Home Ministry reveals Mat Sabu's Shiite 'connection'

Footage of cruelty to Australian cattle in Gaza sparks Opposition concern over live exports

Gaza, Oct 2013 from Animals Australia on Vimeo.

The Opposition says footage that appears to show Australian cattle being beaten, stabbed and dragged in Gaza may warrant a suspension of trade licences.

Animals Australia has released footage that it says was filmed in the Gaza Strip in October.

The Department of Agriculture has been investigating a possible breach of the live export regulatory regime for more than a month.

In a statement the department said it believed, based on appearance, some cattle in the footage are Australian.

"However, we are working to determine the circumstances surrounding this incident including verifying the source, date, time and location of the footage," the statement said.

"The department, as the regulator or the livestock export trade, takes all reports of animal welfare breaches seriously, and investigates all complaints against the relevant regulatory framework."

Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon has seen the footage and says the Department of Agriculture should act quickly.

"I'm calling upon the department to seriously consider very quickly issuing 'just cause' notices to any company it's investigating as a result of these allegations," he said.

"The 'just cause' notice of course will put the onus on company to show cause why their licence should not be suspended until that investigation is complete.

"My concern is that there is no indication that investigation will be complete by the end of this year and indeed it's likely to be well into the new year before the department comes to any conclusions."

Greens MP Adam Bandt has also seen the video, and says his party will re-introduce legislation to end the live export trade and shift to processed meat exports.

"I think anyone who watches this footage and sees images of Australian cattle being stabbed in the eye, having their throats slit while still alive and being taunted and tortured would understand that now is the time to end the live export trade," he said.

Animals Australia says it has distributed the footage to all members of Parliament.
Footage part of a 'vendetta', graziers say

But Nationals MP Andrew Broad says he has not seen the video.

"Let's be clear about this. We live in the real world, the world where we've got to export products, where we provide meat for developing countries," he said.

"Some countries in the world such as Jordan, a very high proportion of their red meat protein comes out of live exports and we're always there, always trying to lift the standards of animal welfare."

Meanwhile, the WA Pastoralists and Graziers Association (PGA) says it believes much of the footage released by animal welfare groups showing alleged mistreatment of Australian livestock overseas was a "constructed set-up".

Singling out Animals Australia, PGA president Rob Gillam said while the revelations were disturbing, there was a good chance it was part of a "vendetta" against livestock producers.

"It always seems to come from Animals Australia and we don't seem to hear them having much of a problem with how animals in the rest of the world are treated," he said.

"It would appear that Animals Australia seem to be carrying out a worldwide vendetta against Australian livestock exporters and farmers.

"They always seem to be able to come up with some dreadful footage and I'm not so sure that a lot of this stuff is not set up."

Lack of benchmarking, bad decisions bringing education standard down, says former deputy minister

The failure to benchmark local education with international standards and not allowing schools and
other stakeholders to make decisions that affect students are the key reasons the Malaysian education system is on the decline, said experts.

Former deputy education minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong (pic) noted that Malaysia was not up to mark in terms of education, even though Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin insisted it was, simply because, "we have not benchmarked our standards with the international level of education".

"That's why we have students scoring a string of As here but when it comes to international exams, they can't make it," he told The Malaysian Insider today, referring to Malaysia's dismal performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa).

The country only managed a poor 55th ranking out of 65 countries in the Pisa, which was done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Malaysia's performance in the assessment of 15-year-olds using tests for maths, reading and science has been criticised by several opposition leaders who are calling for a major revamp of the education system.

Wee pointed out that Muhyiddin's statement showed that Malaysia was still trying to convince itself that its education standards was "not bad".

"We tell ourselves that it's not that we are not bad, it's just that other countries are really good because they have this and that.

"But this is not a valid excuse. If other countries can improve and we can't, then our standards will drop," he added.

Wee, who was deputy education minister from 2008 till early this year, said that national examinations in the country have been made too easy compared with years ago when it was tougher to pass.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan, however, disagreed, noting that the government was already embarking on programmes to benchmark the education system here with international standards.

"We have been doing that by sitting for the Pisa assessment. The government is interested in improving the system.

"The main trouble with our education system is the desire to maintain centralisation of control," he opined.

For most countries with good education systems, Wan Saiful revealed, important decisions were made by stakeholders.

"These are people who are closer to students.

"But in Malaysia, the same decisions on policies are made by those furthest from the students, such as the minister. And it does not help that most educational policies we have are geared for political purposes," he said.

The average mean score in the Pisa test is 494 and the survey tested 510,000 students aged 15 last year, covering three examination sections, mathematics, science and reading ability. Malaysia obtained a mean score of 421.

Even Vietnam ranked 17th in the survey with 511 points while Shanghai-China scored 613 to take first place in the rankings.

Meanwhile, there has been no let-up from DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, who continued to question Muhyiddin's silence over the Pisa rankings.

The Gelang Patah MP has been on a warpath with the Education Minister since the results of the assessment was announced recently.

"Malaysia’s declining educational standards is presently a taboo subject for the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Education Minister who does not want to talk or be asked about it, especially after two events in December which highlighted the sad reality that the education system in Malaysia is facing a real crisis of confidence," Lim said in a statement today.

He was referring to the Pisa tests and the World Bank's report that: “Among East Asian countries that participated in the 2012 Pisa, Malaysian students only outperform their Indonesian peers, and lag even lower-income countries (including by a wide margin, Vietnam).”

Lim also criticised the ministry's answer to resolve the issue by forming yet another committee to improve Malaysia's ranking.

In response to the Pisa survey, the education ministry was reported as saying that the special committee would be led by the curriculum development section and would also comprise professional sections from the ministry.

The task of the committee is to identify and monitor initiatives to improve students' performance in international assessments such as Pisa.

In a statement, it said although the recent Pisa results were not encouraging, the authorities were confident that the Malaysian Education Development Plan 2013-2025 would help Malaysia to achieve a better ranking in the next Pisa instalment.

"Clearly, the person responsible for the ministry's statement does not know what is in the National Education Blueprint, for it is not about “getting a better position in Pisa 2015” but breaking out of the bottom-third Pisa bracket and achieving the international Pisa average in the 2015 Pisa and 2018 Pisa, and breaking into a top-third Pisa bracket in the 2021 Pisa ," Lim said.

"In other words, can Malaysia become a 'wonder nation' to achieve what no other country had ever achieved in three Pisa evaluations – a double quantum jump from bottom-third to top-third Pisa brackets?"- December 12, 2013.

Mat Sabu: I'm a Khomeini admirer, not a Shiite

The list of 10 things given by the Home Ministry allegedly "proving" that PAS number two Mohamad Sabu is a Shiite adherent is not enough to the accused.

In an immediate reaction, the politician better known as Mat Sabu stood firm on his earlier denial.

"About the allegation that I was impressed with Khomeini, I say thanks. I am an admirer of his leadership because he is a leader who brought Muslims to stand on their own," he said.

"I am also an admirer of Hassan Nasrullah (Lebanese Shiite leader)," he added.

He added he will make a further statement after meeting with his lawyer this Sunday.

Mat Sabu's unflappable response was matched by former education deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right).

Apparently ridiculing the ministry's "evidence", the now chief executive officer of the government initiative Global Movement of Moderates, said that he, too, is a Khomeini admirer.

"I admire (South African leader Nelson) Mandela, (Cuban communist fighter) Che Guevera, (Indian independence activist) Ghandi and (Indian nun) Mother Theresa.

"Does that make me a Christian, Communist and Hindu? I too admire Khomeini. Am I a Shiite?" he asked on Twitter.
Wrong priorities?
Similarly, former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim said being a Khomeini admirer has no bearing on one's faith.

"What has happened... what is wrong with admiring Khomeini? Or Martin Luther or Confucious? It does not mean I've change religions or faith. Absurd," he tweeted.

Former Perlis mufti and prominent scholar Asri Zainul Abidin, in response, told the ministry to also watch their own.

"The Home Ministry should also monitor in case there are 'Shiites in Sunni clothes' within the ministry," he tweeted.

The Home Ministry's press conference also "amused" Selangor Speaker Hannah Yeoh.

"Home Ministry never fails to amuse me. Surely their resources and time can be better spent on fighting crime than fighting Mat Sabu," she said on Twitter.

Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang, however, seemed unable to contain his excitement.

"We have to be fair to PAS's Mat Sabu. We haven't seen the evidence and video. Let's wait for the news tonight via TV3's (prime time news) Buletin Utama. 8 pm!!!" he tweeted.

The list of 10 evidences presented by the Home Ministry today are that Mat Sabu had:

• Used Khomeini as an example of a good leader in a Harakah article in 2008;

• Confessed to be an admirer Khomeini in his speech on Jun 13, 2011;

• Frequently visits Shiite-majority Iran, as per the testimony of Home Ministry officer Zamihan Mat Zin;

• Recites the selawat (praises for the prophet) the Shiite way at a PAS ceramah in Arau, Perlis in 2005, as claimed by Zamihan;

• Uses a small stone when he performs the sujud (prostrate to Allah in prayer) as per Shiite practice, as claimed by one "Abdul Rahim", a grassroots religious teacher from Pendang, Kedah that Mat Sabu in Umno blog 'Duke of Umno';

• Professed admiration for Shiite Lebanese leader Hassan Nasrullah and said he and his wife frequetly visits Hassan, as claimed by Jalur Tiga NGO;

• Cited Shiite ulamas in his Christmas Day message to Christians published in Harakah Daily in 2008;

• Attended a "Shiite class" conducted by two "Shiite ulamas" in Bukit Merah, Perak in 2011;

• Visited a "Shiite mosque" in Satun, Thailand in 2011;

• Is a "Shiite icon", as claimed by Jalur Tiga (Jati) deputy president Aidit Ghazali in an interview in news portal Antara Pos.

World Bank sees tough 2014 for Malaysian households

Malaysians winding down for the year-end may already have to start bracing for tough times in 2014, the World Bank says.

According to its Economic Monitor report on the country released on Dec 10, household expenditures will take a hit as the government continues to cut subsidies and other policies.

It said that even with cash aids like the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), households will need to tighten their belts, leading to a dip in private consumption.

It also said that BR1M will cost the government RM7.1 billion, so the actual cut in fuel subsidy is expected to expand from 23 percent today to 28.6 percent in 2014 to meet savings targets.

Happily, however, the World Bank expects inflation to rise “only modestly” in 2014 from 2.3 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent, due to benign supply conditions such as weak commodity prices.

“Reduced energy subsidies, not only in terms of additional fuel price hikes but also an adjustment of electricity tariffs, may have a knock-on impact on consumer prices, as may the wider introduction of the minimum wage.

“Private consumption may also be negatively affected by possible interest rate hikes and tighter credit markets, with signs of weaker credit expansion already appearing this year,” the report said.

It added that poor prospects for agriculture commodities will also bring pain to smallholders. This would include the roughly 420,000 smallholders under the Federal Land Development Agency (Felda) scheme.

However, the World Bank said, firm employment and wages as well as higher welfare cash aid like the BR1M can help to ease the pain for households to an extent.

Even then, it said, private consumption growth to slide to 6.5 percent in 2014, a significant dip from 8.4 percent in 2013.

The World Bank expects private consumption to pick up to 7.2 percent in 2015, but this will still be lower than 2012 figures, where private consumption grew by 7.7 percent.

“Growth in government consumption will come in at 6.0 percent in 2013 (largely due to high growth in the second and third quarters) before contracting in 2014 by 0.1 percent,” it said.
Gov’t must watch its spending

It said that while subsidy cuts are an effort to reign-in the deficit, the coffers will be hit by a reduction in oil-related revenue.

There will be a potential boost in corporate and personal taxes, despite tax breaks offered in the Budget, but it will not be enough to truly reel in the deficit.

“Therefore, the reduction in the deficit will need to be achieved through expenditure restraint,” the Economic Monitor report said.

It said the government’s efforts will mean lower development levels, with debt-to-GDP ratio expected to drop from 54.8 percent to 54.3 percent.

“Long-term fiscal sustainability will require continuing on the path of consolidation, while carefully monitoring and managing contingent liabilities and other sources of fiscal risk,” it said.

The debt-to-GDP ratio does not take into account contingent liabilities, which include government-backed bonds and other guaranteed debt by government-linked corporations.

Uthayakumar's appeal finally fixed for Jan 15

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) de facto leader P Uthayakumar will finally have his appeal over his sedition conviction heard on Jan 15 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The appeal will be heard before Justice Azman Hussain.

This follows the Sessions Court had submitted its written grounds on the conviction dated Nov 22, and Uthayakumar’s lawyer M Manoharan had submitted 130 grounds of appeal or errors to the decision in seven volumes comprising of 2,224 pages.

He said the date was decided by the KL High Court during case management recently.

Manoharan (right) said the grounds prepared by the Sessions judge was only received on Nov 25, five months after the court decision, and only after five case management sittings.

“We would like to express our appreciation to the Chief Judge of Malaya (Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin) for responding to our request, and assuring that the written grounds would be ready by Nov 22 after we had written in earlier,” he told Malaysiakini.

Ideally, as commented by Chief Justice Ariffin Zakaria recently, a judge or judicial officer should have their written grounds ready within eight weeks or two months after an appeal has been filed.

Uthayakumar was convicted and sentenced to two years and six months jail by the Sessions Court on June 5, this year for making seditious statements in 2007, after the court found that his defence failed to raise a reasonable doubt.

He was convicted of publishing seditious material in a letter written between Nov 15 and Dec 8, 2007, to then-British prime minister Gordon Brown, in which he alleged state-sponsored social ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Indian poor in Malaysia. The letter was posted on the now-defunct Police Watch website.

Uthayakumar has chosen to serve jail while waiting for the appeal.

'Political comments not seditious'

Manoharan also said among the main grounds of appeal was that political comments cannot amount to sedition.

"What Uthayakumar states in the letter is within the realm of political comments as under Section 3(2) of the Sedition Act, that notwithstanding anything in the subsection (1), pointing out errors or defects in any government or constitution as by law established, does not constitute sedition," he asserted.

Manoharan also pointed out that Uthayakumar had already served detention under the Internal Security Act where he was held for one year and six months, with other Hindraf leaders. (Manoharan himself was one of them).

Hence, this sedition conviction amounts to duplicity of punishment, said the lawyer.

In addition to this, Manoharan said there was not a single police report lodged against Uthayakumar for the letter, so how could the prosecution say it was seditious?

This, the lawyer pointed out, was unlike Karpal Singh's case where he allegedly uttered seditious remarks against the Perak ruler during the constitutional crisis, where many police reports were lodged.

"In Uthayakumar's case there is no police report. So how can the authorities classify what he had wrote as sedition?"

Manoharan added that the Kuala Lumpur High Court had also ordered during the case management that the prison authorities refer Uthayakumar to a neurosurgeon.

However this has yet to be done.

"Uthayakumar suffers from back pain and also diabetes complications and requires medical attention,"  he revealed.

Manoharan said as he informed the court that Uthayakumar could be classified as a political prisoner, the court has agreed to hold him in isolation.

"The deputy registrar will write that Uthayakumar be placed in the prison's safety division or in its hospital division," he said.

Zahid: No need for Sunni-Syiah talks

There is no need for a debate on the two major faiths in Islam – Sunni and Syiah – as it will not solve the problem, says Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has rejected a call to have an open debate to end the dispute between two the largest sectarian belief in Islam – the Sunni and Syiah.

Ahmad Zahid was commenting on a statement made by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Hasmy Agam last week that a more intellectual discussion was needed to deal with the controversial subject.

“There is no need for a dialogue because it has nothing to do with human rights.

“What is there to discuss? This is a problem between to sects, not about humans,” he told FMT today.

In a recent report, Hasmy Agam has called for talks between the country’s predominant Sunni Muslims and the minority Syiah Muslims.

Hasmy Agam said the freedom to practise different faiths under the Federal Constitution should be extended to other denominations within Islam.

Ahmad Zahid then slammed the Syiah teaching by labelling its followers as cheaters, liars and pretenders.

“This is about the akidah (faith) of a Muslim. I can’t let this happen,” he said.

According to Washington-based Pew Research Centre, Syiahism is the second largest denomination of Islam, making up 10% to 20% of the global Muslim population of about 1.6 billion.

The issue has caught the attention of many international scholars who described it as a violation against freedom of religion.

Many have also accused the government of being a hypocrite as Malaysia is seen to have a good relationship with Iran, a predominantly Syiah Muslim nation.

‘Destroying candi as bad as murder’

Bujang Valley Study Circle chief V Nadarajan nevertheless welcomes rebuilding effort.

PETALING JAYA: Destroying a candi is equivalent to murder, according to Bujang Valley Study Circle chairman V Nadarajan.

He made the comment as he welcomed Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir’s announcement that the the candi at Bujang Valley Site 11 would be rebuilt.

“It would not be as authentic, but it teaches a lesson to those who destroy it,” he told FMT today. “Destroying it is equivalent to premeditated murder.”

Mukhriz said yesterday that the construction company that destroyed the candi had agreed to rebuild the the historical site at its own expense.

Controversy regarding the famed 8th century temple remnants known as Candi Sungai Batu or Bujang Valley Site 11 arose on Nov 29 when it was reported to have been destroyed by a housing developer.

The Tourism and Culture Ministry declared the area as a heritage site on Dec 3. The site has also been shortlisted for Unesco consideration as a world heritage site.

Kedah exco Tajul Urus Mat Zain added a new dimension to the controversy during the recent Umno general assembly when he said that gazetting the location as a heritage site would rob BN politicians of Malay votes.

This will not be the first time that Candi Sungai Batu will be rebuilt. It was damaged at least once before the recent destruction, but was reconstructed in 1974.

Bujang Valley is one of the earliest entry points to the Malay peninsula for ancient Indian sailors.

Excavations at the archaeological site have revealed the remains of a jetty, iron-smelting areas and a clay-brick monument dating back to 110 AD, which makes it the oldest man-made structure known in Southeast Asia.

Nadarajan, who is the author of Bujang Valley: Wonder That Was Ancient Kedah, recommended that the developer consult himself and the head of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Global Centre for Archaeology, Mokhtar Saidin, in its reconstruction effort.

“Mokhtar can reconstruct and I can assist,” he said. “I have seen it 20 to 30 times and I have plenty of photographs.”

New classrooms with no furniture

A Tamil school has a new RM3 million building with nothing in it.

PETALING JAYA: A Tamil school in Bukit Tinggi, Klang, has a new block of 20 classrooms, but the students and teachers who will occupy them may have to sit on the floor when school reopens next month.

The Ladang Highlands Tamil School has been waiting for furniture for the new building since February, when the school’s advisory board wrote to the Education Ministry for the provision.

R Kannan, the board member who wrote the letter, told FMT today that the ministry had yet to reply.

The school was established 103 years ago, when Bukit Tinggi was still a rubber plantation area.

“Even as late as 2005, we only had 65 pupils,” Kannan said. “However, by 2011, the number had soared to 900, compelling the Parent-Teacher Association to apply for an additional building to be built.”

In January 2012, the Education Ministry dished out RM3 million, allocated directly from the Prime Minister’s Department, for the construction of a four-storey building to house 20 classrooms.

The building was completed in August this year.

“But we were shocked when the Klang District Education Department told us that they will not be providing us with furniture,” said Kannan, who added that the application for the new building included a request for furniture.

He said the PTA had sent numerous letters to the relevant government agencies but had received no reply.

“Even Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan and National Tamil Schools Transformation Unit head NS Rajandran have not come back to us on the matter.

“I’m baffled as to why the ministry is not providing us with furniture when national schools gets state-of-the-art facilities when they get new buildings.”

He said the school urgently needed the furniture because there were only three weeks left before the new school session.

A check by FMT showed that the new building has yet to receive its certificate of fitness.

Palani must break out of his cocoon

The MIC president has still not announced the official line-up and without the CWC members named it is difficult to hear complaints of irregularities in the party polls.

PETALING JAYA: MIC president G Palanivel’s silence on alleged irregularities during the party polls to pick three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members is leading the party to uncertainty.

The polls process came under close scrutiny after candidates found disparity between votes cast and ballots counted.

There were also speculations as to why a delegate was given access to secretariat and security management duties which further raised questions on the polls’ integrity.

An MIC election steering committee source told FMT that any complaint regarding the polls should be made to the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC).

“The party has a set of election by-laws introduced in 2003 and applied for the polling process which took place in Malacca on Nov 30 and Dec 1.

“Most of the delegates believed that the party constitution comprises everything including the polls process, but they have forgotten or neglected the election by-laws,” said the election committee member.

The member also pointed out to Part VIII, Disputes column, Article 8 which states that:

“If any candidate is aggrieved with the manner in which the elections have been conducted or with decision of the returning officer he may appeal within seven days of the elections to the Central Working Committee whose decision thereon shall be final”.

A check with another veteran party leader, who also declined to be named, confirms that the CWC has to be convened soon to hear the polls irregularities.

The former party leader said since the complaints were made against the election committee, the CWC was the authorised entity to hear the complaints.

The party has nt held its CWC meeting since the polls, and Palanivel has yet to announce the list of office bearers.

“The first thing that needs to be done is to quickly re-appoint the secretary-general and treasurer-general or if the president wants to bring in new faces, has to be done swiftly.

“Secondly, the president has to instruct the secretary-general to call for a CWC meeting to hear the complaints,” said the veteran leader.

President’s credibility affected

He added that the delay in naming the new line-up had created more unrest among party members.

Not only that, it boils down to the credibility of the president to manage the party.

“The president talked about transformation in his opening speech, but it looks like he is failing in his responsibilities and incapable to make decisions for the benefit of the party.

“Whether it is a wise or bad decision, the president has to stop dragging his feet,” he said.

It is also widely speculated that the president has succumbed to a major force that is intervening to replace the secretary-general and treasurer-general as well as the nine CWC positions that need to be appointed.

The party chief has yet to make any public statement in the wake of increasing allegations of wrong-doings at the polls.

Two former party Youth chiefs T Mohan and SA Vigneswaran had publicly questioned the integrity of the election committee. There have also been calls for a re-election.

On another front, a party election committee member confirmed the presence of a woman, called Mala, in the counting and tabulation of votes.

Two days ago, MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam pointed the finger at the president to decide if a re-election was needed following allegations of unfair practices.

The president has to break his silence since the confusion among the party members could lead to leadership distrust and further divide the party.

I do care about Malays

Of late I’ve been receiving harsh retorts and brickbats from some Malays. They are upset with my views about UMNO policies, especially my argument that Malays don’t need special attention or preferences to empower them or to make them successful. They say I am ungrateful since UMNO made me rich.

The thrust of my argument is that Malays just need fair policies, right attitudes and a good work ethic. We need a Government that gives us fair and equal opportunities to do well. In fact, I think the present preferential policies are too arbitrary and will make Malays fail at their endeavours—with the exception of a lucky few, of course.

Today, I want to reply to the propaganda that I am rich and ungrateful to UMNO. Such attacks are an easy way for UMNO to whip up emotions without acknowledging—let alone responding to—any of my arguments. They like to “shame” their enemies in the eyes of the public so that real issues are forgotten.

I want to remind Malays that they don’t need to be “enslaved” by UMNO . There is no need to feel that our whole existence depends on the party. It’s this mental slavery that is keeping Malays downtrodden and impoverished. So here is the truth:

I was never a high-ranking official in UMNO despite being a member for 25 years. The best I could achieve was Division Head of Kota Bharu, and that was after 10 years of trying. Three years after that, I was suspended. I was not given a chance to contest the Kota Bharu parliamentary seat in the 2008 elections although I was the incumbent and the first UMNO candidate to have won the seat (in 2004) after 15 years of opposition rule.

As an UMNO Division Head you get to be a Datuk; and yes I got mine from a former Chief Minister of Melaka. So it’s true that, if not for UMNO, I would probably be an Encik today.

It’s also true that I was made a director of Tenaga Nasional Berhad for three years, and it’s probably true that if I had not been an UMNO MP I would probably not have been given this opportunity. It’s also true that I was a Minister for nine months, which would not have happened if not for UMNO. But all these appointments did not make me rich. I have never been rich.

I was never an “UMNO lawyer”. Yes, legal work for the North-South Highway concession was handled by my firm, but that was because of the kindness of Tan Sri Halim Saad who wanted to help a poor fellow from Kota Bharu start something useful. I did not get UMNO to pressure Halim to appoint me because I didn’t know any of the top leaders. I was a nobody.

Yes, I used the opportunity to build the firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co. but I was not (and have never been) an UMNO lawyer. If you want to know the real UMNO lawyers when all the deals were done, you should talk to Tun Zaki Tun Azmi, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Manaff, Tan Sri Zulhasnan Rafique, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Tan Sri Cecil Abraham and the other big names.

During the 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election (which I lost) the same attacks were thrown at me: I was an ungrateful Melayu who bit the hand that fed me. I asked these accusers to present the list of shares that I allegedly received from them, as well as the projects, concessions, APs, licences and monopolies I supposedly enjoyed. They also claimed I owned some listed companies.

There was no proof because I owned none of these things. So how on earth could I be rich?

What was I supposed to do with APs, concessions and projects anyway? I’m not a businessman. I’m a lawyer with a penchant for getting into trouble. I’d have had to ask a Chinese businessman to run these projects for me, thus contributing to the Ali Baba syndrome that UMNO leaders were railing against at the time.

Similarly, I wouldn’t have been able to bear the guilt of depriving genuine Malay entrepreneurs of the opportunity to grow. I really believed then that UMNO wanted to make Malays economically and educationally as strong as—not “stronger than”—everybody else in the greater Malaysian community. To deprive Malays of that opportunity would be a terrible fraud. I’d be guilty of hypocrisy at best, treachery at worst.

So that’s why I’m not rich. I like to tell myself that I’m happy, at least.

But the truth is I’m not. The fiction that I’m rich perpetuates the mantra that any Malay who has achieved anything in life owes it all to UMNO. The enslaving of the Malay mind is important for UMNO, so that the whole existence of a Malay is predicated on being subservient to the party.

The Malay psyche is nurtured and developed by this false propaganda so Malays are convinced that they are unable to survive on their own. In other words, UMNO’s continued existence depends on Malays being enslaved in this way.

This makes me extremely unhappy.

My criticism of UMNO, including its philosophy of mental slavery, stems from my strong belief that Malays have been “spoilt” by UMNO’s false values. UMNO teaches values that will keep Malays dependent and poor while making them greedy and utterly paranoid. What does this do to the Malay soul? What does it do to the Malaysian soul when the largest community is so terribly afraid not just of other communities but of its own shadow as well?

I care about Malays and that’s why I want an open debate to discuss how to really empower the Malay community in the correct, unbigoted, and non-racialised, way. I see changes in values, educational reforms and cultural progress as critical to the development of the Malays. What doesn’t work is the mixture of handouts, chest-thumping and looking for imaginary bogeymen under the bed.

If you want to empower Malays, be sincere and do it properly. It’s in the interest of Malaysians that all our communities progress together. Empowerment, which must start with Malays, must end by being for all Malaysians.

However, UMNO isn’t interested in changing the Malays, let alone Malaysians. They just want to rule forever.

And here’s a parting note:

I’ve been in semi-retirement for some time now. If you remember, I resigned from Zaid Ibrahim & Co. and gave up all my shares when I became a Minister. The upshot is that my savings are depleting quickly and, as such, I plan to go back to work in 2014 by opening an office to do some consultancy. This means I’ll be running around getting things done for clients. Like everyone else, I’ll appreciate any business that comes my way, but I hope to be paid promptly and that not too many people ask for discounts that I can’t afford to give.

So much for the life of a man made rich by UMNO, eh?

Singapore Bans its First Internet Website

Shutdown ends hands-off policy put in place in 1996
Singapore’s Media Development Agency has shut down its first Internet site, an innocuous fledgling called the Breakfast Network that was run by Bertha Henson, a former journalist with Singapore Press Holdings who now is a journalist in residence at a local college while acting as a media consultant.
The action was taken under media guidelines published in May that required all Internet sites to register with the government if they have 50,000 unique visitors a month. They must put up S$50,000 bond if they report more than one article a week on Singapore-related news over a period of two months. If the government objects to an article, it must be taken down within 24 hours.
The registration and banning puts an end to 17 years of so-called “light touch” regulation put in place by the Media Development authority to foster the country’s image of high-tech communications to lure western technology and communications companies.
The Breakfast Network didn’t appear to be doing anything sinister beyond not bothering to register – which may have been more out of not being prepared than any defiance. Henson said in a parting posting that she had only started the website to give journalism students at her college the opportunity to write and publish under professional guidelines and standards.
“Singapore’s vibrant ecosystem of socio-political blogs was spared the discretionary licensing regime that has blocked the development of alternative print and broadcast media, wrote blogger and media critic Cherian George. “Blogs could be punished if what they published broke the law – but they were never expected to persuade regulators that they deserved the right to publish before they were allowed to do so. Until today.”
"I got the ball rolling sometime in August,” Henson said in a farewell note. “I incorporated a company and started to work on the legal and business end of things while everyone, except for one paid full-timer and a couple of interns, contributed articles pro bono. I had pro bono help from experts. I hired a team to do a new, improved website. So it was a bit of a surprise to get an email from the Media Development Authority about three weeks back about having to register the site. I hadn’t even begun to pull together a business plan to show the network contributors.”
The government has never interfered with the website’s operation or curbed content, Henson wrote.
Websites have been anticipating government action since the MDA’s guidelines were published in May. More prominent websites including The Online Citizen and TR Emeritus have not registered with the authority. Kumuran Pillai, editor of the newly-fledged news site The Independent, told Asia Sentinel his publication had registered.
“There’s no fallout now that I know of” so far from the shutdown of the Breakfast Network, Pillai said. “We have registered.” The site was required to make a statutory declaration that it hadn’t received any foreign funding. Yahoo, which some observers believe was the initial target of the government’s move to license websites, comes under a different licensing regime.
The operators of more than 160 Singaporean websites rallied after the measure was passed, calling for concerned citizens to assemble at Hong Lim Park, the site of the city's Speaker's Corner, to protest the new requirements, with the bloggers closing down their sites for 24 hours to protest the implementation of the new laws.
The bloggers launched a campaign using the Twitter hashtag #FreeMyInternet to spread the word about the campaign. Online commentators expressed concern over the breadth of the definition of "online news sites," warning that it could sweep in blogs that discuss a wide range of issues, and websites that enable users to discuss online content.
The regulations, promulgated at the behest of Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, have been condemned internationally by Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, saying the rules would further discourage independent commentary and reporting. Yaacob, however, later said the government intended to keep its light hand on the Internet.
Singapore's mainstream media have long been cowed into submission by the government through libel lawsuits, contempt of court cases and outright intimidation. Although the Media Development Authority said the new law was only meant to bring Internet sites into compliance with existing press regulations, Singapore's tame courts have been used to bludgeon the press into not reporting at all on the country. The Internet sites can be expected to face the same fate.
Many international news outlets including the International Herald Tribune, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the now-defunct Far Eastern Economic Review and AsiaWeek, Time Magazine and others have been sued successfully by the family of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, Lee Kuan Yew. All have reacted by shying away from critical reporting on the country.
According to the Human Rights Watch report: "In response to criticism, the Media Development Authority clarified on its Facebook page on May 31 that, “An individual publishing views on current affairs and trends on his/her personal website or blog does not amount to news reporting.' However, in a separate statement, the Authority undermined this claim by asserting that, "If they [blogs] take on the nature of news sites, we will take a closer look and evaluate them accordingly."
The Media Development Authority also asserted that the framework is "not an attempt to influence the editorial slant of news sites" and that it will only step in "when complaints are raised to [their] attention, and [they] assess that the content is in breach of the content guidelines and merits action by the website owner."

Malaysia does not need any more robotic responses to sliding educational standards but innovative reactions like making public the minimum passing marks of public exams and allowing parents to decide whether to adopt PPMSI

By Lim Kit Siang,

Malaysia’s declining educational standards is presently a taboo subject for the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who does not want to talk or to be asked about it, especially after two events in December which highlighted the sad reality that the Malaysia education system is facing a real crisis of confidence, unable to achieve the quality of education necessary to nurture skilled, inquisitive and innovative workers for Malaysia to break out of the middle-income trap to reach the goal of becoming a high-income nation.

These two events were the release of the 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results on December 3, the first day of the week of UMNO general meetings, and the official release of World Bank’s latest Malaysian Economic Monitor themed “High-Performing Education”.

Instead of delegating to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Datuk Seri Wahid Omar, Muhyiddin should have personally officiated at the release of the World Bank’s “Malaysia Economic Monitor: High-Performing Education” which highlighted the importance of building a high-performance education system for Malaysia’s transformation into a high income, sustainable and inclusive economy.

In fact, the World Bank report is not about Malaysia’s “high-performing education” but how Malaysia has fallen short of producing a high-performing education system based on Malaysia’s poor performances in two international education assessments – the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) where Malaysia’s scores were significantly lower than those in 2003 and 2007 for both Math and Science, and the 2012 PISA, where the Science and Reading scores fell compared to 2010 although the Math score showed improvement.

As the World Bank report pointed out: “Among East Asian countries that participated in the 2012 PISA, Malaysian students only outperform their Indonesian peers, and lag even lower-income countries (including by a wide margin, Vietnam).”

Malaysia suffers from three failures as a result of its poor performances in international educational benchmarks, below what would be expected of a country with its income per capita or level of educational expenditures, and well below the performance of the high-income economies that Malaysia aspires to compete against for innovation and knowledge-based investments.

Having failed to make a single mention of Malaysia’s poor performance in the 2012 PISA at the week-long UMNO general assemblies, whether in his opening speech of the Joint Annual General Meetings of Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri on the night of Dec. 3 or the winding-up debate during the Umno General Assembly the following Saturday, Muhyiddin should have taken the opportunity of the release the World Bank’s Malaysia Economic Monitor: High-Performing Education in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to convince Malaysians that the Malaysian Education Blueprint (MEB) for Malaysia to be among the top one-third world-class education systems in the world by 2012 is a serious undertaking and commitment.

Instead, Muhyiddin evaded the best opportunity for him to assure Malaysians that despite the poor performances of Malaysia’s 15-year-olds in 2012 PISA – falling below the international average in the three critical subjects of Math, Science and Reading (or literacy), as well as three or five years behind their peers in the top performing PISA countries/regions in Shanghai, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan – Malaysia’s MEB plan to be a world-class international education hub to be among the top third best education systems in the world is no “pie in the sky” .

Be that as it may, the constant bombardment on Muhyiddin and the Education Ministry for the poor Malaysian performances in the 2012 PISA since its results were released on Dec. 3 had certain effect, for it was announced in yesterday’s media that the Education Ministry has formed a special committee to elevate the ranking of Malaysian students in PISA.

Large groans could be heard all over the country at this announcement as Malaysia does not need any more robotic responses to sliding educational standards like establishment of another toothless committee but political will for genuine educational reforms and innovative reactions to firstly ensure greater educational accountability like making public the minimum passing marks of public exams and secondly, greater parental participation and ownership of national education systems as allowing parents to decide whether to adopt PPMSI.

In its response to the 2012 PISA results, the Education Ministry said in its statement: “Although the results of PISA 2012 were not so encouraging, the ministry is confident that Malaysia is capable of getting a better position in PISA 2015 through the implementation of Malaysia Education Blueprint, which was launched on Sept 6.”

Clearly, the person responsible for the Education Ministry statement does not know what is in the Malaysian Education Blueprint, for it is not about “getting a better position in PISA 2015” but breaking out of the bottom-third PISA bracket and achieving the international PISA average in the 2015 PISA and 2018 PISA and breaking into a top-third PISA bracket in the 2021 PISA.

In other words, can Malaysia become a “wonder nation” to achieve what no other country had ever achieved in four PISAs – a double quantum jump from bottom-third to top-third PISA brackets?

Are these PISA 2015, 1018 and 2021 targets for maths, science and reading still in place after the poor PISA 2012 results and the World Bank’s most adverse reports on “High Performing Education” in Malaysia?

Memories of Mandela

The Star 
Reflecting On The Law by SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

ALONG with Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest political leaders, human rights advocates and peace activists of the last century. On Dec 5, he left the surly bonds of the earth to touch the face of God. All humanity is diminished by his demise.

The light that shone in South Africa was, however, no ordinary light. Its radiance will last for many generations and can illuminate other parts of the globe.

Wherever there is hatred, discord and division, his message of forgiveness, tolerance and reconciliation provides a beacon of hope.

His conviction that no conflict is intractable and no hatred is too difficult to overcome is of relevance to all divided societies. His life, legacy and footprints in the sands of time can provide direction to all people, far and near.

I am reminded of a quote from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “His life was gentle and the elements so mix’t in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world: ‘This was a man’.”

UDHR: On another note, Dec 10 was the 65th anniversary of the Universal Decla­ration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948.

The Declaration’s first Article should strike a responsive chord in all of us: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

Sixty-five years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), one can say with satisfaction that it is no longer an issue of whether human rights are worthy of support.

It is now generally recognised that state sovereignty is a shield against external aggression. It cannot be used as a sword against one’s own nationals.

Human rights issues transcend time and territory. Abuse anywhere deserves worldwide condemnation. As Martin Luther King Jr noted: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Almost all world constitutions give due recognition to the need to limit state powers and to secure basic liberties of citizens. Besides the UDHR and its derivative Covenants, many regional declarations of human rights have appeared on the firmament.

Africa has the Banjul Charter. Europe has its European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Islamic countries have several formulations, among them the Universal Islamic Declaration 1980 (London), the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights 1981 (Paris) and the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam 1990.

Islam and human rights: At an Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) Conference in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 9, it was my privilege to address the issue of human rights in Islam.

At the very outset, I stated that the belief that human beings are the subject and object of inherent rights, dignity and duties has an important place in Islamic theology, philosophy and politics.

The Holy Quran declares in Surah 17:70: “Surely we have accorded dignity to the sons of Adam.” On justice and equality, it states: “And if you judge between mankind, judge justly.” (4:58)

The Prophet Muhammad’s Farewell Sermon at Arafat is one of the world’s greatest human rights documents. In it he proclaimed: “Your lives, your properties and your honour are as sacred as this day (of the Haj).”

On class distinctions, he said: “The aristocracy of yore is trampled under my feet. The Arab has no superiority over the non-Arab and the non-Arab has no superiority over the Arab.

“All are children of Adam and Adam was made of earth. Nor is the fair-skinned superior to the dark-skinned nor the dark-skinned superior to the fair-skinned; superiority comes from piety and the noblest among you is the most pious.” This was pronounced 1,435 years ago!

The denial of state sovereignty was a cardinal principle in Islam long before the writings of Locke and Rousseau came about. The government is a trustee of the people and its duty is to rule by consultation (Surah 3:159).

In the criminal process, there is a presumption of innocence. Evidence of agents provocateurs cannot be admitted.

Human rights encompass not only civil and political rights but also the “second generation”, socio-economic as well as positive rights.

Religious tolerance is required and cultural pluralism is permitted. “Unto you, your religion, unto me mine.” (109:1-6)

Modern principles of administrative law such as natural justice and proportionality have their counterparts in Islamic public law.

Cairo Declaration: This Declaration has 25 Articles. Its first Article is remarkably similar to its counterpart in the UDHR: “All human beings form one family whose members are united by their subordination to Allah and descent from Adam. All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities.”

The 25 Articles of the Cairo Declaration are broadly divisible into:

- political and civil rights

- political and civil duties

- socio-economic rights

- socio-economic duties

- protection in times of war and conflict

There are remarkable similarities between the Cairo Declaration and the UDHR. This confirms that as human beings, we all share a common humanity.

Differences: The worldview of the West and of Islam has some contrasts. In Islam, belief in God and piety is emphasised. The concepts of sin and sacrilege offer brakes to “human rights” demands. Atheism and apostasy are condemned though these are sins, not crimes.

Individualism is subordinated to communitarianism. As in other religions, individual autonomy is restrained if that would lead to decline of morality.

Muslims are generally troubled by the militancy of secular materialism, obsessive individualism, personal autonomy and licentious views of the West on a whole range of moral issues.

Whether Muslim societies must be condemned for such “backwardness” or praised for resisting the onslaught of a sex-laced media culture is a matter of opinion.

The distance between Islam and the West on human rights is, however, not that great if theory is matched with theory and practice with practice. There are vast areas of shared commonalities. We need to discover, emphasise and enforce them and to concentrate on what unites us rather than harp on what divides us.

> Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM. The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.

One Million Selangor, KL Residents Face Water Supply Disruptions Next Week

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- About one million residents in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will face water supply disruptions beginning Tuesday following the temporary partial stop-work at the Sungai Selangor Phase 2 water treatment plant.

Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) said in a statement here that the supply disruption would begin at 8am on Dec 17 while supply was expected to resume starting at 9pm on the same day and would continue until 8am on Dec 22, (Sunday).

The implementation of the stop-work was to make way for the upgrading, repair and changing of the major assets such as the switchboard and steel pipes.

The statement said that it would involve 217,694 consumer accounts, including in several key areas such as the Royal Selangor Club, National Science Centre, Jalan Duta Government Complexes, and the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

Water supply in most areas was expected to be reconnected within 24 hours after the stop-work operations had been completed, but it depended on the proximity to the source of supply.

"Syabas expects that areas on high ground and located far from the sources of water, particularly around Petaling, Kuala Lumpur and Klang/Shah Alam are the areas that will have supply resumption last," the statement said.

Syabas also advised consumers to store sufficient water supply because no tanker lorries would be provided during the period of supply disruption (except for the hospitals, dialysis centres and houses of worship) as early notices had been issued.

As an early preparatory measure, Syabas had deployed its staff to face the schedular stop-work including providing 66 tanker lorries in a state of readiness as well as 750 static tanks if necessary, especially in areas where water supply had yet to be resumed after 24 hours.

Consumers can get in touch with the Customer Service Centre (PUSPEL) at the toll-free number 1-800-88-5252 to seek further information.

Following is the list of areas that will be affected by the water supply disruption:

FEDERAL TERRITORY OF KUALA LUMPUR:

1. Bukit Kiara areas: Royal Selangor Club; Bukit Kiara Resort; Bukit Kiara Sports Centre; National Science Centre; National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN); the Securities Commission, and the Education Technology Division of the Sime Darby Convention Centre. 2. Parts of the Bukit Damansara area: Jalan Segambir; Jalan Belimbing; Jalan Setiabistari; Jalan Setiamurni 1 until 12; Jalan Setiabudi; Jalan Setiarasa; Jalan Setiaraya; Jalan Setiajaya; Jalan Medan Setia; Jalan Setiabakti; Jalan Setiakasih; Plaza Damansara and Taman Seri Beringin.

3. Segambut area: Taman Sri Sinar; Taman Sri Bintang; Taman Bukit Sri Bintang; Taman Prima Pelangi; Taman SPPK Segambut; Taman Segambut; Taman Segambut Permai; Taman Segambut Damai; Taman Segambut Muda; Taman Segambut Aman; Taman Bukit Segambut; Taman Indah Murni; Taman Prima Impian; Taman Desa; Kampung Segambut Dalam; Taman Segambut Bahagia; Kampung Segambut Tengah; Kampung Segambut Gate; Kensington Park; Changkat Kiara Bayu; Changkat Kiara Surya; Prima Duta; Menara Duta; Duta Ria; the whole of Mount Kiara area and Kompleks Kediaman Kakitangan Awam Jalan Duta.

4. A section of Jalan Kuching areas and Jalan Ipoh: Jalan Ipoh Batu 4 until Batu 5; Jalan Cenderuh; Jalan Kuala Kangar; Jalan Vethavanam; Jalan St.Thomas; Jalan Khalsa; Taman Kok Lian; Taman City; Kem Batu Kentomen; Taman Impian; Taman Eastern; Taman Rainbow; Taman Bamboo; Taman Million; Taman Sheng Cheng; Taman Kaya; Kawasan Perindustrian Segambut, Taman Sri Kuching and Taman Niaga Waris.

5. Sentul area: Kampung Chubadak; Kampung Bandar Dalam; Kampung Chempedak, Kampung Kovil Hilir; Taman Dato' Senu; Taman Sentul Raya; Sentul Selatan and Bandar Baru Sentul.

6. Jalan Duta area: National Archives; Jalan Duta Government Complex; Masjid Wilayah Kuala Lumpur; Examination Syndicate; MACC Headquarters; Persiaran Duta; Co Curricular Development Centre, Hockey Stadium.

7. A section of Jalan Mahameru: Taman Duta area; Bukit Tunku area; Tasik Perdana area; Parliament area; Jalan Sultan Salahuddin; Jalan Tun Ismail; Jalan Dato' Onn; Jalan Lembah Ledang; Jalan Perlis; Jalan Kedah; Jalan Selangor; Jalan Johor and Jalan Negeri Sembilan.

8. Sri Hartamas area: Taman Sri Hartamas, Kiara View; Kiaramas; Taman Duta Nusantara; Taman Duta Tropika; Hartamas Heights.

9. Bukit Sentul area: Jalan Kolam Air; Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC); The Mall; Hentian Putra.

10. A section of Jalan Tun Razak (from Bulatan Pahang until the Jalan Langgak Golf junction): Hospital Tawakkal; Institut Perubatan Respiratori; National Blood Centre; National Heart Centre; Hospital Pusrawi; Jalan Semarak; Jalan Perumahan Gurney; Jalan Maktab; Jalan Padang Tembak; Flat DBKL Dato' Keramat; Mindef; Pulapol; Wisma Tanah; JUPEM; UTM; FELDA; Pusat Latihan Telekom; a section of Jalan Pahang (from Bulatan Pahang until the Jalan Titiwangsa junction)

11. Areas around KLCC: Suria KLCC; Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre; Menara Maxis; Mandarin Hotel; Menara Exxon Mobil; Jalan Yap Kwan Seng; Jalan Pinang.

12. Jalan Ampang (from the Jalan Tun Razak junction until the MRR2 junction): Jalan Langgak Golf; Jalan U Thant; Gleneagles Me3dical Centre; British Hich Commission; Spanish Embassy office; Bangladesh High Commission Office; French Embassy office; Embassy of Thailand office; Chinese Embassy Office; Saudi Arabian Embassy office; Sri Lanka High Commission office; Russian Embassy office; Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia; Jalan Ampang Hilir.

13. A section of Kampung Baru: Jalan Sungai Baru; Jalan Rakam; Jalan Hamzah; Jalan Datuk Abdul Malik; Jalan Haji Sirat; Jalan Haji Yaakub; Jalan Salleh; Jalan Syed Mahadi; Jalan Haji Zainuddin; Jalan Pauh; Jalan Raja Uda Apart; Jalan Raja Uda 2; Lorong Raja Uda 1; Lorong Datuk Abdullah.

14. All the following areas: Taman Sri Delima; Kampung Delima; Kampung Stesen; Kampung Batu 4; Taman Pandan Jaya; Taman Cempaka; Taman Bakti; Taman Nirwana; Kampung Pandan Dalam; Taman Cahaya; Pandan Cahaya; Taman Dagang; Taman Shamelin; Taman Tenaga; Taman Miharja; Taman Kobena; Desa Pandan.

GOMBAK AREA:

Bandar Sri Damansara; Kepong Industrial Park; Kawasan Industri Tago; Sunway SPK; Wangsa Permai; Desa Park City; Taman Bukit Maluri; Manjalara Kepong; Desa Aman Puri; Medan Putra; Country Height Damansara Sunway SPK Harmoni 3.

PETALING AREA:

Bandar Baru Sri Petaling; Desa Petaling; Jalan Klang Lama; Jalan Kuchai Lama; Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park; OUG; Jalan Penchala; Jalan Puchong; Flat Kerinchi; Kampung Kerinchi; Jalan Sungai Besi; Kampung Baru Salak Selatan; Kampung Malaysia; Kampung Pasir Baru; Pantai Dalam; Kawasan Perindustrian Batu 7 Puchong; PJ State; Seksyen 1 until Seksyen 10; Seksyen 18; Seksyen 52;

Taman Bukit Angkasa; Taman Bukit Indah; Taman Desa; Taman Gembira; Taman Kuchai Jaya; Taman Lee Yan Lian; Taman Goodwood; Taman Salak Selatan; Taman Sungai Besi; Taman Sri Sentosa; Taman Tan Yew Lai; Bandar Tasik Selatan; Sungai Besi; Taman Perindustrian OUG; Seksyen 51A, Petaling Jaya; Taman Yarl, Jalan Klang Lama; Bandar Baru Bukit Jalil; Taman Naga Mas;

Taman Salak Jaya; Bukit Jalil Golf Resort; Jalan SS2/50 hingga SS 2/72, SS2; Sungai Way, SS9; Petaling Bahagia; Lucky Garden; Taman Kuchai & Nam Fong; TUDM Kinrara; Kampung Bohol; Taman Puchong Mesra; Taman Paik Siong; Seksyen 11 hingga Seksyen 14, Petaling Jaya; Seksyen 16 hingga Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya; Seksyen 17A, Damansara N/V; Seksyen 19 hingga Seksyen 22, Petaling Jaya;

WILAYAH KLANG/SHAH ALAM:

Seksyen 25 - Sri Lembayung; Seksyen 32; Seksyen 33; Bandar Putera; Putra Height; Kampung Bukit Lanchong; Seksyen 22; Seksyen 25 - Axis; Seksyen 26; Seksyen 27; Seksyen 28; Kampung Kebun Bunga; Kampung Baru Hicom; Subang Mas, Batu Tiga; Batu Tiga, Shah Alam; Batu 8, Bukit Kemuning; Bukit Naga; UEP; USJ Subang.

-- BERNAMA

(Special article - Global Human Rights day)

HINDUS, FACING EXISTENTIAL ATTACKS IN BANGLADESH

By Dr. Richard L. Benkin

Pakistan’s 1951 census counted Hindus to be a third of the East Pakistan population. Today, in that same territory now known as Bangladesh, Hindus are about one in fifteen. That is a tragic fact—that Hindus are disappearing in another ancestral land of theirs. Two things make it even worse:

- That their disappearance is the result of atrocities including murder, gang rape, land seizures, child abduction, forced conversion, religious desecration, and more; which continue to occur at an average rate of at least one per week.

- Every Bangladeshi government—from the first government under Sheikh Mujibar Rahman through the current one under his daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed—has been complicit in these atrocities and in the deliberate attempt to eliminate Hinduism from their nation.

One nine-day period in May 2012 saw a Hindu community leader murdered in broad daylight, the abduction of a child walking to a Hindufestival, and gang rapes of two Hindu women. Four horrific actions in nine days andthe government took it as nine normal days in Bangladesh. In July 2013 alone: Hindu human rights advocate Rabindra Ghosh was attacked multiple times and harassed by an Awami League MP; a Hindu college student was abducted and murdered so his girlfriend could be forced to marry Muslims, and after she refused, police arrested her and let the perpetrators go; Hindu land seizures by a Member of Parliament were exposed, and the government protected the MP allowing him to continue committing crimes while remaining in office; police covered up massive attacks on Hindu communities that involved, rape, looting, arson, and assault, and they also tried to extort “protection money” from the Hindu communities. And these are only the atrocities we confirmed with our limited resources and at least two independent witnesses.

More disturbing news: Evidence keeps coming to me about a disturbing trend that indicates how ingrained anti-Hindu atrocities are in Bangladesh. For several years, Bangladesh has seen an influx of Rohingya Muslims fleeing inter-religious conflict in neighboring Myanmar. According to several credible and independent sources, an unknown number of these refugees have joined with the radical groups and engaged in anti-Hindu activities. If Bangladesh is not actively supporting anti-Hindu ethnic cleansing, it is at the very least enabling it by looking the other way when it happens ad sending even its newest residents a message that such actions will go unpunished in Bangladesh. Stay tuned for more information.

Imagine the horror of living under constant threat, having friends and family members brutalized or worse. Now imagine how much more horrifying it is to live like that knowing that the rest of the world simply does not care, which it is like for Hindus in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi officials are so confident that their crimes will go unnoticed that they do not even try to be credible in their denials. Akaramul Qadar, the Bangladeshi ambassador to the United States for instance, tried to tell me that the reason why Hindus are disappearing from Bangladesh is voluntary: “They cannot find suitable matches for their children [in Bangladesh] so they go to India where there are more Hindus.” Bangladeshi Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir would not even acknowledge that Hindus are disappearing instead implying to me that, as an American, I should mind my own business because “33 people were killed in Connecticut,” reference to a criminal act that the US government did prosecute.

That might be changing, however, and the change is coming from half way around the world.

The United States is one of the top importers of Bangladeshi garments. In 2012, the US had a $4.4 billion trade deficit with Bangladesh; through October of this year, the deficit is on track to be even worse. Companies like Wal-Mart and all major jeans makers buy heavily from Bangladesh. Several other countries from Asia and Latin America export garments to the US and would love to grab a bigger piece of the large US market; countries that would move in quickly if the Bangladeshis were no longer competitive and not be ready to cede their new market share if the Bangladeshis decide to do the right thing. If discussions going on in Washington now bear fruit, Bangladeshi garments will be harder to get and more expensive when purchased unless that country stops it ethnic cleansing of Hindus. That would be a serious blow to the current Bangladesh government that is just clinging to power as next year’s election looms. That severe economic blow could spell the end of its reign—and the Awami League knows it.

Are the Bangladeshis reacting already?

For the past year, I have been following the case of one young Hindu woman who was abducted when her family refused demands by local Muslim thugs and a few government officials to abandon their family land. When I was in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka earlier this year, I met with her family, who told me about the incident and the government’s complicity. They asked for my help and by this time were not even interested in getting justice so long as their daughter was returned to them unharmed. Thus far, the government had turned a deaf ear to their pleas; and even after I submitted the evidence they provided to the Home Minister—as he asked me to do—he ignored it and the girl remained missing.

Recently, however, I received word from associates inside Bangladesh who spoke with the young woman’s sister. After we raised the issue, the case evidently came to the attention of Sheikh Hasina. The family met with her, and she said she would direct the local government to take action to retrieve the young woman. That is particularly interesting because it suggests that even the Prime Minister understood that the problem was complicity by the government; that it would take nothing more than appropriate action to save the woman. As is the modus operandi of the Bangladeshi government, words never translated into action and the woman is still missing. While Sheikh Hasina’s action is better than the inaction of the Home Minister and the ridiculous prattling of the Ambassador; it is far from enough and far too little for us to stop pressing at full speed with our efforts. The government’s wish to appear civilized, however, could be the beginning of a turning point in our struggle.

More initiatives are underway in the United States, including a move to have individual localities recognize the ethnic cleansing of Hindus and how the media and others have been ignoring it. The first success came on October 1, 2013, when the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect did so, noting, “scant attention is being paid to the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus who live each day in fear of atrocities being committed against them for their religious beliefs.”

Ultimately, it is up to the Bangladeshi government to choose between injustice and the radicals they fear or justice for all citizens and the ideals that Bangladeshi voters want them to have the courage to maintain.

[An Appeal- Anyone wishing to help by contacting Members of the US Congress, letting Bangladesh’s large customers like Wal-Mart and Levis that their purchases support ethnic cleansing, or convincing their local government to do as Mount Prospect did should feel free to contact me at drrbenkin@comcast.net.]

---

(Author is an American human rights activist fighting to defend Hindus in Bangladesh. His book, A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: the Murder of Bangladesh’s Hindus, is about to enter its second printing.)