Lagi video buli pelajar tersebar

PETALING JAYA – Rakaman video seorang pelajar kolej dibuli tersebar di laman sosial Facebook, sejak ia dimuat naik, pagi Sabtu.

Video tersebut sebelum ini dimuat naik di YouTube, telah dibuang dari oleh pengendali laman web video berkenaan atas kesalahan memuat naik kandungan yang bercorak mengancam, buli atau menakutkan.

Bagaimanapun video bekrenaan, dimuat naik di Facebook dan tersebar secara meluas.

Rakaman video tersebut memaparkan, sekumpulan pelajar perempuan berpakat membuli seorang pelajar perempuan yang merupakan penuntut di sebuah kolej swasta tempatan.

Pelajar berkenaan dilihat diganggu oleh seorang wanita yang berpakain berwarna ungu yang menuduh mangsa telah mencuri wangnya.

Mangsa mendakwa pelajar berkenaan mencuri duitnya kerana dia dilihat seperti ‘seorang pencuri’ dan datang dari ‘keluarga yang berkasta rendah.’

Pada minit ke-16 klip video berkenaan, pembuli didengar menghina mangsa dengan menggunakan bahasa lucah, menamparnya berulang kali serta memukul dia dengan satu botol plastik kosong.

Suspek juga dilihat menarik rambunt mangsa.

Sementara rakan-rakannya yang lain dilihat hanya ketawa terbahak-bahak sambil merakamkan kejadian buli berkenaan dengan menggunakan telefon bimbit.

Pada satu ketika, ketua kumpulan buli berkenaan mencari dilihat mencari objek untuk memukul mangsa namun ia berjaya ditahan oleh seorang pelajar perempuan lain.

Insiden berkenaan dipercayai berlaku di bilik asrama kolej berkenaan.

Ketua kumpulan berkenaan kemudiannya menelefon ibunya dan memberitahu situasi yang berlaku melalui pembesar suara.

Ibu pelajar berkenaan kemudiannya berkata kepada mangsa “Saya akan tumbuk muka anda’ dan “Saya akan dapat ke asrama dan mengajar anda di sana”.

Mangsa yang tidak berdaya itu dilihat menangis dan akhirnya meminta maaf dia mengakui dia melakukan kesilapan.

Walaupun mangsa memohon maaf, aksi dalam video berkenaan bertukar ganas apabila seorang lagi pelajar yang memakai baju berwarna hitam dilihat mula memukul mangsa.

Mangsa yang sebelum ini hanya berdiam diri, melawan balik namun tidak berjaya.

Rakaman video tersebut berakhir dengan adengan pembuli meningatkan mangsa agar berhati-hati dan tidak bertindak di luar batasan kerana akibatnya sangat buruk, menurut sumber mStar.

Sehingga berita ini ditulis, pihak pengurusan kolej tidak dapat dihubungi untuk mengulas mengenai isu berkenaan.

Ku Nan to KL folks: Don't be 'demo-crazy', just file a complaint

Hindu minorities are being brutally attacked in Bangladesh after Quader Molla’s hanging.

War Criminal - Butcher of Mirpur, Abdul Quader Molla hanged to death. Gross violence in Bangladesh leading to a civil war. Helpless Hindu minorities are being attacked in many places.  

Upananda Brahmachari | Kolkata | Dec 13, 2013:: Jamaat-Shibir men and its Islamist allies resorted to vandalism, arson and attacks on cops and the opponent groups including Hindu minorities in different places of the country leaving at least seven dead soon after the Supreme Court cleared the way for executing war criminal Abdul Quader Molla who was executed finally on Thursday at dot 10-01 pm BST at Dhaka Central jail.

Abdul Quader Molla was know as Mirpurer Kasai (Butcher of Mirpur). As per source he killed 3 times much Muslim than Hindus at the time of BD Struggle for Independence as reported. Kader was a dangerous Jamatee and Rajakar as well. These people supported Pakistan and opposed BD liberation.

On May 28, last year, the tribunal framed six charges that include: the killing of Mirpur Bangla College student Pallab; the killing of the poet Meherunesa, her mother and two brothers; the killing of journalist Khandker Abu Taleb; a mass killing in Ghatarchar of Keraniganj; the killing of 344 people in Alubdi village in Mirpur; and the killing of Hazrat Ali Laskar, his wife, three daughters and two-year-old son.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 found Molla guilty on five charges and acquitted him on one charge related to the Ghatarchar killing, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. But the Supreme Court found him guilty on all charges and awarded him death for killing Hazrat Laskar and his family members.

Reuters reported that the authority of “Bangladesh executed Islamist opposition leader Abdul Quader Molla on Thursday for war crimes he committed in 1971, in a move likely to spark more violent protests less than a month before elections are due to be held.

Molla was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail after a dramatic week. He won a reprieve on Tuesday hours before he was sent to the gallows.

After two days of  legal argument, the Supreme Court rejected his application for a review of the death penalty.”

War criminal Quader didn’t wince once, neither did his heart skip a beat when he led his men to thrash a two-year-old child to death and slit the throats of a pregnant woman and two minor girls in the whirlwind in 1971.

Around 42 years later, Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla finally had to pay for these acts of cold-blooded savagery, as he walked the gallows at 10:01pm in the first-ever execution in a war crimes case.

The bad news coming from Bangladesh. The execution of Quader Molla triggered the deadly violence in Bangladesh in a very wide range. Dhaka, Satkhira, Coxbazar, Khulna, Comilla, Chittagong, Noakhali are the most affected areas where the peaceful and apolitical minority Hindus are being attacked under the repercussion of hanging of Quader Molla.

As reported in Kalaer Kantha (a Bengali daily newspaper), the Hindu minorities in Khuruskul Hindu village in Coxbazar were attacked after the news of Quader’s execution spread in the air. After 10-30 pm of Thursday, the Jammat activist  attacked the house of some relatives of  Swapan Pal in Palpara. The armed Jammati perpetrators ransacked at 10 houses and shops in Palpara and Timebazar. The attackers looted the shops and set fire in households. Dadul Das, the president of Coxbazar Hindu Festival Committee (Hindu Puja Udjaapan Samity) conveyed the insecurity of the resident minority Hindus under an Islamic threat perception increasing day by day.

In a separate reporting the a reporter of Kalaer Kantha  reported the attack on minority Hindus in Jugipara in Satkhira as an aftermath of Quader Molla’s hanging on Thrusday. The Jamaat activists attacked the Hindu minority citizen and put fire in four Hindu houses. The perpetrators blocked the roads by putting huge trunks of road-side trees to put hurdles to rescue operation by police and RAB (rapid action battalion).

The situations in Bangladesh is rapidly changing in the face of an apprehended civil war in Bangladesh. The Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh announced that it would hold a gayebana janaza for its assistant secretary general, war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah, today and enforce a countrywide shutdown on Sunday.

The turmoil in Bangladesh sparks tension in neighbouring West Bengal too.

The Kolkata police have sounded a high alert after the hanging of Jamaat-e-Islami leaser Abdul Quader Molla in Dhaka Central Jail.

The city has witnessed many protest demonstrations in the past few months against the Bangladesh war crimes trials.

Organisations like the West Bengal Minority Youth Federation have spearheaded these protests, even submitting memorandum to the Bangladesh deputy High Commission in city’s Bangabandhu Sarani (previously Circus Avenue) to stop the trials.

Kolkata has a strong population of Urdu-speaking Muslims, many of whom fled Bangladesh after it was born during the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistani forces.

Jamaat enjoys considerable support among them.

Kolkata police commissioner Surojit Kar Purkayastha is said to have asked for heightened security at the Bangladesh deputy high commission.

The deputy high commission in Kolkata  is housed in a historic building where Bengali diplomats revolted against Pakistan and set up the first diplomatic outpost of the provisional government of Bangladesh in exile.

Other areas with high concentration of Urdu-speaking Muslims like Park Circus, Metizbruz, Gardenrich, Tiljala, Taltola and Rajabazar have been identified for intense security, police officials said.

The intensifying political crisis in Bangladesh  with the ensuing elections there is producing  sectarian violence  and the attacks on minorities. Meanwhile, the court cancels the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami which is no more eligible to participate in the vote . Many a Jamaat leaders are awaiting in the  death-row for their conviction in war crimes. The situations will go grim further with the head counts.

The Union Home Ministry  in India apprehends a  sabotage in India  as a retaliation of Jammat for their set back in Bangladesh.  In a very revealing report from Intelligence source, it  is told that the exiled Jammatis are trying a ‘Hindu killing field mission’ by making juvenile suicide squad. Out of  a workable plan,  Bangladesh Jamaat operators will make  inroads in West Bengal using this region as a transit zone.

To prevent the cross border terrorism,  militant infiltration and Muslim influx in  India from Bangladesh, BSF has to tighten surveillance in West Bengal-Bangladesh border. As per report,  Jamaat-e-Islam has a networking among 108 Islamic outfits covering Afghan Council, Council of the Islamic Revolution , the Islamic Jihad Group , Awakening of Muslim People, Indian Mujaheddin, Rohingya Islamic Front. Some of these organizations have their secret organization to make an Islamic state in India.

Some Muslim organisations like Popular Front of India, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen, All India United Democratic Front, Jammat-e-Islami-Hind expressed their softness to the War criminals of Bangladesh as they were all the Sahaba (Lieutenant)  of Islam. Many of these organisations are covertly connected with their Bangladeshi counterparts to accomplish a Jihad in India en route west Bengal.

In this critical juncture of post Quader hanging in Bangladesh, the pro-Hindu organisations in India and the International Hindu Community must raise their voice to stop attack on minority Hindus in Bangladesh and the total restrain of Jehadi activities in India, especially in the  porous International border areas of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

The hanging of Quader Molla is the easiest prey for the supporters of Jamat-BNP fundamentals for attacking minority Hindus in Bangladesh. As per reports of Bangladesh media, Hindus are being attacked ruthlessly in many places. If Bangladesh may enter into a havoc civil war again, the  minority  Hindus will be the gross victim. But, Indian media, particularly Bengali media of Kolkata will be busy with the minority rights in India.

Indeed, it is a hard time for the minority Hindu-Buddhist-Christians in Bangladesh. We have to share their persecution to protect them.

Courtesy: BBC | Reuters | Kaler Kantha.

White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite Linked to Kenya Grenade Attack

Samantha Lewthwaite is a widow of one of the 7/7 London bombers

 

Terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite has been linked with the failed grenade attack on British tourists in Kenya.

The Muslim convert, dubbed the White Widow, is accused of ordering the attack on the tourists who were travelling to a wildlife safari at the Masai Mara national park.

The grenade failed to detonate when it hit the window of the Toyota 4X4. It is believed to have been thrown by a man, who later fled the scene.

The grenade was later safely detonated. The Foreign Office said it was urgently looking into the reports.

Lewthwaite, 29, who is already accused of plotting to kill hundreds of British tourists in Mombasa with fellow British accomplice Jermaine Grant in a separate attack, has now been linked to the incident.

A senior security source in Kenya told the Daily Mirror: "It's the two-year anniversary of Lewthwaite going on the run and intelligence reports suggest she may have ordered the attack.

"She is being hunted on multiple terror charges and we know her links to al-Shabaab fanatics spread through Africa.

"This was a deliberate attempt to kill tourists and has all the hallmarks of a White Widow-instigated operation."

Kenya has seen a number of grenade attacks since 2011, when it invaded southern Somalia to try and oust al-Shabaab insurgents.

Lewthwaite, originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was named the most wanted woman in the world after being linked to the Westgate shopping massacre in Nairobi in which 70 people were killed.

A grenade attack in Kenya which killed three football fans who were watching the Italy vs England Euro 2012 game has also been linked to Lewthwaite.

The widow of 7/7 Kings Cross bomber Germaine Lindsay, Lewthwaite was arrested with her accomplice Grant in 2011 but escaped along with her three children. She has been on the run in Africa ever since. She is currently believed to be hiding in Somalia.

Following the grenade attack, Mombasa police say they have strengthened security in the area.

Mombasa's police chief Robert Kitur said: "We are appealing to everybody to exercise caution, especially over this festive season, and to share information with security agencies to win the war on terror.

"We have intensified security at tourist hotels and other vital installations to avert terrorism attacks."

-ibtimes.co.uk

Yemen TV airs horrific images of Qaeda-claimed assault

SANAA - Yemeni state television has aired horrific images of an Al-Qaeda-claimed assault on a defense ministry complex in Sanaa showing the assailants executing civilians and medics in cold blood.

The footage, taken from surveillance cameras, were aired on Yemen TV late on Wednesday and show the attack and its aftermath.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed the attack that took place on December 5 in broad daylight and killed 56 people.

The images show a car packed with explosives detonated at the gate to the complex, sending soldiers, medics and civilians gathered inside the compound running for cover.

After the blast, heavily armed militants dressed in combat fatigues are seen wandering through the corridors of the complex, shooting anyone they see, including a wounded female nurse who appears to be looking for help.

Another gunman in military uniform calmly approaches a group of people huddled in a corridor after the initial blast, before pulling a hand grenade from his jacket and hurling it at them.

The group scrabbles for cover, before the grenade explodes and smoke blocks the screen.

Elsewhere in the complex, a man with a young girl are seen looking for a place to hide. Their fate is not shown, while a doctor is seen running to rescue a wounded man before one of the attackers shoots both dead.

A preliminary report into the attack had said most of the attackers were Saudi.

Investigators had already said the assailants wore military fatigues and penetrated the sprawling Sanaa complex in the confusion created when the suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into the gate.

They said the bodies of 12 attackers were recovered after security forces retook the area.

Among the dead were medics from the Philippines, Germany, Vietnam and India. Civilian patients as well as soldiers were also killed, Yemen's supreme security committee had said.

No space outing but Roshini still has last laugh at the guys

(TMI)When she was picked for a Florida space camp, the male chauvinists came out of the
woodwork to attack her with derogatory remarks.

Postgraduate student Roshini Muniam's dream of becoming Malaysia’s first female astronaut may have crash-landed but she did join more than 100 participants in the United States for the programme.

Out of the number, only 23 were picked to go to space, of whom two were women – one each from Thailand and Norway.

“The fact that two women made it, regardless of whichever nation they are from, proves that women are capable after all,” she said on her Facebook page on December 6.

Netizens threw their support behind Roshini after she became a victim of trolls. They had targeted her profile which appeared on Axe deodorant’s Apollo Space Race Facebook page in September after she won an online competition to go to space.

One troll expressed surprise at a woman’s desire to go to space while another said women can't go to space when they menstruated.

The insulting posts were subsequently removed.

When the Malaysian leg of the competition closed on September 17, Roshini beat four male finalists to qualify as the country's sole representative to the Florida space camp.

Thanking everyone for their support, the 27-year-old said she was grateful for the experience, including getting a taste of G-Force and zero gravity and meeting American astronaut Edwin Eudgene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr, the second person to walk on the Moon.

“I hope my journey doesn't end here. It's for you to continue. Perseverance is a journey of discovery and self-realisation.

“One small experience for me, one big step for women and youth all over the world,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

Roshini’s Facebook page was swamped with congratulatory messages.

Rekha Dass said Roshini was an inspiration to youth, while Norhamidah Mohd Yusof wished her well in her future adventures, noting that she had accomplished a lot.

Roopa Yamini Fai Letchumann said Roshni was a symbol of pride for Malaysian women.

“Though you dint (sic) win the competition, you've proved that if you want something, you should go all out for it and the universe would favor those who persevere. Kudos!” – December 13, 2013.

'Loyar buruk' Surendran raises Ku Nan's ire

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today tagged PKR vice-president N Surendran "crazy" and a "loyar burok" (braggart) for likening the opposition's struggle against Umno to an "anti-apartheid" struggle.

"If Surendran says that Umno follows an apartheid system, please ask him how there are Indian and Chinese schools in this country?" Tengku Adnan asked during a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) training centre today.

"That is his problem. He wants to be popular, he wants people to pay him as a lawyer, he's a loyar burok. He's crazy, even in Parliament, the speaker told him to get out," he said.

Tengku Adnan has just returned from South Africa, where he represented the Malaysian government at the Nelson Mandela funeral in Suweto.

"Umno is an anti-apartheid party, that is why the government sent two ministers to represent Malaysia. I went to Africa representing the government and Umno," he said.

On Dec 9, Surendran had said that the Malaysian politician who comes closest in comparison with South Africa's iconic leader Mandela was Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Surendran himself was responding to Umno, after party president Najib Abdul Razak had, during the Umno AGM, likened Umno's struggle to Nelson Mandela's anti-apartheid struggle.

‘Syiah movement can lead to militant activities’

IGP also discloses the police are working closely with the respective state religious departments to monitor followers of the Syiah sect.
UPDATED

SHAH ALAM: The Syiah movement in the country if not monitored and controlled could lead to militant activities, the Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

Declaring that he was responsible for the country’s safety and maintaining peace and order, Khalid said the police did not want any situation that could disturb the nation’s peace and stability.

Yesterday, the Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government would go hard on Syiah actvities, which were banned in Malaysia.

The Home Ministry also issued a five-page statement outlining “evidence” of PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu being involved in Syiah activities.

Mohamad Sabu has since denied the allegation and was threatening legal action against the government.

The Syiah community was a movement with militant elements, Khalid told reporters at the Selangor police headquarters.

He also disclosed that the police were working closely with the respective state religious departments to monitor followers of the Syiah sect.

“Some followers who were arrested previously by the police were Syiah followers.

“We are working with Jakim (the Department of Islamic Development) to monitor their movements closely,” he added.

He said the government did “not want what happened in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to happen here.”

Khalid also said the ministry’s revelations on the Syiah sect yesterday were to alert the public.

He said the movement if not monitored and controlled could lead to militant activities.

“When it comes to the country’s safety, I am responsible for maintaining peace and order. We do not want any situation that can disturb the peace of our country.”

The top cop cited Pakistan as an example where tensions and clashes between the Sunnis and Syiah were frequent.

“We need to curb this from the start,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khalid addressing the media at Bukit Aman this afternoon said the police will work closely with JAKIM to curb Syiah teachings in the country.

He concurred with the idea mooted by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to have a police task force to counter syiah teachings.

He said the police will have further discussions with an aim of forming the task force as soon as possible.

Referring to countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, Khalid said discord between Sunni and Syiah followers had impacted the peace of these nations.

‘We will protest if silence continues’

A group of MIC leaders are planning a “huge” protest outside the party headquarters soon, as the MIC leadership continues its silence over the party's recent election.

PETALING JAYA: Disgruntled MIC leaders would hold a protest in front of the party headquarters if the party does not respond to allegations of malpractice in the just concluded party polls.

A MIC leader, who declined to be named, said a group of party leaders were planning the protest to pressure the MIC leadership to break its deafening silence over the allegations.

The MIC polls held on Nov 30 in Malacca, was marred with allegations of fraudulent votes being cast, among others.

The polls process came under close scrutiny after candidates found disparity between votes cast and ballots counted.

Several quarters have also alleged that the total number of delegates who voted to pick three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members were not identical.

The MIC held its internal elections to pick three vice presidents and 23 members to the party’s all powerful central working committee. A total eight candidates contested for the veep positions while a whopping 88 aspirants fought it out for the CWC seats.

Todate several leaders have tendered their appeal to the party leadership to declare the polls null and void due to the discrepancies.

Party president G Palanivel has yet to make an official stand on the matter. The president has also yet to appoint the party secretary general, treasurer general and the information chief.

Palanivel’s silence has thrown the party into confusion as leaders and members are unsure if the new leaders picked on Nov 30 are the actual office bearers of the party.

“Everyone is in the dark. We just cannot be issuing press statement one after another. The president must wake up and answer all the allegations. Otherwise, we have to wake him up by holding this protest.

“We know it is bad for party image. But we do not mind as our agenda is to save the party from sinking to a new low,” said the leader who declined to be named.

The leader also slammed Palanivel labeling him as “selfish and not fit to lead the party”.

“The party is in a crisis but Palanivel is enjoying his holidays overseas,” he said.

He said Palanivel was doing nothing to get back the trust of Indian community instead was only keen in holding on to the party presidency.

Meanwhile, when contacted, former MIC youth chief T Mohan confirmed that he has also sent in his appeal to the party headquarters demanding for a recount of votes.

Mohan said while he accepted defeat he was not satisfied the way the election was conducted.

“I strongly believe the election was not clean,” “For now I will wait for the president’s response. If he does not respond, I will discuss with other candidates on our next step,” he added.

Mohan contested the vice president post but lost coming in sixth of the eight candidates.

Hadi: Tongkat Ali, Kacip Fatimah berasal dari pengaruh Syiah

Hadi sedar fahaman itu tidak sesuai bagi masyarakat Islam di Malaysia dan bertegas menegah ahlinya daripada terpengaruh dengan perjuangan Syiah.

PETALING JAYA: Fahaman Syiah sudah bertapak lama di rantau ini sejak dulu sehinggakan budaya masyarakat tempatan tanpa sedar turut dipengaruhi oleh ajaran itu.

“PAS sudah mengerti betapa jahilnya masyarakat rantau ini dengan ajaran Islam, sehingga pengaruh Syiah telah pun mempengaruhi masyakat serantau alam Melayu secara bebal dengan menamakan herba tempatan yang dipercayai paling berkhasiat dengan panggilan Tongkat Ali dan Kacip Fatimah,” kata Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Tongkat Ali, atau nama saintifiknya Eurycoma longifolia (turut dikenali pasak bumi) dan Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila) merupakan sejenis herba tempatan digunakan secara tradisional bagi tujuan kesihatan dalaman.

Wujud dakwaan yang mengatakan tumbuhan terbabit dinamakan oleh pengikut Syiah sempena nama keluarga Nabi Muhammad SAW; Tongkat Ali (Saidina Ali bin Abi Thalib) Kacip Fatimah (Fatimah Az Zahra).

Hadi berkata, pihaknya bagaimanapun sedar fahaman itu tidak sesuai bagi masyarakat Islam di Malaysia dan bertegas menegah ahlinya daripada terpengaruh dengan perjuangan Syiah termasuk perkembangan Revolusi Iran.

“PAS tetap mendukung demokrasi dan bersedia menghadapi penipuannya dan ahlinya yang didapati terkeluar daripada landasannya.

“Sama ada terkeluar dengan sendirinya daripada PAS atau diambil tindakan setelah terbukti dengan adil tanpa menjejaskan dasar dan konsep perjuangan Islam mazhab Ahli Sunnah Wal Jama’ah (ASWJ) yang didukung oleh PAS secara istiqamah dan muhasabah,” katanya.

Tegasnya,PAS mempertahankan parti itu tetap teguh berpegang kepada ajaran ASWJ selaras dengan perlembagaan parti yang mewajibkan setiap ahlinya menganut fahaman tersebut.

Menurutnya, Fasal 7(1) Perlembagaan PAS menetapkan bahawa hukum tertinggi kepada PAS ialah Al Quran, Hadis, Ijma’ Ulama dan Qiyas; iaitu sumber hukum para ASWJ.

“Ini dengan sendirinya memberi makna bahawa setiap ahli PAS wajib menganut mazhab ASWJ dan tidak diizinkan mazhab yang lain.

“Perkara ini tidak ada dalam perlembagaan parti lain, termasuk UMNO sendiri,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Katanya, disebabkan prinsip itu PAS sendiri akan mengambil tindakan mengambil tindakan disiplin terhadap mana-mana ahlinya yang mengamalkan fahaman lain termasuk Syiah.

“Oleh kerana berprinsipkan ASWJ nilah maka Jawatankuasa Disiplin PAS boleh bertindak terhadap aliran mazhab yang lain dalam PAS, bukan sahaja dalam kes disiplin salah laku terhadap pentadbiran PAS,” katanya.

Namun beliau menegaskan pendirian itu tidak bermakna PAS dilarang mengadakan sebarang hubungan dengan pengikut mazhab lain dan semua pihak termasuk dikalangan bukan Islam.

“Begitulah PAS menyokong kerajaan Malaysia mengadakan hubungan diplomatik dengan Iran, Oman, termasuklah negara Barat dan Komunis,” katanya.

Beliau berkata umat Islam wajib kembali semula kepada budaya ilmu yang tinggi dengan menggunakan teknologi maklumat terkini bagi menolak mazhab yang lemah secara hujah, dalam masa yang sama menyedari adanya agenda penjajah baru yang mengulang tayang senario lama dengan solekan baru yang disesuaikan dengan situasi terkini.

Mengambil iktibar daripada krisis negara Islam di Timur Tengah, Hadi berkata PAS meletakkan langkah politik seperti yang ditetapkan dalam hukum agama dan tidak menjadikannya sebagai alat permainan untuk mendapat kuasa tanpa mengira dosa dan pahala.

“PAS pernah dituduh Syiah apabila menyokong Iran dalam perang teluk yang pertama, ketika Saddam Husain menyerang Iran dengan senjata barat, dan PAS pula menentang campur tangan Amerika menyerang Iraq, sikap yang berbeza dengan Iran.

“Bukan kerana menganut ideologi Parti Ba’ath, tetapi dapat membaca permainan politik serantau,” katanya.

Meeting racism

At the Dubai International Film Festival, the writer finds an unmistakable sign of discrimination, whose basis appeared to be the colour of one’s skin.
COMMENT

For years, every time people spoke about racism in the West, I would shut them up. I have never faced it, I would argue with them.

And in all the 30 years that I have been travelling to Europe and elsewhere outside India, my country, I have never seen racial prejudice.

It would have existed, but I have never been at the receiving end of it.

I would tell all those who complained about racism in the West that this was an evil seen widely in India as well. The racism against colour (the obsession with fair skin), the racism against caste and religion, and now that against the less well-to-do in society were everyday truths.

However, I did learn, much to my disappointment and dismay, that racism there indeed was outside Indian shores, only that it was subtly camouflaged.

And I faced it, and of all places in Dubai, a city that was literally built, brick by brick, by Indians and Pakistanis. Here I was an Indian made to feel somewhat unwelcome.

At the 10th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival – an annual event I have covered for many years – I found an unmistakable sign of discrimination, whose basis appeared to be the colour of one’s skin.

The other day, as I sat waiting for an interview with the Irish movie director, Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father, Dream House), I noticed to my utter disbelief that white journalists were getting longer time with Sheridan than what was allocated to me.

While I was given only 10 minutes with a director as renowned as Sheridan, there was certainly one white reporter from England who spent a good 20 minutes with the helmer. I timed this, and meticulously.

Not just this, the same British journalist got a full 20 minutes with Naomie Harris on a one-to-one session plus another 20 minutes with her in a round-table interview with five other scribes.

I got a place only in the round-table, and in the 20 minutes I got with the five others shooting sometimes inane questions, I need not have been part of this junket, a junket for which I had to hang around for nearly an hour.

Mind you, that British reporter was a freelancer, and with hardly the kind of credentials I have – 35 years in two of India’s most renowned dailies, The Statesman in Kolkata and The Hindu in Chennai. And now a columnist with one of the country’s biggest newspapers, Hindustan Times. I also write for a paper in the Gulf, and this one from Malaysia.

Yet, the London-based DDA Public Relations – in charge of interviews — chose to ignore me. Or at least, it did not think that I deserved more time.

Was India not important for DDA? Or, was the colour of my skin not fancy enough for Dubai? I would never know. But, then, now I do know that there is racism even in Dubai.

Gautaman Bhaskaran is India Editor of FMT, and Chennai-based author, columnist and movie critic. He may be emailed atgautamanb@hotmail.com

Ekonomi masih dimonopoli bukan Bumiputera, kata Naroden

Daripada 70 peratus (atau 1.96 juta) kaum Bumiputera ini hampir 100,000 orang atau hanya lima peratus sedang melibatkan diri dalam perniagaan secara kecil dan Mikro (PKM)

KUCHING: Kaum Bumiputera masih jauh di belakang dalam bidang ekonomi di negeri ini, dan ia masih dimonopoli oleh kaum bukan Bumiputera.

Menteri Muda di Pejabat Ketua Menteri (Pembangunan Usahawan Bumiputera) Datuk Haji Mohd Naroden Majais berkata, jika dilihat pecahan penduduk negara ini mengikut kaum daripada 28 juta penduduk, 60 peratus adalah kaum Bumiputera dan 40 peratus kaum bukan Bumiputera, di Sarawak daripada 2.8 juta penduduk, 70 peratus kaum Bumiputera dan 30 peratus bukan Bumiputera.

“Daripada 70 peratus (atau 1.96 juta) kaum Bumiputera ini hampir 100,000 orang atau hanya lima peratus sedang melibatkan diri dalam perniagaan secara kecil dan Mikro (PKM), hanya 45,000 orang (atau 2.3 peratus) sedang giat dalam perniagaan dalam Kategori Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS),” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap di Seminar Mengenai Peluang Bumiputera Dalam Peruntukan Saham Khas MITI dan Analisis Pelaburan Dalam Syarikat Berhad di salah sebuah hotel terkemuka di sini, hari ini.

Katanya, jika dilihat kaum Bumiputera adalah kaum yang terbesar dan kaum Bumiputera penyumbang kumpulan ‘pekerja’ dan kumpulan pasaran terbesar dalam Pembangunan Ekonomi Negeri.

“Oleh itu, program-program memperkasa kaum Bumiputera ini harus kita laksanakan untuk menseimbangkan jurang perbezaan ini dengan tidak menjejaskan keistimewaan kaum-kaum lain,” ujarnya.

Katanya, dengan keseimbangan jurang perbezaan itu nanti kerajaan ingin melihat semua rakyat akan dapat memaanfaatkan kesejahteraan, keharmonian serta kestabilan politik yang sedang dinikmati selama ini dengan lebih bermakna lagi.

“Jadi, untuk mengurangkan ketidak seimbangan antara kaum ini kaum Bumiputera harus lebih agresif dalam merebut segala peluang-peluang yang telah disediakan oleh Kerajaan baik dari segi latihan generik dan latihan kemahiran teknikal, bantuan-bantuan kewangan, promosi, pemasaran dan sebagainya,” jelasnya.

Katanya, semua program itu adalah semata-mata untuk memperkasakan masyarakat perdagangan dan perindustrian Sarawak supaya lebih banyak mencebur diri dalam apa jua jenis perniagaan untuk meningkatkan pendapatan diri dan seterusnya menyumbang kepada Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Negara dan Negeri.

“Adalah menjadi harapan seminar yang penuh keilmuan ini amat penting bukan serta memberi pengetahuan peluang-peluang pelaburan serta saham-saham di bawah peruntukan MITI dan agensi-agensinya,” tambahnya.

Malah, katanya, seminar seperti itu penting bagi menyampaikan hasrat kerajaan untuk mengajak lebih ramai rakyat Sarawak khususnya kaum Bumiputera supaya turut serta menyertai program pelaburan yang dianjurkan kerajaan.

“Kita ingin memastikan lebih ramai kaum Bumiputera memiliki ekuiti dan saham dalam peruntukan yang disediakan oleh kerajaan, ini selaras dengan visi dan misi Perdana Menteri melalui pengumuman beliau dua bulan yang lalu supaya lebih ramai Bumiputera memegang Ekuiti dalam Ekonomi Negara,” katanya.

Menurutnya lagi, masyarakat tidak ada pilihan lain melainkan memperkasakan kaum Bumiputera supaya mereka berupaya melihat segala peluang-peluang yang ada dan seterusnya berjaya mengambil bahagian dalam Pembangunan Ekonomi Negara.

“Dengan ini jurang perbezaan dari segi Pendapatan, Pemilikan Ekuiti dalam Hartanah, Bangunan Perumahan dan Komersial dan seterusnya dalam Pembangunan Ekonomi melalui perniagaan akan dapat dikurangkan,” katanya.

The Star reporter awarded for story on plight of orang asli

The Star 

PETALING JAYA: The Star journalist Isabelle Lai (pic) has picked up a special recognition award for her work on the plight of the orang asli in Kelantan at the 2013 regional Indigenous Voices in Asia awards.

The awards were held in conjunction with Human Rights Day on Dec 10 and organised by the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) to acknowledge media professionals who cover issues on indigenous people.

In her Dec 28 story titled Orang Asli Logged Out, Lai wrote that an estimated 10,000 orang asli are living in dire straits due to extensive logging and forest conversion.

She visited several orang asli villages in Gua Musang to take a look at how they were now surrounded by vast areas of logged forest which had been converted to monocrop industrial plantations.

The years of logging have caused small animals such as squirrels, monkeys and wildboars, which are hunted by the orang asli, to decrease drastically.

“I also interviewed several orang asli activists who are now fighting to have their land rights legally recognised. They claim that all of these activities have been done throughout the years with no prior consultation, as well as with little regard for their well-being,” said Lai, who received a cash award of US$300 (RM963.33) and a certificate.

Society of Indonesian Environ-mental Journalists chief editor IGG MahaAdi picked up the outstanding reporting award, while AFP’s Nepal correspondent Deepak Adhikari also received a special recognition award.

Cops Rescue Abducted Baby

GEORGE TOWN, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Police have rescued a seven-month-old baby girl who was reported abducted from her grandmother's home in Air Itam here Thursday after arresting a senior citizen believed to have bought the child.

Penang Criminal Investigation Department chief, SAC Mazlan Kesah said police, acting on a tip-off, arrested the baby's 'buyer', a 60-year-old man in Balik Pulau, Friday afternoon.

He said the baby was reportedly abducted by two women at about 3pm when they visited the baby's grandmother's house in Air Itam on the pretext of taking the baby to play.

"The grandmother allowed them to take the baby because she knew one of the women, aged 43 years, but the grandmother began to suspect something was amiss when the two women did not return after 30 minutes," he told reporters, in George Town.

"The grandmother then attempted to contact the suspect but did not get an answer and she then lodged a police report at 7pm. The grandmother knew the 43-year-old suspect as they used to work together as security guards," said Mazlan.

Police then tracked her down to a house in Tanjong Tokong and arrested her. She told the police that she had sold the baby to an elderly man for RM3,000.

He added that police were tracking down all the suspects involved in the case.

In another development, Mazlan said police arrested three men believed to be 'transporters' for a syndicate that brought in 38 Myanmar and Bangladesh nationals in Seberang Perai Utara, last week.

"We've arrested 13 members of the syndicate, believed to be the largest alien smuggling syndicate in the north. The syndicate is manned by foreigners. Two of them have been charged," he said.

On Dec 1, Penang police rescued 38 Myanmar and Bangladeshi men who were in a physically weak condition because they were not being fed properly by a syndicate which brought in foreigners, in a house in Bagan Jermal, Butterworth.

India's 5 year old 'Google Boy'

A five year-old Indian boy has been given the title 'Google boy' by the local media for his incredible ability to remember facts. At an age when his other friends are learning basic reading and writing Kautilya Pandit answers complicated question about world geography, per capita income, gross domestic product and global politics. Jasvinder Sehgal went to meet him in his village 90 miles from the Indian capital of New Delhi.

Home Ministry reveals Mat Sabu's Shiite 'connection'

Footage of cruelty to Australian cattle in Gaza sparks Opposition concern over live exports

Gaza, Oct 2013 from Animals Australia on Vimeo.

The Opposition says footage that appears to show Australian cattle being beaten, stabbed and dragged in Gaza may warrant a suspension of trade licences.

Animals Australia has released footage that it says was filmed in the Gaza Strip in October.

The Department of Agriculture has been investigating a possible breach of the live export regulatory regime for more than a month.

In a statement the department said it believed, based on appearance, some cattle in the footage are Australian.

"However, we are working to determine the circumstances surrounding this incident including verifying the source, date, time and location of the footage," the statement said.

"The department, as the regulator or the livestock export trade, takes all reports of animal welfare breaches seriously, and investigates all complaints against the relevant regulatory framework."

Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon has seen the footage and says the Department of Agriculture should act quickly.

"I'm calling upon the department to seriously consider very quickly issuing 'just cause' notices to any company it's investigating as a result of these allegations," he said.

"The 'just cause' notice of course will put the onus on company to show cause why their licence should not be suspended until that investigation is complete.

"My concern is that there is no indication that investigation will be complete by the end of this year and indeed it's likely to be well into the new year before the department comes to any conclusions."

Greens MP Adam Bandt has also seen the video, and says his party will re-introduce legislation to end the live export trade and shift to processed meat exports.

"I think anyone who watches this footage and sees images of Australian cattle being stabbed in the eye, having their throats slit while still alive and being taunted and tortured would understand that now is the time to end the live export trade," he said.

Animals Australia says it has distributed the footage to all members of Parliament.
Footage part of a 'vendetta', graziers say

But Nationals MP Andrew Broad says he has not seen the video.

"Let's be clear about this. We live in the real world, the world where we've got to export products, where we provide meat for developing countries," he said.

"Some countries in the world such as Jordan, a very high proportion of their red meat protein comes out of live exports and we're always there, always trying to lift the standards of animal welfare."

Meanwhile, the WA Pastoralists and Graziers Association (PGA) says it believes much of the footage released by animal welfare groups showing alleged mistreatment of Australian livestock overseas was a "constructed set-up".

Singling out Animals Australia, PGA president Rob Gillam said while the revelations were disturbing, there was a good chance it was part of a "vendetta" against livestock producers.

"It always seems to come from Animals Australia and we don't seem to hear them having much of a problem with how animals in the rest of the world are treated," he said.

"It would appear that Animals Australia seem to be carrying out a worldwide vendetta against Australian livestock exporters and farmers.

"They always seem to be able to come up with some dreadful footage and I'm not so sure that a lot of this stuff is not set up."

Lack of benchmarking, bad decisions bringing education standard down, says former deputy minister

The failure to benchmark local education with international standards and not allowing schools and
other stakeholders to make decisions that affect students are the key reasons the Malaysian education system is on the decline, said experts.

Former deputy education minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong (pic) noted that Malaysia was not up to mark in terms of education, even though Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin insisted it was, simply because, "we have not benchmarked our standards with the international level of education".

"That's why we have students scoring a string of As here but when it comes to international exams, they can't make it," he told The Malaysian Insider today, referring to Malaysia's dismal performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa).

The country only managed a poor 55th ranking out of 65 countries in the Pisa, which was done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Malaysia's performance in the assessment of 15-year-olds using tests for maths, reading and science has been criticised by several opposition leaders who are calling for a major revamp of the education system.

Wee pointed out that Muhyiddin's statement showed that Malaysia was still trying to convince itself that its education standards was "not bad".

"We tell ourselves that it's not that we are not bad, it's just that other countries are really good because they have this and that.

"But this is not a valid excuse. If other countries can improve and we can't, then our standards will drop," he added.

Wee, who was deputy education minister from 2008 till early this year, said that national examinations in the country have been made too easy compared with years ago when it was tougher to pass.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan, however, disagreed, noting that the government was already embarking on programmes to benchmark the education system here with international standards.

"We have been doing that by sitting for the Pisa assessment. The government is interested in improving the system.

"The main trouble with our education system is the desire to maintain centralisation of control," he opined.

For most countries with good education systems, Wan Saiful revealed, important decisions were made by stakeholders.

"These are people who are closer to students.

"But in Malaysia, the same decisions on policies are made by those furthest from the students, such as the minister. And it does not help that most educational policies we have are geared for political purposes," he said.

The average mean score in the Pisa test is 494 and the survey tested 510,000 students aged 15 last year, covering three examination sections, mathematics, science and reading ability. Malaysia obtained a mean score of 421.

Even Vietnam ranked 17th in the survey with 511 points while Shanghai-China scored 613 to take first place in the rankings.

Meanwhile, there has been no let-up from DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, who continued to question Muhyiddin's silence over the Pisa rankings.

The Gelang Patah MP has been on a warpath with the Education Minister since the results of the assessment was announced recently.

"Malaysia’s declining educational standards is presently a taboo subject for the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Education Minister who does not want to talk or be asked about it, especially after two events in December which highlighted the sad reality that the education system in Malaysia is facing a real crisis of confidence," Lim said in a statement today.

He was referring to the Pisa tests and the World Bank's report that: “Among East Asian countries that participated in the 2012 Pisa, Malaysian students only outperform their Indonesian peers, and lag even lower-income countries (including by a wide margin, Vietnam).”

Lim also criticised the ministry's answer to resolve the issue by forming yet another committee to improve Malaysia's ranking.

In response to the Pisa survey, the education ministry was reported as saying that the special committee would be led by the curriculum development section and would also comprise professional sections from the ministry.

The task of the committee is to identify and monitor initiatives to improve students' performance in international assessments such as Pisa.

In a statement, it said although the recent Pisa results were not encouraging, the authorities were confident that the Malaysian Education Development Plan 2013-2025 would help Malaysia to achieve a better ranking in the next Pisa instalment.

"Clearly, the person responsible for the ministry's statement does not know what is in the National Education Blueprint, for it is not about “getting a better position in Pisa 2015” but breaking out of the bottom-third Pisa bracket and achieving the international Pisa average in the 2015 Pisa and 2018 Pisa, and breaking into a top-third Pisa bracket in the 2021 Pisa ," Lim said.

"In other words, can Malaysia become a 'wonder nation' to achieve what no other country had ever achieved in three Pisa evaluations – a double quantum jump from bottom-third to top-third Pisa brackets?"- December 12, 2013.

Mat Sabu: I'm a Khomeini admirer, not a Shiite

The list of 10 things given by the Home Ministry allegedly "proving" that PAS number two Mohamad Sabu is a Shiite adherent is not enough to the accused.

In an immediate reaction, the politician better known as Mat Sabu stood firm on his earlier denial.

"About the allegation that I was impressed with Khomeini, I say thanks. I am an admirer of his leadership because he is a leader who brought Muslims to stand on their own," he said.

"I am also an admirer of Hassan Nasrullah (Lebanese Shiite leader)," he added.

He added he will make a further statement after meeting with his lawyer this Sunday.

Mat Sabu's unflappable response was matched by former education deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right).

Apparently ridiculing the ministry's "evidence", the now chief executive officer of the government initiative Global Movement of Moderates, said that he, too, is a Khomeini admirer.

"I admire (South African leader Nelson) Mandela, (Cuban communist fighter) Che Guevera, (Indian independence activist) Ghandi and (Indian nun) Mother Theresa.

"Does that make me a Christian, Communist and Hindu? I too admire Khomeini. Am I a Shiite?" he asked on Twitter.
Wrong priorities?
Similarly, former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim said being a Khomeini admirer has no bearing on one's faith.

"What has happened... what is wrong with admiring Khomeini? Or Martin Luther or Confucious? It does not mean I've change religions or faith. Absurd," he tweeted.

Former Perlis mufti and prominent scholar Asri Zainul Abidin, in response, told the ministry to also watch their own.

"The Home Ministry should also monitor in case there are 'Shiites in Sunni clothes' within the ministry," he tweeted.

The Home Ministry's press conference also "amused" Selangor Speaker Hannah Yeoh.

"Home Ministry never fails to amuse me. Surely their resources and time can be better spent on fighting crime than fighting Mat Sabu," she said on Twitter.

Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang, however, seemed unable to contain his excitement.

"We have to be fair to PAS's Mat Sabu. We haven't seen the evidence and video. Let's wait for the news tonight via TV3's (prime time news) Buletin Utama. 8 pm!!!" he tweeted.

The list of 10 evidences presented by the Home Ministry today are that Mat Sabu had:

• Used Khomeini as an example of a good leader in a Harakah article in 2008;

• Confessed to be an admirer Khomeini in his speech on Jun 13, 2011;

• Frequently visits Shiite-majority Iran, as per the testimony of Home Ministry officer Zamihan Mat Zin;

• Recites the selawat (praises for the prophet) the Shiite way at a PAS ceramah in Arau, Perlis in 2005, as claimed by Zamihan;

• Uses a small stone when he performs the sujud (prostrate to Allah in prayer) as per Shiite practice, as claimed by one "Abdul Rahim", a grassroots religious teacher from Pendang, Kedah that Mat Sabu in Umno blog 'Duke of Umno';

• Professed admiration for Shiite Lebanese leader Hassan Nasrullah and said he and his wife frequetly visits Hassan, as claimed by Jalur Tiga NGO;

• Cited Shiite ulamas in his Christmas Day message to Christians published in Harakah Daily in 2008;

• Attended a "Shiite class" conducted by two "Shiite ulamas" in Bukit Merah, Perak in 2011;

• Visited a "Shiite mosque" in Satun, Thailand in 2011;

• Is a "Shiite icon", as claimed by Jalur Tiga (Jati) deputy president Aidit Ghazali in an interview in news portal Antara Pos.

World Bank sees tough 2014 for Malaysian households

Malaysians winding down for the year-end may already have to start bracing for tough times in 2014, the World Bank says.

According to its Economic Monitor report on the country released on Dec 10, household expenditures will take a hit as the government continues to cut subsidies and other policies.

It said that even with cash aids like the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), households will need to tighten their belts, leading to a dip in private consumption.

It also said that BR1M will cost the government RM7.1 billion, so the actual cut in fuel subsidy is expected to expand from 23 percent today to 28.6 percent in 2014 to meet savings targets.

Happily, however, the World Bank expects inflation to rise “only modestly” in 2014 from 2.3 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent, due to benign supply conditions such as weak commodity prices.

“Reduced energy subsidies, not only in terms of additional fuel price hikes but also an adjustment of electricity tariffs, may have a knock-on impact on consumer prices, as may the wider introduction of the minimum wage.

“Private consumption may also be negatively affected by possible interest rate hikes and tighter credit markets, with signs of weaker credit expansion already appearing this year,” the report said.

It added that poor prospects for agriculture commodities will also bring pain to smallholders. This would include the roughly 420,000 smallholders under the Federal Land Development Agency (Felda) scheme.

However, the World Bank said, firm employment and wages as well as higher welfare cash aid like the BR1M can help to ease the pain for households to an extent.

Even then, it said, private consumption growth to slide to 6.5 percent in 2014, a significant dip from 8.4 percent in 2013.

The World Bank expects private consumption to pick up to 7.2 percent in 2015, but this will still be lower than 2012 figures, where private consumption grew by 7.7 percent.

“Growth in government consumption will come in at 6.0 percent in 2013 (largely due to high growth in the second and third quarters) before contracting in 2014 by 0.1 percent,” it said.
Gov’t must watch its spending

It said that while subsidy cuts are an effort to reign-in the deficit, the coffers will be hit by a reduction in oil-related revenue.

There will be a potential boost in corporate and personal taxes, despite tax breaks offered in the Budget, but it will not be enough to truly reel in the deficit.

“Therefore, the reduction in the deficit will need to be achieved through expenditure restraint,” the Economic Monitor report said.

It said the government’s efforts will mean lower development levels, with debt-to-GDP ratio expected to drop from 54.8 percent to 54.3 percent.

“Long-term fiscal sustainability will require continuing on the path of consolidation, while carefully monitoring and managing contingent liabilities and other sources of fiscal risk,” it said.

The debt-to-GDP ratio does not take into account contingent liabilities, which include government-backed bonds and other guaranteed debt by government-linked corporations.

Uthayakumar's appeal finally fixed for Jan 15

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) de facto leader P Uthayakumar will finally have his appeal over his sedition conviction heard on Jan 15 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The appeal will be heard before Justice Azman Hussain.

This follows the Sessions Court had submitted its written grounds on the conviction dated Nov 22, and Uthayakumar’s lawyer M Manoharan had submitted 130 grounds of appeal or errors to the decision in seven volumes comprising of 2,224 pages.

He said the date was decided by the KL High Court during case management recently.

Manoharan (right) said the grounds prepared by the Sessions judge was only received on Nov 25, five months after the court decision, and only after five case management sittings.

“We would like to express our appreciation to the Chief Judge of Malaya (Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin) for responding to our request, and assuring that the written grounds would be ready by Nov 22 after we had written in earlier,” he told Malaysiakini.

Ideally, as commented by Chief Justice Ariffin Zakaria recently, a judge or judicial officer should have their written grounds ready within eight weeks or two months after an appeal has been filed.

Uthayakumar was convicted and sentenced to two years and six months jail by the Sessions Court on June 5, this year for making seditious statements in 2007, after the court found that his defence failed to raise a reasonable doubt.

He was convicted of publishing seditious material in a letter written between Nov 15 and Dec 8, 2007, to then-British prime minister Gordon Brown, in which he alleged state-sponsored social ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Indian poor in Malaysia. The letter was posted on the now-defunct Police Watch website.

Uthayakumar has chosen to serve jail while waiting for the appeal.

'Political comments not seditious'

Manoharan also said among the main grounds of appeal was that political comments cannot amount to sedition.

"What Uthayakumar states in the letter is within the realm of political comments as under Section 3(2) of the Sedition Act, that notwithstanding anything in the subsection (1), pointing out errors or defects in any government or constitution as by law established, does not constitute sedition," he asserted.

Manoharan also pointed out that Uthayakumar had already served detention under the Internal Security Act where he was held for one year and six months, with other Hindraf leaders. (Manoharan himself was one of them).

Hence, this sedition conviction amounts to duplicity of punishment, said the lawyer.

In addition to this, Manoharan said there was not a single police report lodged against Uthayakumar for the letter, so how could the prosecution say it was seditious?

This, the lawyer pointed out, was unlike Karpal Singh's case where he allegedly uttered seditious remarks against the Perak ruler during the constitutional crisis, where many police reports were lodged.

"In Uthayakumar's case there is no police report. So how can the authorities classify what he had wrote as sedition?"

Manoharan added that the Kuala Lumpur High Court had also ordered during the case management that the prison authorities refer Uthayakumar to a neurosurgeon.

However this has yet to be done.

"Uthayakumar suffers from back pain and also diabetes complications and requires medical attention,"  he revealed.

Manoharan said as he informed the court that Uthayakumar could be classified as a political prisoner, the court has agreed to hold him in isolation.

"The deputy registrar will write that Uthayakumar be placed in the prison's safety division or in its hospital division," he said.

Zahid: No need for Sunni-Syiah talks

There is no need for a debate on the two major faiths in Islam – Sunni and Syiah – as it will not solve the problem, says Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has rejected a call to have an open debate to end the dispute between two the largest sectarian belief in Islam – the Sunni and Syiah.

Ahmad Zahid was commenting on a statement made by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Hasmy Agam last week that a more intellectual discussion was needed to deal with the controversial subject.

“There is no need for a dialogue because it has nothing to do with human rights.

“What is there to discuss? This is a problem between to sects, not about humans,” he told FMT today.

In a recent report, Hasmy Agam has called for talks between the country’s predominant Sunni Muslims and the minority Syiah Muslims.

Hasmy Agam said the freedom to practise different faiths under the Federal Constitution should be extended to other denominations within Islam.

Ahmad Zahid then slammed the Syiah teaching by labelling its followers as cheaters, liars and pretenders.

“This is about the akidah (faith) of a Muslim. I can’t let this happen,” he said.

According to Washington-based Pew Research Centre, Syiahism is the second largest denomination of Islam, making up 10% to 20% of the global Muslim population of about 1.6 billion.

The issue has caught the attention of many international scholars who described it as a violation against freedom of religion.

Many have also accused the government of being a hypocrite as Malaysia is seen to have a good relationship with Iran, a predominantly Syiah Muslim nation.

‘Destroying candi as bad as murder’

Bujang Valley Study Circle chief V Nadarajan nevertheless welcomes rebuilding effort.

PETALING JAYA: Destroying a candi is equivalent to murder, according to Bujang Valley Study Circle chairman V Nadarajan.

He made the comment as he welcomed Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir’s announcement that the the candi at Bujang Valley Site 11 would be rebuilt.

“It would not be as authentic, but it teaches a lesson to those who destroy it,” he told FMT today. “Destroying it is equivalent to premeditated murder.”

Mukhriz said yesterday that the construction company that destroyed the candi had agreed to rebuild the the historical site at its own expense.

Controversy regarding the famed 8th century temple remnants known as Candi Sungai Batu or Bujang Valley Site 11 arose on Nov 29 when it was reported to have been destroyed by a housing developer.

The Tourism and Culture Ministry declared the area as a heritage site on Dec 3. The site has also been shortlisted for Unesco consideration as a world heritage site.

Kedah exco Tajul Urus Mat Zain added a new dimension to the controversy during the recent Umno general assembly when he said that gazetting the location as a heritage site would rob BN politicians of Malay votes.

This will not be the first time that Candi Sungai Batu will be rebuilt. It was damaged at least once before the recent destruction, but was reconstructed in 1974.

Bujang Valley is one of the earliest entry points to the Malay peninsula for ancient Indian sailors.

Excavations at the archaeological site have revealed the remains of a jetty, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back to 110 AD, which makes it the oldest man-made structure known in Southeast Asia.

Nadarajan, who is the author of Bujang Valley: Wonder That Was Ancient Kedah, recommended that the developer consult himself and the head of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Global Centre for Archaeology, Mokhtar Saidin, in its reconstruction effort.

“Mokhtar can reconstruct and I can assist,” he said. “I have seen it 20 to 30 times and I have plenty of photographs.”

New classrooms with no furniture

A Tamil school has a new RM3 million building with nothing in it.

PETALING JAYA: A Tamil school in Bukit Tinggi, Klang, has a new block of 20 classrooms, but the students and teachers who will occupy them may have to sit on the floor when school reopens next month.

The Ladang Highlands Tamil School has been waiting for furniture for the new building since February, when the school’s advisory board wrote to the Education Ministry for the provision.

R Kannan, the board member who wrote the letter, told FMT today that the ministry had yet to reply.

The school was established 103 years ago, when Bukit Tinggi was still a rubber plantation area.

“Even as late as 2005, we only had 65 pupils,” Kannan said. “However, by 2011, the number had soared to 900, compelling the Parent-Teacher Association to apply for an additional building to be built.”

In January 2012, the Education Ministry dished out RM3 million, allocated directly from the Prime Minister’s Department, for the construction of a four-storey building to house 20 classrooms.

The building was completed in August this year.

“But we were shocked when the Klang District Education Department told us that they will not be providing us with furniture,” said Kannan, who added that the application for the new building included a request for furniture.

He said the PTA had sent numerous letters to the relevant government agencies but had received no reply.

“Even Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan and National Tamil Schools Transformation Unit head NS Rajandran have not come back to us on the matter.

“I’m baffled as to why the ministry is not providing us with furniture when national schools gets state-of-the-art facilities when they get new buildings.”

He said the school urgently needed the furniture because there were only three weeks left before the new school session.

A check by FMT showed that the new building has yet to receive its certificate of fitness.

Palani must break out of his cocoon

The MIC president has still not announced the official line-up and without the CWC members named it is difficult to hear complaints of irregularities in the party polls.

PETALING JAYA: MIC president G Palanivel’s silence on alleged irregularities during the party polls to pick three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members is leading the party to uncertainty.

The polls process came under close scrutiny after candidates found disparity between votes cast and ballots counted.

There were also speculations as to why a delegate was given access to secretariat and security management duties which further raised questions on the polls’ integrity.

An MIC election steering committee source told FMT that any complaint regarding the polls should be made to the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC).

“The party has a set of election by-laws introduced in 2003 and applied for the polling process which took place in Malacca on Nov 30 and Dec 1.

“Most of the delegates believed that the party constitution comprises everything including the polls process, but they have forgotten or neglected the election by-laws,” said the election committee member.

The member also pointed out to Part VIII, Disputes column, Article 8 which states that:

“If any candidate is aggrieved with the manner in which the elections have been conducted or with decision of the returning officer he may appeal within seven days of the elections to the Central Working Committee whose decision thereon shall be final”.

A check with another veteran party leader, who also declined to be named, confirms that the CWC has to be convened soon to hear the polls irregularities.

The former party leader said since the complaints were made against the election committee, the CWC was the authorised entity to hear the complaints.

The party has nt held its CWC meeting since the polls, and Palanivel has yet to announce the list of office bearers.

“The first thing that needs to be done is to quickly re-appoint the secretary-general and treasurer-general or if the president wants to bring in new faces, has to be done swiftly.

“Secondly, the president has to instruct the secretary-general to call for a CWC meeting to hear the complaints,” said the veteran leader.

President’s credibility affected

He added that the delay in naming the new line-up had created more unrest among party members.

Not only that, it boils down to the credibility of the president to manage the party.

“The president talked about transformation in his opening speech, but it looks like he is failing in his responsibilities and incapable to make decisions for the benefit of the party.

“Whether it is a wise or bad decision, the president has to stop dragging his feet,” he said.

It is also widely speculated that the president has succumbed to a major force that is intervening to replace the secretary-general and treasurer-general as well as the nine CWC positions that need to be appointed.

The party chief has yet to make any public statement in the wake of increasing allegations of wrong-doings at the polls.

Two former party Youth chiefs T Mohan and SA Vigneswaran had publicly questioned the integrity of the election committee. There have also been calls for a re-election.

On another front, a party election committee member confirmed the presence of a woman, called Mala, in the counting and tabulation of votes.

Two days ago, MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam pointed the finger at the president to decide if a re-election was needed following allegations of unfair practices.

The president has to break his silence since the confusion among the party members could lead to leadership distrust and further divide the party.

I do care about Malays

Of late I’ve been receiving harsh retorts and brickbats from some Malays. They are upset with my views about UMNO policies, especially my argument that Malays don’t need special attention or preferences to empower them or to make them successful. They say I am ungrateful since UMNO made me rich.

The thrust of my argument is that Malays just need fair policies, right attitudes and a good work ethic. We need a Government that gives us fair and equal opportunities to do well. In fact, I think the present preferential policies are too arbitrary and will make Malays fail at their endeavours—with the exception of a lucky few, of course.

Today, I want to reply to the propaganda that I am rich and ungrateful to UMNO. Such attacks are an easy way for UMNO to whip up emotions without acknowledging—let alone responding to—any of my arguments. They like to “shame” their enemies in the eyes of the public so that real issues are forgotten.

I want to remind Malays that they don’t need to be “enslaved” by UMNO . There is no need to feel that our whole existence depends on the party. It’s this mental slavery that is keeping Malays downtrodden and impoverished. So here is the truth:

I was never a high-ranking official in UMNO despite being a member for 25 years. The best I could achieve was Division Head of Kota Bharu, and that was after 10 years of trying. Three years after that, I was suspended. I was not given a chance to contest the Kota Bharu parliamentary seat in the 2008 elections although I was the incumbent and the first UMNO candidate to have won the seat (in 2004) after 15 years of opposition rule.

As an UMNO Division Head you get to be a Datuk; and yes I got mine from a former Chief Minister of Melaka. So it’s true that, if not for UMNO, I would probably be an Encik today.

It’s also true that I was made a director of Tenaga Nasional Berhad for three years, and it’s probably true that if I had not been an UMNO MP I would probably not have been given this opportunity. It’s also true that I was a Minister for nine months, which would not have happened if not for UMNO. But all these appointments did not make me rich. I have never been rich.

I was never an “UMNO lawyer”. Yes, legal work for the North-South Highway concession was handled by my firm, but that was because of the kindness of Tan Sri Halim Saad who wanted to help a poor fellow from Kota Bharu start something useful. I did not get UMNO to pressure Halim to appoint me because I didn’t know any of the top leaders. I was a nobody.

Yes, I used the opportunity to build the firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co. but I was not (and have never been) an UMNO lawyer. If you want to know the real UMNO lawyers when all the deals were done, you should talk to Tun Zaki Tun Azmi, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Manaff, Tan Sri Zulhasnan Rafique, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Tan Sri Cecil Abraham and the other big names.

During the 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election (which I lost) the same attacks were thrown at me: I was an ungrateful Melayu who bit the hand that fed me. I asked these accusers to present the list of shares that I allegedly received from them, as well as the projects, concessions, APs, licences and monopolies I supposedly enjoyed. They also claimed I owned some listed companies.

There was no proof because I owned none of these things. So how on earth could I be rich?

What was I supposed to do with APs, concessions and projects anyway? I’m not a businessman. I’m a lawyer with a penchant for getting into trouble. I’d have had to ask a Chinese businessman to run these projects for me, thus contributing to the Ali Baba syndrome that UMNO leaders were railing against at the time.

Similarly, I wouldn’t have been able to bear the guilt of depriving genuine Malay entrepreneurs of the opportunity to grow. I really believed then that UMNO wanted to make Malays economically and educationally as strong as—not “stronger than”—everybody else in the greater Malaysian community. To deprive Malays of that opportunity would be a terrible fraud. I’d be guilty of hypocrisy at best, treachery at worst.

So that’s why I’m not rich. I like to tell myself that I’m happy, at least.

But the truth is I’m not. The fiction that I’m rich perpetuates the mantra that any Malay who has achieved anything in life owes it all to UMNO. The enslaving of the Malay mind is important for UMNO, so that the whole existence of a Malay is predicated on being subservient to the party.

The Malay psyche is nurtured and developed by this false propaganda so Malays are convinced that they are unable to survive on their own. In other words, UMNO’s continued existence depends on Malays being enslaved in this way.

This makes me extremely unhappy.

My criticism of UMNO, including its philosophy of mental slavery, stems from my strong belief that Malays have been “spoilt” by UMNO’s false values. UMNO teaches values that will keep Malays dependent and poor while making them greedy and utterly paranoid. What does this do to the Malay soul? What does it do to the Malaysian soul when the largest community is so terribly afraid not just of other communities but of its own shadow as well?

I care about Malays and that’s why I want an open debate to discuss how to really empower the Malay community in the correct, unbigoted, and non-racialised, way. I see changes in values, educational reforms and cultural progress as critical to the development of the Malays. What doesn’t work is the mixture of handouts, chest-thumping and looking for imaginary bogeymen under the bed.

If you want to empower Malays, be sincere and do it properly. It’s in the interest of Malaysians that all our communities progress together. Empowerment, which must start with Malays, must end by being for all Malaysians.

However, UMNO isn’t interested in changing the Malays, let alone Malaysians. They just want to rule forever.

And here’s a parting note:

I’ve been in semi-retirement for some time now. If you remember, I resigned from Zaid Ibrahim & Co. and gave up all my shares when I became a Minister. The upshot is that my savings are depleting quickly and, as such, I plan to go back to work in 2014 by opening an office to do some consultancy. This means I’ll be running around getting things done for clients. Like everyone else, I’ll appreciate any business that comes my way, but I hope to be paid promptly and that not too many people ask for discounts that I can’t afford to give.

So much for the life of a man made rich by UMNO, eh?

Singapore Bans its First Internet Website

Shutdown ends hands-off policy put in place in 1996
Singapore’s Media Development Agency has shut down its first Internet site, an innocuous fledgling called the Breakfast Network that was run by Bertha Henson, a former journalist with Singapore Press Holdings who now is a journalist in residence at a local college while acting as a media consultant.
The action was taken under media guidelines published in May that required all Internet sites to register with the government if they have 50,000 unique visitors a month. They must put up S$50,000 bond if they report more than one article a week on Singapore-related news over a period of two months. If the government objects to an article, it must be taken down within 24 hours.
The registration and banning puts an end to 17 years of so-called “light touch” regulation put in place by the Media Development authority to foster the country’s image of high-tech communications to lure western technology and communications companies.
The Breakfast Network didn’t appear to be doing anything sinister beyond not bothering to register – which may have been more out of not being prepared than any defiance. Henson said in a parting posting that she had only started the website to give journalism students at her college the opportunity to write and publish under professional guidelines and standards.
“Singapore’s vibrant ecosystem of socio-political blogs was spared the discretionary licensing regime that has blocked the development of alternative print and broadcast media, wrote blogger and media critic Cherian George. “Blogs could be punished if what they published broke the law – but they were never expected to persuade regulators that they deserved the right to publish before they were allowed to do so. Until today.”
"I got the ball rolling sometime in August,” Henson said in a farewell note. “I incorporated a company and started to work on the legal and business end of things while everyone, except for one paid full-timer and a couple of interns, contributed articles pro bono. I had pro bono help from experts. I hired a team to do a new, improved website. So it was a bit of a surprise to get an email from the Media Development Authority about three weeks back about having to register the site. I hadn’t even begun to pull together a business plan to show the network contributors.”
The government has never interfered with the website’s operation or curbed content, Henson wrote.
Websites have been anticipating government action since the MDA’s guidelines were published in May. More prominent websites including The Online Citizen and TR Emeritus have not registered with the authority. Kumuran Pillai, editor of the newly-fledged news site The Independent, told Asia Sentinel his publication had registered.
“There’s no fallout now that I know of” so far from the shutdown of the Breakfast Network, Pillai said. “We have registered.” The site was required to make a statutory declaration that it hadn’t received any foreign funding. Yahoo, which some observers believe was the initial target of the government’s move to license websites, comes under a different licensing regime.
The operators of more than 160 Singaporean websites rallied after the measure was passed, calling for concerned citizens to assemble at Hong Lim Park, the site of the city's Speaker's Corner, to protest the new requirements, with the bloggers closing down their sites for 24 hours to protest the implementation of the new laws.
The bloggers launched a campaign using the Twitter hashtag #FreeMyInternet to spread the word about the campaign. Online commentators expressed concern over the breadth of the definition of "online news sites," warning that it could sweep in blogs that discuss a wide range of issues, and websites that enable users to discuss online content.
The regulations, promulgated at the behest of Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, have been condemned internationally by Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, saying the rules would further discourage independent commentary and reporting. Yaacob, however, later said the government intended to keep its light hand on the Internet.
Singapore's mainstream media have long been cowed into submission by the government through libel lawsuits, contempt of court cases and outright intimidation. Although the Media Development Authority said the new law was only meant to bring Internet sites into compliance with existing press regulations, Singapore's tame courts have been used to bludgeon the press into not reporting at all on the country. The Internet sites can be expected to face the same fate.
Many international news outlets including the International Herald Tribune, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the now-defunct Far Eastern Economic Review and AsiaWeek, Time Magazine and others have been sued successfully by the family of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, Lee Kuan Yew. All have reacted by shying away from critical reporting on the country.
According to the Human Rights Watch report: "In response to criticism, the Media Development Authority clarified on its Facebook page on May 31 that, “An individual publishing views on current affairs and trends on his/her personal website or blog does not amount to news reporting.' However, in a separate statement, the Authority undermined this claim by asserting that, "If they [blogs] take on the nature of news sites, we will take a closer look and evaluate them accordingly."
The Media Development Authority also asserted that the framework is "not an attempt to influence the editorial slant of news sites" and that it will only step in "when complaints are raised to [their] attention, and [they] assess that the content is in breach of the content guidelines and merits action by the website owner."