Pakatan MPs consider Bill on inter-faith custody

Mati minta ampun dari Rosmah, ajaran salah, kata MP

Indonesia's female police recruits subjected to virginity tests

Jakarta: Young female police recruits in Indonesia start their careers with what's called the "two-finger test" to assess if they are virgins.

Michael Bachelard

Indonesia's new women officers are required to be single and virginal, but the digital penetration test the police medical officers use as part of their physical examination leaves them feeling traumatised and humiliated, according to interviews conducted recently by Human Rights Watch.

In 2010, the then-head of police personnel, Brigadier General Sigit Sudarmanto, announced that the invasive testing procedure would stop. But still the National Police job recruitment website confirms that: "In addition to the medical and physical tests, women who want to be policewomen must also undergo virginity tests".

Eight female police applicants in six Indonesian cities who endured the "two finger" test as late as this year have told researchers from the human rights body of the pain and humiliation involved.

One young applicant, who was 18 when she was tested in Bandung, near Jakarta, in 2013, said she had learned about the test "only when I was about to take the physical examination".

"[They told us] we could resign from the selection process if we did not want to go through with it, but most of us had gone through so much preparation already, and I felt I had no power to object.

"Twenty female applicants were told to enter a hall … we were then told to go into a room and lie down. The medical staffer, a female, then carried out the 'two-finger' test. I was humiliated and scared … There were candidates who fainted due to the stress."

Another recruit was 19 when she took the test with 20 others in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, in 2014.

"We were asked to take off our clothes, including our bras and underpants. It was humiliating. Only those who were menstruating could keep their underpants on. We were asked to sit on a table for women giving birth. A female doctor did the virginity test ... the 'two-finger' test … It was humiliating."

The test is a discredited procedure that purports to assess whether a woman's hymen is intact.

A director of women's rights group Nurani Perempuan, Yefri Heriyani, is quoted in the report saying the test had left many police women traumatised.

"It will affect their lives in the long term. Many of them blame themselves," she said.

A former police psychologist, Sri Rumiati, said she had objected to the testing in 2010, but her colleagues had replied: "Do we want to have prostitutes joining the police?"

A police spokesman told Fairfax Media that both new male and female recruits were required to be unmarried because they had to "change their character from civilian to semi-military mindset". They can marry after two years in the force.

But it is only women's virginity that is tested.

Nisha Varia, the associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch, said the Indonesian National Police's use of virginity tests was "a discriminatory practice that harms and humiliates women".

"Police authorities in Jakarta need to immediately and unequivocally abolish the test, and then make certain that all police recruiting stations nationwide stop administering it."

Indonesia's predominant religion is Islam, and, even though premarital sex is common, officials and religious leaders still place a high value on female virginity. A South Sumatra school district last year proposed administering a virginity test on its new high school students.

About 3 per cent of Indonesian police officers are female, but the National Police plans to increase this to about 5 per cent with an unprecedented mass recruitment drive, in which 7000 female cadets have undergone a special seven-month training program.

Demand to Revoke CNN Reporter's Press Pass for Attack Headline

Headline presenting Har Nof massacre as 'Israeli police shot two Palestinian civilians' crosses red line for Samaria leader.

By Uzi Baruch and Tova Dvorin

Yossi Dagan, the head of media relations for the Samaria Regional Council, filed a formal complaint Tuesday with the Government Press Office (GPO) against a CNN reporter for equating the terrorists involved in the Har Nof massacre with the victims.

According to Dagan, American CNN reporter Ben Wedeman was responsible for the headline describing the massacre under the headline, "Israeli police shot dead two Palestinian civilians" - when, in fact, the shooters were Palestinian terrorists who killed four Jews and wounded eight others as they prayed the morning service before being killed in a gun battle with police.

Dagan charged that the headline was a serious violation of international journalism ethics, and called to revoke Wedeman's press license and, generally, bring anti-Semitic coverage of terror attacks by foreign journalists to an end - permanently.

"There is no reality elsewhere in the world where journalists can report a terror attack in this style," he stated. "This rule should also apply to foreign reporters in Israel. There is good and there is bad, there are killers and there are victims."

"The media arena in recent years has become an equally important battlefield for Israel, and it must use all the tools at its disposal to demand certain baselines in its media coverage," he continued. "Coverage like this legitimizes the next murder; whoever loses in this loses the next war as well."

Dagan also noted that the Samaria Regional Council has been closely scrutinizing foreign media coverage of events, and that this represents a disturbing trend.

"CNN's strange headline is a direct continuation of a series of other reports in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that appeared recently," the letter said, and noted for example that the report on the car rampage near the Jerusalem light rail last month by the Associated Press began with the title "Israeli police shot a man in East Jerusalem."

'Race ties will worsen if Sedition Act abolished'

 

Former Criminal Investigations Department chief Mohd Zaman Khan has expressed concern over Malaysia’s declining race relations, and warned that it would worsen even further if the Sedition Act 1948 is abolished.

“The reason I decided to be a part of those asking for the Act to be maintained is the building of hatreds...

“Things are being built to be extent that the situation may boil over and beyond what took place in May 1969,” he said, making reference to the May 13 race riots in that year.

Zaman (right), who is also chairperson of the Malay Consultative Council’s (MPM) integrity bureau, said four issues were driving some Malaysians to call for the Sedition Act to be preserved.

These are the concerns over the special privileges of the Malays; the position of the Malay language as the national language; the status of the monarchy; and the position of Islam.

“There is a strong reason why we say the Sedition Act should be retained. If you want to make improvements to it, that is a different matter.

“But if you want to repeal, we say ‘no’,” Zaman said yesterday as a panellist at a roundtable discussion on the Act, organised at Universiti Malaya by the human rights NGO Proham, which is made up of former commissioners of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).
                                              
Laws cannot create harmony

Another panellist, National Young Lawyers Committee chief Syahredzan Johan, argued that legal avenues were not the way to combat hatred except as a last resort. The solution is to engage directly with extremists.

Syahredzan said that laws by themselves cannot create harmony, which should come from engagement, tolerance, understanding and acceptance.

If a racist or bigot is sent to jail, he would still be bigoted when he leaves prison and be resentful about his experience, while other bigots would simply go underground to air their views.

“So, we will have this faux veneer, this faux shine of harmony, where we all sing ‘Kumbaya’ with Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, and Kadazan all living peacefully.

“But there are pockets of extremism within us, and because they cannot voice them out and no one is engaging with them because we can’t see them with the laws that we have; sooner or later, it is all just going to boil over,” Syahredzan (right) said.

If bigots could air their views freely, there would be enough people who would call them out, and society would become more mature in that process.

He said the problem with the Sedition Act is that it does not have the right compromise between freedom of speech and maintenance of public order, but there are other laws in the Penal Code and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Act that can protect against threats to public order.

If it is felt that the existing laws are inadequate, Syahredzan added, then there should be discussions on alternative legislation, such as the laws proposed by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC).

The NUCC is formed by PM Najib Razak to recommend laws to replace the Sedition Act, which he had promised to repeal two years ago. Since then, right-wing groups have protested the move.

Harking back to 16th century

Another speaker, Proham chairperson Kuthubul Zaman, said Malaysia’s use of the Sedition Act against political dissidents has taken the use of the law in the country back to its 16th century origins in the United Kingdom.

In explaining the history of the Sedition Act, Kuthubul said it was a remnant of a UK court practice known as the Star Chamber, which was used as a tool for the Tudor Dynasty to maintain power at a time when the English monarch’s right to rule was considered divine and absolute.

Although the Star Chamber was abolished in 1641, some of it survived in English Common Law and was later codified, and then brought into the statute books of the British colonies.

Since then, Kuthubul (left) said, many of these colonies have either abolished the law, or narrowed the definition of sedition by limiting it to actions that are intended to incite rebellion or similar unrest.

In contrast, in Malaysia there is no need to prove intention or whether unrest had been caused by an allegedly seditious remark or action.

“You say it, you will be found guilty... by ignoring contemporary standards and principles and by ignoring the rights guaranteed by legislative restrictions in the Federal Constitution, Malaysian jurisprudence has returned sedition to its 1606 origins in the court of Star Chamber.

“Malaysia’s Sedition Act allows for absurdities of the kinds satirised in the children’s story ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,” lamented Kuthubul.

Pakatan MPs consider Bill on inter-faith custody

 

Pakatan Rakyat MPs are considering moving a Private Member's Bill to amend the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 to solve interfaith custody battles if the government continues "dragging its feet" on the matter.

"By the next session, if the government dos not come up with something, we might push for a Private Member's Bill. We will look at our options and we will consult the Bar Council and NGOs," DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran said today.

Kulasegaran, a lawyer, said this at a press conference at the Parliament lobby, at which PKR's Subang MP R Sivarasa and PAS' Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin, both lawyers as well, were also present.

The MPs gave de facto law minister Nancy Shukri until March to come up with a concrete solution to solve the inter-faith custody of children problems.

Kula said that the law should be amended to explicitly state that divorce and custody cases when one spouse converts to Islam should be handled and heard by the civil court alone.

“The section must spell out clearly and unambiguously that notwithstanding the conversion in all respect of custody and maintenance shall be dealt only by the civil court,” he said.

“The government is not taking the lead and worse still dragging its feet (to resolve the issue),” he added.

He said that aside from publicised court cases, many other people are suffering due the legal uncertainty in interfaith custody battles.

“Many families are suffering due to these anomalies,” he said.

'Why not say Chinese are 'rich' due to BN?'

 

Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek has questioned Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari for saying the BN is responsible for the plight of Penang’s poor Malays.

Instead, he questioned why Zairil did not say that the state’s Chinese are ‘rich’ due to BN’s previous administration.

As such, the Kemaman MP said the statement by Zairil  was biased and racist in nature.

“Why say the problem of the Malays in Penang was inherited from BN’s administration? Why didn’t he (Zairil, left) say that the success of the Chinese was from BN’s success?

“But I know that he will say that the Chinese are successful because they are good and smart and that the Malays are the way they are because the government is at fault.

“His statement shows how shallow he is and the statement was biased and racist,” Shabery told a press conference today.

He asserted that individuals like Zairil only "hide" behind organisations which are “racist without racism” as they claim they are not racist, yet there are racist elements in the policies they champion.

“These kind of people hide behind meritocracy but are actually racist. ‘Racist without racism’ is something that needs to be scrutinised as it happens everywhere."

Shabery last week was quoted by Umno Online, as saying that a "particular state" was hiding behind the policy of meritocracy in order to subtly discriminate Malays.

Zairil in his response, said the Pakatan government in Penang does not purely promote meritocratic policies but also needs-based policies.

Asean to consider impact of cultural, religious practices on child rights – Bernama

Delegates from across Southeast Asia are meeting today for the Asean Consultation on Cultural and Religious Practices Impacting on the Rights of Children.

The event that is taking place in Jakarta from today until Thursday, according to a press release from the United Nations Children's Education Fund (Unicef).

It said representatives from governments, United Nations (UN) agencies, civil society organisations and academia will join religious and cultural leaders to analyse religious and traditional practices that have implications for child rights in Southeast Asia, using the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

The event aims to build a network of child rights advocates among the various stakeholders, and will end with joint recommendations on promoting children’s rights.

“This consultation is one of the Asean priorities for 2012–16 in promoting the rights of children through religious and cultural practices,” said Ahmad Taufan Damanik, Indonesia's Representative for Child Rights to the Asean Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).

“Spirituality and religion can have a profound influence on children’s development and socialisation, with the potential to reinforce protective influences and promote resilience,” said Daniel Toole, Unicef Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific.

“But if our shared goal of creating a world fit for children is to be realised, we all need to speak about issues that harm children, share solutions, and work together to implement them.”

Unicef said religion and culture could be a positive force in society, promoting the enjoyment of child rights.

However, while many cultural values of Asean member countries contribute to the protection of child rights, some practices can undermine it by objectifying children, discriminating against girls, exploiting children and condoning violence against them.

A 2006 study by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children found that a range of violent traditional practices which harm children may be perceived as normal in their communities, particularly when they do not result in lasting visible physical injury.

All Asean member states will be expected to have national consultations to end any form of violence against children from religious and cultural practices.

The event is organised by the Indonesian Representative to the ACWC, in cooperation with Unicef’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection. – Bernama, November 18, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/asean-to-consider-impact-of-cultural-religious-practices-on-child-rights-be#sthash.HZLvYgwp.dpuf

Instalment plans causing poor Malaysians to pay more, says Khazanah reportl

While lower-income households may have televisions, refrigerators and cars, such ownership does not indicate prosperity but debt, as families pay more than the value of these goods through hire purchase plans with high interest rates.

Giving an on-the-ground picture of whether Malaysians are truly benefiting from economic policies, a Khazanah Research Institute report on "The State of Households" released yesterday showed inequality in many areas, including the fact that the rich pay less for the same items because they can afford to pay in cash.

Poorer Malaysians who rely on instalment plans to purchase goods are paying more than their wealthier counterparts for the same items, due to the high interest rates, the report stated.

This “ansuran mudah" scourge has caused Malaysians to spend most of their income, have little savings, and become more susceptible to price increases, the institute noted.

The report said that consumers who opt for instalment payment offers could pay up to 50% in annual percentage rate (APR) for products, such as televisions, washing machines and fridges.

“The wealthiest pay by cash, the better-off choose credit based on interest rates and the least well-off choose the installment payments offer that they can afford,” it said.

“Low-income households, who have low financial literacy and limited access to debt, appear to choose financing based on the affordability of the monthly or weekly installments rather than the true APR.”

The report revealed that a RM24,936 Perodua Viva at an interest rate of 3.38% for nine years may cost only RM271 a month.

However, consumers would be paying RM6,827 in interest, or 27.38% of the total price, at an APR of 6.14%.

“With a nine-year loan, the Perodua Viva seems affordable at RM271 per month. But the reality is that the buyer pays more than a quarter of the purchase price in interest payments,” said the report.

“The problem is more acute with consumer durables, as the rates are almost 50%.”

The report said that households earning less than RM3,000 have a relatively low share of total household debt but their borrowings are proportionately higher than the rest, at seven times their annual income.

“The pressing concern then is how much debt low-income households have taken relative to their ability to pay.

“They spend most of their income and have little savings, making them susceptible to financial stress should interest rates and inflation continue to rise,” said the report.

Other examples of consumer items in the report was how a Samsung television costing RM1,549, paid at an installment of RM15 a week for five years would rack up a total interest of RM2,419, or 156.14% of the original price. The APR would be at 46.05%.

If a consumer purchased a RM1,024 Toshiba Washer based on a weekly installment of RM10 for five years, they would be paying a total interest of RM1,657, or 161.78% of the product’s price. The APR would be at 47.41%.

The interest rate for a Toshiba refrigerator priced at RM1,049 would be RM463, if paid at a weekly installment of RM16 for two years, with an APR of 37.9%.

“A very high proportion of households own cars (78%), motorcycles (66%), refrigerators (96%) and washing machines (91%),” said the report, citing figures from 2012.

“Almost every household owns a television (98%) and a mobile phone (95%), while 57% subscribe for pay TV (Astro). However, only 39% have an internet subscription.

“Most cannot be buying all these with cash, since their incomes are low. They can only be doing so on credit,” the report said.

These higher debts to service resulted in lower savings, as shown from data from Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB), the unit trust fund for Bumiputeras.

ASB data showed that the bottom 71.4% of unit holders in 2013 have an average of RM554 in their accounts compared with the average for the top 0.2%, which is RM725,122, said the report.

Wealth and income disparity was also evident from Employees Provident Fund (EPF) data which showed the savings of the top 17,061 members being greater than the total savings of the entire bottom 44% which comprises 2,854,419 members, it said.

“Active EPF members in the 41-55 age group, who are on the brink of retirement and have their careers’ worth of savings, have on average RM147,057 each.

"But this is distorted by the richest 5,446 members who have on average RM1.56 million in savings.

“The bottom 13.5%, meanwhile, have an average savings of RM3,580 and the next 7% an average of RM14,848.

“Low savings and low wealth are a result of low incomes. Low EPF savings of the bottom 20.5% and high wealth inequality are consequences of disparities in income,” said the report.

It added their low levels of savings would mean most families would be in trouble in the event of a shock, such as a reduction in income, unemployment or other emergencies.

The report proposed that the government require all providers of consumer credit to prominently advertise the true APR, in an effort to protect those susceptible to installment payments.

It also mooted a realignment of responsibility, noting that the regulation of credit was distributed between Bank Negara Malaysia, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, and the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government.

The report also proposed teaching financial literacy in schools.

Meanwhile, the report noted that higher income households have a higher propensity to save and their savings generated returns and further increased their wealth, contributing to the widening wealth gap.

“We have many wealthy people: Malaysians were the top foreign home buyers by transactions in Singapore in 2012; Malaysians were the fourth largest buyers (4%) of newly built London property in 2012; around 7,000 houses costing more than RM1 million are sold in Malaysia each year; Malaysians purchase many luxury cars,” it said.

In 2013, 28,298 luxury cars were sold to Malaysians, including brands such as Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Lexus, Land Rover, Mini Cooper and Porsche. – November 18, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/instalment-plans-causing-poor-malaysians-to-pay-more-says-khazanah-report#sthash.WnOTAba1.dpuf

Dr M: Education system dividing Malaysians

Nothing in the Federal Constitution provided for vernacular schools and maintaining them was a political decision.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in his latest blog posting, conceded that the poor are being forced to put up with inferior education so that politicians can continue to be popular.

He notes that the rich, including the children of the politicians, are going to English medium schools abroad and international schools in the country while the poor go to the Malay-medium based national schools when they are not attending vernacular schools.

The Tamils and Chinese, for example, go to vernacular schools. Meanwhile, the Orang Asal in Sabah and Sarawak prefer to send their children to Chinese schools along with a handful of Malay students.

The bottomline, says Mahathir who was education minister from 1974 to 1978, is that the education system is dividing the country along the lines of race and class and widening the gap between rich and poor.

He warned that the job market favours the English-speaking, confined increasingly now to the rich, while the poor in the country only speak Tamil, Chinese and Malay.

He admitted that although all his children went to national schools, his grandchildren attended private schools in Malaysia and abroad.

“They do speak the national language but their kind of schooling widens the gap between races as well as between the rich and poor,” he lamented.

“National schools were supposed to bring us all together as a nation.”

He goes into the history of education in the country, what was happening at the dawn of independence in 1957 and what was supposed to happen but didn’t.

He warns that the return to Malay in the teaching of mathematics and science would be a loss of knowledge for the nation and would not be good for the poor.

English schools at the time of independence, noted Mahathir, were attended by all ethnic groups. “Apart from racial separation because of the ethnic language-based schools, we now see a separation of rich children and poor children,” he reiterated in his blog posting.

He said that nothing in the Federal Constitution provided for vernacular schools and maintaining them was a political decision.

MyWatch wants action against ‘outriders’

There must be some kind of action which can be taken against them under the law.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: MyWatch, the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force, says that it has received numerous public complaints that civilians on high-powered motorcycles, are virtually masquerading as police, and providing outrider services for their well-heeled employers.

These leather-jacketed outriders are even telling other road users to make way for their employers, said MyWatch chairman R. Sri Sanjeevan in a statement. “They have no consideration for others. They are making a nuisance of themselves on the road.”

The NGO is surprised that the police are not aware of these outriders and stressed that there must be some kind of action which can be taken against them under the law.

Generally, other than VVIPs, civilians too can request for outrider services from the police for funerals and weddings, among others. Police can provide private security guard services too.

It was not immediately clear whether the “unauthorized” outriders were breaking any law.

Zaid: Shabery Cheek’s logic hanging by a thread

Zaid Ibrahim says Umno’s argument that the lack of affordable housing in Penang is an attack on Malays lacks depth or sense.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: Lamenting the total lack of depth in arguments put forth by Umno in their scramble to find suitable topics for Chinese-bashing, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has attacked Ahmad Shabery Cheek on his latest racist rant about the lack of affordable housing in Penang.

In his latest blog posting, Zaid cynically referred to Ahmad Shabery, who is Minister of Communication and Multimedia, as an “intellectual” whose “sophisticated” whining that “Malays are not welcome to live in Penang” was a lazy argument, lacking any “real evidence” and relied solely on Umno’s “old style of public bashing just before the UMNO General Assembly”.

Saying outright that “Umno has to start making sense”, Zaid was referring to the argument put forth by Ahmad Shabery that the DAP-led Penang state government was racist because the lower-income group was being deprived of affordable housing.

Arguing that Ahmad Shabery was actually referring to Malays because they made up the bulk of those in the lower income group, Zaid said, “By Ahmad Shabery’s logic therefore, the PAP Government (in Singapore) is also practising racial discrimination” as the wealthy were pushing up property prices, leaving Singaporeans without affordable housing.

Zaid said Ahmad Shabery should factor in the influx of money from Singapore and Hong Kong that contributed to skyrocketing property prices.

He also said Ahmad Shabery did not consider that many Malays themselves had sold their land for a good price and relocated.

Lamenting that Umno always tried to make everything a racial or religious issue, Zaid said, “Why do UMNO leaders always have to bring race and religion into everything, even when they’re talking about something basic such as housing?

“Are they incapable of discussing urban housing needs based on reality and facts?”

Saying the contributory factor to the lack of affordable housing in Penang was manifold, Zaid also made one pertinent statement: “… the Barisan Nasional itself has failed to resolve the poor’s housing problems nationwide.”

“Have they proposed any alternative plans to Lim Guan Eng (Penang Chief Minister), which he then refused on unreasonable grounds?” Zaid asked, adding he was not convinced DAP was a “stupid organisation”.

Zaid said, “Penang Malays currently comprise 40 per cent of the vote and Malay men can marry four wives, which means future demographics will favour the Malays in the medium and long term.”

Zaid said DAP was smarter than to make Malays feel unwelcome in Penang seeing as it was in their interest to keep the Malays happy so DAP could maintain their control over Penang come the next general election.

Saying Ahmad Shabery had “to work harder” to convince others that Malays were being sidelined in Penang, Zaid added, ““Surely they cannot rely just on Khairy to do all the clever stuff.”

Azmin Ali steps in to stop eviction of PAWS

Selangor menteri besar saves shelter animals from a bleak future after the PJ District Land Office demanded PAWS vacate the site in six days.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: In a classic case of good triumphing over evil, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has graciously agreed to suspend an eviction notice issued by the Petaling Jaya District Land Office instructing the PAWS Animal Welfare Society to move out in six days.

In a jubilant Facebook posting after a hastily arranged meeting between shelter manager Edward Lim and Azmin Ali, the management of PAWS thanked their menteri besar for being “very responsive” and helping solve the matter of eviction amicably.

Saying, “The eviction notice has been suspended”, PAWS also thanked Wani Muthiar for paving the way to meet up with Azmin Ali yesterday afternoon.

An earlier posting thanked all those who supported PAWS for their love and care, and read, “Words can’t begin to describe our heartfelt appreciation to all who support us.”

The message also thanked Selangor state excos Ean Yong Hian Wah and Elizabeth Wong as well as MBPJ Councillors Sean Oon and Peter Chong who banded together to help resolve the matter of the eviction.

Speaking to shelter manager Edward Lim yesterday just before his meeting with the menteri besar, FMT was told that PAWS received an eviction notice from the PJ District Land Office dated November 10, ordering them to vacate the premises in two weeks. No reason was given for the notice.

“It would take at least six months to a year to properly set up a new shelter, and that still depends on the money and resources we have,” said Lim who added that the sudden eviction came as a nasty shock since the shelter had been occupying the site from 1987.

Lim, who has worked there for 11 years, said he was not around when the notice arrived. He explained, “They (PJ District Land officers) just came and left the notice at the office. The three officers did not even leave their details or say anything.”

The 400 dogs and 200 cats at the PAWS Animal Welfare Society faced an uncertain future and possibly even death by euthanasia if they were forced to shut down operations.

However thanks to the intervention of Azmin Ali, this will not be the case.

Lim explained that PAWS was founded in 1987 by a group of local and expatriate volunteers and was maintained by donations from various corporations, generosity from the public as well as proceeds from merchandise sold at occasional animal-related or community events, organised by and for animal lovers.

Upon hearing about the eviction notice, several animal lovers flocked to the shelter to do their bit for the animals.

“I found out on Facebook yesterday. I know adopting one cat does not justify leaving the rest here but at least I’m doing something good,” said Norashiqueen Bte Ashraff Hassan.

Eric Lim, an insurance agent felt it was most unfortunate that the animal shelter was forced to shut down since they had been doing a great job for the welfare of unwanted animals for years.

Besides giving abused and abandoned cats and dogs a second chance, PAWS has maintained good relations with the Petaling Jaya City Council as well as the Shah Alam Municipality, who both send strays they round-up to PAWS for medical attention and re-homing.

The animal shelter sits on a one acre plot of land originally donated by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad in the 80s, but is now owned by the government, a revelation the management recently discovered when the notice was served.

PAWS currently has three veterinary surgeons and several full time staff on top of the volunteers that come and help with its daily operations.

The case for vernacular schools

By Lim Teck Ghee

Umno vice president Hishammuddin Hussein is anticipating that the motion on vernacular schools will be the hottest topic at his party’s general assembly to be held next fortnight (Nov 25-29).
The call to abolish vernacular schools, termed Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan – SRJK (C) for those using Mandarin as medium of instruction and SRJK (T) for those using Tamil – is expected to dominate the debate by Umno delegates.

Among the SRJK vocal critics are Umno’s Cheras division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee and Petaling Jaya Utara deputy division chief Mohamad Azli Mohemed Saad.

Urging their abolishment, Syed Ali said vernacular schools are seen as the platform for fostering thick racial sentiments. He was reported by FMT on Oct 7 as saying that such a negative development could bring about division and discord between the youth of various races in the country.

Syed Ali is an advocate of single-stream education where all primary schools must teach in the national language, Bahasa Melayu, in the Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK).

Meanwhile, Mohamad Azli was quoted by the NST in its Oct 5 article ‘Umno assembly should discuss position of Chinese schools’ as calling upon the annual convention at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) to discuss whether multi-streaming should be maintained.

“Many are of the opinion that Chinese vernacular schools have been exploited by opposition parties to incite hatred towards other races, and spread racial and anti-government sentiments,” he said.’
It is against this backdrop of the above allegations and a predicted-to-be explosive Umno meeting that the Nov 11 forum titled ‘Should there be one stream of schooling in Malaysia?’ was jointly organised by Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia with the LLG, Tamil Foundation, Ikram, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), Aliran and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST).

Presenting the vernacular school viewpoint

Held yesterday evening at the LLG Cultural Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur, the forum sought to bring the debate into neutral and open ground. (The eponymous LLG centre is named after Chinese educationist Lim Lian Geok).

Among the forum speakers was Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) director Dr Lim Teck Ghee.
In his presentation, Dr Lim said that while government policy on multi-stream education has remained unchanged, certain Malay nationalist groups as well as a few Umno leaders were still continuing with their campaign of agitation aimed at closing down vernacular schools.

Dr Lim described some of these people as being professional agitators who were bent on creating racial strife and attempting to cast the SRJKs as a scapegoat for the country’s race relations crisis.
According to him, the academicians and professionals who were supporting these agitational groups were either ignorant or “apple polishers” seeking to curry favour with the political masters.

Racial discrimination is most divisive factor

There is no empirical evidence to show that vernacular schools undermine national unity, Dr Lim noted. Neither can it be proved that the currently almost mono-ethnic national schools advanced racial integration in any way superior to the role played by vernacular schools.

What evidence there is, Dr Lim explained, indicated that ethnic heterogenous interaction in the so-called “integrated schools” had resulted in disunity and mistrust rather than help bring about unity and integration.

Highlighting a study conducted in 1968-69, he said the poll taken of 7,000 students had found race-based affirmative action to be the factor most responsible for creating inter-ethnic mistrust among the respondents.

The survey had covered 34 secondary schools with mixed student population. Aside from their multiracial enrolment, the schools surveyed were also those where competition for educational mobility was most pronounced.

Dr Lim expressed his belief that the finding is likely to be confirmed by a new study if one were to be done today. He suggested that it is overall government policies on race and religion in the socioeconomic and cultural areas that should be examined and blamed for the deterioration in national unity and integration.

SRJKs included in National Education Blueprint 

Observing how SRJKs are increasingly the school of choice for many non-Chinese parents, Dr Lim pointed out that data from the National Education Blueprint revealed Chinese schools to have at present a more multiracial enrolment compared with SKs.

“Most Malaysians are aware that the diversity of school systems is an advantage in our increasingly globalised world and competitive economy,” he opined.

The blueprint, which is the country’s education roadmap for the next dozen years up to 2025, has reiterated that the diversity of cultures and peoples is fundamental to Malaysian identity. It additionally reaffirms the conventional philosophy that students learn best when taught in their mother tongue through their formative years.

The way forward

In his concluding remarks, Dr Lim called on Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to provide a White Paper in support of his own recent statement in Parliament that the government has been fair in its allocation to the different schooling streams.

Dr Lim said this reassurance is necessary due to widespread public perception that the SRJKs continue to be discriminated against and treated as “stepchildren” by the government and the Ministry of Education.

Full disclosure of funding allocation, school-building policy, school and class enrolment size and other pertinent issues, he added, would help put to rest the pervasive concern. Otherwise non-Malays might consider SRJKs to be the convenient political football that is kicked around whenever the Malay power centre is under duress.

Let all the 33 Cabinet Ministers reveal whether their children and grandchildren had been educated under the national education system or whether they are products of private and international schools, at home or abroad

By Lim Kit Siang Blog,

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir has warned that the social-economic disparity in Malaysia will grow bigger with rich parents sending their children to study English in international schools and abroad while the poor are left behind in national and vernacular schools here.

The former Prime Minister was not revealing any secret when he said that Ministers send their children to private schools and international schools which use largely English as the teaching medium, whether at home or abroad, as this phenomenon started not now but during his 22-year premiership from 1981-2003.

Surely Mahathir was not unaware that his own Ministers were sending their children to private and international schools, whether locally or abroad, demonstrating their lack of confidence in the national education policy and system?

Although the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had boasted that Malaysian youngsters are receiving better education than children in the United States, Britain and Germany, even UMNO leaders and delegates do not believe him – which is why he would not dare to ask the Umno General Assembly to endorse his claim as he would be in for a shocker!

It is true is that the problem of lack of confidence in the BN national education system and policy is now even more serious than in the past, and undoubtedly, there are more UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders who are sending their children to private and international schools, locally or abroad, at present than during Mahathir’s time.

Let all the 33 Cabinet Ministers reveal whether their children and grandchildren had been educated under the national education system or whether they are products of private and international schools, at home or abroad.

Education is one important reason for the crisis of confidence in the Umno/BN government and leadership and why the majority of the national electorate had voted against UMNO/BN in the 13th General Elections resulting in the formation of a minority government and Prime Minister for the first time in Malaysian history.

Recently, former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah lamented that Malaysia isn’t getting what it paid for despite pouring billions into the country’s education system.

He said Malaysia spent double than other Asean countries on education in terms of ratio to gross domestic product, more than Japan and South Korea in 2011, but “the heavy spending on education in terms of gross domestic product ratio is not worth it, or at least it does not give the desired return in terms of quality and increased productivity”.

Malaysia may have achieved the notoriety of having spent most on education in terms of ratio to gross domestic product but yet having the least confidence in the national education system among the country’s government and political leadership, including Ministers and Deputy Ministers, whose children opt out of the national education system.

These are the real issues which the UMNO General Assembly should focus on, why Malaysia is stuck in the bottom third of the countries surveyed in international assessments and not making any significant moves towards the upper tier of the top one-third of the countries; why 15-year-olds in Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea are performing in international assessments as though they had four or even five more years of schooling than 15-years-olds in Malaysia in mathematics, science and reading, instead of resorting to the histrionics and hysterics of racist politics as calling for the closure of Chinese primary schools.

Understanding the decision in the transgender case

The Star 
A Humble Submission by Syahredzan Johan

RECENTLY, the Court of Appeal delivered a decision that rocked the nation. It allowed the appeal of three transgender persons who had challenged the constitutionality of Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment.

The Court, chaired by Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, unanimously found that the said Section violated Articles 5, 8, 9 and 10 of the Federal Constitution and as such, unconstitutional.

The Section provides that any Muslim male who is found to be wearing women’s attire or posing as a woman is guilty of an offence and may be punished by way of a fine of not more than RM10,000.00, or imprisonment of not more than 6 months or both.

The three appellants in the case are physically male. Yet, they are not like any normal male person. They, in fact, suffer from a medical condition known as "gender identity disorder" (GID). Those who suffer from GID, although they are born physically male, feel that they are women. They express themselves as women and exhibit mannerisms of the female gender, such as wearing women’s clothes and make-up.

The three appellants tendered medical evidence of their condition from no less than three experts. From the reports, it was established that GID is not "curable" and is permanent. The reports also established that the female mannerisms of the three appellants was not something they chose, nor could they do anything about it. The Negri Sembilan government, in responding to the suit brought about by the three appellants, did not rebut the medical evidence that was presented.

As a result of their medical condition, the three have constantly been harassed, arrested, detained and charged by the religious authority in Negri Sembilan, acting under Section 66 of the Enactment. It was difficult for them to even step out of their house and live their lives as normal persons as they were constantly subjected to the enforcement of the law.

Imagine, being punished for a medical condition that one can do nothing about. Imagine, if it was another medical condition that was criminalised, instead of GID.

Based on this, the appellants claimed that their fundamental liberties enshrined in the Federal Constitution had been violated by Section 66 of the said Enactment. They claimed that their right to life under Article 5, right to equality and non-discrimination under Article 8, freedom of movement under Article 9 and the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 10(1)(a) have all been violated by the authority pursuant to the said Section 66.

Although the individual states have jurisdiction to enact laws pertaining to the religion of Islam, including Syariah criminal laws such as Section 66 of the Enactment, these laws must still be consistent with the highest law of the land - the Federal Constitution.

As stated by Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi in a recent article, it is the Constitution, and not the Syariah, that is the litmus test of constitutionality. Even though Article 3(1) of the Constitution declared that Islam is the religion of the Federation, this Article does not override all other constitutional provisions. Even Syariah enactments must fall within the ambit of the Constitution and must not deny the rights of minorities.

There is no proviso in Section 66 of the Enactment that excludes GID sufferers from the criminal sanctions. If there were such a proviso, it could be argued that the Section can be saved from being declared as unconstitutional. Yet, the law as it stood made no such distinction and thus violated the constitutional rights of GID sufferers such as the appellants.

This case should not be seen as a challenge to the Syariah. If we take away the Syariah label, the same principles should still apply to determine the constitutionality of the provision. Nor should this case be seen as acknowledging LBGT rights, such as "opening the doors" to same-sex marriages, as alleged by certain quarters. All that the three appellants were seeking through the due process of the law was simply to live as human beings, free from harassment and punishment for something they did not choose nor could do anything about.

* Syahredzan Johan is a lawyer and appeared as amicus curiae in the case for the Bar Council.

> The views expressed are entirely the writer's own.

---

Click 

​

here to access a copy of the brief judgment of the Court of Appeal, dated 7 Nov 2014.

Keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan Dalam Kes Transgender

LoyarBurok

Click 

​

here to access a copy of the brief judgment of the Court of Appeal, dated 7 Nov 2014.

13 November 2014

Keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan yang mengisytiharkan seksyen 66 Enakmen Jenayah Syariah (Negeri Sembilan) 1992, secara ringkas.

Pada 7 November 2014, Mahkamah Rayuan Malaysia telah secara sebulat suara mengisytiharkan bahawa seksyen 66 Enakmen Jenayah Syariah (Negeri Sembilan) 1992 (satu undang-undang yang dibuat oleh Dewan Undangan Negeri Sembilan) adalah bercanggah dengan pelbagai peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Panel Mahkamah terdiri daripada Yang Arif-Yang Arif Hakim-hakim Mahkamah Rayuan Dato’ Mohd Hishamuddin bin Mohd Yunos, Dato’ Aziah binti Ali dan Datuk Lim Yee Lan.

[DIBETULKAN] Alasan Penghakiman yang ringkas telah disediakan oleh pengerusi panel, Hishamuddin JCA, dan dapat dibaca di sini. Satu terjemahan kepada Bahasa Melayu telah dibuat oleh Justice for Sisters Sisters in Islam dan dapat dibaca di sini. Yang Arif Dato’ Hishamuddin adalah tidak asing kepada rakyat Malaysia, dan merupakan satu “wira” hak asasi manusia di kalangan hakim-hakim kami.

Undang-undang Negeri Sembilan itu telah dibuat mengikut kuasa negeri itu membuat undang-undang jenayah Islam, dan telah membuatkannya satu jenayah untuk seorang lelaki memakai pakaian wanita atau berlagak sebagai seorang wanita.

Akan tetapi, tiga orang Perayu di dalam kes itu telah disahkan oleh pakar psikologi dan pakar psikiatri sebagai mengalami Gender Identity Disorder – satu keadaan medikal yang tidak boleh dirawat, dan mengakibatkan mereka mengekspresikan diri mereka sebagai wanita. Sememangnya, mereka tiada pilihan dan secara asalnya merasakan diri mereka sebagai wanita.

Mahkamah Rayuan telah mengesahkan bahawa mana-mana undang-undang yang dibuat oleh satu badan perundangan di Malaysia sememangnya mestilah dibuat selaras dengan peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Mahkamah telah juga menitikberatkan bahawa kes itu bukannya satu keputusan mengenai sama ada seksyen 66 tersebut adalah selaras dengan ajaran agama Islam, tetapi sebaliknya sama ada undang-undang itu (yang dibuat oleh ahli Dewan Perundangan Negeri Sembilan pada tahun 1992) adalah menepati Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Perlu diingati di sini bahawa Fasal 4(1) Perlembagaan Persekutuan menyatakan bahawa Perlembagaan itu adalah undang-undang agong (“the supreme law“) Malaysia.

Mahkamah Rayuan, secara ringkas, mendapati bahawa seksyen itu mencabuli

a) hak asasi untuk hidup dengan menghormati harga diri seseorang (right to live with dignity) [Fasal 5(1) Perlembagaan Persekutuan] kerana seksyen 66 mengakibatkan mereka hidup dalam keraguan, kesengsaraan dan secara terhina

b) hak asasi untuk bekerja (right to livelihood) [Fasal 5(1) dan 8], kerana mereka tidak dapat keluar daripada rumah secara terbuka untuk pergi ke tempat kerja mereka

c) hak asasi untuk bergerak ke mana-mana tempat di dalam Persekutuan [Fasal 9(1))

d) hak asasi kesamarataan [Fasal 8(1)]

e) hak asasi agar tidak diletakkan di dalam keadaan yang mendiskriminasikan mereka oleh kerana jantina mereka [Fasal 8(2)]

f) hak asasi untuk mengekspresikan diri mereka [Fasal 10(1)(a)]

Peguam bagi perayu-perayu adalah LoyarBurok-ker Aston Paiva dan Fahri Azzat, dengan pelbagai peguam pemerhati dan peguam yang bertindak sebagai rakan Mahkamah.

Price Of RON97 Reduced By 20 Sen A Litre

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- The retail price of RON97 petrol will be reduced by 20 sen a litre, from RM2.75/litre to RM2.55/litre throughout the country effective midnight tonight.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan confirmed the matter on his Twitter account Tuesday.

A copy of the letter to the effect sent by the Finance Ministry to Petronas Dagangan Berhad was uploaded with his Twitter posting.

The price of the fuel is determined by managed float, and depends on market forces.

K'jaan sahkan 39 warga Malaysia terbabit dengan IS

Two women murdered for ‘honor’ in northern Faryab province

By Khaama Press 
At least two women were murdered by their family members in the latest wave of honour killings in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan.

According to local security officials, the two women were murdered by their relatives in Pashtun Kot and Bulcharagh districts late on Sunday night.

The officials further added that the woman in Pashtun Kot district had married with another man by divorcing her first husband, which is believed to be the main reason behind her murder.

The provincial criminal investigation department chief Gen. Sarbuland Hasham said the woman who was believed to be 38-year-old, was shot dead by her relatives.

Sarbul and further added that the second was strangled to death by her husband since she had not given birth to a child despite a year had passed from their marriage.

He said the perpetrators behind the two murders have been arrested by police and are in custody for further investigation.

Malaysian state mulls guillotine as punishment for thieves

The Times Of India

KUALA LUMPUR: A minister in Malaysia's Kelantan state has suggested that a 'mini' guillotine could be used to amputate those convicted of stealing in the Muslim state, which is ruled by a fundamentalist party.

The guillotine, similar to that used to behead French King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette in 1793, is being considered by leaders of the state who are keen to implement Islamic Hudud law which seeks severe punishment for thieves and rapists, which include amputation.

The fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) led state's hudud law technical committee, said to be facing problems finding suitable methods to amputate limbs of those convicted of stealing, is considering this 'mini' form of the guillotine as an option.

The party chairman Amar Abdullah said he would suggest to the panel to use such a contraption which would not need a surgeon to operate.

Kelantan deputy Chief minister Mohd Amar said despite the negative reactions to getting surgeons to amputate the limbs of offenders, the committee was still mulling the idea, Star said today.

"The surgeon must first agree to carry out the procedure but he is likely to face the wrath of the Malaysian Medical Association for violating the Hippocratic Oath," he said.

The guillotine was fast, effective and required only one person to operate, two others to hold down the offender and a doctor to ensure the punished person does not drastically suffer from the punishment, he said adding that the judge who meted out the sentence must also be present.

"I will make extensive studies on the method used during the French Revolution in the 18th century when guillotines were used to sever the heads of those sentenced to death," he was quoted as saying by The Star.

Kelantan intends to table two private member's Bills in Parliament for Hudud laws to be implemented and enforced in the state from next year.

Currently, under Article 76A of the Federal Constitution, crimes such as stealing, robbing, causing hurt, rape and murder come under the Penal Code.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has sais PAS wanted to implement hudud in Kelantan to win votes.

"PAS is doing this just to gain political mileage, it is not about Islam," online portal Malaysia Insider said.

"There is no justice if hudud is implemented because the hands of a Muslim thief are cut while a non-Muslim spends two months in prison. Is that justice? If it is not justice, then it is not Islamic," Mahathir said.

ISIS kills family refusing to marry off daughter: Iraq

Al Arabiya News

Five members of an Iraqi family who refused to marry off their daughter to a fighter in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have been executed by the militant group in a “horrific crime,” Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry said over the weekend.

In a statement posted on its website Sunday, the ministry said ISIS militants executed the five family members – mother, father and three children – and then kidnapped the 14-year-old girl, taking her to an undisclosed location.

The family, according to the statement, had refused to marry off the girl to the “criminal Jamal Saddam, known as Abu Abdallah.”

The statement did not say where or when the alleged killing took place. The ministry described the incident as a “horrific crime.”

Early this year, ISIS, an Iraqi, Al-Qaeda-rooted group espousing fundamentalist views of Islam, seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria, later announcing a so-called “caliphate.”

Western and Arab states are coordinating military air strikes against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria after the militant group began executing Western hostages in a series of videos posted online.

Malaysia condemns barbaric acts by Islamic State, says Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the actions of Islamic State militants in Syria violated the teachings of Islam and the principles of Islamic law, Bernama reported today.

He said this in condemning the barbaric act committed against American aid worker Peter Kassig and the Syrian military personnel by Islamic State, via messages on his Twitter account.

"Malaysia condemns in the strongest terms, the barbarism committed against Mr Kassig and the Syrian military personnel. These abhorrent acts violate the teachings of Islam and the principles of Islamic law," Bernama reported him as saying.

The Islamic State militant group had released an online video clip yesterday, showing the beheading of US Army ranger-turned-aid-worker Kassig, who was captured while delivering relief supplies in Syria last year.

According to Bernama, the Islamic State video also showed the gruesome simultaneous beheadings of at least 18 men described as Syrian military personnel.

Islamic State, which was previously called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), is a splinter group of al-Qaeda, and it aims to set up an Islamic caliphate encompassing both Iraq and Syria, and possibly the entire Middle East. It has been classified as a terror organisation.

The prime minister's comments today is far removed from a speech he had made at a dinner to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Cheras Umno branch on June 24. At the time, he had called on party members to emulate the exploits of the militant group, saying the bravery shown was a virtue that Umno needed to demonstrate to survive and flourish.

“Whether we agree or not is another matter, the group Isil with the strength of just 1,300 people, can defeat an Iraqi army of 30,000 soldiers, until four, five generals with three, four stars run for their lives, jump out the window at night,” he had said, adding that Isil could defeat a bigger force simply because the latter was afraid of it. – November 17, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-condemnds-barbaric-acts-by-islamic-state-says-najib#sthash.MzryCDfr.dpuf

'Stop talk on forming Syariah Federal Court'

 

After DAP berated BN parties for remaining silent on the cabinet discussion to set up a Syariah Federal Court. MIC Youth has broken its silence saying it will alter the secular nature of the federal constitution.

MIC Youth chief Sivarraajh Chandran urged the government to stop any discussion on the matter as it is improper to impose "God’s law" over secular law, because “human beings cannot act in the name of God”.

“It is manifestly clear in the federal constitution that Islamic law is limited to state enactments and that they have no federal jurisdiction,” Sivarraajh (right) said in a statement today.

To push through with the legal amendments, Sivarraajh said, at the very least a referendum should be held to see whether people really want a Syariah Federal Court.

Sivarraajh was responding to a Berita Harian report that quoted Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom as saying that a proposal for five-tier Syariah court system is being discussed, including by the Council of Rulers.

This includes a Syariah Appeal Council or a Syariah Federal Court, which would have similar powers with the civil Federal Court.

Yesterday DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang slammed MCA and Gerakan ministers for not objecting to plans that were purportedly discussed during the cabinet meeting last Friday.

Instead of objecting during the cabinet meeting, Lim said, the BN parties would relegate the job to their lower rung leaders to raise at Parliament.

'Syariah has limits'

Sivarraajh pointed out that under the constitution, states have the power to legislate about 20 areas related to Islamic law and personal law, but subject to limitations.

“Although Article 3(1) (of the Federal Constitution) provides that ‘Islam is the religion of the federation’, Article 3(4) says ‘Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this constitution’...

“This means that Article 3(1) does not override any other provision of the constitution, including the many fundamental rights in Article 5 to 13,” Sivarraajh said.

Articles 5 to 13 refer to the constitution’s provisions for, among others, the right to life and liberty, equality before the law, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.

'Chinese can do business cause 'tuan' tolerant'

 

An Umno division leader has called on all races, especially the Chinese, to emulate the Malays who are patient and willing to compromise.

Syed Ali Alhabshee said non-Malays must accept the reality that "ketuanan Melayu" (Malay hegemony), the national language and Islam cannot be questioned, threatened or belittled.

Furthermore, he said non-Malays should not be “prejudicial or envious” towards the Malays and Muslims.

He was also disappointed that the Chinese deliberately magnified issues related to the position and interests of Malays, including matters of religion.

“The Chinese must understand that Malays are ‘tuan’ (masters) in this country, they must also understand that it is because the Malays are willing to compromise that they (the Chinese) can carry out all sorts of activities, especially in the business sector,” he added in a blog post.

The Cheras Umno division leader also pointed out that in the last two general elections, Chinese support for BN and Umno candidates had dwindled.

“This clearly shows that the Chinese support the opposition, this attitude must change and Chinese voters should be on the side of the government,” he said.

Syed claimed that Chinese voters had been influenced by the opposition which fanned racial and anti-Malay sentiments.

The Umno leader also said the Malays had been patient and tolerant despite their position often being questioned by other races.

And it was this patience, he added, which served as the foundation for shaping a progressive and harmonious Malaysian society.

“The Malays have been very patient all this while, compromising even when other races openly dispute our position despite it being enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

“When other races criticise and question our rights, the Malay hegemony and Islam as the official religion, we remained patient believing that our patience will preserve the stability of the nation and well-being of all races,” he said.

However, Syed warned that their patience had its limit and called on all races to understand the history of the nation.

In view of this, Syed welcomed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s reminder to the Chinese to be more sensitive towards the Malays when emphasising the need for mutual respect.

The Malays let down their own side

The Malay is an enigma. He claims to know Islam, but when his brethren is threatened, he refuses to speak out. He fears the mob will hound him, even though neither he nor the person he would like to protect, have done anything wrong.

Mariam Mokhtar, The Ant Daily

When a preacher tells him of a shortcut to heaven, he is all ears. His morbid fascination with the afterlife makes him forget his moral obligations and his responsibilities to his fellow man, because he believes that his life on earth is to prepare him for the afterlife; but at what cost?

He would rather not use his brain to think, especially when it concerns moral issues. He would rather some other body does his thinking for him, perhaps, the ulama or the government. The gift which God gave him, his brain, lies idle because he is fixated on the afterlife more than life on earth. His siege mentality is reinforced by the Umno-Baru government, so that he feels helpless without the government to tell him what to do.

The Malay mentality is stuck in a time warp. If only his intellect and compassion could increase at the same rate, as his love for material goods, perhaps, we would not have massive problems in Malaysia, today. The Malay feels and acts like he is superior to people of other faiths and cultures. He is not. His lack of humility fails him, in the eyes of many.

The Malay depends on the government to spoon-feed him and when he does not get his fix, he gets upset. He is like a child who should have been weaned a long time ago. Democracy, human rights and rule of law mean very little to him. He wants to get ahead, and if cheating will give him an advantage, then so be it.

There is one group which is unlike the Malay. They do not want you to sell them anything, nor do they want you to give them a commission. They do not demand that you give them all of your time, they do not want your riches or your belongings. They do not expect you to give them a datukship or to betray others for them. They do not tell you how to behave or make you fearful, by invoking God’s name. All they want is companionship and for that, they will go to the ends of the earth for you. “They” are dogs, another of God’s creatures.

Read more at: http://www.theantdaily.com/Main/The-Malays-let-down-their-own-side

Birth certs for stateless kids a right move

MPSS secretary says the initiative will resolve perennial issues related to illegal immigrants in Sabah.

FMT

TAWAU: The government’s decision to issue birth certificates without citizenship status to stateless children in Sabah is appropriate, according to a local leader.

Majlis Permuafakatan Suluk Sabah (MPSS) secretary Mohd Zaki Harry Susanto said it also showed that the government was transparent in handling security concerns.

He said the initiative would resolve perennial issues related to illegal immigrants in Sabah.

“Nevertheless, the government must ensure that the mechanism will not be exploited by irresponsible parties.

“The implementation will not be easy and will take time, because the sovereignty of the country and special rights of Malaysians cannot be compromised,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the government would provide birth certificates to stateless children, which would only contain their birth records.

Vivekananda Ashram stays, for now

Minister of Tourism and Culture is going all out to gazette the century-old building as a national heritage site.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The wishes of thousands who want the Vivekananda Ashram in Brickfields declared a national heritage site may very likely come true now that Minister of Tourism and Culture Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz has announced plans to save the 110-year-old building from redevelopment.

Saying he plans to make a formal submission to list the site as a national heritage in December, Nazri explained, “And if there are no objections from any party, we will be able to announce the Vivekananda Ashram as a national heritage site by February 2015.”

Nazri however warned that the process must strictly be followed according to the law.

Cautioning that it could be a long, drawn-out battle, Nazri explained, “The process to gazette the site might prolong until October 2015 if objections are raised along the way, but otherwise by March 2015 it will be solved.”

Meanwhile Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran was all praises for Nazri, calling his initiative “brave” and “revolutionary” as the ashram was symbolic of the presence for the Indian community in Malaysia.

Humbly brushing aside all praises, Nazri said, “I am colourblind and to me, this establishment is a Malaysian heritage.”

Nazri also pledged to pursue the matter “with the same amount of tenacity and enthusiasm” that he would any other site that warranted national heritage status regardless of whether the site was important to the Muslims, Hindus or Chinese because “once these sites are gone they’re gone forever”.

On November 6, Nazri visited the Vivekananda Ashram and submitted a notice requesting the site be gazetted a national heritage. Later on November 12, Nazri submitted the same request to the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Malay rights intact even if Sedition Act repealed

Proham secretary-general says four sensitive aspects of special rights of Malays and Bumiputeras is protected even if act is repealed.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The abolition of the Sedition Act 1948 will not affect the four sensitive aspects concerning the special rights of the Malays and the Bumiputera enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

As such, secretary-general of the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) Denison Jayasooria said the Malays need not worry about the plan to abolish the Act as the four aspects – the special position of the Malays and Bumiputera (Article 153), the special position of Malay Rulers (Article 181), Malay language as the National Language (Article 152) and Citizenship (Part III) would be protected and well preserved.

“In fact, any replacement of the Act, including the proposed National Harmony Act, will not touch on these four aspects,” he told reporters after moderating the Round-Table Discussion on the Sedition Act 1948 at Universiti Malaya, here today.

The discussion was attended by former Bukit Aman CID director Mohamed Zaman Khan Rahim Khan, Proham Chairman Kuthbul Zaman and Malaysian Bar Council’s Young Lawyers Committee chairman Syahredzan Johan.

Commenting on the call by the Malay Consultative Council (MPM) that the abolition or improvement of the Sedition Act be referred to the Council of Rulers, Denison said it was a non-issue because only amendment to certain matters concerning Malay rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution would need the consent of the council.- Bernama

M’sia to work with US to beat IS

Defence Minister says Malaysia will share intelligence with US Marine Forces to combat threat of IS.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will share intelligence with the United States (US) Marine Corps Forces to combat the ‘so-called IS militant group’ threat in this region, says Defence Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

He said Malaysia and Asean nations could not take such threats for granted.

“The US experience in dealing with the IS in the Middle East is important for us to share information and intelligence,” the minister told the media after meeting with the visiting US Marine Corps Forces Pacific Commander Lt Gen John A. Toolan at the ministry in Kuala Lumpur, Monday.

Toolan said the US Marine Corps would strengthen its collaboration with the Malaysian Armed Forces, such as conducting joint training in the provision of military assistance in the event of disasters.

“We look forward to working in smart partnership in disaster relief or any crisis that may occur, and we want to be able to familiarise ourselves with each other in order to operate together, so that we can resolve any challenge that may pop up,” he said.

Hishammuddin, who will be leaving for Myanmar Tuesday to attend the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) said he and his Asean counterparts would discuss security issues that could affect the region’s stability.

“We will engage and find the necessary mechanisms to combat extreme militancy via intelligence sharing, training and using available technology and assets,” he said.

On the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 which was downed in Ukraine, Hishammuddin said the public should wait until the international body set up to investigate the shooting of the aircraft, had completed its investigations.

The international media recently reported about photographs, said to be taken by a satellite, that appeared to show a fighter jet firing a missile at a passenger plane over eastern Ukraine where MH17 was shot down last July 17, killing all 298 crew and passengers on board.

- BERNAMA

The dangerous road that PAS travels

The party is throwing away the urban vote in the interest of maintaining its grip on Kelantan while slowly spreading out to the rest of the country.

FMT

Religion can be extremely beneficial to mankind. It has provided us a moral code and encourages altruism, gives hope to the downtrodden, and purpose to the lost. Throughout human history, some of the most remarkable acts of kindness were driven through a devotion to a faith. By and large, religion is a social control mechanism that convinces us to do the best for each other.

But in the wrong hands, that social control mechanism has been used to oppress, repress, and dominate large segments of the public. This manifests often in the form of cults, where a supreme leader assures his flock of salvation, but only through him and his doctrine, and maintains a tight control over the minds of his people through the constant instilling of fear, until the oppressed becomes the oppressor and the cycle begins anew.

The use of religion as the primary control for a society, regardless of the core tenets and teachings of the religion itself, is evident in many theocracies as it is within the interest of the ruler and those associated with him to exert authority in the name of the divine to maintain his position over the masses. In a theocratic structure, dissent is seen as blasphemy and the ruler is absolute, his governance sanctioned by divine will.

It is down this dangerous road that PAS now travels.

Play for power

PAS is becoming a worrying problem for Malaysia. Presented in GE13 as a progressive party with burnished grassroots credentials and a long, vaunted history, PAS now seems content to throw away the urban vote in the interest of maintaining its kingdom in the north while slowly spreading out to the rest of the country. It seems like Abdul Hadi Awang is no longer content to play nice while the so-called Erdogans in his party try to gain influence to stand against the toxic rhetoric coming from extremist groups. He has made a play for power through the faction of the ulamas, who are more than pleased to oblige.

The establishment of hudud laws in Kelantan should not actually be as major an issue as many of us seem to believe. After all, there are many practical suggestions within that law system should it be updated for modern day sensitivities and values. PAS, unfortunately, wants to drag the 20th century kicking and screaming back to the Middle Ages by introducing a guillotine into the legal process to chop the hands off thieves as no medical practitioner will violate the Hippocratic Oath and knowingly disable a person for life.

It seems like PAS is not interested in the fact that a man who has lost his arm will likely feel vengeful for it. Nor will he be able to live life normally ever again. The loss of a limb means that most menial tasks may be out of reach for a long time as the individual attempts to adapt to a new life minus a hand.

There must surely be some other means of recourse acceptable within the framework of hudud other than to remove the limbs of a person. The punishment should be severe, yes, but how do we assign value to the limbs of another human being? There must be an alternative to such a final form of punishment.

Better yet, why not rehabilitate and educate these criminals? In the Nordic countries, the prison system is designed around the idea that these people will one day rejoin society, and if the authorities don’t prepare for that objective, they will fall back to committing the very same crime that landed them in prison in the first place.

Through a comprehensive education system, the inmates can attain vital skills not only for finding a stable job, but also to help them reintegrate with society. This forward thinking considers society as a whole and attempts to better it. Opposed to it is the kind of thinking characterised by a romantic longing for times past, when we rode horses and used sabres in war, read by candlelight, trekked long distances to find a teacher, washed only when we could find running water and dealt with criminals swiftly and neatly.

Religious hegemony

The other primary concern is the effects of PAS’ religious hegemony over the people of Kelantan.

Kelantan has been recognized as the state that proportionally has the most HIV/Aids infections in the nation, which is ironic when you consider the credentials PAS pushes into people’s faces come election time. Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz has attempted to push some of the blame for this on Kelantan’s proximity to Thailand, which is apparently a land of every vice known to man. That is admittedly somewhat true, but don’t forget that Thailand also has great food, amazing architecture and Muay Thai. It really depends on what you’re looking for. But we digress.

Nik Abduh got his fair share of tongue lashing for attempting to taichi the blame onto Thailand, but what we’re overlooking in the issue is the backlash that occurs when religion is used as an oppressive social control.

Authority, divine or otherwise, is effective only to the extent that people are willing to submit to it. Pushing its limits only invites a backlash. Just because PAS tags “divine” to the rules it expects the people of Kelantan to obey, it doesn’t mean the old maxim “rules are meant to be broken” won’t apply.

You see, we humans are curious creatures. To a certain extent we want to be governed and led, but each individual has his personal limits, which are defined by cultural values and personal beliefs. Some are less docile than others, and when faced with authoritarian control, they may rebel or find alternatives to outright dissension, which is the problem faced by Kelantan now.

The people of Kelantan are told how to live their lives and go about their existences. Certain small vices are denied them, including cinemas, which us KL-ites flock to like flies to food whenever a new blockbuster is in town. Though rarely enforced, men and women line up separately even in grocery stores.

Rigidity may have some benefits, but forcing people into a corner the way PAS is slowly doing in Kelantan is like inviting some of them to dissent.

Avoidable problem

If they can’t indulge in their vices in Kelantan, they can cross the border. And because they are so restrained at home, they indulge even harder due to a lack of control that others may have learned in a more relaxed environment. This, and a lack of education on safely indulging in vices, has led to the uptick in HIV/Aids cases seen in Kelantan, which, in all honesty, is a completely avoidable problem.

PAS needs to relax the clench of its fists before it engineers its own downfall. The hudud push is not likely to be a very welcome one even among avid supporters of the party in Kelantan. After all, everybody falls to his vices every once in a while, and facing the chopping block – literally, this time – is not likely to be a very attractive option. People want and crave freedom as much as they want guidance, and PAS would be wise to recognize this.

“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical… It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.” – Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government.