‘Dinesh was shot like in the Wild West’

PKR duo maintains that businessman Dinesh's death was a cold blooded murder.

PETALING JAYA: Kapar MP S Manikavasagam today described the ruthless police killing of businessman, D Dinesh, as akin to the shooting in the Wild West.

“Dinesh was shot ruthlessly by the police near Ampang Point traffic light,” he said after attending the 26-year-old’s funeral in Prima Damansara, Selangor.

Dinesh, who was the youngest child in his family, was shot on Aug 21 while travelling with six of his friends and two relatives.

According to Manikavasagam, the police shot Dinesh, engaged to be married next month, at a close range.

“The post mortem report shows one shot went through his skull and another went through his shoulder.

“The police are claiming gang clash but we have eyewitnesses to prove otherwise,” said Manikavasagam.

Dinesh was sent to Ampang Hospital and then to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem.

The funeral held today attracted a large crowd.

Dinesh’s body was taken from his home in Prima Damansara to his car-wash outlets in Damansara Damai and Sungai Buloh before the burial ceremony was held in Jalan Loke Yew.

PKR vice president N Surendran, who also attended the funeral, meanwhile described Dinesh’s death as a “cold blooded murder”.

“We want an explanation from the police on this cold blooded murder and we urge them not to cover up the case.

“We will also prove that this is a cold blooded murder since we have eye witnesses,” said Surendran.

A press conference would be called tomorrow in PKR headquarters where eye-witnesses are expected to debunk police allegations of a gang clash.

Sufi Muslim Shrine Bulldozed in Libya

Attackers bulldozed a Sufi Muslim shrine and mosque in the Libyan capital on Saturday, one day after hardliners razed a similar shrine and library elsewhere in the country.

It was not immediately clear who was behind Saturday's attack, the third on a Sufi shrine in Tripoli in recent months, although officials have blamed past vandalism on Islamic hardliners, some of whom are followers of the ultraconservative Salafi doctrine.

Libya is a deeply conservative Muslim nation, and Islamists were heavily repressed under longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was captured and killed in October after an eight-month civil war. Since then, there has been a string of attacks on shrines across the country belonging to Muslim sects.

The campaign appears to be aimed mainly at shrines revered by Sufis, a mystical order whose members often pray over the tombs of revered saints and ask for blessings or intervention to bring success, marriage or other desired outcomes. Hard-line Salafi Muslims deem the practice offensive because they consider worshipping over graves to be idolatry.

Libya's Grand Mufti, Sheik Sadek al-Ghariani, condemned the vandalism and said it was the government's responsibility to protect the graves.

"No group outside of the government should use weapons and it is the responsibility of the government to provide security and prevent religious strife and division," he said in a statement Saturday.

Resident Abdullah Zakaria said he saw the bulldozers destroy the Sufi tombs Saturday morning. Hours later a group of men bulldozed a mosque in the same area that also contained tombs.

Security officials closed the road leading to the shrines and mosque but did not intervene to stop the men from attacking the mosque hours later. Police were seen instead protecting a nearby hotel.

Interim President Mohammed el-Megarif said in a televised speech Saturday called the actions "unacceptable" and vowed the perpetrators would be prosecuted. He also called on citizens and the security services to be more vigilant in preventing disruptive behavior.

Following the civil war, Libya has been largely without a military or police force and has relied on disparate militias to provide security and protect government installations.

Libyan writer Fathi Bin Eissa, a Sufi, said he had hoped the police would investigate who ordered past desecration of the shrines and wanted answers as to why security forces moved to protect the hotel, but did nothing as the mosque was being bulldozed before their eyes.

A security official said the police were ordered only to ensure violence does not break out.

Other attacks have taken place in the past against shrines in the eastern cities of Darna and Benghazi.

More recently, extremists on Friday bulldozed one of Libya's most important Sufi shrines and Sufi libraries in the city of Zlitan, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

Security officials say the attackers took advantage of deadly clashes between tribes in Zlitan this week to attack the more than 500-year-old shrine and library.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Muslim woman 'beaten, hair hacked off' for kissing 'white' boy in UK

London, Aug 25 (ANI): A Muslim woman in the UK was attacked by her siblings for kissing a white boy during her 18th birthday celebrations.

Shamima Akhtar, now a 19-yr-old, suffered a sickening assault by her siblings, sisters Nazira, 29, Nadiya, 25, and brother Mohammed-Abdul, 24, which culminated in her sisters slapping and punching her and hacking off her waist-length hair.

Akhtar now lives with Gary Pain, 23, the work colleague whom she had kissed, after she severed ties with her strict Muslim family.

"Gary is the one good thing to come out of this. I am happy, but at the same time I've lost my entire family and that's hard. I can never go back," the Daily Mail quoted Akhtar, as saying.

Akhtar was the youngest of six siblings raised by a Muslim family, who had immigrated from Bangladesh to the UK.

It was during March last year when Akhtar turned 18, and had gone out with her colleagues to celebrate her birthday, when her siblings saw her kissing Pain and launched an assault on her.

"My brother grabbed Gary by the throat and my sisters dragged me into the car. Nazira punched me in the head as soon as I got in. They put the childlock on so I couldn't escape," she said.

Following the incident, Akhtar managed to text Pain and asked him to call the police, after which her siblings were arrested, the paper said.

Akhtar admitted that she had hoped that her siblings would go to prison, but instead the jury in the case gave them each a conditional discharge and a fine.

"I couldn't have asked for more from the police, but part of me felt like a fool. I wanted the judge to send a message to families like mine," she said.

"I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I just want people to know this is going on behind closed doors. In some ways I'm one of the lucky ones. I've got Gary. But there are hundreds of girls like me out there who have no one to turn to," she added. (ANI)

Review 114A, rights group demands

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today urged Putrajaya to review or even repeal the new law that threatens to curb freedom of expression on the Internet as it violates basic human rights principles.

Suhakam said today the controversial section 114A of the Evidence Act 1950 violates the human rights principles of freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The commission added that the newly-introduced provision, which came into force on 31 July 2012, also goes against a fundamental principle of law that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty as provided for under Article 11(1) of the UDHR.

“While the presumption of fact under the Section 114A is rebuttable, a person against whom the presumption is applied may lack the time, resources and more importantly, technical expertise in relation to the Internet environment, to prove the contrary in order to rebut the presumption,” the commission said today in a press statement. “In contrast, the prosecution, in criminal cases, may be better equipped to prove the guilt of the accused, as they are authorised to compel any of the potential witness to produce evidence, and has the technical expertise and resources to assist its investigation or prosecution,” it added.

The commission pointed out the new law may also discourage expression, dissemination and sharing of ideas, news and information, “thus limiting and impinging on the freedom of expression — an essential attribute of a full- functional democracy”.

It also detailed conditions of how any power or measure on the limitation of rights must be subjected according to human rights norms:

i. That the limitation of rights of an individual must be imposed solely for the purpose of protecting a legitimate aim (i.e. national security, rights or reputation of others, public health or morals) that is prescribed by international human rights principles;

ii. That the limitation of rights must be absolutely necessary for the protection of the legitimate aim;

iii. That the limitation of rights must be proportional to the protection of the legitimate aim. It must be remembered, however, that, there are some rights and freedoms that cannot be limited and they include the freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and

iv. That there must be adequate safeguards so as to avoid any abuse of powers. These conditions are important to strike a fair balance between public interests — legitimate national security concerns, on the one hand, and fundamental freedoms of an individual, on the other.

Suhakam reiterated that although national security is paramount to ensure peace and stability, Section 114A of the Evidence Act must be reviewed or repealed to protect and respect fundamental liberties and human rights to freedom of expression and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

“The Commission looks forward to engaging with the Attorney General’s Chambers and other stakeholders in the review of the Act, as well as in the drafting of any new law to ensure that they are consistent with universally accepted human rights principles,” it said. Review 114A, rights group demands accepted human rights principles,” it said.

MIC youth condemns JAIPP for ‘stealing’ ashes

Department must explain its action and disclose what it was going to do with alleged Muslim convert's cremated ashes, says its chief J Dhinagaran

NIBONG TEBAL: Penang MIC youth condemned the state Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAIPP) for taking away the ashes of an alleged Muslim convert in Sungai Bakap last week.

Youth chief, J Dhinagaran said: “JAIPP practically stole the ashes of Nagamah without her family’s knowledge or consent, and did not show evidence that she was a convert.

“We strongly condemn the unlawful action,” he said today.

Nagamah passed away in Sungai Bakap hospital on Aug 14 and her family cremated her body at Batu Berapit Crematorium on the same day.

However, JAIPP officials took away her ashes despite objections from her family members, claiming that Nagamah was a convert.

Various Hindu bodies and rights groups, especially Hindraf Makkal Sakti, have condemned JAIPP for its high-handed insensitive action.

State executive councillor in charge of Islamic Religious Affairs, Abdul Malik Kassim, said on Thursday that Nagamah, 64, was converted to Islam by Ustaz Anuar Ismail in November 2006.

He said she was converted at JAIPP’s Seberang Perai Selatan district office after marrying one Ibrahim Noyan and had nine children registered as Muslims by the NRD.

Return Nagamah’s ashes

Nagamah’s family has lodged several police reports against JAIPP for taking away her ashes.

Dhinagaran said JAIPP’s high-handed action without due regard to the process of law has hurt the feelings of ethnic Indians in the state and country.

He demanded JAIPP to explain the rationale for its action and disclose what it was going to do with Nagamah’s ashes.

He said it was unfortunate that Nagamah’s eldest son M Kamasantheran, 46, could not fulfill his religious obligations to conduct Hindu obituary prayers for his late mother.

“Unfortunately her ashes are with JAIPP,” he said.

He hit out at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s Pakatan Rakyat government for again failing to safeguard Hindu interests in the state.

He said Lim should direct JAIPP to stipulate a standard operating procedure that must be strictly adhered in future cases of ‘body-snatching’ or taking away of ashes.

He also slammed Pakatan Indian elected representatives for being busy in securing seats to contest in the next general election, rather than addressing and resolving Indian issues.

He suggested that JAIPP should return Nagamah’s ashes to her grieving family members to enable them to perform the final rites in accordance to the Hindu practices

“We hope goodwill would prevail,” said Dhinagaran.

Britons back naked prince: poll

Some 75 percent still had a positive view of the 27-year-old army helicopter pilot.

LONDON: More than two-thirds of adults in Britain thought Prince Harry cavorting naked with women at a Las Vegas party was acceptable behaviour, according to a poll out Sunday.

The YouGov survey in The Sunday Times newspaper found that 68 percent thought the third in line to the throne’s antics were acceptable for a young, single man having fun on a private holiday, with 22 percent saying it was not.

Some 75 percent still had a positive view of the 27-year-old army helicopter pilot.

While the two images of Harry are widely available on the Internet and abroad, only The Sun newspaper has published them in Britain, saying it was striking a blow for press freedom.

Some 61 percent thought media baron Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid was wrong to do so, with 25 percent saying Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper had been right to print them.

YouGov sampled 1,731 adults on Thursday and Friday for the poll on whether Harry’s behaviour was acceptable and 694 adults on Friday for the poll on The Sun publishing the images.

UMNO made Indians politically irrelevant

Senator S.Ramakrishnan, 23/8/2012

Last week MIC president Datuk G.Palanivel expressed disappointment over the public Services Commission (PSC) for not including any Indian Malaysians in the recruitment of 21 graduates by the works ministry. In the same week Datuk G.Palanivel expressed happiness over the PSC statement that mentions of wanting to increase Indian counter staff from 1000 to 3000 at government officers. Instead of demanding for more civil service intake MIC is protecting and giving excuses for the UMNO led government. Indians taken in by civil services and local government agencies are mostly contract workers and not permanent civil servants. When the Indians were dominating health and education services Malaysia had a world class service. All these have become history. Indians must correct all these injustice by voting out the UMNO led government.

MIC sings praises each time there is an announcement of wanting to increase Indian Malaysian in civil service intake. But when there are no Indians taken in MIC is quite. Despite all the empty promises MIC, PPP and other mosquito Indian parties in BN will continue to support UMNO. In 1971 Indians were 17.4% of the civil service but this has dropped to 5.12% in 2005 and now it dropped further to 4.1%. The bulk of Indian civil servants are in Tamil schools. In the police forces Indians account for only 3%. Despite the solid support from Indians to BN before 2008, they are deceived and cheated by MIC/UMNO government. Even after 2008 UMNO has not changed its racist attitude and arrogance.
The government will say that Indians don’t apply for jobs in civil service but those non Malays in government service know how conveniently those applications are thrown into the rubbish bins. Malaysia is the only country where ethnicity is the main criteria for civil service intake and not qualifications and capability to perform. Malaysia exports talents and professionals and imports illegal and legal migrant workers. One World Bank report says that Malaysia could have attracted 5 times more FDIs if not for NEP. 1.5 million Malaysian professionals are working overseas with about half of them in Singapore. But the BN government is dreaming to form a world class civil service. As long as UMNO in power there is no hope of Indians increasing their presence in civil service?
UMNO will only take proactive actions when their vote bank is affected. They want the Indian votes but they don’t want to give a fair share to Indian community. They think Indians are beggars and therefore Indians don’t deserve any job or business opportunities except hampers and rice bags. That is MIC’s achievement after 55 years in coalition with UMNO. During elections and by elections it is MIC that distributes hampers to poor Indians on behalf of UMNO to support BN.
MIC has successfully produced stateless Indians, criminal Indians and poor and unskilled Indians. Indians need a political change. The current political system neglects and side lines Indians. UMNO made Indians politically irrelevant. This has to change. Indians must become politically relevant to play a key role in the development of this country. Indians need to redeem their dignity and pride. It’s now or never

We know this man, Mahathir

AUG 25 ― He says that the Barisan Nasional is the devil that Malaysians know and we should stick with this devil because the Opposition is the devil we don’t know.

But we do know the Opposition. We know that DAP/PAS/PKR politicians don’t always stand on the same page; they make mistakes and say really dumb things and may even be arrogant. And not all their populist ideas will be good for Malaysia; some may be downright stupid.

We also know that they don’t have a Dr Mahathir Mohamad in their midst and that is always an advantage. He is the devil we know and have to put up with for more than two decades and now it does seem that, Mahathir is still running the country. And offering unsolicited rubbish as advice.

This is what Dr Mahathir the “angel” has given Malaysia:

1) A corrupt culture, where civil servants, corporate figures and even ordinary Malaysians don’t think twice about bribing, stealing and cheating. A Malaysia where the government and police fudge crime figures and where ministers live beyond their means without fear of getting arrested.

2) A country where race relations have worsened over the years. Dr Mahathir can take credit that all his slogans have remained slogans and we still live in race silos. And his party Umno and Utusan Malaysia have crossed the line with a campaign of driving the wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims.

3) A country where corporate figures and cronies milk the system with one-sided privatisation deals. These sweet deals are the norms here; look at the NFC and Ampang LRT.

4) A country where the education system is in a mess.

The list can go on. So take a bow, Dr Mahathir, “the devil” we know.

* Ali Kadir reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

PM Advises People Not To Make A Change They Are Uncertain About

PEKAN, Aug 26 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today advised the people not to make a change which is uncertain of guaranteeing them prosperity and well-being.

Not all change would bring good, he said, adding that the people should institute change in something dependable rather than go for others who have no successful track record.

"We must hold on to something which we know well. God willing, it (the BN government) will bring about a better future," he said in his address at the Aidilfitri open house hosted by him and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, in Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar, here.

Najib cautioned the people against being easily fooled by the sweet promises of the opposition political parties which he said had evidently failed in the four states they had been administrating after the general election of 2008.

He said that not all the changes promised would bring good for the people, but the BN-led government had brought about various changes which benefited them since the era of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister.

"We cannot change a government solely because the time has come for us to make a change. We are not wanting to make a change but wanting something better.

"Change will not necessarily bring good. It can lead to something worse than what we are enjoying today," he said.

Najib said the BN government was continuing the struggle of past leaders in the effort to value add and bring about a better change to realise Vision 2020.

He said even developed countries which were not administered well and failed to grow new wealth would collapse and face a critical economic situation, such as the several European countries which had to put up with unemployment and economic recession.

"The truth is we cannot go on accepting aid after aid without figuring out how to create and generate wealth. Countries which do not generate economic wealth will face problems," he said.

The Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and other state leaders were among the more than 70,000 people who attended the open house.

-- BERNAMA

Defectors put Sabah in spotlight

The defection of two key ruling coalition parliamentarians to the political opposition has shifted Malaysia’s pre-election equation and highlighted the importance of the crucial swing states of Sabah and Sarawak in what is expected to be a neck and neck contest.

Historically a “fixed deposit” of votes for the Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition that has ruled the country consecutively since independence from colonial rule, Sabah and Sarawak are expected to play a prominent role in the coming general election pitting Prime Minister Najib Razak versus opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

BN won 140 of 222 federal parliament seats at the 2008 elections, a result that saw the Pakatan Rakyat opposition win control of five of 13 federal states. After the recent defections, BN holds 20 of 25 federal parliament seats allocated to Sabah and 29 of 31 in Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

M'kini subscribers' comments earn wrath of Muslim NGOs

(Malaysiakini) Several NGOs have lodged police reports on allegedly inflammatory comments posted on the Malaysiakini website, threatening to hold protests in front of its office as well as that of the Home Ministry's if no action is taken.

"Some 200 subscribers used pseudonyms in Malaysiakini to criticise and lower the status of Islam.
"This would have consequences and bring chaos to this peaceful country," read three largely identical police reports from each NGO.

Malaysian Muslim People's Coalition (IRIMM), Dewan Ekonomi dan Sosial Muslim Malaysia (Desmma) and Malaysian Muslim Consumer's Association (PPIM) lodged the reports together at the Dang Wangi police district headquarters, Kuala Lumpur, at around 2.30pm today.

A representative from the Malaysian Indian Muslim Missionary Council (MIM) was also present to endorse the complaint.

The report refers to readers' comments posted on Aug 22 regarding in an article titled ‘Police reports against JAIPP for 'body-snatching''.

"They (Malaysiakini subscribers) said in one comment, ‘Umno has turned Islam into a mafia religion.' What is this?
"These people are trying to act funny in this country.
"We don't want these kinds of things to happen in this country," said IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay (left), commenting on one of several readers he quoted.
"(They said) a lot of things, you know. I didn't print them all out... We want Malaysiakini to put a stop to such things. We don't want these kind of things.

"We will send a memorandum to the Home Ministry and we will protest in front of their office (in Putrajaya) for allowing such comments," he said.

He added that the protest is tentatively scheduled for next week, and he would try to get more NGOs on board.

"We will protest in front of Malaysiakini as well if they don't do anything about this issue," he said.
'Don't publish sensitive issues'
In the Wednesday article, Malaysiakini reported that a group of Hindu devotees lodged police reports against Penang Islamic Affairs Department (JAIPP) for confiscating the ashes of M Nagamah, who was cremated in accordance to Hindu rites.

Her family claims that she had lived and died as a Hindu, while South Seberang Perai (SPS) Religious Department said records show that she had converted to Islam in 2006.

Nagamah's family wishes to conduct the ‘karumakirei' ceremony on the remains, which is to be held 14 days after her death on Aug 28, after which the ashes would be strewn into a nearby river.

Amir Amsaa said that any criticism of the matter should be directed at JAIPP, but not Islam itself.

Desmma president Mohd Fazil Abdullah (right), who lodged one of the reports, also urged Malaysiakini not to publish such sensitive issues.

He described the issue as an ‘isolated case' in which the deceased had not informed her next-of-kin of her conversion and the online news portal should not have played it up.

"We urge Malaysiakini to stop giving space to statements that could affect the harmony, sensitivities and tolerance within Malaysia's multiethnic society," he said.

Effigy of Karpal Singh

Meanwhile, MIM secretary general Mohammed Shariff Ghani noted that ‘body snatching' allegations are not new and urged Muslim converts to take necessary precautions.

"I recommend whoever who converts into Islam to contact the relevant religious departments and to practice the religion. Don't cause an issue when you pass away," said Mohammed Shariff (right).

He stressed that no Muslim would condone another Muslim being cremated because it is against the religion's beliefs.

On a separate issue raised during the same press conference outside the district police headquarters, IRIMM secretary-general Zainol Abidin Ahmad said a protest could be held against DAP chairperson Karpal Singh next week for allegedly questioning hudud law.

"We may do a protest in Pulau Pinang against Karpal Singh where we would probably burn his effigy," said Zainol Abidin (left).

When asked, he said the protest is slated to take place after Friday prayers in Teluk Air Tawar, Butterworth.

"We warn the DAP chairperson not to play with fire. Do not press Malaysian Muslims on sensitive issues about religion and religious laws to be point of turning the issue into a racial conflict," he said, urging Karpal to apologise.

He alleged in his police report that whilst watching TV recently, some time before the Raya celebrations, Karpal was shown questioning hudud.