‘Social contract’ a norm in gangsterism

A well defined modus operandi operates among gangsters, says a crime watch group.
KUALA LUMPUR: A sort of ‘social contract’ exists among gangsters that drives the Malaysian Indians to top the charts in issues pertaining to gangsterism, claims Malaysia Community Crime Care Association (MCCCA).

“It is obvious like in any other country, the minority community always gets involved in crime and illegal activities; due to unemployment and lack of government support,” said V Ravindran, the protem member of MCCCA.

He further reiterated that there is no possibility for any race to move forward without the appropriate support.

“There is ‘social contract’ between them. The Chinese gangsters are known as ‘golden collar’ (the financial funders), the Malay gangsters as ‘white collar’ (who take care of the government) and finally the Indian gangsters who are called ‘blue collar’- the men on the street,” he said.

“It indeed follows the pattern of socio-economic landscape of the various races in Malaysia,” he added.

Ravindran disputes claims that 71 per cent of gang members are Indians in Malaysia, though agrees that the majority maybe from the community.

Factors motivating towards gangsterism

According to him three major factors play the role in pushing the Indians into gangsterism; namely self interest, forced into it and socio-economic difficulties faced by the community.

“Sense of belonging and to be seen as macho among their friends cannot be ruled out too. Even women join gangs and feel proud in displaying their tattoos and wearing shirts with symbols associated with secret societies,” said Ravindran.

He added that a proper support from family members, schools and community leaders can prevent this group from become gang members.

On the other hand some may have been forced into gangsterism due to fear instilled by warlords. They are a lesser threat and seldom get involved in crime.

“I strongly believe schools and police alike should focus on this group and help them get free from the nest.”

And finally there are those that have dire financial needs. They are the most dangerous and should be nabbed without any compromise.

Ravindran emphasised that most of the Indians fall in the last category since they are the most deprived community.

“Being the minority race in the country, Indians have been isolated far too long from mainstream development; thus further pushing them into acts of gangsterism for survival,” he said.

He added that majority of the Indian gangsters were involved in cases involving extortion, car repossessing, drug syndicates and debt collection.

“And a small number of them are also active in more serious and heavy crime such as kidnapping, bank robbery and contract killing.”

“Most of the time they follow the instruction of their leaders, and ‘salaries’ are based on experience,” claimed Ravindran.

For example, to be a drug dealer they must first be ‘informers’; and many schoolgoing boys are hired for this job.

Cutting the command chain

“They also keep a watch out for the police and their wages are around RM50 to RM100 per day. A few years later they will be promoted to become ‘runners’ and they start delivering drugs according to their bosses’ orders,” said Ravindran.

“They pay these runners between RM5,000 to RM10,000. Finally they are assigned a ‘port’ or area to manage the drug syndicate and salaries can be more than RM20,000.”

Ravindran reckons that the best way to prevent this group is to disconnect the networks with their warlords.

“Detain the leaders and cut off their line of command. Heavier punishments imposed will also instill fear among gang members,” he said.

Nevertheless Ravindran pointed out that the government should also provide alternatives for the ex-gang members by creating job opportunities. Leaving them hanging will only push them back to gangsterism.

In recent weeks, the nation has been rocked by a fresh wave of crime related to gangsterism. The police has also embarked upon a special ops to nab these gangsters. Yesterday the police named 49 gangs that were being blacklisted.

The membership of these banned organisations stood at 40,313 – with 28,926 of them being Indians, Chinese (8,214), Malays (1,923), Sabahans (329) and Sarawakians (921).

'Small matter' Kamalanathan gets big drubbing

DAP national vice chairman Kula Segaran has criticised Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan for belittling the victims of SK Seri Pristina incident.

The Ipoh Barat MP said Kamalanathan (right) calling the incident "a small matter" on Thursday, was a reversal of his earlier position.

"When the issue erupted, Kalamanathan was quick to apologise for the headmaster. So why has he now been so slow on the investigation outcome when public anger has been growing as the incident escalates?" he asked in a press statement.

Kulasegaran also said that both Kalamanathan and his boss Muhyiddin Yassin were not fit to hold office if they did not act on perpetrators of the SK Seri Pristina incident, which had led to some students leaving the school.

"When Parliament meets next month, I shall ask the prime minister to revoke the appointment of Muhyiddin and Kalamanathan as education minister and deputy minister respectively as both are obviously unfit to hold the two positions," he added.

Kulasegaran (left) was the second DAP member to chide the Education Ministry for its inaction over the SK Seri Pristina incident.

On Thursday, DAP MP Teresa Kok also took Muhyiddin to task for his silence, which was seen as contributing to "rising racism" at the school.

The Sungai Buloh school came under the spotlight during Ramadan this year, when it was alleged that its non-Muslim students were supposedly forced to eat in the changing room.

Kamalanathan had explained on July 24 after visiting the school that the decision was made much earlier in March because the canteen was being renovated.

But when confronted by angry parents that day claiming that the decision was in fact made at the beginning of the fasting month, he pledged that the ministry would investigate the matter.

Sanjeevan's memory loss may not last, says dad

 

Anti-crime activist R Sanjeevan's memory loss may not be permanent and he may start recalling things as time goes by, his father P Ramakrishnan said.

“The doctors are saying it is still in the beginning stage, so it may take some time, maybe another week or ten days. It may be even later, but better late than never,” he said when contacted.

Ramakrishnan (left) said that at present, his son, who regained conciousness from a 10-day coma last week after being gunned down, cannot even recognise his parents.

“He does not know his mother or his father, but we remind him about it. I am just happy that he is out of danger, we can remind him of other things,” he said.

He added that although conscious, Sanjeevan, who heads the NGO MyWatch still cannot talk as a tube is connected to his throat.

“He communicates through sign language. We write things, like A B C D, and he shows us which one,” he said.

He added that doctors are still unsure when Sanjeevan can leave the hospital.

Police previously said that they needed to speak to Sanjeevan in their investigations into his shooting, and were waiting for him to regain conciousness.

Sanjeevan, who is also a PKR member, had previously claimed that several police officers were involved with crime syndicates.

MIC polls focus shifts to vice-presidents

 

ANALYSIS Come Sept 1, G Palanivel will be elected as president of MIC without any contest. In the given political scenario, it is a mammoth task for anyone to garner the support of more than 300 branches  in order to mount a challenge for the presidency.

Dr S Subramaniam, who agreed not to contest for the top post, is also not expected to face any serious contest for his deputy president's post.

Taking a cue from Palanivel who has announced that he will relinquish his position in favour of Subramaniam, in the first quarter of 2016, all the key leaders of MIC are now vying for the vice-president slot to enable them to position themselves when the leadership transition takes place in 2016.

None of them are interested in mounting a challenge for deputy presidency as they know it will be political suicide if they lose.

As of today, the indications are that the following candidates will be contesting for a vice president's slot in the forthcoming MIC elections:

1. M Saravanan (incumbent and deputy minister)
2  SK Devamany (incumbent and Perak state assembly speaker)
3  Senator Jaspal Singh (treasurer-general of MIC)
4. SA Vigneswaran (former Youth leader)
5. S Vell Paari (strategy director and son of former president S Samy Vellu)
6. S Sothinathan (former vice-president and former deputy minister)
7. T Mohan (current Youth leader)
8. Ragu Moorthy (Businessman from Klang)
9. P Kamalanathan (deputy minister)

There could be few more candidates in the coming weeks as the divisional elections, which will elect the delegates to the general assembly, is yet to take place. It is mandatory that the candidate for CWC or vice president must be a delegate to the general assembly.

In the coming weeks, these vice presidential candidates will criss-cross the country meeting the delegates and seeking their support. If the leadership transition takes place smoothly in 2016 as planned, then one of the elected vice presidents stands a chance to be chosen by Subramaniam to be the acting deputy president. Alternatively, Subramaniam may also opt to leave the position vacant and leave it for contest to enable the delegates to elect a deputy president of their choice.

Thus the scramble has begun among the aspirants to position themselves as one of the vice presidents.

Saravanan is leading the race
Among the contestants, one candidate stands out amongst others to clinch the position of vice president and he is none other than Saravanan. As incumbent vice-president and deputy minister, he has been in constant touch with the delegates and attends most of the MIC functions
.
He is also the favourite guest of honour for Tamil literary functions and cultural events, especially book launches of Malaysian Tamil literary works authored by local writers.

His down-to-earth disposition, Tamil oratory skills, strong backing from supporters of former party president S Samy Vellu are some of the factors favouring him.

Among the contestants, Saravanan is the only one who is a state chairman and with that he will be able to garner substantial votes from Wilayah Persekutuan MIC, which he heads.

Devamany also has a fair chance of retaining his position as vice president. There is widespread sympathy for him because of the manner he was unfairly uprooted by the party president as MP of Cameron Highlands and placed in Sungai Siput, where he lost to Dr D Michael Jeyakumar.

However, he made a come-back when he was appointed as the Speaker of the Perak state assembly. The two-term parliamentarian has also earned accolades from the Perak menteri besar for his performance as speaker. His current position is also expected to earn him support from the majority of delegates from Perak.

Perak will be the state sending the second or third highest number of delegates to the MIC general assembly.

Devamany was able to win in the last party elections because he was a deputy minister then. The fact that he is now holding a state level position could be a setback for him.

S Vell Paari,  SA Vigneswaran and S Sothinathan are the other favourites to clinch the third slot. It will be a tough contest for the three candidates as all of them have their own positive and negative factors.

Jaspal, on the other hand, is unlikely to win in the race because more than 90% of the delegates are of South Indian Tamil origin and whether he will be able to garner their support as a North Indian, is something yet to be seen.

Although there have been instances in the past, where KS Nijhar, also a North Indian, won as a vice president, it must be remembered that he was able to win only because of strong backing from Samy Vellu.

Ragu Moorthy, another aspirant, has been travelling across the country meeting delegates and on most occasions he is seen with Palanivel. However, he is not considered as a serious contender by the delegates.

Mohan, who has now become a branch chairman in Puchong, has already announced he will not seek re-election as Youth leader. Some sources claim that he is eyeing vice-presidency but may choose to go for CWC as the race for vice-presidents seems to be overcrowded.

As for Sothinathan, he may make a comeback as a vice-president but there is a general complaint that he does not keep in touch with the grassroots. He is seldom seen in MIC functions and public functions. Therefore he may face an uphill task.

On the other hand, supporters of former deputy president S Subramaniam are also not in favour of Sothinathan as they feel he is the one who spoiled the chances of Subramaniam to win against Palanivel in 2009 party elections.

Over the next one month , MIC divisions will see intense battles to elect their respective division office-bearers and delegates to the national assembly. The outcome of these elections will largely also determine the outcome of the vice-presidential race.

---

J JAY RAJ is a long-serving MIC member with a keen interest in Malaysian politics.

Kohilan: Waytha playing his role as deputy minister

Amidst calls by fellow cabinet members for Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy to step down, the latter has found support in Gerakan vice-president A Kohilan Pillay who called on the senator to “shouder on”.

Kohilan (left) said that Waythamoorthy was only “playing his role” as deputy minister when he “voiced his concern” over the police shooting of five Indian suspected gang members in Sungai Nibong, Penang last week.

“Waythamoorthy was only playing his role as the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department tasked with the responsibility to uplift the Indian community.

“It is understandable and reasonable for him to stand up defending the Indian community and to a greater scope the whole society on the grounds of universal human rights against any forms of social injustice and violence” he wrote in a statement today, saying such a move must not be frowned upon.

As such, Kohilan said there was no need for ministers such as Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, to “jump the gun” against constructive criticism “ well-meant to help and improve the enforcement by the police and local security”.

“It is hugely important for government leaders to be more open to criticism. Waythamoorthy should soldier on and not to compromise on any unreasonable demands to quit the cabinet simply out of their unwillingness to accept criticism,” said Kohilan.

Aside Ahmad Zahid (right), Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, and Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had all called for Waythamoorthy’s resignation if he can’t stand in line with the government.

This was followed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak himself, who told the senator to “toe the government line” as the latter is a member of the government.

Waythamoorthy was leading the Indian rights NGO Persatuan Hindraf Malay when he was handpicked by Najib as a senator.

IGP: Politicians in gangs? Never heard of it

Najib: Waytha should toe government line

Sex workers forced to leave brothel

The ravaged Madaripur Brothel in the district town’s Puranabazar area after several hundred Islamist activists ransacked and looted it yesterday in an attempt to free Madaripur of prostitutes. The attack left around 500 sex workers of the 250-year-old brothel homeless. Photo: Star

A brothel in Madaripur town was attacked allegedly by Islamist activists and nearly 500 sex workers were forced out of it yesterday.

Several hundred activists of Islahe Qoum Parishad stormed the brothel at Puranbazar around 11:00am. They beat up at least 30 women who did not want to leave what they call home for generations, said Mamata Rani, president of Bandhobi Nari Sangha, an organisation of sex workers.
The attackers ransacked the 250-year-old brothel and looted valuables, she alleged.

The attack was made despite a July 22 High Court ruling, in which the home ministry and police were asked not to harass residents of the brothel and to allow the sex workers to continue with their occupation for a year.

Responding to a petition by the rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra, the court also ordered removal of the signboards hung on the four gates of the brothel, which prohibited clients of the sex workers from entering the brothel from sunset to sunrise.

Police fired several blank shots to bring the situation under control yesterday. In their presence, the inmates left the brothel.

Asked why police did not ensure their protection in the red-light quarter, Madaripur Superintendent of Police Khandoker Faridul Islam said, “The brothel is not authorised by the government.”
The sex workers had rented several houses there, and despite the owners’ repeated requests to leave, they continued to stay, he added.

The SP also said the owners yesterday morning went to that place along with some “respected” people of the neighbourhood and urged the residents to move out. But the sex workers brandished kitchen knives to scare them away. As the news spread, several hundred people flocked to the spot and began hurling brickbats at the sex workers.

However, Moulana Sharif Mujibul Haque, president of Madaripur Islahe Qoum Parishad, said activists of the organisation had made the attack.

“The Parishad has long been campaigning for a Madaripur free of prostitutes. Though the shipping minister [who is from the district] promised their rehabilitation, none of the sex workers moved out. This angered people and that is why they have dislodged them,” said Moulana Sharif.

The Islamist group staged a series of angry demonstrations in recent months and demanded the authorities dismantle the brothel, saying it was corrupting young men in the town.
Some sex workers, seeking anonymity, said that despite assurances of rehabilitation, nothing had been done as yet.

Yesterday’s incident, they added, was aimed at paving the way for influential locals to grab the valuable land.

Meanwhile, at a press conference organised by Sex-workers’ Network at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital, speakers demanded punishment to those who had attacked and driven out the inmates of the brothel in Madaripur.

“The land on which the brothel stands is quite precious since it is located in the heart of the town. Seventy-five percent of the land was either purchased or inherited by the sex workers. Since May this year, Islamist organisations under the influence of political leaders made several attempts to force the sex workers out,” said Joya Sikhder, president of the organisation.

In a press release, the National Human Rights Commission condemned the incident, saying it was deeply concerned over the security and rehabilitation of the evicted sex workers.

‘I don’t’: Man kills cousin for refusing to marry him

Sumaira had shared her fears with her parents and wanted to shift to the university hostel temporarily. PHOTO: FILE 

MULTAN:A man has been accused of killing his cousin for turning down his marriage proposal.

 

Muhammad Abdur Rehman said his daughter Sumaira was studying Botany at Bahauddin Zakaria University. He said she was living with her maternal family in Mumtazabad colony in Multan.
He said her cousin, 26-year-old Muhammad Asif, had sent a marriage proposal for Sumaira through his parents last week. He said his daughter did not want to marry Muhammad Asif because she felt that they were not compatible due to his extreme religious views.

He said after she turned down his proposal, Asif threatened Sumaira for one week.
He said Sumaira shared her fears with her parents and wanted to shift to the university hostel temporarily.

He said they could not afford the hostel fee and advised her to continue living with her maternal family.

He said on Tuesday afternoon, she returned home from the university and met Asif at the door of the house. He asked her to change her mind. When she refused, he shot her six times. She died on the spot.

Witnesses detained Asif and beat him before handing him over to the police.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2013.

Police take artwork over alleged religious insult

Police have taken a piece from the M50 Selamat Hari Malaysia art exhibition as part of its investigation into an alleged religious insult by artist Anurendra Jegadeva.

The piece 'I is for Idiot', part of the 'ABC For The Middle-Age Middle Classes' body of work, was taken this afternoon from the Publika Mall where it is being displayed.

Curators have taken down the rest of Anurendra's work, that was showing at the mall's throrughfare, for safekeeping.
It is understood that a police report was lodged yesterday against the piece for an alleged insult to Islam, as it included Arabic words commonly used in Islamic prayer, which mean 'In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'.
Anurendra has not been detained but he may be called in to give a statement to police on the matter tomorrow. 
The artist is expected to release a statement on the matter soon.

The work features a chimpanzee in a helmet and jacket riding a bicycle while in the background is a military pilot and the words “Mission Accomplished”.

Under the bicycle is a flag with red and white stripes, skull and crossbones and stars, and the Arabic words printed in mirror image.

NGO sees multi-layer of insults

However, Islamic NGO Muafakat which lodged the report, perceived the flag as the Malaysian flag and that the chimpanzee as a depiction of Islam or Muslims. 

In his blog, Muafakat secretary-general A Karim Omar said that the work “appears to say that Islam is for idiots”.

He added that the Arabic words printed in mirror image “clearly show that the artist’s ill-intentions” as the works ‘J is for Jesus’ and ‘K is for Krishna’ “did not have any elements of insults”.

He said that police are investigating the matter under Section 298A of the Penal Code which deals with insults to religion.

The M50 Selamat Hari Malaysia show features 50 Malaysian artists, touching on a broad range of subjects including thorny issues of corruption and poor governance.

It is co-organised by Balai Seni Visual Negara, MapKL@Publika and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. 
Earlier, landscape artist Ng Sek San’s work Malaysian Spring which was adopted by pro-Pakatan Rakyat individuals in the lead-up to the 13th general election was not allowed to be part of the M50 show.

As a compromise, his work is showing at the mall’s Art Row, next to the M50 exhibition along with two other artists.

Madras Cafe still under review

The Film Censorship Board has not received any protest memorandum against the Hindi Movie, Madras Cafe, which depicts India's involvement in Sri Lanka's conflict with LTTE.

PETALING JAYA: Film Censorship Board is still reviewing the Hindi movie Madras Cafe and has not received any protest memorandum to ban the film.

Film Censorship Board chairman Raja Azhar Raja Abdul Manaf said there were applications from the cinemas to screen the movie.

The movie depicts the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation and this has raised the ire of Tamil Nadu state in India and other countries.

The movie is banned in Tamil Nadu.

On Monday, a coalition of Tamil non-governmental organisations in Malaysia opposed the screening of the movie.

Tamil Progressive Team chief MA Kalaimughilan accused Bollywood actor John Abraham, who is a co-producer of the movie, of making a film with advice from Sri Lanka government.

“We have sent our objections to the Home Ministry,” he said.

However, Raja Azhar said the censorship board did not receive any protest memorandum against the movie.

The movie, starring Abraham is a story about India’s involvement in Sri Lanka’s conflict with LTTE.

Abraham plays the role of a Research Analysis Wing (RAW) agent, an Indian equivalent of Britain’s MI-6.

Maths, Science grades classified as secret?

In 2003 the Trends International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) ranked Malaysia as 10th out of 46 countries for Mathematics, now we are 36th.

KUCHING: A baffled opposition here has questioned Education Ministry’s need to classify students’ SPM grades in Mathematics and Science subjects under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen had written to the ministry seeking a breakdown of the grades for General Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and English Language for the years 2006-2012 and was told that the information was “secret”

“I cannot understand why Mathemaics and Science grades are classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). How can revealing the grades jeopardise national security?” he asked.

Chong told a press conference here that he wanted the statistics after observing obvious drops in Science and Mathematics standards among Malaysian students in recent years.

Chong said he was disappointed and surprised when he received a reply from an officer from the Education Ministry three weeks ago following his request.

It a short reply, the ministry said: “According to the Education Act 1996, Part II, Section 4(b), producing examination papers, preparing examination materials, and ensuring the safety and confidentiality of the examination papers and materials including marks obtained by the candidates are confidential and is under the Malaysia Official Secrets Act”.

Chong has however denied the existence of such a law. He claimed the lawnet.com.my portal had no mention of such a regulation.

“It had nothing to do with examination results at all,” said Chong who provided copies of the ministry letter and the relevant Education Act subsection to the reporters.

Chong said he has since forwarded his written questions to the Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for the upcoming Parliament sitting.

Chong said he based his parliamentary question on Malaysia’s sudden drop in standing within the Trends International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).

Additional Maths passmark is 20?


TIMSS is an international assessment of Mathematics and Science knowledge of students aging 9-10 and 13-14 worldwide.

He said standard for Malaysian students in Mathematics and Science had noticeably dropped since 1997.

Malaysia is currently ranked 36th in Mathematics and 32nd in Science among 45 participating countries for the eight graders’ ranking.

In 2007 Malaysia was ranked 20th out of 49 countries for Mathematics, while it was 21st in Science.

He said that in the 2003 TIMSS ranking, Malaysia was ranked 10th out of 46 countries.

Chong said he had heard rumours in connection with the ‘secrecy’ relating to the SPM grades.

“There are suspicions that the current passing marks for Additional Maths in SPM are as low as 20.

“I’ve asked about what is actually the passing mark for the subject, but I could not get it. It ought to be disclosed.

“This is shocking. The (Education) minister should give a written statement publicly on this issue alone,” opined Chong.

He however disagreed with the suggestion that the drops in Mathematics and Science standard among Malaysian students were indications that the country’s education system was a failure.

“But it defies logic to be so secretive about the examination grades,” Chong said.

How to become a gang member?

 

Bold move: Some gang members gesturing in this photo on Facebook.

Secret societies are open to all. You don't need an A or a good looking face to join. Just like other societies in schools, secret societies welcome new members, have organised cadres and are active in promoting their activities.

Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily

In Malaysia, almost everyone has the opportunity to join secret society without difficulty.

If you are a young man, you will have 50% more chance.

Secret societies are open to all. You don't need an A or a good looking face to join.

Just like other societies in schools, secret societies welcome new members, have organised cadres and are active in promoting their activities.

Hong Men, Wah Kee, 04, 36, and Satu Hati are fighting for new members with Scouts, St. John Ambulance, Chinese Society, and Tamil Society.

For some students, secret societies are more attractive than uniformed groups. It is so hard to be a uniformed group member as they would have to march under the hot sun; learn tying knots and first aid; memorise all the rules and go around to raise fund.

It is more relaxing to join secret societies. All you need is to make a vicious face and give orders.

As for fundraising, there is no need to beg. Just ask, "you want to give or not?" After deducting the part for the boss, you can even keep the rest.

Moreover, it is so cool to be a gang member. It can even meet the desire for power, peer fear, and admiration from the opposite sex.

There are also admiration from the society.

Hong Kong-based comic Oriental Heroes demonstrated secret societies as a world of justice. Slashing, burning, kidnapping are necessary means while blood and violence are heroic acts.

Ten-year-old children have already agreed with these behaviours and joining secret societies became their great ambition.

A Better Tomorrow, Young and Dangerous and Infernal Affairs have become classics in the Chinese movie industry. Misbehaviours are covered by brotherhood love while violence are shown more effective than the rule of law.

Fifteen-year-old teenagers are so excited after watching these movies and immediately, they join a secret society so that they can be heroes, too.

Schools attended by Indian young people, their living environment and cultural ecologies are having even higher exposure to secret societies compared to the Chinese.

Please think, how have we actually educated our children and what kind of environment has been provided to them?

Under such an environment, there is no need to teach them. From input to output, it would be as easy as a straight line for secret societies to get members.

Therefore, the headline of this article should instead be "How to avoid becoming gang member".

It is much more difficult to answer this question.

First of all, never ever send your children to secret society preparatory schools. Please do whatever possible to avoid schools with signs of existence of secret societies.

Secondly, search and destroy all gang-themed comics, movie DVDs and books. Please do not hesitate even to smash your 52-inch television if you have to.

Thirdly, track the whereabouts of your children and understand what they are thinking. Develop their ideas of right and wrong and instil the rule of law concept of civilisation to lead them towards a bright future, and help them get the courage and confidence to overcome setbacks and keep pursuing their goals.

Lastly, if all the above methods fail, you can arrange a trip to visit the Simpang Renggam Jail, so that they can see the fate of gangsters. It might bring a shocking and preventive effect.

Are we breeding bigotry at home?

The people in this story happen to be Chinese and Christian. Which serves as a reminder, at a time when we are rolling our eyes at the ignorance and intolerance of Muslim authorities, that no one has a monopoly on bigotry.

Deborah Loh, fz.com
WITH the government and religious authorities taking an increasingly hard line on race and religion, you can be forgiven if you feel that there is little to celebrate this Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day.

That said, it's time Malaysians stop allowing those in power to define what "unity" (read: conformity), "respect" (read: Sedition Act) and "tolerance" (read: acquiesce to the feelings of one race and religion) mean.

It's time more Malaysians take things into their own hands, where they can and with what influence they have, to mitigate the bigotry that is poisoning the nation's soul.

What do I mean? Here's a story to explain:

I recently helped a friend take a class of young teens on a photography trip to different houses of worship. The group of one dozen kids were all urban, Chinese and Christian. The idea was to familiarise them with religions other than their own, besides learning some photography basics.

The kids, aged 11, 12 and 13, were accompanied by four adults who acted as teachers and chaperones. We meandered around the Petaling Street area. We walked to Masjid Jamek but found it closed to tourists due to renovations. We then went to the Taoist temple and the Sri Mahamariamman Hindu temple on Jalan Tun H S Lee.

For some of the teens, it was to be their first time in a house of worship of another faith, having been born into Christian families and being raised in an almost-wholly Christian environment all their young lives.

As we approached the two temples, some of the teens began a discussion on how "scary" they thought temples were.

"Those statues freak me out," a girl declared.

"The Hindu gods are all half-naked. It's disturbing!" a boy commented.

"My mum says we shouldn't go to such places because there are evil spirits!" shrieked the same girl.

"Do we really have to go inside?" the boy said plaintively.

"Yes, that's the plan for this trip," I said.

"Then I'm gonna delete all the photos of the temples after this!" he announced.

Read more at: http://www.fz.com/content/are-we-breeding-bigotry-home#ixzz2dK50dAHk 

Blame Najib, not Waytha

By Sonia Ramachandran

SHAH ALAM: Blame Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak instead of getting upset with Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department senator P Waythamoorthy.

This is the opinion of political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat when asked about the recent call by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin for Waythamoorthy to step down if he still wants to act as a representative of a non-governmental organisation.

The ministers made the call when they accused Waythamoorthy of not valuing collective responsibility in the government when he questioned the “execution-style” shooting by the police of five alleged Indian gang members in Penang.

But Waythamoorthy is digging in and is not about to toe the government line, saying that he joined the Najib administration precisely to “solve these complex problems in appropriate ways”.

Although Wong agreed that under the principle of collective government responsibility Waythamoorthy had crossed the line, he questioned Najib’s rationale in bringing him (Waythamoorthy) into the government.

“Now that Waythamoorthy has joined the government, he would have expected human rights to be more respected and for Indians not to be gunned down so easily.

“Has Waythamoorthy got that impression? Then that person who would have sold that expectation to him is the prime minister. Where is the prime minister? Why are the ministers and the deputy minister fighting?

“Waythamoorthy should be blamed at most for his naivety. The person who should actually be blamed is Najib,” said Wong.

On whether Waythamoorthy should leave the government, the outspoken Wong said: “I think Waythamoorthy should hold Najib responsible and ask him what happened to the deal struck between them.

“He should ask Najib why he was brought into the government? He must hold him accountable before he walks out. If he just leaves, he will look like a newbie in politics.”

In April this year, Waythamoorthy, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Barisan Nasional government to improve the economic condition of the Indian community.

After the general election, he was appointed a senator and handpicked by Najib as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Indian affairs.

Social scientist Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, however, feels that Waythamoorthy’s concern (over the shooting incident) was wrongly perceived.

“He is not obstructing or interfering with police work but has raised concerns over the shooting, the circumstances and the explanation provided. This is something the community and political leaders must do without fear or favour,” said Denison.

He agreed that there were different channels to raise questions once a person held a federal post but stressed that there was no harm in raising public concern over issues of public importance.

“The matter was not about questioning a cabinet decision but was an expression of concern on the way the shooting was carried out and the explanation given,” said Denison.

He said that the decision on whether Waythamoorthy should stay or go should be the prerogative of the prime minister as it was the latter who appointed him.