171 Hindus arrive from Pakistan; seeking refugee status

A scene from the documentary ‘Human Boundaries' directed by Rahul Riji Nair.

(The Hindu) A batch of 171 Hindus today arrived here from Pakistan after a three-month long arduous journey with leader of the group saying they were seeking a refugee status in India for the sake of “self respect”, religious freedom and children’s future.

They have been accommodated temporarily in a temple campus until proper arrangements are made.

“We have intimated the chief minister about this, who was in Jodhpur today and expect him to direct the administration to make some arrangements for them,” said Singh Sodha, president of Seemant Lok Sangthan, an organisation fighting for the rehabilitation of Hindu migrants.

“The exodus of Hindus from Pakistan on account of religious, financial and social persecution, is not a new phenomenon but this largest ever migration after the fencing on the Indo-Pak border, is a testimony that the conditions for the Hindu families in Pakistan continue to be intolerable and humiliating,” said Sodha.

The group is led by Chetan Ram, who has been a sarpanch of his village.

All of them have come incognito, not disclosing about their departure even to their relatives.

“If the news that we were planning or preparing to leave for India had spread, the masters, whom we serve, would have made it difficult or almost impossible for us to leave Pakistan driven by a fear that they will lose the labourers,” said Chetan.

“So as a strategy, all these families left their houses about 3 months back and kept changing their locations so as to do away with any suspicion to our masters or landlords. And on Friday, we left for India leaving all our belongings back in Pakistan,” Chetan said.

Talking about the desperation to leave Pakistan, Chetan said ”we were daily wagers there and would do the same here but this is for the sake of our self respect, religious freedom and children’s future, that made us take such an extreme.”

“Had anybody knew about the exodus, we would not have been able to leave ever and our lives would have become virtually a hell,” Chetan said.

“All of them have come on pilgrim visa as the open visa has virtually been denied to them, according to which, they are supposed to go back but none of them has come to go back,” said Sodha.

He said that we strongly demand a refugee policy for them from the government as in past 2 months about 350 migrants have come to Jodhpur, who are an addition to already existing 1.20 lakh migrants in Rajasthan.

“In the time to come, this number is set to increase further and this is high time that government take some serious stand on the issue to ensure these poor peoples’ future here,” said Sodha.

PKR seeks to meet IGP over political gangsterism

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 —PKR wants to meet the federal police chief over the spread of "gangster culture" in politics and the incident where Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's bodyguard apparently waved a gun to disperse a crowd blocking the politician yesterday.

Claiming provocation by an Umno Youth group, PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said today party secretary general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution will seek to meet Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar to discuss the incident and to "make sure the police give attention to gangster culture that threaten the country's democracy".

"Despite numerous reports made, until today it seems the police are not serious in taking any action in this case," Nik Nazmi (picture) said in a press statement.

He noted similar "gangster tactics" have been used on other PKR leaders prior to this incident, citing a rock-throwing incident during Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar's public talk in May.

Anwar had claimed that the bus, in which he was travelling for PKR’s Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat programme, was attacked by a group he believed to be Umno Youth members.

Plainclothes policemen detained the 37-year-old bodyguard at the scene when the incident took place at 3.15pm. Police and Special Branch officers were there to observe the event.

Local media reports said the bus in which Anwar was travelling was stopped by some youth who wanted to prevent them from entering the venue for the programme. The bodyguard alighted from a car near the bus and pointed the firearm at the youth.

At least four police reports were lodged by members of Jasin Umno Youth and the Belia 4B movement over the incident.

State police chief Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said the bodyguard has been detained for questioning.

Anwar said today he will leave it to police to “establish whether the security behaved in self-defence and according to SOP (standard operating procedures)”.

Anwar's tour began during the Merdeka Day celebrations and is part of his campaign ahead of a general election that must be called by middle 2013.

He has focused on the east coast states of Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu and is now touring the west coast of the peninsula.

Kalau cemburu buat bas sendiri

Presiden PKR Wan Azizah Wan Ismail menyindir Umno berhubung usaha parti itu mengubah suai bas dua tingkat.

SEREMBAN: Presiden PKR, Dato’ Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail menyindir Umno dengan mengesyorkan Umno mengubah suai sendiri sebuah bas seperti mana PKR mengubahsuai sebuah bas dua tingkat untuk program ‘Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat’.

Wan Azizah berkata demikian di sebuah ceramah sempena siri lawatan ‘Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat’ peringkat Negeri Sembilan di Rantau malam kelmarin (Jumaat).

“Kalau cemburu dengan bas kami, buat bas sendiri. Letak gambar Najib (Perdana Menteri) besar-besar ke tepi bas. Ini ‘attack’ (serang) bas.

“Apa dah jadi dengan Nilai 3? Macam belon lepas. Hari ini orang datang ke Nilai 3 hanya kalau ada majlis perkahwinan untuk beli barang-barang hantaran dan ‘door gift’.

“Bagaimana dengan ‘Vision’ (Wawasan) 2020? Sudah 54 tahun Barisan Nasional (BN) tidak buat perubahan,” katanya.

Wan Azizah turut mengumumkan penggunaan pentas bergerak lengkap dengan sistem PA dan lampu yang diubahsuai menggunakan sebuah lori treler.

“Negeri Sembilan merupakan lokasi pertama kami menggunakan ‘pentas bergerak-lori treler’ yang baru dilancarkan pagi tadi.

Kalau keputusan PRU13 (Pilihan Raya Umum ke 13) lewat, tanda Pakatan Rakyat menang.

Tanda Pakatan menang

Sementara itu Ketua Pembangkang Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim pula memberi indikasi kepada lebih 1,000 hadirin bagaimana hendak mengetahui bahawa Pakatan berjaya membentuk kerajaan pusat pada PRU13 nanti.

“Najib tidak boleh lari. Dia perlu bubar parlimen. Kalau tidak November atau Disember tahun ini, perlu bubar dalam bulan Januari, Februari atau Mac tahun depan.

“Saudara mesti tengok televisyen untuk mengetahui keputusan PRU13 nanti.

“Kalau Umno menang, pukul 9.00 malam sudah dapat keputusan PRU13.

“Tapi kalau jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 12.00 malam, 1.00 pagi atau 2.00 pagi, tetapi keputusan

PRU-13 masih juga tidak keluar-keluar, maka itu tanda Pakatan sudah membentuk kerajaan pusat yang baru,” kata Anwar yang disambut dengan tepukan gemuruh oleh orang ramai yang terdiri daripada masyarakat berbilang kaum.

Anwar turut menyelar tindakan Utusan Malaysia dan TV3 yang tidak habis-habis menyerang beliau dengan fitnah seperti orang ‘gila talak’.

“Siang malam maki saya. RM3 bilion lah, betina lah dan macam-macam fitnah lagi.

“Dulu ada wanita ditangkap di Pahang kerana minum arak.(keluar dalam semua media).

“Ya, sebagai orang Islam kita latih anak-anak kita jangan minum arak kerana ianya haram dan punca kepada segala maksiat.

Kilang arak

“Sekarang saya nak tanya. Mana dia? Pernah saudara baca dalam Utusan Malaysia, The Star, New Straits Times, RTM atau TV3; bahawa keluarga bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pegang syarikat arak San Miguel?

“Bukan satu botol, bukan satu kilang tapi satu syarikat arak, keluarga dia pegang. Ada orang berani tegur? Mana dia Ustaz Umno?,” tanya Anwar.

Anwar juga mengulangi janji beliau jika Pakatan berjaya membentuk kerajaan pusat, dalam masa 24 jam, beliau akan umumkan penurunan harga minyak.

“Saya tidak bohong. Insya-Allah, God willing, dalam masa 24 jam saya akan umumkan penurunan harga minyak.

“Kalau tahun ini PRU, Insya-Allah tahun ini juga kita akan batalkan hutang PTPTN (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional).

“UMNO kata negara akan bankrap, kita sama-sama tengok negara akan bankrap atau tidak. Beritahu saya mana satu negara dalam dunia yang pernah bankrap kerana menolong rakyat di negara tersebut?

“Negara bankrap kerana rasuah dan ketirisan itu ada,” jelas Anwar

Repeal bound over for statutory rape

Rights of victims especially children must be protected, said Karpal Singh.

GEORGE TOWN: Senior parliamentarian and lawyer Karpal Singh has called on the government to amend the Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code to repeal the bound over clause for statutory rape conviction.

He wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration to table the amendment bill in the coming parliamentary session this month.

But, he wants the amendment not to have a retrospective effect on any earlier court decision that had overturned jail sentences into bound over for statutory rape such as the case of former national youth squad bowler Nor Afizal Azizan.

“The amendment should have future effects only,” Karpal told newsmen in Air Itam yesterday.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court’s decision to sentence Nor Afizan to five years’ jail for statutory rape with a bound over for five years on a RM25,000 good behaviour bond.

The court found Nor Afizal, who had entered a guilty plea, was much older than the minor he had consensual sex with, had cooperated with the police, shown remorse, and given a guarantee that he would not commit the offence again.

In another case in Penang last Wednesday, the Sessions Court bound over 22-year-old electrician Chuah Guan Jiu for three years on a RM25,000 good behaviour bond after he was found guilty of raping his 12-year-old girlfriend on two occasions last year.

Judge Sitarun Nisa Abdul Aziz said the court had considered that Chuah was young, a first time offender, and that the act was consensual.

Both cases ignited public furore over the sentences meted out.

Many had agreed with the verdict in Nor Afizal’s case, but expressed shock that Chuah had been let off as easily.

“Public outcry was understandable but you can’t blame the court for it,” said Karpal.

He pointed out that the provision for bound over for statutory rape was allowed in the parliamentary statute.

“The parliament is to be blamed and it must amend it to allay public concern, fear and anxiety.

“Rights of victims especially children must be protected,” he stressed.

On gutter politics, seven-term MP slammed those who stepped on and torch portraits of any individual as “rude.”

“It’s an unruly public misbehaviour. Legally it’s not wrong but morally it is,” he said.

He said the police was wrong in handcuffing teenager Ong Sing Yee, who allegedly stepped on portrait of Najib during Merdeka celebrations in Dataran Merdeka, for her action was not legally wrong.

“Since it’s not legally wrong, it’s not an arrestable offence. She should not have been handcuffed,” rebuked Karpal.

Tanah Melayu: Yours or mine?

Umno's political survival depends greatly and gravely on Tanah Melayu 'belonging' to the Malays and not the other way round.
COMMENT

As a Malay I am trying to understand where I am now politically.

You cannot simply ask me to detach myself from Umno – the only political party I have known from the time that iconic word “Tanah Melayu” came into my consciousness.

Not Malaya (as we know it then) but “Tanah Melayu.”

I remember it being spoken of reverently by my uncles and the older Malays as I sat and listened to them speak not of politics but of what the future will hold for them and the many other races that was already calling Malaya their home even then.

Tanah Melayu was our land, our country, ours to call our own – we belonged here, it was our home.

But in reality Tanah Melayu was not ours to call our own.

Let me explain. Today Malaya is called Malaysia. Somehow along the way from then to now, things have changed.

“Tanah Melayu” to quote the words of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad “belongs to the Malay race. Peninsular Malaysia was known as Tanah Melayu but this cannot be said because it will be considered racist. We must be sincere and accept that the country is Tanah Melayu.”

Mahathir said the Malay community may risk losing the country if the communities continue to identify themselves according to the country of origin … as it is an admission that they are immigrants in the country.

But how can the Malays lose Malaysia when it never belonged to them in the first place!

We Malays belong to this land called Malaysia – not the other way around.

‘There is no risk’

That being the case, no other community, no other people, no other race can take away Malaysia from the Malays – not when these non-Malays have pledged themselves to belong to the same Tanah Melayu.

So Umno really has nothing to do if it says that its work is to save Tanah Melayu for the Malays.

The Malays have never risked losing the country – it is the country that risks losing the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, its Orang Asli, the Dayaks, Ibans, Kadazans…and all those who have called Malaysia their home.

And even as I write this, you and I know that this Tanah Melayu is losing its people as they leave this Tanah Melayu to make their home elsewhere.

So why is Umno still trying to save this Tanah Melayu for the Malays when what needs to be done is for Umno to ensure that this Tanah Melayu will not lose the people that it already has?

The very people that helped build Tanah Melayu into what it is today – a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious community comfortable in its own identity and trying to move forward as one people in the global community that we are all part of.

But Umno will not have any part in this. Their political survival is dependent on this Tanah Melayu belonging to the Malays and not the Malays belonging to Tanah Melayu.

Begone Umno

That is why as a Malay I am trying to find myself politically.

Do I subscribe to Umno’s insistence that Tanah Melayu belongs to the Malays or do I say that it is the Malays that belongs to Tanah Melayu.

In truth the decision has already been made for me.

Tanah Melayu has never belonged to the Malays. It never belonged to me. It belongs to all who call it their home. We are all transient beings passing through this earth for a while.

Let me share this verse by an 18th century Quaker missionary Stephen Grellet, who said: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.”

So to Umno I say this: This Tanah Melayu belongs to all who want to call it their home. Begone!

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.

Suaram-funding NGO link to Soros probed

(NST) - The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry is investigating whether an American non-governmental organisation allegedly funding Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is linked to currency speculator George Soros, Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

He said the NGO was one of two based in the United States allegedly contributing a huge amount of funds to Suaram.

The ministry was carrying out the investigation through the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), he said after opening the Rasah Umno Division delegates meeting here.

Ismail Sabri asked Bank Negara to investigate the matter under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.

He also asked the Home Ministry and the Registrar of Societies to determine the status of Suaram.

Pengawal Anwar acu pistol di khalayak orang ramai, ditahan polis

Nowy Nozwir, The Malaysian Insider

Pengawal peribadi Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ditahan atas dakwaan mengacu pistol di khalayak orang ramai dalam Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat berada di Jasin, Melaka, petang semalam.

Pengawal peribadi yang berusia 37 tahun itu, dikenali sebagai Dino, dipercayai mengacu pistol selepas sekumpulan lelaki cuba menghalang jelajah ketua pembangkang itu ke sebuah majlis anjuran PKR di Kampung Baru Rim.

Orang ramai yang marah dalam kejadian itu, kemudian menyerbunya dan keadaan menjadi kecoh.

Beberapa anggota polis yang berkawal di tempat kejadian pantas menyuraikan kekecohan sebelum menahan dan membawa lelaki itu ibu pejabat polis daerah (IPD).

Laporan polis kemudiannya dibuat oleh Pemuda Umno dan Belia 4B Jasin jam 6.30 petang di IPD berkenaan. Hadir sama, Ketua Pemuda Umno Jasin Zaidi Attan dan timbalan pengerusi Gerakan Belia 4B Jasin Zulkifli Kalil.

Ketua Polis Melaka Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye, ketika dihubungi, mengesahkan menahan seorang pengawal sebuah syarikat keselamatan yang ditugaskan untuk mengawal Anwar.

“Siasatan mendapati senjata api itu milik syarikat keselamatan dan pengawal terbabit dibenarkan membawanya ketika bertugas.

“Kita menahan pengawal itu dan turut merampas senjata apinya untuk siasatan.

“Kita menyiasat dari pelbagai aspek sama ada dia mengacukan pistol ke arah orang ramai atau hanya mengeluarkan senjata dan memegangnya di celah baju,” katanya dipetik dari laporan Sinar Harian.

Chuah berkata, pihaknya menerima empat laporan berhubung kejadian itu sehingga petang semalam.

Seorang pemimpin belia 4B Jasin berkata, beliau terkejut dengan tindakan lelaki terbabit kerana beliau bersama beberapa rakan tidak melakukan sebarang tindakan berunsur provokasi.

“Saya hanya berdiri di tepi jalan untuk memberi laluan kepada rombongan Anwar ke tapak ceramah.

“Namun, secara tiba-tiba, pengawal peribadi itu meluru keluar dari keretanya lalu mengacukan pistol ke arah saya sambil berkata ‘masuk’ (dalam keadaan mencabar orang ramai dengan pistolnya).

“Saya dan beberapa rakan terkejut dengan tindakannya dan hanya berdiam diri sebelum lelaki itu masuk semula ke dalam kereta dan beredar,” katanya lagi.

Malaysian Rare Earth Plant Approved

Lynas: Entrance now open?

(Asia Sentinel) Temporary operating license a possible harbinger for November election
It appears that a long-stalled Lynas Corporation rare earths processing plant in Malaysia has finally been given the go-ahead by the country’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board, which yesterday issued a temporary operating license for the plant to begin operation.

The decision to grant the license would make Malaysia a major force in the production of rare earths, minerals used in a long list of high-tech products from computers to cars to cellphones to avionics and more. It is also being closely watched by investors and users of the materials, almost all of which currently are produced in China. Lynas is expected to supply up to 30 percent of world production when it reaches full operation.

The approval also appears to say as much about Malaysian politics and the confidence of the ruling Barisan Nasional to go ahead with an election as it does about the safety of the plant. Approval of the plant, in the eastern Malaysian state of Pahang*, has been pending for more than a year while it was shuffled from government department to department to department. Lynas received a temporary operating license on Feb. 1, only to have it appealed, then appealed a second time.

However, political observers say the three-party Barisan Nasional has been growing increasingly confident that it can win a majority of seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the country’s parliament, in elections that must be held by next April, and possibly take back at least one of the states it lost to the opposition in its 2008 electoral debacle. In that contest, bedeviled by allegations of corruption and cronyism, the Barisan lost its historical two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since the country was founded.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders say they are equally confident. UMNO leaders concede that the opposition may well hold all of the country’s major cities.  One Kuala Lumpur-based businessman said the move to approve the plant could simply mean the Barisan Nasional has simply already written off Kuantan, the major city in Pahang state, and its environs.  As Asia Sentinel reported in an earlier story, Lynas has been growing increasingly concerned about bleeding cash into Malaysia without any revenue return.

“Receiving this license from the AELB is a significant milestone for Lynas,” said Lynas Executive Chairman Nicholas Curtis in a prepared release. “The TOL provides additional validation of the safety of Lynas' operations in Malaysia and supports the previous assessment by the world’s pre-eminent radiation safety authority, the International Atomic Energy Agency, that the [plant] is safe and fully compliant with international standards.”

The Australia-based Lynas operation has become a political football that has been kicked around for months between the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition and the government, with thousands of opponents turning up at rallies across the country. It has become a major test of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s attempts to woo international investment to the country.

Two protest groups have been given leave to challenge the decision by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to allow the plant to go ahead. They told local media they would seek yet another injunction to stall the plant. However, Lynas officials were jubilant in Sydney and Perth in Western Australia, where a mountain of unprocessed ore has been building for months at the company’s Mount Weld mining facility. Although no one would comment for the record, given the touchy political situation in Malaysia, they are looking forward to the plant beginning operation despite a vow by protesters to block shipments of the ore.

The protesters say they fear that Malaysia’s inability to police its environmental laws could end up with the waste byproducts from the plant leaching into the water table or drifting into the atmosphere.

Lynas said it has poured nearly A$800 million and seven years into getting approvals for the plant. Some 350 Malaysians are already working at the facility, at an industrial state in Gebing in Kuantan state, Lynas told Asia Sentinel previously.

The issue has become so sensitive because a rare earth plant developed in the 1980s ended up contaminating air and groundwater at Bukit Merah near Ipoh. Several people were treated for various cancers because of the plant and later died. Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., which developed the plant, has spent an estimated US$100 million in the effort to clean up the environmental disaster.
*Corrected 7 Sept 2012. Story inadvertently said Kuantan was a state. We apologize for the error - Eds.

Anwar As I Know Him From His Schooldays

DSAI ….. ‘ I AM INDEBTED TO YOU, SIR
TEACHER …. ‘I AM OBLIGED TO YOU ALL MY LIFE ,YB DSAI ‘

These poignant words ’I am indebted to you, Sir ’from an ex-student of national and international refute and fame make me proud and happy. All his teachers at MCKK bear testimony to the fact that he had always expressed his appreciation and gratitude to every teacher for some new knowledge gained or some new skills acquired or even for some ,little favours such as words of advice or encouragement .Even as a student at MCKK, he kept in touch with his Primary School teachers thanking them for all they did for him to make him a better student –a better person . Here is an interesting incident that shows the breed of teachers of yesteryears as well as the character of Anwar as a pupil.…His letter of thanks to his English language teacher, Mr.Francis Ho , was returned to him with the all his mistakes underlined in red . Anwar proudly showed this to the class ,and promptly sent back a new letter with all the corrections made ,.of course ,with an additional ’ Indebted ’ note attached . When YB Anwar returned to MCKK, after decades, as the Minister of Education, to officiate ‘ The Speech Day’, ’the non-teaching staff’ were over-whelmed by his presence, .and tried to keep their distance as a mark of respect for their YAB. Anwar went searching for them– houseboys, the cooks ,the sweepers– put everyone at ease by thanking them for looking after his welfare during his schooldays In his own characteristic way ,he made everyone feel important when he declared to them ,’’Kejayaan saya adalah kejayaan awak juga’ The two outstanding attributes that set him apart from the rest of his peers are his humility and his love for humanity

As a student in MCKK, he was loved and respected not just by his peers but by all the teachers and non-teaching staff as well .He was simple and humble in his ways and was always polite and courteous in his speech As a self-disciplined student ,he is one of the few, if not the only one ,[during my 25 years in MCKK] who spent the entire college life without getting punished for breaking any of the countless stringent college rules and regulations. He was considered a Role Model for his peers not just by the teachers but by his peers as well .The teachers appointed him as a Prefect .His peers elected him unanimously as the Secretary-General of B.R. UGAMA, ,a post which speaks itself for the religious credentials of the holder.

Any indication of his ambition. ,for eg the choice of profession? Nothing ! However ,there was more than enough evidence to show that he was deeply . disturbed with the prevailing social conditions -the widening disparity between the ‘’HAVES’’ and ‘HAVE-NOTS’’, as he termed them, This disparity’ was a recurrent theme in his ‘writings’ and ‘’speeches.

[ In the early 1960’s ,students at Form 3 Level in MCKK were not writing ‘Guided Composition’ but’’ Free Essay’s and even detailed ‘Reports’ based on research on political, economic and social problems both at local and international levels. Anwar who had proved himself to be skilled orator /speaker from his first appearance on the stage within weeks of joining MCKK was by now a school debater . His tyle of presentation spiced with subtle humour and deeper meanings embedded in the words and expressions was too persuasive for any opponent to counter his arguments.]


Anwar combined both his ‘ writing skills’ and his ‘speaking talents’ to put forward his ideas ,first, among the classmates and schoolmates during the weekly society meetings, and ,later, to the many followers from other -schools in particular from other residential schools.’. He would provide valid and reliable statistical evidence based on data collected from educational institutions, government .departments. and private sectors, to argue his case. He would point out that it was just NOT the British but the ‘ALLIANCE’ that had failed miserably to provide for and protect the interests of the’ BUMIS— group identified by Anwar as ‘HAVE-NOTS ‘‘ In his’ writings and speeches’, he attacked the ESTABLISHMENT for not being sensitive or responsive to the needs of the’ Bumis ’and continued to attack the ‘‘new colonial masters ’’for their failure to remove or least reduce the disparity in income ,position and status between the’HAVES’ and ‘HAVE-NOTS’- Many misunderstood his stand and labelled him as a ’racist’ but the mixed group of teachers at MCKK were well-aware that he was in fact fighting hard for social justice, for greater opportunities for education and employment and a fairer distribution of income for the’ BUMIS ‘ He never asked for’ special privileges’ .. He was confident that given equal opportunities the majority of the ‘BUMIS’ were equally able and capable of competing successfully with the ‘NON-BUMIS’ on their own MERITS and in their own terms..

AUGUST 23 was a’ Special Day’ for my wife and me. DSAI came to wish us the best of health .The last time I met DSAI was 13 years ago. I expected to see changes in him. .It was the same old Anwar…joking and happy, recollecting pleasant memories .of the past. There was no change in him- no bitterness about people or life.! We said farewell and as he departed ,.I realised he was still on the SAME OLD MISSION —to fight for THE RIGHTS OF ALL THE ‘HAVE NOTS’

Mr.Nadarajah

The rise of political hooliganism must not be condoned — The Malaysian Insider

SEPT 9 —The rise of what can only be described as political hooliganism in Malaysia must not be tolerated.

And as the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) must take the lead to condemn such behaviour as recent cases show that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians have been at the receiving end of such hooliganism.

A few months ago unidentified thugs threw rocks and eggs at a PKR ceramah in Kuala Lumpur, injuring a few members of the public.

It has become common for opposition politicians to face unruly gangs at rallies around the country.

Yesterday a bodyguard of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim allegedly waved his gun when confronted with a crowd of hooligans trying to block the opposition politician from attending a rally.

BN leaders and the authorities cannot just claim that they are not responsible for the hooliganism.

If BN political parties and leaders are not responsible they must then take the lead to pressure the police to take action, as well as publicly condemn it.

If doing the right thing is not motivation enough they should realise that the public does not condone such behaviour.

And BN will end up taking the blame anyway.

The typical middle class Malaysian in particular is growing into a very angry person.

Why?

Because he or she wants a level playing field, a mature Malaysia, a competition of ideas.

Violence and hooliganism is not the path forward for a mature democracy.

Government owes UN at least three reports

Malay Mail
by T.K. Letchumy Tamboo

THE government owes at least three reports to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council for the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) committee.

Women Aid's Organisation (WAO) executive director Ivy Josiah said that Malaysia, which acceded to Cedaw on July 5, 1995, was supposed to submit a periodic report on the progress of implementing the convention's provisions but it has not complied.

"Since than, the government had only reported to the committee once when it prepared a combined first and second report in 2004 and appeared before the committee in 2006.

"The government is obligated to submit a report to the committee every four years," she said. Josiah said this led to the creation of an alternative report, initiated by 22 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

"The NGOs became tired of waiting for the Malaysian government's report, which was due four years ago. So, in the absence of the report, the NGOs got together to develop an alternative report which details the government's progress in the implementation.

"We urge the government to submit their report by the end of the year," said Josiah, who coordinated the report.

The alternative report, which was launched yesterday, provides examples of the impact of gender discrimination, including the continued representation of women in politics and decision-making positions, consistently low labour force participation of women and non-recognition of marital rape.

It also contains a landmark ruling which declared Cedaw as having the force of law and is binding on state authorities.

Josiah also said she was disappointed that the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry did not respond to an invitation to the launch.

Former Cedaw committee member Shanthi Dairiam said globally, Cedaw has the least number of overdue reports as compared to other treaties but Malaysia stands out as going against that trend in fulfilling its reporting obligations.

"After the combined first and second report, the government was then instructed by UN to submit its combined third and fourth report in 2008, but none has been forthcoming.

"This alternative report is a powerful tool that we can all use for the purpose of advocacy and identifies areas in which discrimination against women continues to persist," she said, adding that the government must play its part in honouring pledges made to the UN.

Also present at the launch was National Human Rights vice-chairperson Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee, who said that Malaysia has to date only ratified three out of nine major UN treaties, namely the Cedaw, Convention on Rights of the Child and Convention on The Rights of Persons With Disabilities.

Gang rape: Case registered 12 days after victim dropped off at police station

A medical examination confirmed that the girl has been sexually assaulted. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: It was only after he left that she told police that he and his two friends had raped her. The suspect had dropped her off at the Shehzad Town Police Station, claiming that she had been “after him”.

By the time the police moved, the man had disappeared.

She recorded her statement before a magistrate under section 164 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). A subsequent medical examination, whose report took 10 days to be released, confirmed that she had been assaulted.

After the medical report, the Women Police Station in G-7 on Thursday — 12 days after she was first brought to the police —- registered a case of kidnapping and gang rape against the main suspect MG* and his two accomplices, all residents of Bhara Kahu. None of the suspects were arrested till the filing of this report.

The woman was dropped at the police station on August 25 this year. The man handed the woman over to the Shehzad Town police, claiming that she came to him for help and was not “leaving him alone”.

He told the police that he wanted to get rid of her, but “she comes back to me again and again”. He gave money to the police officials on duty and asked them to send her to “some shelter home” as he did not know her family.

The girl remained silent while he was there, the police said. However once he left, she told them that she was assaulted by him and his two friends from Bhara Kahu. She also provided the contact and residence details of her family.

She was then shifted her to the Women Police Station for a medical examination. She was later allowed to go with her family.

The woman also recorded her statement before a magistrate under PPC 164. A statement recorded under PPC 164 is recorded by the magistrate and the testifier is given time to think over his/her statement. Such a statement cannot be altered later and the testifier is liable to be prosecuted for a wrong testimony.

She told the police that the three men had picked her up forcibly after she left home to go to her uncle’s nearby house. She said that the men took her to a house in the outskirts of the city and raped her for four days before dropping her off at the police station.

The main suspect threatened her of grave consequences if she said anything about the rape, the woman said. A police investigator said there were certain discrepancies in her statement that they are investigating.

Police said they are trying to track down the suspects, who were not present at their alleged residences when a police team raided.

*Names have been withheld to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012.

Indonesia Police Say 'Orphanage' in Depok Blast Was a Bomb Workshop

Depok. Indonesian police on Sunday said that the house near Jakarta where an explosion left at least three people seriously injured was suspected to be a bomb workshop.

The blast took place late Saturday in a building listed as an orphanage in the town of Depok, in the outskirts of Jakarta, national police spokesman Anang Iskandar said in a text message.

“Three people were injured, one seriously, in the explosion,” he said, adding that the severely-injured male victim had a broken arm and burns covering around 50 to 70 percent of his body.

Earlier reports indicated as many as six may have been injured.

Among materials seized from the house were grenades, detonators and potassium chlorate, Iskandar said.

Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto said the orphanage “might be used as a facade to hide their terrorist activities”.

Two suspects fled the scene, an eyewitness told police.

Rikwanto said police were investigating if this blast was related to previous incidents linked to terrorism. Last week, police discovered explosive materials in a house that partially caught fire in West Jakarta.

“We believe these terrorists were preparing bombs in the house. We are investigating if they are from the same group,” he told AFP.

“The explosive materials found in the latest blast were similar to those found in West Jakarta,” he added.

Dozens of armed security personnel, including from the anti-terror police and bomb squad, on Sunday guarded the single-story concrete house and blocked the main road, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

Part of the roof collapsed and the windows were shattered, she said.

Residents recalled hearing a “sound like thunder” and seeing black smoke billowing from the house during the blast.

“The explosion was so loud, it sounded like thunder. People shouted “Bomb, bomb!” and we all ran as fast as we could. I was so scared that I kept tripping as I was running,” drinks seller Joko, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, told AFP.

“I hope the police will catch the perpetrators soon. I feel unsafe staying here,” the 62-year-old said.

Earlier this month, a shootout in Solo in central Java left two terrorist suspects and an anti-terror officer dead.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has waged a crackdown on militant groups over the past decade with anti-terror police claiming the scalps of some of the country’s most notorious terrorist suspects in bloody raids.

Over the last decade, Indonesia has suffered a series of attacks by Jemaah Islamiyah — blamed for the Bali bombings in 2002 that left 202 dead — but has seen no major incidents since the bombings of two hotels in Jakarta in 2009.

The country has seen a shift to smaller terror cells, however, which attempted two suicide bombings on a church and police mosque in 2011 with explosives made from nails and bolts, killing only the bombers themselves.

Agence France-Presse

Nasharuddin's Status As PAS Member Unchanged - Hadi

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- The question of whether former PAS Deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa would remain a PAS member or not remained unanswered but PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who emerged from a Majlis Syura at the PAS headquarters here Sunday said there was no change in Nasharudin's status as a member.

He said during the meeting, the status of Nasharudin was not discussed since the meeting held twice monthly, was just a normal meeting.

"The meeting was to discuss candidates for the 13th General Election. Nasharudin's issue was not discussed and he remains a PAS member," he said in the presence of Nasharudin.

PAS spiritual advisor Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat who also attended the meeting which started at 9pm, however, left at 9.20pm.