Putrajaya stops the distribution of latest Herald in Sabah

Putrajaya has stopped the distribution of some 2,000 copies of this week's edition of the Catholic weekly Herald in Sabah, raising tension between the Catholic Church and the Barisan Nasional government.

Herald editor Reverend Father Lawrence Andrew told The Malaysian Insider that the forwarding company was informed by the Home Ministry that the copies were not to be distributed.

"As always, the Home Ministry will pick up a copy for vetting purposes when it arrives in Kota Kinabalu.

"But this time, after picking up the copy, the authorities informed the forwarding company on Friday morning that the consignment cannot be distributed," he said.

The forwarding company followed up with the Home Ministry that same evening on the status, and was told again that there was no "go-ahead" from Putrajaya for the weekly to be distributed.

Andrew said the word "Allah" was used in inverted commas in this issue, but only in reference to the comments and articles following recent court ruling.

On October 14, a three-man Court of Appeal bench ruled that he Herald was banned from using the word Allah in the publication's Bahasa Malaysia section, overturning a High Court decision in December 2009.

In the judgment, the court found that the word Allah was not essential to or is an integral part of Christianity.

The ruling has since attracted various comments and feedback, even from Muslim scholars at the international stage.

Locally, politicians and constitutional lawyers had criticised the ruling.

This latest development has raised eyebrows as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had recently told an audience in Sabah that East Malaysian Christians are free to use the word Allah in their worship and publications, including the Bahasa Malaysia bible, Al-Kitab.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup also commented on the issue, saying that Christians in West Malaysia can use the word freely in their services in church.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the ban on the word Allah only applied to Herald and no other publications.

The latest minister to comment on the issue four days ago was Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who added more confusion to the Allah ruling when he said that East Malaysians cannot use the word in West Malaysia.

Lawrence Andrew reiterated that the reference to Allah in this week's Herald was merely in reference to the news that has been circulating in the media.

"After all, we are a Catholic newspaper that disseminates news to the Catholic community, and we used the word in quotes," he said.

He then referred to an article in the Bahasa Malaysia section headlined "Uskup Bumiputera seru jangan takut guna 'Allah'!" where the bishop for the Keningau archdiocese, Datuk Cornelius Piong, had called on Catholics in Sabah to continue using the word Allah, as they have done for generations.

Andrew urged Putrajaya to release the 2,000 copies as there is nothing objectionable that appears in the publication, other than merely reporting the news.

He said some 14,000 copies of the Herald are on sale in churches this weekend, and that it is a "direct shipment from the Herald office to churches".

"It is not for anybody else. It is a copy for churches only. There are no vendors involved," he said.

It is learnt that the 2,000 Herald copies in Sabah are still with the forwarding company. - October 26, 2013.

Sexual Assault by Koran Teachers in Public Glare

A Koran teacher in East Jakarta has been accused of having sex with his teenage student, resulting in her getting pregnant and giving birth to a baby boy, city police said on Thursday.

“We received the report on October 11 and we are still questioning the victim; the investigation is still ongoing,” East Jakarta Police spokesman Comr. Sri Bhayangkari told the Jakarta Globe.

The 54-year-old teacher, identified only by the initial P., a resident of Duren Sawit, is accused of impregnating L., his 15-year-old student, who gave birth last month.

Rather than report the teacher to the police, however, the girl’s family initially demanded that P. marry the girl and provide for the child.

Only when the Koran teacher, who is already married, dodged the request did the girl’s family file a report with police.

“He had been my daughter’s teacher for a long time, since she was still in elementary school,” said the girl’s father, A.H.

“My daughter said P started to lure her into having sex with him in 2012,” he said, adding that P often called his daughter and asked her to come to his house when there was no one else at home.

“She always did what he asked, as if she had been hypnotized,” A.H. added.

Meanwhile, in Temanggung, Central Java, another Koran teacher was arrested for molesting six of his pupils.

Temanggung Police arrested 40-year-old Nurokhim, who they said admitted he had sexually assaulted six teenagers and raped three of them.

“I really regret that I could not control my desire,” Nurokhim said on Thursday.

Temanggung Police spokesman Adj. Comr. Marino said the victims were between 14 and 18 years old.

“The suspect has been arrested and could face up to 15 years in prison for having sexual intercourse with minors. He also faces a fine of up to Rp 300 million [$27,0000],” Marino said.

He said the teacher sometimes asked one of his students to stay behind after class to help him clean up, before locking the door and assaulting the child.

The two recent cases are the latest in a series of abuses of trust perpetrated by teachers of Islam.

Last month in Ternate, North Maluku, a 56-year-old Koran teacher, Akhmad Basir, was arrested after he allegedly molested five of his pupils at an Islamic boarding school under his management. Akhmad victims said he forced them to have sex with him, later giving them Rp 20,000.

And earlier in the year, a Koran teacher in Cakung, East Jakarta, was accused of sexually harassing 14 of his students.

The teacher, 28-year-old Abdul Aziz Salam, apparently chose his victims randomly and raped them after lessons were completed.

The rapes reportedly began in December 2012 and continued until April 2013, with the teacher threatening his students not to tell their parents about the attacks.

However, in April, one of the students complained to his parents of rectal pain and revealed to them that he had been raped by Abdul.

The confession sparked outrage among other parents, who asked their own children if they too had been victims of the religious instructor.

Parents of eight of the victims decided to bring the case to the police. The neighborhood unit chief then called the Cakung police to arrest the perpetrator, who was almost beaten to death by an angry mob.

That case was reported shortly after the arrest of Muhammad Firman, 25-year-old Koran teacher at a Tangerang mosque. He was accused of inviting a 14-year-old female student to his house in the Bukit Modern Hill housing complex last January, raping the girl and threatening her with violence if she told anyone, police said.

Firman reportedly continued to rape the girl until the abuse was eventually discovered by the girl’s older sister.

The sister read the girl’s diary and discovered an entry detailing the rape. The family then reported Firman to the police and took their daughter in for medical tests on April 2 this year.

 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/sexual-assault-by-koran-teachers-in-public-glare/

Dog Saves Man from Arab Assault

Dog saves Jewish man after random Arab attack on a Jerusalem street.

Natan Epstein was walking down a street in Jerusalem this week when a passing Arab driver slowed down to curse at him. Epstein, who is used to such incidents, simply continued walking.

Just moments later, the situation escalated into a potentially fatal assault as the driver attempted to run him down, then jumped out of the car with a second Arab man and began viciously beating him.

Epstein managed to escape thanks to his dog, Mona. He spoke to Arutz Sheva’s Yoni Kempinski about the attack, and told him how he was saved at the last minute.

Epstein expressed frustration at government’s failure to prevent such attacks, and explained the steps he thinks must be taken to keep Jews safe in Israel’s capital.

Jammu : 8 hurt in today's Pak firing

Mohit Kandhari (Jammu) :At least eight civilians, including two children were injured in the fresh exchange of firing along the International Border (IB) in Kanachak sector of Jammu frontier on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a family had a narrow escape in Ramgarh area of Samba when a mortar shell landed on their roof and pierced through the ceiling of a living room. The family members, however, escaped unhurt. Intelligence reports indicated that Pakistan Army regulars have taken control of certain crucial sectors along the International Border and assisting Pakistan Rangers in carrying out surgical strikes on the forward Indian posts to inflict maximum damage.

Ex-servicemen in RS Pura sector, who had participated in the 1965 and 1971 wars, claimed on the basis of their past experience that the intensity of exchange of fire and the use of weaponry is clearly indicative of the fact that Pakistan Army regulars must have been assisting Pakistan Rangers to target the Indian posts during the night.

Following these developments, the Indian Army has also started gearing up its defences along the border areas in RS Pura sector. On Thursday large number of Army men surfaced in the border areas to carry out repair work of bunkers abandoned in the border areas close to the International Border.

They also carried out demonstrations and practice drills in some of the bunkers after completing massive cleanliness drive of bunkers along the border area. The exercise was largely aimed at instilling confidence among the border residents. BSF had also rushed additional troops to plug the gaps and prevent any infiltration in the garb of intense exchange of firing. In several other sectors along the IB terrified villagers continue to live under the constant shadow of death and destruction.

In many vulnerable areas the villagers have started digging bunkers to ensure their safety in the wake of heavy exchange of firing while in some of the households where bunkers existed the families are forced to spend long nights huddled inside the bunkers. Sham Singh, a villager in Pindi said, I am spending nights in the bunker of my house along with other family members. According to BSF sources, “In the intervening night of October 23-24, two incidents of ceasefire violations were reported along the IB in Niki Tawi and Ramgarh sub-sector.

During the heavy exchange of firing from both sides two mortar shells landed on the BSF post in Ramgarh area while exchange of fire also took place in Nikki Tawi area where Pakistan Rangers targeted BOP Garuda till 3.00 am. During the day no fresh exchange of fire took place along the border.

However, the Pakistan Rangers opened ‘unprovoked’ firing in the Kanachak sector around 6.00 pm and targeted BOP SOHAN manned by 86 BSF battalion. Four civilians including two women and two children were injured when a mortar shell exploded near their house and all of them received splinter injuries. The injured belonged to the family of Tara Chand.

Due to continuous pounding of forward Indian villages in Garkhal area of Akhnoor, at least 250 local villagers including senior citizens, women and children were shifted by the local authorities to Government High School in Rajpura late Thursday evening. According to official sources, as intensity of shelling increased and rockets started raining over the forward villages in Garkhal the local residents were asked to shift to safer places.

We are Malaysians, Gerakan tells Perkasa

Gerakan acting president Chang Ko Youn also tells Barisan Nasional (BN) to fight extremism and stop punishing the 51% voters who voted against the ruling coalition at the last general election.

KUALA LUMPUR: Lashing out at Perkasa for its extremism, outgoing Gerakan acting president Chang Ko Youn today called on the BN not to take ‘revenge’ on the 51% voters who voted against the ruling government at the May general election.

In his keynote address at the 42nd Gerakan national delegates conference today, Chang also trained his guns at the Malay rights group Perkasa, led by firebrand Ibrahim Ali.

He said Ibrahim has undermined the spirit of ‘Merdeka’ and interracial relationship through his statements.

“It is most unfortunate that extremists like Perkasa gleefully challenge the non-Bumiputeras to either return to their ancestral lands or migrate to a third country.

“Let me make it clear, in front of all of you today, that we are all Malaysians and no Malaysian will ever have to leave this country simply because he does not agree with any policy or approach.

“We are all Malaysians, citizens of this nation, and no one can take that away from us,” he told some 2,000 Gerakan members at the conference. Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Tun Razak was the guest of honour of the delegates conference.

Chang also urged BN to fight extremism internally, as how it does internationally, and to ensure equal protection and application of the law on those who threaten the country’s peace and stability.

At the media conference later, Chang equalled Perkasa to the right-wing Tea Party in the US and said Gerakan was pushing for BN to condemn the NGO.

Asked about Najib’s lack of action against Perkasa for its offensive remarks, Chang said he was not sure if Najib had indeed criticised Perkasa before, but he “definitely does not endorse the statements”.

Don’t punish the 51%

On a separate matter, the former Perak executive councillor also urged BN not to punish the 51% of voters who deserted BN in the 13th General Election.

“BN and its component parties must not thrive in the fault lines of politics rather show humility in victory and accept that a new way is needed within BN as well.

“A new thinking must support that new way and the new thinking must encapsulate the hopes and aspirations of all Malaysians for clean, fair, just and inclusive government,” he said.

He said the failure by the BN to change will lead to its self-destruction, because its shortcomings will endear its supporters to cross to the opposition.

He said an in-depth analysis of BN’s victory in the 13th General Elections (GE13) shows that BN only won the federal administration with a margin of 44 seats with a combined majority of 25, 968 votes.

BN captured 133 while Pakatan Rakyat bagged 89 seats in the GE battle.

“Hence, we should not take our victory in GE13 for granted because it was a lot closer than many of us realise because 12,985 Malaysians voting the other way could have changed the results,” he said.

Standardised Admission Test for University

He said BN must transform itself into more inclusive coalition which constantly seek for consensus and adopt a more equitable power-sharing.

“I appeal to the YAB Dato Seri BN chairman (Najib) to ensure these changes are made.

“The component parties have borne the brunt of the urban rejection of BN resulting in significant losses for MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, LDP and SUPP,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chang also called on the government to reform the admission process into public universities and introduce a standardised admission test (SAT).

“An admission system that is equitable, that also takes into account the socio-economic background of all applicants, will give true meaning to meritocracy, stem the brain drain and most importantly contribute to a more inclusive Malaysia,” he said.

Gerakan would also conduct its internal polls in the NDC today, as some 2200 delegates were set to elect a new leadership to lead the party for the next three years.

Penang Gerakan chief Teng Chang Yeow is pitted against vice president Mah Siew Keong in a straight fight for president post.

Najib: BN ‘victims of own success’

Barisan Nasional president Najib Tun Razak assured Gerakan that its losses in Penang are a sign of BN's successful policies which brought "changes to mind, atitudes and values" of the younger generation.

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional was a “victim of its own success” in the past two general elections, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak told its embattled component party partner, Gerakan today.

In a bid to console the party after its bitter showing in the May 5 polls, Najib said: “With our successes, we developed this country not just physically, but in terms of human capital and intellectual development.

“This has brought changes to the minds, attitudes and values of society today, especially the younger generation…

“Thus we have become a victims of our own success. And we must change.

“I have initiated this process by introducing the concept of transformative leadership in the government and in the party.”

Najib, who was speaking to delegates at the 42nd Gerakan National Delegates Conference, attributed the growing support for the Opposition to BN’s success in allegedly developing the minds of the younger generation.

Gerakan suffered an embarrassing defeat at the May 5 polls when only one of the 11 candidates it fielded for a Parliamentary seat managed to win. Out of its 21 candidates contesting for state seats, only three emerged victorious.

The party also failed to wrest its former stronghold, Penang, from the DAP.

However, Najib said today the loss was not Gerakan’s fault, insisting again that it was a sign of BN’s “success”.

“Gerakan’s political base, Penang, was a beacon of light. The Gerakan state government developed Penang into a state not only famous for its tourism, but for becoming a magnet for foreign direct investment during the 70’s,” said Najib.

“This success has resulted in the situation today, where, ironically, Penang has become a challenge for us (to win back), not because of our failures, but because of the successes of the BN parties’ policies.”

Najib said that BN would continue to reject communal politics and maintain a “moderate, progressive, centrist, inclusive and fair stance”, to win back support for the ruling coalition.

He also stressed that the BN parties had room to improve and must adapt to the changing political landscape so as to be seen as a relevant, vibrant and reflective of the voice of the younger generation.

“Most of our problem lies with our ability to communicate, about selling what we are doing to the people,” he added, claiming that the Opposition coalition had managed to hoodwink the rakyat with their untruths.

“Why is a lie being swallowed wholesomely? I am looking into this… is it a problem of trust deficit? Are they trusting the opposition more than BN? Those are the questions and we have to find the solution.”

Sugar and libido

The prime minister also took the opportunity to defend the 2014 Budget released yesterday, reiterating that unpopular moves such as abolishing the sugar subsidy and introducing the goods and services tax (GST) was necessary.

“The Opposition says everything we do is wrong. We abolished the sugar subsidy. We did we do it. One is because the rationalization of subsidy is important. All the market analysts says so.

“Another reason is the fact that 2.6 billion of Malaysians aged 30 and above are diabetics. If you suffer from diabetics, this will lead to worse symptoms, such as your legs getting amputated. Your libido will also be affected,” he said.

Najib pointed out that that the introduction of the GST had also been lauded by economists, “without exception”, and this was why Pakatan had backtracked from its original anti-GST stance.

“(They) are against GST. At first they said no GST, now they are saying postpone the GST. They have modified their position. Why? Because all market analysts say GST is goof for Malaysia.

“But I don’t want to talk so much about GST, otherwise my speech would go on for two hours 20 minutes,” he said.

Today, some 2,000 Gerakan delegates will cast their votes for the party president and vice-presidency posts as well as the 18 Central Committee seats.

Boycott CHOGM, says DAP

While DAP wants the Prime Minister to boycott CHOGM in Sri Lanka, MIC says 'no comment' on the matter.

GEORGE TOWN: DAP has called on the government to boycott the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka next month due to blatant human violations committed by the island republic against ethnic Tamils there.

Party secretary general Lim Guan Eng said the DAP central executive committee (CEC) unanimously decided, on Wednesday, to call for the boycott as a humanitarian protest against the recalcitrant Sri Lankan government’s stubborn refusal to account for the deaths of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians during closing stages of the country’s civil war in 2009.

Until today, he said, Colombo had failed to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes against innocent Tamils during the civil war.

He noted that thousands of Tamils who disappeared during the civil war had not been accounted for by the government, while those responsible for the rapes against Tamil women and girls had not been brought to justice

He pointed out that international human rights organisations including the United Nations had warned Colombo to investigate allegations of murders, rapes and disappearances.

“However, the Sri Lankan government had not been forthcoming with any form of investigations into these allegations,” said Lim, the Bagan MP, in a statement here today.

The DAP also urged all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties to press Putrajaya to boycott CHOGM on November 15-17 as a sign of protest.

“DAP has consistently opposed regimes that violate human rights and place constraints on democracy. In this respect, DAP thinks that holding of CHOGM in Colombo is not an appropriate thing to do,” said Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister.

Recently, United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Naveen Pillay, issued a serious warning to the Sri Lanka government to address the pressing human rights concerns, failing which the UN would order an international investigation into the conduct of the government.

Given these gross violations of human rights and deterioration of democracy in Sri Lanka, some countries like Canada has expressed serious concern about Sri Lanka and whether Colombo is the rightful venue for CHOGM.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper has already announced that he would boycott the meet.

Facing intense pressure from political parties in state of Tamil Nadu, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is still undecided on whether to attend the CHOGM, while Kenya is contemplating to boycott the Colombo’s international event.

Meanwhile, MIC President G Palanivel did not want to comment on the matter, when approached by reporters after the party’s central working committee meeting on Friday.

His ‘no comment’ remarks has come under fire from fellow CWC members, who feel it will have a negative impact on the party.

Palanivel said that he would concentrate on the largest Indian based party in the country rather than talking about CHOGM.

Although MIC is made up of various ethnic Indian groups, Tamils are majority in the party.

“As far as I know, people in India staged several protest (against the Sri Lanka government). But, there was no protest in Malaysia on this matter,” Palanivel had said at the press conference.

A CWC members, who did not want to be named, said most members at the meeting were shocked by Palanivel’s answer to the media on the issue.

“Everyone knows that Sri Lanka’s war crimes against its Tamil population was a very serious and it is a very sensitive issue in Malaysia. People in Malaysia donated millions of ringgit to help the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. Even, MIC itself staged several protests in the past on this matter.

“I do not know if he is ignorant and just plain careless,” said the CWC.

Grilled on human rights, but Malaysia remains adamant

As 104 countries took their turns to grill Malaysia on its human rights record in Geneva on Thursday, one common theme was Malaysia's lack of engagement with human rights instruments.

A delegation of local NGOs attending Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on human rights in the Swiss city said during the review, many countries called on Malaysia to sign and ratify six core human rights conventions.

As for the three human rights conventions that Malaysia has already signed, the country has been pressured to remove its reservations on them and stipulate a time-line to implement them fully.

"In our view it will not be easy for the government to ignore these recommendations, as they did not come just from Western countries, but also from other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

"Muslim countries such as Egypt, the Maldives, Tunisia and Turkey also made this call, obviously seeing no threat to Islam in doing so, in contrast to views from certain Malaysian Muslim NGOs," the NGOs said in a joint statement yesterday.

The statement was issued by the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs for the UPR Process (Comango), Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) and the Bar Council.

Malaysia urged to sign Rome Statute as well

In addition, they said, Malaysia has also been urged to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which Malaysia said it would sign in April 2011 but has not done so.

The UPR is held every four-and-a-half years, during which each UN member has 75 seconds to comment and make recommendations on another member country's human rights record.

The NGOs also noted that despite being a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Malaysia's rate of cooperation with the UN special procedures and special rapporteurs, and its accession rate on international human rights instruments "leaves much to be desired".

For example, they said Malaysia has refused to extend a standing invitation to UN rapporteurs and independent human rights experts reporting to the UN, opting to extend invitations selectively instead.

Elections to the UN Human Rights Council will take place in October next year.

'Combat discrimination against religious minorities'

Among other calls on Malaysia, the NGOs said, Iran urged Malaysia to combat discrimination against religious minorities, while Canada, Chile and Italy has called on Malaysia to criminalise marital rape.

Japan urged Malaysia to promote Internet freedom, while several Asean nations urged Malaysia to protect migrant workers.

There were also calls to form the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) from New Zealand, and from a number of other countries to abolish the death penalty.

"In our view, Malaysia needs to be far more convincing that it is committed to the international system of law and order premised on acceptance of and compliance with international human rights norms and standards.

"If Malaysia wants to be active in the front yard of the international geopolitical scene, it must do more than make an outward show of professing, promoting and protecting human rights in its own backyard," the NGOs said, noting the wide range of complaints against the country.

Perkasa skins Kamalanathan over cow slaughter

Deputy Education Minister II P Kamalanathan's statement that the Education Ministry has never allowed the slaughter of cows in schools has insulted Islam, said Perkasa yesterday.

"The parliamentarian P Kamalanathan's statement that the korban ceremony cannot be carried out in schools is an act that insults the Malays and all Muslims," the Malay supremacist group's Youth chief Irwan Fahmi Ideris wrote on his blog.

"We have never questioned your religious ceremonies... you just don't respect the religion of the majority race," he said.
The posting 'Kamalanathan, don't kurang ajar (step out of line)' also never acknowledged the MIC leader and Hulu Selangor MP as a deputy minister.
He was responding to the Kamalanathan's clarification on Thursday that the slaughter of cows at SK Puchong Jaya in Selangor during Aidiladha last week was never allowed by the ministry.

Kamalanathan, in attempting to smoothen the outcry from non-Muslims over the act, said the school had not informed the ministry of its plans, otherwise they would have been advised to hold the traditional ritual in a nearby surau.

However, the first-time deputy minister skirted media questions on whether the ministry intends to issue a circular to remind schools of the matter, saying there was "no need" for this.

"We urge this MP to stop commenting on Islam. Don't be 'kacang lupakan kulit' (ungrateful to your masters).

"Have some respect," said Irwan (above).
'Topple Kamalanathan'

The row over holding the cow sacrifice ritual in the Kuala Lumpur primary school broke out when some non-Muslim parents complained that it was insensitive and inappropriate for the pupils.

Hindus and certain Buddhists consider the cow a sacred animal.

Meanwhile, Irwan warned Kamalanathan (left) that he should retract his statement or suffer the consequences in the next general election.

"We feel that we should topple such people in the next GE. Remember, your constituency has a lot of Malays," he warned.

"If you don't retract, let's see in the next general election," said Irwan.