FMT ALERT IPOH: Kuala Kangsar PKR Youth leader Mohd Adam Haris Abdullah lodged a police report against PKR branch chairman MS Arjunan for using the PKR platform…
Thursday, 19 August 2010
PKR Youth leader lodges report against Arjunan
FMT ALERT IPOH: Kuala Kangsar PKR Youth leader Mohd Adam Haris Abdullah lodged a police report against PKR branch chairman MS Arjunan for using the PKR platform…
BN party backs boss on 'Umno bad for 1M'sia' stand
PENAMPANG: Barisan Nasional component party Upko is standing by its president Bernard Dompok, who was labelled as irresponsible by Sabah Umno.
Upko secretary-general Wilfred Madius Tangau said…
PENAMPANG: Barisan Nasional component party Upko is standing by its president Bernard Dompok, who was labelled as irresponsible by Sabah Umno.
Upko secretary-general Wilfred Madius Tangau said it was unfortunate that Sabah Umno liaison deputy chairman Salleh Said Keruak could not read the “pulse of the people” well.
He was commenting on Dompok's remark that Umno was a hindrance to the promotion of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia concept, which he said was spot on.
“The fact is, this burning question is not in the mind of Dompok alone, but is a pertinent question in the mind of the grassroots including those of BN component party leaders. We support fully what our president has courageously stated publicly,” he said in a press statement.
Tangau, who called Salleh, a former Sabah chief minister, as his “friend”, presumed that the Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief did not get the true picture of the issue.
“It is unfortunate that my friend Salleh has not correctly understood what my president was trying to say last Sunday, regarding Upko’s fears for the 1Malaysia concept,” he said.
Dompok, who spoke to the media after an Upko convention in Penampang on Sunday, said: "Najib has a good plan for the country, 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.”
“What I am afraid of is this, will he be allowed by his party and those NGOs surrounding his party to do the task that he feels is good for the country? That is the burning question in my head".
On Tuesday, Salleh described the remark as irresponsible and said that Dompok should not question whether Umno understood the true meaning or spirit of the 1Malaysia concept.
'Is that irresponsible, or simply a fact?'
But Tangau said: “As a friend, I now ask Salleh, is that an irresponsible statement? Or is that a statement of fact?”
“Isn't it a fact that a certain NGO vehemently opposed some of the recommendations of the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) in the form of the New Economic Model (NEM) to the extent that the work of Amirsham Aziz, the chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) has been stalled? And now the programme formulations of the NEM has been given to Pemandu under Idris Jala?” he added.
He said even elder statesman Dr Mahatir Mohamed had said that the 1Malaysia concept needed further explanation.
Tangau said that as a senior leader of his party, Salleh should ponder over these facts, cut out the emotion and begin working harmoniously with the rest of the BN team members.
On Salleh's contention that it is "normal" for Umno leaders to publicly demand to contest the parliamentary seats of Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and Ranau as well as the state constituencies of Tanjung Kapor and Merotai, Tangau said Upko begs to differ.
“Upko thinks that such a demand is "abnormal" and smacks of arrogance. Imagine a Malay-based component party demanding to contest in the Chinese dominated opposition held parliamentary constituency of Kota Kinabalu? Isn't that abnormal?” he asked.
He stressed that Upko was not showing displeasure because Umno made known publicly that it was interested in seats allocated to Upko as alleged by former Sabah Progressive Party member Raymond Tan who has since switched to Gerakan.
Tangau said Upko was more concerned about the dent to the BN image created by such reckless demands by Umno which had damaged the power sharing concept, a core BN principle.
”Mahathir once assured Upko in as speech that Umno will never contest more than half of the state and parliamentary constituencies in Sabah as a mark of commitment to the BN concept of formal power sharing, harmonious politics and loyalty to friends in BN. But today all those assurances are not adhered to.
"Not only (does) Umno contest more than half of (the) seats but they are asking for more,” he added.
Was there a 'Projek IC'?
On the issue of illegal immigrants, Tangau said Upko was glad that Umno also wanted this issue resolved as stated by Salleh.
”That being the case, I humbly ask Salleh to advise the state government to begin the process by determining the future of the estimated 57,000 to 84,000 IMM13 document holders.
"For how long will the documents be renewed? Did the state government ever consent to any of the IMM13 holders to be given Permanent Resident status?" he asked.
Tangau also wanted to know if there was "any move to resolve the future of the so called UNHCR settlsments in Kg.Boronuon, Telipok, Skim Penempatan in Kinarut, Lahad Datu, Sandakan and so on?”
Could "the state government begin to explain to the people the extraordinary increase in the population of Sabah? Was there really a Projek IC as alleged by a former Umno leader from Lahad Datu by the name of M.D Mutalib?”
Upko, he said, welcomed the "millions of ringgit spent on security forces and high-tech equipment along our coastlines for the purpose of surveillance, but obviously the millions spent have not met with the desired results. Why?"
On the RM2 billion gas pipeline from Kimanis to Bintulu, Tangau said that Dompok had requested former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to scrap it, which the latter initially agreed but the Cabinet backtracked later .
Dompok nevertheless insisted that national oil company, Petronas, should use the gas to generate electricity for Sabah as well as to feed the petrochemical plant and only the leftover gas be piped to Bintulu, he said.
“Finally I have this to tell Salleh: As a friend it is unfortunate that we have to reply to each other in this manner in the media because unlike the BN supreme council meeting, the Sabah BN liaison committee has not set the meeting schedule as directed by the BN secretary general,” he said.
The gyrations of Harussani
COMMENT (Malaysiakini) It is said that one definition of a fanatic is someone who redoubles his effort after he has lost sight of his goal. Right now that description would…
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COMMENT (Malaysiakini) It is said that one definition of a fanatic is someone who redoubles his effort after he has lost sight of his goal. Right now that description would fit Perak state mufti Harussani Zakaria to a T.
Not for nothing has he been tagged by critics as 'Umno's mufti'.
When he first made his entrance into the country's news-maker's domain four years ago, he managed to be mildly amusing even as he deployed stories of the hair-raising kind.
Such as word that there were going to be mass conversions to Christianity from Islamic ranks at a church in
Ipoh. Now this hoary old story of conversions has a pedigree going back a few centuries, in spite of recurring evidence that in parts of the world where it tends to rear its head, the conversions have been the other way round.
But some myths have a potency that facts on the ground struggle to destroy. Like the czarist forgery, 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion', that tale of Jewish conspiracies to dominate the world which still enjoys credibility in some parts of the world.
The contortions Harussani (above) went through trying to explain where he got his information on conversions in Ipoh four years ago were enough to call attention to his credulity and fitness for public office.
Moral hazard
Never mind the matter of his advice on what to do with non-adherents who criticise his religion that appeared on a website (below) associated with him. It would have got him on a charge of incitement but that advice was quickly deleted from the website. The public must be grateful for small mercies!
You would have thought the conversion brouhaha alone would have done enough damage to the man's prospects of upward mobility.
But in parts of our country meritocracy is still a bad word: you are more likely to be promoted when you do things the other way round. Harussani went on to receive religious credits and national honorifics.
The economists have a word for this: moral hazard. They say this occurs when you offer incentives for perverse conduct.
Harussani went on to validate the theory. The other day he claimed that PAS leaders have met him to seek his mediation in bringing about unity talks between Umno and PAS. When challenged by some of PAS' principals to furnish names, he declined but maintained that as mufti he would not lie.
When PAS' Hassan Ali offered that he had indeed met with Harussani but denied it was for arranging unity talks, the Perak mufti was placed on the horns of an embarrassing dilemma: either he had to retract and apologise or suggest that Hassan was being economical with the truth. He did neither.
Experience-wise all this would have constituted enough deterrence to further meddling in the political arena.
Alternate constitution?
But Harussani is unchastened. Like a hamster on a treadmill, he redoubles his effort when he seems not to know what his goal actually is.
Just now he has said that he knows of people who have drawn up an alternate constitution that abolishes Malay special rights and removes Islam as the official religion of the country.
He has been properly challenged by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to supply proof thereof.
The rest of us who are equally keen on the proof are prepared not to embarrass Harussani by reminding him of his stance that as state mufti, he is constitutionally averse to mendacity.
TERENCE NETTO has been a journalist for close on four decades. He likes the occupation because it puts him in contact with the eminent without being under the necessity to admire them.
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Not for nothing has he been tagged by critics as 'Umno's mufti'.
When he first made his entrance into the country's news-maker's domain four years ago, he managed to be mildly amusing even as he deployed stories of the hair-raising kind.
Such as word that there were going to be mass conversions to Christianity from Islamic ranks at a church in
But some myths have a potency that facts on the ground struggle to destroy. Like the czarist forgery, 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion', that tale of Jewish conspiracies to dominate the world which still enjoys credibility in some parts of the world.
The contortions Harussani (above) went through trying to explain where he got his information on conversions in Ipoh four years ago were enough to call attention to his credulity and fitness for public office.
Moral hazard
Never mind the matter of his advice on what to do with non-adherents who criticise his religion that appeared on a website (below) associated with him. It would have got him on a charge of incitement but that advice was quickly deleted from the website. The public must be grateful for small mercies!
You would have thought the conversion brouhaha alone would have done enough damage to the man's prospects of upward mobility.
But in parts of our country meritocracy is still a bad word: you are more likely to be promoted when you do things the other way round. Harussani went on to receive religious credits and national honorifics.
The economists have a word for this: moral hazard. They say this occurs when you offer incentives for perverse conduct.Harussani went on to validate the theory. The other day he claimed that PAS leaders have met him to seek his mediation in bringing about unity talks between Umno and PAS. When challenged by some of PAS' principals to furnish names, he declined but maintained that as mufti he would not lie.
When PAS' Hassan Ali offered that he had indeed met with Harussani but denied it was for arranging unity talks, the Perak mufti was placed on the horns of an embarrassing dilemma: either he had to retract and apologise or suggest that Hassan was being economical with the truth. He did neither.
Experience-wise all this would have constituted enough deterrence to further meddling in the political arena.
Alternate constitution?
But Harussani is unchastened. Like a hamster on a treadmill, he redoubles his effort when he seems not to know what his goal actually is.
Just now he has said that he knows of people who have drawn up an alternate constitution that abolishes Malay special rights and removes Islam as the official religion of the country.
He has been properly challenged by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to supply proof thereof.
The rest of us who are equally keen on the proof are prepared not to embarrass Harussani by reminding him of his stance that as state mufti, he is constitutionally averse to mendacity.
TERENCE NETTO has been a journalist for close on four decades. He likes the occupation because it puts him in contact with the eminent without being under the necessity to admire them.
Punish ‘racist’ principal, not cover up, parents demand
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Denying that it was a “misunderstanding”, parents want the Education Ministry to take stern disciplinary action against the Johor school head accused of spouting racist…
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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Denying that it was a “misunderstanding”, parents want the Education Ministry to take stern disciplinary action against the Johor school head accused of spouting racist slurs, claiming that it was not the first incident.
One parent even alleged the ministry was trying to “cover up” the case at SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai.
“Parents are very unhappy that the authorities are citing misinformation and misunderstanding that the headmistress had made the remarks.
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding. Even the teachers have given their statement to the police. The teachers confirmed what has been reported by the students,” a parent told The Malaysian Insider, refuting Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom’s response yesterday that the case was just a misunderstanding and had been resolved.
“If it was, then why did the state Education Department tell her to make an open apology to the non-Malay students and teachers?” he asked, and related that principal Siti Inshah Mansor had been loudly booed by the student population in the attempt.
“The government is trying to cover it up,” claimed the 46-year-old business consultant, who asked not to be named, fearing repercussions to his job.
The father of two said parents were mulling setting up a formal parent action group to pressure Putrajaya into action.
“Some disciplinary action must be taken. Even if not dismissal, at least demote her. If just transfer her out, it won’t solve the problem.
“She has done in before. In her previous school, she called Indians Nigerians,” he said, claiming Siti Inshah, who was formerly the principal of SMK Kelapa Sawit — another school in the same Kulai district — had been transferred out following similar complaints.
The police are currently investigating the case under section 504 of the Penal Code for provocation which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine or both.
A total of 17 complaints have been lodged with the police against the principal so far.
A copy of one report made last week and recently put up on the Malaysia-Today website listed several racist and derogatory remarks allegedly made by Siti Inshah, including likening Indian students wearing prayer threads on their person to dogs and ordering dissatisfied ethnic Chinese and Indian students to “return to China or India”.
Part of the lengthy police report lodged by a 16-year-old student alleged: “She gave the example of owning a Proton Saga with two passengers who are Munusamy and Chong. Munusamy and Chong were only passengers. They cannot claim any right to the car. This is the same as Malaysia in which the non-Malay students are passengers.”
Similar “racist” allegations have been reported made by senior civil servants, most notably by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s then-political aide Datuk Nasir Safar in January this year at a 1 Malaysia event, and signal a rise in racial tensions among Malaysia’s multicultural society.
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One parent even alleged the ministry was trying to “cover up” the case at SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai.
“Parents are very unhappy that the authorities are citing misinformation and misunderstanding that the headmistress had made the remarks.
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding. Even the teachers have given their statement to the police. The teachers confirmed what has been reported by the students,” a parent told The Malaysian Insider, refuting Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom’s response yesterday that the case was just a misunderstanding and had been resolved.
“If it was, then why did the state Education Department tell her to make an open apology to the non-Malay students and teachers?” he asked, and related that principal Siti Inshah Mansor had been loudly booed by the student population in the attempt.
“The government is trying to cover it up,” claimed the 46-year-old business consultant, who asked not to be named, fearing repercussions to his job.
The father of two said parents were mulling setting up a formal parent action group to pressure Putrajaya into action.
“Some disciplinary action must be taken. Even if not dismissal, at least demote her. If just transfer her out, it won’t solve the problem.
“She has done in before. In her previous school, she called Indians Nigerians,” he said, claiming Siti Inshah, who was formerly the principal of SMK Kelapa Sawit — another school in the same Kulai district — had been transferred out following similar complaints.
The police are currently investigating the case under section 504 of the Penal Code for provocation which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine or both.
A total of 17 complaints have been lodged with the police against the principal so far.
A copy of one report made last week and recently put up on the Malaysia-Today website listed several racist and derogatory remarks allegedly made by Siti Inshah, including likening Indian students wearing prayer threads on their person to dogs and ordering dissatisfied ethnic Chinese and Indian students to “return to China or India”.
Part of the lengthy police report lodged by a 16-year-old student alleged: “She gave the example of owning a Proton Saga with two passengers who are Munusamy and Chong. Munusamy and Chong were only passengers. They cannot claim any right to the car. This is the same as Malaysia in which the non-Malay students are passengers.”
Similar “racist” allegations have been reported made by senior civil servants, most notably by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s then-political aide Datuk Nasir Safar in January this year at a 1 Malaysia event, and signal a rise in racial tensions among Malaysia’s multicultural society.
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PKR Youth leader lodges report against Arjunan
FMT ALERT IPOH: Kuala Kangsar PKR Youth leader Mohd Adam Haris Abdullah lodged a police report against PKR branch chairman MS Arjunan for using the PKR platform…
FMT ALERT IPOH: Kuala Kangsar PKR Youth leader Mohd Adam Haris Abdullah lodged a police report against PKR branch chairman MS Arjunan for using the PKR platform to launch an assault on Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister M Saravanan over vice activities.
The report lodged today is to inform the public that PKR has nothing to do with the allegation made against the deputy minister.
Adam claimed that Arjunan was a former PKR man who was sacked by the party over disciplinary matters.
“He was formerly the Ipoh branch PKR secretary before receiving the boot after the 2008 general election due to discplinary issues.”
“He has this tendecy of sending threatening messages to members and he is always good at creating stories, like his allegation against Saravanan,” said Adam
Adam, who was accompanied by 38 PKR members, lodged the report at the Ipoh Sentral police station this morning.
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Saravanan
'Race' comments: Chinese-speaking Malay DJ in trouble
PETALING JAYA: Popular 98.8 FM DJ Jamaluddin Ibrahim has been asked to go on leave after receiving a letter from the Malaysian Communications…
PETALING JAYA: Popular 98.8 FM DJ Jamaluddin Ibrahim has been asked to go on leave after receiving a letter from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Known as Jamal to his fans, the DJ hosts the “Say Hi to Malaysia” morning programme from Monday to Friday.
“I was notified by the management yesterday evening to take leave for the present,” he told FMT, adding that his leave was “indefinite”.
Jamal said the radio station received a letter from the MCMC which carried a complaint about his programme.
“The letter said that my comments have influenced the security of the country. (It also said) my comments on race relations were not acceptable,” he added.
Asked if he knew why a complaint was filed, Jamal replied, “I really don't know. The MCMC didn't mention (if there was) something wrong.”
The DJ has been asked to report to the MCMC's office in Cyberjaya tomorrow morning.
Queried about his future plans, Jamal said: “I don't know. I think I need a break.”
His fans have expressed anger and disapproval over his sudden removal. "I really don't understand the real decision behind all (of) this," said Stanley Chun on 98.8 FM's Facebook page.
"The management must explain the true reason for Jamal's dismissal. What is the charge? Let the people be the judge,” added another fan, Loo Kok Leong.
98.8 FM is one of three radio stations owned by the MCA-controlled Star Publications (M) Bhd.
The son of former Malayan Communist Party (MCP) leaders Shamsiah Fakeh and Ibrahim Mohamad, Jamal spent much of his early life in China.
Born in Beijing, his family was allowed to return to Malaysia in the mid-90s.
Despite numerous attempts, the radio station's officials could not be reached for comment.
What will they do about racism now?
COMMENT Let’s wait and see what action will be taken against Siti Inshah Mansor, the principal of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tunku Abdul…
COMMENT Let’s wait and see what action will be taken against Siti Inshah Mansor, the principal of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Kulai, for the racist remarks she allegedly made at the Merdeka celebrations in her school.
The police will be concluding their investigations soon, under Section 504 of the Penal Code. If they have a case, Siti Inshah could be charged with provocation, which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine or both.
Meanwhile, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has called for her to be sacked. MCA president Chua Soi Lek calls for her to be transferred to a desk job and given counselling. How generous of Chua.
If she did what she is said to have done, she should instead be drawn and quartered, like in the good old days. Or have her head put in a cangue – you know, like in the Chinese movies, where the head and hands are locked up within a square wooden contraption.
Or she should be given the Japanese treatment – force-fed water while someone jumps on her bloated tummy, or hung from a tree by her thumbs, and displayed publicly for all to see that this is what happens to racists.
Of course, I’m being facetious, but this must surely be the fantasy of anyone who feels disgusted by any racist act. All the more so if it is committed by someone who is a principal of a school, who should be spreading the message of racial unity instead of – God forbid! – racial hatred.
Siti Inshah is alleged to have said that Chinese students are not needed in the school and can go back to China or Sekolah Foon Yew (a private Chinese school in Johor), and that the prayer strings Indian students wear on their neck and wrist make them look like dogs, and only dogs would be tied this way.
If the allegation is true, what could have possessed her to make her say such things? That is something that must be ascertained. Even if she had been provoked for some reason or other, it is still not her place to react this way to the students. She has a huge responsibility as a school principal to restrain her racist impulses.
Given the seriousness of the situation, if the allegation is true, how then can she be allowed to get away with it? If she were to be exonerated, imagine the damage she could further cause given her influential position.
If it is true that she behaved like a racist, her name should instead be remembered in the Hall of Shame.
Racial slurs
So far, however, among the Barisan Nasional parties, only the MCA and the MIC have criticised the action. Has any Umno leader come out to say anything against it? And if so, why not?
“
If the people who are in charge of administering it are not up to it, if instead they are exposing the wound to even more bacteria, then we should be looking for an alternative cure.
Siti Inshah is also alleged to have called her non-Malay students penumpang (passengers or tenants) in this country. First, we had Umno politician Ahmad Ismail calling non-Malays pendatang, now there’s penumpang. What will they think up next?If the people who are in charge of administering it are not up to it, if instead they are exposing the wound to even more bacteria, then we should be looking for an alternative cure.
These racial slurs are getting out of hand. And that’s worrisome. It’s symptomatic of the times. We are getting more divided along racial lines than perhaps ever before.
That’s what you get when you allow the mainstream newspapers to go to town scaring the Malays into believing that the non-Malays are a threat and will soon take over the country. When someone like Zaini Hassan can write irresponsibly and mischievously in Utusan Malaysia about a “large-scale war” breaking out that will be bigger than that of May 13, about an alternative constitution being written that will abolish the special position of the Malays and Islam. What rubbish!
That’s what you get when you allow newspapers and individuals to go around telling non-Malays they must be submissive, grateful and not speak up for their rights, or go home – to China or India.
That’s what you get when you allow organisations like Persatuan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) to go on their high horse and slam every reasoned argument made against their credo. So now, for every little thing they don’t like, they run to the police station to make a report.
That’s what you get when you give them so much face, to the extent of granting them a publishing permit virtually overnight; when you cut them so much slack by saying nothing when they challenge government policies that seek to address the nation’s fall from economic competitiveness.
And then no less than the Deputy Prime Minister invokes the ghost of May 13, pulling the perennial Umno stunt, to tick off Chua Soi Lek for asking for more non-Malay participation in the economy.
Damoclean sword
Not only is Muhyiddin Yassin behind the times in that regard; he actually warns that this could anger the Malays and it could amount to a spark similar to that which set off May 13. Who is stoking the racial fire here? If a personage like the DPM says it will make the Malays angry, some people might be bound to take that seriously and really feel angered. If the DPM mentions May 13, that might put ideas in some fanatics’ heads.
Why must Muhyiddin say something potentially flammable like this? As the nation’s No 2 leader, he should instead avoid bringing up such a thing instead of brandishing it like a Damoclean sword.
But then, that’s what constitutes the central problem of this country. Politicians will make capital of anything without thinking of its consequences. They are short-term players looking for short-term gains. And this short-term playing has been extended for decades in the sick politicisation of race.
Do we have to keep reminding them of the dangers of this game and still see nothing done about it even when the cows have come home? By then, it will be too late. The wound caused by racial discord might have become so infected that it can no longer heal.
The treatment has to start now. And if the people who are in charge of administering it are not up to it, if instead they are exposing the wound to even more bacteria, then we should be looking for an alternative cure.
Dramatist and journalist Kee Thuan Chye is the author of 'March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up'
Ketuanan Siam
It hurts, when "fresh news" is exposed in the face of a government hell-bent on creating a delusional History of itself, under the guise of "Nation-Building". Let us start with…
It hurts, when "fresh news" is exposed in the face of a government hell-bent on creating a delusional History of itself, under the guise of "Nation-Building". Let us start with Museum Negara, and the person who built it. Tunku Abdul Rahman, more affectionately called TAR was of Thai Origins. He went to school in Bangkok (ask any Tuk-tuk driver to take you) not too far from Hualamphong Train Station. In fact, most Thais are so proud that "one-of-their-own" was able to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
By John Doe
Being of Thai origin, he obviously used "symbols" of Thai unity to decorate Museum Negara. The 2 "X" decoratives flanking the roof of Museum Negara, thus, is a direct import of the symbol of Thai Unity. This is especially true in the north, around the Chiang Mai region. In fact, the Museum of Chiang Mai is decorated EXACTLY the same way. Hundreds of billboards in the north also have the "X" on it, to symbolize and remind Thais of this unity. Perhaps this is Tungku's succinct message to Malaysia?
And dear readers, please compare it with this:
One is of The Chiang Mai Museum, and the other is of Muzium Negara. The resemblance is stark. On the same note, all houses in the north of Thailand are identical to any "Malay House" on the Peninsular. Ever wondered why Tom Yum is such a favourite dish among the "Malays"?
Historically speaking, all of the Peninsular used to belong to Thailand anyway. It was controlled via Pattani, under Ayudthia. If "Sejarah Melayu" (originally called Asal-Usul Raja-Raja) can be taken as truth, then it talks about how Parameswara murdered the village Chief of Temasik (Singapore), who was the Brother-in-Law of the Pattani King. Ayudthia then ordered his (Parameswara's) execution. He then ran away, and went to "Old Malacca" situated in Muar. Parameswara ran again when he was busy pirating ships which travelled along the Straits. This time, it was the Achenese who issued his (Parameswara's) execution.
The name Parameswara itself is of great interest. Many Posthumous-Names of Angkorian Kings carried the name "Parameswara" in it. Usually, it was spelt "Paramesvara" and a suffix, depending on which God he prayed to. You see, all Kings had a Birthname, then a Coronation Name, and then a Posthumous Name. For example, King Bhumipol, and Rama IX, the current names of the present King of Thailand. So, for Parameswara to choose a name which is already a "dead name" was an attempt to "Supercede" the living. After all, all kings were changed from Dharma Raja to Deva Raja, to symbolize their Ancestry of Gods. The God-King concept was thus accepted by simple agrarian folk as truly GOD, and thus made Tax-collection easier. It also meant total submission whenever soldiers were required to fight the neighbours since who can argue against GOD?
And whenever GOD wanted a new wife, or concubine, it was dramatically easier to acquire a nubile of choice. Who doesn't want to have sex with GOD himself, and bear GOD children? The King of the Champa had 4 wives, even though he was a Hindu. Same for Jayavarman VII, even though he was a Buddhist. Both had uncountable concubines, all sent by willing and needy Villagers, in exchange for "special requests". There is no other logical justification of the concept of Kingship anyway, if the God-King concept is removed.
Back to the Thais, the DevaRaja or the God-King concept was the central theme to keeping the peasants under their control. The word"central" in the Thai Language is Klang. And no prizes for guessing where the name for the Malaysian Port-Town originated from. You will find tens of villages and townships in Thailand named Ban Klang. Ban, (or sometimes spelt Bann) simply means Village. It's thus no surprise, that "Central Hospital" in Bangkok is called "Klang Hospital". Klang Valley, thus, could be translated as Central Valley in Malaysia. Central to where? Between Bangkok and Jakarta, or Central between Pattani and Majapahit? Any decent map will show this almost equi-distance readily.
Many Kelantanese will claim that they are descedants of the mighty Champa Kingdom in central Vietnam. However, their King is from the Pattani "Royal Line". Ironic, but painfully true. (I refuse to comment about their internal family feud, or Manohara.) In fact, many of those killing and bombing innocent humans in the Yala, and Narithiwat Province just across the Border, have relatives in Kelantan. Crossing the Golok (known as Kolok in Thai) is a mere RM2, or 20Baht, no questions asked. Most in the South of Thailand will tell you that these Terrorists cross over to Malaysia whenever the Military organizes a sweep. Even more will tell you that they also hold dual-citizenships in both Thailand, as well as Malaysia. Isn't dual-Citizenships illegal in Malaysia? Are they brought in to vote to UMNO, so as to provide them with continued access to Malaysia whenever they risk arrest?
Many Kelantanese are also known to have illegitimate wives and children across the border. Same goes for Perlis. In fact, official Perlis Tourism Brochures announce that any Muslim may go there if they want to register their second, third, or fourth wives WITHOUT the consent of the first wife. Musliim women, please take note of this. You may be sharing your "Darling Husband" with a few other women in Perlis, or across the Border. Do what you have to do.
To address Ridhuan Tee, he should be the first to board the boat to China, to set an example. He could, of course, also board the boat to Arab countries unless he thinks that Adam and Eve are Malay. Perhaps he is so obsessed with this particular Branch of an Arabic Religion. (There are many other Arabic Religions, both past and present, which includes Zorastarianism, and Hinduism, which were both started by the Iranians [read as Indo Aryans]. The Iranians brought the 3 original Vedas, and Sanskrit to Mohenjodaro, and Harrappa in the Indus Valley. The Mahabarratta, and the Ramayana were to be written at least 2,000 years later by Dravidic Indians. Hinduism, on the other hand, had already existed in Iran, 8,000 years ago.) And he can start by telling the Shi'ites that they are wrong. Stop hiding under the skirt of Islam. Using religion to further one's own Agenda is no different from Suicide Bombers, of whom we haven't heard a whimper spoken out by Malaysia against such despicable acts ever.
Perhaps CIMB-Thailand on Sukhumvit Road next to the SIAM BTS station was burnt beyond recognition by the Thais recently was a clear message to Najib to wank his Ketuanan elsewhere? It is also interesting to note that the 4 northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu were given to Thailand during WWll, and these states had to fly both the Thai flag, as well as the Japanese flag. They rejoined Malaya only when the British returned in 1945 after the war.
Speaking of BTS, have you seen their logo, and how Hong Leong kindly copied it wholesale, with impunity?
The above is the logo of the Thai Skytrain. Not one of a Bank in Malaysia.
And speaking of copying logos, the "Timbang" Logo of BN is seen in pretty much every street corner in Thailand; but instead of the blue background, is green. See below:
No prizes for guessing who copied who. No wonder the Thai's are so proud of Tunku!! He brought Thailand to Malaysia!!
Back to Ridhuan Tee, why not try using Pakistan as your "Ideal Muslim Country" as reference? No? Wanna talk about how the Talibans carved the 1st Buddha Statue in the world ever? (See Buddhist-era relics found near Kabul)
It was over 150 feet tall, and was until recently bombed by the Taliban (watch The National Geographic Special on this). Or do you not know? If you don't, then perhaps you should "Shaddap" and leave the talking to us who do. Final parting words, "Why didn't anyone arrest Ridhuan Tee for creating inter-racial dissent?"
Khop Khun Khap
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Joe doe
Remembering when race didn’t matter
Dionysius Sharma (all following pics courtesy of Dionysius Sharma)
Dionysius Sharma (all following pics courtesy of Dionysius Sharma)
In an interview with The Nut Graph at the WWF-Malaysia Petaling Jaya office on 5 July 2010, Dionysius recalls his childhood of catching snakes in mangrove swamps and playing in the open spaces of the Malay village where he grew up. The innocence of children and their innate sense of equality is something Malaysian society needs to learn if we are to build a common future, he says.
TNG: Where were you born and what were your earliest childhood memories?
Dr Dionysius Sharma: I was born in Malacca on 16 May 1964. I remember growing up in an environment that was clean and where I had friends of all races. At that young age we were innocent, we never wondered about each other’s colour of skin or religion.
I first grew up in a brick house in Bandar Hilir closer to town, and then after that in a Malay kampung where we bathed with water from a well. The back of the house was secondary jungle. My house was the last house in the village, Kampung Ujong Pasir, which was near the Portuguese settlement. The surroundings were sandy and I recall playing in the mangroves not too far away.
In the kampung, I remember having lots of space to play. The house was not fenced up. Space was common and shared. In that space all my friends from the village would play.
I feel sad because the place where I grew up is no more. The mangrove swamps where I used to play and catch snakes and various creatures are all gone. There are condominiums standing where my playground used to be.
Can you trace your ancestry?
Dino's father, Om Prakash Sharma, with the British Peace Corps, Terendak Camp, Malacca, around the mid 1950s
My mum is of Portuguese-Eurasian descent. Although we didn’t stay in the Portuguese settlement but close by, we were a typical Catholic family who observed all the celebrations.
A lot of Portuguese festivals are associated with the sea as the Portuguese were a fishing community and originally a sea-faring people. Their inter-marriage with locals gave rise to the term “Eurasian” but they still spoke the old Portuguese dialect which my mum and grandmother speak but we children didn’t learn. That part of the culture was somehow eroded because I didn’t grow up in the settlement and didn’t have the need to learn the language.
[Our family] mainly spoke English. My dad, being northern Indian, spoke Punjabi, Hindi and English. My mum grew up for a period in Bentong, Pahang, so she also speaks some Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and Tamil, besides Bahasa [Malaysia] and English.
[Although I couldn't speak Portuguese] I still experienced the culture. [At one time] the state government decided on a twinning exercise between Malacca and the city of Lisbon. The twinning of the two cities was symbolised by the building of similar bell towers, one in Lisbon and one in the Portuguese square in the settlement in Malacca. It was the start of cultural and arts exchanges between Malacca and Lisbon. There were efforts to revive Portuguese culture and re-establish links with Lisbon that began in the 16th century.
I’ve tried to figure out where I belong. Mum’s side goes back further in Malaya to when her ancestors first came here. Whereas my dad left India as a young man in more recent times. My mum was far more assimilated here in terms of the food, culture and practices.
Dino's mother, Dorothy Sta Maria, and her mother in Malacca, around the mid 1950s
At best, we read books that were written at the time. There’s an excellent book called Eredia’s Description of Malacca. There is a new church that opened in Malacca recently, and it is next to the ruins of a church built by the Portuguese along the Krubong River, a tributary of the Malacca River. Eredia wrote about this church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and he wrote about two more churches along the same river. I have a mission with some buddies to go look for the ruins of these other two chapels!
What stories by your parents or grandparents do you remember best?
Paternal grandmother in Delhi, India, around the mid 1940s
My uncle, my mother’s elder brother, worked in a Japanese camp in the kitchen preparing food for the soldiers. He would bring back leftover food from the camp and my mother’s house was the place where they would distribute food to other people. Most times, people were just eating tapioca. Whatever they could get from the camp was a bonus they would share with other families. The Japanese occupation made people stick together and look after each other.
My dad told stories about his youth in Delhi. He came from a poor family. He was proud of the fact that he was a champion wrestler in the area where he came from. He was trained in Greco-Roman wrestling and was good at it. When he came to join the army, he was frustrated that there was no wrestling. So he took up boxing and became quite good and won several medals. He loved contact sports.
How has your mixed heritage impacted your sense of Malaysian identity?
When registered at birth, I was Indian based on my father’s ethnicity. I grew up with people expecting me to be the kind of Indian they perceived Indians to be, which means one who speaks either Hindi, Punjabi or Tamil, none of which I speak. In school, I couldn’t join the Tamil Language society.
I attended St Francis’ Institution where there were a large number of Portuguese kids who spoke Portuguese when they were together. I didn’t speak the language, and I felt left out. So my siblings and I, from a language point of view, were not able to connect with the Portuguese-speaking kids, and not able to connect with the Indian kids who spoke Tamil.
In university, I was just an Indian by designation in my identity card but spoke none of the Indian languages at all. It was a bit of a challenge, wanting to blend into a community but being unable to connect. I had to find other ways to connect with friends.
Dino, aged 6, Ujong Pasir, Malacca
As a child in the kampung, I used BM (Bahasa Malaysia) to connect with my friends. When I started school in 1971, I recall how it dawned on me, even at that young age, that I had to master the Malay language. Coming from a family that didn’t speak Malay at all, it struck me that it would be an important language.
The early years and the exposure to the Malay language made us kids realise that your background didn’t matter. The one thing that binds friends together are things like playing football, or camping as Scouts, and cooking your first Maggi Mee together. And all the while, everyone is speaking the Malay language.
A common language as unifier…
Yes, but as kids, things were also simple. In our minds, we understood that we were all the same. We put wealth, race, culture and religion aside. As children, maybe we were naïve about the real world, but at the same time we had no baggage or agenda.
And I wonder, how can this mindset be translated for the adult population and those who govern the country? If the battle is for Malaysia to be in good standing in the global arena, then we must unite because the battle is out there to make ourselves competitive in an ever-changing world.
This is what the country needs now, and we can learn from the children. When children play together, even if they can’t speak each other’s language, they just figure out ways to communicate. People say that children of different races don’t mix with each other but I beg to differ.
In Terengganu where I worked for WWF on leatherback turtles for six to seven years, I saw all the races come together with no issues at all. [Racial] issues only reside in the media. They don’t reside with the people on the ground. They work, eat and do everything together. You get Chinese [Malaysian]-run shops where they don’t put up “halal” signs but Malay [Malaysians] eat there because they know the food will be halal. There is trust, understanding and mutual respect.
What are your hopes for Malaysia?
Dino's parents on their wedding day, 1957, the year Malaya gained independence
And to get there, there are things we need to make happen.
We need actions to be taken now to institute all the right elements for our desired future. We need to define our roles to bring about this future. And our roles must never be carved out based on race or religion. Only when our roles are based on merit will the best talents come to the fore.
We cannot work in silos. Of course there’ll be sideshows and distractions and you must find a way to manage these. But you want to get the majority of the public buying in into a common vision for the future.
Look at all the facts facing us — the brain drain, people leaving the country, the education system. We’ll need to break down and rebuild. We need leadership today which can walk us through the painful process of breaking ourselves down and putting us back together in a new way.
A Mosque Has No Door
By M.J Akbar
Can there be any rational reason for such subliminal fear of a house without a door? A mosque has no door; it is always open to anyone.…
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Can there be any rational reason for such subliminal fear of a house without a door? A mosque has no door; it is always open to anyone.…
By M.J Akbar
Can there be any rational reason for such subliminal fear of a house without a door? A mosque has no door; it is always open to anyone. Submission is the guiding force of its spirit and simplicity is its objective. There is equality in the lines of prayer. Servant stands beside master to bow, at the same moment, before the Lord. Divisions and pretensions dissipate.
The whole world, as the great Indian theologian and mass leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad used to say, is God’s mosque. Nations may claim to act in the name of God, but God does not need nations. A mosque is neither factory nor fortress: why should it arouse either envy or fear?
The opposition of some sections of the American right, led by politicians like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, to a mosque at the site of the 9/11 tragedy is bewildering, at the very least.
A war memorial is not built to perpetuate war. Its relevance lies in the promise of peace. It honours heroes who have given their lives, but this sacrifice, in the words of a famous testament, is ennobled by the promise that they gave their today so the living might have a better tomorrow. A war memorial is a symbol of conflict resolution, not conflict enhancement.
A mosque near the World Trade Center will epitomise the partnership necessary for a common struggle against the horror of terrorism and its evil masterminds, wherever they might live.
Is ignorance a reason for the right-wing campaign against the mosque? I was at the East-West Center in Hawaii a few years ago for a faith-media seminar. On Friday, our very considerate hosts offered Muslim participants a chance to join a local congregation for noon prayers in a small room where the minute local community gathered regularly for namaaz and fraternity.
Some non-Muslim colleagues came along because they had never seen a Friday prayer. We are all convivial, but I daresay at least one or two of them were relieved that the imam had not declared war on the West and we had not unsheathed scimitars as part of ritual.
Ignorance is too generous an alibi for Gingrich and Palin. They have been candidates for the most powerful job in the world. It is foolish to dismiss them as fools.
A mosque at Ground Zero will interfere with their politics, in which the Muslim must be etched as an irredeemable zealot with manic eyes and foaming mouth; the mosque must be distorted into a fountainhead of hatred; and every Muslim be blamed for the sins of the few bigots and terrorists who perpetrated 9/11. A range of political forces has a vested interest in the myth of the mad Muslim as the last evil standing between civilisation and chaos.
The irony is that Palin and Gingrich do not represent the idealism and philosophy of America, a nation that is liberal, open, democratic and secular. Gingrich is a false American; Palin is a falsetto American.
The true American patriot is Michael Rubens Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, who has supported the idea of a mosque. I use his full name deliberately: he is of the Jewish faith, from a family of Russian émigrés. Bloomberg reflects the idealism of America as well as the anguish and wisdom of his own heritage, of a people who have suffered the trauma of bigotry and threat of extinction for two millennia. He knows prejudice when he sees it; he understands the poison it injects into the human psyche; and he is willing to set aside the prospect of political advantage from hysteria in order to stand on the side of justice.
Those who gave Barack Obama a Nobel Peace Prize without much reason might want to consider Bloomberg for much better reasons. He has, in the process, also exposed organisations like the Anti Defamation League, who seem to have sold their principles for politics. Fareed Zakaria deserves our respect for returning the honorarium and First Amendment award given by the League.
Bigotry is not the exclusive property of any denomination; Muslims offer their share in the long list of self-appointed leaders who spawn the culture that leads to terrorism from pulpits which desecrate the meaning of a mosque. But it is utterly self-defeating to blame Islam, or the vast majority of peaceful Muslims, for the sins of a few. Terms like “Islamo-fascism,” George Bush’s intellectual contribution to this debate, are meaningless gibberish.
Islam is 1,400 years old; fascism entered the dialectic only with Benito Mussolini. So whatever else Islam might be it cannot be fascist. True, there are some Muslims who are fascist, but why blame Islam for the tyranny of despots? No one blames the Roman Catholic Church for Mussolini.
Terrorists conspire. A conspiracy is hatched behind closed doors. A mosque has no door.
The columnist is editor of The Sunday Guardian, published from Delhi, and India on Sunday, published from London.
Source: www.thedailystar.net
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Can there be any rational reason for such subliminal fear of a house without a door? A mosque has no door; it is always open to anyone. Submission is the guiding force of its spirit and simplicity is its objective. There is equality in the lines of prayer. Servant stands beside master to bow, at the same moment, before the Lord. Divisions and pretensions dissipate.
The whole world, as the great Indian theologian and mass leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad used to say, is God’s mosque. Nations may claim to act in the name of God, but God does not need nations. A mosque is neither factory nor fortress: why should it arouse either envy or fear?
The opposition of some sections of the American right, led by politicians like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, to a mosque at the site of the 9/11 tragedy is bewildering, at the very least.
A war memorial is not built to perpetuate war. Its relevance lies in the promise of peace. It honours heroes who have given their lives, but this sacrifice, in the words of a famous testament, is ennobled by the promise that they gave their today so the living might have a better tomorrow. A war memorial is a symbol of conflict resolution, not conflict enhancement.
A mosque near the World Trade Center will epitomise the partnership necessary for a common struggle against the horror of terrorism and its evil masterminds, wherever they might live.
Is ignorance a reason for the right-wing campaign against the mosque? I was at the East-West Center in Hawaii a few years ago for a faith-media seminar. On Friday, our very considerate hosts offered Muslim participants a chance to join a local congregation for noon prayers in a small room where the minute local community gathered regularly for namaaz and fraternity.
Some non-Muslim colleagues came along because they had never seen a Friday prayer. We are all convivial, but I daresay at least one or two of them were relieved that the imam had not declared war on the West and we had not unsheathed scimitars as part of ritual.
Ignorance is too generous an alibi for Gingrich and Palin. They have been candidates for the most powerful job in the world. It is foolish to dismiss them as fools.
A mosque at Ground Zero will interfere with their politics, in which the Muslim must be etched as an irredeemable zealot with manic eyes and foaming mouth; the mosque must be distorted into a fountainhead of hatred; and every Muslim be blamed for the sins of the few bigots and terrorists who perpetrated 9/11. A range of political forces has a vested interest in the myth of the mad Muslim as the last evil standing between civilisation and chaos.
The irony is that Palin and Gingrich do not represent the idealism and philosophy of America, a nation that is liberal, open, democratic and secular. Gingrich is a false American; Palin is a falsetto American.
The true American patriot is Michael Rubens Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, who has supported the idea of a mosque. I use his full name deliberately: he is of the Jewish faith, from a family of Russian émigrés. Bloomberg reflects the idealism of America as well as the anguish and wisdom of his own heritage, of a people who have suffered the trauma of bigotry and threat of extinction for two millennia. He knows prejudice when he sees it; he understands the poison it injects into the human psyche; and he is willing to set aside the prospect of political advantage from hysteria in order to stand on the side of justice.
Those who gave Barack Obama a Nobel Peace Prize without much reason might want to consider Bloomberg for much better reasons. He has, in the process, also exposed organisations like the Anti Defamation League, who seem to have sold their principles for politics. Fareed Zakaria deserves our respect for returning the honorarium and First Amendment award given by the League.
Bigotry is not the exclusive property of any denomination; Muslims offer their share in the long list of self-appointed leaders who spawn the culture that leads to terrorism from pulpits which desecrate the meaning of a mosque. But it is utterly self-defeating to blame Islam, or the vast majority of peaceful Muslims, for the sins of a few. Terms like “Islamo-fascism,” George Bush’s intellectual contribution to this debate, are meaningless gibberish.
Islam is 1,400 years old; fascism entered the dialectic only with Benito Mussolini. So whatever else Islam might be it cannot be fascist. True, there are some Muslims who are fascist, but why blame Islam for the tyranny of despots? No one blames the Roman Catholic Church for Mussolini.
Terrorists conspire. A conspiracy is hatched behind closed doors. A mosque has no door.
The columnist is editor of The Sunday Guardian, published from Delhi, and India on Sunday, published from London.
Source: www.thedailystar.net
E-census error – how can it happen?
Letter by Chuah Siew Eng
Dear Editor,
I wish to draw to the attention of the public of a possible glitch in the e-census. An answer I clicked for the…
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Dear Editor,
I wish to draw to the attention of the public of a possible glitch in the e-census. An answer I clicked for the…
Letter by Chuah Siew Eng
Dear Editor,
I wish to draw to the attention of the public of a possible glitch in the e-census. An answer I clicked for the category “religion” revealed to be different in the PDF copy I printed. Thinking I may have made a mistake, I reviewed my answers and confirmed that it was not my error. When I sought an explanation, the supervisor of the census takers for my area confirmed receiving another complaint over the same problem two weeks ago, adding that she had reported the problem to the Statistics Department. If that were true, why wasn’t it corrected for a whole two weeks? How many more people would have unwittingly assumed the computerised process would record their answers faithfully, as I almost did were it not for a note at the final page prompting a PDF check before submitting the form?
While my problem was eventually rectified (I received a polite call from the Department asking me to try the e-census again and this time it recorded what I inserted), I wonder whether it has been truly corrected in a fresh form.
So, although this comes at a cost to my privacy, I would like to call on others who are planning to use the e-census to try an experiment without submitting their form – click “no religion” under the category “religion” and see whether you get the same answer in the PDF. Originally, mine recorded it as “other religion”. I have not received any satisfactory explanation from the Statistics Department how such a mistake could have been allowed in the first place, and why nothing was done although another complaint has been lodged earlier. This casts serious doubts on the integrity of the census undertaking for which citizens are asked to be honest in giving their details – yet whether the authorities are capable of accepting the truths revealed appears questionable.
Yours sincerely,
Chuah Siew Eng
Kuala Lumpur
▲
Dear Editor,
I wish to draw to the attention of the public of a possible glitch in the e-census. An answer I clicked for the category “religion” revealed to be different in the PDF copy I printed. Thinking I may have made a mistake, I reviewed my answers and confirmed that it was not my error. When I sought an explanation, the supervisor of the census takers for my area confirmed receiving another complaint over the same problem two weeks ago, adding that she had reported the problem to the Statistics Department. If that were true, why wasn’t it corrected for a whole two weeks? How many more people would have unwittingly assumed the computerised process would record their answers faithfully, as I almost did were it not for a note at the final page prompting a PDF check before submitting the form?
While my problem was eventually rectified (I received a polite call from the Department asking me to try the e-census again and this time it recorded what I inserted), I wonder whether it has been truly corrected in a fresh form.
So, although this comes at a cost to my privacy, I would like to call on others who are planning to use the e-census to try an experiment without submitting their form – click “no religion” under the category “religion” and see whether you get the same answer in the PDF. Originally, mine recorded it as “other religion”. I have not received any satisfactory explanation from the Statistics Department how such a mistake could have been allowed in the first place, and why nothing was done although another complaint has been lodged earlier. This casts serious doubts on the integrity of the census undertaking for which citizens are asked to be honest in giving their details – yet whether the authorities are capable of accepting the truths revealed appears questionable.
Yours sincerely,
Chuah Siew Eng
Kuala Lumpur
Can justice be all things for all purposes?
The Micah Mandate
by Andrew Khoo
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by Andrew Khoo
On 27 July 2010 the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Dato’ Seri Zaki Tun Azmi, received a standing ovation from participants of the…
The Micah Mandate
by Andrew Khoo
The Chief Justice identified the main problem as being that of the backlog of cases in the High Court. He highlighted a 52.8% reduction in pending civil cases in the High Courts between 31 December 2008 and the present; a 25.6% reduction over the same period for criminal cases. He said that this reduction had been achieved through a combination of 15 measures: stocktaking and rearranging of files; increasing the number of judges; a tracking system/case management; e-court, namely case management system (CMS), queue management system (QMS) and court recording and transcribing system (CRT); appointment of managing judges; strict granting of postponements; spot checks/surprise visits to courts; mediation; judicial training and seminars/workshops; better utilisation of judicial time; close monitoring from the top management; establishment of specialised courts; regular meetings with, and support of, the Bar and the Attorney General; electronic filing and disposal of cases; and amendments to relevant legislation.
Among other things, the Chief Justice proudly displayed his circular on “Last Minute Postponements” for all to see. He stated that it was unfair to have the blame for postponement imposed solely on the courts. In order to transform this inaccurate perception, he urged judges and judicial officers to be strict in granting last-minute postponements without reasonable notice. Granting postponements was a judicial discretion, and he advised them to exercise that judicial discretion wisely. As for close monitoring by top management, he spoke of receiving daily reports, of setting key performance indicators, and of publishing figures on the disposal of cases amongst judges and judicial officers. He also spoke about administrative improvements that had been made, especially with regard to extracting and executing orders, hearing of joint petitions for divorces and the quick attending to complaints.
Despite repeated dialogues with the CJ and the senior judiciary, there are still cases where postponements are denied even when there are good reasons. Indeed a directive from the CJ to judges and judicial officers to grant adjournments in view of the recently-held 15th Malaysian Law Conference was totally ignored by one judge and the lawyer in that case, who was moderating one of the sessions, had to complete his hearing before attending. Lawyers also face the fixing of hearing dates that do not correspond with their available dates, despite these being made known in advance to the judge. The CJ has been somewhat unsympathetic in these instances, saying that lawyers will just have to find another lawyer to attend. He has stated in the past his view that lawyers spread themselves too thinly and take up more cases than they can practically manage. These multiple cases then end up being fixed for hearing on the same days, hence the need for adjournments. Apparently having another case fixed for hearing in another court is not an acceptable reason for applying for an adjournment, and judges and judicial officers have been taken to task for exercising their discretion for this reason. His solution: sole proprietorships and small law firms should merge, so that a firm would have more lawyers at its disposal to attend to the various cases. With Malaysian legal fees being comparatively very low, the issue of lawyers needing to earn a decent wage is conveniently ignored.
The recently-approved amendments to the Subordinate Courts Act 1964, which the CJ also mentioned in his briefing, will see cases with a monetary value of RM1 million or less being transferred to the subordinate courts. This is a pre-emptive move not to clog the superior courts with relatively minor cases in the future, and reduce the chances of a backlog building up once again. The problem is that the threshold of RM1 million is fairly high, and will include a considerable number of complex cases. Allowing officers of the Judicial and Legal Service, to which Sessions Court judges and magistrates belong, to decide these cases rather than High Court judges may impose an undue burden on the former. They will now also have the power and responsibility of deciding on interim issues connected with such cases, for example on injunctions. There is some concern amongst members of the legal profession that non-High Court judges would not have sufficient experience and expertise to decide on such matters. So while on the one hand access to the courts may be improved, the question of access to a just outcome remains wide open.
This is also true of the case of night courts. While this has been available for some time, the uptake has not been good. The initial driving idea behind these was that parties could opt to have their cases heard after hours, thus reducing the burden on litigants to make their days available. However we seem to have misunderstood the rationale for night courts. Night courts are more suited to the hearing of preliminary issues in a criminal matter especially those which arise immediately upon arrest, such as remand hearings and bail applications. This is especially true of those arrested after regular court hours, the intent being that accused persons are brought before a magistrate soon after they are arrested and their cases dealt with quickly. The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) has now stated that the night courts will be used to address the problem of street crime. That will be good. Yet the predisposition of our police force is to have alleged offenders kept in detention for as long as legally permissible, “pending investigations”. Night courts would only serve to frustrate such predispositions and hinder the way in which police investigations are carried out in this country. Further, night courts would work best when there is a public defender system or legal aid available at all night courts, to protect the rights of accused persons.
The latest pro-efficiency scheme by the GTP is to attempt to reduce street crime by marking street crime cases with a “J” prefix and fast-tracking them through the court process; speedy justice for snatch thieves and “Mat Rempit” and their ilk. But will this be achieved at the cost of compromising the civil liberties of an accused person? And what message does this approach send to the public at large, that some crimes are more deserving of a quick hearing than others? Will it be right to delay trials for some in order to expedite trials for others?
While the government’s aim of reducing street crime is laudable, the use of the courts to achieve the government’s policy goal of reducing crime and thus looking successful on law and order issues in time for the next election risks blurring the constitutionally separate roles of the judiciary and the executive.
In conclusion, no one is against efficiencies in the system of administration of justice. To do so would be like taking exception to motherhood and apple pie (or its suitable Malaysian equivalent). But when the courts are turned into an extension of the executive and become like any other government department forced to adhere to the drive towards achieving pre-determined performance targets, then there is great risk that justice and fairness are being compromised.
(Andrew Khoo is a lawyer in private practice. The views expressed are entirely his own. A version of this article, under the title “Delivering justice speedily”, first appeared in The Sun on 18 August 2010.)
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by Andrew Khoo
On 27 July 2010 the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Dato’ Seri Zaki Tun Azmi, received a standing ovation from participants of the 21st Conference of the Presidents of Law Associations in Asia (POLA) at the end of his talk entitled “The Malaysian Judiciary, Performance, Achievement & Future Planning”. In a presentation lasting some 90 minutes including a question and answer session, the Chief Justice showed approximately 70 slides detailing statistics of the practical results of changes that he had introduced vis-à-vis the administration of justice in Malaysia.
The Chief Justice identified the main problem as being that of the backlog of cases in the High Court. He highlighted a 52.8% reduction in pending civil cases in the High Courts between 31 December 2008 and the present; a 25.6% reduction over the same period for criminal cases. He said that this reduction had been achieved through a combination of 15 measures: stocktaking and rearranging of files; increasing the number of judges; a tracking system/case management; e-court, namely case management system (CMS), queue management system (QMS) and court recording and transcribing system (CRT); appointment of managing judges; strict granting of postponements; spot checks/surprise visits to courts; mediation; judicial training and seminars/workshops; better utilisation of judicial time; close monitoring from the top management; establishment of specialised courts; regular meetings with, and support of, the Bar and the Attorney General; electronic filing and disposal of cases; and amendments to relevant legislation.
Among other things, the Chief Justice proudly displayed his circular on “Last Minute Postponements” for all to see. He stated that it was unfair to have the blame for postponement imposed solely on the courts. In order to transform this inaccurate perception, he urged judges and judicial officers to be strict in granting last-minute postponements without reasonable notice. Granting postponements was a judicial discretion, and he advised them to exercise that judicial discretion wisely. As for close monitoring by top management, he spoke of receiving daily reports, of setting key performance indicators, and of publishing figures on the disposal of cases amongst judges and judicial officers. He also spoke about administrative improvements that had been made, especially with regard to extracting and executing orders, hearing of joint petitions for divorces and the quick attending to complaints.
Despite repeated dialogues with the CJ and the senior judiciary, there are still cases where postponements are denied even when there are good reasons. Indeed a directive from the CJ to judges and judicial officers to grant adjournments in view of the recently-held 15th Malaysian Law Conference was totally ignored by one judge and the lawyer in that case, who was moderating one of the sessions, had to complete his hearing before attending. Lawyers also face the fixing of hearing dates that do not correspond with their available dates, despite these being made known in advance to the judge. The CJ has been somewhat unsympathetic in these instances, saying that lawyers will just have to find another lawyer to attend. He has stated in the past his view that lawyers spread themselves too thinly and take up more cases than they can practically manage. These multiple cases then end up being fixed for hearing on the same days, hence the need for adjournments. Apparently having another case fixed for hearing in another court is not an acceptable reason for applying for an adjournment, and judges and judicial officers have been taken to task for exercising their discretion for this reason. His solution: sole proprietorships and small law firms should merge, so that a firm would have more lawyers at its disposal to attend to the various cases. With Malaysian legal fees being comparatively very low, the issue of lawyers needing to earn a decent wage is conveniently ignored.
The recently-approved amendments to the Subordinate Courts Act 1964, which the CJ also mentioned in his briefing, will see cases with a monetary value of RM1 million or less being transferred to the subordinate courts. This is a pre-emptive move not to clog the superior courts with relatively minor cases in the future, and reduce the chances of a backlog building up once again. The problem is that the threshold of RM1 million is fairly high, and will include a considerable number of complex cases. Allowing officers of the Judicial and Legal Service, to which Sessions Court judges and magistrates belong, to decide these cases rather than High Court judges may impose an undue burden on the former. They will now also have the power and responsibility of deciding on interim issues connected with such cases, for example on injunctions. There is some concern amongst members of the legal profession that non-High Court judges would not have sufficient experience and expertise to decide on such matters. So while on the one hand access to the courts may be improved, the question of access to a just outcome remains wide open.
This is also true of the case of night courts. While this has been available for some time, the uptake has not been good. The initial driving idea behind these was that parties could opt to have their cases heard after hours, thus reducing the burden on litigants to make their days available. However we seem to have misunderstood the rationale for night courts. Night courts are more suited to the hearing of preliminary issues in a criminal matter especially those which arise immediately upon arrest, such as remand hearings and bail applications. This is especially true of those arrested after regular court hours, the intent being that accused persons are brought before a magistrate soon after they are arrested and their cases dealt with quickly. The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) has now stated that the night courts will be used to address the problem of street crime. That will be good. Yet the predisposition of our police force is to have alleged offenders kept in detention for as long as legally permissible, “pending investigations”. Night courts would only serve to frustrate such predispositions and hinder the way in which police investigations are carried out in this country. Further, night courts would work best when there is a public defender system or legal aid available at all night courts, to protect the rights of accused persons.
The latest pro-efficiency scheme by the GTP is to attempt to reduce street crime by marking street crime cases with a “J” prefix and fast-tracking them through the court process; speedy justice for snatch thieves and “Mat Rempit” and their ilk. But will this be achieved at the cost of compromising the civil liberties of an accused person? And what message does this approach send to the public at large, that some crimes are more deserving of a quick hearing than others? Will it be right to delay trials for some in order to expedite trials for others?
While the government’s aim of reducing street crime is laudable, the use of the courts to achieve the government’s policy goal of reducing crime and thus looking successful on law and order issues in time for the next election risks blurring the constitutionally separate roles of the judiciary and the executive.
In conclusion, no one is against efficiencies in the system of administration of justice. To do so would be like taking exception to motherhood and apple pie (or its suitable Malaysian equivalent). But when the courts are turned into an extension of the executive and become like any other government department forced to adhere to the drive towards achieving pre-determined performance targets, then there is great risk that justice and fairness are being compromised.
(Andrew Khoo is a lawyer in private practice. The views expressed are entirely his own. A version of this article, under the title “Delivering justice speedily”, first appeared in The Sun on 18 August 2010.)
Putik Lada: Importance of making a will
The Star
Putik Lada By ROGER TAN
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Putik Lada By ROGER TAN
When a non-Muslim dies without making a will, his estate will be distributed according to the law, except in the case of…
The Star
Putik Lada By ROGER TAN
When a person dies without making a will, he is said to have died intestate. His property is called his “estate”, and his children, his “issue”.
The relevant law which deals with the distribution of the property of an intestate is the Distribution Act, 1958 (“Distribution Act”), which only applies to non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia.
Under the Distribution Act, the word “child” means a legitimate child, and where the deceased had more than one lawful wife, includes a child by any of such wives and any child adopted under the Adoption Act, 1952.
The word “issue” means the deceased’s children and includes the descendants of his deceased children. It also includes any child who at the date of the deceased’s death was still in the womb but subsequently born alive.
On the other hand, “parent” is defined as the natural mother or father of a child, or lawful mother or father of a child adopted under the Adoption Act 1952.
An intestate’s estate will be distributed among his surviving family members according to the Distribution Act. The same law applies to male and female deceased persons.
Section 66(1) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 provides that the wife who is judicially separated from her husband at the time of the latter’s death is still entitled to the property of the deceased husband in the same way as a surviving spouse as if no judicial separation had been made, but not vice versa.
As for divorced spouses, they remain surviving spouses until the decree (divorce order) is made absolute.
Generally, the estate will be distributed among the deceased’s immediate family: his parents, his spouse, and his issue.
The distribution of the estate of an intestate is shown in the accompanying table.
If a person dies leaving no parent, spouse and issue, his estate will go to the following persons in equal share in the following order of priority:
(a) brothers and sisters, (b) grandparents, (c) uncles and aunts, (d) great grandparents, (e) great grand uncles and grand aunts.
If a person dies leaving no parent, spouse, issue, and any of the family members mentioned, then the whole estate goes to the Government.
If the intestate has more than one lawful wife, then such wives shall share among them equally the share which the wife of the intestate would have been entitled to had such intestate left only one surviving wife.
Section 7 of the Distribution Act also provides that when the intestate and his/her spouse have died in circumstances rendering it uncertain which of them survived the other, then notwithstanding any rule of the law to the contrary, it will be regarded as if the spouse had not survived the intestate.
Also, the above will not apply if the deceased has left a valid will. But, under the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1971, the court still has the power to make reasonable provisions for the maintenance of certain dependants of the intestate.
However, no such application shall be made to the court where the disposition of the intestate’s estate is such that the surviving spouse is entitled to not less than two-thirds of the income of the net estate and where the only other dependant or dependants, if any, is or are a child or children of the surviving spouse.
Similarly, the Distribution Act will not apply in situations where an insurance policy holder has nominated a beneficiary pursuant to section 165 of the Insurance Act 1996 and the nominee has made a claim on the policy moneys within 12 months of the insurance company becoming aware of the policy holder’s death notwithstanding earlier notification to the policy holder.
Likewise, under section 54(1)(a) of the Employees Provident Fund Act 1991 and Regulation 9 of the Employees Provident Fund Regulations 2001, the EPF Board will pay the EPF savings to a nominee of a deceased EPF member if the latter has made a nomination before his death.
Finally, readers should also note that if a person dies intestate, the procedure for applying letters of administration will differ from one who has left a valid will.
If the intestate has left an estate consisting wholly or partly of immovable property situated in Malaysia which does not exceed RM2mil in total value, then the Small Estates (Distribution) Act 1955 treats this as a small estate, in which case petition for distribution has to be made to the Land Administrator.
Otherwise, all applications for letters of administration or probate are made to the High Court.
In conclusion, readers are also advised that they should engage the services of a lawyer to draft a valid will and have it efficiently administered. Do not be hoodwinked by mendacious claims of unqualified will writers that they are experts in this area.
> The writer is a former Chairman of the National Young Lawyers Committee of the Malaysian Bar Council. Putik Lada, or pepper buds in Malay, captures the spirit and intention of this column – a platform for young lawyers to articulate their views and aspirations about the law, justice and a civil society. For more information about the young lawyers, please visit www.malaysianbar.org.my/nylc
▲
Putik Lada By ROGER TAN
When a non-Muslim dies without making a will, his estate will be distributed according to the law, except in the case of insurance and EPF savings, where the nominees are the beneficiaries.
AS WE are all mortals, and death often comes like a thief in the night, we owe it to our loved ones to make a will during our lifetime. I would like to advise our readers on the importance of making a will, and the consequences of not making one.
By not making a will, you will not be able to distribute the assets according to your wishes after your death. Instead the state will define who will actually benefit from your death.
AS WE are all mortals, and death often comes like a thief in the night, we owe it to our loved ones to make a will during our lifetime. I would like to advise our readers on the importance of making a will, and the consequences of not making one.
By not making a will, you will not be able to distribute the assets according to your wishes after your death. Instead the state will define who will actually benefit from your death.
When a person dies without making a will, he is said to have died intestate. His property is called his “estate”, and his children, his “issue”.
The relevant law which deals with the distribution of the property of an intestate is the Distribution Act, 1958 (“Distribution Act”), which only applies to non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia.
Under the Distribution Act, the word “child” means a legitimate child, and where the deceased had more than one lawful wife, includes a child by any of such wives and any child adopted under the Adoption Act, 1952.
The word “issue” means the deceased’s children and includes the descendants of his deceased children. It also includes any child who at the date of the deceased’s death was still in the womb but subsequently born alive.
On the other hand, “parent” is defined as the natural mother or father of a child, or lawful mother or father of a child adopted under the Adoption Act 1952.
An intestate’s estate will be distributed among his surviving family members according to the Distribution Act. The same law applies to male and female deceased persons.
Section 66(1) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 provides that the wife who is judicially separated from her husband at the time of the latter’s death is still entitled to the property of the deceased husband in the same way as a surviving spouse as if no judicial separation had been made, but not vice versa.
As for divorced spouses, they remain surviving spouses until the decree (divorce order) is made absolute.
Generally, the estate will be distributed among the deceased’s immediate family: his parents, his spouse, and his issue.
The distribution of the estate of an intestate is shown in the accompanying table.
If a person dies leaving no parent, spouse and issue, his estate will go to the following persons in equal share in the following order of priority:
(a) brothers and sisters, (b) grandparents, (c) uncles and aunts, (d) great grandparents, (e) great grand uncles and grand aunts.
If a person dies leaving no parent, spouse, issue, and any of the family members mentioned, then the whole estate goes to the Government.
If the intestate has more than one lawful wife, then such wives shall share among them equally the share which the wife of the intestate would have been entitled to had such intestate left only one surviving wife.
Section 7 of the Distribution Act also provides that when the intestate and his/her spouse have died in circumstances rendering it uncertain which of them survived the other, then notwithstanding any rule of the law to the contrary, it will be regarded as if the spouse had not survived the intestate.
Also, the above will not apply if the deceased has left a valid will. But, under the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1971, the court still has the power to make reasonable provisions for the maintenance of certain dependants of the intestate.
However, no such application shall be made to the court where the disposition of the intestate’s estate is such that the surviving spouse is entitled to not less than two-thirds of the income of the net estate and where the only other dependant or dependants, if any, is or are a child or children of the surviving spouse.
Similarly, the Distribution Act will not apply in situations where an insurance policy holder has nominated a beneficiary pursuant to section 165 of the Insurance Act 1996 and the nominee has made a claim on the policy moneys within 12 months of the insurance company becoming aware of the policy holder’s death notwithstanding earlier notification to the policy holder.
Likewise, under section 54(1)(a) of the Employees Provident Fund Act 1991 and Regulation 9 of the Employees Provident Fund Regulations 2001, the EPF Board will pay the EPF savings to a nominee of a deceased EPF member if the latter has made a nomination before his death.
Finally, readers should also note that if a person dies intestate, the procedure for applying letters of administration will differ from one who has left a valid will.
If the intestate has left an estate consisting wholly or partly of immovable property situated in Malaysia which does not exceed RM2mil in total value, then the Small Estates (Distribution) Act 1955 treats this as a small estate, in which case petition for distribution has to be made to the Land Administrator.
Otherwise, all applications for letters of administration or probate are made to the High Court.
In conclusion, readers are also advised that they should engage the services of a lawyer to draft a valid will and have it efficiently administered. Do not be hoodwinked by mendacious claims of unqualified will writers that they are experts in this area.
> The writer is a former Chairman of the National Young Lawyers Committee of the Malaysian Bar Council. Putik Lada, or pepper buds in Malay, captures the spirit and intention of this column – a platform for young lawyers to articulate their views and aspirations about the law, justice and a civil society. For more information about the young lawyers, please visit www.malaysianbar.org.my/nylc
MUFTI PERAK PERNAH BERBOHONG
Masih ingat bagaimana Mufti Perak terlibat memanjangkan maklumat palsu Raja Sherina. Raja Sherina telah berjumpa beliau dan mendakwa sekumpulan orang Melayu akan dikristiankan di Gereja Silibin Ipoh. Dato Azhar Mansur…Masih ingat bagaimana Mufti Perak terlibat memanjangkan maklumat palsu Raja Sherina. Raja Sherina telah berjumpa beliau dan mendakwa sekumpulan orang Melayu akan dikristiankan di Gereja Silibin Ipoh. Dato Azhar Mansur pelayar negara katanya terlibat.Laporan Raja Sherina ini pula, Dato Mufti didedahkan dengan sensasi dalam satu forum yang berkaitan murtad di ibu kota. VCD forum yang memuatkankan pengakuan Dato mufti menjadi bukti Dato Mufti memang mendedahkan maklumat yang beliau dapat dari Raja Sherina.
Maklumat dari forum itulah kemudiannya telah disebar melalui SMS kerana menganggap takkan Mufti akan berbohong. Akhirnya sekumpulan umat Islam berkumpul depan Gereja Silibin pada tarikh yang dimaksudkan.
Dato Mufti berlepas tangan mengatakan dia tak terlibat. Raja Sherina (di sini) yang bersalah. Raja Sherina di minta ke Balai polis untuk siasatan dan polis sahkan maklumat itu palsu.
Ini kali kedua Dato Mufti buat kerja yang sama. Modus operandinya sama. Terima maklumat dari orang yang ketiga tentang perlembagaan baru (di sini) kemudian dedahkan dalam forum terbuka. Nanti kalau timbul masalah atau maklumat palsu Dato mufti sekali lagi akan berlepas tangan.
Nota: Memanjangkan berita bohong bermakna dah berbohong. Dalam kes Raja Sherina Dato Mufti dah buat kerja bohong. Maknanya tak benar pengakuan "Saya mufti, takkan saya nak berbohong (disini)". Inilah bukti bahawa Dato mufti memang pernah berbohong
sumber : http://najwasuhaimi.blogspot.com/2010/08/mufti-perak-pernah-berbohong.html
Perkasa lodges report against Soi Lek
Malay rights NGO Perkasa lodged a police report against MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek today, accusing him of sedition.
Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali in the report referred…
Malay rights NGO Perkasa lodged a police report against MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek today, accusing him of sedition.
Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali in the report referred to Chua's opening speech at last Saturday's Chinese Economic Congress, which was organised by the MCA.
"In his speech, he questioned the quota on equity given to bumiputeras. He claimed that this system, which has been long practised in Malaysia, should be gradually replaced with meritocracy and need," Syed Hassan told reporters after making the report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters."This is an irresponsible statement that aims to destroy the harmony between races," he said.
"It is clear that this is against the law, as provided under the Sedition Act. Therefore the authorities should take action against Chua."
One police report after another
Syed Hassan claimed that Chua should have realised that his statement would cause unrest among the Malays because the federal constitution clearly provided that nobody could question the special position of the Malays.
"This cannot go on. We urge the police to take action against Chua (below) to serve as a deterrent to others," he added.
Perkasa's Legal Bureau deputy head Amir Hassan said Chua's statement was prejudicial and detrimental to the country's security.
"It is very clear that an offence has been committed," he said.
Last Monday, Perkasa lodged a police report against columnist Helen Ang for her article titled Enforcing NEP on minority religions, which was published on the website of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.
Perkasa claimed that the article was seditious because it questioned the position of bumiputeras and the rulers.
Last month, Perkasa also lodged a police report against another MCA leader - secretary-general Chai Kim Seng - accusing him of sedition over a statement published in the Malay section of the party's newsletter, Merdeka Review.
In the statement, Chai stated that "MCA Youth will retaliate and will do anything to defend the dignity of the MCA".
The Malay section editor of Merdeka Review, Lim Hong Siang, had his statement recorded by Dang Wangi police early this month as part of investigations into the alleged sedition.
"This cannot go on. We urge the police to take action against Chua (below) to serve as a deterrent to others," he added.
Perkasa's Legal Bureau deputy head Amir Hassan said Chua's statement was prejudicial and detrimental to the country's security."It is very clear that an offence has been committed," he said.
Last Monday, Perkasa lodged a police report against columnist Helen Ang for her article titled Enforcing NEP on minority religions, which was published on the website of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.
Perkasa claimed that the article was seditious because it questioned the position of bumiputeras and the rulers.
Last month, Perkasa also lodged a police report against another MCA leader - secretary-general Chai Kim Seng - accusing him of sedition over a statement published in the Malay section of the party's newsletter, Merdeka Review.
In the statement, Chai stated that "MCA Youth will retaliate and will do anything to defend the dignity of the MCA".
The Malay section editor of Merdeka Review, Lim Hong Siang, had his statement recorded by Dang Wangi police early this month as part of investigations into the alleged sedition.
How Muslims cope in touchy-feely Cuba
Editor's note: During the month of Ramadan, Muslim in 2010, CNN International's four-week series on modern Islam looks at what it means to be Muslim in the 21st century. Muslim…
Editor's note: During the month of Ramadan, Muslim in 2010, CNN International's four-week series on modern Islam looks at what it means to be Muslim in the 21st century. Muslim in 2010 travels the world capturing the debates and the issues -- and profiling Muslims who are embracing their faith in 2010.
Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Every Friday, Pedro Lazo Torres, clears the furniture out of his second-storey apartment in a potholed Havana suburb and lines the floors and balcony with carpets.
For Havana's Muslims, he is Imam Yahya, and the home that he shares with his wife and two adult children, is their place of worship.
"You can be a Chinese, Cuban or Russian Muslim and the laws are the same for everyone," Yahya told CNN. "The cultures can be different, but someone who embraces Islam must accept what Allah orders, it's that simple."
There are about 1,500 Muslims in Cuba, but no mosques. That's why, at the end of each week, Yahya, dressed in an immaculate white cap and tunic, welcomes people for Friday prayer. Women head inside, sitting on the living room floor, while men tend to kneel on the shady balcony.
Most Muslims in Cuba are international college students from countries like Pakistan and Indonesia. Three medical students from Guyana were among those gathered at Yahya's house for Friday prayer.
Cuba is traditionally Catholic, but many don't actively practice the religion and others adhere to Afro-Caribbean beliefs like Santeria.
Yahya was introduced to Islam by exchange students and converted more than a decade ago.
Cubans are generally very tolerant of religions, Yahya told CNN. But Muslims do sometimes encounter some of the same prejudices found in other countries.
"Sometimes even friends say things jokingly, like 'terrorist,'" Yahya said.
Muslims in Cuba also face some unique challenges. Pork, for example, is the most popular meat here. "Pork has the problem that it's very attractive," Yahya said. "Just like all things that are bad."
The faithful say they have to be flexible. Before Friday prayer, they perform ablutions, or cleansing of the body, in Yahya's small bathroom. But the water supply is often turned off in Havana and adherents have to scoop water out of buckets filled in the shower for these kinds of emergencies.
Noalia Gladys Carmen Perez, who wears a headscarf, told CNN she and other adults have encountered some resistance to their faith.
"I've had good reactions, people who greet with you respect, and people who don't like it," she told CNN. "They'll say, 'It must be so hot,' [and] comments like that as a form of criticism."
Headscarves have never been an issue in schools, in part because Islam is relatively new in the country. However, few can pray at work, either because their schedules or social norms won't allow it.
Many also find it hard to adopt certain Muslim customs here in the touchy-feely tropics. In Cuba, men and women usually greet each other with a kiss.
Ibrahim Kinsan, a physical therapist, says most of his co-workers are women. "Now I've converted to Islam, but I can't just turn into an alien," he told CNN. "Most of them greet me with a kiss and that tradition isn't going to disappear."
Many Muslim countries have offered to donate the money for a mosque, but Yahya wants the gesture to come from Cuba. The country inaugurated its first Russian Orthodox Church in 2008.
"I think we could see something similar for Muslims in the near future," he said.
Labels:
Islam
Declare all 523 Tamil schools fully financially aided government schools on this 53rd Merdeka day on 31/8/2010.
Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 18/8/2010
YAB. Dato…
Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 18/8/2010
YAB. Dato Seri Najib Razak Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Block Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
Fax : 03-8888 3444 62502 Putrajaya. E-Mail : najib@pmo.gov.my
Y.A.B Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Minister of Education Malaysia, Pejabat Menteri Pelajaran,
Aras 10, Block E8, Complex Kerajaan Parcal E,
Fax : 03-8889 5846 62604 Putrajaya. E-Mail : khairulam@moe.gov.my
Re: Declare all 523 Tamil schools fully financially aided government schools on this 53rd Merdeka day on 31/8/2010.
Tun V.T. Sambanthan, one of the three Malaysia’s 1957 Independence signatories and founding fathers 
would have dreamt about a truly One Malaysia, living in harmony non state discrimination, equality and equal opportunities for all including for the Indian poor. Tun Sambanthan certainly would not have imagined the remaining 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia remaining in near cow shed like conditions some fifty- three years later in 2010. What more when the very same Tamil school that carries Tun Sambanthan’s name ie the Tun Sambanthan Tamil school, Pajam, N.Sembilan not only is remaining like a near cow shed but it’s roof was 3easily blown away by winds which could have injured or even killed the students therein. 
It is plain and obvious that the UMNO controlled Malay-sian government has no regards for even Tun Sambanthan let alone all the 523 Tamil schools nationwide in Malay-sia.
This does not happen to any Malay, Chinese, orang asli, kadazan or Iban schools. Only to Tamil schools. Why?
The NST 15/8/10 at page 6 published a picture of the Sekolah Kebangsaan Muhammad Jabar in 1932 with an attap structure and cow shed like structure (see picture). But this and almost all Malay, Chinese, Kadazan, Iban and orang asli schools are nowhere like this anymore and have today evolved to emerge more like the Penang Free School building pictured in the NST 18/8/10 at page 12 and the King Edward VII Primary school in the NST 18/8/2010 at page 13. (see pictures) But in direct contrast the Tun Sambanthan Tamil School in Pajam and almost all the 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia have been refused to be converted into fully financially aided government schools despite 53 years of Independence and are still in near cow shed like wooden structures! Why? Because the mere 8% ethnic minority Indians in2 Malaysia almost all are poor or in the lower income group and are politically powerless?
We hereby call upon in particular the PKR, DAP and PAS state governments of Selangor, Penang and Kedah and all the state governments of all other states to forthwith and in any event on Malay-sia’s 53rd Independence day grant the land in situ (ie on the land the Tamil school is presently occupying) and to add on the adjoining land to make it at least a ten acre land and the Federal UMNO/BN government granting full financial aid and converting all these 523 Tamil schools into fully aided government schools and the school full operational costs and per capita grant should be as granted to any other Malay muslim school to bring to a closure once and for all this 523 Tamil schools’ 53 year old long outstanding problem.
4We hereby call upon both PKR, DAP and PAS and also UMNO/BN to stop the temporary kosong wayang kulit theatrics of “dishing out” and that too merely promise of “one Tamil school land at a time here and there” gimmick.
We want a permanent and final solution to these 523 Tamil schools and not a piece- meal and supposedly “granting kosong land titles one by one” to these 523 Tamil schools mere media statements by politicians which always almost does not materialize and these Tamil schools being forced to move from one place to another at the whims and fancies of the government and which again does not happen to any Malay, Chinese, orang asli, Kadazan or Iban school. These kosong political statements are never in writing by the Education Ministry or the state governments but mere propaganda in especially the three Tamil dailies and almost all the times the same never being fulfilled by both sides of the political spectrum.
_________________
P.Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro-tem)
Labels:
Tamil schools,
uthaya HRP
Documents of another 'Ronnie crony' emerge
By Teoh El Sen and Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia TodayFMT EXCLUSIVE PETALING JAYA: As the pressure mounts for several Selangor DAP leaders to resign over the support letter…
By Teoh El Sen and Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia TodayFMT EXCLUSIVE PETALING JAYA: As the pressure mounts for several Selangor DAP leaders to resign over the support letter imbroglio, new documents have surfaced to indicate more alleged abuse of power.
Documents sent to FMT by an anonymous source today showed that the Pandamaran new village chief Yap Hock Siew had issued a letter of support to a company belonging to him to procure a contract for the maintenance and cleaning of river floodgates.
This was purportedly endorsed by Selangor state exco and Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu.
Among the documents was a letter dated June 17 this year. It was sent by First Team Enterprise to Klang Municipal Council president Anuar Abd Wahab, and the letter bore what appeared to be the seal and signature of Liu.
The letter was an application for the maintennance and cleaning works of a floodgate at Jalan Papan Pandamaran
.There was also a letter of support to the council president from Pandamaran new village chief Yap to back First Team's application for the contract on the same date.
The source also included a report from the Companies Commission of Malaysia which stated that Yap owned First Team.
Same principle applies for all
Commenting on this, a party leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said the party must look into the matter.
“If the DAP discliplinary committee and Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim held that Tee Boon Hock had committed an offence, then tell me, is this not a direct conflict of interest as well?
"How can a village head support his own company? Right or wrong is not for us to say, but if you apply one principle on Tee, then it should be applied on everyone. Plus, Ronnie (Liu) must have known about Yap's position, why did he still support it?" he said.
Tee was sacked from DAP and as a Klang municipal councillor for allegedly misusing Liu's letterhead and seal to procure contracts for his son and cronies.
Meanwhile, FMT was also furnished with a letter of support signed by Liu on April 14, 2008 backing five companies to be nominated as contractors for cleaning works, including First Team.Also on the list were Perkhidmatan AA, owned by Tee's son, and Wira M&E Sdn Bhd, the company for whom Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim had reporetdly issued a support letter for.
'Money is for the people'
Contacted later, Yap told FMT that he did not get any contracts since he was appointed as the village head this year.
"For this floodgate contract, we still don't know if we got it or not as I heard it was cancelled because of all this controversy," he said.
Asked if it was unethical to endorse his own company, Yap replied:" As the Village Safety and Development Committee (JKKK), we are not financially supported by the Pakatan Rakyat government, and I as village head only get RM450 a month.”
“This contract was for the community, as we are to use 100% of what we earn from it to pay for electricity, water and other bills for the JKKK hall, office and basketball court," he said.
Yap, who is also the Pasar Pandamaran DAP branch chairman, added that he estimated the project could bring in about RM6,000 a month.
'Classic crony company'
However, DAP's Klang MP Charles Santiago disagreed, calling it a case of a “classic crony company”.
"For you to say that you need the money for the people is not a basis to be awarded any contracts. A political party should be supported with its own fundraising,
its own members," he said.Santiago maintained that the culture of issuing or seeking support letters should be stopped by 2011, with a committee being set up now to look into the details.
"The menteri besar should be more decisive in saying that there should be no letters of support to businesses - with exceptions given to welfare cases and small projects," he said.
Last week, Liu was let off with a severe reprimand by the party's discliplinary committee over the controversy and was told to manage his office more professionally.
Both Liu and Teng are now facing pressure to resign.Liu, the local government, study and research exco, could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Khalid today maintained that no action would be taken against Liu.
Asked at a press conference if the exco should he sacked, the MB replied: "Ronnie Liu? I don’t think so because based on our findings, there's no issue with the support letters."
“Let me look at the audit report first... I am not going to make any statements until I look at the report. We practice transparency, and we will reveal the report,” he said.
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corruption
Chinese want Malays to get rich, says chamber boss
By Patrick Lee - Free Malaysia TodayKUALA LUMPUR: Chinese businessmen would support any policy that would lead to an improved standard of living for the Malays, said the Associated…
By Patrick Lee - Free Malaysia TodayKUALA LUMPUR: Chinese businessmen would support any policy that would lead to an improved standard of living for the Malays, said the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) today.
ACCIM president William Cheng said the government should help the Malays acquire skills that would enable them to earn better incomes.
“If you helped the Malays to get higher incomes, would you be worried about equity?” he said in reference to the current debate on the 30% Bumiputera corporate equity.
He said the Chinese would not be against the government making the Malays richer “because we want more buying power" for them.
"But we’re put in a circle where we’re always arguing over the 30% equity. This type of argument always disturbs Malaysians. We are wasting too much time on this argument," he added.
Cheng was critical of both the New Economic Policy (NEP) and its successor, the New Economic Model, saying the former did not quite achieve its objectives and the latter was still vague.
He said 61% of respondents in an ACCCIM survey said the NEM was not business-friendly.
Shortage of foreign labour
Leong Kai Hin, a member of the ACCCIM National Council, told FMT: "The government needs to have more sessions to explain the NEM and to put in more effort
to convince Malaysians about its benefits.”Cheng also responded to recent announcements about foreign workers and minimum wage, sending words of caution on both issues.
He said the government should consult “all industries” before making a decision to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country.
"Some industries have a shortage of foreign workers," he said.
Cheng said 63% of respondents in an ACCCIM survey said their businesses were dependent on foreign labour.
"Countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong have foreign labour, but they don't have any problems. It's not the foreign labour that creates problems; it is how the government and the police control them," he added.
He also argued against a blanket nationwide minimum wage.
"Some industries can afford it, while others cannot," he said. "Different industries must have different wages.”
He said the minimum-wage rate should be dependent on location. “In KL, the wage must be higher than in the rural areas.”
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