Delhi rape victim's boyfriend: No one stopped to help

Breaking his silence, the sole witness and boyfriend of the Delhi gang-rape victim said no one stopped to help them and when the police arrived they wasted time in deciding under which police station’s jurisdiction the case fell.     
“We were without clothes. We tried to stop people passing by. Several auto rickshaws, cars and bikes slowed down but no one stopped for about 25 minutes. Then, someone on patrolling, stopped and called the police,” he told India’s Zee News in an interview on Friday night.    

According to Bernama and Reuters, he told the interviewer that nobody, including the police, gave them clothes or called an ambulance.     

“They were just watching us,” he said, adding that after repeated requests, someone gave him a part of a bed sheet to cover his friend.     

"If you can help someone, help them. If a single person had helped me that night, things would have been different,” he said.    

The victim’s boyfriend rued the fact that three Police Control Room (PCR) vans arrived at the scene after they had been laying on the street for about 45 minutes, but wasted time in arguing under which police station’s jurisdiction the case fell.    

"We kept shouting at the police, 'please give us some clothes' but they were busy deciding which police station our case should be registered at," he said.

Narrating the details of the incident on the horrific night of Dec 16, the 28-years old software engineer said: “My friend was bleeding profusely. But instead of taking us to a nearby hospital, they (police) took us to a hospital that was far away.”     

He had to carry his badly injured friend to the PCR vans on his own as the police officers didn’t help them because the girl was bleeding profusely.   
   
According to Reuters, Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat has however told them that GPS records show the first police van reached the scene four minutes after it was called and took the man and the woman to hospital within 24 minutes.      

All round indifference

The young women, who was brutally raped by six men on a moving bus, died on Dec 29 due multiple organ failure.    

The male friend said he and the woman were attacked after an evening out watching a film.     

“From where we boarded the bus, they (the attackers) moved around for nearly two and a half hours.

“We were shouting, trying to make people hear us. But they switched off the lights of the bus," he said, according to a transcript of the interview.     

When they were thrown out, they pleaded with passers-by for help, he added in the studio interview, a blue metal crutch leaning on his chair.      

"There were a few people who had gathered round but nobody helped. Before the police came, I screamed for help but the auto rickshaws, cars and others passing by did not stop," the man added.

“Nobody from the public helped us. People were probably afraid that if they helped us, they would become witnesses to the crime and would be asked to come to police stations and courts,” he told the channel.     

“Even at the hospital, we were made to wait and I had to literally beg for clothes. I borrowed a stranger’s mobile and called my relatives, but just told them that I had met with an accident. My treatment started only after my relatives came,” he said.     

The young man, who looked composed while recounting the details, said he was hit on the head.    
“I was not able to walk. I was not able to move my hands for two weeks,” he said.    

The attackers snatched their mobiles, tore off their clothes in order to destroy any evidence of the crime, and hit them unconscious with a metal rod before throwing them of the bus.    

“After throwing us off the bus, they tried to mow us down but I saved my friend by pulling her away in the nick of time,” he said.    

"I never had thoughts of leaving her and running away. Even an animal would not do that. I have no regrets. But I wish I could have done something to help her. I do think, sometimes, about why I didn't get an auto, why did I take that bus."

Fateful bus ride 

The man, who suffered a fractured leg and other injuries in the attack, is currently at his parents' home in rural northern India where he is taking time out from his job at a software firm in New Delhi. 

"What can I say? The cruelty I saw should not be seen ever. I tried to fight against the men but later I begged them again and again to leave her," he told AFP in an interview by phone from Gorakhpur, a town in Uttar Pradesh state. 

He described their decision to get on a private bus after watching the movie as the "biggest mistake" of his life.
He said several rickshaws had refused to drive them back to the victim's home in a New Delhi suburb. 

Once in the bus, he was attacked and his 23-year-old girlfriend was gang-raped by six allegedly drunk men, including the driver, who also violated her with an iron bar causing immense internal damage that would lead to her death last weekend. 

"I was not very confident about getting into the bus but my friend was running late, so we got into it. This was the biggest mistake I made and after that everything went out of control," said the man further on the Zee TV interview.

The driver of the bus allegedly then made lewd remarks and his accomplices joined him "to taunt" the couple. 

The boyfriend told the driver to stop the bus, but by then his accomplices had locked the two doors. 

"They hit me with a small stick and dragged my friend to a seat near the driver's cabin." 

After that the "driver and the other men raped my friend and hit her in the worst possible ways in the most private parts of her body." 
"I cannot tell you what I feel when I think of it. I shiver in pain," he said. 
The horrifying crime has appalled India and brought simmering anger about widespread crime against women to the boil amid angry calls for better protection by police and changed social attitudes. 

The police have arrested the six suspects for the crime - five adults and a minor believed to be aged 17 - who were charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in a city court on Thursday. 

Horrific hospital reception

The man also related how the government hospital they were taken to had failed to take into account his injuries and mental trauma. 

"I was treated like an object by the police... They wanted all the help to solve the case even before getting me the right treatment. Nobody witnessed the trauma I suffered," he said. 

He said he was also "not satisfied by the treatment provided to the victim by the doctors" at the Safdarjung Hospital, a government-run institution.

"I requested the police to shift her to a private hospital; the cleanliness, hygiene of the place just did not feel right," he said.

"I am not a doctor but I could say that there was a lot of delay. Treatment was not given to both of us at the right time."

His girlfriend died in a specialist hospital in Singapore hospital after a 13-day struggle to survive injuries so grievous that her intestines had to be removed.

She underwent three major surgeries and suffered a cardiac arrest in India before being flown to Singapore for treatment.

Two doctors from a top private hospital who were part of the team who monitored her condition in India denied that the public hospital had failed in its duty to the victims.

"Anywhere in the world the prognosis was not very good to start with," said Yatin Mehta, a highly experienced critical care specialist at the private Medanta hospital.

"The Safdarjung doctors did a pretty commendable job," he added, echoing comments from cardiac surgeon Naresh Trihan, who was also involved in later efforts to save the woman.

‘More brutal than animals’

Meanwhile, the man said he only came to know what the attackers have done to her friend when she gave her statement to the lady sub-divisional magistrate.    

“I couldn’t believe what they did to her. Even when animals hunt, they don’t mete out such brutality to their prey.    

“She faced all of this and told the magistrate that the accused should not be hanged but burnt to death.”     

“When I had met my friend in the hospital, she was smiling. She was able to write and was positive. I never felt that she did not want to live,” he said.     

When asked what suggestions he would like to give in order to ensure that such incidents don’t recur, the victim’s friend said, the police should always try to ensure that the victims are taken to the hospital as soon as possible and not look for government hospitals.    

He also pointed out that one cannot change mindsets by lighting candles. "You have to help people on the road when they need help.”

In a recent development, Hindustan Times yesterday reported that a case has been filed against Zee News for revealing the identity of the rape victim through the interview.

"A case under Section 228-A of the Indian Penal Code was filed against Zee News at police station Vasant Vihar," it reported the Delhi Police spokesman Bhagat saying.

Reuters meanwhile also reported how the Zee News interview has caused a renewed outpouring of anger on Twitter.

"After reading and watching the Zee News interview I'm absolutely shocked and ashamed of being an Indian," said @BarunKiBilli.     

The man called for the protests to continue, but said he wished people had come to his friend's aid when she needed it.      

"You have to help people on the road when they need help," he said.      
- Agencies

Bishop relieved by Mat Sabu's reassurance on 'Allah'

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing expressed relief that the PAS deputy president has countermanded the position taken by a lower ranked official that Christians should not use the term ‘Allah’ for God.

The views of Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the party’s information chief, expressed in comments he made with respect to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s Christmas Day call to the government to allow Christians to use the ‘Allah’ term were startling because they contradicted a Pakatan Rakyat consensus reached three years ago.

“Mohamad Sabu’s assurance that the position adopted three years ago still stands is a huge relief,” said Bishop Tan in remarks made to Malaysiakini following news reports on the clarification made by the PAS No 2 after its seeming repudiation by Tuan Ibrahim.

The head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese, Bishop Paul Tan said that Christians in peninsular Malaysia felt that a significant step towards resolution of the controversy over use of the term was made when both PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and the party’s spiritual adviser, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, went on record in January 2010 as saying that the term as not exclusive to Muslims.

“My hunch is that the lines of intra-party communications must have been crossed and the information chief got things mixed up,” said the Jesuit-trained prelate.

“The historical evidence is inconvertible that the term was used by Christians in pre-Islamic times,” he said.

Additionally, the bishop cited the existence of Bibles written in European languages and translated into Malay in past centuries that used the term ‘Allah’ when referring to God.   

“I even have a Bible in Bahasa that was translated from the Dutch in the early part of the 17th century and it uses the term ‘Allah’ for God,” he added.

Exception unsustainable

Bishop Tan held that if all these proofs of the non-exclusivity of the term to Muslims are not enough, he wondered why Muslim-majority Arab and non-Arab Muslim states imposed no prohibitions on their Christians citizens using the term.

He said the grounds for making peninsular Malaysia an exception to this practice were unsustainable.

He said Christians on the peninsula felt that the Pakatan consensus which pronounced the ‘Allah’ term permissible for use by Christians was a progressive move that “resorted to the lamp of knowledge to dispel myth and superstition.”

“Hence we were startled by the regression implied by recent comments made by lesser ranked officials in PAS that the term should be exclusive to Malay Muslims,” he remarked.

“The PAS deputy president’s reassurance that the stance of three years ago still holds come as a relief.
"We salute his consistency, admire his courage and welcome him as a friend of truth and goodwill,” opined the bishop.

Pemuda Pakatan bersedia untuk Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat

Saudi Air Force Sergeant Mazen Alotaibi Charged with Raping Boy in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – A sergeant in Saudi Arabia's air force was jailed in Las Vegas on charges that he pulled a young boy into a hotel room and sexually assaulted him the morning of Sin City's big New Year's Eve fireworks extravaganza.

Mazen Alotaibi, 23, faces charges including kidnapping, sexual assault with a minor and felony coercion that could get him decades in state prison, according to police and charging documents obtained Friday.

The boy, who is younger than 14, told police the man forced him into a room at the Circus Circus hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and raped him. Police arrested Alotaibi after being called to the hotel before 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 31.

"There was a kidnapping and sexual assault with force," Las Vegas police Lt. Dan McGrath said. "The victim said he was forced into the room and sexually assaulted. We have a strong case based on the evidence."

The boy, who lives out of state, was staying at the hotel with his family, McGrath said. He was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment and evidence collection and released later to family members. His name was not made public.

McGrath said Alotaibi produced a Saudi Arabian military identification and said he was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland near San Antonio, Texas. U.S. federal authorities and Saudi military officials were notified, the police lieutenant said.

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland spokesman Brent Boller told The Associated Press that records showed Alotaibi is currently stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. Boller said he could not immediately verify if Alotaibi had been at Lackland, but noted that international military students attend a Defense Language Institute English Language Center on the base to improve their English-language skills.

Alotaibi's lawyer, Don Chairez of Newport Beach, California, said Friday he had been in contact with U.S. military authorities at both air force bases and with the Saudi government. He said Alotaibi had come to Las Vegas for the New Year's celebration, and will plead not guilty.

Alotaibi also is charged with burglary, which in Nevada can stem from a person entering a building with intent to commit a felony.

The alleged attack took place on the sixth floor of a 15-story hotel tower. Circus Circus has a total of 3,767 guest rooms in three towers and five three-story motor lodge-style buildings dubbed Circus Circus Manor.

The arrest was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It cited a police report saying the boy was 13.

Alotaibi was being held without bail at the Clark County jail pending an evidence hearing Jan. 17.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/04/sergeant-in-saudi-arabia-air-force-jailed-in-vegas-on-new-year-eve-child-rape/#ixzz2H8wHsbS5

Man arrested in Mekkah for seeking to marry Jewish woman

Reports had sugegsted that the man was handng out papers to worshipers and asking them for help in finding his Jewish dream wife. (Al Arabiya)

By Al Arabiya

Police at the Grand Mosque in Mekkah arrested on Thursday a man found carrying papers that show he is looking for a Jewish woman to marry, according to a report by the daily al-Hayat newspaper.

Lieutenant Abdulmohsen Maiman, spokesman for the Grand Mosque police, told the paper that the 49-year-old Saudi national could be suffering from “mental disorder.”

He said the man was arrested in possession of “five documents containing contradictory information showing the man's mental state and expressing his desire to marry a Jewish a woman,” al-Hayat reported.

Lieutenant Maiman denied earlier reports that the man was handing out papers to worshipers and asking them for help in finding his Jewish dream wife.

The man according to the police official was referred to investigation and prosecution before he could be transferred to a specialized physician.


(The original report can be found at: http://alhayat.com/Details/469007)

How the boardroom clinched Deepak deal

The most puzzling question in the RM30 million settlement with carpetman Deepak Jaikishan is why didn't Boustead Holdings Bhd buy 100% shares in Astacanggih?
COMMENT

Why can’t the group of army veterans see the documents related to the purchase of Astacanggih Sdn Bhd and land from Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd? After all, the legal requirement is that the documents related to the purchases should be made available for public inspection for three months from the date Boustead Holdings Bhd (BHB) announced the deals.

But that didn’t happen, did it?

Anway, what I found puzzling was this. BHB can buy out Astacanggih (an 80% stake) but cannot do the same with Awan Megah. If it takes over Awan Megah, wouldn’t that lead to taking over the privatisation project (National Defence Education Centre or Puspahanas)?

If that was the case, the company (Awan Megah) should be in distress as it had neither the intention nor capacity to build the RM100 million Puspahanas. It’s embroiled in a lot of problems.

Wouldn’t it be simpler to just buy out the two proxies fronting for Raja Ropiaah Abdullah, the owner of Awan Megah?

Let us do a little bit of detective work concerning BHB asking its son-company (grandson to Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera or LTAT) to buy Astacanggih and buy off Deepak Jaikishan. Some people called it outright bribery which seems to be in line with how Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak manages the country.

Let me suggest to you what may have happened in the “war room” or bunker of the BHB board of directors, many of whom are former generals (who never went to war).

It was an emergency meeting and must have given the retired generals a surreal sense that they were at war – having to make a quick decision.

Luckily they were qualified generals and not dullards.

The BHB directors consented to its son-company, its wholly-owned unit, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd (Company No. 276338-M) to enter into an agreement on Dec 20, 2012, to acquire 16,000,000 ordinary shares of RM1 each in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd (Company No. 767577-W). This represented 80% of the issued and paid-up share capital of Astacanggih.

This was meant to pay back that pesky Hindustan hero (Deepak Jaikishan), author of “The Black Rose”.

So Boustead now has a new adopted son, Astacanggih.

Astacanggih and Bakti Wira then entered into an agreement with Awan Megah (Company No. 184720-W) to acquire a total of 200 acres of freehold land in Klang, Selangor.

They entered into such agreement on Dec 27, 2012. The purchase price of RM30 milion was arrived at on a willing-seller and willing-buyer basis, the managers told the generals.

Astacanggih shares were originally held by Deepak and Prestige Dimension Sdn Bhd and other minority shareholders who were the vendors in the acquisition of shares.

The other original shareholder of Astacanggih is Putra Nazrain Adril Abdul Jalil who holds four million or 20% shares in Astacanggih.

Who is Astacanggih?

Astacanggih is a private limited company incorporated in Malaysia and operating from its address given as 25-5-16 (5.16, 5th Floor), Plaza Prima, 4½ Mile, Jalan Klang Lama, 58000 Kuala Lumpur. It is an investment holding company with an issued and paid-up share capital of RM20 million divided into 20,000,000 ordinary shares of RM1 each.

But the managers have not explained one crucial thing. Why not buy 100% of Astacanggih? More importantly, why buy Astacanggih? Of what relevance is Astancaggih? What is the strategic relevance of Astancanggih?

The generals did not ask and the managers doing the briefing did not tell. Here we had “consenting” adults.

Then, the generals were told of the matter concerning the purchase of 200 acres of land from Awan Megah.

The generals screamed, because they already had 700 acres in Bukit Raja area which was not developed.

The 200 acre land in question were some vacant freehold lots with some abandoned oil palm trees. The land lots were:

an area measuring 96.825 acres within the land held under H.S.(D) 28188 PT 220 Mukim of Kapar, District of Kelang, State of Selangor;

an area measuring 81.085 acres within the land held under H.S.(D) 28187 PT 216 Mukim of Kapar, District of Kelang, State of Selangor; and

an area measuring 22.09 acres within the land held under H.S.(D) 22220 Lot 1158 Mukim of Bukit Raja, District of Petaling, State of Selangor.

The managers said “we are paying a total of RM130 million cash. We assure you generals, the purchase price on the land, like the price on Astacanggih, was arrived at on a willing-seller and willing-buyer basis”.

They added that their lawyers had assured them that the land was acquired free from all charges, liens and encumbrances. But it was subject to whatever restrictions in interest and conditions of title, whether expressed or implied in the separate titles to the lands for the purpose of developing them.

The last portion of the explanation made some generals dizzy and some of them demanded some whisky to be brought in.

Who is Putra Nazrain?

But one sober ex-general asked: Who in the hell is Awan Megah?

And so the point-man explained that Awan Megah is a private limited company incorporated in Malaysia and having its registered address at 25-1, Jalan PJU 1/42A, Block F2, Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The directors of Awan Megah are Putra Nazrain Adril bin Abdul Jalil and Raja Rabiatun Aduah binti Raja Abdullah.

So Putra Nazrain was a shareholder in Astacanggih and Awang Megah.

The purchase of Awan Megah is of some importance to us, the managers said.

Awan Megah has a contract with the Defence Ministry to build the RM100 million Puspahanas and we have asked our lawyers to demand some conditions “precedent” from Awan Megah, they explained to the generals.

What in blue blazes are “conditions precedent”, shouted one of the now intoxicated ex-generals.

Matters that must be sorted out first before we make complete payment, the managers replied.

Well, the real owner behind Awan Megah is a close friend to the prime minister and his missus. Moreover, we are sure that because we have bought the lands, our generals here can prevail upon the Defence Minister to help too.

We have asked Awan Megah to complete the signing of a privatisation agreement between Awan Megah and the government of Malaysia and Syarikat Tanah dan Harta Sdn Bhd. That’s for the construction of the Puspahanas.

Just in case Astancanggih does indeed have a binding agreement with Awan Megah, we have asked Awan Megah to make sure that the approval from the relevant authorities for the transfer of the lands to Astacanggih be obtained.

‘Prostituting’ Awan Megah

What? the alert general asked again. “You don’t know if Astacanggih has a valid legal claim on Awan Megah and that was the only reason you paid RM30 million for that company? Just in case? ”

Incidentally, said the managers, Awan Megah has also entered into an agreement with a company called Guppyunit Sdn Bhd. Therefore we have asked Awan Megah to terminate its agreement with Guppyunit in respect to the lands.

What is this? Is this Awan Megah a prostitute or something? Going around making agreements with anyone?

We are not pleased, intoned the chairman of the board. Please explain how you will pay Awan Megah?

The land purchase price shall be paid by Bakti Wira and Astacanggih in the following manner:

RM13,000,000 shall be paid by Astacanggih to Awan Megah upon execution of the land sale agreement, such payment being the deposit and towards part payment of the land purchase price;

within one month, Astacanggih shall pay a sum of RM9,445,591.69 to Awan Megah’s solicitors and provide land bonds in the total sum of RM87,554,408.31 in favour of the government of Malaysia or as may be directed by the government of Malaysia; and

a sum of RM20,000,000 shall be paid to Awan Megah’s solicitors as stakeholders upon delivery by Awan Megah to Astacanggih of the duly executed memorandum of transfer together with the original titles to the lands.

One alert general asked: “From what I heard, the way the payment is made sounds eerily like the payment made by that Deepak fellow who has been in the news recently.”

But the managers rebutted: “My generals, the acquisitions present an opportunity for the Boustead Group to expand its existing landbank in Bukit Raja, Klang, Selangor, via Astacanggih which together with Bakti Wira will be acquiring from Awan Megah about 200 acres of land pursuant to the acquisition of lands.

“Moreover, the lands are adjacent to 700 acres of development land held under Jendela Hikmat Sdn Bhd, a company in which the Boustead Group and LTAT jointly hold 60% equity interest. The combined landbank of 900 acres will create economies of scale for the development in terms of shared infrastructure and other services.”

They further added that it was necessary to “inform the board that there can be no assurance that the proposed acquisition of land will not be exposed to risks such as the inability to obtain the approvals from the relevant authorities and/or inability to comply with the conditions imposed by the relevant authorities, if any”.

“Nevertheless, BHB will continue to take all reasonable steps to ensure the completion of the proposed acquisition of lands.

“There can be no assurance that the anticipated benefits of the proposed acquisition of lands will be realised or that the group will be able to generate sufficient future revenue to offset the associated acquisition costs of the lands. As such, the group will seek to mitigate such risk by adopting prudent risk management and monitoring of our group’s investment strategy.”

The board, after taking into consideration all aspects of the acquisitions, is of the opinion that the acquisitions are in the best interest of the company.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but has now joined DAP. He is a FMT columnist.

Tamil schools: Do we care?

Or is it just an issue to keep political careers alive?
COMMENT

By Hanuratha Thamilselvan

The number of students registered for Standard One in Tamil schools has dropped by 23% this year. This is alarming, considering the millions of ringgit the government is spending to upgrade the 523 Tamil schools in the country.

Several questions arise. Why is the Tamil community moving away from vernacular schools? Do parents in the community believe that national schools are better for their children? Is it worth spending those millions on a school system that is seeing a drop in enrolment? Could the money be put to better use to benefit Malaysian Indians? Does the community really care for Tamil schools?

Politicians and academicians may go on arguing and questioning one another’s sincerity in fighting to improve the lot of Tamil schools.

“He is not Tamil educated; so he does not really care about Tamil schools.” “How many of his children are in Tamil schools?” These are typical of the remarks we often here in the rhetoric about Tamil education, especially among politicians.

But nobody seems interested in addressing the core issues that besiege Tamil schools.

I am a Master’s degree holder who went to a small Tamil school in the sleepy town of Batang Berjuntai (now Bestari Jaya), and I am familiar with the real issues surrounding these vernacular schools.

Last year, there were 18,100 students in Tamil schools nationwide. The number has plunged to 13,889 this year. If the enrolment continues to decline, shouldn’t we expect the number of schools to decrease? How would the community, especially politicians, justify keeping the 523 Tamil schools going?

There are various reasons for the decline in enrolment, including the following: a falling birth rate, a mismatch between population concentrations and the location of schools, a changing mindset among parents, and a frozen mindset among teachers and school officials.

Smaller families

Malaysia is home to the largest number of Indians living outside India, but the number is dropping. Ten years ago, when the national population was 20 million, Indians accounted for 8%. Today, they represent 7.1% of the country’s 28 million people.

Families are becoming smaller. Couples prefer to limit themselves to one or two children for economic reasons. Late marriages and a rising divorce rate add to the problem.

Of the 1.8 million Indians in this country, 70% are Tamils, with Malayalees, Telegus and Punjabis making up most of the remainder. The latter three groups prefer to send their children to national schools. They too want their mother tongues preserved, but they do this by speaking those languages at home.

Most of the Tamil schools are located in estates and small townships. Although many Indians are migrating from rural to urban areas in search of employment, there has been no effort to relocate Tamil schools. Because of this, urban parents are forced to send their children to national schools. This partly explains the single-student registration at some Tamil schools this year.

Many parents, especially young professionals, are not keen in sending their children to Tamil schools. Like the Indians of other language groups, they believe that their mother tongue can be learnt at home. They want their children to mix with children of other races, and are encouraged by the emergence of affordable private and international schools. Furthermore, they feel these schools have better facilities.

Those who can’t afford private or international schools make a beeline for Chinese or national schools. They feel their children would be better off competing with children of other races.

It is well known that the majority of Tamil schools are in bad physical condition. But even if they are refurbished and refurnished using government funds, the new facilities are not put to optimal use because the mindset of teachers, headmasters and parent teacher associations has not changed.

I know of a school in an urban location which had its computer labs closed because “it cost too much in electricity” to keep it open.

This mentality must change. Teachers and headmasters must be professional not only in their job functions, but also in appearance and behaviour. This will give parents the confidence that their children are at the right school.

What next?

It is possible to maintain the existence of Tamil schools, although I am sure that only 200 will survive in the next 10 years based on the current trend of decline in enrolment.

All parties must cease politicising the issue. Politicians should find ways to improve Tamil schools instead of running each other down when issuing their statements. And instead of asking the government to improve the condition of Tamil schools, they should find ways to increase student intake.

Bragging about giving each Tamil school a photocopier is a pathetic form of public relations. Modernise Tamil schools by making a quantum leap. Have a model Tamil school with state-of-the-art teaching equipment and then tell the government this is what a Tamil school should be like.

This quantum leap should also apply to the character of teachers and headmasters. They should equip themselves with knowledge. They should improve their people skills. They should not treat parents as illiterates but build rapport with them.

These are just some pointers on ways and means to increase enrolment in Tamil schools. I am sure there are many qualified people out there who have better ideas and understanding of the subject at hand. The time has come for the community to bite the bullet and face reality.

If there is going to be a decrease in Tamil schools, let it be, but ensure that the surviving schools function like Chinese schools, if not better.

The writer is a Master’s degree holder who completed her primary school at the Batang Berjuntai Tamil school and currently works as a public relations manager at a reputable firm in Kuala Lumpur.

All’s quiet at Tamil school with only two pupils

Three’s company: (From left) S. Kishare Kumar teaching his students Sharvin and Shavatha at SJK (T) Sungai Papan in Pengerang.

(The Star) - PENGERANG: The start of a new year is usually the busiest and noisiest for any school but in SJK (T) Ladang Sungai Papan, there is only silence in its hall.

Its Parent-Teacher Association chairman L. Krishnasamy is now pinning his hopes on the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project to boost the school’s fortune.

The school, located in the middle of an oil palm plantation, currently has only two pupils in Year Six, outnumbered by the school staff comprising a principal, two teachers, two security guards and two gardeners.

Its Parent-Teacher Association chairman L. Krishnasamy, who runs a sundry shop in the estate, said student numbers had been dwindling since the other estate workers started migrating to the bigger towns of Ulu Tiram and Pasir Gudang.

“For the past few years, there has been no new student enrolled for Year One,” he said, adding that the school was equipped with classrooms, an office and even a resource centre.

Fretting about the school’s future by year-end when it would no longer have any pupil, Krishnasamy, who has been the PTA chairman for the past decade, said there used to be over a hundred Indian families living there in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Now, only a dozen people are left and most of the rubber has been replaced with oil palm. Most of the workers here are also Indonesians,” he said, adding that the nearest Tamil school was 45km away in Kota Tinggi.

However, Krishnasamy is upbeat that the opening of the RAPID project here over the next few year will see pupils trickling in.

“There will surely be many people who will move here. We can be an option for those who intend to send their children to Tamil schools,” he said.

As for pupils Sharvin Raj and N. Shavatha, they do not mind being the only ones studying in the school.

“We enjoy each other’s company,” said Sharvin, whose father, R. Ravichandran, is the school principal for the past two years.

Buried Christian Empire Casts New Light on Early Islam

The "crowned man" relief found in Zafar, Yemen is seen as evidence that there was a Christian empire in the region before Islam took hold.

Archeologists are studying the ruins of a buried Christian empire in the highlands of Yemen. The sites have sparked a number of questions about the early history of Islam. Was there once a church in Mecca?

The commandment "Make yourself no graven image" has long been strictly followed in the Arab world. There are very few statues of the caliphs and ancient kings of the region. The pagan gods in the desert were usually worshipped in an "aniconic" way, that is, as beings without form.

Muhammad had a beard, but there are no portraits of him.

But now a narcissistic work of human self-portrayal has turned up in Yemen. It is a figure, chiseled in stone, which apparently stems from the era of the Prophet.

Paul Yule, an archeologist from the southwestern German city of Heidelberg, has studied the relief, which is 1.70 meters (5'7") tall, in Zafar, some 930 kilometers (581 miles) south of Mecca. It depicts a man with chains of jewelry, curls and spherical eyes. Yule dates the image to the time around 530 AD.

The German archeologist excavated sites in the rocky highlands of Yemen, an occupation that turned quite dangerous recently because of political circumstances in the country. On his last mission, Yule lost 8 kilograms (18 lbs.) and his equipment was confiscated.

Nevertheless, he is pleased, because he was able to bring notes, bits of debris and bones back to Heidelberg. Yule has concluded that Zafar was the center of an Arab tribal confederation, a realm that was two million square kilometers (about 772,000 square miles) large and exerted its influence all the way to Mecca.

Even more astonishing is his conclusion that kings who invoked the Bible lived in the highland settlement. The "crowned man" depicted on the relief was also a Christian.

Conquerers from Ancient Ethiopia

Yule has analyzed the mysterious, robed figure in a report for the academic journal Antiquity. He is barefoot, which is typical of Coptic saints. He is holding a bundle of twigs, a symbol of peace, in his left hand. There is a crossbar on his staff, giving it the appearance of a cross. In addition, he is wearing a crown on his head like the ones worn by the Christian rulers of ancient Ethiopia.

All of this suggests that the man with a strange, round face is a descendant of the conquerors from Africa who succeeded in making one of the boldest landing operations in ancient times.

In 525 AD, the Negus, or king, of Aksum dispatched a fleet across the Red Sea. Soldiers and fighting elephants were ferried across the water to the East on un-tarred, raft-like ships to spread the gospel. In the ensuing decades, his army captured large parts of Arabia.

The first spearhead was targeted at the capital Zafar. Like a fortress in the sky, the town was perched on an extinct volcano, at an altitude of 2,800 meters (9,184 feet) above sea level. Its walls, riddled with towers and alarm bells, were four-and-a-half kilometers long. About 25,000 people lived in Zafar.

According to Yule, between the 3^rd and the 5^th century the confederation managed to complete a "meteoric rise" and become a superpower. Its merchants traded in sandalwood from Ceylon and valerian from Persia. The state controlled the port of Aden, where the ships of spice traders from India docked. Frankincense, which was made in Arabia, was also traded. It was a place of luxury. Yule found wine amphorae, the remains of precious fish condiments and palaces decorated with sphinxes and lions.

A Peaceful Multi-Cultural Community

The social structure in Zafar also appeared to be unique. The city had a large Jewish community, as evidenced by a seal with a Torah niche. Hebrew inscriptions were discovered. Zafar's residents also included Christians, who built a church there in 354 AD. Arabs who worshipped old idols lived in the alleys.
But this peaceful, multicultural community soon came to an end, as tensions began to mount in the 5^th century, and Arabia was transformed into a front.

The Byzantine Empire, bristling with weapons, operated in the west, and its vassals kept making inroads toward the desert. They were accompanied by Christian missionaries, who brought the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to the shepherds on the edge of the Rub' al Khali, the sand desert that makes up much of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula.

These Sacred Heart imperialists confronted the Persian realm of the Sassanids, with its archers and armies of bearded soldiers clad in heavy metal armor. The Jews, who lived by the tens of thousands in the oases, were to some extent aligned with this power.

It was a confrontation between east and west, and everyone was forced to choose a side.
This also applied to Zafar. To stop the advance of Christianity, individual Arab kings initially converted to Judaism. The entire ruling class of the realm eventually followed suit. From then on, people were given names like Yehuda and Yussuf.

Then they took up arms. In approximately 520 AD, they attacked the Christian colony of Najran, where there were churches and monasteries. Countless Christians were slaughtered. The shocking news traveled all the way to Europe.

A 'Puppet King'

Now the spiral of violence began turning more rapidly. The furious Byzantines and their allies from Africa were out for revenge. Kaleb, the Aksumite king of Ethiopia (who wore gold jewelry in his hair and had himself driven around in an elephant carriage) went on the counter-offensive.

If the sources are correct, his first naval maneuver was a miserable failure. In 525 AD, with the help of additional warships provided by the Byzantines, he successfully completed the crossing to the other side of the Red Sea.

The relief of the "crowned man" from Zafar was apparently created during this period of invasion. Yule interprets it as a representation of the Christian "puppet king" of the Ethiopians.

The invaders continued their attacks. Southern Arabia's holy warrior, Abraha, had taken control of large areas before long. He even attempted to free bishops being held prisoner by the Persian enemy in Nisibis (in modern-day Turkey), some 2,500 kilometers away.

The man embarked on a religious crusade at the same time. He rebuilt the churches that had been destroyed in Najran, and he had new ones built in Marib and Aden.

His most beautiful church was in Sanaa. It had gilded doors and a throne made of ebony and ivory. In the morning, the rays of the sun shone through an alabaster panel in the dome. The Byzantines supported the project, sending craftsmen, marble and mosaics.

The result was an architectural miracle, the likes of which all of Arabia had never seen before.

Year of the Elephant

After the triumph of Islam in the 7^th century, the church was torn down and stripped of its treasures, and a mosque was built on the site. As Barbara Finster, an archeologist from the Bavarian city of Bamberg, discovered, some of the columns in the mosque came from the wrecked church, while some of the church's magnificent mosaics were sent to Mecca, essentially as booty.

The enmity between Sanaa and Mecca apparently smoldered from the start. Medieval Koran scholars report that Abraha built his magnificent church to lure the pilgrims away from the Kaaba, Islam's most sacred site.
Another Islamic source describes how the dispute eventually escalated: An angry native of Mecca relieved himself in the Sanaa church, prompting the furious Abraha to dispatch his warriors, mounted on elephants, to destroy the Kaaba. In the interpretation of Sura 105 of the Koran, the only reason he was unsuccessful was that Allah had armed a flock of birds with clay balls that rained down on the Christian army like bullets.

Are these nothing but religious myths? There is historical evidence, in the form of a rock inscription, that Abraha conducted large-scale raids against defiant Arab tribes near Mecca in 552 AD. A few Western historians consider this to be the true year of Muhammad's birth. The scholar Ibn Ishak, who wrote the first biography of the Prophet, states that the proclaimer of the Koran was born "in the year of the elephant."
Oddly enough, the scrawled rock inscription could be interpreted to mean that the tribe of the Kuraish, to which the Prophet belonged, sometimes fought for the Christians. Were they allies? Was Muhammad born in a city that stood under the banner of the cross?

Hard Times

There are indications that this could be true. For instance, a Christian cemetery is mentioned in the oldest history of Mecca, written by the Arab historian Asraki.

What a mess. In ancient Arabia, the three Abrahamic world religions intersected in confusing ways. But the Koran prevailed in the end.

But many things are still unclear. Our perspective is complicated by the fact that the birth of Islam occurred at a time of severe hardship. Climate data obtained from limestone caves in Oman prove that there was a terrible drought in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula in the middle of the 6^th century. There was also a plague epidemic that began in 541 and afflicted the entire Orient. Other, smaller epidemics followed, causing thousands upon thousands of deaths.

It was these horrors that probably triggered the demise of Zafar. Yule suspects that the drought devastated the "fragile ecology of the highlands." Cattle died of thirst and barns remained empty.

Are the archeologist's suspicions correct? Even Muhammad, as a young child, was threatened by disease and hunger. According to Ibn Ishak, his wet nurse was deeply concerned when she was told to bring the little boy back to his native city.
The reason, he writes, was the "plague in Mecca."

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

49,000 youngest drop-outs?

If it is indeed true, as recently reported by Malaysiakini that 49,000 ‘stateless children’ are not going to school because they do not have identity cards, then something must be done to immediately address this issue of fundamental human rights. They must be allowed to go to school by any means necessary as the government resolves the issue of their ‘stateless parents’.

This ruling regime will be committing an act of the worst form of mental slavery should these children not be allowed to have the basic education and the right to be intelligent. If, as alleged, this regime can grant identity cards to newly-arrived immigrants in prepration for the coming elections, we must insist it to be able to do this for these children.

You, in the government, will be called a ‘pariah regime’ if this is not done for those children. The implications of not having those children schooled will be devastating; a reaffirmation of the vicious cycle of poverty, alienation, dehumanisation, and the fast-track way to build Malaysia’s prison-industrial complex. These children are already ‘drop-outs’ even before they enter schools!

What is wrong with our education system when we are now seeing a ruder apartheid-isation of schools? We continue to see the growth of a hideous class and caste structure in schools, from smart schools for the children of the rich to ‘pariah schools’ for the children of the abject poor. And now in the case of the ‘children of stateless parents’, we even have no schools for children of the abyss of the underclass, especially Malaysians of Tamil origin.

What a criminal act we have been doing since these years of independence - children of the rich paying tens of thousands of ringgit per semester for the best private schools to get to the best slots in college and best jobs in society through the best connections, yet thousands are not allowed in schools because of some ‘colonial legacy’.

We need to radically restructure the way we look at human beings, design education policies to be just and equitable, and to have a common school system to help children have common dreams... as Malaysians and nothing less.

Amidst the niceties of the rhetoric of educational reform and progress designed merely by a poor understanding of systemic change, we are creating a dystopia - of a future in which the 99 percent of society will one day overthrow the one percent after they learn what hegemony means and know what rights they have to social, educational, and cultural justice.

Lifeboat mentality

We have designed a school system based on the ‘lifeboat mentality’ and ‘gunboat diplomacy’ - a philosophy of “to each his own”. Hence, there are schools well-funded and those not funded at all. Ultimately, we will see more of society with both lifeboat and gunboat mentality wrapped in one.

Each child has the rights to get access to good teachers, technology, techniques, and tender-loving care in schools, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or even if they have no identity cards. Until the age of 18, these rights must be honored in order for the very fundamental goals of education for human freedom, development, and gainable and sustainable employment to be achieved. This must begin with the philosophy of education that we base our practice upon.

Race-based politics in Malaysia has been so pervasive that we have forgotten what education should mean, even though the language of humanism and systemic change in our educational blueprints is laced with niceties of the means and ends of education.

Outside of the rhetoric of a ‘world-classism’, if we deconstruct the meaning of education in a hyper-modern county such as Malaysia, we see the nature of humans being viewed as cogs in the wheels of capital or human machinery in a system of corrupt crypto-crony capitalism that preys on cheap professional and manual labor produced through schooling as means of social reproduction.

This is a continuation of what the British imperialists did in the kangani and kanchu system, facilitated by the Malay monarchy. The history of Malaya is a history of the exploitation of human beings written in a vainglorious way to mask the oppression of those enslaved by the feudal and neo-feudal class.

It is hoped that education, in its progressive evolution in our times, be framed in a newer understanding of what it should take to put the child at the center of learning and for the school to be a place to cultivate and to be a ground for democratic participation.

It should be a place for a child to develop his/her fullest potential and be free from being discriminated for any reason. It should help a child’s growth as a cultural and social being who will use scientific thinking to become good citizens imbued with ethics and critical sensibility.

I hope we look at the plight of the 49,000 children of ‘stateless parents’ with a simple logic: that as long as they are on our soil, they have the right to an education, to be treated with all the rights and privileges as a child ready to learn, and will be given education until they turn 18 while this issue of ‘statelessness’ is resolved.

Failure to do this will mean another level of success in creating a truly world-class Malaysian prison-industrial complex, rivaling the United States of America.

I am sure this is not what we want to see - a continuation of the lifeboat mentality aided by race-based gunboat diplomacy!

---

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

People Should Not Be Fooled By Opposition Lies - Muhyiddin

TANJUNG MALIM, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded the people not to be fooled by opposition lies that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has failed the people.

He said that the prosperity and peace proved that the BN government is on the right track to continue ruling the country.

"Everything is nice, well planned, the economy is good. There are no quarrels, so why support the opposition?," he asked at 'Perhimpunan Rakyat 1Malaysia' at Padang Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, here Saturday night.

Muhyiddin said that the government had done a lot to help reduce the people's cost of living.

They include giving large amount of subsidies for essential goods, controlled items, cost of living aid and schooling aid.

Muhyiddin said in order to ensure that the people's income would not be affected by price hikes, the government had also given the people the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M).

"During my visit to Perak last year, many said that BR1M was good and should be continued. Then, the prime minister decided to give the people the second BR1M.

"If BN wins (the general election), there will even be the third, fourth, fifth, sixth BR1M, or even forever. If the BN government manage to retain power and has good income and tax revenue of over RM125 billion in the prime minister's fund, any increase of the aid can be considered," he said.

Muhyiddin said after 55 years of Independence, BN had built a strong and solid foundation for the country and it was important for the people to preserve it.

"What matters most is to decide the country's direction for the next seven years as former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had envisioned Malaysia to become a fully developed nation in its own way by 2020," he added.

Why I chose Hinduism over Christianity – Biola Ige

By FLORENCE AMAGIYA

Biola Ige is an epitome of beauty. She joined the industry about four years ago and already she has become one of the most-sought- after actresses in Nollywood. Recently, she suffered a terrible growth of her thyroid gland that affected her neck, tongue, complexion and ultimately her budding career.

Then, it looked as if, all was over for her. But with divine intervention, she was flown to India where an operation was successfully carried out on her. And today, Biola can live to retell her story. In this interview, she talks about the operation, the rumoured controversy between Tonto Dikeh and her new-found faith- Hinduism. Enjoy!

How did you become an actress?
I have always wanted to be an actress since I was a child. Then, I wanted to star in Hollywood movies because my dad was a movie person. As a child, I had the opportunity to watch all the hit movies produced in Hollywood alongside my elder brother. My dad also supported my dream, but he wanted me to travel to America after my studies.

Unfortunately, when I completed my secondary education, my dad was not as wealthy as he used to be. He couldn’t send me to America again as he promised. As a result, there was nothing I could do. Like I said earlier, I fell in love with acting, but l wanted to act in Hollywood. When it didn’t work out because of lack of finance, l moved to Lagos after my University education. I went for auditions in Lagos and landed my first role in “Blindfold” produced by OJ Productions.

How many movies have you done to date?

Acquiring experience in whatever job you are doing is very vital and my experience has helped me star in more than fifty movies and I am still counting. Yes, I have been in the industry for about four years. I am proud of my achievement. I would have starred in more than fifty movies now, if not because of my sickness that took me to India. I am back in the country though lam not looking the same again. I am grateful to God for giving me my life back.

Which role has been the most challenging in your career?

The most challenging role for me was the one I played in the movie “Blackmail”. In that movie, l played the role of a model who married a rich man. Complications set in when the model’s old flame showed up as an employee in the company owned by her husband. And the situation became more complex when she fell again for the old flame who was already married to another woman. The intiruges at play were very challenging.

Which of your movies has been most financially rewarding and how much did you rake in from it ?

The monetary compensation is good, but it is not the most important thing when it comes to growing in your craft. Yes, l was rewarded for some of my jobs, but l cannot tell how much was given to me. I remember, “Blackmail”, Grand Player”, “Shakira”, “Darkest Link” and “My Fantansy”, were quite rewarding.

Is it true that you went to India to undergo an operation?

Well, I was very sick at some point in my acting career. I ran different tests because l didn’t know what was wrong with me. The test results showed I had thyroid problem. So, I travelled to India for treatment as well as to worship. I am sure people would think I went there for spiritual powers.I am sorry to disappoint you guys because I am not that kind of person.

What do you mean, you had a thyroid problem?

Having a thyroid problem is a grave disorder and illness. It is as a result of the expansion of the neck. It occurs when your thyroid gland over works itself or under works itself because of lack of the nutrient known as iodine.

When you said to worship, what do you mean by that?

It was an avenue for me to worship my God and yes, l worship as an Hindu. I know what you may want to say. I do not see anything wrong with following any religion of your choice. It is a free world. And I choose Hinduism.

What is your view of women who do body-enhancing jobs?

It is all about choice, so if you don’t feel good about your body and you have the money to do body makeover surgery, then do it with joy. As for me, I am good with the body God gave me. If a man doesn’t like me the way l am then he is on his own. But my only advice is that you should love yourself the way you are, there is nothing wrong with the body God gave you.

What would attract you to a man?

The way l carry myself is unique, but you can never tell what these men see in the ladies that attract them! Moreover, we all have something that should attract different men as the case maybe. Most men see things we don’t even know we possess. So, I would leave that to the men to decide what they see in me.

Did you become an Hindu when you travelled to India or while you were in Nigeria?

I was a Hinduist before I travelled to India. I was a Christian before I changed my faith and I must tell you I have found peace in Hinduism. And in India, I felt at home. I didn’t feel like returning to Nigeria again because everyone was so nice to me.

What is the controversy between Tonto Dike and yourself?

When I was sick, there were a lot of stories flying here and there that Tonto Dike was responsible for my sickness. But l didn’t believe it because we were not even friends before I fell sick. And why would Tonto Dike want to harm me when she has made a name for herself?

Are you in a relationship?

I don’t have time for that at the moment. I have just returned from a long break of illness and l need to make up in my career for the time I have lost.

When are we hearing the wedding bells for you?

Marriage comes naturally in the course of living and meeting people. I am not in a hurry to tie the knots. In fact, I am taking another three years to grow myself before thinking about marriage.

Some of your female colleagues are getting married to married men. Would you marry a married man?

When I am in a relationship, it takes my whole being and life. So if I am in love, l fall hopelessly in love, hence l cannot see myself loving another woman’s husband. I cannot share my man at all with any woman as I do not share my love.

Who are those people you admire in the industry?

I admire everyone I have worked with and my colleagues in the industry. I cannot actually mention one person as being more special to me. They are all different and special in their own ways.

Before you take up a role what do you consider first?

I picture the role and character in my mind’s eyes and how it is going to play out. I also consider what people would say when they see the movie and the character I played. If it will boost my image then the role is mine, if it is not good for me then l leave it.

Do you have any regret since choosing acting as a career?

I regretted not having my usual childish yearnings. I hate it when people discuss you, when they don’t even know you to guide their judgment. I hate that l cannot join the regular bus, but l don’t care what people say when l park to buy my regular roasted plantain known as boli. When it comes to that l don’t care what people say again!

Tell us a little about your childhood?

My childhood was awesome! I was a kid who loved to play football when I was growing up with my siblings. We went swimming in the river, climbing mango trees to pluck mangoes and all that. I was a tomboy while growing up, I never did girls stuff at all.

Are you related to the popular late Bola Ige family?

No. It is just a case of name sakes; late Bola Ige was from Oyo state, while l hail from Osun state.

Which part of your body do you consider sexiest?

Most people would say they prefer my boobs, shape and all that, but to me, I prefer my eyes. They are the mirror to my soul.

Nollywood is really evolving, with more sensual scenes. Would you take a role that involves you having sex on set?

I won’t describe it as having sex because it is drama- a make- believe world; hence everything done is not real. I would describe it as pretending to have sex. And yes I have done that in many movies, but they were never real.

How do you describe Nollywood love-making scene?

Nollywood love-making scenes are not like Hollywood where boobs and bums are exposed. In Africa, it is not in our tradition to do stuffs like that; hence the producers, directors and actors themselves are careful how they interpret such roles because of their futures.