report on the incident at the Damansara police station here.
Salmah was accompanied by her two elder sons, pub doorman Abdul Razak, 21, and kitchen helper Mohamad Rosli, 20;  Johari’s grandmother, Jamilah Magar Saib, 56; Subang MP R. Sivarasa; Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong; Suhakam commissioner James Nagayam and several others.
She complained of discrepancies in the circumstances surrounding Johari’s death, particularly in the accounts given in the media and to her yesterday by a policeman named “Afendi”.
“The policeman told me that my son was with four others at the time and they were being marked for five days before his death.
“They claimed that my son shot at them and the four others had escaped during the shootout. I find this hard to believe,” she said.
Afendi, she added, had also claimed that her son had released eight shots at the police before being shot at in return.
The teary-eyed 41-year-old added she was also suspicious of the condition of her son’s body when she was allowed to see him at the Serdang hospital morgue yesterday.
Sivarasa, who was also at the morgue with the family, said that Johari’s right arm was clearly broken.
“You can see that the right arm was broken. It’s like a V-shape. Question is, how did he break his arm? After or before the shooting?” he asked.

Jamilah last saw her grandson two days ago at her home in Kayu Ara.

He added that when Afendi, who is from the Dengkil police station, was questioned about the arm, the latter had claimed that there was nothing wrong with the arm. “The family is also unhappy with the hospital. Firstly, they were only allowed to see Johari’s body for several seconds.
“Next, when the post-mortem was completed, they were not informed by the doctor in charge who, coincidentally, is the same pathologist who conducted the first post-mortem on A. Kugan, which was later disproved in court,” said Sivarasa.
He also said that Johari has no criminal records to date.
“We are not against any lawful capture of a person deemed to be a criminal. But if indeed he is guilty, he should be caught and tried in court and not shot dead,” said Sivarasa.
“I just want justice for my son. He is not a bad person and I cannot accept that the police are turning him into a criminal” said Salmah.
“If he has done something wrong, arrest him and jail him, do not shoot him.”
She added that she last saw her son a week ago and last heard from him on Friday, supposedly seconds before his death.
“He called me but just as I picked up his call, he was gone. I think that was the time when he was shot dead,” she said.
Johari’s grandmother Jamilah said she last saw her grandson two days ago at her house in Kayu Ara here.
“He left home when his friends called him out for a drink and he never came home. We were worried about him,” she said.
Johari’s brothers explained that the youth had dropped out of school when he was in Form Two, after their father’s death.
According to Malay daily Kosmo! the father had also been shot dead two years ago by the police, on suspicion of being involved in a kidnapping and several other serious crimes in Selangor.

Defeat rocks India's elected communists

The color of India's eastern state of West Bengal turned from red to green on Friday, when the world's longest-ruling elected communist government was decisively voted out of power.

Supporters of the opposition alliance that defeated the communist-led Left coalition danced wildly to the tune of drums, exchanged sweets and colored each other with green phagu (dry color).

The celebrations reached a crescendo as the opposition leader, Mamata Banerji - a diminutive yet aggressive Bengali woman in her mid-50s - emerged from her small shanty home adjoined to Calcutta's Kalighat temple to announce the historic victory.

"Communism is history in Bengal, we have won a decisive victory. This is a day of liberation for our people," Banerji, leader of the Trinamul Congress Party and India's railways minister, told waiting journalists.

An Indian television channel quickly dubbed her as "India's Lech Walesa", in reference to Poland's famous anti-communist leader.

Crushing defeat

The communist-led Left coalition has ruled West Bengal for 34 years, that makes it the longest tenure for any elected communist government in the world.

But when they lost the elections on Friday for the 294-seat West Bengal state assembly, the defeat turned into a landslide when Banerji's Trinamul Congress - in alliance with India's ruling Congress party - won 73 per cent of the seats.

Only five years ago, the opposite had happened when the communists crushed the Trinamuls by winning 80 per cent of the seats.

"It is the most dramatic reversal of fortunes in Bengal's history," says political analyst Sabyasachi Basu Roy Choudhury of the Calcutta Research Group, a think-tank.

This time around, all but two of the top Communist ministers survived the landslide.

Those defeated included chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya, a pragmatic young communist leader whose drive to acquire land for a huge industrialisation project had alienated Bengal's traditionally militant peasantry and loosened the left's strongholds in rural Bengal.

"How could a communist government ask police to fire on peasants like they did in Nandigram to set up a chemical industry. That has eroded their support amongst the rural poor and Mamata Banerji has gained by leading campaigns against the acquisitions," said Bengal's leading political sociologist, Pradip Bose.

Political blunders

But many others say the urban Bengali gentry (called Bhadraloks) were also fed up with the communists for not joining the government in Delhi, even though they had at least two opportunities in the last 15 years.

"When left of centre parties formed a ruling coalition in 1996 and wanted the legendary Bengali communist leader Jyoti Basu to take over as prime minister, his party decided to stay out. Jyoti Basu described it as a historical blunder and that is what most Bengalis feel. So why should they vote for the communists?" said former communist lawmaker Saiffuddin Choudhury, whose breakaway party - PDS - is now in alliance with India's ruling Congress Party.

The communists built up a formidable political party and were popular with the rural poor and industrial workers during their three decades of continuous rule in West Bengal.

They also enjoyed the support of the influential Bengali intelligentsia - until Nandigram happened four years ago. After that, the cultural elite distanced themselves from the communists in protest of the police shootings that killed 14 farmers.

Seven Bengali film stars and theatre personalities won seats on a Trinamul ticket this time.

The anti-left vote in Bengal has never slipped below 40 per cent of the electorate, even at the peak of communist rule, but the anti-communists lacked a leader who could capitalise on that support until the fiercely combative Banerji arrived.

"The anti-left mass got a powerful leader in Mamata Banerji and she started to reach out to the floating voters, issue by issue. That explains why the tide has turned against the communists," says analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury.

"The communists were functioning within the parameters of Indian democracy but they tried to create a party whereby they could control all segments of Bengali society. They are paying dearly for their obsession for control because the fiercely independent Bengali middle class would take it no more," alleged Indian economist Bibek Debroy, who hails from Bengal.

Women on the rise

Banerji's victory, marks the coming of age of Bengali regionalism.

"Within thirteen years of breaking away from the Congress and forming her own Trinamul party, she has marginalised the Congress in Bengal as much as the communists now. That's a major achievement," says political analyst Ranabir Sammadar.

Gender expert Paula Banerji described Banerji's stunning victory as a "demonstration of the political power of the Bengali women".

Across the border in neighbouring Bangladesh, where more than ninety per cent are Muslim, the present Awami League government is headed by prime minister Sheikh Hasina - five of the top positions in her cabinet are also held by women.

"Now Banerji has done 'a Hasina' in our state. Both the Bengals will now be ruled by women and in Bangladesh, even the main opposition leader is a women," Paula Banerji said. "The communists don't have a female leader of Banerji's stature and unless they find one, they cannot take her on."

Nearly half of West Bengal's population are women and they strongly identify with Banerji.

During the six-phase elections held in West Bengal, women showed up in large numbers and could be seen standing in queues at polling booths - sometimes waiting five or six hours to vote.

'Obsolete ideology'

The communists have also lost the southern state of Kerala, so they now hold only one Indian state - the tiny north eastern state of Tripura which has only two seats in the Indian Parliament.

"Their future in Indian politics is in jeopardy," says Indian editor Prabhu Chawla. "This is an obsolete ideology and will not work here anymore."

With the communist defeats in West Bengal and Kerala, the chances of a third front emerging in Indian politics are remote.

Though the Indian left never joined a non-Congress or non-Hindu nationalist BJP government in Delhi, they decisively supported the experiment in 1996.

"Now Indian politics at the federal level will be more bipolar - with the Congress leading one coalition and the Hindu nationalist BJP leading the other," said Tarun Vijay, editor of the Organiser Weekly that reflects the views of Hindu nationalists.

"Bengal's communism was unique in that it grew among the people not through armed revolution. This was a party that grew by consensus by carrying with them all sections of middle class, rural and urban poor - even the gentry. But somewhere down the line, the arrogance of power led them to adopt narrow, sectarian politics and that is their undoing now," says analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhuri.

'Old Left values'

Their only hope now is if Banerji, whose performance as India's railway minister has not been overly impressive, fails in her position of governance.

"We are down, but not out. We will perform our role in opposition and win back the people's trust," said Bengal communist party leader Biman Bose.

Bose points to the state of Tripura, "where the communists messed up and people brought us back. That will happen in Bengal," Bose said. "They went out of power in 1988 and came back to power five years later...ruling it all the way until now."

But that is only likely if Banerji makes major mistakes.

On Friday, she outlined her priorities in a brief interview, even as her supporters continued their noisy celebrations outside her small shanty. She emphasised a return to true democracy that have been undermined by the communist politics of control.

Banerji also plans to promote inclusive development that benefits rural and urban poor by balancing allocations between agriculture and industry. She also wants to make governance more efficient - especially in terms of maintaining law and order in what has become a fairly violent state.

"I will continue to live like a commoner because I don't like luxury. The support of my people is more important," said Banerji, whose austere lifestyle appears closer to the old icons of the Bengal communist movement than their successors who had become corrupted by three decades of power.

"I am against the Left here but not against Leftism. I share the values of the old Left," said Banerji.

Source:Al Jazeera

As police probe, Ibrahim Ali threatens crusade against Christians

GOMBAK, May 15 — Despite police still investigating unsubstantiated reports of a move to a Christian Malaysia, Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali threatened Christians nationwide last night that he would wage a crusade or holy war should they proceed with their agenda to usurp Islam.

The pint-sized Malay rights leader thundered to a ceramah audience of some 200 at Kampung Changkat here that he was willing to take the fall for his statement for the sake of defending the dignity of Islam.

Although he complained of fatigue from his nine ceramah stops from Kelantan to here since Friday night, the Pasir Mas MP also said his blood was boiling with rage and “hairs standing on end” following recent reports of a Christian conspiracy between religious leaders and opposition party politicians.

“In Kelantan earlier, I declared before the police, I told the security forces present that if they want to send my messages to Bukit Aman (police), please go ahead.

“Please record my words — if there is any party in Penang, especially the Christian priests who are being backed by the Penang DAP, should continue with their agenda which we already know, I would like to offer that if they want to hold a crusade, we can.

“This is in the spirit of Sultan Saladin Ayubi... if they want to fight a crusade, we can,” he charged.

Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and led the Muslim forces during the Crusades — a series of religiously sanctioned military campaigns taken by the Christians to recover the Holy Land from Muslims.

Ibrahim (picture) warned the non-Muslims not to take the silence of their Muslim comrades to mean complacency, saying it was because the latter community placed peace and harmony above everything.

“But we are ready. Silence does not mean fear, we have been silent because we prioritise peace and harmony.

“But these people, if they feel the peace that they have enjoyed all these years is insufficient, or the stability and progress of this nation is not enough and they want to do something that has never once crossed our minds, go ahead... we will be ready,” he said.

He claimed the reason why the non-Muslims were now fearless and brave enough to step up was because they felt secure with the backing of many Muslim liberals and other political leaders including PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

“This is my view... if I am incorrect, it is my right. If I am rude, I apologise. My sins I will bear.

“But why is this happening now... after 53 years? The answer you may know — the main source is because of Anwar’s misdeeds.

“So to them (non-Muslims), this is their time because they are being backed by Nik Aziz, supported by Anwar and spurred by the Malay liberals,” he said.

Ibrahim was referring to the recent row over a controversial newspaper report in Utusan Malaysia entitled “Kristian Agam Rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?) where it was alleged that DAP leaders and Christian priests were conspiring to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.

Christian leaders and DAP members have denied the reports and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was even forced to host a meeting with the religious chiefs to solve the issue but Ibrahim insisted last night that the report was true.

For one, he pointed out that a Muslim DAP member had also lodged a report on Friday claiming to know the true story of what transpired during the meeting at a hotel in Penang recently.

“They have been accusing Utusan Malaysia but from the beginning, I said it is valid. It is true.

“Why? Because the MP present at the meeting was Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi. He is an MP like me and I know from his mannerisms and the language he uses,” he said.

Ibrahim also reiterated his recent claim that former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) members were using local groups for an unsubstantiated plot to replace Islam as Malaysia’s official religion.

He insisted that CPM supporters had infiltrated political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious groups and business associations after the party laid down arms in 1989 in order to carry on their activities.

“I am reminding the Malays of this country... where are these CPM members? They have been absorbed into the community. I am confident they have infiltrated political parties, NGOs, and so on.

“These are the remains of PCM... that is why they are brave enough to continue with their agenda.... it is a golden opportunity for them because they now have extraordinary support from Anwar, from PAS and from the Malay liberals,” he said.

Utusan Malaysia’s Christian conspiracy report is presently under police investigation.

According to Ooi, a total of eight pastors and 13 DAP members and event participants have been called forth to give their statements to the police.

Cemetery ownership issue: Reports lodged againt Rama

The DCM ll was also named in reports filed in Klang where he has been accused of allegedly threatening an MIC Youth leader.

BATU KAWAN: Two Indian community leaders here have lodged separate police reports on Saturday on two different issues against Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy and several other persons.

New IPF pro-tem president V Mathiyalagan, 55, and Ladang Batu Kawan Hindu temple, Sri Maha Muthu Mariamman Kovil management committee chairman A Nallakumar, 49, lodged the reports against Ramasamy and others at Batu Kawan police station, under Seberang Perai Selatan district.

In his report, Mathialagan accused Ramasamy and his alleged cronies of plotting to usurp the Batu Kawan cemetery from the ownership of the said Hindu temple and Batu Kawan residents.

He accused Ramasamy, the Batu Kawan MP, of publicly lying about the facts behind the 200-year-old cemetery by claiming that the temple had abandoned the graveyard.

He said Ramasamy, also the DAP deputy secretary-general, lied that the temple has no right over the cemetery, which houses some 1,800 Hindu burial grounds.

He said the temple committee has documented evidence to show proof on its ownership rights over the cemetery land.

Apart from Ramasamy, Mathiyalagan also named the DCM 11′s close aide and Seberang Perai municipal (MPSP) councillor M Ramachandran, Batu Kawan village safety and development committee chairman G Dumani and a local PKR member named as just Ravi as part of the plot.

Ramasamy recently announced that the Penang Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), which he heads, planned to take over the management of the cemetery.

The six-acre cemetery had existed since 1817 under the Gangai Malai estate established during the British rule. Gangai Malai estate was later renamed Ladang Batu Kawan.

Ramasamy claimed that the cemetery was abandoned by the temple management since the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) acquired the area to build a new township during the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.

However, Mathiayalagan, a local resident, dismissed Ramasamy’s claim, saying that the temple committee had been managing the graveyard until now.

‘All lies’

Last week Nallakumar told FMT that the temple committee planned to file a suit against HEB and Ramasamy, and probably the state government, if “anyone tried to steal our cemetery.”

In his police report, Nallakumar alleged that Ramasamy and his political aide M Sateesh had tarnished his reputation by claiming that he had misused a 174-acre agricultural land secured under lease for personal business in a PDC open tender, for personal gains.

Nallakumar said Ramasamy and Sateesh had wrongly accused him of failing to fulfill his promises to contribute part of his income from the agricultural activities to the temple.

“I have never promised anything. Neither was there any clause stating that I must contribute to the temple. It’s my personal business.

“They are spreading lies about it merely because of the cemetery issue,” claimed Nallakumar.

MIC Youth leader files death threat reports

In an unrelated development, an MIC Youth leader has also lodged several police reports against Ramasamy and Sateesh over death threats received via SMS and phone calls.

“I have hard evidence that shows M Sateesh and P Ramasamy are behind these threats,” said Kampung Meru MIC Youth chief G Kalaicelvan (pix) today. He is a popular host of a local debate show on Astro called Alaaram.

Kalaicelvan said he started receiving the threats after posing questions on micro-blogging site, Twitter, about DAP’s administration in Penang.

The first SMS threat was received on May 12 May, followed by another one two days later. The most recent threat was received at 1.18 am today.

The threats, in Tamil, were directed at Kalaichelvan, his wife and daughter.

Kalaichelvan has so far lodged three police reports on the threats.

“They (Ramasamy and Sateesh) have resorted to thug mentality,” he said during a press conference at MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

“They could have just responded to my tweet queries,” he added.

When contacted, both Ramasamy and Sateesh denied making the death threats and urged Kalaicelvan to lodge a police report.

“I don’t even know who he is,” a surprised Ramasamy said.

Sateesh meanwhile said he would sue Kalaichelvan for defaming him. “I got nothing to do with this. What he is talking about is nonsense. I will take legal action if he implicates me,” he said.

Conservative group sues over bin Laden death photos

Washington (CNN) -- A conservative legal watchdog group has filed the first lawsuit seeking public release of video and photographs of the U.S. military raid and aftermath that left al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden dead.

Judicial Watch is asking the Department of Defense to comply with a Freedom of Information request for the material, especially photos of the September 11 mastermind lying dead on the third floor of his Pakistan hideout. The legal complaint to force compliance was made in federal court in Washington on Friday.

The group says it is being "irreparably harmed" by the Obama administration's "unlawful withholding of requested records."

Judicial Watch made its initial request the day after the commando assault by Navy SEALs. A similar request for material was filed against the CIA.

President Barack Obama had announced that the U.S. government would not reveal any photographs of the May 2 military action and bin Laden's subsequent burial at sea. Some members of Congress have been allowed to privately view the materials this week.

Some al Qaeda-affiliated leaders, along with domestic and foreign websites and blogs, have questioned whether bin Laden was really killed and whether the details of his death released by the administration were accurate.

A May 9 letter from the Pentagon to Judicial Watch -- mentioned in the legal complaint -- stated, "At this time, we are unable to make a release determination on your request within the 20-day statutory time period" required by federal law. The legal group had the option of filing an administrative appeal directly with the Defense Department, rather than going for a lawsuit.

"The American people have a right to know, by law, basic information about the killing of Osama bin Laden," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. "Incredibly, the Obama administration told us that it has no plans to comply with the Freedom of Information law, so we must now go to court. President Obama's not wanting to 'spike the football' is not a lawful basis for withholding government documents. This historic lawsuit should remind the Obama administration that it is not above the law."

Obama had barred any public release of photos or video, telling CBS News, "It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool." He added, "We don't trot this stuff out as trophies. We don't need to spike the football."

Judicial Watch calls itself a "a conservative, nonpartisan educational foundation (promoting) transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law."

The case is Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Defense (1:11-cv-00890).

Malays either spooked or lured by false promises, says Anwar

The opposition leader said Malay society is influenced by the Malay media to fear others. — Picture by Choo Choy May

PETALING JAYA, May 14 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has described the Malay community as victims of fear-mongering tactics by the Malay-language media as well as taken in by the so-called benefits for the Bumiputras. “Malay society is influenced by the Malay media to fear others.
“As if we’re poor because of the Chinese, our house is dirty because of the Chinese, the roads are not fixed, Chinese, no money, prices of goods going up, the Chinese and the Christians,” the PKR de facto leader said at the launch of the Urban Renewal Project in Taman Maju Jaya here.

Anwar arrives at Maju Jaya flats PJS 3 for the launch of the Maju Jaya Urban Renewal Project by the Selangor government today. — Picture by Choo Choy May

The latest controversy to rile the country’s dominant majority was the “Christian Malaysia” report first published by the Umno newspaper Utusan Malaysia last Saturday. The Umno daily carried a front-page article headlined “Kristian agama rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?), claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the religion of the federation.
Utusan Malaysia’s report had been based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by two pro-Umno bloggers, alleging that the leaders had taken a pledge during the gathering promising to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.
The paper also published a grainy photograph showing what it described as a secret pact between the DAP and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.
DAP and Christian leaders have since voiced their rage over the allegations and vehemently denied taking any part in such a pledge.
The Permatang Pauh MP also said that the government had been painting a rosy picture of the country’s economy, yet the people had not felt the economy boom.
“They say foreign investment keeps on coming, then there are the landmark buildings, the twin towers, but for the residents, for the workers, what does development mean to us at the bottom? What do we get?
“If the rakyat do not reap the benefits, no matter how many billions are being made, how many booming companies there may be, in 20 years, we will still remain the same,” he said.

Anwar, together with other PKR leaders, launches the Urban Renewal Project by painting a wall of the Maju Jaya flats. — Picture by Choo Choy May

The former deputy prime minister pointed out that only a minority of the Bumiputras had reaped the benefits of the specially allotted shares under the New Economic Policy (NEM). “I want to ask how much Bumiputera shares since the New Economic Policy (NEM) till now, RM5.4 billion for Bumiputras but which Bumiputras? Aren’t the Bumiputras in Maju Jaya Bumiputra as well?” he asked, claiming that the money had gone to crony companies and family members of political leaders.
Anwar’s PKR leads Pakatan Rakyat (PR) which denied Barisan Nasional (BN) its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and cost it four states in Election 2008.
BN’s dominant partner Umno is now working to ensure it keeps the key Malay vote in the run-up to the next general election, using the media to show up weaknesses in PR.
The media and pro-Umno bloggers have also been playing up reports of a sex tape showing a man resembling Anwar. The latter will know on Monday if he has to defend himself against a second sodomy complaint.

‘Emotionally mature’ leaders put Najib to shame

Why did Najib pressure the leaders to give their pledge when Christians have never been disrespectful towards Muslims and Islam?
COMMENT

‘Rakyat diutamakan’ or people first tagline parroted by current prime minister Najib Razak is an out and out lie.

If the people are indeed Najib’s priority, he would stop discriminating one race from the other.

The Umno-owned Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia has once again stirred the hornet’s nest through its May 7 article alluding that Christianity would soon oust Islam as the official religion of this country.

Needless to say the report, which Utusan lifted from postings by bloggers, heated up the already tense racial-relationship between Malaysians of different faiths.

And what does Prime Minister Najib do? He continues playing politics, asking the Malays to give their undivided loyalty to Umno so that the party is able to continue its lordship over Malaysia.

That done, he demands a pledge from local leaders of Christianity that they will respect Islam as Malaysia’s official religion.

The leaders were also made to give an undertaking that they will never challenge the provision enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

Why did Najib pressure the leaders to give their pledge when Christians have never been disrespectful towards Muslims and Islam?

No respect

If all that was not enough to mislead the rakyat, Najib also made the Christian leaders give their word – that they will nurture peace and harmony between the various faiths to ensure peace and prosperity never deserted the country.

Such a cowardly act and one that can only come from premier Najib.

Najib has failed the rakyat many times and this May 7 Utusan Malaysia episode takes the cake.

Letting Utusan Malaysia off the hook with a mere warning is evident that Najib refuses to respect the sentiments of the non-Malays, in this respect the Christians.

Why has the Home Ministry stopped short of revoking Utusan Malaysia’s publication permit, for this is not the first time this Malay daily has gone to town with its dubious and slanderous article?

Obviously, as Utusan Malaysia is Umno’s propaganda mouthpiece, the government i.e. Najib will albeit shamelessly be biased towards this newspaper.

But for how long?

Najib’s folly

The idea that pressuring Christian leaders to profess their undivided respect to Islam is going to help appease the Malays is Najib’s folly.

The non-Malays have never deliberately disrespected Islam even when the churches and the Sikh gurdawara or temple were vandalised.

The Hindus were hurt beyond measure when a group of unhappy Muslims severed the head of a cow and stomped on in a show of anger.

The Muslims know the cow is regarded as a sacred animal by Hindus but still…

And just what did Najib’s government do?

The Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had no qualms siding with the Muslims who stomped on the head of cow.

Where was Hishammuddin’s objectivity then as a Minister in restoring calm?

Is Hishammuddin like deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin telling the rakyat that he is a Muslim first and then the Home Minister?

Perhaps Hishammuddin and Muhyiddin can ask Najib’s extravagant think-tank Apco for some advice on how to refrain from displaying their racist streak to the very people who voted them in place.

Or perhaps they can take a cue from the leaders of Christianity who in spite of such tribulations, carried themselves with great emotional maturity, putting premier Najib to shame over his unwillingness to punish the real culprit behind the ‘oust Islam’ drama.

Never ending lies

Najib, who is president of ruling party Umno, is already busy galvanising party members to stay loyal to Umno, which as reality goes, has long deviated from its true purpose of uniting the Malays.

As always, making fraudulent claims has come easy to Najib. This time it was the claim that Umno still retained its “high quality brand” among the voters due to its superb track record.

High quality brand? Superb track record? Who is Najib trying to fool?

As far as memory serves the non-Malays, they will always remember the many threats Umno leaders have made and keep making in safeguarding Malay privileges, in particular the episodes concerning the Malay dagger called ‘keris’.

The manner in which Najib and Hishammuddin dealt with the Utusan Malaysia article defaming Christianity hardly point to any superb track record.

Cousins Najib and Hishammuddin have closed an eye to Utusan’s bigotry and instead decided that is the bloggers who must be punished.

Does this newspaper enjoy immunity, the kind that has left it swollen headed and highly irresponsible?

When the country’s racial ties are far from harmonious, there is no room for arrogance for Umno to bask in.

To get the police to issue traffic summonses to cars parked along Jalan Bukit Nanas in Kuala Lumpur by patrons attending mass at the St.John’s Cathedral church reflects Umno’s disinterest in ensuring relationship between people of different races in the country flourishes.

Pathetic revenge

By the way, was the move to issue traffic summonses a way of punishing the church leadears for making police reports against Utusan Malaysia’s racist and sleazy reporting?

If it was, what a pathetic way to seek revenge. What happens when the Muslims in their rush to attend the obligatory Friday prayer park their cars haphazardly, causing great inconvenience to other road users?

Why is there no police in sight to issue the mosque goers summonses for illegal parking?.

Why this double standard, premier Najib?

And you keep claiming that rakyat diutamakan.

The truth as the people know is otherwise, is it not?

‘Don’t sensationalise Christian Malaysia issue’

A national non-Muslim council has urged all parties not to stoke further the 'Christian Malaysia' issue.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taosim (MCCBCST) has called on the media to stop sensationalising the Christian Malaysia issue.

It has also urged all relevant parties not to ‘jump into conclusions’ and to wait instead for the full report on the incident to be released.

Speaking to MCCBCST president Rev Thomas Philips said it was important not to “jump into conclusions and create more issues”.

“The police are conducting an investigation, the (Home) Ministry has already come out with a statement, the Christian leaders have come up and said that there was no such (pledge)…there is no need (for other parties) to make (other) unnecessary claims and sensationalize the matter,” he said.

Thomas said no one should doubt that Islam is the religion of the federation and “everyone accepts this fact”.

The alleged “Christian plot” made headlines in Utusan Malaysia recently claimed that the DAP government in Penang, together with Christian leaders, was conspiring to replace Islam as the official religion and to install a Christian prime minister in Putrajaya.

The Utusan report was based on two pro-Umno blog posts. Both the DAP and the Christian leaders have denied this.

Police are currently investigating the matter.

The Home Ministry also announced on Thursday that Utusan has been given a warning over the article, a move some said was too light a punishment.

Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had met with a group of Christian leaders over the matter.

Najib did not apologise to the community but instead said that the Christian leaders had given a pledge to respect Islam as the official religion.

No apology

Tan declined to speculate on whether the PM was ‘sincerity’ in wanting to tackle the issue as no apology was rendered.

Earlier today FMT reported another Christian leader, Bishop Paul Tan of the Malacca-Johor diocese as being extremely “displeased and disgusted” with the outcome of the meeting with the PM.

He said the Christian leaders had become like “sheep being led to their slaughter” because they had not set a clear agenda for the meeting and hence had walked into the “trap” of conceding that Islam be safeguarded and the Christians agreed to this.

Following the 2008 general election, relious issues have been among issue which has reared its head.

In August 2009, group of Muslims protesting against the construction of a Hindu temple in Selangor paraded in front of the Selangor state secretariat with a severed cow’s head.

The group had marched with the bloodied cow’s head from a mosque to the Selangor menteri besar’s office where some of the protesters stomped and spat on the head and made fiery speeches.

The incident riled Hindus nationwide. Cows are considered sacred animals in Hinduism.

In January 2010, Muslims raged and ranted over a Dec 31, 2009 High Court ruling allowing Catholic weekly, The Herald, to use the term “Allah” in their Bahasa Malaysia publciation. The Home Ministry has appealed the decision.

But it led to widespread arson against churches and a gurdwara.

More recently the federal government detained around 50 000 copies of the Malay language bible Al-Kitab.

According to the federal government the issue has since been ‘resolved’.

Police report lodged against Facebook insult

The link insults the Malays and Islam, says Penang Umno Youth.

TASEK GELUGOR: The “pandi kutti” mania seems has crept into the cyber social network Facebook as well.

Today, Tasek Gelugor division Umno Youth wing has lodged a police report against a Facebook link named “Melayu Memang Babi” (Malays Are Really Pigs).

A check shows that the link has also tagged a pig babe photo as its profile picture.

The link seems to be a group forum rather than an individual.

The Youth wing head Hasbul Hazani Daud lodged the police report against the link at 2.30pm in Sungai Dua police station after the Friday prayers.

He was accompanied by some 30 Umno Youth members from the division.

When contacted, Hasbul said the link name and profile picture had insulted Malays.

“Such racism should not occur in a multi-racial country like ours,” he told FMT.

He called on the police to investigate the case immediately and nab the perpetuators.

“We want the police to charge the culprits under the relevant laws as soon as possible.

Many quizzed over ‘Christian plot’ reports

Police are using the Sedition Act to investigate the 'Christian plot' issue.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have given “top priority” to the controversial “Christian plot” report, launching an investigation under the Sedition Act aimed at quickly resolving the issue, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

“Please be patient. We need a little time. Wait for our investigations which will be comprehensive and fair,” he said at a press conference at Bukit Aman federal police headquarters here.

Khalid urged the public to stop playing up the touchy issue, saying that police hope to finish the investigation as soon as possible.

“This is a dangerous issue, it is very sensitive. We cannot allow it to be played up,” he said.

Khalid added that police received a report concerning the issue in Penang at about 8.50am today.

He said that the report contained “several variations” from the previous reports, but Khalid declined to devulge more details.

He said “many” people have been questioned and more would be summoned to provide statements.

Yesterday, the home ministry issued a letter of reprimand to Utusan Malaysia over its front-page article on May 7, titled “Kristian Agama Rasmi? (Christianity the official religion?)”.

The article alleged that a group of pastors had participated in a gathering in Penang recently, together with DAP elected representatives, where they discussed a plot to turn Malaysia into a Christian country and install a Christian prime minister.

‘Don’t splash acid on him’

Meanwhile, on the sex video implicating Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Khalid said that the police have never said they were identifying the person in the video.

“I have never said that…,” he said.

Khalid added that the latest development was that police have received a report from foreign experts that further strenghtens the local experts’ view that the video was authentic. It is learnt that the experts are from the United States.

“This would mean it is not edited and is genuine. We are trying to find out if the video was pornography,” he said.

Khalid added that those who uploaded the video, including several bloggers, would be called in.

On the spate of acid-splashing incidents occurring around the city in the past week, Khalid urged the public to help the police.

“(If you see him), catch him and hand him over to us, that’s my advice. Don’t splash acid on him,” he said, adding that the police are clueless about the perpetrators’ motive, which seemed random.

Khalid said that so far 23 reports have been received on the “acid splashers” including a new report lodged today in Wangsa Maju.

“Please be careful; they target ladies but we find there’s no specific time they do this evil act, ” he said.

In the latest case, a woman in her 30s was splashed with corrosive liquid when she was in her car near Section 10 this morning.