Kg.Hakka

Chinese police detain five suspected Islamist militants after ‘terror attack’ on tourists

A Chinese policeman takes information from the passports of the family members of Filipino doctor Rizalina Bunyi, who was killed two days ago when a car rammed into a crowd around Tiananmen Square. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Chinese police have detained five suspected Islamist militants after confirming that a deadly crash on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Monday was a “carefully planned, organised and premeditated” terrorist attack.

Beijing police said the SUV that ploughed into a crowd of tourists outside the Forbidden City in downtown Beijing was driven by Usmen Hasan, an ethnic Uighur from the restive western region of Xinjiang. 

His wife, Gulkiz Gini, and mother, Kuwanhan Reyim, were with him in the car, which had Xinjiang number plates, along with “devices filled with petrol”, knives and a “jihad” flag, police said.

The assault killed two tourists, one from the Philippines and another from Guangdong province, and injured 40 people.

“With the co-operation of police authorities including those in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Beijing police have captured five suspects who had been at large,” a spokesman from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau told the Xinhua news agency yesterday.

‘Jihad’ flag

Police found more knives and at least one “jihad” flag in the temporary residence of the five detained suspects, Xinhua reported.

According to the spokesman, they admitted that they knew Usmen Hasan and conspired to plan and carry out the attack. They said they had not expected the police could capture them only about 10 hours after the incident.

The reaction on Sina Weibo was forthright in its support for the police.

Peng Yuan wrote on the Twitter-like service that the Chinese police had done “a great job in cracking down these terrorists”. 

“We will not allow any behaviour that harms national interests, undermines social stability and harmony. We will not compromise towards terrorism,” wrote the commentator.

Lan Xiaomao said people should “strongly condemn these bastards who harm innocent people and turn their life dark. How cruel and cold-blooded.”

The main exiled Uighur group, the World Uyghur Congress, said a lack of transparency in China meant there would only be one side of the story given and said it feared the response to the incident would lead to “further demonisation” of the Uighurs.

“The Chinese government will not hesitate to concoct a version of the incident in Beijing, so as to further impose repressive measures on the Uyghur people. Chinese officials commandeered the war on terror for its own cynical purposes to justify harsh measures against the Uyghurs,” World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer from Washington DC. 

Xinjiang’s eight million Turkic-speaking Uighurs are an ethnic group that shares close linguistic and cultural links to central Asia, quite distinct from China’s majority Han.

Separatist movement

A simmering separatist campaign in the region has occasionally boiled over into violence over the past 20 years, although the unrest has never before spilled over into the nation’s capital.

In July 2009 local Uighurs turned on Han Chinese in Urumqi – which led to deadly reprisals by Han on Uighurs a few days later. The riots killed nearly 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, and left more than 1,700 wounded. Uighurs are not known to have previously carried out any suicide attacks.

Beijing blames separatist Uighur Muslims from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, who it says trained in militant camps in Pakistan, and it says the militants are trying to introduce an extreme form of Islam. 

Human rights groups have long said they believe Beijing exaggerates the threat to justify harsh controls.

Four-year-old sexually assaulted ‘by cleric’

Suspect arrested from another seminary he was hiding in. PHOTO: FILE 

MULTAN: A four-year-old girl was taken to a hospital in Vehari on Thursday after she was sexually assaulted allegedly by the chief cleric on her first day at a seminary. Doctors treating her said that her condition was critical.

Meerapur police said the suspect had been arrested.

The girl’s father, a resident of Nawan Shehr in Mailsi, said in the FIR that he had dropped his daughter at the Shaheedanwala seminary in the neighbourhood.

He said more than 70 children from five nearby villages were enrolled at the seminary.

He said it was the girl’s first day and the chief cleric had asked him to drop her at his office. The father was told that he (cleric) would introduce her to other children.

He said when he went to pick her up at noon, he was told that his daughter was in the chief cleric’s office. The office was locked and the cleric missing. He said he broke into the room and found the child lying unconscious.

She was taken to the district headquarters hospital, where doctors treating her said that her condition was critical. Doctors later said she had undergone a surgery.

Dr Tahira Parveen at the DHQ hospital told The Express Tribune that the girl’s medico-legal examination confirmed rape.

District Police Officer Sadiq Ali Dogar said that a police team arrested the suspect from another seminary where he had been hiding.

He said the suspect had been shifted to an undisclosed location on account of the neighbours’ threats of violence. He said two other clerics from the madrassa were also reported to have gone missing after the incident.

Residents of the area staged a protest demonstration and announced a boycott of all seminaries.

Sun, sex and Muslim tourism

Najib delights in telling the world that Malaysia is a 'moderate Muslim nation', but his failure to make his country practise what he preaches, is a total disgrace.
COMMENT

The president of the extremist NGO Ikatan Musliman Malaysia (ISMA), Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman said that Muslim tourists from the Middle East would “cringe” at the manner in which the government promotes “infidel religions”, like Hinduism.

Zaik claimed that Muslim tourists “looked up to Malaysia as a modern Islamic country” and he issued a thinly veiled warning that Umno Baru president, Najib Tun Razak should maintain religious harmony.

ISMA objected to the Sri Sundaraja Perumal Hindu temple renovation in Klang, because the effort involved in the upgrade would imperil Malaysia’s image as a “model Islamic country”.

If anyone is wrong, it is ISMA. Multi-cultural Malaysia, and its present liberal stance, attracts Muslims from the Middle East; but once we become as extremist and intolerant as ISMA, or some middle-eastern nations, we might as well wave goodbye to all those middle-eastern petro-dollars which the nation currently enjoys.

Zaik and other members of ISMA should travel to Bangkok, Phuket, Jakarta, Manila or London, to witness the major attractions for Muslims tourists.

Zaik may be delightfully surprised to find that many “unhealthy, infidel practises” are a magnet for the Muslim tourist who finds that being in these countries is liberating, unlike the repressive and stifling atmosphere which he faces in his own country.

London’s Hyde Park and the banks of the Serpentine in summer are bathed in a sea of black robed middle-eastern women walking hand in hand with their husbands. Young middle-eastern women, in western clothing, drive or are seen clinging to young men, safe in the knowledge that they will not be accosted by their religious police.

Zaik will find many similarities between the Malaysian Muslims and the middle-eastern Muslims who choose to go to places which are free of people, who share the views of ISMA.

Many of the Londoners are angry that their city is hijacked for three months of the year, every summer, by the middle-easterners who take over the centre of their city and treat their roads as racing tracks. These rich playboys are like the infamous Umno-Baruputra children who run riot in Kuala Lumpur.

The rich middle-easterners think they own the city, they park indiscriminately, they drive recklessly, they do not pay their parking fines and they drive without insurance. Their cars are often impounded.

Total disgrace

The night clubs are full of young middle-eastern men and women enjoying themselves, whilst the casinos are full of middle-eastern men, spending their money on a past-time which they cannot enjoy in their own homelands.

Zaik must know that Thailand, a Buddhist nation, attracts large numbers of tourists from the Middle East. By day, the temples have not proved a deterrent to these tourists; nor have the nightspots in Patpong, been off-limits to any of their men-folk.

Last September, ISMA declared that syariah law should be the only law that is practiced in Malaysia and last week, continued their uncompromising stand, saying that the ban on the word ‘Allah’ should be applied to all Christians throughout Malaysia. ISMA alleges that the ‘Allah’ debacle is an attempt to convert Malays to Christianity.

ISMA demanded to know why the Bible should be translated into Malay and said that Chinese and Indian Christians read Bibles in English. He then said that Christians in East Malaysia did not necessarily read Malay Bibles and said, “Malay bibles are published in a larger number than the Christians themselves. Which means, to whom are they meant to be distributed?” (sic)

Zaik is wrong, again. He claims that our moderate Muslim image is at risk, but Malaysia’s moderate credentials were destroyed by the extremists like Hasan Ali, Ibrahim Ali and organisations like Perkasa.

Najib delights in telling the world that Malaysia is a “moderate Muslim nation”, but his failure to make his country practise what he preaches, is a total disgrace.

Keen to cultivate the friendship of foreign heads of state and mindful of their investments, Najib thrives on the false image that he has presented to them.

These leaders either do not know, or have chosen to ignore, that Malaysians back home are subjected to one of the most intolerant societies and unjust rules ever imposed on a modern quasi-democratic state.

He has not accepted that he is responsible for the deep divisions in society, nor has he shown remorse for encouraging the attacks, both verbal and physical, on the non-Muslims and non-Malays.

Najib’s inability to censure the extremists and advise them that non-Muslims have a right to practice their religion freely, have shown us precisely why he is not fit to lead Malaysia.

The irony is that a conservative Malaysia has no appeal to the tourists from the Middle East. Zaik has a difficult choice.

Would he prefer a multi-cultural moderate Malaysia which attracts an influx of middle-eastern wealth and all the benefits or drawbacks which this brings? Or would he prefer the purity of a truly religious and conservative Muslim nation, like Iran or the Yemen?

p/s: Happy Deepavali to everyone

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

Intolerance and disrespect prevalent among communities in Malaysia, says Chandra Muzaffar

Chandra Muzaffar (right) stressing that ties between Buddhists and Muslims, the two largest faith communities in the Asean religion, must be strengthened. The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, November 1, 2013.

Thirty to 40 years ago, there was greater understanding between the various communities in the country and Malaysians valued the concept of give and take, unlike today’s charged atmosphere where even a small issue can trigger a harsh exchange of words between communities, said political scientist Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

Chandra, who is president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), said intolerance and disrespect between the different communities in Malaysia are very prevalent in the present climate.

He said the values adopted and practised by Malaysians years ago about giving and taking were a distant memory.

"It is very sad to note that nowadays, on every little thing that happens, one party cannot help but comment on it, which provokes a reaction from the other party and the heated exchange goes on unabated," Chandra told The Malaysian Insider on the sidelines of the International Buddhist-Muslim Forum on Peace and Sustainability today.

Citing the refurbishment of the 130-year-old Sri Sundararaja Perumal temple in Klang, Chandra pointed out that it was valid as it was enshrined in the Federal Constitution that religious communities have the freedom to maintain their places of worship.

He said the refurbishment of the Hindu temple in the centre of Klang town does not affect inter-religious ties nor does it harm anyone. He said it should not even be an issue as Malay NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has made it out to be.

Chandra was commenting on the remarks made by Isma that the refurbishment of the temple would create a negative impression among Muslim tourists who visited Malaysia. He pointed out that the temple refurbishment does not affect anyone.

Other speakers at the forum, held at the Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM) in Jalan Duta, were IKIM deputy director-general Professor Datin Azizan Baharuddin, Sulak Sivaraksa and Reverend Alan Senauke from International Network of Engaged Buddhists. The moderator was Professor Dr Mohd Hazim Shah Abdul Murad from University Malaya.

During the inter-faith dialogue session, Chandra said one of the greatest failings of the mass media was its failure to report acts of solidarity between different communities. Instead, the mass media stayed true to the adage "Dog bites man, not interesting; man bites dog, that's a story".

"The Muslim and Buddhist communities in Southeast Asia are quite evenly balanced. If ties between both communities are strained to breaking point, the Asean community will collapse. The people must decide their futures for themselves and cooperate with each other," he stressed.

"We cannot and must not allow politicians or the military or anyone to determine our future. The ties in the Southeast Asian region depends on the relationship between Buddhists and Muslims," he said.

"It is important that we try to understand what is happening not only in Malaysia but around the world. Why is Thailand such a hotbed of inter-religious tension?" he asked, calling on the government to act fairly and firmly when dealing with inter-religious issues.

"The government has a responsibility to look after everyone, regardless of whether they are the minority or majority. The government must be firm and strict with extremists regardless of who they are or where they come from."

Chandra said any fanatical attitudes should be nipped in the bud instead of the executive adopting an elegant or golden silence. He also urged the public not to be misled by the mass media, pointing out that there was now the alternative and social media.

"Inter-religious harmony is only possible if the government and the people are alert to what is happening around them and are prepared to act. I would like to point out that both Buddhism and Islam place a lot of emphasis on restraint," Chandra said, adding it was a precious value which should be brought to the forefront to preserve peace.

"There are many people out there who are extremely unhappy with what they see, read and hear. But they do not dare to voice their unhappiness for fear of being ostracised by their own community," he added. - November 1, 2013.

Perkasa: Gerakan ‘berjaga-jaga’ dalam pilihanraya akan datang

Ketua Wira Perkasa Irwan mendakwa, tanpa menamakan sesiapa, bahawa seorang pemimpin tertinggi parti itu telah memberi amaran kepada Perkasa untuk tidak bermain api.

PETALING JAYA: Dalam satu lagi siri pertelingkahan di antara parti Gerakan dan Perkasa, Ketua Wira Perkasa, Irwan Fahmi Ideris hari ini memberi amaran supaya parti komponen Barisan Nasional itu untuk ‘berjaga-jaga’ dalam pilihanraya akan datang.

Irwan mendakwa, tanpa menamakan sesiapa, bahawa seorang pemimpin tertinggi parti itu telah memberi amaran kepada Perkasa untuk tidak bermain api.

“Kalau nak berperang, sila cakap anytime… Perkasa bukan parti politik dan tak bertanding dalam PRU…tunggu election, bila Gerakan bertanding, tengok nanti,” kata Irwan dalam siaran medianya.

Senada dengan Presidennya Datuk Ibrahim Ali, beliau turut mempersoalkan adakah Gerakan masih lagi relevan setelah gagal merampas kembali Pulau Pinang yang pernah menjadi kubu mereka pada tahun 60an pada pilihanraya umum yang lalu, .

“Gerakan sudah tidak relevan dalam arena politik Malaysia bilamana peranan parti itu dilihat hanya sekadar mencukupkan kuota dalam pilihanraya.

“Lihat sahaja Pulau Pinang yang telah jatuh ketangan pembangkang walaupun semua maklum bahawa Pulau Pinang adalah kubu kuat bagi Gerakan buat sekian lama. Di situ boleh dilihat kesinambungan Gerakan telah telah terkubur bila mana gagal mempertahankan Pulau Pinang malah gagal juga untuk merampas kembali Pulau Mutiara itu,” ujar beliau lagi.

Irwan turut menggesa Gerakan untuk mencari mekanisma yang lebih logik bagi menjustifikasikan kekalahan teruk mereka dalam pilihanraya umum yang lepas.

“Umum mengetahui bahawa Gerakan didominasi oleh bukan Melayu dan mana mungkin orang Melayu memegang tampuk pimpinan tertinggi di dalam parti itu.

“Siapa yg lebih rasis disini? Dengan secara terang terangan menyalahkan Perkasa atas kekalahan mereka pada PRU-PRU yang lepas adalah sesuatu yang tidak boleh diterima oleh Perkasa kerana secara logiknya tuduhan itu tidak munasabah,” tegasnya.

Perbalahan diantara Gerakan dan NGO ini bermula pada sejak minggu lalu apabila Pemangku Presiden Gerakan Chang Ko Youn melabel Perkasa sebagai ‘esktrimis Melayu’ dalam ucapan aluannya ketika Kongres Gerakan ke-42 yang turut dihadiri oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Sri Najib Razak.

Chang, antara lain turut mendakwa bahawa Najib tidak pernah menyokong politik perkauman yang diperjuangkan NGO itu.

Ucapan Chang itu dibalas dengan respon yang keras dari Ibrahim, termasuk mengatakan bahawa Perkasa tidak akan teragak-agak untuk menyokong DAP sekiranya Gerakan berterusan menyalahkan mereka sebagai punca kemerosotan kaum Cina.

Deepavali and no toilets

Kampung Bunga Raya Subang residents are outraged and feel let down by their assemblyperson who has left them in the lurch without functioning toilet facilities.

PETALING JAYA: As the Indian community gear up to celebrate Deepavali, the festival of lights, 118 Indian families in Kampung Bunga Raya Subang are in the dark for a solution to their toilet woes.

The village head, K Ramachandran said that when he approached the Kota Damansara assemblyperson Halimahton Saadiah’s office to seek help regarding their toilet maintenance problem, he was told that funds were an issue as the settlement was owned by the developer – Sinar Fadzilat.

“All we want is repairs to our existing toilet system which is clogged up due to poor maintenance. As a temporary solution we’ve been using a nearby petrol station ,” Ramachandran told FMT.

However, the assemblyperson had explained that they needed to wait for federal government funds before they can proceed with any repairs. Estimated cost for repairs is approximately RM3,500.

One resident, Saras, told FMT that she and her family have been preparing for their Deepavali using their beds and table tops as the recent daily rains has caused flooding due to the clogged drainage.

Residents say that over the past 22 years there has never been proper toilet facilities or system and now their existing ‘temporary’ system is clogged and backed up .

“We are not interested in Deepavali hampers and goodies, we want temporary solution to our toilets,” she added.

Commenting on the issue, Malaysian Tamil Today’s secretary general, K Gunasekaran meanwhile lashed out at MIC president G Palanivel for getting his priorities wrong in helping the Indian community.

“We have an Indian leader in MIC who is more worried about extending holidays for festival [Deepavali to be gazetted as a two-day public holiday] than looking into real issues of the community,” he said, in reference to Palanivel’s recent request to the government to increase the Deepavali public holiday.

Gunasekaran said that the residents were in the midst of trying to resolve their pending eviction and now they were being denied basic toilet facilities.

On Aug 31, FMT highlighted the plight of the 118 families from Kampung Bunga Raya Subang. The families here live in abject poverty and face eviction from their snake, rat and insect infested environment.

Dark Deepavali for me

Jailed Hindraf-HRP leader P Uthayakumar wishes Malaysians a Happy Deepavali while he 'celebrates' his festival of lights locked up in an isolation prison room.
COMMENT

By P Uthayakumar

For the second time in five weeks, I have yet again been locked up for 31 days. For 24 hours a day, confined to a 10 foot x 10 foot, dark isolation room with a 2 foot x 10 foot wash area and toilet bowl.

The drain hole is clogged up and water available is enough for only 3-4 dippers, for bathing purposes. The isolation room is near the torture chambers and the last cell – No.12 – with five other persons – murderers and armed violent robbers/criminals.

This is the very last death row cell and is ‘next door’ to the hanging chambers which can accommodate the hanging of three prisoners at any one time.

I can hear the trap door of the hangman platform being opened as it was being tested, perhaps for another imminent hanging.

This is my second Deepavali in prison, the first under ISA detention at Kemta Prison in 2008.

In the last five months of imprisonment, I have lost eight kilograms. The same water dipper used to wash my backside is used to drink my ‘kanji’ [watery rice gruel].

Three days ago the prison doctor refused to refer me to the general hospital for my severe prolapsed disk condition. The condition is being aggravated by the denial of my request for a plastic chair (given to me earlier) for over four weeks now. He said that only the prison authorities have that power.

I persisted and the prison authorities then sent me to the Semenyih government clinic.

But the pro-prison Dr Norhayati refused to admit me despite my complaints of severe backbone pain, numbness in both feet, swollen legs and pricking pain when walking with difficulty.

Even a referral letter was denied for me to be given my plastic chair and warm drinking water as I developed a fever, flu and cough drinking prison tap water ……TO TORTURE ME!

I quietly walked back to my dark, cold, and also hot and stuffy (day time) and dirty and lonely cell at Kajang Prison to spend my dark Deepavali.

If drugs, tobacco, or other prohibited items are found, as happened yesterday, I could also be implicated irrespective of my innocence and caned on the soles of my feet and put into the isolation cell simply because I happen to be in the same cell with the aforesaid hardcore criminals.

Despite complaining to one DSP Kamarul that on Oct 25, 2013 regarding Paramasivam’s (45) attack with a prison knife, and him receiving five stitches on his head, four on his eyelid and four on his nose, I am still being refused a transfer to the safer hospital wing by the cruel ‘Naragasuran’ Umno controlled prison even on the occasion of this Deepavali day.

Happy Deepavali to all Hindraf supporters and to all Malaysians

My struggle continues.

P Uthayakumar is the pro tem secretary general for Hindraf Makkal Sakhti. He was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in June by the Sessions Court for writing a seditious letter to then British prime minister Gordon Brown in 2007. He is currently serving his sentence at the Kajang prison. This letter was written on Oct 31, 2013.

Jeffrey: Does Sabah belong to KL?

Is the recent transfer of Sabah judges to the peninsular part of the federal government’s Malayanisation programme?

KOTA KINABALU: The failure of Sabah Barisan Nasional government to assert its authority and stamp out attempts by the federal government to impose Malayan hegemony over the state and her citizens has raised a red flag in the state.

State assembly representative Jeffrey Kitingan said the sudden and unusual transfer of local judges and magistrates to the peninsula – and replaced by those from Peninsular Malaysia, and the silence of the state government on the matter is a cause for concern.

Describing it as highly unusual, Kitingan said the consequential replacements with Malayans raised questions over the motives of the federal leaders in their treatment of Sabahans and Sarawakians.

“Is this part of the federal government’s Malayanisation programme? Isn’t their replacements contradictory with the Borneonisation set out under the 20-Points and the Malaysia Agreement?,” he asked.

The Bingkor assemblyman said the issue of transfers, Borneonisation and rights of Bornean people of Sabahans and Sarawakians are important aspects of the special rights and privileges of the two states that were agreed to during the formation of Malaysia.

“Is there no government in Sabah to look after Sabahans? Has the Sabah government been consulted?

“Is the Sabah government aware of this? Has the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak been consulted?.

“It seems to me that the federal government no longer respects the special rights and privileges of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said, adding that the Sabah government must make an official stand on the matter.

Kitingan who never misses an opportunity to point out infringements of state autonomy guaranteed by the Malaysia Agreement, said the transfers raise questions about whether the authorities were ignoring the laws.

He reminded that at the outset of the formation of Malaysia it was agreed that there would be a High Court of Borneo (now known as the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak) and the appointment of judicial officers and commissioners would be under its jurisdiction.

No place for extremism

He pointed out that while the lower courts officers come under the judicial and legal service commission, the federal government had ignored the fact that Sabah had its own set of local and customary laws and not just federal laws alone.

“The land laws take cognizance of local native customary rights and the local native customary laws are alien to Malayans, as if it is from another world compared to Sabah.

“In the dispensation of justice, Sabahans are entitled to and expect to be judged by qualified persons and knowledge of local laws and customs should a pre-requisite in Sabah,” he said.

The transfer of the local judges and magistrates has raised questions over Malay hegemony in Borneo since both the Director of the Courts and the Chief Registrar of Courts are from Malaya. Both these positions, he said, should be held by Borneo natives,

“Is the transfer an attempt to prevent a local native from being promoted? Is the move a pre-cursor to bringing in another Malay from the peninsula?” Kitingan asked.

“Whatever the motive or objective of the transfer and subsequent replacement exercise, the Sabah government and the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak need to look into the matter and assert their authority as Sabahans expect them to do.” he added.

Kitingan also drew an unflattering parallel between how Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud asserted Sarawak’s unique position as a partner in the formation of Malaysia and the silence of the Sabah Barisan Nasional government when hegemonic policies are thrust on the state.

“The Sabah government must do likewise and stop any attempt to impose Malayan Muslim hegemony in Sabah. There is no place in Sabah for such race and religion extremism,” he said.

Deepavali in tents as trials of Taman Permata folk continue

COMMENT It has been 144 days under tents for the former plantation workers of Putrajaya.

Many argued that the flats’ condition is safe, so why don’t they just move in? Why do they have to suffer like this under tents? They can still continue to pressure for an alternative housing after they move in?

For the people of Taman Permata Dengkil, this has not been a struggle just for the past 141 days. This has been a struggle since 1993, when their management, Golden Hope, told the workers that the government has taken over the estate land and they can work in any other estate managed by Golden Hope. The workers protested and demanded alternative housing, terrace houses.

Twenty years have passed, and there has been no changes to their demand, which is still the same. The hope and struggle still remains.

According to news report on Sept 19, 1994 in The Star, then-Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Taib said that compensation of houses or land can be given to the people. All the developers involved - Shah Alam Properties, the Selangor Economic Development Corperation (PKNS) and Consortium Sepang - should be involved with the government in providing the compensation to the workers.

The Star also reported on Dec 7, 1996 that the then-Selangor State Estate Housing Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee chairperson S Rajagopal had suggested that the people be transferred to longhouses until the low-cost houses were completed. There was also support from other state representatives like Ee Kim Hock (Telok Dato assemblyperson) who told the state government to build low-cost house for the evicted workers.

The Sun reported on Oct 7, 1997, that Dr Mahathir Mohamad (the prime minister then) proudly launched Putrajaya covering 4,581ha, housing 76,000 staff members, 300,000 residents in 67,000 houses, 10,000 of which are low-cost houses. But none were for the workers of these four estates who toiled for generations on the land to build the nation economically.

Beginning from 1998, water and electricity supplies were cut off occasionally. Some workers left. Empty houses were demolished. If you speak to some workers, they would also say that the  army was brought in to evict them.

One year afterwards, around the month of August 1999, approximately 400 families from Prang Besar, Sedgeley, Medingley and Galloway were transferred to the Taman Permata Dengkil flats, for which they had to pay RM18,000 for each unit.

The five blocks in Taman Permata were neat. Well, all new stuff will look great in the beginning. In 2001, people started to witness cracks in the walls of their houses. In 2003, the first-ever flood happened there. Residents still keep  pictures of people moving around during the flood waters which were almost at their waist level.

The Taman Permata folk are used to floods nowadays. They can share stories about travelling on boats during the floods. Imagine, flooding at flats houses, that is how bad things are here.

Cracks and tremors

The recent crack and tremors felt at  Block 5 on June 11, 2013, was the last straw. The residents decided that they had to launch a long-term struggle to get proper housing, if not they will have to continue to live in fear day in day out. Decent housing is all they ask as the current status of the place they call home is in such a bad condition that even using the toilet in the house is a struggle as water overflows from the toilet to the living room through the walls.

Protests and more protests at Prime Minister’s Office and the Housing Ministry in Putrajaya ensured the voices of the people were heard. Now all relevant parties are involved in resolving the housing crisis of the people. This was achieved after the ex-plantation workers had many times held up placards, chanted slogans, held meetings and so on.
 
On the Sept 28, the residents invited both the state and the federal government to have a dialogue in their tent in Taman Permata Dengkil. This was a great initiative by the residents to bring together the ruling government together with people of different ideologies.

It was a good discussion but there was no new outcome. The federal government requests the exact amount of land from the state, the state government requests an undertaking from the federal government to build the houses.

However, the people are not giving up. The hope and struggle remains strong and burning.

The tents have been a symbol of struggle for alternative housing for more than four months now. Some have gone back to their homes. Some are keeping up the fight. People organise themselves. They build places to sleep in tents. They cook in a community and taste the food together. Now they even have build their own toilets.

The festival of lights, Deepavali, will be a different kind of celebration  for the residents of Taman Permata this year.

As we enjoy the celebration with our families in a nice environment, as the leaders of the country have open houses, as others safely stay in their houses without fear that it might collapse,  this community of people in Taman Permata Dengkil  will be celebrating it with thoughts of fighting for a decent house and thinking whether will this festival of lights light up their life?

Anyway the hope and struggle still remains for a better housing with a conducive environment for at least their future generation.

Hopefully the festival of lights will light up the hearts of the government to provide a decent housing for the ex-plantation workers who toiled to build the wealth of the nation.

Happy Deepavali from the residents of Taman Permata Dengkil.

---

R THEVARAJAN is the coordinator for Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit).

Najib plagued by protesters in London, again

(Malaysiakini) Prime Minister Najib Razak faced his second protest in two days at the in London, as Londoners waved placards on corruption and unethical practices outside the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) yesterday.

According to Suaram International, the protesters wanted to press home "recent crackdown on human rights and widespread electoral fraud in Malaysia" at the WIEF's closing ceremony at 6pm.

Gathering outside the Excel exhibition and convention centre at 5pm, protestors held placards such as 'Bersih Before Business', 'Cameron, Say NO to Corruption!', 'Stop Police Brutality!' and 'Stop Racism in Malaysia!'.

Expecting the arrival of a VIP from the UK government scheduled to speak at the event's closing ceremony, protesters were however told that the event had been brought forward at the last minute.

“I've come to remind Najib that the world is watching and if he really wants to interact on a global stage and advance Malaysia economically and socially he has to accept and implement international human rights norms and basic civil liberties.

"Najib's government is extremely un-Islamic and what they are trying to portray here in London is extremely hypocritical. We are sick and tired of it,” said one participant Mohamad Johari, according to Suaram.

Others who spoke to the human rights NGO expressed disappointment at the human rights abuses taking place in a country they used to think of as a "holiday paradise".

"I have come today to express my disgust to Najib and his government and to speak out for Malaysians who don't have a voice. Najib, how do you sleep at night?” said one participant, Sol.

On Wednesday, another group called British Victims of Investing in Malaysia (BVIM) held a protest at the same venue over the Najib government's inaction over a Malaysian company that had allegedly cheated UK investors of millions.

Meanwhile yesterday Najib, who is the patron of the WIEF, boasted of his good track record on human rights in an interview with CNN, but found himself in a bind when his credentials as a "moderate" and a self-claimed "democrat" were questioned.

New policy robs disabled of a Happy Deepavali

(Malaysiakini) It will be a sad Deepavali celebration for many disabled people in Malaysia tomorrow as they have stopped receiving their monthly welfare payments since July.

Despite protests last month by about over two dozen individuals in October, the NGO for the disabled community, Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC), said their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

ILTC head Francis Siva (left) said that many disabled have called him in distress this morning to complain that the RM300 a month allowance, useful for buying medicine and other living needs, was not restored as promised.

Social Welfare Department (JKM) officials had told the group last month that to receive their allowance, the disabled had to present themselves at JKM offices, fill in a multi-page form, get various supporting documents, and do this every year.

"They expect us to crawl to their office to get this information - what is this?" Francis said.

"After holding a protest on October 23 at the JKM branch office in Gombak, the government agreed to help sort out the problem but as of this morning, many still have not received their money."

One explanation given by JKM was that the department was tightening up the handout system after the auditor-general report of 2012 cited that welfare handouts were being channelled to the deceased or to dormant accounts, due to poor recordkeeping.

Disabled workers who are employed but earning below RM1,200, were paid an allowance of RM300 a month to top-up their salary in the welfare scheme which has been around for some seven years, Francis said.

Many disabled workers however were unpleasantly surprised in July when the money was not banked in.

After waiting two more months, they realised that something may have changed and many called JKM but were stonewalled.

"If they have a new policy, they should consult us first ...if they suddenly terminate our money, how are we going to live? We are already a burdened group," Siva said.

When contacted, a Putrajaya-based JKM director refused comment.
'Make things better, not worse'
Siva said the JKM officers, who are abled bodied, should be the ones to go out and visit and check, if they want to audit their welfare payments. He added that leaders in the community could have also been roped in to help.

"They can't justify what they have done...it's a half-baked idea and it's a shameful thing... the welfare department's job is to understand and improve the quality of life for the disabled and not make it worse," said Petaling Jaya city councillor Anthony Thanasayan.

Anthony is the founder of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled.

Both Francis and Anthony said they have now want to meet with Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Rohani Abdul Karim (left).

After they sent in a request six months ago, she scheduled to meet them early last month but cancelled the appointment at the last minute.

PKR MP N Surendran also recently pointed out how the government had quietly cut allocations for the poor, disabled and senior citizens in budget 2014.

Last month, a disabled man resorted to crawling up a flight of stairs in a bid to submit a memorandum to the Kulim Welfare Department (JKM) after its director snubbed his association.

Are you a great white or a guppy? Test your shark knowledge

HINDU TEMPLE RESTORATION PROMOTES "INFIDEL RELIGIONS" AND "JEOPARDISES MALAYSIA'S POSITION AS AN ISLAMIC COUNTRY"

A RM10 million budget to renovate a Hindu temple in Klang, Selangor has drawn the ire of Muslim activists who today claimed  the project promotes “infidel religions” and jeopardises Malaysia’s position as an “Islamic country”. Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) said the Sri Sundaraja Perumal temple renovation, if allowed to proceed, would lower Malaysia’s image as a modern “Islamic country” in the eyes of Muslim tourists—especially those from the Middle East. 

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Fate of Tamil propagandist: new Sri Lanka evidence

Kenyan warplanes bomb Islamist camp in Somalia, military says

(CNN) -- Kenyan warplanes targeted an Al-Shabaab training camp today inside Somalia, according to military officials. The al Qaeda-linked Islamist group has been connected to the attack in a Nairobi mall last month where 67 people where killed.

Col. Cyrus Oguna, spokesman for the Kenyan Defense Force, told CNN that the training camp had about 300 recruits, but he doesn't know yet how many people were killed in this attack. He said that information would be available Friday.

"This military operation is not an isolated one, but we will continue targeting Al-Shabaab camps in the near future" Cyrus Oguna said.

The attack was in Diinsoor, Southwestern Somalia.

The airstrike completely destroyed an Al-Shabaab training camp at Hurguun, according to the military.

Kenyan officials said the terror group has used the training camp to train operatives, including attackers who targeted Nairobi's Westgate mall in September.

This offensive comes on the heels of the Jillib attack, which left two Al-Shabaab commanders dead, the Kenyan military said.