Malaysia Muslim MPs, education groups say animal slaughter in school compound is wrong

Muslim MPs from PAS and PKR as well as educational organisations have spoken out against the
PAS's Dr Hatta Ramli says slaughter of animals should not be done in any schools, including religious schools. - The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 22, 2013.practice of carrying out ritual slaughter in schools during the recent Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations.

PAS Kuala Krai MP Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli said any school should be off limits for the slaughter of animals.

"Be it religious schools, ethnic-based schools or national schools," said Dr Hatta.

"In the truest nature of observing the holy Qurban, there is no need to openly slaughter animals in the presence of others, especially in an area where people of other faith reside, work or carry out activities," he added, referring to the Arabic word for sacrificial slaughter.

"The deed is to be noted between the Almighty and oneself and not with the public."

Dr Hatta pointed out that nowadays, some have resorted to carrying out animal slaughter in abbatoirs as they are more hygienic and systematic.

PKR Indera Mahkota MP Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman said the Quran stresses the need to respect other religions.

PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, however, expressed shock that such events are being held in school compounds.

"In my time this was quite unheard of. It is not right," he said.

Khalid suggested that the slaughter of animals be carried out in mosque compounds or other proper designated places.

The comments come after several Hindu parents complained about the use of school grounds to slaughter cows in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations. The cow is considered sacred by Hindus.

It was reported that parent S. Dineswary was told by her daughter that a cow and a calf were slaughtered last Thursday for a Hari Raya feast at a Kuala Lumpur school. Similar events were held at schools in Bandar Baru Bangi and Puchong.

National Parent-Teacher Association Collaborative Council president Datuk Mohd Ali Hassan said Muslim authorities in schools should understand the religious practices of non-Muslim students.

"They cannot openly do things that can hurt the feelings of others but instead, they should find ways to do things discreetly, if what they want to do is deemed sensitive by other faiths," he said.

"The school is a place to teach and learn. Not for anything else," Mohd Ali added.

President of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), Hashim Adnan said "it was not a nice thing to happen in schools".

"If the school only has Muslim students, then there is no problem. But if there are Indians and Chinese, their feelings must be taken into consideration too.

"We should respect those who study in the same compound and we just cannot do things as we wish," he said.

Non-Muslims, he said, would only respect Islam if the Muslims also respect their beliefs and are sensitive to them.

"The cow is sacred to the Hindus. Why was it so important to slaughter it in the schools for all to see?

"Why would non-Muslims come and study in national schools if these things keep happening?" Hashim lamented.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Hindu Sangam president Datuk R. S. Mohan Shan stressed that they were not against the ritual of slaughtering cows, but added that it sould have been carried out elsewhere.

"We are not questioning the slaughter itself as we respect Islam. We don't mind they want to slaughter cows in mosques and suraus but not in schools, in front of non-Muslims students," he said.

He revealed that he had received many complaints from Hindu parents over the years and has written to the Education Ministry many times on the matter.

“But till today there has been no reply or action from them. We are very disappointed with this and the statements made by some parties are equally disturbing," he added.

He was referring to Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia's deputy president Aminuddin Yahaya, who defended the practice of slaughtering animals on school compound.

"Why should we bow to pressure from them (Hindus)? It is as if we do not have our own identity. This is our country and it is an Islamic country," he was quoted as saying by a news portal.

"We want to slaughter cows, who cares? What is the percentage of the Indian community in Malaysia? Only 1% or 2%," said Aminuddin. - October 22, 2013.

Principal defends cow slaughter in school

The principal of SK Puchong Jaya in Selangor has defended a cow slaughtering ritual held in the school grounds in conjunction with Aidiladha last week.

An audio-recording of Mohd Amin Bahari's explanation to a man introducing himself as ‘Saravanan’ has gone viral since being uploaded on YouTube five days ago.

Saravanan had demanded to know why cows were being slaughtered in the school compound, to which Mohd Amin said there are no circulars preventing such practices.

"In Islam, slaughter during Hari Raya Korban should be promoted among Muslims particularly to students. It is encouraged so that young people will know it is asked of Islam," he said in the 8:06-minute recording uploaded by one ‘zeeraf87'.

However, Mohd Amin said there was no intention to offend Hindus who view cows as a sacred creature.

"It was not (done) to insult other religions. There was no such intention. We told Indian teachers and students, as well as (other) non-Muslims, to be separated (from the slaughter ritual) and we did not allow them to (watch it)," he said.

Mohd Amin added that he consults all the teachers including non-Muslims when it comes to any school activity.

'Gag order issued'

When contacted today, Mohd Amin confirmed that it was his voice on the recording but declined to comment, citing a gag order issued by the Selangor Education Department.

"(This) has been brought to the (attention of the) department director (Mahmud Karim) and instructions have been given not to issue any statements," he explained.

Mohd Amin said any questions should be directed to the department.

At the time of writing, Mahmud could not be reached for comment as he was said to be at a meeting.

Meanwhile, Bernama today reported that several NGOs have urged the government to take action against those perceived to touch on religious sensitivities by questioning the slaughter of cows for Aidiladha.

Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia, Selangor Coalition of NGOs Secretariat, Gerakan Bersatu 69, Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim Malaysia (IRIMM) and Ikatan Perpaduan Melayu Gombak stated that such action is disrespectful towards Islam as the official religion of the country.
Malaysiakini is still attempting to contact the headmaster of another school in Kepong where a similar incident occurred.
In another related development, police have initiated a probe on the incident under the Sedition Act.

Sin Chew Daily reported that police are also looking for ‘Saravanan’ to assist in investigations.

Serdang district police chief Asst Comm Abdul Razak Elias confirmed to the press this morning that police has opened a file to investigate the report lodged by the school principal, who was worried about his safety and for school property after the talk with the man.

Slaughtering animals in school - lawful or unlawful?

I did not speak anything bad about any religion in the video but it was taken as religious hatred among Papagomo's fan club.

Saravanan Forever 

On the 17th, I gave a media statement regarding unconstitutional animal slaughter in our National schools. I thank all Malaysians who have discussed the matter in a good manner. It is very important for us to have such healthy debate and discussions in a democratic country to find a solution for slaughtering animals in school during school hours.

The video conversation between the school headmaster and I went viral on Facebook. Once again I would like to thank UMNO blogger Papagomo for highlighting the issue nationwide. The issue in the video was, is there any provision to slaughter animals in the school which was approved by the education ministry or was it done unlawfully? That was my point again and again in the video.

I did mention slaughtering pigs but it was just an example. As an animal lover I will never agree with pig slaughtering even if the government approves it.

I did not speak anything bad about any religion in the video but it was taken as religious hatred among Papagomo's fan club. Some of the comments said they would like to chop me into pieces, kill me, keling pariah and balik India. As a secular country, all citizens have the right to freedom of speech when it is necessary. I request our PDRM to arrest those who gave death threats.
I believe our police will do their job concerning death threats.

The issue regarding cow slaughtering in schools is something that needs to be discussed by parliamentarians. This is a public interest issue since it was highlighted by the media. Malaysians will obey the law if both Pakatan and Barisan parliamentarians can discuss and agree to this matter. There should be a solution found. By letting the matter hang without solution will cause hatred between the races. I am sure other Malaysians feel the same as I.

All newly released movies have to go through Finas and will be labelled as U, 18, 16 and 12. This is because some movies are not suitable for certain age groups since the slaughtering done in schools may cause psychological trauma to the students who are underaged. My final opinion till parliamentarians decide to debate about it is, our rational thinking Malaysians should keep on discussing the matter. Those who helped me to highlight the issue as such as Papagomo should keep on giving a good momentum to this issue.

Please sign the petition in the link below:
http://www.occupyforanimals.org/malaysia---ritual-slaughter-of-cattle-during-hari-raya-aidiladha-in-schools.html

Div chief wants to take MIC to ROS

A MIC division chief from Penang threatens to lodge a complaint to the Registrar of Societies over alleged irregularities at the divisional polls.

PETALING JAYA: Bukit Gelugor MIC division chief K Loganathan has threatened to report the party to the Registrar of Societies over alleged irregularities in conducting the division elections.

“We intend to do this under the advice of party president (G Palanivel). He told me through an SMS that we should go to the ROS if we are not satisfied with how the division elections process was conducted.

“We take this suggestion as an instruction of the MIC president. We will definitely lodge an official complaint to the ROS soon. There have been irregularities in the division elections and it has not been corrected,” he told FMT when contacted today.

Loganathan claimed that he had written to party secretary general A Sakthivel over discrepancies in the division election process but has yet to receive a response so far.

He said there was a sudden surge in the number of branches in the Bukit Gelugor division prior to the division polls.

He alleged that defunct branches were revived without the knowledge of the division.

Due to this, Loganathan decided to boycott the division election.

“Another reason is that the secretary general did not give proper notice calling for the division annual general meeting. This is a must.

“He only issued one notice on Oct 16, but this was too short a notice as the AGM was to be held the following day. The party constitution states that the notice for AGM and nomination should be issued to the division 14 days from the date of AGM or nominations,” added Loganathan.

He said it was clear that the headquarters was not adhering to regulations in calling for the division elections, and rushing to conduct the polls would only run foul of the MIC constitution.

He also alleged that nine branches in the division have not been served the notice for their respective branch AGMs while two other branches were denied “B” forms by the headquarters, which was a must before any such meeting.

Loganathan said the Bukit Gelugor division would oppose parallel appointment of division office bearers through any illegal electoral process.

“We sent numerous letters to Sakthivel over this matter but he never replied. However, party president advised us to take the dispute to ROS for a resolution after I texted him on the matter,” he added.

Loganathan also urged the party leadership not to conduct any election pending the outcome of ROS scrutiny of the division’s complaints.

CWC to discuss issues

Meanwhile, Tamil dailies today reported that Palanivel has given assurance that all problems and irregularities in the divisional polls would be discussed at the party’s central working committee meeting on Thursday.

He admitted that the headquarters had received a number of complaints on irregularities in divisional election, the Tamil Nesan reported.

“We would take all the complaints into account and discuss it in the CWC meeting,” he said.

He said the leadership will investigate the complaints and action will be taken against anyone who found guilty.

Act against fanaticism and racism, govt told

The government's non-action against groups stirring up fanatical and racist ideologies is dividing the nation, stressed Pusat Komas.

PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to play a more proactive role to curb the increase of racism and fanaticism as witnessed recently, in the country.

Pusat Komas’ human rights programme coordinator Lena Hendry said that the government should not just claim to be moderate and tolerant in the international arena but allow fanaticism and racism to be tolerated for political mileage, in Malaysia.

“Why is there not action taken by the government to put a stop for [to] this?

“The country would not be able to grow and prosper with this attitude by the government which is dividing the nation,” she said.

Lena Hendry made the statement following Ikatan Muslim Malaysia (Isma) deputy president Aminuddin Yahaya’s remark that the Muslims can slaughter cows anywhere they wish to do so since Malay Muslims are the majority – in reply to recent questioning of cows being slaughtered in schools as part of the Aidiladha rituals.

She also cited the case of Malay rights group, Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali who recently called for the banning of the Malay bible, Al-Kitab, after the Appeals Court ruled that the word ‘Allah’ cannot be used by a Catholic weekly, Herald.

However there has been no action from the government against either these groups or persons.

Hendry added that the government’s inaction against groups that promote fanaticism and racism only serves to embarrass Malaysia in the international arena.

“It is not only embarrassing in the eyes of the nation and the rest of the world but highly damaging to our diverse multi ethnic and religious communities,” she said.

She urged the government to be honest when they present their Universal Periodic Review report in Geneva, this Thursday, by addressing this issue.

She called for the government to come clean when making their presentation because Malaysia is also a member of the UN Human Rights Council.

On that note, she also calls for the government to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

'Reschedule teachers briefing on Deepavali eve'

The government has been urged to reschedule its compulsory briefing for teachers invigilating the SPM and STPM examinations, as the briefing currently falls on Deepavali eve.

DAP's national vice-chairperson M Kulasegaran (left) said today that the government was again being insensitive towards the Indian community by holding the briefing on Deepavali eve, Nov 1, which is traditionally a day for family gathering and prayers to ancestors.

He also raised the issue of the ritual slaughtering of cows in the compound of a multiracial national school last week, in conjunction with Aidiladha celebrations.

"In 2011, the prime minister (Najib Abdul Razak) had requested the Parliament speaker cancel the Parliament meeting scheduled on Deepavali eve after I and Pakatan Rakyat MPs made a protest.

"Najib had also announced that the curriculum and exam schedules in Malaysia would be revamped to ensure that it did not clash with Deepavali," Kulasegaran, who is Ipoh Barat MP said in a statement.

"But why is there insensitivity again against the Indian community?" he asked.

Kulasegaran questioned whether this move was because the general election was over and whether the government felt the question of insensitivity "can now be ignored".

"I call on the Education Minister Muhyiddin Yasson to immediately direct that a new date be scheduled," he said.

Stop ethnic and religious fanaticism in Malaysia

COMMENT It is indeed very troubling to note several very upsetting incidents touching on ethnic and religious issues that happened in Malaysia over the past few weeks. The controversial court verdict on the using of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims is one. Another is the slaughtering of cows in public schools.

While we react and jump at these issues, these issues are mere symptoms of the larger issue at stake here which is the systemic politicisation of race and religion for vested interests by certain parties.

There has also been an alarming increase or surge of fanatical groups under the guise of religious fervour insensitively trampling on the religious rights of other minority citizens in the country. Their actions are always insensitive, disrespectful and demeaning to other communities.

It seems like these zealots have forgotten that this nation was founded on tolerance and nationhood that among all citizens of different ethnic and religious beliefs. Malaysia’s Independence was built upon an agreed framework among all its citizens towards the path of nationhood. But sadly after 56 years this daunting task of nation-building and creation of a national identity still remains fraught with all kinds of political, economic and social hurdles.

Malaysia has always been proud of its multicultural society which makes us unique in the eyes of the world and the country’s constitution clearly states in Article 11 that every citizen has the right to profess and practice his/her religion even though Islam remains the official religion of the country. However in reality, this right have been challenged and there has been a steady increase in disrespect and also suppression of religious freedom in the country.

For example, it is highly improper, disrespectful and discriminatory when the Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) deputy President Aminuddin Yahaya arrogantly declared that since Muslims are the majority in this country, they can freely do as they please, including slaughtering cows in schools.

On the other hand, Perkasa’s president, Ibrahim Ali (left in photo), is another example of the 'ugly Malaysian' by demanding that Christians be taught a lesson by the banning of the Malay language Bible.

This kind of statements can only be uttered by a truly narrow minded and arrogant individual who refuses to recognise the universality of a global environment where diversity and differences should be embraced instead of being condemned.

Contrary to these so called defenders of Islam, Islam is in fact a religion of peace, tolerance and moderation, but selfish political hidden agenda and supremacist attitudes have preceded common sense and sensitivity among these overzealous groups in our country today.

Fortunately their delusions are not often shared by many others, although they claim to represent all Muslims in the country. A visit to social media sites would clearly show these groups and their handful of followers seem to be only barking in their own backyards.

Has ‘1Malaysia’ gone out the window?

After a long silence, our prime minister made a statement yesterday that the 10-point agreement with Sabah and Sarawak will be honoured and ‘Allah’ can continue to be used in Malay Bibles including in the peninsula. But till now, he has not addressed or condemned the insensitive speeches that are happening in Malaysia. He continues to remain silent on these unsettling incidents that have seriously fragmented the nation.

What good is the slogan of ‘1Malaysia’ he preaches when the reality actually reflects an entirely different picture of what’s really happening in the nation. It seems to have gone out the window the minute the 13th general election was concluded. What has happened to the promises of equal opportunity for all Malaysians?

It is not enough to merely give beautiful speeches abroad claiming to be a moderate and tolerant government and nation, when back home fanaticism is being allowed and even fanned to protect the government’s status quo and political power. Why has action not been taken by the government to put a stop for this?

It is high time that the government of the day puts a stop to these destructive political games of using religion and racial sentiments to protect their political interests to stay in power. It is not only embarrassing in the eyes of the nation and the rest of the world but highly damaging to our diverse multi ethnic and religious communities.

We also urge the government to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). As it prepares for its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva this Thursday, it cannot continue to give a moderate picture while no action is taken back at home.

It is important that Malaysia start taking its role in the UN Human Rights Council seriously. The country would not be able to grow and prosper with this attitude by the government which is dividing the nation.

---

LENA HENDRY belongs to Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (Komas) and is a member of the secretariat of the ICERD Working Group.

'Man insulted Islam by questioning cow slaughter'

Perkasa has urged the government to censure an overseas caller for insulting Islam in a heated conversation with a local school principal over the slaughter of cows in schools.

The conversation was subsequently posted on YouTube and has gone viral.

According to a Sinar Harian report, Johor Perkasa has made a police report against the man, identified only as 'Saravanan', who had allegedly challenged the principal over the phone, even as the latter defended the right of national schools to educate their Muslim students on the cow sacrifice ritual, an annual Islamic practice.

In the eight-minute conversation, Saravanan is heard asking repeatedly about government rules, and challenging the principal to explain: "Why can't the Chinese also slaughter pigs at the school during festivals?"

Johor Perkasa division vice-chairperson Mohd Ghauth Moh Yusoff is quoted as saying, after he filed a report at the Johor central police station: "This action is not only unruly but can raise the anger of Muslims."

Some parents had complained last week about the the slaughter of cows in front of the children in schools, a practice that is carried out as part of the Aidiladha celebrations. They said it shocked the children.

In the video, the Selangor-based principal told Saravanan that he did not make a unilateral decision on the slaughter of cows in the school compound but had sought a consensus from other teachers, including Indians and Chinese.

Perkasa urged both the Home Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to investigate the matter.

Comments

	Anonymous #84478490 i agree with this guy. the school should not slaughter any animal in school. School is not a slaughter house. if you want perform on somewhere else. is not good.... 22/10/2013 5:17:15pm | Report
	My Opinion You Indian .... serve you right for voting for BN. The Indians, Sabahan, Sarawakians never learn. They are so easiuly gratified by the temporary promise of BN. Wake up. Is time to stop these UMNO Islam once and for all! 22/10/2013 5:05:29pm | Report
	Anak Batak This is very selfish, very "Kurang ajar"!!! What else PERKASA want??? 22/10/2013 5:01:36pm | Report
	hamisu I disagree nothing can be done. This mindset represents giving up. There are times we need to give and take. Note that schools, government, and anything that touches all Malaysians must be separated from religion and religious affairs. This nonsense Perkasa need to take note respect goes both ways. I doubt you will get respect when you keep disrespecting others. 22/10/2013 4:45:26pm | Report
	Mohamad Abdul Malik Personally I do not believed that the call came from overseas. The voice of this 'Saravanan' guy was to clear to have come from an overseas line. Normally a voice calling from overseas would have an echo but in this case there was none. So one can assumed that someone was deliberately out to provoke the muslims. And surely 'Saravanan' would not post a photo of himself with the 'provocation'. It really baffles me. 22/10/2013 4:43:40pm | Report
	Norman Fernandez Out of curiosity, Hari Raya Aidil Adha is a public holiday. So what were the Non-Muslim students doing in school witnessing a Muslim religious ritual. Should the Non-Muslim students be at home. Anyway, observe this problems are never Chinese centric but always involve Indian students. Now, any wonder why the majority of the Chinese students have abandoned national schools who for all intent and purpose are now Malay schools. So, if you are studying in a "Malay" school, then there is nothing much you can do about it. 22/10/2013 4:39:32pm | Report
	anak,bangsa,malaysia Perkasa and MCMC can go f.... each other. There was a public holiday given for the celebration. So why extend the celebration the next day in school where the school is a place for public education not one single religious teaching. 22/10/2013 4:21:36pm | Report
	MockingYou If you want to educate Muslim students in a National School then take them to the nearest Masjid where the ritual is carried. Lame excuse from the HM! 22/10/2013 4:20:33pm | Report
	Fair&Just The ways the minorities are cowed and subjugated by the various govt agencies and institutions, any so-called consensus will carry no weight as the supremacist bigots believe in might is right and majority rules over the minority, then how to use such consensus as a defence. 22/10/2013 4:16:19pm | Report
	thana55 DEI PERKASA, YOU WANT TO SLAUGHTER, DO IT IN YR HSE OR YOUR FATHER'S PROPERTY. NATIONAL SCHOOLS ARE THE PROPERTY OF ALL M'SIANS. NO SLAUGHTER PLEASE. SEPARATELY, IT IS UNHYGENIC AS WELL. PITY YR PARENTS TO HAVE BRED A PEA BRAIN LIKE YOU! 22/10/2013 4:05:22pm | Report
	Dass first catch the PERKOSA Katak 22/10/2013 4:01:44pm | Report
	MCA,MIC,Gerakan,PPP, IPF,MIUP & Hindraf are irrelevant.Should wind up. “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ― Mahatma Gandhi 22/10/2013 3:57:27pm | Report
	MCA,MIC,Gerakan,PPP, IPF,MIUP & Hindraf are irrelevant.Should wind up. A school is not a slaughter house. Where is Hindraf and Malaysia Hindu Sangam and Waythamoorthy and MCA and Gerakan and PPP ? MIC is irrelevant. 22/10/2013 3:54:02pm | Report
	Sad Malaysian Cannot abuse public amenities to do religious rituals, whether it's legal or pagan. 22/10/2013 3:45:05pm | Report
	bolygal50 Hi Perkasa chief IA schools are educational institutions and not slaughter house for cows. Please put this in your cow head. If you allow cows to be slaughtered at schools then other communities will do the same for their festival. 22/10/2013 3:18:56pm | Report
	Raja Chulan I find the crude and barbaric manner of slaughtering of animals and the cruelty inflicted upon them in the name of religious rituals are in extremely bad taste and uncivilised indeed. My religion (I believe all other religion too) teaches us not to harm anyone including animals and other living things. Love and compassion are core values in any religion. I sincerely hope that my school going sons do not get to see this acts that are a bad influence. It is plainly disgusting to see what (such as this) is going on in our government schools nowadays. 22/10/2013 2:42:55pm | Report
	pputeh This is the height of not caring for others. We live in a multiracial country. It cannot be a ONE way traffic. If the muslims need to carry out religious activities like salughtering they need to be more caring & perform it at mosques or such other places where only muslims congregate. It is not only against some other relgious beliefs & its also inhuman to slaughter animals in school. compounds. 22/10/2013 2:26:15pm | Report
	Kawak Ibrahim Ali looks like and sounds like he is grossly religious and protector of Islamic faith. He has big religious ego. Is hatred, anger, revenge and severe clinging to beliefs and concepts is his way of becoming spiritually good. May be he should learn what the Sufi masters had to say about love and compassion. 22/10/2013 2:25:39pm | Report
	Dumbo Malaysia is a multiracial and multicultural country with people of different races. So why are the Muslims behaving even in schools that they are so ignorant of the taboos and sensitivities of the Hindus as well as the Buddhists. Is the slaughtering of cows a part of the school curriculum of national schools. Time for the Malays and Muslims to grow up and not behave like immature human beings. 22/10/2013 2:17:35pm | Report
	Borealis Why are the malays behaving like uncivilised people? Like to eat at toilet, schools convert to slaughtered house and Arab language belongs to them , pray 5 times but steal rakyat's money 10 times, leaders taking away rakyat wife's, low cast from Kerala mamaks become ketuanan Melayu, half boiled eggs become teacher's. 22/10/2013 2:11:25pm | Report
	Siegfried I heard this Saravanan's phone coversation on You Tube and opines that the School's HM was very calm and collected whilst responding to his questions and comments. Sara could have been more civilized in his choice of words. Staying overseas do not represent his intellectual capacity to converse intelligently though. Sometimes, he did sound like a prick! Kudos to the HM for remaining calm throughout the phone conversation. Wassalam 22/10/2013 2:00:36pm | Report
	Call me Jibby Muslim in Malaysia is extraordinary. They not just own the copyright of the word "A***h", for some unexplainable excuse, they appeared to be emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually weak too! While someone claimed they are holier and more Islamic than the Arabs and Indonesian. Discovery Channel and National Geographic should do some coverage on this matter. 22/10/2013 1:52:08pm | Report
	Kamal19 What is wrong with his question??? 22/10/2013 1:43:07pm | Report
	Oriole Is Perkasa running national schools in this country? If so, the govt needs to clarify this so that people can make their own conclusions abt the suitability of national schools for their children. As for slaughtering cows, pigs or sheep, pls use modern 21st century spaces that are efficient and hygienic. Stop traumatising children in schools, unlike you're aiming to nurture brutish human beings. Or is that part of the new education blueprint, Mary Yap? 22/10/2013 1:29:19pm | Report
	rahmanwang For Muslim it's ok to slaughter cows , but to a Hindu, cows are considered sacred. So we must respect others. 22/10/2013 1:29:01pm | Report
	Malaya What about Ali katak calling for the burning of Christian Bible? Which is worse? Since we are a multi racial society, we should respect each other faiths & not to insult. But personally, the killing of animal should NOT be done in school. Have some common sense & NOT too fanatic. Home Ministry MUST come out with some program to re educate the Malaysian public on this area. We are sick of the squabbling every days. 22/10/2013 1:24:09pm | Report
	BTN Perkasa, dont because of your ignorant make the Malay race a laughing stock in the world community. You guys is projecting the race as ignorant and unreasonable which is not the true reflection of the race. Dont forget all of us stay here in Malaysia and any attempt to discredit our Malay brothers is an insult to us as well as we are all Malaysian. 22/10/2013 1:20:00pm | Report

Ban animal slaughtering in schools

National schools with multiracial children in Malaysia slaughtering animals in the school .

Such activities are not under the provision of Malaysian education system or it is part of the educational co-curriculum. International animal lover society should urge Malaysian parliamentarians to debate on this matter. It is a serious issue which doesn’t align with education. The Prime Minister and the Ministry of Education needs to take stern action against schools which slaughter cows.

Slaughtering animals in school is not hygienic. It is also not good for young kids to see the animals suffering. There are Indians students who studying who considering cow as one of the seven mothers on the earth. The school, education ministry and health ministry should understand that it is improper to do in a school where other races are studying. The whole scenario is unconstitutional.

Please sign the petition below and share with your friends
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/437/106/364/

Menteri: Hukuman penjara kerana kes kibar Sang Saka

Azalina berang dengan cadangan pindaan Kanun Keseksaan

Child marriage: Minor girl ‘sold’ to suitor

Her uncles reportedly requested Zardari to delay the Rukhsati due to Wadhai’s age but were ignored. DESIGN: MUHAMMAD SUHAIB 

SOBHO DERO: A nine year old girl, W*, was married to 35-year old Zahid Zardari on Thursday, after the groom reportedly paid Rs1.5 million to her family.

W* is a resident of the Kamal Lashari village. Her uncles reportedly requested Zardari to delay the Rukhsati due to Wadhai’s age but were ignored.

The police was informed about the issue but no action was taken due to the groom’s influential status.

When ASI Ghulam Akbar Khaskheli and SHO Fateh Muhammad Awan reached the wedding, they were confronted by Zardari’s men, forcing them to turn back.

Zardari, who lives in district Benazirabad, was accompanied by armed men and a Nikahkhwan (vows solemniser) for the ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2013.

Turkey: first 'helal' virtual sex shop is online

 

Turkey: first 'helal' virtual sex shop went live today

(ANSAmed) - ANKARA - Turkey under Islamic nationalist Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom the opposition has long accused of seeking to replace the secular republic with an Islamic one, now has an online helal sex shop, meaning in line with Muslim law. It went live on Monday, local media reported.

Against a background of wide purple and white stripes, its unerotic cover page features a silhouette of a man in traditional garb, seated on the ground in a meditative stance.

Underneath him, a veiled woman in profile bends her head.

Between the two, black and pink text informs visitors that this sex shop is halal, or permissible under Islamic religious law - as can be surmised from its URL: www.helalsexshop.com. In the men's section, the site offers condoms, pills, perfumes, sprays, and ''delaying'' vaporizers. Women can browse through orgasm-facilitating creams and aphrodisiac massage oils.

Each product can be purchased in Turkish liras, euros, or US dollars, and comes with a brief text on sexuality according to Islam.

Unlike what ''prejudice'' would have us believe, ''Islam encourages sexuality under certain conditions'', the site says. The site is a purely commercial venture and does not purport to have moral or religious weight. ''It's not about educating Turks about sexuality'', said left-liberal Turkish daily Radikal. Therefore, it presumably won't rock the boat as much as American Orthodox rabbi Shmuel Boteach did with his book 'Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy'. Published in 1999, it caused an uproar in Israel, and reportedly was one of the reasons he was removed from his north London synagogue.

Penal Code amendment planned for greater secrecy

A Bill to be presented in Parliament this week will push Malaysia into the dark ages of a totalitarian state as it threatens to imprison government officers who disclose any kind of information to the public, an opposition MP said today.

The Bill aims to include a new, draconian Section 203A to the Penal Code, which PKR vice-president N Surendran said would make the Penal Code worse than the already stringent 1972 Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Urging the government to immediately drop the proposed amendment, Surendran said, "This provision is unprecedented in any modern democracy; and is more suited to one-party states such as North Korea.

"With this provision, the BN is dragging Malaysia further into the dark ages. Why does the BN government need such an stifling and undemocratic law? What do they want to hide from the public?"

Under the OSA, only materials certified by the minister or his appointee can be classified as top secret or restricted. But under the new Section 203A of the Penal Code, everything becomes secret, Surendran, who is the MP for Padang Serai, added in a statement.

He warned that democracy, good governance and transparency in Malaysia would suffer a severe setback if Parliament passes the amendment.

"This provision is clearly intended to prevent the public from obtaining information that can expose corruption, financial scandals and mismanagement by the BN government," he said.

PKR has for long called for a more open government and for the enacting of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Two opposition run states, Selangor and Penang, have recently passed their FOI enactments, which allows the public to request for any state level non-sensitive information that is not subject to the federal OSA restrictions.

'Umno gov't not always acting in Islam's interests'

INTERVIEW While the government led by Umno seems to be acting in the best interests of Islam as can be seen with the case of The Herald, other past cases prove otherwise.

This scenario was pointed out by constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari, who described all that changed in 2008 when the BN and Umno lost its two-thirds majority.

“The Umno government is acting like a born-again Muslim in appealing the (KL) High Court decision on The Herald, whereas it could not care less about the right of Muslims to practise their religion,” he said.

Abdul Aziz, a former law lecturer who is now attached to Universiti Selangor, cited the Meor Atiqulrahman Ishak and two others case against the Education Ministry, where the boys were humiliated and expelled from SK Serting, Negri Sembilan in 1997 for wearing the serban.

As with the home minister’s action against The Herald, these pupils were expelled on the grounds that the district education department said they did not follow regulations “demi kepentingan dan kesejahteraan warga sekolah dan masyarakat sekitar” (in the interests and well-being of the school and community).

The boys’ father, Syed Ahmad Johari Syed Mohd, challenged the district education department’s order by way of judicial review at the Seremban High Court and won, with the court declaring the regulation as unconstitutional.

Abdul Aziz said that, strangely, the government in 2000 appealed the decision and as a result the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision.

“This decision was affirmed by the Federal Court at the expense of the students’ education just because they wear the serban,” he said.

Former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad, who was leading the three-member panel, ruled that the serban is not an integral part of Islam.

Not only minority but majority rights at stake

Abdul Aziz said people should see that curbs on religious freedom in Malaysia endanger the minority, and that the majority itself is not entirely safe.

Pointing to the Shiite Muslims and the adverse publicity they faced, Abdul Aziz said the problem is that sometimes the issue has not been discussed properly.

This has been made worse with certain mufti or former mufti coming up with fatwa (edicts) favouring certain interpretations.
For instance, it has been said that Muslims who question the Court of Appeal ruling on the 'Allah' case, can be deemed infidels or apostates.

“The issue like the Shiites is being dealt with in sermons during Friday prayers. (With the decision involving The Herald case) not only the minority but even the majority, including Shiite Muslims and Wahhabi, are under threat in Malaysia,” he said.

Abdul Aziz said it looks like the courts seem to favour the mainstream, whenever the ruling public order is said to be threatened.

“However, who is to determine public order and the premise of the country’s security? The court, like in most cases, has gone on like the government where the interpretation is done at face value.
"It is as if the government says it cannot be done as it is prejudicial to security. The court is unwilling to go beyond that.
“This renders the guarantees under the constitution as meaningless. If you have this provision (prejudicial to public order) to neutralise everything, there is no point of having it in the first place."
The Shiite community here has also lodged a complaint with the United Nations over alleged persecution.

Abdul Aziz said the courts do not see the potential in the prospect of protecting human rights, as with the Meor Atiqulrahman case.
'Gov't does not trust the people'
When it was pointed out that the government had come-up with the 10-point solution on April 11, 2011 to resolve the ‘Allah’ row, he questioned which promises the government has kept.
'“In the first place, I do not think the (home minister’s decision to ban) should have happened. When the government lost, they appealed.
"If there is any honour in this government in holding to its promise (on the 10-point solution), this would not have happened.

“In the first place they should not have appealed and created barriers for The Herald as it has created many other problems."
In the first part of the interview, Abdul Aziz had said that Islam in Malaysia is not under siege and that the judgment, instead of solving problems, has created a new one.

Prior to 2008, Abdul Aziz said the government did not care for such cases or matters affecting Islam.

“However, right now it seems Umno is acting very right wing like the Republicans. This shows that Umno/BN does not have a political philosophy,” he said, adding that there has been manipulation of selected freedoms.

To resolve the problem, Abdul Aziz said the key is to give wide opportunities for people to speak up.
In the end, those victorious will be those who have the knowledge, wisdom and who are well-informed and not extremists like Perkasa, he said.
While he believes in the wisdom of the people, he noted that the government does not trust the public because it thinks "we are not rational enough".

“The Malays have opened up after seeing the United Arab Emirates editorial. Many did not see this previously. I am inclined to say Malays now are open-minded,” he said.

Playing God, the Umno way?

MP SPEAKS Malaysia seems to have developed a mania for negative publicity.
The latest is of course the Oct 14 Court of Appeal ruling banning non-Muslims from using the word ‘Allah’.
Or that’s what I understood until some cabinet ministers mouthed confusing statements, saying the ban is only binding on non-Muslims in the peninsula.
Then others joined the chorus by adding it was only meant for the Malay edition of Catholic publication The Herald.
It’s certainly beyond me that the government thinks it has the right to override the decision.
It also leaves me trying to make sense of the government’s frantic bid to salvage what’s left of the country’s image as The Herald is actually meant for Sabah and Sarawak where most of the Catholics speak and read only Malay.
All this, coupled with the likes of Ibrahim Ali’s misdirected fury, has had enough flavour to float the first few pages and editorials of foreign newspapers and international TV stations.
An editorial in The National, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, expressed surprise with judgment and called the ruling “wrong”.
‘The UAE is rightly proud of its society that allows people from all over the world to practise their faiths openly and without discrimination. And says that if one walks into any church in the Middle East on a Sunday, they are bound to hear the word ‘Allah’ in the sermons,’ it reads.
An opinion piece in Gulf News states that the Malaysian court ruling ignores the fact that Jewish, Christian and Muslim Arabs use the term to refer to God.
A newspaper in Muslim-majority Pakistan questioned a Muslim's liberty to copyright the name of ‘Allah’.
The facts are simple - Allah is an Arabic loan-word, it predates Islam and has been used for centuries by Christians and Jews. It continues to be used by Christians and Jews in every other part of the world, but is seen as a thorny issue only in Malaysia.
In the ruling, one can only deduce that the judges were rather concerned about possible conversions of Muslims to Christianity, if non-Muslims are allowed to use the word ‘Allah’.
"The use of the word ‘Allah’ is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity," Justice Mohamed Apandi Ali said in his written judgment.
" ... It is my judgment that the possible and most probable threat to Islam, in the context of this country, is the propagation of other religions to the followers of Islam."
Silent Najib
This ruling single-handedly shames my Muslim sisters and brothers as it questions their commitment to their faith.
It has further strained ties among Malaysians, questioned minority rights and split Muslims down the middle, due to conflicting opinions. And if the ruling is not binding on those in Sabah and Sarawak, then it hints that Muslims in the two states have stronger faith.
Therefore, one can conclude that the ruling is a politically-motivated judgment. It is a thinly veiled attempt at the play of religion on politics and subscribes to the emerging pattern in Malaysia, where religion is used to threaten Muslims into remaining Umno's power base.
The judgment robs non-Muslims and particularly Christians of their inherent right to practise their religion without interference by the state.
Now, we have Ibrahim, Perkasa’s chief and self-proclaimed saviour of Malay Muslims, demanding that the government teaches the “ungrateful Christians” a lesson for their “ingratitude” by banning the Malay-language Bible, the AlKitab.
Ibrahim also mocked Christianity as “a religion without a name of God”. He is yet to be hauled up for sedition.
Jakim, the morality police, has urged Muslims to preach and spread their teachings in order to prevent more groups promoting human rights from spreading their ideology, which they deem contradicts Islamic teachings.
And the Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia has been warning bmiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak not to be taken in by Christian evangalists.
Fanning religious and racial sentiments will cause chaos and unrest. There is a strong basis to this observation.
The only person who does not seem to be observing what is happening in the country is Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Mr Prime Minister, don't you think it's about time you gave the rakyat your two cents worth on the ‘Allah’ issue?

---

CHARLES SANTIAGO is the DAP’s member of parliament for Klang.

Bahasa Malaysia dan SJKC

Sejak diasaskan pada Ogos 1999, Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan) turut terlibat dalam

program galakan membaca dan memupuk minat terhadap Bahasa Malaysia di Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) dan Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC).

Hasil pengalaman, saya berani mengatakan bahawa SJKT dan SJKC turut menunjukkan minat yang mendalam terhadap usaha meningkatkan penguasaan Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa

Guru Besar SJKC Serdang Baru (1), Ng Boon Chuan.Inggeris dalam kalangan murid.

Usaha ini bukan semata-mata bagi menjamin pencapaian cemerlang daripada segi akademik. Sebaliknya bagi memastikan murid memiliki minat dan kecintaan terhadap bahasa kebangsaan.

Pada 14 Oktober 2013, saya diundang ke SJKC Serdang Baru (1), Seri Kembangan untuk mengendalikan program khas bersama murid Tahun 5 dan 6.

Walaupun ini merupakan kali pertama program Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia (MBM) dilaksanakan di sekolah itu, sejak bertahun-tahun lamanya, Panitia Bahasa Malaysia memang sentiasa menjalankan pelbagai aktiviti serupa atas inisiatif sendiri.

"Program MBM khas dilaksanakan seperti disarankan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan bagi meningkatkan minat murid terhadap Bahasa Malaysia. Maka kami dengan gembira mengadakan program tambahan ini," kata Guru Besar, Ng Boon Chuan.

Sejak dahulu, Minggu Bahasa Malaysia dan English Week diadakan sebagai acara tahunan di sekolah ini. Antara pengisiannya adalah pertandingan syarahan dan bercerita. Program galakan membaca juga sering diadakan sempena Hari Buku Sedunia (23 April).

Bagi program pada kali ini, pihak sekolah memasukkan pula sesi membaca buku cerita dengan kerjasama Kavyan. Ternyata penambahbaikan ini mendapat sambutan yang amat menggalakkan daripada murid.

Sepanjang aktiviti selama hampir tiga jam, murid menunjukkan minat yang amat mendalam. Ternyata mereka memiliki penguasaan Bahasa Malaysia yang memuaskan. Apa yang lebih penting, mereka berminat untuk menguasai dan menggunakan bahasa ini.

Cintai bahasa bukan hanya untuk lulus peperiksaan

Terdapat 2,545 murid dan 122 guru di SJKC Serdang Baru (1). Hampir 85% murid Cina; sekitar 80 murid Melayu dan 50 murid India. Demikian data yang diberikan oleh Ng sambil kami bersarapan di kantin sekolah.

"Hakikat yang perlu diakui adalah bahawa sekiranya tidak ada galakan menerusi pelbagai aktiviti di sekolah, murid kurang terlibat dalam program berkaitan Bahasa Malaysia.

"Daripada pengalaman saya sendiri, apabila sekolah dan guru mengambil inisiatif, maka murid mula menunjukkan minat untuk mengambil bahagian," katanya.

Mulai tahun depan, jumlah masa bagi mata pelajaran Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris di SJKC dan SJKT akan ditambah. Sesungguhnya penambahan masa ini merupakan antara faktor yang boleh membantu mencapai objektif yang diharapkan.

"Bagaimanapun, apa yang saya dan pihak SJKC lain harapkan adalah supaya cara pengajaran dan pembelajaran (P&P) Bahasa Malaysia dijadikan lebih menarik dan ada penambahbaikan.

"Antara faktor penting adalah kemampuan guru, kesesuaian buku teks dan minat murid sendiri. Sekiranya masa tambahan itu hanya diisikan dengan cara pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang sama, saya bimbang objektif tidak akan tercapai," kata Ng.

Faktor paling penting dalam meningkatkan prestasi Bahasa Malaysia dalam kalangan murid adalah dengan memupuk minat dan kecintaan mereka terhadap bahasa itu. Perkara inilah yang dititikberatkan oleh Ng dalam semua aktiviti bahasa yang dirancang dan dijalankan sejak beberapa tahun lalu.

Guru pula diberikan latihan khas menerusi program latihan dalam perkhidmatan. Sesi ceramah, bengkel dan motivasi juga diadakan khas bagi semua guru di sekolah berkenaan supaya mereka meminati Bahasa Malaysia dan suka membaca buku.

"Ini penting kerana guru secara langsung dan tidak langsung menjadi sumber inspirasi dan idola kepada murid dalam dan di luar bilik darjah," kata guru besar itu dengan penuh semangat.

Bahasa Malaysia adalah bahasa kita semuaGuru menjadi sumber inspirasi dan idola murid.

Menurut Ng, buku fiksyen dan non-fiskyen Bahasa Malaysia disediakan dalam jumlah yang memadai di perpustakaan sekolah. Guru pusat sumber pula sedang dalam proses membuat senarai "100 buku Bahasa Malaysia yang perlu dibaca" sebagai panduan dan rujukan murid.

Majoriti murid di SJKC Serdang Baru (1) adalah kaum Cina. Kawasan di sekitar sekolah juga dipenuhi masyarakat Cina. Malah, rata-rata keluarga murid Cina ini menggunakan Bahasa Cina (pelbagai dialek) di rumah.

Realiti ini membuatkan cabaran lebih besar terpaksa dihadapi oleh Ng dan guru dalam usaha menggalakkan penguasaan dan penggunaan Bahasa Malaysia dalam kalangan murid.

Ng berkata, satu cara yang memang boleh memberikan kesan nyata adalah dengan menggalakkanmurid membaca buku cerita. Ke arah itu, beliau memastikan perpustakaan sekolah mempunyai jumlah buku bermutu yang mencukupi.

"Persekitaran kehidupan harian murid ini memang menyebabkan mereka kekurangan ruang dan peluang bertutur menggunakan Bahasa Malaysia. Menyedari hakikat ini, kami berusaha mewujudkan persekitaran dan suasana yang kondusif di mana timbul keperluan, ruang dan peluang untuk murid menggunakan bahasa kebangsaan.

"Di kantin sekolah misalnya terdapat gerai makanan yang diusahakan pelbagai kaum. Maka, murid akan menggunakan Bahasa Malaysia apabila berurusan dengan pengusaha gerai ini pada setiap hari," kata Ng.

Saya mengenali guru besar ini sejak Julai 2008 iaitu sejak kami diperkenalkan oleh Koh Yok Hwa, pengarah urusan Gemilang Publishing Sdn Bhd. Kedua-dua mereka memang amat mencintai Bahasa Malaysia.

Saya sering diundang ke SJKC Serdang Baru (1) untuk mengendalikan aktiviti bahasa dan sastera serta program galakan membaca bagi murid dan para guru. Maka, saya perhatikan sendiri kesungguhan Ng memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia jauh sebelum program MBM diperkenalkan oleh kementerian.

"Kita sebagai warganegara Malaysia memang wajib mempelajari Bahasa Malaysia. Bahasa Malaysia adalah bahasa kita semua. Kalau warganegara sendiri tidak menguasai dan menghormati bahasa kebangsaan, macam mana kita mahu mengharapkan warga asing menghormati kita," katanya.

SJKC, SJKT bukan penghalang perpaduan kaum

Program membaca mendapat sambutan murid.
Ng mengakui bahawa penguasaan Bahasa Malaysia di SJKC dan SJKT kurang memuaskan. Bagaimanapun, beliau menegaskan bahawa mana-mana pihak tidak sepatutnya menggunakan alasan itu untuk melakukan serangan atau mengatakan SJKC dan SJKT sudah gagal.

Sebaliknya semua pihak perlu bekerjasama ke arah meningkatkan usaha serta mencari teknik yang sesuai untuk menambah minat murid-murid terhadap Bahasa Malaysia; sama ada di SK, SJKC atau SJKT.

Sesungguhnya, memang mudah untuk menyalahkan pihak lain tetapi apa yang lebih penting adalah kesanggupan para pengkritik itu sendiri tampil memberikan sumbangan idea, masa dan tenaga bagi mengatasi masalah yang diketengahkan itu.

Ng yang juga penolong setiausaha Gabungan Guru Sekolah Cina Malaysia, berkata pihaknya sudah, sedang dan akan terus-menerus menyebarkan kepentingan MBM kepada guru SJKC di seluruh negara.

"Saya juga terlibat secara langsung dalam mesyuarat meja bulat MBM di Kementerian Pendidikan. Maka saya pasti akan bekerjasama penuh dengan kementerian dalam usaha murni meningkatkan penguasaan Bahasa Malaysia dalam kalangan murid, khususnya di SJKC," katanya.

Bercakap mengenai SJKC dan SJKT, memang ada pandangan yang mengatakan bahawa kewujudan sekolah vernakular menghalang usaha memupuk perpaduan antara kaum. Ada puak yang mendesak supaya SJKC dan SJKT dihapuskan.

"Sebenarnya, pandangan seperti itu amat sempit dan sengaja mencari alasan. Di sekolah saya misalnya ada sekitar 80 murid Melayu dan 50 murid India. Kantin pula diusahakan orang Melayu, Cina dan India.

Memanfaatkan komik di sekolah

Saya amat bersetuju dengan hujah Ng bahawa apa yang penting adalah usaha mewujudkan suasana muhibah di semua sekolah; sama ada SK, SJKC atau SJKT. Di SK juga ada murid pelbagai kaum dan Bahasa Malaysia menjadi bahasa pengantar. Namun, masih timbul beberapa insiden yang bertentangan dengan usaha memupuk perpaduan.

"Bagi saya, sama ada di SK, SJKC atau SJKT, kita perlu sama-sama memikul tanggungjawab Komik pendidikan akan digunakan untuk memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia.memupuk perpaduan dalam kalangan murid. Soal bahasa ibunda dan bahasa pengantar tidak harus dijadikan alasan untuk membuat kritikan yang tidak berasas.

"Sepanjang pengalaman saya berkhidmat sebagai guru selama 32 tahun, memang tidak ada halangan dan sekatan bagi SJKC dan SJKT memainkan peranan penting ke arah memupuk perpaduan kaum serta bersama-sama meningkatkan perasaan cinta terhadap Bahasa Malaysia," katanya dengan penuh yakin.

Bercakap tentang usaha memupuk minat terhadap bahasa, hakikat yang diketahui ramai adalah bahawa murid SJKC amat suka membaca buku komik. Mereka bermula dengan komik Bahasa Cina sejak tahu membaca.

Ng merasakan bahawa minat membaca komik sebenarnya boleh dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya bagi menarik minat murid terhadap Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris.

Malah, beliau akan bekerjasama dengan Gemilang Publishing Sdn Bhd yang menterjemahkan komik pendidikan dari Korea Selatan dan Thailand. Percubaan akan dilakukan dengan menggunakan komik Bahasa Malaysia selama tiga bulan di beberapa kelas di SJKC Serdang Baru (1).

"Saya sudah meneliti naskhah contoh yang diberikan kepada saya. Kandungan buku komik pendidikan ini amat bermutu dan menggunakan Bahasa Malaysia yang sesuai untuk kegunaan di sekolah.

"Maka saya yakin bahawa penggunaan buku komik pendidikan ini akan turut menjayakan program MBM seperti diharapkan oleh kementerian," katanya.

Sementara pelbagai pihak masih sekadar menunggu arahan dan cadangan daripada pihak atasan, usaha guru besar seperti Ng yang berdedikasi dan mencintai Bahasa Malaysia pasti akan memberikan sumbangan besar kepada sekolah, kementerian dan negara. – 21 Oktober, 2013.

* Maklumat berkaitan aktiviti Kavyan boleh dirujuk di www.kavyan.blogspot.com.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

Abim pandang berat polemik video perbualan penyembelihan lembu korban di sekolah - Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz

Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) memandang berat penyebaran video rakaman perbualan seorang penganut Hindu dengan guru besar sebuah sekolah (mengenai penyembelihan lembu korban di sekolah) yang heboh diperkatakan semenjak kebelakangan ini.

ABIM menilai penyebaran video tersebut sebagai satu usaha yang boleh menimbulkan ketegangan serta merangsang polemik agama serta perkauman yang tidak diingini.

Justeru, ABIM berpandangan ia sebagai percubaan untuk memburukkan hubungan antara agama di Malaysia. Selain dari itu, ia juga mencemar institusi pendidikan yakni sekolah yang seharusnya dihormati.

Sekolah sebagai sebuah institusi pendidikan mempunyai kedudukan yang tinggi dalam masyarakat dan perlu diberi dokongan sepenuhnya.

Sekiranya berlaku perkara yang tidak wajar, teguran secara terhormat perlu diberikan bukan dengan biadab serta menggunakan saluran media tidak rasmi.

Semangat berkorban adalah semangat yang mulia di sisi agama Islam. Pengorbanan yang digambarkan dalam kisah Nabi Ibrahim dan Nabi Ismail adalah pengorbanan bagi menegakkan ketaatan berasaskan kebenaran.

Ia tiada kena mengena dengan apa-apa tujuan untuk menghina mana-mana agama.

Seharusnya seluruh masyarakat menghayati kisah ini dan diterjemahkan menerusi semangat perpaduan yang juga turut menuntut pengorbanan.

Bagi memastikan semua agama dan bangsa dapat berkongsi negara Malaysia ini maka pengorbanan yang berteraskan semangat perlembagaan mesti dihayati.

Bagi merealisasikan hasrat ini, sekolah adalah tempat yang terbaik. Sekolah perlu untuk memahamkan pelajar secara langsung menerusi aktiviti di dalam kelas mahupun di luar kelas semangat perlembagaan ini.

Setiap pelajar mesti menerima reality perlembagaan seperti yang telah termaktub sejak sekian lama.

ABIM yakin dengan kemesraan dan keramahan yang wujud dalam masyarakat, anasir penggugat perpaduan dapat diketepikan.

Kepelbagaian dan kerencaman agama, bangsa, dan budaya akan dapat disatukan dalam bingkai kesatuan sekiranya semua pihak memainkan peranan masing-masing. – 21 Oktober, 2013.

* Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz merupakan Setiausaha Agung Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

Zahid: Allah banned for Herald, not al-Kitab

The Home Minister says that those not satisfied with the Court of Appeal's decision should take it up with the Federal Court.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Court of Appeal decision on the use of ‘Allah’ is confined to the Christian weekly, The Herald, and not the Malay bible, said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“In the ruling by the court, it was on the usage of the word in the Herald but in the Malay Bible, the word Allah can still be used. The Home Ministry’s appeal is specifically targeted at the Herald,” he said, when met at Parliament today.

Last Monday, the Court of Appeal made the decision in favour of the government to bar The Herald from referring to God as ‘Allah’ in its Malay edition.

The decision to bar the weekly from using the holy name was made unanimously by judges Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Mohamed Apandi Ali and Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim.

Yesterday, Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said the Home Ministry has the discretion to ban the use of certain words in the interest of national security.

However, the decision stemmed confusion on whether it was only confined to The Herald or for all other publications.

On why the government decided to appeal against the High Court ruling which allowed the weekly to use the word, Zahid said it was done to protect the sensitivity of people of certain faith.

“We do not ban any development and the practice of other religions but they have to know that the court’s decision should be respected.

“If they are not satisfied with the decision, bring it up to the Federal Court,” he said.

Sabah still under threat


Meanwhile, Zahid said that the death of self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III did not mean Sabah was no longer under threat.

“There are seven people who think they have the right to take over the Sulu Sultanate. The police and the army will monitor the matter closely.

“This is because we fear that there were hidden hands behind Jamalul’s attack on Sabah,” said the Bagan Datoh MP.

Asked on who were the seven leaders vying for Jamalul’s throne, Zahid said, “I can’t name them individually but we have intelligence that the individuals have their own groups.”

Jamalul passed away yesterday due to multiple organ failure in a Manila hospital.

Earlier in February, he launched an unsuccessful attempt to take Sabah; when his 100 armed men were killed by Malaysian security personnel.

Rights of faithful protected, says UN

UN dismisses a lawyer's claims that UDHR is against the faithful.

PETALING JAYA: The United Nations (UN) refuted allegations that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) denied the people from practising their faith.

“The values enshrined in the UDHR are universal values that are at the core of all faiths which include respect for the dignity of a person.

“The UDHR recognises the freedom of people to practise their faith as Article 18 states that everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

‘This right shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his [her] choice,” said the UN’s coordination specialist Juanita Joseph in an e-mail to FMT in response to claims by lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla that the UDHR did not champion the rights of the faithful.

“The UDHR is not universal because it does not cater for those who have faith in faith as the rights are secular based,” he said.

He said this in relations to attempts by Coalition of Malaysian Non-Government Organisations (Comango) to raise issues relating to freedom and human rights in Malaysia.

The group of 54 NGOs is expected to hand over its report on the situation of human rights at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Thursday.

The government is worried in the wake of the “Allah” verdict at the Court of Appeal that barred Catholic weekly The Herald from using “Allah” in their Bahasa Malaysia version.

According to the human rights committee on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), in September 1993: “The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (which includes the freedom to hold beliefs) in article 18 (1) is far-reaching and profound encompassing freedom of thoughts on all matters, personal conviction and the commitment to religion or belief, whether manifested individually or in community with others.”

The article protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs and the right not to profess any religion or belief.

It does not limit its application to traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with institutional characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions.

The article also does not provide limitations on freedom of thought, conscience and adoption of a belief according to individual choice.

Most importantly, it is also freedom to manifest religion or belief may be exercised “either individually or in community with others and in public or private.”

Restriction to this freedom is provided for under Article 18(3) on the grounds of protecting public safety and order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

‘Insensitive to hold briefing on Deepavali eve’

An assemblyman slams the Education Ministry for being insensitive to Indian teachers by holding a compulsory briefing for the SPM and STPM examinations a day before Deepavali.

GEORGE TOWN: A DAP state representative here has called on the Education Ministry to cancel its compulsory briefing for teachers invigilating in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examinations on Nov 1.

Seri Delima assemblyman RSN Rayer slammed the ministry for being insensitive to Indian teachers who would be celebrating Deepavali the next day.

He demanded that the ministry change the briefing to another date if the Barisan Nasional federal government was serious about upholding its “1Malaysia” spirit and not just using it as a political slogan.

“The ministry’s scheduled compulsory briefing has caused the teachers celebrating Deepavali much anxiety and anguish.

“The DAP called on the Education Ministry to immediately cancel and re-schedule the briefing to another date,” said Rayer in a statement today.

He also called on the Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan to speak up on the matter and compel the ministry re-schedule the briefing.

He said if the ministry failed to respond positively, it would only prove that the federal government was being insensitive to the Hindus in this country.

“It also proves that Kamalanathan and his party, the MIC, could not do anything about it,” said Rayer.

Who killed the pygmy elephants?

While no news are forthcoming from the Sabah government, there are rumours of two more dead elephants.

KOTA KINABALU: It has been 10 months since the mass death of 14 pygmy elephants from poisoning and environmentalists here are puzzled as to why there’s been no effort to find the culprits.

Postmortems on the death discovered that the elephants had died as a result of toxicity in the food they ate.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Masidi Manjun when disclosing the findings of the deaths in June this year vowed to find and bring the culprits to justice following a public outcry at the incident.

But no news has been forthcoming.

What has emerged are rumours of two more dead elephants.

A source told FMT that the deaths, which were unreported by the media, brought the total to 16 dead elephants in the proximity of Gunung Rara Forest Reserved.

Environmentalists, who work closely with the wildlife, expressed disappointment over the way the state government was investigating the case.

“It’s all very secretive and they are keeping information from the public,” the source said.

What is known is that a task force was set up by Sabah Wildlife Department jointly with Forestry Department, Yayasan Sabah, World Wildlife Fund and the police.

The task force however is still no where near to finding the culprits. No agency within the task force has given an update on the investigation. It’s been 10 months.

No updates

The environmentalist also questioned why there was no independent investigation over this incident.

“What is the reason for the no update and slow development in the investigation?” asked the source.

Speculations are rife that the secrecy and lack of updates is due to ‘connections’ a specific palm oil company in the area had with the powers-that-be. The elephants are considered as pests by the company.

The area known as FMU (Forest Management Unit) is commercial 2nd class Forest Reserved located in Kalabakan District.

It took the Sabah government six months and three different labs to announce that the pgymy elephants were poisoned.

Toxicology analysis by the Queensland Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry in Australia discovered from the liver samples of two elephants and a sample of white powder at a location where another elephant was found dead, showed a high level of heavy metal such as arsenic, cadmium, iron and chromium.

Findings by pathologists from the veterinary faculty at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Thailand suggested that caustic or toxic elements had damaged the elephants’ digestive system.

Analysis by the chemistry department of Malaysia and Ramathibodi Poison Centre, Thailand, on the elephants’ kidneys, spleen and lymphoid tissues supported the findings although they could not trace the presence of toxic elements.

Despite all these findings there’s been no follow-up, at least not to public knowledge.

In latest law tweak, jail time for officers who expose government secrets

(MM) - In yet another move likely to rile civil rights activists and lawmakers here, Putrajaya is expected to table an amendment Bill this week seeking jail term for officers who disclose government information to the public.

PKR lawmaker N. Surendran called today for Putrajaya to stop its plan to table the amendment, which will introduce the brand new Section 203A to the Penal Code, saying it would only create a law even more restrictive than the Officil Secrets Act (OSA) 1972.

“This provision is unprecedented in any modern democracy; and is more suited to one-party states such as North Korea.

“With this provision, the BN is dragging Malaysia further into the dark ages. Why does the BN government need such a stifling and undemocratic law? What do they want to hide from the public?” the Padang Serai MP was quoted as saying in a report on Malaysiakini.

The first-term parliamentarian pointed out that unlike the OSA, which views only certain information classified by the minister or his agents as secret, Section 203A sees everything as restricted information.

“This provision is clearly intended to prevent the public from obtaining information that can expose corruption, financial scandals and mismanagement by the BN government,” he said.

The federal opposition have long campaigned against the OSA, which they argue have been abused by the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership to hide excesses and mismanagement in the government.

Lawmakers from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have often been accused of running afoul of the controversial OSA when exposing alleged government wrongdoing in the media but they insist that such information should be made accessible to all parties.

Two PR states — Selangor and Penang — have even passed Freedom of Information enactments to prove their transparency and support for free access to information, allowing members of the public to request any information from the state that do not fall under the jurisdiction of restrictions under federal law.

'Dr M will oust Najib following son's failure to secure VP post'

Sean Augustin, fz.com

Opposition lawmaker and blogger Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz claims Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will avenge his son’s failure to secure an Umno vice-president post by ousting the Prime Minister.

Mohd Ariff said the former prime minister would come out with "guns blazing" and has already laid down the issues, such as Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s failure at transformation, incompetence at managing the economy and out of control spending.

Mahathir, Mohd Ariff said, has even taken aim at the BR1M programmes, an initiative which sees financial aid distributed to households earning less than RM3,000 a month.

"Dr Mahathir now will spend his waking hours with insatiable rage.

"So from now on here, Dr Mahathir will train his canons towards Najib. And boy, does he have many," the Raub MP, commonly known by his blogger name of Sakmongkol AK47, wrote in his blog today.

Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir lost a six-cornered battle at the party elections on Saturday, despite putting up a spirited fight. The Kedah menteri besar won 91 divisional votes, just nine divisional votes shy of incumbent Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Mohd Ariff pointed out that when Mukhriz lost his bid to become the Umno Youth chief, Mahathir got his revenge by engineering the exit of his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by persuading Umno leaders to revolt against the fifth prime minister.

The difference between Najib and Abdullah, the DAP politician said, was that the former "did not fall asleep on the job", in reference to Abdullah’s habit of dozing off which was attributed to sleep apnea.

Najib, Mohd Ariff claimed, would have called up the Umno liaison chiefs and operatives at state levels and stated he wanted to retain status quo.

Citing his experience as Najib’s former information chief, he went on to state that the Umno president would avoid direct frontal attacks and use subterfuge as well as works insidiously.

"If Dr Mahathir calls, what can he offer but a fading memory of who he once was? Out of power, means out of sight means Dr Mahathir is ignorable," said Mohd Ariff, who had previously served as an Umno assembly member in Pahang.

On a separate matter, Mohd Ariff alleged that more than RM250 million was spent on the 146,000 delegates to elect the Umno Supreme Council members.

UMNO goes for the Status Quo

The loser

Malaysia’s party elections deliver a resounding – if pyrrhic – victory for the Prime Minister
Malaysia’s intraparty elections for the United Malays National Organization, which concluded over the weekend, have resulted in a resurrection of sorts for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who was all but given up as finished in the wake of the May 5 election debacle.
The party has been struggling with its identity since the election, in which the ruling Barisan Nasional lost the popular vote by a 50.87-47.38 percent split to the Pakatan Rakyat coalition headed by Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. The Barisan returned to the majority with a diminished 133 seats to the opposition’s 89 only because of gerrymandering. Najib was blamed for the debacle by party stalwarts including led by and egged on by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Nonetheless, within the party, Najib has emerged as the rejuvenated leader of a fractured party. His candidates for the party’s top seven slots – president, deputy president, three vice president, youth leader and women’s leader – all were returned to office, most by healthy margins, as were members of the party’s Supreme Council.
But the question is whether the decision by 145,000 of the party faithful to return them to office was a pyrrhic victory.
“UMNO has not changed. Money still talks,” said an embittered anti-Najib source who described himself as a 20-year member of the party. “Political corruption is rampant. These elections point to a party that is dying and could very well lose the next national elections.”
That was a reference to the fact that Najib’s forces appear to have poured vast amounts of money into buying votes at the district level to ensure that his candidates won. The vote-buying was termed a “golden storm” by party insiders, with votes going for as much as RM300 each.
Najib and his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, were unopposed in the party elections. However, an unofficial “Mahathir slate” developed for other positions. Particularly, Mahathir was pushing to make his son, Mukhriz, the 49-year-old chief minister of Kedah, one of the three vice presidents, which would have been viewed as a springboard to eventually go for the party presidency and premiership. Mukhriz finished fourth.
Party insiders say the danger is that the 88-year-old Mahathir could stage an all-out attack on Najib, as he did on Najib’s predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, after poor electoral results that cost the party its two-thirds majority in parliament in 2008. Already, a legion of bloggers aligned with Mahathir has been on a rampage against Najib. However, the betting is that since Mahathir has no allies in senior positions in the party, his ability to do much damage is probably limited. Such a move, however, obviously would exacerbate the schisms in the party that are already there.
Among the winners, the most significant included Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has drawn close to Najib after previously being regarded as a pariah by much of the UMNO rank and file. Khairy was returned as head of the party’s youth wing despite the fact that he was the Mahathir’s particular bête noire.
Also returned to power was Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who was forced to step down last year as a senator amid allegations that members of her family had looted the National Feedlot Corporation, a publicly funded project to rear cattle by halal, or Islamic religious methods
The scandal became universally known as Cowgate. Mohamad Salleh Ismail, Shahrizat’s husband was charged with two counts of criminal breach of trust as well as misusing nearly RM50 million of a RM250 million soft loan to pay for expensive overseas trips, a Mercedes limousine and luxury apartments. Although he was arrested more than 18 months ago, Mohamad has yet to face trial. Despite the scandal, Shahrizat finished easily ahead of two other candidates.
The vote leader in the vice presidential ranks was Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the flamboyant home minister , who in recent weeks has made headlines by adopting a shoot-first ask questions policy for the police in seekng to quell rising crime, and by making inflammatory statements about Malay nationalism that have alienated many of the country’s sizeable Chinese minority.
“The maintenance of the status quo not only signals that UMNO doesn’t want reform, it also sends danger signals that someone like Zahid is next in line for the deputy prime minister’s job, given that Muhyiddin is a good six years older than Najib and has privately indicated that this is his last term,” another longtime political observer said in Kuala Lumpur. “That can be frightening as not only has his right wing rhetoric spooked the non-Malays, it has also spooked the rational Malays and also neighboring country diplomats. Then the next thing is the wrath of your friend Mahathir. He is not going to sit quietly if his son loses.”
An angry source in the Mahathir wing of the party said that “stories of Team Najib or Team Pak Lah (Badawi) vs. Mahathir make fun reading, but the real issue is votes to the highest bidder.” Nonetheless, it is clear that despite polls that show the elder Mahathir is admired by 75 percent of the party – the highest approval rating for anybody in UMNO – his status has been diminished within the party.
Does this give Najib the impetus to reemphasize his 1Malaysia strategy of loosening the economic bonds that deliver the spoils to ethnic Malays, particularly rent-seeking top members of UMNO and their cronies? Probably not. The Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Program, somewhat derisively called the BEEP, which was announced on Sept. 14, represented a significant turn away from economic liberalization and has been derided as a program that will enrich more of the party’s cronies.
“If I had a headline for this, it would be: Najib and Khairy win big,” said a longtime Malay political analyst. “Mahathir can still make noise but all the President’s men won - both at the vice president and Supreme Council level. Mahathir's son is almost yesterday's story in UMNO’s unforgiving culture and Khairy doesn't have to worry about a succession threat from Mukhriz. Will Najib use this mandate to do something now? No, it's not in his DNA. So the bottom line, the results don’t mean f***-all to the country.”
If anything, the inflammatory rhetoric from Malay nationalists will resume gainst the Chinese minority, which continues to command the economic heights in the country. The party’s annual general meeting, expected on the week of Dec. 2-7, can be expected to be five days of inflammatory chest-beating in a bid to energize the party’s base.
“While those sentiments will continue, with the majority of Malays across the board, the fact remains that the Malay electorate is sick of corrupt leaders that have only self-serving agendas,” said the source in the Mahathir wing of the party. “Najib, Zahid, Hisham, Khairy, Shahrizat, Nazri etc. You will find that in the next elections Malays will reject them all nationwide. There will be destabilization at the Malay core. Good luck to all.”