Thursday, 13 March 2014
Hardline Kenya cleric, the face of homegrown radical Islam
Mombasa — When Islamist gunmen stormed Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall on a busy Saturday in September, the ensuing carnage also intensified fears that Kenya's homegrown Islamists were on the rise.
Although the attackers were from Somalia's Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels, the group's ability to infiltrate and operate in Kenya, as well as find a stream of willing recruits, has focused attention on radical Islamists based down the coast in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.
At the heart of the steamy port hub sits the Musa mosque, seen by Kenyan authorities as the epicentre of a new terrorist threat. Its key figure, Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, better known as Makaburi, does little to hide his firebrand leanings.
"It's our innocents for your innocents. It was justified. As per the Koran, as per the religion of Islam, Westgate was 100 percent justified," the Muslim cleric said of the attack that left at least 67 dead, among them women and children cut down by machine gun fire or grenades.
"Are the ones being killed and raped in Somalia not innocent?" Makaburi said in an interview with AFP in his austere Mombasa office, seizing on Shebab's justification for the mall attack -- Kenya's military presence in southern Somalia.
"The KDF (Kenyan army) is doing the same thing and worse in Somalia than what happened at Westgate. So as per the Islamic religion, they had every right to avenge whatever the KDF is doing in Somalia."
Makaburi asserted that no real Muslims died in the upmarket, part-Israeli-owned mall.
"How come a Muslim is at a shopping mall instead of being at a mosque?" he said, adding that the "Americans and the Western governments are killing innocent people all over the world everyday, they're bombing weddings, funerals."
The real "terrorists", Makaburi argued, were the military personnel operating drones.
"How come the pilots of the drones are not labelled as terrorists? How come when we Muslims are being killed by the Americans using drones, by the British, by whoever, by the West, it's nothing, but when you have a single non-Muslim killed by a Muslim, it's terrorism?"
- 'True Islam' -
In August 2012, the Musa mosque's radical preacher, Aboud Rogo Mohammed, was gunned down, and in October last year his successor, Sheikh Ibrahim Ismail, met the same fate on a road near Mombasa, again sparking riots. Most believe the Kenyan authorities were behind the killings.
Last month the mosque was yet again the scene of violence when armed police launched a massive raid to put an end to what officials said was a "jihadist convention" and a Shebab recruitment exercise taking place inside.
Makaburi, who is in his 50s, is currently subject to UN sanctions -- a travel ban, assets freeze and targeted arms embargo -- for being a "leading facilitator and recruiter of young Kenyan Muslims for violent militant activity in Somalia", and for having "strong ties with senior Al-Shebab members."
"I do not support Al-Shebab, I do not know Al-Shebab. I support the implementation of Sharia Law anywhere in the world," Makaburi insisted in the interview.
"These are just accusations. Where is the proof that I have recruited anybody? Who have I recruited? When, how, where? These are just accusations."
He also said that "the highest motivator for the youth to go into Somalia to fight Jihad is the Kenyan government doing injustice to the Muslim youth here in Kenya. How do you think the youth feel after they were sitting peacefully in a mosque and they were invaded, shot at, killed, meant to disappear?"
Instead, Makaburi presents himself as a simple man promoting "true Islam", and not the kind practiced in Saudi Arabia, which he dismisses as "a Christian country ruled by somebody who pretends to be a Muslim".
In his view the best examples of Islam are found in parts of Fallujah in Iraq, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and Shebab-held areas of Somalia.
"Radical Islam is a creation of people who do not believe in Islam. We don't have radical Islam, we don't have moderates, we don't have extremists. Islam is one religion following the Koran and the Sunnah," said Makaburi.
But he also seems resigned to his fate as Kenya's crackdown, which has been stepped up post-Westgate, continues: "My life is in danger. They will eventually kill me. They do that."
More expert help coming to assist in finding missing plane, says Hishammuddin
Hishammuddin
says that there has been no conflicting statements from the government,
despite the confusion over what has been reported so far. - The
Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, March 12, 2014.
Amid mounting international criticism, Putrajaya today said they are bringing in more experts to help in the search and rescue operations of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370."We are bringing in experts to analyse data gathered by the military and civilian investigators from the west and the east, including the US NTSB," said Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, referring to the United States National Transportation Safety Board.
He said the search for the missing flight is now focused in the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, covering 27,000 square nautical miles.
He said in a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport this evening that 39 aircraft and 42 ships from 12 countries are scouring these areas in the search, which is in its fifth day.
Hishammuddin also stressed that the government has been consistent in what they have been saying.
He said the prime minister had said that the search area will be expanded and that is what they are doing now.
"We will not spare any effort to find the missing plane. The search has been extended to two areas and we are now searching nearly 27,000 square nautical miles – 12,425 square nautical miles in the Strait of Malacca and 14,440 square nautical miles in the South China Sea.
"Forty-two ships and 39 aircraft have now been deployed in the search for MH370. Twelve countries have now joined the search, with India, Japan and Brunei being the latest to join the team," he said.
Hishammuddin said no new leads have turned up in the search for the missing aircraft with 239 people on board, and warned that the race to find out what happened to the plane could be a protracted affair.
"It's going to be long, drawn out," Hishamuddin told The Wall Street Journal in brief remarks.
He also said that the main focus is to find the aircraft and the black box which can help in answering lots of questions.
Denying speculation that Malaysia might be hiding some information due to the lack of clarity and coordination in the search and rescue effort, the minister said coordinating such a large team is not an easy task.
“This is unprecedented what we are going through, it is not something easy to coordinate so many countries and so many vessels. This search also includes a vast area,” Hishammuddin said.
He said the search and rescue team will never give up hope, adding “we owe this to the families”.
With the continuous criticism, especially coming from China, Hishammuddin said it was understandable as there are many Chinese nationals onboard flight MH370.
“China feels aggrieved because so many of their nationals are involved. It is also natural, as time passes, it will involve a lot of emotion and frustration. But it will not distract from our main focus of finding the missing plane,” he said.
Flight MH370 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members disappeared from the radar early Saturday morning.
Of the total number of passengers, 153 were from China. The other passengers include 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, seven Australians, five Indian nationals and four from France.
The aircraft was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it disappeared. – March 12, 2014.
RMAF radar spotted mystery aircraft on west coast
Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) radar detected an unidentified aircraft
northwest of Penang shortly after flight MH370 had gone missing, and is
working to identify whether it is the ill-fated aircraft.
RMAF chief Rodzali Daud said the "unidentified plot" appeared
intermittently on radar and its last known position is 200 miles (322km)
northwest of the island, 45 minutes after MH370 had gone missing.
It was flying 29,500 feet (almost 9 kilometres) above sea level
"I am not saying that this is MH370. We are still corroborating this. We
are still working with the experts," he told a press conference today.
MH370 was last detected via air traffic controller radar on March 8 at
1.30am, off the coast of Kota Bharu before contact was lost.
Rodzali said this just several hours after denying a news report quoting him saying that military radar had detected flight MH370 in the northern part of the Malacca Straits.
Transponder switched off or malfunctioned
Throughout press conference, Rodzali repeatedly stressed that it is
still unclear whether this is unidentified aircraft is MH370, and
authorities are working to use radar tracks from neighbouring countries
to determine this.
Department of Civil Aviation director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman
added that at the time civilian radars lost contact with MH370, military
radar did not have any contact with it.
He
also explained that civilian radar rely on secondary search radars,
which can use a transponder on board the aircraft to identify the
airline, flight number and other information.
On the other hand, primary radar can only detect the aircraft’s position
without any identifying information. However, it does not require the
aircraft to have a working transponder to operate.
These statements gives rise to the possibility that the missing MH370’s
transponder was switched off or malfunctioned, and then turned west.
Armed forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said after MH370 went missing, the
military had reviewed its radar records and found this unidentified
aircraft originating from the vicinity of MH370’s last known position.
“We sent some ships immediately from Lumut that particular night to where we suspected that aircraft would be.
“That morning at first light, we sent a C-130 (aircraft) immediately to
scout the area. It is a possibility (that MH370 is there) and at the
slightest possibility, I must respond for the sake passengers on MH370.
Might declasify raw data
Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein added that if the
government was sure that MH370 had crashed in the Straits of Melaka, all
search and rescue (SAR) teams would have been deployed there instead of
also searching the South China Sea, near where MH370 was last seen on
civilian radar.
He said search currently covers 12,425 square nautical miles (42,617
square kilometres) in the Straits of Malacca and 14,440 square nautical
miles (49,528 square kilometres) in the South China Sea, involving SAR
teams from 12 countries.
For comparison, the size of Pahang and Terengganu combined is 49,172 square kilometres.
To a question why fighters were not scrambled to intercept the
unidentified aircraft, Rodzali said radar operators had recognised it as
a civilian aircraft.
“It is not classified as hostile. We only do an intercept or respond when they are classified as hostile,” he said.
To a question whether the radar tracks would be released to public,
Hishammuddin points out that the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and
the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) are assisting
investigations.
“If FAA and NTSB can confirm that this flight - from the military’s raw
data – is the flight we are concerned (it), tomorrow I will release it,"
said Hishammuddin, stressing that he said "if".
US regulators warned of problems on Boeing 777s
However both the DCA chief and Malaysia Airlines' boss assured the airworthiness of all MAS planes.
WASHINGTON: Months before Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 mysteriously vanished, US regulators warned of a “cracking and corrosion” problem on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air breakup and drastic drop in cabin pressure.
The revelation comes amid a desperate search for traces of the plane with 239 people on board, which lost contact with air traffic control about an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on Saturday morning.
“We are issuing this AD (Airworthiness Directive) to detect and correct cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, which could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the airplane,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.
During a sudden drop in cabin pressure, the crew and passengers can become unconscious, leaving no one at the controls of the affected aircraft.
In 1999, a Learjet carrying golfer Payne Stewart crashed into a field in the US state of South Dakota after flying uncontrolled for several hours after those on board apparently became unconscious due to a lack of oxygen brought on by a loss of cabin pressure.
Malaysia’s air force chief has raised the possibility that MH370 inexplicably turned back and was quoted as saying the jet had been tracked hundreds of miles from its intended flight path.
The FAA circulated a draft of the directive warning of the cracking and corrosion problem on Sept 26, 2013.
A final directive was issued March 5, three days before the Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared. The FAA directive is to take effect April 9.
The FAA said it was “prompted by a report of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath the satellite communication (SATCOM) antenna adapter.”
“This AD requires repetitive inspections of the visible fuselage skin and doubler if installed, for cracking, corrosion, and any indication of contact of a certain fastener to a bonding jumper, and repair if necessary,” it added.
The FAA said an estimated 120 US registered aircraft are affected by the directive.
A supporting document accompanying the directive indicates that one unidentified operator reported a “16-inch crack” (940.6 centimeter) of the fuselage skin in an aircraft that was 14 years old.
Boeing performed a “metallurgical fracture analysis” of the affected section of the fuselage skin, according to the document.
As the hunt for the missing plane dragged into its fifth day, Malaysian authorities said they were expanding their search zone off Vietnam’s South China Sea coast to the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of kilometers away.
Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman today told a press conference that his department was aware of the FFA directive but assured that all Malaysia Airlines planes were fit to fly.
Likewise Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya also vouched for the airworthiness of his Boeing fleet but could not confirm if MH370 had undergone specific checks in compliance with the FAA directive.
WASHINGTON: Months before Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 mysteriously vanished, US regulators warned of a “cracking and corrosion” problem on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air breakup and drastic drop in cabin pressure.The revelation comes amid a desperate search for traces of the plane with 239 people on board, which lost contact with air traffic control about an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on Saturday morning.
“We are issuing this AD (Airworthiness Directive) to detect and correct cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, which could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the airplane,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.
During a sudden drop in cabin pressure, the crew and passengers can become unconscious, leaving no one at the controls of the affected aircraft.
In 1999, a Learjet carrying golfer Payne Stewart crashed into a field in the US state of South Dakota after flying uncontrolled for several hours after those on board apparently became unconscious due to a lack of oxygen brought on by a loss of cabin pressure.
Malaysia’s air force chief has raised the possibility that MH370 inexplicably turned back and was quoted as saying the jet had been tracked hundreds of miles from its intended flight path.
The FAA circulated a draft of the directive warning of the cracking and corrosion problem on Sept 26, 2013.
A final directive was issued March 5, three days before the Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared. The FAA directive is to take effect April 9.
The FAA said it was “prompted by a report of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath the satellite communication (SATCOM) antenna adapter.”
“This AD requires repetitive inspections of the visible fuselage skin and doubler if installed, for cracking, corrosion, and any indication of contact of a certain fastener to a bonding jumper, and repair if necessary,” it added.
The FAA said an estimated 120 US registered aircraft are affected by the directive.
A supporting document accompanying the directive indicates that one unidentified operator reported a “16-inch crack” (940.6 centimeter) of the fuselage skin in an aircraft that was 14 years old.
Boeing performed a “metallurgical fracture analysis” of the affected section of the fuselage skin, according to the document.
As the hunt for the missing plane dragged into its fifth day, Malaysian authorities said they were expanding their search zone off Vietnam’s South China Sea coast to the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of kilometers away.
Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman today told a press conference that his department was aware of the FFA directive but assured that all Malaysia Airlines planes were fit to fly.
Likewise Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya also vouched for the airworthiness of his Boeing fleet but could not confirm if MH370 had undergone specific checks in compliance with the FAA directive.
Raja bomoh bingung
Saya sedang cuba sedaya upaya untuk membantu dalam misi pencarian ini.
PUTRAJAYA: Raja bomoh Ibrahim Mat Zin yang popular selepas mendakwa pernah ‘menampar’ mati seekor buaya hari ini meluahkan rasa bingung keatas kehilangan pesawat MH370 Sabtu lepas.
Ditemui di KLIA tengahari ini, Ibrahim bersama sama beberapa pengikut lain dilihat sibuk menjalankan upacara memanggil semula pesawat tersebut serta menafikan dakwaan bahawa beliau menggunakan jampi serapah.
“Saya sendiri tidak tahu di mana pesawat itu berada,” kata Ibrahim dalam nada bingung.
“Tetapi saya sedang cuba sedaya upaya untuk membantu dalam misi pencarian ini. Saya tidak menggunakan jampi,”
“Saya ikhlas dalam hal ini,” tambah beliau.
Semasa upacara tersebut Ibrahim dilihat membawa dua biji buah kelapa. Ketika ditanya, beliau menjawab bahawa kelapa tersebut bertujuan untuk melepaskan tahanan didalam kapal terbang.
“Simboliknya, dua biji kelapa ini akan dilagakan kerana dapat melepaskan kubu tahanan ghaib,”
“Andainya di udara ataupun di laut dapat ditimbulkan kerana kelapa tidak tenggelam,” ujar beliau.
Pesawat MH370 hilang dari radar Sabtu lepas sewaktu terbang dari Kuala Lumpur ke Beijing.
Seramai 239 penumpang termasuk anak kapal berada didalam pesawat tersebut sebelum dilaporkan hilang setelah tidak tiba dilapangan terbang di Beijing.
Spekulasi dari pelbagai pihak telah muncul ekoran misteri kehilangan pesawat tersebut. Ramai yang mendakwa pesawat boeing itu terhempas dan ada juga yang meramal bahawa pesawat itu telah dirampas penjenayah.
Sementara itu, pihak berkuasa masih lagi tidak dapat memberi jawapan tepat berkenaan status pesawat tersebut. Kenyataan pihak berkuasa didapati bercanggah antara satu sama lain.
PUTRAJAYA: Raja bomoh Ibrahim Mat Zin yang popular selepas mendakwa pernah ‘menampar’ mati seekor buaya hari ini meluahkan rasa bingung keatas kehilangan pesawat MH370 Sabtu lepas.Ditemui di KLIA tengahari ini, Ibrahim bersama sama beberapa pengikut lain dilihat sibuk menjalankan upacara memanggil semula pesawat tersebut serta menafikan dakwaan bahawa beliau menggunakan jampi serapah.
“Saya sendiri tidak tahu di mana pesawat itu berada,” kata Ibrahim dalam nada bingung.
“Tetapi saya sedang cuba sedaya upaya untuk membantu dalam misi pencarian ini. Saya tidak menggunakan jampi,”
“Saya ikhlas dalam hal ini,” tambah beliau.
Semasa upacara tersebut Ibrahim dilihat membawa dua biji buah kelapa. Ketika ditanya, beliau menjawab bahawa kelapa tersebut bertujuan untuk melepaskan tahanan didalam kapal terbang.
“Simboliknya, dua biji kelapa ini akan dilagakan kerana dapat melepaskan kubu tahanan ghaib,”
“Andainya di udara ataupun di laut dapat ditimbulkan kerana kelapa tidak tenggelam,” ujar beliau.
Pesawat MH370 hilang dari radar Sabtu lepas sewaktu terbang dari Kuala Lumpur ke Beijing.
Seramai 239 penumpang termasuk anak kapal berada didalam pesawat tersebut sebelum dilaporkan hilang setelah tidak tiba dilapangan terbang di Beijing.Spekulasi dari pelbagai pihak telah muncul ekoran misteri kehilangan pesawat tersebut. Ramai yang mendakwa pesawat boeing itu terhempas dan ada juga yang meramal bahawa pesawat itu telah dirampas penjenayah.
Sementara itu, pihak berkuasa masih lagi tidak dapat memberi jawapan tepat berkenaan status pesawat tersebut. Kenyataan pihak berkuasa didapati bercanggah antara satu sama lain.
Hate-mongering: Nurturing fear in the Malay community
by Syerleena Abdul Rashid
It is time we set aside our differences and get in touch with the core values of humility, respectfulness and above all, faith in God, says Syerleena Abdul Rashid.
Instigating political violence and creating disunity amongst Malaysians seems to be a daily feature in modern local politics. Hard right-wing groups that claim to be champions of Islamic rights and Malay rights seem to stray from fundamental values that are naturally upheld within the Malay-Muslim community.
As for peace-loving Malays, quite a number of us may find some of the points raised by these ‘champions’ as hurtful.
Violence is not only discouraged in Malay culture, it is abhorred, as it goes against our core values – both culturally and religiously. In general, Malays are non-confrontational and polite in nature. Actually, you can learn a lot about real Malay values and culture just by watching P Ramlee movies!
We respect everyone and our ‘indirectness’ or subtlety shows how much we honour preserving a person’s ‘face’ (air muka). For example, if a Malay man or woman is confronted by something that makes them uneasy, they tend to get long-winded and beat around the bush before getting to the point.
Malays will respectively address strangers by embracing them as one of our families; hence, everyone is either our Mak Cik, Pak Cik, Kakak, Adik or Abang. Maintaining a close-knit family unit within the Malay community is seen as something of great importance and trumps everything else. Then again, all Malaysian communities stress the importance of upholding a strong family unit, and that makes Malaysia a beautiful place to live in.
It is most unfortunate, however, that these values have been replaced by destructive and negative aspirations.
An MP from Seputeh caused an uproar within the hard right-wing Malay communities through a video that was released during the Lunar New Year. For the average Malaysians, the video was clearly a satire and was intended to poke fun at current issues and especially, at ourselves.
But the humorous message of the video was lost and several politicians from the other end of the political spectrum decided it was time to manipulate the situation and bring in the hate-mongers.
At the flick of a switch and several finger guns later, Teresa Kok is now the poster child (or woman) for allegedly insulting the King and the Malays. What is more disturbing is the attitude of several of our Malay brethren, who instantly lap up the deceitful mix of lies and unreasonable accusations hurled towards her.
When the ire of the gullible is provoked, racial hatred ensues thereafter, no matter how senseless and illogical the whole thing may seem.
The hate-mongers enjoy ‘reminding Malaysians – especially the Malays, of the ‘Ghost of May 13’. Modern Malaysians and peace-loving Malays, or at least the ones who do not subscribe to Utusan Malaysia’s daily heretics, will find this ‘boogeyman’ utterly unimaginative. Nevertheless, there is a significant number of folks at the grass-roots who still believe in this fable and will continue to aggressively defend Malay rights, even if it calls for bloodshed.
This is all made possible through years of perfecting the practice of gutter politics. The hate mongers want to do more than just create a ripple in our sea of solidarity. They still assume that we are unable to tell what is right or wrong. They want us to believe that everything is white or black, good or bad.
Most of us are able to see the underlying agendas that perpetuate this nurturing of fear within our communities – but there are those who are unable.
Therein lies the problem: the ruling elite has successfully nurtured a superficial culture based on fear, hate and ignorance by dumbing down the education system, our schools, the syllabus and by pacifying the academicians by instilling their own kind to administer institutions of learning.
Then there are the threats of expulsion, severance, rejected promotions, the fear of being ostracised. Decades of mental and emotional abuse have left most of us feeling highly insecure – in ourselves and in our pursuits.
Several factions within the ruling regime mooted the idea of banishing ‘race’ from all forms. This is seen as a step towards positive nation-building and towards bridging the gap that decades of race-based policies have caused.
But the hate-mongers conjure yet another fable: Malays would lose all rights and privileges if such a ruling is passed. Meanwhile, these hate-mongers vehemently accuse moderate Malays of being too embarrassed by their own ethnicity/race and therefore opting not to read ‘Utusan Malaysia’ or study in national schools.
But the truth is far more complicated than that.
Most of us believe in the importance of developing positive relationships with other fellow Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, and most of us understand why the hate-mongers do what they do. After all, they are doing this just to ensure that certain things remain unchanged and unchallenged for generations to come. Change is never an easy thing to adapt to.
We also understand why people react the way they do and why certain detestable remarks are made. But what we do not understand is the passive obedience that seems to prevail when dangerous political games are summoned through means that collide with our true nature. Is the self-esteem and self-worth of some communities that low that any form of manipulation can be carried out with great ease?
It is time we set aside our differences and get in touch with the core values that centre on humility, politeness, respectfulness and above all, faith in God – the kind that is untainted by the politics of drivel.
We are constantly told that Malays are under threat. It used to the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and Communism; now it’s the ‘pendatangs’, the PATIs (undocumented immigrants), the moderates and Christianity.
Truth is, the only threat that exists is our own insecurity.
It is time we set aside our differences and get in touch with the core values of humility, respectfulness and above all, faith in God, says Syerleena Abdul Rashid. Instigating political violence and creating disunity amongst Malaysians seems to be a daily feature in modern local politics. Hard right-wing groups that claim to be champions of Islamic rights and Malay rights seem to stray from fundamental values that are naturally upheld within the Malay-Muslim community.
As for peace-loving Malays, quite a number of us may find some of the points raised by these ‘champions’ as hurtful.
Violence is not only discouraged in Malay culture, it is abhorred, as it goes against our core values – both culturally and religiously. In general, Malays are non-confrontational and polite in nature. Actually, you can learn a lot about real Malay values and culture just by watching P Ramlee movies!
We respect everyone and our ‘indirectness’ or subtlety shows how much we honour preserving a person’s ‘face’ (air muka). For example, if a Malay man or woman is confronted by something that makes them uneasy, they tend to get long-winded and beat around the bush before getting to the point.
Malays will respectively address strangers by embracing them as one of our families; hence, everyone is either our Mak Cik, Pak Cik, Kakak, Adik or Abang. Maintaining a close-knit family unit within the Malay community is seen as something of great importance and trumps everything else. Then again, all Malaysian communities stress the importance of upholding a strong family unit, and that makes Malaysia a beautiful place to live in.
It is most unfortunate, however, that these values have been replaced by destructive and negative aspirations.
An MP from Seputeh caused an uproar within the hard right-wing Malay communities through a video that was released during the Lunar New Year. For the average Malaysians, the video was clearly a satire and was intended to poke fun at current issues and especially, at ourselves.
But the humorous message of the video was lost and several politicians from the other end of the political spectrum decided it was time to manipulate the situation and bring in the hate-mongers.
At the flick of a switch and several finger guns later, Teresa Kok is now the poster child (or woman) for allegedly insulting the King and the Malays. What is more disturbing is the attitude of several of our Malay brethren, who instantly lap up the deceitful mix of lies and unreasonable accusations hurled towards her.
When the ire of the gullible is provoked, racial hatred ensues thereafter, no matter how senseless and illogical the whole thing may seem.
The hate-mongers enjoy ‘reminding Malaysians – especially the Malays, of the ‘Ghost of May 13’. Modern Malaysians and peace-loving Malays, or at least the ones who do not subscribe to Utusan Malaysia’s daily heretics, will find this ‘boogeyman’ utterly unimaginative. Nevertheless, there is a significant number of folks at the grass-roots who still believe in this fable and will continue to aggressively defend Malay rights, even if it calls for bloodshed.
This is all made possible through years of perfecting the practice of gutter politics. The hate mongers want to do more than just create a ripple in our sea of solidarity. They still assume that we are unable to tell what is right or wrong. They want us to believe that everything is white or black, good or bad.
Most of us are able to see the underlying agendas that perpetuate this nurturing of fear within our communities – but there are those who are unable.
Therein lies the problem: the ruling elite has successfully nurtured a superficial culture based on fear, hate and ignorance by dumbing down the education system, our schools, the syllabus and by pacifying the academicians by instilling their own kind to administer institutions of learning.
Then there are the threats of expulsion, severance, rejected promotions, the fear of being ostracised. Decades of mental and emotional abuse have left most of us feeling highly insecure – in ourselves and in our pursuits.
Several factions within the ruling regime mooted the idea of banishing ‘race’ from all forms. This is seen as a step towards positive nation-building and towards bridging the gap that decades of race-based policies have caused.
But the hate-mongers conjure yet another fable: Malays would lose all rights and privileges if such a ruling is passed. Meanwhile, these hate-mongers vehemently accuse moderate Malays of being too embarrassed by their own ethnicity/race and therefore opting not to read ‘Utusan Malaysia’ or study in national schools.
But the truth is far more complicated than that.
Most of us believe in the importance of developing positive relationships with other fellow Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, and most of us understand why the hate-mongers do what they do. After all, they are doing this just to ensure that certain things remain unchanged and unchallenged for generations to come. Change is never an easy thing to adapt to.
We also understand why people react the way they do and why certain detestable remarks are made. But what we do not understand is the passive obedience that seems to prevail when dangerous political games are summoned through means that collide with our true nature. Is the self-esteem and self-worth of some communities that low that any form of manipulation can be carried out with great ease?
It is time we set aside our differences and get in touch with the core values that centre on humility, politeness, respectfulness and above all, faith in God – the kind that is untainted by the politics of drivel.
We are constantly told that Malays are under threat. It used to the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and Communism; now it’s the ‘pendatangs’, the PATIs (undocumented immigrants), the moderates and Christianity.
Truth is, the only threat that exists is our own insecurity.
Dr M says he fears Vision 2020 may not be achieved
He said the present government was focusing too much on effort on increasing the income per capita and the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which were seen as not helpful for the country in achieving the status of a fully developed nation.
“If we want to become a fully-developed country, it should not be limited to only wealth. To achieve the status of a developed nation, we must a
lso advance in industrialisation, in innovation, as well as in research and development. Then only we can become a fully-developed country.”
Dr Mahathir said this in response to a question about the status of Vision 2020, which he introduced in 1991, at the ‘Professional Talk With Tun Dr Mahathir’ programme at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here today.
The programme was moderated by AirAsia Group deputy chief executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.
Mishaps Mar Malaysia’s Handling of Flight Tragedy
Critics furious over crossed signals from government officials as search grows more confused
A series of miscues and media gaffes are turning Malaysia into an object of anger and criticism in the aftermath of the disappearance early Saturday morning of a Malaysian Airlines jetliner carrying 239 passengers and crew.
No trace of the craft has been found despite a search encompassing thousands of square kilometers. On Wednesday, the day was dominated by confusion over reports that the aircraft might have attempted to head back toward Malaysia before it disappeared.
Malaysia’s air force chief told reporters very early Wednesday that the plane had veered off course. Later in the morning, the same officer denied the report sharply. By Wednesday afternoon, the government seemed to reverse itself again, requesting assistance from India in searching the Andaman Sea, north of the Malacca Strait, where the plane may have gone down far from the current search area off the coast of Vietnam.
Officials finally said the plane "may" have been heading toward the Strait of Malacca when it disappeared and that the search was now also concentrated in that area.
Other countries have grown frustrated. The Chinese, with 152 passengers on board, have complained about a lack of transparency over details. They have also complained that Malaysian Airlines staff handling relatives of the victims in Beijing have been short of information and in many cases don’t speak Mandarin.
From the start, according to critics, the Malaysians have treated the disappearance and ensuing inconsistencies as a local problem instead of one that has focused the attention of the entire world’s media on the tragedy. In a semi-democratic country with a largely supine domestic media, the government insists it has the situation in hand but that hardly seems the case.
Often, those giving press briefings about the affair communicate badly in English to an international press whose lingua franca is English. Because of widely differing reports of where the aircraft actually disappeared, the picture being delivered is one of incompetence. Networks like the BBC and CNN are openly declaring that the post-accident situation is a mess.
Some of it isn’t Malaysia’s fault. An initial report that two possible hijackers using fake passports somehow got through the country’s passport control because of lax surveillance turned out to be false. While the two were traveling on false passports, apparently the stolen documents had never been reported to Interpol, which tracks such incidents. The pair turned out to be Iranians seeking asylum in Europe.
But that wasn’t helped by the fact that Malaysian authorities originally said erroneously that as many as four to five people could have been traveling with suspect passports, raising the possibility of a fully-fledged hijack gang aboard.
But five days into the loss of the aircraft and with no idea of where it could have disappeared, there is growing concern over who is in charge, coupled with the fact that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has largely removed himself from the picture, allowing his cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister and acting transport minister, to deal with the affair.
International treaties that allow for Malaysia to greatly expand the probe by calling in experts from foreign governments to help were not invoked until Wednesday, it seems, when it was reported that US and other foreign experts had finally been invited to take part in the formal investigation. It seemed again that valuable time had been lost.
Much of the problem is due to the fact that the Malaysian government has habitually handled information as a problem rather than as a means of communication. The mainstream news media are all owned by the ruling political parties and are used to being fed information the government wants them to hear. Government-owned MAS at one point issued a press release only to recall it twice because of misspellings and misinformation.
In a deeply divided political culture, especially in the last year as the opposition has grown more effective, the government is finding it difficult to manage the flow of information on a disaster. In addition, in the midst of this flight crisis the government is seeming preoccupied by court actions to drive two opposition leaders, Anwar Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and Karpal Singh of the Democratic Action Party, out of Parliament.
At the start, the plane was characterized as having simply gone off the radar – until Wednesday, when a report carried in Berita Harian, a government-controlled Malay-language newspaper, quoted Air Force chief Gen. Rodzali Daud as saying Malaysian radar had tracked the missing Boeing 777-200 turning left from its last known location on radar. It then supposedly crossed Malaysia itself and disappeared over the Strait of Malacca.
The report set off a frenzy. CNN and the BBC carried maps of the new possible crash site as it was reported that the massive search for the wreckage had shifted to the waters between Malaysia and Indonesia instead of the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam.
Then the report was emphatically denied by Daud, who told a press conference that "I wish to state that I did not make any such statements as above.”
CNN, however, quoted an unnamed “senior air force source” as saying the plane indeed had shown up on radar for more than an hour after contact was lost at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The craft was last detected, according to the official, near Pulau Perak, a small island in the Strait of Malacca.
Has four days been wasted by a huge flotilla of airplanes and ships that have been scouring the South China Sea for wreckage while the plane might actually be somewhere 900 km. to the west? The Vietnamese announced they were suspending their participation in the search.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday complained about the lack of progress in finding the plane, saying “We once again request and urge the Malaysia side to enhance and strengthen rescue and searching efforts.” The Chinese government itself is starting to feel the heat, offering to deploy 10 satellites in the effort to find the plane.
The crisis wasn’t helped any by a sensational revelation from Australia by a young South African woman that she and a friend had once ridden in the cockpit of an MAS flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of the missing co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, and had pictures of themselves flirting with the pilots, who were even smoking in the cockpit, to prove to prove it.
Since 9/11 in the United States, airline regulations forbid anyone not part of the crew from gaining access to the cockpit. If nothing else, the story, and the pictures are an indication of lax flight deck discipline and raise questions if someone could have got into the pilots’ cabin aboard MH370.
A series of miscues and media gaffes are turning Malaysia into an object of anger and criticism in the aftermath of the disappearance early Saturday morning of a Malaysian Airlines jetliner carrying 239 passengers and crew.
No trace of the craft has been found despite a search encompassing thousands of square kilometers. On Wednesday, the day was dominated by confusion over reports that the aircraft might have attempted to head back toward Malaysia before it disappeared.
Malaysia’s air force chief told reporters very early Wednesday that the plane had veered off course. Later in the morning, the same officer denied the report sharply. By Wednesday afternoon, the government seemed to reverse itself again, requesting assistance from India in searching the Andaman Sea, north of the Malacca Strait, where the plane may have gone down far from the current search area off the coast of Vietnam.
Officials finally said the plane "may" have been heading toward the Strait of Malacca when it disappeared and that the search was now also concentrated in that area.
Other countries have grown frustrated. The Chinese, with 152 passengers on board, have complained about a lack of transparency over details. They have also complained that Malaysian Airlines staff handling relatives of the victims in Beijing have been short of information and in many cases don’t speak Mandarin.
From the start, according to critics, the Malaysians have treated the disappearance and ensuing inconsistencies as a local problem instead of one that has focused the attention of the entire world’s media on the tragedy. In a semi-democratic country with a largely supine domestic media, the government insists it has the situation in hand but that hardly seems the case.
Often, those giving press briefings about the affair communicate badly in English to an international press whose lingua franca is English. Because of widely differing reports of where the aircraft actually disappeared, the picture being delivered is one of incompetence. Networks like the BBC and CNN are openly declaring that the post-accident situation is a mess.
Some of it isn’t Malaysia’s fault. An initial report that two possible hijackers using fake passports somehow got through the country’s passport control because of lax surveillance turned out to be false. While the two were traveling on false passports, apparently the stolen documents had never been reported to Interpol, which tracks such incidents. The pair turned out to be Iranians seeking asylum in Europe.
But that wasn’t helped by the fact that Malaysian authorities originally said erroneously that as many as four to five people could have been traveling with suspect passports, raising the possibility of a fully-fledged hijack gang aboard.
But five days into the loss of the aircraft and with no idea of where it could have disappeared, there is growing concern over who is in charge, coupled with the fact that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has largely removed himself from the picture, allowing his cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister and acting transport minister, to deal with the affair.
International treaties that allow for Malaysia to greatly expand the probe by calling in experts from foreign governments to help were not invoked until Wednesday, it seems, when it was reported that US and other foreign experts had finally been invited to take part in the formal investigation. It seemed again that valuable time had been lost.
Much of the problem is due to the fact that the Malaysian government has habitually handled information as a problem rather than as a means of communication. The mainstream news media are all owned by the ruling political parties and are used to being fed information the government wants them to hear. Government-owned MAS at one point issued a press release only to recall it twice because of misspellings and misinformation.
In a deeply divided political culture, especially in the last year as the opposition has grown more effective, the government is finding it difficult to manage the flow of information on a disaster. In addition, in the midst of this flight crisis the government is seeming preoccupied by court actions to drive two opposition leaders, Anwar Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and Karpal Singh of the Democratic Action Party, out of Parliament.
At the start, the plane was characterized as having simply gone off the radar – until Wednesday, when a report carried in Berita Harian, a government-controlled Malay-language newspaper, quoted Air Force chief Gen. Rodzali Daud as saying Malaysian radar had tracked the missing Boeing 777-200 turning left from its last known location on radar. It then supposedly crossed Malaysia itself and disappeared over the Strait of Malacca.
The report set off a frenzy. CNN and the BBC carried maps of the new possible crash site as it was reported that the massive search for the wreckage had shifted to the waters between Malaysia and Indonesia instead of the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam.
Then the report was emphatically denied by Daud, who told a press conference that "I wish to state that I did not make any such statements as above.”
CNN, however, quoted an unnamed “senior air force source” as saying the plane indeed had shown up on radar for more than an hour after contact was lost at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The craft was last detected, according to the official, near Pulau Perak, a small island in the Strait of Malacca.
Has four days been wasted by a huge flotilla of airplanes and ships that have been scouring the South China Sea for wreckage while the plane might actually be somewhere 900 km. to the west? The Vietnamese announced they were suspending their participation in the search.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday complained about the lack of progress in finding the plane, saying “We once again request and urge the Malaysia side to enhance and strengthen rescue and searching efforts.” The Chinese government itself is starting to feel the heat, offering to deploy 10 satellites in the effort to find the plane.
The crisis wasn’t helped any by a sensational revelation from Australia by a young South African woman that she and a friend had once ridden in the cockpit of an MAS flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of the missing co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, and had pictures of themselves flirting with the pilots, who were even smoking in the cockpit, to prove to prove it.
Since 9/11 in the United States, airline regulations forbid anyone not part of the crew from gaining access to the cockpit. If nothing else, the story, and the pictures are an indication of lax flight deck discipline and raise questions if someone could have got into the pilots’ cabin aboard MH370.
Malaysia Airlines mystery: US issued warnings over Boeing 777 'weak spot'
Potential weakness in fuselage of Boeing 777s was identified by the Federal Aviation Administration last year
By David Millward, US Correspondent - telegraph.co.uk
American transport officials warned of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777s which could lead to the "loss of structural integrity of the aircraft" four months before the disappearance of Malaysia airlines Flight MH370.
The Federal Aviation Administration in Washington drew up an Airworthiness Directive in November. It was triggered by reports of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath a Boeing aircraft's satellite antennae.
In its directive the FAA, which is responsible for supervising the safety of American-made aircraft such as Boeing, told airlines to look out for corrosion under the fuselage skin.
This, the FAA said, could lead to a situation where the fuselage was compromised leading to possible rapid decompression as well as the plane breaking up.
"We received a report of cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin underneath the SATCOM antenna adapter," the FAA warned. "During a maintenance planning data inspection, one operator reported a 16-inch crack under the 3-bay SATCOM antenna adapter plate in the crown skin of the fuselage on an aeroplane that was 14 years old with approximately 14,000 total flight cycles.
"Subsequent to this crack finding, the same operator inspected 42 other aeroplanes that are between 6 and 16 years old and found some local corrosion, but no other cracking. Cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, if not corrected, could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the aeroplane."
The FAA directive in November called for additional checks to be incorporated into the routine maintenance schedule of the worldwide 777 Boeing fleet.
According to a Malaysia Airlines spokesman, the missing aircraft was serviced on February 23, with further maintenance scheduled for June 19.
The FAA stated that carrying out necessary inspection work would cost airlines $3.060 (£1,841).
With terrorism now appearing less likely as a cause of the Malaysian airlines disaster, which claimed 239 lives, focus has switched to problems with the aircraft or pilot error.
Despite both the Boeing 777 and Malaysia Airlines having good safety records, there have been other incidents which could prove relevant during the investigation of the disappearance.
In 2005, a 777 operated by Malaysia Airlines suffered problems with its autopilot system on a flight between Perth and Kuala Lumpur.
It led to the plane pitching up into a sudden 3,000-foot climb, almost causing the plane to stall.
The problem led to another airworthiness directive to correct a computer fault that had been found on 500 Boeing 777s.
Airworthiness directives are commonplace, similar to car recalls.
In the majority of cases, airlines are told to look for and correct the fault, if found, during maintenance.
On rare occasions an entire fleet will be grounded as happened in January last year when the FAA ordered Boeing to stop flying its flagship 787 Dreamliner after faults were discovered with the plane's batteries.
While investigators from Malaysia and the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington search for the plane's black box, they will also be able to glean vital information from a live-data stream broadcast during the flight.
Known as Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, it is the equivalent of an "online black box".
However James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer who has represented bereaved families in other air accidents, warned they face a long wait before the original black boxes are recovered.
A Boeing spokesman said it was working with the NTSB as a technical adviser.
"The team is now in position in the region to offer whatever assistance is required."
The company declined to comment further.
American transport officials warned of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777s which could lead to the "loss of structural integrity of the aircraft" four months before the disappearance of Malaysia airlines Flight MH370.
The Federal Aviation Administration in Washington drew up an Airworthiness Directive in November. It was triggered by reports of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath a Boeing aircraft's satellite antennae.
In its directive the FAA, which is responsible for supervising the safety of American-made aircraft such as Boeing, told airlines to look out for corrosion under the fuselage skin.
This, the FAA said, could lead to a situation where the fuselage was compromised leading to possible rapid decompression as well as the plane breaking up.
"We received a report of cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin underneath the SATCOM antenna adapter," the FAA warned. "During a maintenance planning data inspection, one operator reported a 16-inch crack under the 3-bay SATCOM antenna adapter plate in the crown skin of the fuselage on an aeroplane that was 14 years old with approximately 14,000 total flight cycles.
"Subsequent to this crack finding, the same operator inspected 42 other aeroplanes that are between 6 and 16 years old and found some local corrosion, but no other cracking. Cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, if not corrected, could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the aeroplane."
The FAA directive in November called for additional checks to be incorporated into the routine maintenance schedule of the worldwide 777 Boeing fleet.
According to a Malaysia Airlines spokesman, the missing aircraft was serviced on February 23, with further maintenance scheduled for June 19.
The FAA stated that carrying out necessary inspection work would cost airlines $3.060 (£1,841).
With terrorism now appearing less likely as a cause of the Malaysian airlines disaster, which claimed 239 lives, focus has switched to problems with the aircraft or pilot error.
Despite both the Boeing 777 and Malaysia Airlines having good safety records, there have been other incidents which could prove relevant during the investigation of the disappearance.
In 2005, a 777 operated by Malaysia Airlines suffered problems with its autopilot system on a flight between Perth and Kuala Lumpur.
It led to the plane pitching up into a sudden 3,000-foot climb, almost causing the plane to stall.
The problem led to another airworthiness directive to correct a computer fault that had been found on 500 Boeing 777s.
Airworthiness directives are commonplace, similar to car recalls.
In the majority of cases, airlines are told to look for and correct the fault, if found, during maintenance.
On rare occasions an entire fleet will be grounded as happened in January last year when the FAA ordered Boeing to stop flying its flagship 787 Dreamliner after faults were discovered with the plane's batteries.
While investigators from Malaysia and the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington search for the plane's black box, they will also be able to glean vital information from a live-data stream broadcast during the flight.
Known as Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, it is the equivalent of an "online black box".
However James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer who has represented bereaved families in other air accidents, warned they face a long wait before the original black boxes are recovered.
A Boeing spokesman said it was working with the NTSB as a technical adviser.
"The team is now in position in the region to offer whatever assistance is required."
The company declined to comment further.
Missing MH370 may have strayed toward Andaman Sea, says air force
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Malaysia’s military has traced what could have been the jetliner missing for almost five days to an area near India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands, hundreds of miles from its last known position, the country’s air force chief said today.
After a series of at times conflicting statements, the latest revelation underlined that authorities remain uncertain even where to look for the plane, and no closer to explaining what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 or the 239 people on board.
The flight disappeared from civilian radar screens shortly before 1:30am on Saturday, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, as it flew northeast across the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand bound for Beijing. What happened next is one of the most baffling mysteries in modern aviation history.
Malaysian air force chief Tan Sri Rodzali Daud told a news conference that an aircraft was plotted on military radar at 2:15am, 320km northwest of Penang Island off Malaysia’s west coast.
It was not confirmed that the unidentified plane was Flight MH370, but Malaysia was sharing the data with international civilian and military authorities, Rodzali said.
“We are corroborating this,” he added. “We are still working with the experts, it’s an unidentified plot.”
Agonising wait
According to the data from Rodzali, if it was the missing plane it would have flown for 45 minutes and lost only about 1,500 metres in altitude.
There was no word on which direction it was headed and still no clue what happened aboard, prolonging the agonising wait for news for hundreds of relatives of those on board.
A position 200 miles northwest of Penang, in the northern part of the Straits of Malacca, would put the plane roughly south of the Thai holiday island of Phuket and east of the tip of Indonesia’s Aceh province and India’s Nicobar island chain.
Indonesia and Thailand have said their militaries detected no sign of any unusual aircraft in their airspace.
The position is hundreds of miles west of the point where the Boeing 777-200ER dropped off air traffic control screens. Malaysia has asked India for help in tracing the aircraft and New Delhi’s coastguard planes have joined the search.
Authorities, however, are continuing to search around both locations — at the last known position of the plane over the Gulf of Thailand and around the radar plotting site where the Malacca Strait meets the Andaman Sea.
In total, the search is over 27,000 square nautical miles (93,000 sq km), an area the size of Hungary or Indiana.
Until now, there has been no confirmed sighting of the plane or any debris.
A dozen countries are helping Malaysia in the search, with 42 ships and 39 aircraft involved, acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said.
“My heart reaches out to the families of the passengers and crew,” he said. “And I give you my assurance we will not reduce the tempo and that we will not spare any effort to find the missing plane.”
Confusing information
Malaysia has been criticised for giving conflicting and confusing information on the last known location of aircraft.
Earlier today, air force chief Daud had denied saying military radar had tracked MH370 flying over the Straits of Malacca.
Vietnam briefly scaled down search operations in waters off its southern coast, saying it was receiving scanty and confusing information from Malaysia over where the aircraft may have headed after it lost contact with air traffic control.
Hanoi later said the search — now in its fifth day — was back on in full force and was even extending on to land. China also said its air force would sweep areas in the sea, clarifying however that no searches over land were planned.
“As long as the plane is not found, we would continue doing our mission,” Vo Van Tuan, spokesman for Vietnam Search and Rescue Committee, told reporters in Hanoi.
“We should always keep up hope, there can be miracles, human can survive for a long time in difficult conditions. We must not give up hope that the missing people are still alive.”
Nothing ruled out
In the absence of any concrete evidence to explain the plane’s disappearance, authorities have not ruled out anything. Police have said they were investigating whether any passengers or crew on the plane had personal or psychological problems that might shed light on the mystery, along with the possibility of a hijacking, sabotage or mechanical failure.
The airline said it was taking seriously a report by a South African woman who said the co-pilot of the missing plane had invited her and a female companion to sit in the cockpit during a flight two years ago, in an apparent breach of security.
“Malaysia Airlines has become aware of the allegations being made against First Officer Fariq Ab Hamid which we take very seriously. We are shocked by these allegations. We have not been able to confirm the validity of the pictures and videos of the alleged incident,” the airline said in a statement.
The woman, Jonti Roos, told Reuters that she and her friend were invited to fly in the cockpit by Fariq and the pilot between Phuket, Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur in December 2011.
“I thought that they were highly skilled and highly competent and since they were doing it that it was allowed,” Roos said. “I want to make it clear, at no point did I feel we were in danger or that they were acting irresponsibly.”
Hugh Dunleavy, the commercial director of Malaysia Airlines, told Reuters there was no reason to blame the crew.
“We have no reason to believe that there was anything, any actions, internally by the crew that caused the disappearance of this aircraft,” he said.
The Boeing 777 has one of the best safety records of any commercial aircraft in service. Its only previous fatal crash came on July 6 last year when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 struck a seawall on landing in San Francisco, killing three people.
US planemaker Boeing has declined to comment beyond a brief statement saying it was monitoring the situation. — Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Malaysia’s military has traced what could have been the jetliner missing for almost five days to an area near India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands, hundreds of miles from its last known position, the country’s air force chief said today.
After a series of at times conflicting statements, the latest revelation underlined that authorities remain uncertain even where to look for the plane, and no closer to explaining what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 or the 239 people on board.
The flight disappeared from civilian radar screens shortly before 1:30am on Saturday, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, as it flew northeast across the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand bound for Beijing. What happened next is one of the most baffling mysteries in modern aviation history.
Malaysian air force chief Tan Sri Rodzali Daud told a news conference that an aircraft was plotted on military radar at 2:15am, 320km northwest of Penang Island off Malaysia’s west coast.
It was not confirmed that the unidentified plane was Flight MH370, but Malaysia was sharing the data with international civilian and military authorities, Rodzali said.
“We are corroborating this,” he added. “We are still working with the experts, it’s an unidentified plot.”
Agonising wait
According to the data from Rodzali, if it was the missing plane it would have flown for 45 minutes and lost only about 1,500 metres in altitude.
There was no word on which direction it was headed and still no clue what happened aboard, prolonging the agonising wait for news for hundreds of relatives of those on board.
A position 200 miles northwest of Penang, in the northern part of the Straits of Malacca, would put the plane roughly south of the Thai holiday island of Phuket and east of the tip of Indonesia’s Aceh province and India’s Nicobar island chain.
Indonesia and Thailand have said their militaries detected no sign of any unusual aircraft in their airspace.
The position is hundreds of miles west of the point where the Boeing 777-200ER dropped off air traffic control screens. Malaysia has asked India for help in tracing the aircraft and New Delhi’s coastguard planes have joined the search.
Authorities, however, are continuing to search around both locations — at the last known position of the plane over the Gulf of Thailand and around the radar plotting site where the Malacca Strait meets the Andaman Sea.
In total, the search is over 27,000 square nautical miles (93,000 sq km), an area the size of Hungary or Indiana.
Until now, there has been no confirmed sighting of the plane or any debris.
A dozen countries are helping Malaysia in the search, with 42 ships and 39 aircraft involved, acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said.
“My heart reaches out to the families of the passengers and crew,” he said. “And I give you my assurance we will not reduce the tempo and that we will not spare any effort to find the missing plane.”
Confusing information
Malaysia has been criticised for giving conflicting and confusing information on the last known location of aircraft.
Earlier today, air force chief Daud had denied saying military radar had tracked MH370 flying over the Straits of Malacca.
Vietnam briefly scaled down search operations in waters off its southern coast, saying it was receiving scanty and confusing information from Malaysia over where the aircraft may have headed after it lost contact with air traffic control.
Hanoi later said the search — now in its fifth day — was back on in full force and was even extending on to land. China also said its air force would sweep areas in the sea, clarifying however that no searches over land were planned.
“As long as the plane is not found, we would continue doing our mission,” Vo Van Tuan, spokesman for Vietnam Search and Rescue Committee, told reporters in Hanoi.
“We should always keep up hope, there can be miracles, human can survive for a long time in difficult conditions. We must not give up hope that the missing people are still alive.”
Nothing ruled out
In the absence of any concrete evidence to explain the plane’s disappearance, authorities have not ruled out anything. Police have said they were investigating whether any passengers or crew on the plane had personal or psychological problems that might shed light on the mystery, along with the possibility of a hijacking, sabotage or mechanical failure.
The airline said it was taking seriously a report by a South African woman who said the co-pilot of the missing plane had invited her and a female companion to sit in the cockpit during a flight two years ago, in an apparent breach of security.
“Malaysia Airlines has become aware of the allegations being made against First Officer Fariq Ab Hamid which we take very seriously. We are shocked by these allegations. We have not been able to confirm the validity of the pictures and videos of the alleged incident,” the airline said in a statement.
The woman, Jonti Roos, told Reuters that she and her friend were invited to fly in the cockpit by Fariq and the pilot between Phuket, Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur in December 2011.
“I thought that they were highly skilled and highly competent and since they were doing it that it was allowed,” Roos said. “I want to make it clear, at no point did I feel we were in danger or that they were acting irresponsibly.”
Hugh Dunleavy, the commercial director of Malaysia Airlines, told Reuters there was no reason to blame the crew.
“We have no reason to believe that there was anything, any actions, internally by the crew that caused the disappearance of this aircraft,” he said.
The Boeing 777 has one of the best safety records of any commercial aircraft in service. Its only previous fatal crash came on July 6 last year when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 struck a seawall on landing in San Francisco, killing three people.
US planemaker Boeing has declined to comment beyond a brief statement saying it was monitoring the situation. — Reuters
Najib Calls For Another Briefing On Missing Aircraft SAR Operation
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called for
another briefing today with the search and rescue (SAR) team mounted to
locate the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) aircraft."I have called for another briefing today with the SAR team. We will work relentlessly, on multinational basis to find MH370," said the Prime Minister on his Twitter account today.
Yesterday, Najib attended a briefing, for about 90 minutes, given by Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman at the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at the DCA Air Traffic Control Centre in Subang, Selangor
In his twitter, Najib also shared a picture during the briefing which include him with Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Azharuddin and MAS Group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.
MAS flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, went missing enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing about an hour after taking off from KL International Airport (KLIA) at 12.41 am on Saturday.
It should have landed in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Kangaroo meat ‘halal,’ Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate says
“Islamic scholars agree that ‘halal’ animals that are not mentioned in the Quran and in the hadith [the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad] are those that don’t eat feces and carcasses, and which are therefore neither wild nor coarse,” the Diyanet’s High Committee of Religious Affairs said in response to a citizen’s question.
As such, the fatwa continues, kangaroo is classified in the same category with other “grass eating, clean animals like deer, gazelle and antelope.” Grasshopper is also categorized as “halal” because “there is a special provision in the Sunnah,” it adds, referring to the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims on the basis of the teachings and practices of Prophet Muhammad.
The fatwa describes badgers, martens, weasels, beavers and sea otters as “naturally wild.” Although there are differing views among Islamic scholars related to these animals, the fatwa argues, “As these animals are wild and carnivorous, it’s not appropriate to eat their meat.”
Phones of MH370 passengers ringing, online accounts active, claim relatives
4
Relatives
of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 watching
television news for the latest updates in a waiting lounge at the Lido
Hotel in Beijing, yesterday. – AFP pic, March 11, 2014.
Relatives of passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 claimed that they were able to call cell phones of their loves ones, according to media reports.
The
Washington Post said that the families of some of the 239 people
onboard the missing Boeing 777 claimed to have heard the mobile
ringtones."In some cases, the relatives could see them active online through a local Chinese networking site called QQ," the Post reported.
One man told the Washington Post that his brother-in-law's QQ account indicated that he was online.
Frustratingly for those desperate for some news or sign, messages have gone unanswered and calls were not picked up.
Search and rescue (SAR) operation involving 10 countries has so far failed to find any trace of the missing airliner.
Britain's Daily Mail reported that the phantom phone calls and online presence had set off a new level of hysteria among relatives and next-of-kin, most of whom have spent three days cooped up at a Beijing Hotel waiting for news on the missing plane.
MAS officials in Beijing have been told repeatedly about the QQ accounts and ringing telephone calls, and relatives are hoping that SAR forces will be able to triangulate the GPS signals of the phones to locate their loved ones.
Bian Liangwei, sister of one of the passengers aboard MH370, claimed that she was able to reach her elder brother's phone.
"This morning, around 11:40am, I called my older brother's number twice, and I got the ringing tone," she told the International Business Times.
At 2pm, Bian called again and again heard its ring tone.
"If I could get through, the police could locate the position, and there is a chance he could still be alive," she said.
However, at a press conference in Beijing, MAS spokesman Ignatius Ong said one of the numbers provided to the airline's head office in Kuala Lumpur had failed to get through.
"I myself have called the number five times while the airline's command centre also called the number. We got no answering tone," Ong said.
Search for the missing plane has now moved to the Straits of Malacca, some 100 miles away from where it was last recorded by electronic monitoring devices.
The dramatic shift raises the possibility that it flew undetected, crossing mainland Malaysia, before ditching into the sea.
MAS said Malaysia's western coast near the Straits of Malacca was now the focus of the hunt.
Civil aviation chief Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, however, said the statement didn't imply authorities believed the plane was off the western coast.
"The search is on both sides," he said.
The plane was carrying 239 people when it vanished off radar screens early Saturday morning en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, triggering a massive international search effort.
Authorities have expanded their search to include areas where the plane could have in theory ended up given the amount of fuel it had on board.
On Sunday, Malaysia's air force chief said military radar indicated that the jet might have turned back before disappearing. – March 11, 2014.
MH370 detected above Malacca Straits at 2.40am
A Berita Harian report today quoted the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) as saying the plane may have reversed course further than expected while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Air Force chief Rodzali Daud (left)
is quoted as saying that based on military radar readings from its
station in Butterworth, MH370 may have turned west after Kota Bahru and
flown past the east coast and Kedah."The last time the plane was detected was near Pulau Perak, in the Straits of Malacca, at 2.40am," Berita Harian quoted Rodzali as saying.
This contradicts earlier reports that the aircraft had disappeared from radar screens 120 nautical miles off Kota Bharu and over the South China Sea, at 1.30am on March 8.
The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) had previously said the search for the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, which is missing for the fourth day, had been focused around the waters between the east coast and Vietnam.
Berita Harian also said that military radar noted that the plane was flying about 1,000 metres lower than its original altitude of 10,000 metres after the turnaround.
There
are 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members on board
the plane. Of these, 152 are Chinese nationals, 38 are Malaysians and
the rest are from 12 other countries.Utusan Malaysia reported that 20,000 fishermen nationwide have been roped in to help in the search-and-rescue operation.
The newspaper quoted Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as saying that this would involve 1,788 fishing boats around the waters off Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Perak and Penang.
IGP contradicts DCA on MH370 passengers
Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar says only one person cancelled her ticket because she had mistook the date of the flight.
UPDATED
PETALING JAYA: Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar today refuted claims by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) that several passengers who had checked in did not board the fateful Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
In a press conference today, Khalid revealed that only one person had missed the flight.
“Only one person missed the flight, and it was a lady. She had called Malaysia Airlines to cancel the ticket because she had mistook the date,” said Khalid.
His statement contradicted DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman’s previous statement that five people had purchased the plane tickets and had even checked in their baggage but did not make the flight.
Azharuddin had then confirmed that MAS had removed the passengers’ baggage after the national carrier learned that the five people did not board the place.
However when asked by reporters today, Khalid stressed that no such incident had occurred.
“There is no such thing as five person who did not board the plane. There is no such thing,” said the police chief.
“You take it from me, there were no such thing.”
“Nobody booked the ticket that did not board.”
Four areas
Khalid said that four areas were being looked into, namely, possible hijacking, sabotage, the psychological problem as well as personal problem of passengers and crew members.
Explaining further, he said a passenger might have bought a huge sum of insurance and wanted family members to gain from it.
Khalid added that the police were working with counterparts from 14 other countries and are exchanging information with them.
A discussion was also held with a team of officers from China’s public security office.
“We have been supplied with photographs of 150 Chinese passengers. We are currently going through the profiles of all the passengers,” he said.
When asked on whether there were possible leads of the plane being hijacked, he said: “We are looking into all angles.”
“Give us some time to go through everything,” he said, admitting that the police do not have prior intelligence on activities of terrorists in particular.
Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew, went missing enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing about an hour after taking off from KLIA at 12.41am on Saturday.
It should have landed at 6.30 am.
UPDATED
PETALING JAYA: Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar today refuted claims by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) that several passengers who had checked in did not board the fateful Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.In a press conference today, Khalid revealed that only one person had missed the flight.
“Only one person missed the flight, and it was a lady. She had called Malaysia Airlines to cancel the ticket because she had mistook the date,” said Khalid.
His statement contradicted DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman’s previous statement that five people had purchased the plane tickets and had even checked in their baggage but did not make the flight.
Azharuddin had then confirmed that MAS had removed the passengers’ baggage after the national carrier learned that the five people did not board the place.
However when asked by reporters today, Khalid stressed that no such incident had occurred.
“There is no such thing as five person who did not board the plane. There is no such thing,” said the police chief.
“You take it from me, there were no such thing.”
“Nobody booked the ticket that did not board.”
Four areas
Khalid said that four areas were being looked into, namely, possible hijacking, sabotage, the psychological problem as well as personal problem of passengers and crew members.
Explaining further, he said a passenger might have bought a huge sum of insurance and wanted family members to gain from it.
Khalid added that the police were working with counterparts from 14 other countries and are exchanging information with them.
A discussion was also held with a team of officers from China’s public security office.
“We have been supplied with photographs of 150 Chinese passengers. We are currently going through the profiles of all the passengers,” he said.
When asked on whether there were possible leads of the plane being hijacked, he said: “We are looking into all angles.”
“Give us some time to go through everything,” he said, admitting that the police do not have prior intelligence on activities of terrorists in particular.
Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew, went missing enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing about an hour after taking off from KLIA at 12.41am on Saturday.
It should have landed at 6.30 am.
Karpal Singh fined RM4,000 for sedition
Karpal Singh's remark was made at the height of the Perak political crisis in 2009.
VIDEO INSIDE
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur High Court today sentenced lawyer and DAP chairman Karpal Singh to a fine of RM4,000 for sedition.
On Feb 21, the same court had found him guilty of sedition for questioning the Sultan of Perak’s action in removing Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the menteri besar of Perak in 2009.
Trial judge Azman Abdullah delivered the sentence today after hearing mitigation from Karpal Singh’s lawyers Ram Karpal Singh, Sanjeet Kaur and Gobind Singh Deo, and from the prosecution.
Justice Azman however did not allow the Bar Council and Lawasia to make submissions for Karpal Singh.
The RM4,000 fine means Karpal Singh can be disqualified as the Bukit Gelugor MP if he fails in his appeal to either overturn the conviction, or to reduce the fine to be below RM2,000.
Karpal Singh later told reporters that that he would file an appeal in the Court of Appeal.
“In my 35 years (of political activism), I fought… and I will keep fighting. It’s no problem. As an MP we have to take risks,” he said.
Wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh, 74, was found guilty of having said at his legal firm in Jalan Pudu
Lama on Feb 6, 2009, that the removal of Mohammad Nizar and the appointment of Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the new menteri besar by the sultan could be questioned in court.
The charge, under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, provides for a maximum jail term of three years and a fine of RM5,000, or both, upon conviction.
The High Court had, on June 11, 2010, acquitted and discharged Karpal Singh without calling for his defence but, following an appeal by the prosecution, the Court of Appeal, on Jan 20, 2012, ordered him to make his defence.
The court today was filled with Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters.
Shouts of ‘zalim’
Earlier, in mitigation, Karpal Singh’s defence team argued that the politician merely offered a legal opinion and the charge leveled at him was done in bad faith.
Also present at the court today was Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, Pas deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Hundreds of Pakatan Rakyat supporters gathered at the court as early as 8am. However the situation remained calm throughout except for one instance when the crowd shouted “zalim” (cruel) when the prosecution sought jail sentence for Karpal Singh.
The court’s decision has since received heavy criticism from lawyers and pro human rights group.
The group expressed shock over the conviction as they strongly believed that it was not a crime to make critical comments.
Lawyer Syahredzan Johan also pointed out that what Karpal Singh had said in regards to Sultan Azlan Shah’s decision to remove Nizar Jamaluddin as the Perak Menteri Besar in 2009 was merely an opinion from a legal expert.
On related matter, Lawyer for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen was shocked at the sentence meted out against Karpal.
“Making political or critical statement is not a crime, especially in Karpal’s case. The MP merely gave a legal opinion on the Perak crisis and it cannot be described as being seditious,” he said.
Paulsen added that Karpal conviction and PKR leader Tian Chua’s one month imprisonment show that government was embarking on political persecution and underhanded tactics to undermine its political adversaries.
“The Sedition Act Sedition is an outdated law designed by our former British coloniser to protect the minority white rule.
“It has no place in Malaysia, and most modern democratic states have repealed the legislation,” said Paulsen
Meanwhile, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said in a press statement that Karpal Singh’s conviction sent a message that lawyers in Malaysia were not free to express their opinion on legal issues before condemning the conviction saying it was inconsistent with international law.
VIDEO INSIDE
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur High Court today sentenced lawyer and DAP chairman Karpal Singh to a fine of RM4,000 for sedition.On Feb 21, the same court had found him guilty of sedition for questioning the Sultan of Perak’s action in removing Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the menteri besar of Perak in 2009.
Trial judge Azman Abdullah delivered the sentence today after hearing mitigation from Karpal Singh’s lawyers Ram Karpal Singh, Sanjeet Kaur and Gobind Singh Deo, and from the prosecution.
Justice Azman however did not allow the Bar Council and Lawasia to make submissions for Karpal Singh.
The RM4,000 fine means Karpal Singh can be disqualified as the Bukit Gelugor MP if he fails in his appeal to either overturn the conviction, or to reduce the fine to be below RM2,000.
Karpal Singh later told reporters that that he would file an appeal in the Court of Appeal.
“In my 35 years (of political activism), I fought… and I will keep fighting. It’s no problem. As an MP we have to take risks,” he said.
Wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh, 74, was found guilty of having said at his legal firm in Jalan Pudu
Lama on Feb 6, 2009, that the removal of Mohammad Nizar and the appointment of Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the new menteri besar by the sultan could be questioned in court.The charge, under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, provides for a maximum jail term of three years and a fine of RM5,000, or both, upon conviction.
The High Court had, on June 11, 2010, acquitted and discharged Karpal Singh without calling for his defence but, following an appeal by the prosecution, the Court of Appeal, on Jan 20, 2012, ordered him to make his defence.
The court today was filled with Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters.
Shouts of ‘zalim’
Earlier, in mitigation, Karpal Singh’s defence team argued that the politician merely offered a legal opinion and the charge leveled at him was done in bad faith.Also present at the court today was Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, Pas deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Hundreds of Pakatan Rakyat supporters gathered at the court as early as 8am. However the situation remained calm throughout except for one instance when the crowd shouted “zalim” (cruel) when the prosecution sought jail sentence for Karpal Singh.
The court’s decision has since received heavy criticism from lawyers and pro human rights group.
The group expressed shock over the conviction as they strongly believed that it was not a crime to make critical comments.
Lawyer Syahredzan Johan also pointed out that what Karpal Singh had said in regards to Sultan Azlan Shah’s decision to remove Nizar Jamaluddin as the Perak Menteri Besar in 2009 was merely an opinion from a legal expert.
On related matter, Lawyer for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen was shocked at the sentence meted out against Karpal.
“Making political or critical statement is not a crime, especially in Karpal’s case. The MP merely gave a legal opinion on the Perak crisis and it cannot be described as being seditious,” he said.
Paulsen added that Karpal conviction and PKR leader Tian Chua’s one month imprisonment show that government was embarking on political persecution and underhanded tactics to undermine its political adversaries.
“The Sedition Act Sedition is an outdated law designed by our former British coloniser to protect the minority white rule.
“It has no place in Malaysia, and most modern democratic states have repealed the legislation,” said Paulsen
Meanwhile, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said in a press statement that Karpal Singh’s conviction sent a message that lawyers in Malaysia were not free to express their opinion on legal issues before condemning the conviction saying it was inconsistent with international law.
Straight fight in Kajang: Azizah vs Chew
PKR president will take on MCA vice president Chew Mei Fun in a straight fight for the Kajang state assembly seat
KAJANG: PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will take on MCA vice-president Chew Mei Fun for the Kajang state assembly seat by-election on March 23.
Only the two candidates filed their nomination papers when nominations opened for the seat here this morning.
Returning Officer Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman announced that nominations closed at 10am and the two were the only contestants for the seat.
Wan Azizah arrived at Kajang Municipal Council Sports Complex, accompanied by her husband, PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim and other Pakatan leaders and supporters.
Her nomination papers was filed at around 9am.
Chew also filed her nomination papers at about the same time. She was accompanied by top BN component party leaders, along with some 5,000 supporters.
There was heavy police presence surrounding the sports complex, especially at the route and entry point for Pakatan supporters. Federal Reserve Unit members were also deployed.
On the BN’s side they were playing their party anthem. Pakatan supporters were chanting “Reformasi” and “Allahu Akhbar”.
Despite nomination day being held on a weekday, there was a huge crowd of supporters running into several thousands on both side of the camps.
PKR de facto leader Anwar arrived at the nomination centre with Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim at 9.30am. Both were wearing light blue Baju Melayu – PKR colours.
The Kajang state seat fell vacant following the resignation of incumbent assemblymen Lee Chin Cheh of PKR on Jan 27. The Election Commission fixed March 23 for polling. Early polling would be held on March 19.
The state seat comprises 39,728 registered voters. At the last general election in May 2013, the seat saw a voter turnout of 87.9% with 541 spoilt votes.
In the 2013 general election PKR’s Lee garnered 19,571 votes with a 6824 majority votes. BN-MCA’s Lee Ban Seng received 12,747 votes and Mohamad Ismail (Berjasa) 1,014 votes.
The three independent candidates who contested the seat are Mohd Iwan Jefrey Abdul Majib (249 votes), Ong Yan Foo (85 votes) and Mohd Khalid Kassim (83 votes).
Aside from the two Lees, the rest of the candidates lost their election deposits.
Kajang, famous for its satay, is located in the eastern part of Selangor is one of the three state constituency in the Hulu Langat parliament constituency. It has a 342,657 population, consisting 60.4% Malays, 19.3% Chinese, 9.7% Indians, and 10.6% other ethnic groups.
Thousands at nomination centre
Meanwhile, thousands of supporters from both sides of the political divide gathered at Kompleks Sukan Majlis Perbandaran Kajang as early as 7am today, to show their support for their candidates in the by-election.
The Barisan Nasional was backed by some 5,000 diehards, while Pakatan Rakyat supporters numbering slightly more were singing and dancing to the tunes of their respective battle cry songs. No untoward incidents were reported.
BN supporters are spotted wearing T-shirts printed with words ‘Elakkan Anwar di Kajang’ ( Stop Anwar in Kajang) performing the Haka dance (Maori battle dance) made famous by the New Zealand rugby team.
The police have deployed several officers from the Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) and 30 Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) trucks to maintain law and order during the nomination.
KAJANG: PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will take on MCA vice-president Chew Mei Fun for the Kajang state assembly seat by-election on March 23.Only the two candidates filed their nomination papers when nominations opened for the seat here this morning.
Returning Officer Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman announced that nominations closed at 10am and the two were the only contestants for the seat.
Wan Azizah arrived at Kajang Municipal Council Sports Complex, accompanied by her husband, PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim and other Pakatan leaders and supporters.
Her nomination papers was filed at around 9am.
Chew also filed her nomination papers at about the same time. She was accompanied by top BN component party leaders, along with some 5,000 supporters.
There was heavy police presence surrounding the sports complex, especially at the route and entry point for Pakatan supporters. Federal Reserve Unit members were also deployed.
On the BN’s side they were playing their party anthem. Pakatan supporters were chanting “Reformasi” and “Allahu Akhbar”.
Despite nomination day being held on a weekday, there was a huge crowd of supporters running into several thousands on both side of the camps.
PKR de facto leader Anwar arrived at the nomination centre with Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim at 9.30am. Both were wearing light blue Baju Melayu – PKR colours.
The Kajang state seat fell vacant following the resignation of incumbent assemblymen Lee Chin Cheh of PKR on Jan 27. The Election Commission fixed March 23 for polling. Early polling would be held on March 19.
The state seat comprises 39,728 registered voters. At the last general election in May 2013, the seat saw a voter turnout of 87.9% with 541 spoilt votes.
In the 2013 general election PKR’s Lee garnered 19,571 votes with a 6824 majority votes. BN-MCA’s Lee Ban Seng received 12,747 votes and Mohamad Ismail (Berjasa) 1,014 votes.
The three independent candidates who contested the seat are Mohd Iwan Jefrey Abdul Majib (249 votes), Ong Yan Foo (85 votes) and Mohd Khalid Kassim (83 votes).
Aside from the two Lees, the rest of the candidates lost their election deposits.
Kajang, famous for its satay, is located in the eastern part of Selangor is one of the three state constituency in the Hulu Langat parliament constituency. It has a 342,657 population, consisting 60.4% Malays, 19.3% Chinese, 9.7% Indians, and 10.6% other ethnic groups.
Thousands at nomination centre
Meanwhile, thousands of supporters from both sides of the political divide gathered at Kompleks Sukan Majlis Perbandaran Kajang as early as 7am today, to show their support for their candidates in the by-election.
The Barisan Nasional was backed by some 5,000 diehards, while Pakatan Rakyat supporters numbering slightly more were singing and dancing to the tunes of their respective battle cry songs. No untoward incidents were reported.
BN supporters are spotted wearing T-shirts printed with words ‘Elakkan Anwar di Kajang’ ( Stop Anwar in Kajang) performing the Haka dance (Maori battle dance) made famous by the New Zealand rugby team.
The police have deployed several officers from the Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) and 30 Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) trucks to maintain law and order during the nomination.
Mahathir Behind Rush to Justice in Anwar’s Case?
Political sources in Kuala Lumpur say former premier engineered pushing appellate decision forward
The decision to push forward last Friday’s appellate verdict declaring Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim guilty of sodomy represents the final return to power – if from behind the scenes – of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, sources in Kuala Lumpur say.
Several Kuala Lumpur sources told Asia Sentinel that Mahathir and Daim Zainuddin, his longtime ally and former finance minister, basically pushed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak aside to dragoon the court into moving up the action against Anwar, although there is no evidence that the two engineered the actual decision.
Having been in power for 22 years until he retired in 2002, the 88-year-old Mahathir has never seemed quite comfortable out of power. In 2008, he engineered the ouster of his successor, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, following an electoral debacle.
The former premier was largely silent during Najib’s first five-year term, in a major way because Najib's father, Tun Abdul Razak rescued Mahathir from banishment because of politics that at the time were considered too radical for UMNO. But in the past few months he and his forces have since basically taken over as a kingmakers in the wake of the 2013 election debacle in which the ruling Barisan Nasional lost the popular vote for the first time in 44 years although it held its parliamentary majority through its first-past-the-post voting system and gerrymandering.
Although he lost a bid to make his son, Mukhriz, a party vice president last October, Mahathir has since manipulated the levers of power inside the United Malays National Organization to make life uncomfortable for Najib in the past year, rousing Malay nationalists while deploying a legion of bloggers to criticize Najib, which intensified last August. He and his allies have forced Najib to discard a series of reforms of affirmative action programs for ethnic Malays that economists say have slowed economic progress for the country.
At the same time he has continued his pursuit of his old nemesis, Anwar, whose 1998 prison sentence for sodomy and corruption he allegedly engineered after he fired Anwar as Finance Minister, although he has repeatedly denied it. Both cases against Anwar have been criticized internationally as politically motivated to destroy the opposition leader as a political force.
The Malaysian Bar Council and others have charged that the Court of Appeal hearing, which ended last Friday, was pushed forward by more than a month in what appeared to be a move to thwart Anwar from an almost certain by-election victory that would have in effect made him the chief minister of Selangor, the country’s most powerful and prosperous state and given him a potent platform from which to criticize UMNO and Najib.
Although Anwar remains free on appeal to the Federal Court, the decision, opening the 66-year-old opposition leader to a five-year prison sentence, means he is disqualified from running for the seat in Kajang, a Kuala Lumpur suburb. His wife, Wan Aziza Wan Ismail, registered to run for the seat instead.
The March 7 appellate decision against Anwar and another finding Democratic Action Party Chairman Karpal Singh guilty of sedition on March 11 has led to widespread calls for US President Barack Obama to cancel an April visit to meet with Najib. Failing that, opposition groups and NGOs are calling for the Obama to refrain from praising the country as a democracy and to meet with opposition leaders as well.
A high court declared Karpal, Malaysia’s most prominent opposition lawyer, guilty of sedition for saying a decision of the Sultan of Perak to remove Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the Perak chief minister in 2009, shortly after the opposition won the state, could be questioned in court. Karpal was fined RM4,000 and, if the decision stands on appeal, would be disqualified from serving in Parliament for five years.
As with Anwar, a high court had declared Karpal not guilty in 2010. The prosecution appealed the case and an appellate court sent it back to the high court for a new trial, which ruled Tuesday that the 73-year-old attorney was guilty.
Because nominations for the Kajang seat were to be submitted March 11, it appeared that pushing forward the appellate decision, which disbarred Anwar from running for the seat, had more political than judicial overtones. For one thing, instead of Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail arguing the case before the three-person Court of Appeal, Mohd Shafie Abdullah, a private attorney and ally of the former prime minister, was brought in to do so, which rarely happens in appellate cases.
Daim in particular has made several public statements that Anwar must not be allowed to become Selangor chief minister. Bloggers aligned with Mahathir have said the same thing repeatedly.
The Bar Council protested the decision against Anwar, citing the haste with which the appeal – which had been pending since July of last year – was taken up. The defense was given only a week to prepare, although in most appeals the defense is given weeks or even months to prepare.
The case was taken up despite the fact that Anwar’s counsel told the court he was unavailable on the dates set. Invariably appellate courts grant delays in such situations. Also, the Bar Council said, the registry of the Court of Appeal had told Anwar’s lawyer to reserve April 7-10 as the proposed hearing dates, but suddenly moved them up to last week.
Normally judgment is reserved for a few days, or even months. But the appellate court insisted on delivering the guilty verdict against Anwar on the same day, insisting on proceeding with sentencing into the early evening despite the fact that in most cases the court adjourns at 5 pm.
“These matters raise many questions, cause much speculation, and lend to the perception that justice may have been hijacked,” according to a bar council statement, signed by Christopher Leong, the Malaysian Bar President. “The questions to be answered, in the mind of the public, are thus: ‘Was the cause of justice best served by the manner and timing in which this appeal was handled’?” and, ‘Was the administration of justice compromised or interfered with’?”
Legal limbo hampers probe into missing MAS jet
Malaysiakini
Investigators trying to solve the disappearance without trace of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner face an extremely rare challenge that could hinder their efforts: they lack the powers of a formal air safety investigation.
Four days after Flight MH370 went missing in mid-air with 239 people on board, no nation has stepped forward to initiate and lead an official probe, leaving a formal leadership vacuum that industry experts say appears unprecedented.
Malaysian officials are conducting their own informal investigations, in cooperation with other governments and foreign agencies, but they lack the legal powers that would come with a formal international probe under UN-sanctioned rules.
Those powers include the legal rights to take testimony from all witnesses and other parties, the right to have exclusive control over the release of information and the ability to centralise a vast amount of fragmentary evidence.
A senior official familiar with the preliminary Malaysian probe said Malaysian authorities could not yet convene a formal investigation due to a lack of evidence on where – namely, in which national jurisdiction – the Boeing 777-200ER jet crashed.
He said this was not hampering their work, that preliminary investigations had begun and that they were working with their neighbours, US officials and the jet’s maker Boeing.
The Malaysians have begun collecting information from neighbouring countries without any problems, including air-traffic control communications and radar data, he said. “There have been no issues in getting that information.”
But Southeast Asian waters are rife with territorial disputes, and any decision by Malaysia to unilaterally open a formal investigation under UN rules could be seen as a subtle assertion of sovereignty if the crash site turns out to be inside another country’s territory.
Without a formal investigative process being convened quickly under rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, there is a risk that crucial early detective work could be hampered, and potential clues and records lost, air accident experts said.
Witnesses such as cargo handlers, mechanics and company officials might be reluctant to speak to Malaysian investigators who were operating outside a formal ICAO-sanctioned probe which could offer them some protection from law suits, experts said.
“The sole objective of an accident investigation is to prevent future accidents and not to apportion blame or liability,” said aviation lawyer Simon Phippard of international legal firm Bird & Bird.
“The international standards attempt to provide a degree of protection, for example from criminal prosecution, for individuals who give statements to the enquiry.”
The lack of a formal investigation also means Malaysia does not have exclusive control over the release of information or the ability to centralize fragmentary evidence such as wreckage parts and witness accounts, effectively relying for cooperation on other parties’ good-will, the experts said.
Under a formal investigation, a board is set up to designate parties to the investigation, including the plane maker, engine maker, unions, the airline and aviation safety regulatory agency of the country where the airline is based.
Each of these parties typically has a representative on each of the working groups.
“If they haven’t even decided what country is in charge of the investigation, then whatever is being done at this point is probably suffering from a severe lack of top-down control and coordination,” said Ted Ellett, an aviation lawyer at Hogan Lovells in Washington and a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief counsel.
US investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), FAA and Boeing arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Monday and, according to the official familiar with the Malaysian probe, have been talking with the Malaysian investigators.
An NTSB-led team, including the FAA and Boeing officials, is “standing by for when the aircraft is located and they are in touch with Malaysian officials and have offered our assistance and support for anything they may need,” NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.
Boeing and FAA declined to comment.
Lacking formal powers
A lack of clarity over the investigation already appears to be a source of tension between Malaysia and China, which had up to 154 citizens on the Beijing-bound flight and is pushing for a significant role in the investigation. China’s Foreign Ministry urged Malaysia on Monday to step up its search efforts and start an investigation “as soon as possible and correctly”.
The deputy head of China’s civil aviation authority urged Malaysia to help a team of investigators it has said is ready to fly to the Southeast Asian nation to help with the probe.
Governments usually step forward quickly after an accident to claim leadership of the investigation, based primarily on the territory where the plane crashed.
That crucial information remains unknown in this case, as navies, military aircraft, coastguard and civilian ships from 10 nations scour a huge swathe of the sea from the South China Sea to the Strait of Malacca.
The official familiar with the preliminary Malaysian investigation said the Malaysian government could not launch a formal probe until the crash site had been found, and that it planned to work closely with US authorities and Australia.
“If we wait, we will lose precious time. We know that. That is why our guys have been gathering all of the records and data,” the official said.
Under UN rules, if a plane crashes in international waters, the country where the aircraft is registered – in this case, Malaysia – is in charge of the investigation.
So, for example, Air France quickly took control of the official investigation when its passenger jet crashed in waters far out into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, even though no wreckage had yet been found.
Legal protection
Vietnam would have jurisdiction if the plane crashed in its territory, but it does not have the resources to lead an investigation and would likely have to get outside help, two regional aviation officials said.
Under rules governed by ICAO, setting up an investigation grants “unhampered access” to all relevant materials including wreckage and data and “unrestricted control” over the evidence and public communications.
“Parties don’t relish the idea of their officials or employees being queried or formally interviewed in these accident investigations,” Ellett said.
“If there’s any question about who has the authority to do it, the parties involved could say we’re not going to participate until we know who’s really in charge.”
With lawsuits potentially swirling, the investigation is meant to encourage witnesses to speak freely about the incident in the interests of airline safety.
Investigators will typically “freeze” documents and records, especially the maintenance records of the aircraft, and acquire radar images and air traffic control recordings. Groups specialising in operations, maintenance and sometimes human factors are set up to sift through each scrap of evidence.
“I can’t remember anything like this. Usually it is pretty clear who is responsible for the investigation and they get to work straight away,” said one European air safety official, who asked not to be identified.
“It is very important to get all the factual information as soon as possible.”
- Reuters
Investigators trying to solve the disappearance without trace of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner face an extremely rare challenge that could hinder their efforts: they lack the powers of a formal air safety investigation.
Four days after Flight MH370 went missing in mid-air with 239 people on board, no nation has stepped forward to initiate and lead an official probe, leaving a formal leadership vacuum that industry experts say appears unprecedented.
Malaysian officials are conducting their own informal investigations, in cooperation with other governments and foreign agencies, but they lack the legal powers that would come with a formal international probe under UN-sanctioned rules.
Those powers include the legal rights to take testimony from all witnesses and other parties, the right to have exclusive control over the release of information and the ability to centralise a vast amount of fragmentary evidence.
A senior official familiar with the preliminary Malaysian probe said Malaysian authorities could not yet convene a formal investigation due to a lack of evidence on where – namely, in which national jurisdiction – the Boeing 777-200ER jet crashed.
He said this was not hampering their work, that preliminary investigations had begun and that they were working with their neighbours, US officials and the jet’s maker Boeing.
The Malaysians have begun collecting information from neighbouring countries without any problems, including air-traffic control communications and radar data, he said. “There have been no issues in getting that information.”
But Southeast Asian waters are rife with territorial disputes, and any decision by Malaysia to unilaterally open a formal investigation under UN rules could be seen as a subtle assertion of sovereignty if the crash site turns out to be inside another country’s territory.
Without a formal investigative process being convened quickly under rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, there is a risk that crucial early detective work could be hampered, and potential clues and records lost, air accident experts said.
Witnesses such as cargo handlers, mechanics and company officials might be reluctant to speak to Malaysian investigators who were operating outside a formal ICAO-sanctioned probe which could offer them some protection from law suits, experts said.
“The sole objective of an accident investigation is to prevent future accidents and not to apportion blame or liability,” said aviation lawyer Simon Phippard of international legal firm Bird & Bird.
“The international standards attempt to provide a degree of protection, for example from criminal prosecution, for individuals who give statements to the enquiry.”
The lack of a formal investigation also means Malaysia does not have exclusive control over the release of information or the ability to centralize fragmentary evidence such as wreckage parts and witness accounts, effectively relying for cooperation on other parties’ good-will, the experts said.
Under a formal investigation, a board is set up to designate parties to the investigation, including the plane maker, engine maker, unions, the airline and aviation safety regulatory agency of the country where the airline is based.
Each of these parties typically has a representative on each of the working groups.
“If they haven’t even decided what country is in charge of the investigation, then whatever is being done at this point is probably suffering from a severe lack of top-down control and coordination,” said Ted Ellett, an aviation lawyer at Hogan Lovells in Washington and a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief counsel.
US investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), FAA and Boeing arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Monday and, according to the official familiar with the Malaysian probe, have been talking with the Malaysian investigators.
An NTSB-led team, including the FAA and Boeing officials, is “standing by for when the aircraft is located and they are in touch with Malaysian officials and have offered our assistance and support for anything they may need,” NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.
Boeing and FAA declined to comment.
Lacking formal powers
A lack of clarity over the investigation already appears to be a source of tension between Malaysia and China, which had up to 154 citizens on the Beijing-bound flight and is pushing for a significant role in the investigation. China’s Foreign Ministry urged Malaysia on Monday to step up its search efforts and start an investigation “as soon as possible and correctly”.
The deputy head of China’s civil aviation authority urged Malaysia to help a team of investigators it has said is ready to fly to the Southeast Asian nation to help with the probe.
Governments usually step forward quickly after an accident to claim leadership of the investigation, based primarily on the territory where the plane crashed.
That crucial information remains unknown in this case, as navies, military aircraft, coastguard and civilian ships from 10 nations scour a huge swathe of the sea from the South China Sea to the Strait of Malacca.
The official familiar with the preliminary Malaysian investigation said the Malaysian government could not launch a formal probe until the crash site had been found, and that it planned to work closely with US authorities and Australia.
“If we wait, we will lose precious time. We know that. That is why our guys have been gathering all of the records and data,” the official said.
Under UN rules, if a plane crashes in international waters, the country where the aircraft is registered – in this case, Malaysia – is in charge of the investigation.
So, for example, Air France quickly took control of the official investigation when its passenger jet crashed in waters far out into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, even though no wreckage had yet been found.
Legal protection
Vietnam would have jurisdiction if the plane crashed in its territory, but it does not have the resources to lead an investigation and would likely have to get outside help, two regional aviation officials said.
Under rules governed by ICAO, setting up an investigation grants “unhampered access” to all relevant materials including wreckage and data and “unrestricted control” over the evidence and public communications.
“Parties don’t relish the idea of their officials or employees being queried or formally interviewed in these accident investigations,” Ellett said.
“If there’s any question about who has the authority to do it, the parties involved could say we’re not going to participate until we know who’s really in charge.”
With lawsuits potentially swirling, the investigation is meant to encourage witnesses to speak freely about the incident in the interests of airline safety.
Investigators will typically “freeze” documents and records, especially the maintenance records of the aircraft, and acquire radar images and air traffic control recordings. Groups specialising in operations, maintenance and sometimes human factors are set up to sift through each scrap of evidence.
“I can’t remember anything like this. Usually it is pretty clear who is responsible for the investigation and they get to work straight away,” said one European air safety official, who asked not to be identified.
“It is very important to get all the factual information as soon as possible.”
- Reuters
MH370: Stolen Passports Not In Interpol's 'Suspect List'
KAJANG, March 11 (Bernama) -- The stolen passports used by two mysterious men to board the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines (MAS)
MH370 which went missing last March 8 were not in the International
Criminal Police Organisation's (Interpol) 'suspect list' (SL).Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said it was because of that the two men were able to pass through the check at the Immigration counter.
"If Interpol had marked 'SL' for the missing passports, all the Immigration counters nationwide would be on the alert.
"(Therefore) I am confident with the capability of the Immigration officers who were at the check-point counter before the incident," he told reporters at Taman Kota here.
Earlier today, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police had identified an Iranian, Pouria Nour Mohd Mehdad, 19, as one of the mysterious passengers who boarded the aircraft with the stolen passports.
The Iranian had used a passport belonging to an Austrian, Christian Kozel, who had reported it missing in Thailand.
As for the other passport, which belonged to Italian Luigi Maraldi, Interpol confirmed that it was used by Delavar Seyed Mohammad Redza, 29, also an Iranian.
Interpol secretary-general Ronald K. Noble, at a press conference in Lyon, France, that the two men travelled to Malaysia on their Iranian passports, then apparently switched to the stolen Austrian and Italian documents.
MAS Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing about an hour after taking off from the KL International Airport at 12.41am Saturday. It should have landed in Beijing at 6.30am the same day.
The aircraft was carrying passengers of 14 nationalities, with most of them from China and Malaysia.
On the negative reports by the Chinese media on the handling of the missing aircraft by the Malaysian government, Ahmad Zahid said they should exercise patience as Malaysia was doing its best.
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
70-year-old man held, minor girl found
BHOPAL: The 70-year-old, who eloped with a minor girl, was caught from a village close to Sultanpur bus stand in Raisen district on Thursday night. The girl was also accompanying him. Septuagenarian was booked for kidnapping on a complaint by girl's grandmother.
Accused Hafeez Khan alias Rashid had taken the girl to Tulsipura village in a bus to one of his relative's place.
Police officials said minor, a class X student, was missing from her house since March 4. Daughter of a labourer of Jhansi, she lives with her grandparents in Bhopal.
The elderly man, who is also a quack 'treating' child-less couple, told police the girl had come to him after which he took her to Raisen. Meanwhile, she told police that he had physical relations with her in past. This time, he however did not do anything, she said. Police said the man will also be booked under sections of protection of children from sexual offences act 2012.
When local residents of Bajaria, where the elderly man resided, had objected while he was taking the girl to his room on March 4, he told them that he would marry the girl. But soon, he escaped with her.
Cops said, Hafeez had come in contact with her a year ago. He used to impart religious education to her at her home. However, for past six months he had not visited her house, police said. Cops have also recovered some photographs and other objectionable material from his room in old Bhopal locality.
Hafeez tried his best to come clean in the matter. He told cops that he had stopped going to her house as the family of girl had started suspecting her. Regarding reports that he has been booked for rape in past, the accused said only an arms act case was registered against him.
Accused Hafeez Khan alias Rashid had taken the girl to Tulsipura village in a bus to one of his relative's place.
Police officials said minor, a class X student, was missing from her house since March 4. Daughter of a labourer of Jhansi, she lives with her grandparents in Bhopal.
The elderly man, who is also a quack 'treating' child-less couple, told police the girl had come to him after which he took her to Raisen. Meanwhile, she told police that he had physical relations with her in past. This time, he however did not do anything, she said. Police said the man will also be booked under sections of protection of children from sexual offences act 2012.
When local residents of Bajaria, where the elderly man resided, had objected while he was taking the girl to his room on March 4, he told them that he would marry the girl. But soon, he escaped with her.
Cops said, Hafeez had come in contact with her a year ago. He used to impart religious education to her at her home. However, for past six months he had not visited her house, police said. Cops have also recovered some photographs and other objectionable material from his room in old Bhopal locality.
Hafeez tried his best to come clean in the matter. He told cops that he had stopped going to her house as the family of girl had started suspecting her. Regarding reports that he has been booked for rape in past, the accused said only an arms act case was registered against him.
Paper reveals Iranian-link in ticket purchase for passengers with stolen passports
Two passengers who boarded MH370 with stolen passports are believed to be from the Middle East after a Financial Times report revealed that the tickets were bought by an Iranian in the Thai resort town of Pattaya.
The Financial Times exclusively reported that a Thai travel agent who booked the tickets for the men said she had been asked to make the travel arrangements by an Iranian contact.
Travel agent Benjaporn Krutnait, booked the tickets through a business contact whom she only knew as "Mr Ali". She said that his first request to book cheap tickets to Europe for the two men was made on March 1.
She told The Financial Times that it was quite common for people to book tickets through middlemen who then retake a commission.
Ali had asked for the cheapest route to Europe for his clients and did not mention the specific booking Kuala Lumpur-Beijing - unlikely behaviour by would-be terrorists.
Benjaporn initially reserved one of the men on a Qatar Airways flight and the other on Etihad. But the tickets expired when Benjaporn did not hear back from Ali.
The Financial Times said when Ali contacted her again on Thursday, she rebooked the men on the Malaysia Airlines flight through Beijing because it was the cheapest available.
A friend of Ali paid Benjaporn cash for the tickets, the paper reported, adding that there is no evidence that Ali knew the two men were travelling on stolen passports.
Benjaporn made the bookings through a China Southern Airlines office in Bangkok.
The two passengers were supposed to fly from Beijing to Amsterdam on Saturday. The passenger travelling as "Luigi Maraldi" was to fly on to Copenhagen and "Christian Kozel" to Frankfurt.
Interpol said it was investigating the passport holders and examining airport footage of the two men.
It is fairly common for fraudulent documents to be used on regional flights for illegal immigration or drug smuggling but the fact that the aircraft has disappeared has triggered speculation of a terrorist attack.
The two, who were of "non-Asian appearance", despite earlier reports, were travelling from Kuala Lumpur, one on an Italian passport and one on an Austrian passport. The passports were reported missing a year ago by the real Maraldi and Kozel, respectively.
The one-way tickets under those names were issued by a travel agency in Pattaya, eastern Thailand. – March 10, 2014.
DCA says duo did not look Asian, ropes in Balotelli - Malaysiakini
The ethnicity of the two who boarded Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with missing passports is now in question, following the claim by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the duo had "Asian features".
At a press conference at KLIA today, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman confirmed that the two men "did not look Asian".
"Do you know a footballer (by the name of) Balotelli? He is an Italian, but you know how he looks like," Azharuddin said when pressed to described the appearance of the two men.
Mario Balotelli (left) is a professional Italian footballer who plays for AC Milan.
'Stolen passports syndicate'
Asked if he meant that the duo were Africans or were of African origin, Azharuddin declined to elaborate.
He said the investigation team has reviewed the CCTV footage of the duo from check-in to departure.
"We hereby confirm that all security protocol have been complied with," he said.
Azharuddin said police were looking into the possibility that the two passengers were part of a stolen passport syndicate.
The two individuals boarded flight MH370, which lost contact over the Gulf of Thailand, using Italian and Austrian passports.
However, both the Italian and Austrian foreign ministries have denied their citizens were present on the ill-fated flight, adding that the passports used were reported stolen in the last two years.
ISMA dakwa Anwar mahu hidupkan reformasi kedua
Seluruh perhatian rakyat dialihkan kepada kezaliman pemerintah yang kononnya mahu menyekat Anwar daripada menjadi MB Selangor.
BANGI: Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) DUN Kajang yang bakal berlangsung pada bulan ini merupakan konspirasi ciptaan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bagi menutup kesalahan liwatnya dan mengalih perhatian rakyat untuk kembali turun ke jalan raya bagi menghidupkan gelombang Reformasi Ke-2.
Menurut Presiden Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman, sejak awal lagi pihaknya tidak bersetuju dengan peletakan jawatan bekas ADUN Kajang Lee Chin Cheh tanpa alasan yang munasabah.
“Anwar tahu perjalanan perbicaraan kes liwat sejak awal-awal lagi lalu beliau mereka cipta PRK Kajang dengan alasan yang tidak munasabah.
“Kini apabila beliau didapati bersalah, seluruh perhatian rakyat dialihkan kepada kezaliman pemerintah yang kononnya mahu menyekat beliau daripada menjadi MB selangor,” katanya kepada wartawan ISMAweb.
Jumaat lalu tiga hakim Mahkamah Rayuan sebulat suara memutuskan bahawa Datuk Seri Anwar bersalah atas tuduhan meliwat dan dijatuhi hukuman penjara 5 tahun serta diperintah membayar wang jaminan sebanyak RM10 ribu.
Sementara itu, Ustaz Abdullah mempertikai kenyataan sesetengah pihak yang mendakwa mahkamah tidak berlaku adil ke atas Anwar.
“Bila Anwar kalah, mahkamah dituduh zalim dan tidak adil. Mengapa semasa Anwar menang pada 2011 dahulu mahkamah tidak dituduh zalim juga? Tidak logik,” ujar beliau.
Tambahnya, jalan cerita ‘langkah Kajang’ yang bakal membawa Anwar ke Putrajaya menjadi sempurna apabila keputusan mahkamah dikaitkan dengan persepsi bahawa ia merupakan konspirasi Umno.
“Dengan itu keputusan mahkamah dituduh sebagai konspirasi Umno untuk sekali lagi memberi imej bersih kepada Anwar dan sekali lagi mengeksploitasi isu beliau ke jalan raya.
“Demikian sempurna jalan cerita bagaimana ‘langkah Kajang’ boleh membawa Anwar ke Putrajaya,” katanya lagi.
BANGI: Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) DUN Kajang yang bakal berlangsung pada bulan ini merupakan konspirasi ciptaan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bagi menutup kesalahan liwatnya dan mengalih perhatian rakyat untuk kembali turun ke jalan raya bagi menghidupkan gelombang Reformasi Ke-2.Menurut Presiden Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman, sejak awal lagi pihaknya tidak bersetuju dengan peletakan jawatan bekas ADUN Kajang Lee Chin Cheh tanpa alasan yang munasabah.
“Anwar tahu perjalanan perbicaraan kes liwat sejak awal-awal lagi lalu beliau mereka cipta PRK Kajang dengan alasan yang tidak munasabah.
“Kini apabila beliau didapati bersalah, seluruh perhatian rakyat dialihkan kepada kezaliman pemerintah yang kononnya mahu menyekat beliau daripada menjadi MB selangor,” katanya kepada wartawan ISMAweb.
Jumaat lalu tiga hakim Mahkamah Rayuan sebulat suara memutuskan bahawa Datuk Seri Anwar bersalah atas tuduhan meliwat dan dijatuhi hukuman penjara 5 tahun serta diperintah membayar wang jaminan sebanyak RM10 ribu.
Sementara itu, Ustaz Abdullah mempertikai kenyataan sesetengah pihak yang mendakwa mahkamah tidak berlaku adil ke atas Anwar.
“Bila Anwar kalah, mahkamah dituduh zalim dan tidak adil. Mengapa semasa Anwar menang pada 2011 dahulu mahkamah tidak dituduh zalim juga? Tidak logik,” ujar beliau.
Tambahnya, jalan cerita ‘langkah Kajang’ yang bakal membawa Anwar ke Putrajaya menjadi sempurna apabila keputusan mahkamah dikaitkan dengan persepsi bahawa ia merupakan konspirasi Umno.
“Dengan itu keputusan mahkamah dituduh sebagai konspirasi Umno untuk sekali lagi memberi imej bersih kepada Anwar dan sekali lagi mengeksploitasi isu beliau ke jalan raya.
“Demikian sempurna jalan cerita bagaimana ‘langkah Kajang’ boleh membawa Anwar ke Putrajaya,” katanya lagi.
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