S'gor backbenchers want pay hike postponed, reviewed

India: A SIMI militant Suspect planned to strike pilgrim train, Shia mosque

Suspected Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had plans to attack a Delhi-Bodh Gaya special train and the Shia mosque at Lucknow.
 

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Delhi-Bodh Gaya train, which generally ferries foreign tourists, was the next target of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (Simi), interrogation of arrested “Simi militants” has revealed.

“Interrogation of Simi’s Chhattisgarh chief Umer Siddiqui and close aides, arrested here recently, has revealed that the banned outfit had planned to attack the Delhi-Bodh Gaya train, in which generally tourists from Sri Lanka, Japan and other Buddhist-dominated countries travel,” additional director-general of police (intelligence) Mukesh Gupta told reporters here Wednesday.

Mr Gupta added, “The militants have also revealed their plan to target heritage sites, like the Shia mosque of Lucknow and Buddhist site at Siripur in Chhattisgarh.”

Siddiqui, said to be the mastermind of the July 7 blasts at the Bodh Gaya temple complex in Bihar, is one of the 13 alleged SIMI operatives who have been arrested over the last two weeks in Raipur.

The police claimed to have seized video clippings and documents from the arrested alleged Simi functionaries which are anti-India in nature. The seized materials, which also contained hate speeches against India, resembled propaganda being used by Pakistan-based extremist organisations against India.

“Simi militants can be equated with terrorists of the Laskhar-e-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Indian Mujahideen considering the ruthless manner in which they function,” Mr Gupta said. Mr Gupta said the arrested “Simi militants” had planned to flee abroad to operate from bases there after building networks in India. “We have seized visa application forms for Pakistan from them,” he added.

Dr Mahathir says ending APs means ending Proton and Perodua

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic) today warned Putrajaya that abolishing the Approved Permit (AP) system would be the death knell of national carmakers Proton and Perodua.

In his blog, Malaysia's longest serving prime minister said without the AP system, foreign car manufacturers would flood the local car industry, leaving Proton and Perodua floundering.

"Malays and other Bumiputeras will be unable to enter the automotive business without the AP system because they are unfamiliar with the market," Dr Mahathir said.

As Putrajaya begins to take steps towards liberalising the automotive industry, Dr Mahathir said it was common for businessmen to do business with people they were familiar with.

"It is difficult to build trust with a business partner or agent when you do not know their background. Worse still, when you know the stranger has no capital and experience," Dr Mahathir pointed out.

"In the past, only a few Malays could afford to import used cars into Malaysia and this disturbed the implementation of the New Economic Policy.

"The objective of the NEP was to eliminate the identification of race with economic functions. To overcome this, the government allowed the importation of reconditioned Japanese cars.

"Aspiring Malay auto dealers were given APs. Even as times changed, the AP system continued for new and second-hand special models."

The demand is such that auto car dealers were prepared to buy the APs at high prices, Dr Mahathir said in his blog.

As part of their benefits, members of parliament are allocated one AP, regardless of the number of terms they have served, although it cannot be sold.

Dr Mahathir pointed out that there were similar systems for essential items such as sugar, flour, rice and other items.

"There are individuals who have benefited from this system for the past 80 years and become billionaires."

"There is no demand to stop these APs and the recipients live a charmed life. So if Putrajaya is reconsidering the AP system, it should include all APs and not just for cars," Dr Mahathir said.

Former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin came under attack from Malay rights group Perkasa yesterday for supporting the abolishing of the APs.

Perkasa vice-president Dr Zubir Harun said such a move would threaten the livelihood of Bumiputeras. He demanded the government revoke all gaming licenses in Malaysia.

Daim had expressed his support for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Roland S. Folger, who suggested abolishing the AP policy.

Dr Zubir said now that Daim had become a corporate figure, he wanted to meddle in the livelihood of his own race. - TMI

Pay hike: Anwar says too high, MB says justified

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim says an increment is necessary but way too high.
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said today that the new salaries for Selangor state government officials is too high.

Yesterday, it was reported that Selangor Menteri Besar, elected representatives, executive council members, Speaker and deputy Speaker will receive massive pay hikes effective Jan 1, 2014.

The amendments to existing laws were made and passed at the Selangor legislative assembly yesterday, allowing the salary hike.

“I agree with the increase in wages for Parliamentarians, but I have told the MB (Khalid Ibrahim) that the increase is a bit too high and he has to explain to Pakatan what is the reason for such a hefty hike,” Anwar told reporters in Parliament here. Anwar is also the Selangor economic advisor.

Anwar also acknowledged that there was a motion for salary increment in Parliament, referring to the Members of the Administration and Members of Dewan Undangan Negeri (Remuneration, Pensions and Gratuities) Bill 2013 which provides for an increase in remuneration for the state assembly speaker, deputy speaker and political secretaries.

“We agree on the policy because (wages) have not increased for so long, but we must also pay attention to services to the people,” he said.

“An increment is necessary, but it is too high,” he added.

No political pressure

Asked if the increment was due to political pressure from Selangor legislative backbenchers, Anwar said it was impossible.

“It is not because of political pressure. This (increment) happens in all the states… it has also been brought up in Parliament,” Anwar said.

However, Anwar said Khalid had a duty to give his (Khalid’s) side of the story to the press as well as reconsider the proposed hike rates.

“I repeat, it is necessary, it’s just that the increment is too high.”

Under the new Selangor salary structure, the pay of assemblymen will be upped 87% from RM6,000 to RM11,250 a month, the Speaker from RM6,109.29 to RM22,500 (268%), and the deputy Speaker from RM3,327.50 to RM15,750 (373%).

The salary of exco members will go up 231% from RM6,109.29 to RM20,250 while the Menteri Besar will have a pay rise of 106.4% from RM14,175 to RM29,250.

The Selangor state Speaker is Hannah Yeoh while her deputy is Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

MB: We followed Sarawak

Responding to criticism, Khalid said the massive pay hike was justifiable as it was based on the salaries paid to such positions in Sarawak.

Speaking to newsmen at the state legislative assembly lobby, Khalid defended the pay hike saying that the proposed salaries were much lower than that paid to these office bearers in private companies.

“To some people it could be a lot but for those who had been in the private sector, it is not high. It is justifiable. We cannot hide our income. We had agreed to reveal our salaries,” said Khalid, who is also Pelabuhan Kelang state assemblyman.

In fact, he said the pay of those in the private sector was much higher than the salaries given to ministers.

“The federal government also uses private consultants. Their income (the private consultants) is sometimes higher than the minister’s pay,” he added.

‘Court action if Cheras MIC delegates allowed to vote’

A Cheras MIC leader says he will take court action if the party does not heed the ROS order and allowed Cheras division delegates to vote in the party election on Saturday.

KUALA LUMPUR:Cheras MIC division deputy chief K Palanisamy has threatened to take legal action if the division’s delegates are allowed to vote in the party election on Saturday.

ROS deputy director Alias Mamat, in a letter to MIC secretary-general A Sakthivel on Nov 21, told the party to iron out the problems in the Cheras division as the issue could affect the party’s annual general meeting.

“We will not hesitate to drag the party to court, if the Cheras division delegates are allowed to vote in the election on Saturday,” Palanisamy told reporters at Royal Selangor Club in here.

Recently, Palanisamy had written to the ROS saying that the branch meetings were held simultaneously on July 21 at the Cheras MIC division office in Taman Kobena, Cheras.

However, Sakthivel said yesterday Cheras division delegates were entitled to vote in the election after discussing with the management committee.

There are eight delegates, including the chairman, in the Cheras division.

“This is a very serious issue and I hope the party leadership will not repeat the same mistake as they did when they reversed the suspension of the Youth election results in less than 24 hours.

“ROS made it clear that allowing Cheras division delegates to vote will affect the party polls. But, the MIC leadership is adamant on this matter,” said Palanisamy.

He also said he had sent more than 10 letters to Sakthivel but there was no reply until today.

Wangsa Maju division former deputy chairman M Thanakodi said he would also write to the ROS on the phantom voters in his division.

“I have asked the party leadership to sort out the phantom-voter issue in my division but they have not taken any action.

“I have no choice but to go the ROS,” he told FMT.

A check showed that the ROS had received 48 complaints lodged by MIC leaders who were unhappy with their division election results.

Penduduk Kg Hakka bimbang keselamatan terancam

Kesal dengan kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh jurucakap pemaju yang mengatakan insiden tembakan itu berkait dengan pihak penduduk yang tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan mahkamah
VIDEO INSIDE

PETALING JAYA: Kumpulan penduduk asal Kampung Hakka hari ini membuat aduan polis berhubung kejadian tembakan di hadapan pejabat pemaju Mega 9 Sdn Bhd, 27 Nov lepas.

Pemaju tersebut sebelum ini terlibat dalam satu pertelingkahan dengan penduduk asal Kampung Hakka mengenai status tanah kampung tersebut yang menyaksikan beberapa buah rumah telahpun dirobohkan

Menurut kumpulan tersebut, susulan daripada kejadian tembakan yang berlaku pada awal pagi hari kejadian, Jawatankuasa Tindakan Penduduk Kampung Hakka telah mengadakan satu mesyuarat tergempar dan sebulat suara membuat membuat satu laporan polis.

“Kami bimbang akan keselamatan penduduk ekoran daripada insiden ini dan mahukan keselamatan penduduk kampung Hakka dijamin. Jawatankuasa kami juga telah mengambil keputusan untuk menubuhkan satu pasukan keselamatan untuk mengawal keselamatan penduduk terutamnya pada waktu malam untuk membuat rondaan kerana kami cukup bimbang dengan insiden ini dan amat risau akan keselamatan kami dan keluarga kami,” jelas kumpulan tersebut melalui satu siaran media.

Mereka juga kesal dengan kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh jurucakap pemaju seperti yang dilaporkan dalam sebuah akhbar tempatan yang mengatakan insiden tembakan itu berkait dengan pihak penduduk yang tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan mahkamah dan pampasan yang diberikan oleh pihak pemaju.

“Kami merasakan ini adalah satu tuduhan fitnah dan mesti disiasat oleh pihak polis yang adil. Kami ingin menyatakan bahawa pihak penduduk mempunyai satu ‘Stay Order’ dari Mahkamah Rayuan dimana rumah kami tidak boleh dirobohkan sehingga kes didengar di Mahkamah Rayuan,”

Jelas mereka lagi, wakil penduduk melalui Dewan Perhimpunan Cina Negeri Sembilan telahpun membuat satu rundingan dengan pemaju pada 24 Nov lepas.

“Hasil perbincangan adalah amat positif dimana pihak pemaju sedia mendengar tuntutan kami dan sedia untuk berbincang untuk mencari satu penyelesian. Oleh yang demikian tindakan penembakan ini seolah olah satu tindakan untuk sabotaj rundingan yang sedang berlaku antara kami dengan pihak pemaju dan tidak masuk akal jika dikaitkan dengan kami.”

Pada masa yang sama, kumpulan tersebut meminta campur tangan dari Bukit Aman untuk menyiasat perkara ini kerana tidak berpuas hati dengan tindakan Ibu Pejabat Daerah Polis Nilai yang didakwa membantu Mega 9 untuk melaksanakan ‘pencerobohan’ di kampung mereka.

“Hanya satu siasatan yang neutral dan professional dari satu pasukan khas dari Bukit Aman dapat menyiasat kes ini secara telus dan tanpa prasangka.”

Disamping itu, mereka turut mendakwa insiden ini sebagai langkah untuk mengurangkan sokongan rakyat kepada mereka dan usaha untuk mengusir penduduk asal keluar dari Kampung Hakka.

MIC delegates to show displeasure at AGM

The MIC annual general assembly is expected to be fiery and delegates are expected to show their might at the ballots.

PETALING JAYA: The MIC annual general assembly in Malacca this weekend is expected to be explosive with more than 1,400 divisional delegates voting to pick three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members, who will lead the party for the next three years.

The party is holding its polls for the first time since 2009 as it had postponed the election pending the 13th general election which was held in May.

The party held its presidential polls in August which saw G Palanivel return uncontested.

Nominations for deputy president, three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members were held early this month. Deputy president Dr S Subramaniam was returned unopposed.

The win of both Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam was result of a peace deal brokered by Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chief Najib Tun Razak. The deal was clinched in the presence of Palanivel, Dr Subramaniam, incumbent vice-presidents M Saravanan and SK Devamany.

Under the deal, Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam would retain their positions uncontested, and the two leaders would not put up their “preferred” candidates for the veep contest.

While the leaders made these decisions, the ground is simmering as grassroots leaders were not consulted on the matter. Until today, neither the party president nor leaders who attended the meeting with Najib have not disclosed to lower rank leaders what transpired in the meeting.

“What they got was just direction to do this and that. They have the right to know what is happening. Grassroots leaders are also in the dark over the running of the party.

“The MIC has become lethargic. There are no statements from leaders, especially the president, on the issues which crop up from time to time. Issues like temple land and issuance of MyKad are not being championed.

“MIC used to be a vibrant party. No matter what is said about (S) Samy Vellu (the former president), he voiced his displeasure if he sees anything unfair to Indians. He was a cabinet minister yet he never feared talking against the government in fighting for the Indians.

“This silent kind of leadership has irked members and grassroots leaders. In the party, decisions taken lack transparency. Decisions are taken without any consultation with the central working committee. It looks like a few leaders decide and others are required to follow,” said a party leader, who declined to be named.

Youth fiasco

The leader said the Youth election fiasco is just one example of how just a few leaders decide on things and “when things get hot, they reverse what they had decided upon”.

Two days ago party secretary-general A Sakthivel announced that the party was suspending its national Youth election results as there were bankrupts who voted in the polls. He also said there was a case of delegate who was overseas, but yet his ballot was cast by someone else at the polls.

Barely 24 hours later, Palanivel summoned an emergency central working committee meeting to discuss the issue. FMT learnt that he got an earfull from other leaders for suspending the Youth election results. Soon after the meeting, Sakthivel again was made to face the media, to announce that the party had reinstated the Youth polls results.

The leadership’s flip-flop is very embarrassing to members who have to face their counterparts from other political parties, especially the opposition.

This brings up another issue. Why did Palanivel attempt to suspend the Youth polls results?

Sources reveal that he was trying to ensure that the 38-block votes from the Youth wing did not go to former Youth chief T Mohan who is contesting a vice-president post.

Palanivel had been “whispering” to grassroots leaders aligned to him to support his “preferred” vice-president candidates. This goes against the peace deal brokered by Najib.

There are eight contestants in the veep race, including two incumbent vice-presidents.

The others are Mohan and another former Youth chief SA Vigneswaran, former vice- president S Sothinathan, treasurer-general Jaspal Singh, Johor Baru division leader KS Balakrishnan and Bukit Bintang division leader James Selvarajah.

“Palanivel knows Saravanan is leading the race. He is riding high after the government agreed to form the New Affirmative Action Movement, which is expected to assist Indian youth through entrepreneurship, business financing and human capital development.

“His ideas have been well received in the party and is seen at the future leader of the MIC.

“Mohan is close behind. Palanivel needs to kill off both these leaders for his own ‘preferred’ list of leaders to come in. These two leaders have the backing of the Youth wing. So if the Youth wing is disqualified then the two will not get the Youth votes, thus Palanivel would be able to reduce votes of these two leaders,” said a source, who attended the central working committee meeting yesterday.

All this had fired up grassroots leaders who now feel that they are in the party just for status quo and to keep Palanivel president.

Famous Five

There are also complaints that the MIC headquarters is slow in moving on matters pertaining to the party.

“We also have the Famous Five who make decisions for the party’s 640,000 members,” said the leader.

The ‘Famous Five’ he referred to are Palanivel, Sakthivel, Jaspal, Kajang division leader N Rawisandiran (who contested the Batu Caves state seat and lost in the last general election) and P Palaniappan, Palanivel’s political secretary.

The leader claimed that the five leaders were the ones making important decisions in the party without any consultation with leaders holding national positions.

“Everyone knows this. This too has made division and branch leaders angry. They will use this AGM and the ballot to tell Palanivel to buck up.

“I also expect the debates on the presidential address to be fiery. But this depends on who is allowed to speak at the debates. Since Sakthivel is secretary-general, they will definitely not allow those known to be against Palanivel to take the rostrum in the debates but we will see in 48 hours,” he added.

Pakatan: Loga Bala misled Parliament on KL assessment hike

Pathma Subramaniam, Fz.com

The Opposition wants Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk J Loga Bala Mohan to be referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee for "misleading" Parliament on the enforcement date for the Kuala Lumpur assessment rates hike.

Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) said Loga Bala had stating facts that contradicted Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor's statement this morning that that the hike will come into effect on Jan 1.

Loga Bala had told the Dewan Rakyat yesterdat that the hike in the assessment rates will be postponed indefinitely, pending public hearings which has been extended from January to March next year.

But according to Tengku Adnan, what was extended to March was the period needed by a special panel formed to gather public feedback on the hike to implement the revised rates.

Raising the contradiction in the House today, Lim said differing statements had led to unnecessary confusion.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia told Lim that he will evaluate the complaint and decide on Monday on whether Loga Bala should face the powerful committee of the House.

At a press conference later, Lim ticked off both Tengku Adnan and Loga Bala for interfering in the decision on raising assessment rates.

Lim pointed out that the revision of the assessment tax is solely under the discretion of the capital's mayor Datuk Phesal Talib.

Tan Kok Wai (DAP-Cheras), who was also present, slammed Loga Bala for the mix up as the deputy minister repeated the claim of indefinite deferment when Lim sought a clarification yesterday.

"According to the local government's bylaws there will be a late payment penalty if the property owners do not pay their assessment tax by Feb 28 but this minister (Tenku Adnan) is telling everyone to go pay after the expiry date until the public hearing ends in march.

"Doesn't this sound ridiculous?" asked Tan.

Lim reiterated that the Federal Territories Ministry should stay out of the controversy, saying: "I want the minister and deputy minister to just shut up and let the mayor decide and make the announcement."

Racial discrimination under 1Malaysia slogan

Recently an Indian police officer went to my house during an investigation over the cow slaughtering issue. I had clearly told the headmaster (HM) of the school concerned that I am living overseas, so why were the police looking for me? When the time comes, I will inform the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and let us meet each other. Till then be patient.

If at all the police are eager to investigate me, they should first investigate Perkasa, blogger Papagomo and the school HMs around Malaysia who agreed with animal cruelty in schools.

Lately, the Second Education Minister, Idris Jusoh, had said that there is a circular issued in 1976 which states that religious programmes can be held in schools. We would like to read the circular itself, and my question in the video was very clear, from whom did the school HM get permission and I asked him to send me the proof, but till today the whole Malaysian Education Ministry has failed to produce the letter.

I urge the prime minister to answer my questions. Where does it state in the constitution that cow slaughtering in schools is permitted? If this can’t be answered, please stop the cruelty. To my knowledge even moderate Turkey will not slaughter cows in schools. I had been in schools for 13 years and I never heard of cow slaughtering in the schools where I had studied. Do not make schools as suraus.

The Education Department should respect other races who are studying in schools.

The government should cancel the registration of Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and take action against Umno ministers who are stirring racial sentiments in Malaysia regarding the cow slaughtering issue and other issues, too.

Last week Minister Shahidan Kassim said there are no Public Services Commission (PSC) scholarships for the Indian community because Indians are prominent as lawyers and doctors. This kind of minister should be charged with causing racial tension, but due to double standards in Malaysia, the Umno-led government will hide the issue under the carpet.

Racist Umno-friendly NGOs are causing unwanted problems in Malaysia but the law is lenient for them. I urge the PM to throw out his racist ministers before I come back to face the police. The cow slaughtering issue is a simple issue where multiracial schools became slaughterhouses and the Education Department and their ministers should respect other races.

Do not misuse the percentage in the larger population. We Malaysian do not see the real meaning of PM Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia. Please explain the meaning to us.

The cow slaughtering act is not in line with the education syllabus or school co-curriculum in any part of the world.

Celebrating cow slaughtering in the school will make kids psychologically traumatised. Even if the teachers and students were asked not to “see” the slaughter, fine, but one can always “hear” the slaughter being carried out.

Any country’s parliament in the world would never approve such an inhumane act as slaughtering animals in schools. It’s a great disgrace for the country. All schools should follow worldwide educational guidelines, and definitely animal slaughtering will not be part of the system. The Malaysian parliament should come to a decision to respect non-violence.

Cow slaughtering in schools can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which develops after a terrifying ordeal such as witnessing a harmful event that happened to animals or humans. War soldiers and victims have faced this syndrome and even people who work in slaughterhouses.

 http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/247849

DAP MP: Gerrymandering protected Umno, not Malays

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — After an admission of gerrymandering by a former Election Commission (EC) chief, a DAP MP today claimed that past re-delineation exercises were only aimed at protecting the interests of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) rather than the Malay community.

According to Serdang MP Dr Ong Kian Ming, the EC would have added more seats in Malay-majority states Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu if it really was protecting the Malay interest as claimed by Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman earlier this week.

“If Tan Sri Abdul Rashid wanted to maintain Malay political dominance, why was it that no parliamentary seats were added to the Malay majority states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu in the 2003 delineation exercise?,” Ong said in a statement here.

“The reason for the non-addition of parliament seats in these three states is simple ...The BN was fearful that if more seats were added in these states, it would benefit the opposition, specifically PAS.”

According to Ong, some of the seats in the three states - such as Tumpat (69,948 voters), Kuala Terengganu (65,900), Kuala Kedah (73,942), and Baling (72,387) already have a high number of voters but no seats were added despite that.

However, opposition party PAS had performed exceptionally well in the 1999 general elections in those three states, and the re-delineation exercise in 2003 was done so to prevent PAS from capturing more seats, Ong alleged.

As part of the IKMAS (Institut Kajian Malaysia dan Antarabangsa) study team from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia observing the process, Ong related that he remembered Abdul Rashid admitting of receiving instructions from then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir to create more ethnically “mixed” seats, rather than adding more seats in the three states.

The assumption behind the instructions, Ong claimed, was that Barisan Nasional would have captured them easily compared to PAS.

“Abdul Rashid was clearly taking instructions from this political masters in the BN during the 2003 delineation exercise,” the DAP MP added.

“The exercise was done in order to increase the political dominance of BN / UMNO and not to increase Malay political dominance per se.”

Ong’s comments today comes following an admission by Tan Sri Abdul Rashid that the three redelineation exercises during his term had ensured the continued political dominance of the Malays, even as the retired election chief insisted the redrawing of electoral boundaries were carried out in the “proper way”.

Rashid was reported to have made the comments after joining Malay rights group Perkasa, during the group’s Federal Territory annual general meeting earlier this week.

Yesterday, elections watchdog Bersih 2.0 had urged the EC to call off its re-delineation exercise as it cast further doubt on the looming revision that has been stained by allegations of gerrymandering.

Bersih 2.0 also repeated its call for the EC clean the electoral rolls and renew its members, claiming the current members of partisan, unethical, and non-independent.

The EC — which has been accused of gerrymandering to give more weight to rural constituencies, where the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) typically enjoys strong support — has said that it will begin redrawing constituency lines at the end of the year.

Polls watchdog Bersih, however, warned the EC last September that a repeat of the massive street rallies for electoral reforms was “inevitable” if the electoral roll is not cleared of irregularities.

The case for judicial discretion

The Star 
Brave New World BY AZMI SHAROM

In recent surveys, most Malaysians backed the death penalty – but not the mandatory version.

IN principle I have no problems with the death penalty. There are three basic theories of punishment: deterrence, rehabilitation and retribution.

I am uncomfortable with the concept of deterrence because I am uncertain that fear of punishment is necessarily the primary factor when a person commits a crime.

Furthermore, taken to its logical conclusion, the punishment can be extremely disproportionate to the crime in order to make it “scarier”.

Neither am I convinced by the idea of rehabilitation; after all, who is to determine when a person is rehabilitated or not.

I believe in the retribution theory of justice, which is to say, you are simply punished for the crime you committed, not as an example to others and not subject to the whims of authorities who may or may not believe that you have repented and are now a good person.

And in violent crimes, then a simple punishment would be equally violent.

After all, you reap what you sow.

In practice, however, I do not believe in the death penalty.

This is because the justice system is run by humans and humans are fundamentally flawed.

Therefore, there will always be a chance that an innocent person is convicted. That is a chance I am not willing to take.

The Death Penalty Project in association with the Malaysian Bar Council completed earlier this year a report which was the analysis of over 1,500 surveys conducted amongst Malaysians.

The result of the survey was astonishing. Basically it was trying to gauge the Malaysian public’s view on the death penalty.

What was to be expected was that a vast majority of the respondents agreed with the death penalty.

What was unexpected, to me at least, was that the majority was not in favour of mandatory death penalty sentences, especially for drug and firearms offences.

Let us be clear on the distinction.

A mandatory death penalty means that if a person is found guilty of an offence which carries such a punishment, then the judge will have absolutely no choice but to mete out said penalty.

This means that the discretion of the judge to take into account the surrounding factors of the case is non-existent.

This can lead to cruel decisions and it could, oddly enough, lead to decisions where a person who has committed a crime is let off on slight technicalities because a judge is loath to send a person to his death.

The resentencing of Yong Vui Kong, the young Malaysian found guilty of drug trafficking in Singapore, is an example of how a change in the law has avoided what could have been a most unjust killing.

By most accounts, Vui Kong was very young, naïve and not particularly bright: a candidate who in most likelihood is the perfect mule for the drug kingpins who want their product moved.

Not a hardened criminal, he was to suffer for the activities of more nefarious parties who, of course, would not be caught in such a compromising position.

It is a great relief, particularly to the hard-working and persistent Save Vui Kong group who have been fighting tirelessly for his pardon, that this Malaysian youth will not die as the Singaporeans amended their laws by taking away the mandatory death sentence and giving the judge discretion as to the punishment he sees fit.

It is noted that even the Malaysian Government had tried to appeal to the Singaporeans for clemency.

If they could see the potential injustice of a mandatory death sentence and if the majority of the Malaysian public are not in favour of it as shown by the Death Penalty Project report, isn’t it time we had a serious rethink of our own mandatory death penalty laws?

> Azmi Sharom (azmisharom@yahoo.co.uk) is a law teacher. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

Nuzul Al-Quran To Be Observed As A Holiday In Federal Territories From 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- The Federal Government has agreed to declare Nuzul Al-Quran as a public holiday for Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Putrajaya) starting next year.

The Prime Minister's Department in a statement Thursday made the announcement.

Apart from declaring Nuzul Al-Quran as a public holiday, the Federal Territories will also enjoy an extra holiday on Feb 3 (Monday) since the Federal Territory Day coincides with the second day of Chinese New Year on Feb 1, 2014 (Saturday).

According to the statement, the holiday would also apply to Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.

"The announcement will allow people in all three 'Territories' to make early preparations for the holidays," said the statement.

-- BERNAMA

Hindraf to Ku Nan: Don’t touch temples anymore or else…

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28: Hindraf urges Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to consider the impact on the Indian community’s trust in Barisan Nasional (BN) before demolishing more temples.

Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy, in a statement to The Malaysian Times (TMT) said the recent act by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in demolishing a temple at Jalan P. Ramlee and the statement regarding future demolishment will create further disappointment to the Indian community.

“We call upon the Minister to reconvene the long due meeting that was cancelled with Hindraf to find a permanent and comprehensive solution to this long standing problem.

“He should not worry about setting new precedents as long as it benefits the public interest pursuant to what had been inked in the MoU between BN and Hindraf.

“We belief there are about 20 temples in similar predicament in the Klang valley vicinity.

“BN should not further aggravate the Malaysian Indian community by demolishing places of worship,” said Waytha, who is also the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

He was commenting on the recent statement that DBKL has confirmed their intention to continue demolishing temples or to relocate them within Klang Valley as they consider them squatting on land illegally.

In response to this, Waytha said “Hindraf finds this statement baseless as the government is aware that those temples are neither squatting nor illegal as they had pre-existed within the enclave of Indian community who had toiled for the nation in the plantation, railway, JKR, water works and national electricity board from the British colonial era.

“The failure of the government to draw up clear policies for these temples that had existed pre- 1957 without heeding the importance of a place of worship and its sanctity to the Malaysian Indian community, does not constitute those temples illegal.

Waytha added that during the development years, the federal and state governments as well as the private developers had acted in heavy handed methods in addressing the issues relating to the temples without consulting or engaging the community in a fair and just manner nor created any provisions to safeguard the interest of the Indian community in maintaining their temples.

According to a research, conducted by Hindraf, the above conduct by the authorities had contributed to over 79 temples being demolished amongst which 15 in the Klang Valley during the period from 2006 to 2007.

Waytha noted that one of the key elements in the MOU between BN and Hindraf was to ensure that temples should not be demolished in an arbitrary manner but to engage Hindraf in resolving such issues in a win-win situation for the government as well as the community. -TMT

Sivarasa booted out for raising temple demolition issue

Life sentence for Noida Muslim couple who killed their daughter and Nepalese servant

by Christopher Sharma


Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar committed murder to punish an alleged affair between their 14 year old daughter and the Nepalese domestic worker, Yam Prasad Banjade . Dating to 2008 , the crime sparked strong debate among Muslim , Hindu and secular Indians. Interviewed by AsiaNews, Banjade’s wife welcomes the judgment. Impoverished, the woman hopes to be compensated for her husband’s murder.

Kathmandu ( AsiaNews) - A special court in Uttar Pradesh ( northern India ) yesterday sentenced Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar to life imprisonment. The wealthy Muslim couple, both dentists, are guilty of the murder of their 14 year old daughter and Yam Prasad Banjade, a Nepalese domestic worker killed in Noida in May 2008.

Originally the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ) had asked for the death penalty, but the judges have opted instead for life imprisonment . The couple acted in anger after discovering an alleged affair between their only child and employee. The Talwar's lawyers say they will appeal. Yesterday, hundreds of Nepali women and human rights activists launched a campaign in New Delhi for 16 days against violence against women and against honor killings , very common in Muslim communities .

Interviewed by AsiaNews Khumkala Banjade , wife of Hemraj Banjade , said she was satisfied by the sentence : " I had asked for the death penalty for the murderers of my husband, but I accept the court's verdict against the Talwars". Since her husbands death the woman has been living in abject poverty with a sick child and her mother-in-law of 80. "It was our poverty - she says - that led my innocent husband to his death at the hands of this couple. I ask for compensation for his murder and I hope the Indian court will be able to give justice to me and to my family. "

In these five years, the case of the pair of Noida has been followed by millions of people and has raised many criticisms against the local police accused on several occasions of serious shortcomings. A few hours after the crime, dozens of people, including journalists and television crews and strangers arrived at the house without any police control, compromising the scene. The trial also raised a number of cultural debates among Muslims, Hindus and civil society. Some experts say that the case showed a "clash of cultures " in India, pitting police and conservative sectors of society against the excesses of the upper middle class . Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar were both observant Muslims and according to Islamic community had the right to punish the serious affront committed by the domestic worker and daughter, both adulterers . In order to justify the decision, Judge Shyam Lal also used the passages from the Koran that punish murder.

Penan families not going to get a sen more, says Sarawak Chief Minister

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud (pic, left) continued to play hardball with the state's long-suffering Penan tribe when he said his government will not pay an extra sen to the 100 families displaced by the Murum hydroelectric dam project.

He called their cash demands "outrageous" and insisted the state government will not budge as the demands "would be rejected anywhere in the world".

The 100 Penan families, who have set up a blockade on the access road to the dam site, are demanding RM500,000 compensation for each family while the state government is only prepared to pay RM15,000 per family.

"Their demands are often over exorbitant cash payouts. The government will continue to reject their most outrageous demands because they are unreasonable," Taib said when concluding the debates in the state assembly this afternoon.

The chief minister also hinted that the Penan had been made use of when he said: "What they have managed to achieve is a lot of publicity for the instigators behind them, who received cash from their sponsors outside Sarawak".

He said that to those affected by the proposed construction of a larger dam in Baram and another proposed dam in Baleh along the Rajang River, the government would devise a resettlement plan that is acceptable to all parties.

In Baram, the project would displace thousands of people in 33 villages.

The dams are the cornerstone of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score), the industrial corridor of the state government’s industrialisation plan.

Taib said the success of Score depended on the successful resettlement of the affected communities.

"There is no doubt in my mind in the link between Score and resettlement.

"The government is committed to a successful resettlement exercise because the people of Sarawak owe it to the affected communities.

"We owe it to the indigenous people that they should also benefit from the development programme which we are pursuing for Sarawak," he said.

Taib also said Sarawakians should be proud of their present resettlement policy because "it is probably among the best in the world".

The chief minister also acknowledged that Sarawak had not taken adequate measures in the past to provide for better resettlement because "we could not afford them".

"Now that we are able to integrate hydro development as part of our hinterland development strategy, we are in a position to plan better and have a better approach."

On another contentious issue, the Malaysia Agreement, Taib said it should not be questioned as Sarawak had benefitted much in the 50 years after it gained independence and became an integral member of Malaysia.

He said the people had enjoyed peace and harmony, tackled poverty which fell from 60% in the 60s to only 2.4%.

"The standard of living in Sarawak has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 50 years," he said. – November 27, 2013.

MIC U-turn: Youth results upheld

The party management committee, led by MIC president G Palanivel, reversed an earlier decision to suspend the results .
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: In less than 24 hours, the MIC leadership decided to uphold the MIC Youth election results after a high level meeting today at the party headquarters.

Yesterday, MIC secretary-general A Sakthivel said that the party leadership had suspended the party’s youth wing’s election results pending investigations into alleged irregularities in the polls.

The emergency meeting this morning by the party management committee, led by MIC president G Palanivel, also decided to reinstate all 38 youth delegates who were voted in the youth polls on Nov 16 polls.

Hence, the delegates would be allowed to vote in the party national election, scheduled on Saturday.

The management committee comprises of the party president, deputy president, the three vice presidents and party state chairpersons.

Sakthivel told reporters today the committee decided that the phantom-voter allegation would not change the outcome of the results.

“The one vote does not make any difference to the result,” he said, adding that the party also sacked a youth member.

However, Sakthivel refused to give further details about the youth member who was overseas.

In the youth polls, former secretary C Sivarraajh won the wing’s top post defeating deputy chief V Mugilan by 44 votes.

Sivarraajh obtained 278 votes to Mugilan’s 234 to take over from outgoing youth chief T Mohan who is contesting for vice-president’s post this time.

The deputy’s post was won by MIC youth legal bureau head R Thinalan who garnered 321 votes beating Malacca MIC youth deputy chief K Sashi who obtained 188 votes.

Meanwhile, Sivarraajh urged the leadership not to make the same mistake in the future.

Sivarraajh also thanked Palanivel for sorting out the issue quickly and also the youth members for supporting him while the results were suspended.

He urged the party’s election committee to vet the candidates to see if they had been declared bankrupt before preparing electoral list.

ROS letter

Sakthivel also confirmed that the Cheras division delegates were entitled to vote in the national election.

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) had directed the MIC to iron out problems in its Cheras division as the issue could affect the party’s annual general assembly.

In a letter to Sakthivel on Nov 21, ROS deputy director-general Alias Mamat said they had received a complaint from Cheras division deputy chief K Palanisamy on the running of the division’s 14 branch meetings.

Palanisamy had written to the ROS that the meetings were held simultaneously on July 21 at the Cheras MIC division office in Taman Kobena, Cheras.

However, Sakthivel admitted that the issue was brought up in today’s meeting.

“All the delegates in MIC Cheras division are allowed to vote in the polls as for now,” he said.

PKR Roban Lumpuh, 110 Anggota Sertai SPDP

(Bernama) - Operasi PKR cabang Roban di Saratok, Sarawak, lumpuh selepas pengerusi dan setiausahanya keluar parti dan membawa bersama-sama mereka 108 anggota serta penyokong untuk menyertai Parti Demokratik Progresif Sarawak (SPDP).

Gani Eli, yang mempengerusikan cabang itu sejak 2011, mengetuai kumpulan yang keluar PKR itu untuk menyerahkan borang permohonan mereka kepada Presiden SPDP Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom di sini hari ini.

"PKR tidak ada hala tuju selepas pilihan raya (umum ke-13). (Kami telah dibiarkan) macam itu sahaja," katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas menyerahkan borang permohohan mereka di ibu pejabat SPDP di sini.

Beliau berkata lebih banyak anggota dan penyokong PKR dari Roban dijangka mengikuti jejak mereka.

Sementara itu bekas Setiausaha PKR Roban Abang Mokhtar Abang Zulkifli berkata beliau menyedari parti pembangkang itu tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa untuk meningkatkan kehidupan rakyat.

"PKR tidak boleh diharap untuk masa depan tetapi kami yakin SPDP boleh membawa pembangunan yang dapat memajukan rakyat," kata Abang Mokhtar.

Sebaik saja menerima borang permohonan mereka, Mawan menyifatkan keputusan kumpulan itu untuk keluar PKR sebagai berita baik bagi Barisan Nasional.

"Mereka memilih untuk menyertai arus perdana dan mahu bekerjasama (dengan Barisan Nasional) dengan menyertai SPDP," katanya.

Beliau berpendapat di sebalik beberapa cabaran yang melanda SPDP sejak beberapa tahun lepas, parti itu tidak pernah kehilangan daya penariknya dan masih berjaya membawa kemasukan anggota baharu.

"Kami tidak pernah mengutuk orang sebaliknya sentiasa bersedia untuk menghulurkan persahabatan dan merapatkan hubungan," katanya.

Orang Asli: We are not stupid anymore

FMT by Vignesh Kumar

The Orang Asli throughout the country are awakening to the loss of their lands and rights and demand that the government cease these acts of crime.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Orang Asli communities say that they are not stupid anymore and have realised how the government is grabbing their land.

Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Se-Malaysia (JKOASM) co-ordinator Tijah Yop Chopil said: “I hope the government will be fair in protecting indigenous people’s land and rights”.

“The government must realise that robbing the indigenous people of their land is a crime. They do not comply with the indigenous people’s land laws.” she said.

“They have to stop this immediately. We are not stupid anymore,” Tijah said.

Tijah was speaking at the 7th Land Conference of the Indigenous People held at the YMCA Brickfields today.

She also wants the government to respond to Suhakam’s report on the national inquiry pertaining to the Orang Asli land rights.

Suhakam’s report initially listed 18 recommendations but during the five-day land conference which started on Nov 21 and ended today, JKOASM further identified and added 17 new resolutions toward protecting their land rights.

“The government has formed a special task force to look into this matter. We want assurance from the government’s task force that they will protect the Orang Asli land rights,” said Tijah.

Tijah said the Orang Asli community need proper clarification from the government and that their rights should not be questioned.

“We hope the government gives due recognition to our land rights, looks into this matter seriously and preserve our rights.

“We are the original people of Malaysia and we have the rights,” she said.

“We will fight all out to protect our land,” she added.

Najib Wants More People To Benefit From Development Programmes

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has expressed hope that more people will benefit from development programmes and initiatives introduced by the government.

However, he said the programmes, such as 1AZAM, would only provide the platform, and it was up to the individual to make an optimum use of the available opportunities.

He said through the 1AZAM programme, four opportunities to increase income had been made available, namely through job placement, small business, service provider and agriculture.

In his Facebook status today, Najib said he was impressed by the success of single mother of five, Zabidah Abdul Hamid, in operating her cake business.

"Starting with a monthly income of RM300, the business now enables her to earn RM3,000 a month, especially after she spreads her wings to Klang Valley and Selangor," he said.

By participating in 1AZAM, Zabidah was given training and guidance in terms of manufacturing and marketing aspects, besides being encouraged to move on her own and grab all available opportunities, Najib explained.

"The 1AZAM programme has provided a comprehensive platform for Zabidah and with hard work and determination, nothing is impossible," he said.

The prime minister also called on all people to work harder to improve their living conditions and contribute to the country's economic growth.

Two MPs thrown out over temple demolition issue

Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia today stopped R Sivarasa (PKR-Subang) from raising the demolition of the Sri Muneswarar temple annexe in Kuala Lumpur, and then booted him out of the House for delaying proceedings.

An hour later, V Sivakumar (DAP-Batu Gajah) (left) was ordered to leave the House by deputy speaker Ismail Mohamed Said for questioning the speaker's ruling that the issue cannot be raised anymore.

Sivarasa is the second PKR representative, after Padang Serai MP N Surendran, to be thrown out of the House for raising the issue.

While Sivarasa is barred from the Dewan Rakyat up to Friday, Surendran is serving out a six-month suspension order.

Sivakumar's suspension period is uncertain at this point.

On both occasions, in dealing with Surendran and Sivarasa, Pandikar fell back on the Federal Territories Ministry's account of the issue and the claim that a court order had been issued for the demolition exercise.

"The issue has been settled, it has been raised before," Pandikar said when preventing Sivarasa from elaborating on his argument.

This took place when he was debating the Federal Territories Ministry's 2014 budget at committee stage.

At a press conference later, Sivarasa said Pandikar (right) does not appear to be acting neutrally and is reacting "emotionally" whenever it comes to the issue, by accepting the ministry's version of events.

He also said that the court order did not allow for demolition of any part of the temple.

Sivarasa said he would bring a copy of the court order to Parliament on Monday, when his suspension ends, to prove Pandikar and the ministry wrong.

Sivakumar later incessantly questioned the deputy speaker, who took over proceedings from Pandikar, as to why the issue could not be raised and said that the speaker must not answer on behalf of the ministry.

Ismail told Sivakumar to "take a rest" while he was ordered to leave the House.

"The speaker already made a ruling. I don't have to explain to you on the matter anymore," Ismail told Sivakumar.

In a press conference earlier, Sivarasa said that many issues are constantly repeated in the Parliament and questioned why the speaker has prevented anyone from speaking on this particular issue.

"And all along, the speaker has been referring to a false statement," Sivarasa said.

'Johor sultan has power to change rest day'

As the head of Islam in the state, the Johor sultan has powers to unilaterally revert the rest day from Sunday to Friday, constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari said.

“The sultan, in my view, can do that as Friday is a holy day for Muslims and (he) has some practical reasons; so that Muslims can spend more time in the mosque as in pre-1993 (days),” he said in an email to Malaysiakini.

“The issue here is about whose power and through what procedure. The power is with the state and the sultan appears to have exercised it for religious reasons.”

He said state holidays fall under state jurisdiction, according to Schedule Nine of the federal constitution.

“It is not stated (in the constitution) whether it should go through the Dewan,” he said referring to the state assembly.

The constitutional law professor said the sultan can act unilaterally as long as it is in matters which do not contravene the federal constitution.

Furthermore, he said, Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin has already indicated that the ruling will not be forced upon non-Muslims and the business sector.

Abdul Aziz (left), who returned to academia last month, two years after being sacked from by Universiti Islam Antarabangsa for critical remarkes against the Selangor sultan, said that changing the rest day from Friday to Sunday in 1993 had been more problematic.

“The (state) government may declare a holiday for a day or two but when it comes to changing something that has been going on for centuries, it is something else; it should have been more careful and elaborate.

“Now it has caused difficulty as the society has been so used to it, hence the uneasiness over the sultan's announcement.”

'Disrupting centuries-old practice'

Johor, then led by Muhyiddin Yassin, and Perlis, then headed by Shahidan Kassim, had changed their rest days from Friday to Sunday, disrupting a centuries-old practice in the two states.

Friday was the rest day for the unfederated Malay states - Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis - where British colonial influence had been relatively weaker.

Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu still maintain this practice.

In modern history, Abdul Aziz said, Johor's rest-day change is likely linked to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's campaign to “clip the rulers' wings”.

“Some of the rulers have forgotten what the former PM did to them in 1983 and 1993.

“Note that Umno Baru was launched in Istana Besar Johor Bahru in 1988, four years after Mahathir amended the constitution which took away the power to assent to bills and also power to declare emergency.”

Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in his birthday speech decreed that the rest day will revert to Friday with effect from next year.

The private sector will mostly maintain the Monday to Friday work week to facilitate external trade, as long as banks do the same.

Banks, however, are undecided as to whether they will maintain Monday to Friday operating hours, pending official confirmation from the state government that the Friday rest day is optional.

Gan joins MCA presidency race

Istanbul monastery 'to be turned into mosque'

A ruined fifth century monastery in Istanbul is to be turned into a mosque next year, local media reported Tuesday, amid a row with Greece over possible similar moves for the ancient
Hagia Sophia complex.

The plans for the Monastery of Studios, which was dedicated to St John the Baptist and was considered the most important of Constantinople, were revealed by the Hurriyet Daily News.

Religious authorities in the city could not immediately be reached for comment on the report, which comes amid increasing criticism of the government over its attempts to impose Islamic values on secular society in Turkey.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc angered Greece when he voiced hope that Hagia Sophia, a stunning Byzantine monument that dates back almost 1,500 years, would be converted into a Muslim place of worship.

Two churches of the same name in other parts of Turkey have recently been turned into mosques, adding to the estimated 83,000 across the country.

Hurriyet said the monastery, which has been left in ruins by fire and earthquakes with only part of the church remaining, would be restored next year and then converted.

Hagia Sophia, now one of Istanbul's most popular tourist attractions, was a church for centuries -- and the seat of the Patriarchate of Istanbul -- before the Ottomans turned it into a mosque in the 15th century.

Both Hagia Sofia and the Monastery of Studios were turned into museums after the founding of modern Turkey by Mustafa Kamal Ataturk in 1923.

Debate about the role of religion in Turkish society has intensified in the run-up to a highly-charged election period, kicking off next March with local polls.

Truth about Gani could have altered Umno polls results, says ex-CID chief

The outcome of the Umno polls last month could have been different if party president Datuk Seri

Najib Razak had revealed the contents of a statutory declaration on Pulau Batu Puteh, said former city CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim.

In a statement today, Mat Zain said he had sent a 31-page statutory declaration to the prime minister on October 9 on the alleged wrongdoings of Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (pic) with regard to Pulau Batu Puteh, but Najib chose to remain silent on the matter until today.

Mat Zain felt that if the content of the SD was made public, voters at the Umno polls would have voted differently.

“There were Umno supreme council candidates who are known to have been protected by Abdul Gani when allegations of wrongdoings were raised against them. There is a strong possibility that Umno members would not have voted in these candidates.

"Umno supreme council candidates, especially those from Sabah, would not have fared well either as Abdul Gani is from Sabah and has family ties with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

"Musa himself has been accused of being protected by Abdul Gani on several occasions when he was accused of corruption and abuse of power. I believe that if Najib had told the assembly about my SD, the outcome of the polls would have been very different," Mat Zain said.

Mat Zain said concealing material information was tantamount to deception.

"And by concealing the content of the SD, Najib could be said to have deprived the members of their rights in choosing the right candidates in the party polls.”

Mat Zain said the Registrar of Societies should declare the results of the 2013 Umno elections null and void.

"The RoS must show that it has a backbone and is able to take action against any political party which has violated the laws or party constitution," Mat Zain said, adding that deception and intentionally hiding vital information was a serious offence.

He said following the Lahad Datu incursion in February, Corporal Hassan Basari of the Special Branch was sentenced to seven years' jail for hiding information relating to the intrusion by the Sulu gunmen.

"The one who decided to charge Hassan was none other than Abdul Gani, who is from Sabah," said Mat Zain.

"I hope Hassan's case will make Najib and other ministers realise how serious the issue of concealing information is, especially when it concerns the nation's security and sovereignty.

"If a mere corporal can be sentenced to seven years' jail, what more someone who caused Malaysia to lose Pulau Batu Puteh?"

Both Malaysia and Singapore had claimed Pulau Batu Puteh, a dispute which was later settled by the International Court of Justice in 2007. The ICJ ruled in favour of Singapore, a decision which put Abdul Gani under the spotlight.

Mat Zain alleged that Abdul Gani had deliberately lost the case resulting in the ICJ ruling in favour of Singapore. He alleged that a substantial amount of money had been deposited into a bank account in Hong Kong.

"A heavy punishment is in order, especially if there is information and evidence that hundreds of millions of ringgit changed hands. Najib should form a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate these claims against Abdul Gani."

Mat Zain said Pulau Batu Puteh should not be seen as a cluster of rocks in the middle of the sea and without any commercial value. Malaysia gave up the coastal waters and air space when it lost the island.

"What is the actual reason for Malaysia losing Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore? The RCI must be formed to investigate and maximum penalties must be levied on whoever is guilty of betraying Malaysia's sovereignty."

The former CID chief pointed out that Najib's silence on major issues could backfire on him and his government.

"Perhaps he has been wrongly advised.

"Najib should be transparent. Whenever there are allegations against the AG, no matter how serious they are, the PM will somehow brush them aside.

"As the prime minister, he should not show that he is afraid of Abdul Gani." – November 26, 2013.

Ministers' wives lectured on the wrongs of Shiism

There was a girl, whose family consisted of Shiite Muslims, who complained to the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) of having to wait for half an hour or more every evening before breaking fast during Ramadan. This is because Shiite Muslims can only eat when the sun sets and stars appear.

This story, related by Jakim’s assistant director of Akidah Mohd Aizam Mas’od, had the wives of ministers in stitches.

About 30 members of the Wives' Charities and Welfare Body (Bakti), including prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor, were today lectured about the Shiite sect, and how it clashes with the Sunni brand of Islam, as practised in Malaysia.

The ladies took down notes as Mohd Aizam held a power-point presentation.

The presentation illustrated the millennium-old history of the second largest denomination of Islam - its leaders, practices, teachings and geographic spread and why it was wrong.

Two million Shiite followers in South-East Asia

Practitioners of Shiism, widely found in Iran but considered heretics in Malaysia, look to Ali, Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, as the divinely-appointed successor to Muhammad, and the first Imam.

"It is the oldest and most classic heresy in the history of Islam," said Mohd Aizam. "Shiism is the main enemy of Islam after the Jews and the Christians (in the historical context)."

Although Sunnis and Shiites had shared roots in the Quran, Mohd Aizam said that the advent of the Shiite sect had been warned about by Prophet Muhammad himself.

The sect was gazetted as ‘haram’ (prohibited in Islam) by the Malaysian National Fatwa Council for Islamic Affairs, Muzakarah Special Committee on May 5, 1996, as its teachings were feared to create factions among Muslims.

Mohd Aizam said in South-East Asia, there were two million followers of Shiism or about 1 percent of the Muslims in Indonesia, 21,000 in Thailand, 5,000 in Singapore and only 1,500 in Malaysia.

Mohd Aizam’s figure was in contradiction with a recent Home Ministry estimate of 250,000 Shiite followers identified nationwide consisting of 10 active groups.

But the Jakim official clarified that his figure referred only to Shiite followers who were  Malaysians, not foreigners.

There also many splinter groups within the Shiite religion, Mohd Aizam warned.

Amongst the most widespread in Malaysia, he said, were the believers in the "Twelver Shiites" who believe in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, with a last Imam to be revealed when Al-Mahdi returns.

The talk lasted nearly two hours before it went into a closed-door question-and-answer session.

Trouble in MIC over Palani’s stance

Party boss told to be clear about whether he is endorsing anyone for vice president.

PETALING JAYA: An MIC leader today demanded that party president G Palanivel state clearly that he has no preferences among the candidates vying for vice presidential positions.

Palanivel had been making confusing statements about the issue, said the party leader, who declined to be named.

“Last night, at a meeting with delegates from Perak in Ipoh, the president said he was not supporting anyone in the vice president race,” the source told FMT. “But this morning he held a meeting with the Selangor MIC liaison committee and declared that he was in support of two candidates in particular.”

The source claimed he was at today’s meeting, which he said was held at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and attended only by members of the Selangor liaison committee.

“Who is he trying to bluff? I am sure he knows things like this leak out. One day, he says he is not supporting anyone, then the very next day, just after 12 hours, he says he is backing the two candidates.”

The two, according to the source, are party treasurer general Jaspal Singh and former youth chief SA Vigneswaran. Palanivel also mentioned them last Saturday at a meeting with Selangor delegates who will vote at the election on Nov 30.

Jaspal and Vigneswaran are among eight candidates fighting for the three vice presidential positions. The others are Youth and Sports Deputy Minister M Saravanan, Perak state assembly speaker SK Devamany, former youth chief T Mohan, former vice president S Sothinathan, Johor Baharu MIC division leader KS Balakrishnan and Bukit Bintang division leader James Selvarajah. Saravanan and Devamany are incumbents.

Soon after the Saturday meeting, several of the aspirants contacted FMT to voice their displeasure over Palanivel’s open endorsement of the two candidates.

Palanivel had told the meeting that he was not endorsing them but was merely introducing them to the delegates.

“There was not need for him to introduce the two because Vigneswaran is from Selangor and not a new MIC member contesting for the post and Jaspal has been the treasurer general for the last three years,” said FMT’s source. “Everybody in the party, including grassroots members, know who they are.

“If he is sincere, then he must once and for all say he is not supporting anyone in the race.”

Peace deal

Palanivel and his deputy, Dr S Subramaniam, won their positions uncontested as part of a peace deal brokered by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and finalised last August. Another part of the deal stipulates that neither Palanivel nor Dr Subramaniam should take sides in the veep race.

Dr Subramaniam, who is on medical leave following a road accident last week, is yet to comment on the latest turn of events.

Observers say Najib’s peace plan was in danger of being torn up.

“The plan was put in place so that there will not be a split in the party,” said an observer who declined to be named. “But if the president takes sides, then the other candidates may revolt and this will eventually divide the party. Some may even cross over to the opposition and this will give a bigger headache for Najib and Barisan Nasional.

“Instead of keeping the party united, Najib’s peace plan may just divide and weaken the party further because of Palanivel’s action.”

However, several party leaders close to some of the vice presidential candidates said Palanivel might just be trying to “please everybody” although he was not doing it well.

“He knows things will go out of control if he announces his choice of veep candidates,” said one source. “People like Saravanan, Devamany and Mohan are not going to take this quietly. There will be a revolt and he knows it.

“Those three can do a lot of damage to Palanivel and the party. Can you imagine if they leave the party to become independent? They need not even jump over to the opposition. The repercussions on the party and Palanivel would be considerable.

“But before they do that, they will surely sully Palanivel’s leadership and character. This is not good for MIC and the Barisan Nasional.”

More trouble

The party’s decision today to suspend the MIC Youth polls results too did not go down well with many of the candidates vying for leadership slots in the party polls.

These leaders claimed Palanivel had “shot himself in his foot” by suspending the MIC Youth polls on grounds of irregularities, including the possibility of having bankrupt and phantom voters.

The decision to suspend the outcome was announced by party secretary-general A Saktivel at the MIC headquarters today.

Following this suspension, a total of 38 youth delegates will not be allowed to cast their votes in the upcoming party elections on Nov 30.

“This is quite strange. Who is actually at fault here? Isn’t it the party HQ for failing to monitor the delegates?” asked a CWC candidate.

He further said that the party should also look into the number of bankrupt candidates who were involved in nominating Palanivel for the presidency.

“Will he stand down pending an inquiry?” he further asked.

Another senior party leader said with this latest development, the best thing Palanivel could do was to postpone the party elections until the mess was cleared.

Meanwhile, a source close to C Sivarraajh who won the Youth chief’s post by defeating V Mugilan by 44 votes, said they were contemplating of taking the matter to the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

MIC Youth results suspended

The MIC leadership has suspended results of the MIC Youth polls held on Nov 16 pending investigations.

PETALING JAYA: The MIC leadership has suspended the party’s Youth wing’s election results pending investigations into alleged irregularities in the polls.

Party secretary general A Sakthivel in announcing this, said a Youth member had lodged a complaint on the running of the Youth elections and the party had decided to investigate the matter.

“During this period, the Youth wing election results would be suspended,” he told FMT when contacted.

The MIC secretary general had earlier held a press conference to announce the suspension. Only Tamil vernacular dailies were invited to attend the press conference.

Speaking to FMT, Sakthivel said the Youth wing election results would remain suspended until a probe on it was completed.

“We do not have a time frame for the suspension. We will decide on the next course of action only after we complete the investigations,” he added.

The suspension is because there were claims that seven people who were bankrupt were allowed to vote in the Youth polls. There is also allegation that a ballot belonging to a delegate, who was overseas during the election, was in fact cast by someone else.

Following suspension of the Youth wing election results, some 38 Youth delegates will not be able to cast their ballots to pick three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members at the party annual general assembly on Nov 30.

Former Youth secretary C Sivarraajh won the wing’s top post at the election, defeating deputy chief V Mugilan by 44 votes.

Sivarraajh obtained 278 votes to Mugilan’s 234 to take over from out going Youth chief T Mohan who is contesting for vice-president this time.

The deputy’s post was won by MIC youth legal bureau head R Thinalan who garnered 321 votes, beating Malacca MIC youth deputy chief K Sashi who obtained 188 votes.

It must be noted that Mugilan was favoured by party president G Palanivel while Sivarraajh was backed by Mohan.

Ulterior motive

Party sources claimed that the MIC leadership headed by Palanivel has an ulterior motive in suspending the Youth polls.

“He does not want the Youth’s 38-votes at the assembly as he knows the youth wing will not vote candidates favoured by him (Palanivel). They will follow what Mohan says…so what a better way to get rid of them for now.

“After the election this weekend, they will either reinstate the Youth wing results or call for new polls.

“Either way the 38 Youth leaders chosen at the Youth elections will miss out in picking the vice-presidents and the central working committee members,” said a national leader who declined to be named.

Another party leader when contacted was equally miffed with the latest ruling on the Youth wing election.

“Who did Palanivel consult before making this decision? The central working committee was not called. The MIC management committee was not consulted…so who made this decision?

“Furthermore, if bankruptcy is a problem, then what about those who nominated Palanivel for president. Their nominations should also be null and void and if that is the case, there is a need for Palanivel to hold the presidential nominations again.

“How many of those who nominated Palanivel are bankrupts? Are we going to suspend them as well? To stop all this once and for all, the party should postpone its polls on Nov 30 until this matter is sorted out,” he said.

Palanivel was elected unopposed at the MIC presidential election nominations in August this year.

London slavery: Family of Malaysian woman held as slave in London comes forward

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian family has spoken to the English press claiming to be related to the Malaysian woman who was saved from alleged slavery in Lambert recently.

The Daily Telegraph spoke to retired teacher Kamar Mautum who claims to be the sister of the 69-year-old victim, whom Kamar said disappeared from the family’s lives after joining a Maoist sect.

Kamar names the victim as her sister Aishah, who she says was a bright student who studied in an elite school here before winning a Commonwealth scholarship, which brought her to London in the late 1960s.

Screenshot of The Telegraph of Kamar Mautum.

Kamar added that Aishah moved to Briton with her fiancé Omar Munir in 1968.

Aishah and her fiancé became a part of an organisation called Malaysian and Singaporean Students Forum (Mass), believed to be one of the more extreme Maoist groups in London.

After coming under the influence of Aravindan Balakrishnan (better known as Comrade Bala) and his partner Chanda, she gave up her relationship, as well as her plans to build a career and family.

Aishah eventually became so involved in the group that she ceased contact with her family, who were against her involvement with the left-wing group.

It was reported that Kamar wishes to meet her sister at least once before either of them dies.

Was IGP just firing blanks?

PKR accuses Khalid of backpedalling on his line-of-fire offer to Surendran.

PETALING JAYA: PKR today accused Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar of backtracking on his challenge to Padang Serai MP N Surendran to accompany policemen in an anti-crime ops.

In a media statement issued here, PKR’s Subang MP R Sivarasa said it was “absurd” for the police to insist that Surendran first agree to clear them of any responsibility for his safety before being allowed to join in such an operation.

He said Surendran was ready to participate in the police operation and urged Khalid to “to stop this charade and withdraw this unlawful and unethical condition.”

Sivarasa is Surendran’s legal advisor.

Last month, Surendran, who is the Padang Serai MP, criticised Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for telling police to “shoot first” at criminal suspects.

In response, Khalid challenged Surendran to accompany police on anti-crime missions, promising to provide him with body armour. The MP accepted the challenge, saying he was willing to place himself “in the line of fire with the policemen who are subject to similar risks.”

In his statement today, Sivarasa said he received a letter from CID chief Hadi Ho last week which listed 10 conditions for Surendran’s participation in the police mission, one of which was that he must not blame the police if anything untoward were to happen to him.

“It is unacceptable for the police to insist on such a demand,” he said.

“It is now clear that the IGP has backtracked on his earlier offer to Surendran. The IGP had made the offer in a knee-jerk manner in response to Surendran’s criticism of the police’s shoot-to-kill policy.”

Sivarasa said the offer was made to intimidate and silence Surendran.

“If the IGP is serious about the offer, he would not impose such an absurd and unacceptable condition”.

Sivarasa also urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to take punitive action against Zahid for his “shoot first” statement.

College rejects claims of duping foreign students

The college in KL is accused of duping Indian and Nepali students by offering them non-existent courses.

PETALING JAYA: A college in Jalan Geraja, Kuala Lumpur which has been accused of cheating hundreds of India and Nepali students have rebutted the allegations made by Tenaganita yesterday.

Several of the college’s students yesterday had claimed in a press conference held by human rights organisation Tenaganita that the college has allegedly cheated hundreds of students from India and Nepal over a diploma course in cruise management, internship and job placements.

Tenaganita also urged the Education Ministry to seriously investigate the college over the matter.

Responding today to the claims made against it, a college spokesperson who was accompanied by a lawyer, denied that it was cheating students.

The college spokesperson showed all relevant documents and approval from the Education Ministry to run its programmes.

He also claimed that some 60% of its students who had graduated from the cruise management programme have been offered job placements with cruise liners.

They said they were disappointed with the manner Tenaganita had conducted the press conference yesterday without inviting the college representatives.

“We never knew there was such a press conference to be held until we received numerous phone calls from the media.

“At least Tenaganita should have invited us and we could have clarified the matter in public,” said the spokesperson.

Nevertheless, the college has requested to meet Tenaganita officials to clarify the matter and a meeting is expected to be held today.

Yesterday, at Tenaganita’s office, a student from India said he had paid RM20,000 for the one-year diploma course in cruise management but after a year, he received Food & Beverages Services certificate instead.

He said he never signed up for such a programme. When the student failed in his attempt to get the college to keep to its promise of offering him a course in cruise management, he filed a complaint with the Consumer Tribunal for a refund from the college.

The tribunal found the college liable and ordered it to pay RM19,320 to the student. However the college appealed the tribunal’s verdict at the High Court. The High Court on Nov 19 upheld the decision of the Consumer Tribunal.

It was also alleged that some 400 foreign students were affected by the college’s scam in offering non-existent diploma programme.

The college spokesperson however said the Food & Beverages Services certificate was part of the programme as some students, when they enter the cruise line industry, would find it helpful to land a job in F&B section.

Emotionally blackmailed Malaysians desire change but fear to act

Mariam Mokhtar

OUTSPOKEN: Millions of Malaysians have spent their entire lives in the captivity of Umno-Baru and the Barisan Nasional (BN), and they do not know any other type of government. They are not used to anything different, so they would be confused if they were given the smallest amount of extra freedom.

Enslaved Malaysians only accept things which are familiar. Just imagine how difficult it is for them to grasp some of the most important aspects of everyday life, such as the rule of law, democracy, human rights and equality.

Reports of a 69-year-old Malaysian woman who has been kept as a slave, with two others, in England, for the past 30 years have shocked the world. It is a story that resonates with Malaysians.

Just like the three enslaved women, Malaysians are victims of emotional blackmail. Despite wanting change to improve their lives and the lives of their children, many Malaysians are repressed by an invisible force which stops them from rejecting Umno-Baru.

The rakyat, principally the Malay community, has been brainwashed into thinking that only Umno-Baru can “save” them, protect their way of life, their rulers, their language and their religion. They are told that a vote for the opposition will lead to a nation ruled and dominated by Chinese and Christians, whilst Malays will become beggars.

Details are sketchy, but the three London women were beaten and emotionally manipulated by the suspects, a married couple from Tanzania and India. The women were rescued when one of them watched a television programme and contacted the Freedom Charity.

Policemen handling the case said that there was a possibility that there were thousands of others who are being held in similar circumstances. Malaysians empathise. Many of us are like those women, being held captive against our will, unable to free our minds of the pervasive influence of Umno-Baru.

I have no intention of trivialising the London women’s experience, but there are many similarities between their plight and ours.

Various British newspapers say that the women were forced into a life of servitude. To their neighbours and outsiders, the suspects gave the impression of being a “normal family”.

Isn’t this similar to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s representation on the world stage of Malaysia as a nation of moderate Muslims? Only Malaysians know that extremism and nationalist policies dominate. An ignorant and ill-informed rakyat will always pay homage to Umno-Baru. Didn’t Najib also say he would tackle corruption, and yet he and his cabinet ministers are allegedly still implicated in many corruption scandals?

The British policemen describe “invisible handcuffs” being used to metaphorically shackle the women, at a house in south London. Sadly, Malaysians know only too well what it is like to be restrained by “invisible handcuffs”, with civil servants and students suffering most from Umno-Baru’s enforced enslavement.

It is alleged that teachers who vote for the opposition can be traced by the serial number on their ballot papers. This is a means of control and it forces everyone who values his job to vote Umno-Baru.

It is also alleged that civil servants who attend opposition ceramahs face a bleak future. They are denied promotions, unlike their peers who climb speedily up the career ladder. This means of control ensures loyalty to Umno-Baru. Civil servants are not enamoured of Umno-Baru policies, but they are forced to toe the line.

Students who attend opposition marches also allege discrimination by the college authorities. Scholarships may be withdrawn. Student leader Adam Adli faced a severe punishment and was suspended from college.

The subtle message is that if you are anti-Umno-Baru or anti-BN, your career prospects and future will be severely restricted. These are not the acts of a democratic government, but more the by-products of a tyrannical government. As long as we think we cannot escape Umno-Baru, we will forever be their slaves.

Fear of destroying your career is understandable, but the time is right to take the brave step and vote Umno-Baru out of office, at the 14th general election. If you do this, your life will blossom.

Malays who are pro-opposition but who are not civil servants face additional challenges. They are denied various opportunities and benefits, such as being unsuccessful in bids for a government tender, having their application for educational grants rejected and their request for government land turned down.

Millions of Malaysians know about the corruption, the abuse of power and the mishandling of the economy. They want an improvement in their lives and they are desperate to embrace change. These same people are also difficult to convince to act. Ironically, it is most difficult to persuade these people to act to save themselves.

Although they want change, they are also very scared. For 56 years, they were led to believe that only Umno-Baru can ensure their survival. If you know someone like that, your job should be to steadily show them that they can and must rebuild their lives, just like the three women in London, who stopped being slaves and are now embracing freedom.

Mariam Mokhtar is "a Malaysian who dares to speak the truth."