Hishamuddin Rais: Saya sokong Anwar bertanding di Kajang

Riot-hit Muslims find solace in Hindu village

Ram Singh (left), the community elder, speaks at Palda in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday. Picture by Prem Singh

Palda (Muzaffarnagar), Feb. 2: Mehndi Hasan, Roshan Ali and Mohammed Rasheed call Palda a “terrain of peace”.

Theirs are among 450 riot-hit Muslim families that have each bought a small plot in this predominantly Hindu village, looking to settle down among its “kind and generous” people.

Hasan, 45, had fled his home in Qutba, just 3km away, with his wife, five children and parents after rioters ran amok, killing and burning, in the Muslim village on September 7. But the Hindus of Jat-dominated Palda provided shelter to them and another 100-odd Muslim refugees for weeks and months.

“They fought off their own community members who wanted to attack us,” Rasheed said.

After the word spread, and the government’s riot compensation began trickling in, hundreds of Muslims from several relief camps began buying small slices of farmland here — about 150 to 200 square yards each — to build houses.

“We welcome them with open arms,” village elder Ram Singh, 60, told The Telegraph on Saturday.

About 100 of Palda’s 500 households were Muslims; now its population will double and Hindus may lose their majority — something that should have no bearing on everyday life unless someone plays mischief.

“We want to send a strong message to political parties that are trying to divide people for votes,” Ram Singh said, drawing claps from the Hindus and Muslims sharing a charpoy with him.

But Palda should not be simplified as a feel-good story. The village stands out in a belt blighted by fear and suspicion since the September violence, which killed over 50 people in the neighbouring districts of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

Palda’s experience till now suggests integrated neighbourhoods, not ghettoised compartments, are the best protection for both communities.

But Palda’s solitary status underscores the challenge before integration. Of the 50,000 riot-displaced, at least 15,000 are still too afraid to leave the relief camps. Of the rest, at least half have relocated to relatives’ villages or other Muslim-dominated settlements, often with help from minority organisations, leaving the region largely ghettoised.

“But Palda has become a riot-free terrain of peace (danga-mukt shanti kshetra) for us. The Hindus here are very nice and, thanks to them, many Muslim families are alive today,” said Rasheed, a former inmate of the Shahpur relief camp, 3km away, who bought his piece of Palda a month ago.

He has now pitched a tent and lives in it with his family. “We feel very safe here,” he said. “My new neighbours have been offering us food for the past one month. I’ll soon begin building my house.”

Willy-nilly, strife has become an economic factor, too.

Most of the 450 families of settlers, whom Ram Singh calls the village’s “guests”, are among the 1,000-odd households that have received the Rs 5 lakh compensation announced by the state government. Thousands more are still waitlisted in what critics cite as the latest example of the Akhilesh Yadav government’s poor handling of the tragedy.

“I bought a small plot in Palda paying Rs 3.5 lakh out of the Rs 5 lakh I got from the government,” said Roshan Ali. “I shall build a small house and live here with my family for the rest of my life.”

A municipal official in Shahpur said these plots were sold at rates up to three times the prices that prevailed before the demand from the riot-displaced rose. He added that this was true also of the towns and Muslim-dominated villages where some of the victims have relocated.

Like most Muslims in the region, the new settlers in Palda were mainly landless farm labourers in their native villages and now plan to work in their Jat neighbours’ fields. The rest — masons and blacksmiths — hope to continue in their earlier professions.

Palda is conscious and proud of its newfound fame. Every evening, a group of young villagers assemble at Singh’s home to provide bulletins on the day’s events in the deeply divided neighbourhood.

On Saturday, the discussions centred on Narendra Modi’s Sunday rally in Meerut, about 45km from Muzaffarnagar.

“We’ll go to the rally; some of our Muslim brothers too have decided to accompany us. We’ll submit a memorandum to Modi asking him to intervene and do something for the common people in the area,” said Raj Kumar Singh.

Those who had gone to the rally hadn’t returned home by late Sunday evening; so it remained unclear whether they had been able to hand the memorandum over.

The mood in villages even a couple of kilometres away throw the bonhomie in Palda into sharp relief.

Biram Singh, an elderly villager in Qutbi, which adjoins Qutba where Hasan and fellow residents were attacked, nurses bitter feelings towards his former Muslim neighbours.

“Some Muslims took loans of several lakhs from many people in our village and fled on the pretext of riots. No Hindu from our village attacked Muslims. We asked them not to leave but they did not heed us and even lodged FIRs against some of us,” Biram said.

“The trust between the two communities is gone,” acknowledged Shabana, 40, a widow who is building a single-room house near the Shahpur relief camp with her government compensation.

She has four children, including a 14-year-old son who has not been to school the past five months.

Shabana said the riot had left behind a legacy of hate among the children and youths of both communities. “We don’t know when the scars will heal and people will start living together again,” the Class IV dropout said.

Case to nullify polls result on March 11

Ex Bagan Luar DAP branch chairman is seeking to declare the result of the Bagan Dalam state seat null and void.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang High Court will hear the case of former Bagan Luar DAP branch chairman who is challenging the victory of Bagan Dalam assemblyman A Tanasekharan in the general election on March 11.

G Asoghan, who is represented by counsel V Amarason, said the court had fixed the date after the documents were submitted earlier today.

Asoghan wants the Tanasekharan’s victory declared null and void because DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is not recognised by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and therefore cannot sign the letter of consent to contest in the elections.

Asoghan, who is also a party delegate to national congress, was sacked on April 23 last year after he contested the Bagan Dalam state constituency as an independent candidate.

He said the ROS, through a letter issued before the general election in May, had set aside the DAP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) election results on Dec 12 and ordered fresh polls.

“Therefore a by-election should be held for the Bagan Dalam state seat,” he said.

Asoghan named Thanasekharan and the Elections Committee as the defendants.

Palani under fire again over new appointments - FMT

The MIC president is taken to task for naming state deputies without consulting the chairmen.

PETALING JAYA: MIC president G Palanivel has come under fire again, this time for appointing deputy chairmen for the party’s state offices without consulting the chairmen.

A state chairman told FMT this had caused further division in the party.

“Quite a number of state chairmen are unhappy with the president’s move to name state deputies without prior consultation,” he said.

“Even a phone call to state chairmen informing them of the appointments would have been sufficient.

“Those appointed deputy state chiefs are his people. Obviously he wants to check on the state chairmen.

“We know it is his right to appoint state deputy chairmen but he should consult leaders in the state.”

Palanivel announced the appointment of 13 state deputy chairmen yesterday in a statement to an online newspaper.

He also announced the names of new coordinators for MIC’s Putera and Puteri movements. The new Putera chief is K Ravenkumar and his Puteri counterpart in J Gunamalar.

The unhappiness over the appointment of deputy state chiefs is reminiscent of remarks made last week by MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh following Palanivel’s appointment of state youth leaders.

“I am not satisfied with the overall appointments,” Sivarraajh said on Jan 28.“Most of the names put forth by the youth wing seems to have been rejected by the president. He has taken the liberty to make his own appointments.”

Prerogative

Sivarraajh acknowledged that it was Palanivel’s prerogative to appoint the new leaders, but said he should have chosen people who could work well with officials of the parent MIC Youth movement.

The state chairman who spoke to FMT also criticised Palanivel for making yesterday’s announcement through an online portal.

“Has he lost trust in the mainstream media?,” he said.

“He can easily use mainstream media like Bernama and the Tamil papers. Why is he using this news portal to announce appointments? The news portal is not MIC owned.

“Why doesn’t the president call for a press conference in announcing the appointments? Is he scared to answer questions from the media?

“We know Palanivel is media shy despite being a former journalist. But by making announcements through a news portal that is not even popular, he has stooped to a new low.”

He said Palanivel had been avoiding not only the mainstream media but also the Tamil vernacular dailies.

“He used to have a say in a particular Tamil newspaper, but that particular newspaper has been bought over by someone else.

“So now he has lost his voice in the Tamil media. That is why he is using this news portal.

“Palanivel must by now realise that he is making all the wrong moves.

“Maybe it is about time he moved out as party president as he does not have control over the party.”

Crisis brewing in Penang MIC

Meanwhile in Penang, majority MIC divisions in the state are not happy with the appointments of M Shanker as state party Youth chief and R Prema as the Wanita head, reports Athi Shankar.

Sources said Palanivel had appointed both the leaders and this had not gone down well with party diehards in the island state.

Representatives from nine out of the 13 divisions in the state held a secret meeting last Saturday to deliberate on an action plan to force the president to change both the youth and women leaders.

They want the state MIC leadership under M Karuppanan to meet the president and convey their message immediately.

“The divisions may even plot to oust Karuppanan if he fails them,” said sources.

The divisions felt both Shankar, who is the Bukit Mertajam division youth chief, and Prema, were politically inexperienced and incapable of spearheading and transforming their respective wings as vibrant movements.

Sources also revealed that the divisions had proposed Tasek Gelugor division youth head A Murugan to head the state youth movement but this was never fulfilled by Palanivel.

The divisions are also against Prema’s appointment, which they claim was an “express political promotion.”

Prema became the Jelutong MIC division women leader only last October and barely after three months she heads the state wanita wing.

“From nowhere, Prema is now state women head by-passing so many others.

“This is undemocratic,” said the sources.

A prominent division leader recalled that former MIC president S Samy Velu, even though a tough character, would listen and act on grassroots views and sentiments.

“But Palanivel political style is even worse than his predecessor. He simply bulldozes his way without giving any explanation,” said the leader.

Allah row: Pakistani cleric blames Umno - FMT

Pakistani Muslim cleric Younus AlGohar ups the ante on his criticism on the Appeals Court judgment over the Allah row.
VIDEO INSIDE

PETALING JAYA: Pakistani Muslim cleric Younus AlGohar has implied that the Allah row between Muslims and Christians is caused by Umno to shore up support from the majority Muslim community.

“There are elections in Malaysia. There is a political party raising issues to unite Muslims to support them. And the party comes from the government,” said Younus in Urdu.

He said this in a video recording entitled “Restricting Allah to Islam is Shirk (syirik)” by AIRa TV two days ago in reference to the Malaysian Appeals Court decision in the case involving a Christian weekly publication, The Herald.

In mid-October last year, three judges – Federal Court judge Mohamed Apandi Ali and Appeals Court judges Mohd Zawawi Salleh and Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim – were unanimous in their decision that Allah’s name can only be used by Muslims and barred the Malay edition of The Herald from using ‘Allah’ to refer to God.

The three judges found that the word Allah was not an integral part of the Malaysian Christian’s faith.

Zawawi said that usage of the word Allah would only serve to confuse the Christians as well as the Muslims due to the Trinity concept practiced in Christianity.

The judge had also said that Christian Bibles in the Indonesian, Middle Eastern and Malay languages had erred by using Allah when referring to God.

An appeal has been filed against this judgment. The case is scheduled to be heard at the Federal Court on March 5.

In November 2013, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah decreed that Allah cannot be used by non-Muslims in the state.

Various other states have now also begun enforcing enactments to bar non-Muslims from using ‘Allah’ as well as a list of other Arabic words deemed as Islamic.

Early last month, more than 300 Al-Kitab and Bup Kudus (Malay and Iban language bibles) were seized by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).

Two weeks ago, Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah who is the current Agong also backed the Appeals Court judgment.

Ignorant ruling

Younus said that the Appeals Court judgment deifed the Quranic verse, “La ilaha illallah” which means “there is no God but God”.

“Malaysian Muslims are asking Christians to call upon their God with their own name for God but according to Islam, there is no illah other than Allah.

“When there is no illah other than Allah, everybody should call him Allah,” he explained.

In his criticism against the judgment, he said that the Appeals Court ruling was ignorant and “unIslamic”.

“There are Qurans in Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan. Aren’t there Qurans in Malaysia? Allah says there is no God but Allah.

“Who are you to interpret otherwise? This is unIslamic and insulting to Islam,” said Younos AlGohar.

He had previously criticised the court ruling in another video message.

Iranian prisoners claim mistreatment - FMT

Hundreds of Iranians held for drug-trafficking offences in prisons are suffering and in need of medical treatment, proper food and clean water.
EXCLUSIVE

PETALING JAYA: About 400 Iranians are allegedly being mistreated in prisons in the country after being arrested for drug-trafficking offences.

The drug traffickers were also denied their basic rights and had to bribe prison guards for proper food, soap or a packet of cigarettes.

This was revealed by an Iranian woman living in Malaysia who had conducted her own investigation after her friend was tricked into becoming a drug mule.

The woman gave FMT a letter written by an Iranian inmate on the numerous problems faced in prison.

“We are kept in cells resembling cages and kept locked 23 hours and only allowed to walk outside the prison yard for an hour.

“Most of us have not drank a glass of clean water in two or three years.

“The water is yellow in colour and the food served is of low quality and unhygienic,” the letter said.

The woman told FMT that many of them were suffering from chronic infectious diseases and the medicine given was ineffective.

On Jan 24, an alleged drug mule who is a diabetic, told FMT during a court appearance that he had been detained at the Sungai Buloh prison for more than a year while awaiting trial.

He said he had already informed the guards about his health condition but had yet to receive any medication.

Warning from embassy

He added that many prisoners were having skin infection due to bad prison condition and lack of clean water.

“The medicines given is not good and we need proper health care,” the alleged drug mule said.

It is also learnt that eight inmates were put in a small cell with an open toilet.

The woman said the inmates had complained that they could not even eat because of the awful smell from the toilet.

She said Iranian ambassador to Malaysia and the Teheran government could not care less about their own people.

“I have been interviewed by several TV stations from Iran on the condition of the inmates,” said the woman.

She added that the Iranian embassy had asked her to stop highlighting the issue and even threatened to send her back to Teheran.

Syariah police

A stronger Umno is why other Barisan parties are ‘powerless’, says former MCA chief

(TMI) – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek (pic) today said that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had made Umno politically stronger during his tenure as prime minister, leaving Umno’s coalition partners in Barisan Nasional (BN) “powerless”.

The former Labis MP said the number of Malay parliamentary seats increased through the redelineation exercise over the last three elections and this subsequently worries the Chinese community.

“The Chinese are generally worried about a very strong Malay government lest their political rights and economic status will be encroached upon,” Dr Chua said in a blog posting today.

He added that the poor implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) had also posed a greater worry to the community, and this ultimately left it losing faith in the government.

Against this backdrop, Dr Chua said BN component parties were edged into the background and the Umno supreme council’s decisions often became Cabinet decisions.

“I had mentioned before during the BN convention, that to the people, Umno is the taiko (master) and if it becomes arrogant and dictatorial, it will have an adverse impact on other component parties,” Dr Chua said.

Dr Chua in his posting, also expressed his disagreement with Dr Mahathir’s claim that economic liberalisation by the government was a way to appease Chinese voters.

Dr Chua said that instead, bumiputras should not see economic liberalisation as a compromise with the Chinese on the economy and be upset with the liberalisation policy.

“The income gap does not happen just between the bumiputras and the non-bumiputras. It happens within the bumiputras too

“In Kuala Lumpur, there are rich bumiputras and poor bumiputras; the bumiputras in the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak, too, have income discrepancy,” he added.

'Kajang bid not to distract from sodomy case'

 

The decision by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to contest in the Kajang by-election is not to divert attention from his sodomy case appeal this month, but to bring Selangor to greater heights, a senior academician has said.

Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) director professor Mohammad Redzuan Othman (left) opined that Anwar is already immune to court cases as he has faced a slew of them since 1998.

"Since 1998, Anwar has been in and out of courts and I do not think his move to contest in Kajang is to divert the attention away from then prosecution's appeal to his sodomy II acquittal as he is already used to being in and outside of courtrooms and has even served jail term.

"The fact is, the people are also aware of other high-profile cases like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and other matters that sees the failure of the prosecution (to garner convictions) and government's handling of them (by not appealing) compared to Anwar's case," he told Malaysiakini.

Redzuan said the bigger picture of Anwar's move to contest in a Selangor state seat is to consolidate Pakatan's position and to ensure the opposition retains the state in the next general election.

The prosecution's appeal will be heard on Feb 12 and 13 at the Court of Appeal. Whether Anwar is convicted or acquitted again, legal proceedings will probably go on.

Certain quarters like former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, have said Anwar's decision to contest in the Kajang by-election is to divert attention from the sodomy appeal.

The matter was also raised again yesterday in Umno owned daily Mingguan Malaysia in quoting Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin, who was once with PKR.

'Lacking political acumen'

Redzuan sees Anwar's immediate objective after winning Kajang is to replace Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

This, would also help resolve the feud between Khalid and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali (right), he said.

The Social Science faculty dean who is an advent political observer, added Khalid lacks the political acumen to counter the threat posed by BN.

He also pointed out the seizure of the Al-Kitab bibles, failure to address rising house prices, and the uneven roads and potholes in the state, are problems Khalid have yet to solve despite entering his second term.

Redzuan said there have not been much improvement in race relations following the seizure of the bibles.

The economy is also not in good shape following a drop in the prices of rubber and palm oil, and the hike in prices following the withdrawal of subsidies.

PKR party insiders also say that Khalid's failure to address the water issue in the state is another reason why the party is massing against him.

“I think Anwar sees that Selangor should be a model state for Pakatan and the other states in the country as they view the development in the Klang valley with much interest.

"If Anwar is successful in solving the issues here, it would reflect well on him,” he said.

 “If he manages to make improvements in all these aspects, it would also improve the opposition's chances in the next polls and pave its way to Putrajaya.

"Khalid (left) is seen not pro-active in resolving some of these problems as he is not a politician but a corporate leader. Anwar is seen as an international figure who has the top-down approach to reach out the people,” he said.

Redzuan also sees Khalid as being loyal to Anwar, to the point of relinquishing the Selangor MB's post, as he had announced the opposition leader's candidacy in a show of solidarity.

However, he said BN may have a tough time if it decides not to contest in this by-election, as it would be deemed weak.

"If it puts up an Umno candidate, it will receive a backlash as a MCA candidate is traditionally named. But if they put up a candidate from MCA, it may not get the full Chinese support.

"So BN is seen as truly placed in a corner in this contest," said Redzuan.

When satire is seen as a national threat

(TMI) Can Malaysians take a joke? Can Malaysians take satire or parodies?

Well, it would seem that there is a segment of society that takes offence at jokes, satires or parodies - and these people are usually your generic Umno member.

This past few days, Malaysians have been treated to the spectacle of some Umno members, including Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, taking offence at Seputeh MP Teresa Kok's Lunar New Year greeting video clip.

And they want action taken against her, notwithstanding that she has a right to self-expression and not be dictated by others on what she should say in her new year greeting and how she should say it.

Has Malaysia reached a point where everything said is seen as an attack against Umno or the Malays?

Every right-thinking Malaysian (this excludes Umno) should defend this right because it is easy to see where the likes of Shafie Apdal are taking this although Kok has denied the satirical video clip she uploaded on YouTube a few days ago was an insult to the Malays, the security forces, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife.

“I hope they stop it as the false allegations can cause racial tension. They should research on Mandarin and Cantonese before making baseless accusations as they are only embarrassing themselves," said Kok, who is also a DAP national vice-chairman.

Kok said the video, titled 'Onederful' Malaysia CNY 2014, was meant to be humorous and directed at those who spoke Mandarin and Cantonese.

The thing is, any video or writing critical of Umno and the government is being framed in racial and religious terms.

And if Umno cannot control the discourse by demolishing the argument, it will want to intimidate Malaysians by constantly waving threats of punitive action. That would be the only way to shut criticisms.

Or as Kok suspects, Umno's intention in playing the racial card could be a ploy to divert the rakyat's attention from the real issues affecting Malaysians, like the rising cost of living.

Such games and diversions are not necessary. Counter her arguments if need be but without threat, which has now made her video clip even more popular.

That popularity does not make satire a national threat. It just makes the accusers a bigger joke. – February 2, 2014.

Ensure Effective Enforcement Of Laws, Regulatons To Protect Consumers - DPM

DPM says laws must be fully enforced!BANGI, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called on the relevant ministry and government agencies to be more proactive in enforcing the laws and regulations in order to protect consumers.

He said in this effort, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minisry should play an important role in ensuring that the consumer-protection laws were fully enforced.

Muhyiddin said he was displeased with the attitude of most traders who had still not adhered to the order and regulations requiring them to label and display the price tags of goods which, according to him, caused inconvenience to consumers when making choices in buying goods at reasonable prices.

"The laws have been implemented but not fully enforced. So I think, in line with our move of monitoring prices to prevent customers from being cheated by the traders, these laws must be fully enforced.

"We hope for this, but perhaps time needed be given to traders who have requested for more time through their associations and chambers of commerce. But after that, the laws must be fully enforced," Muhyiddin said.

He said this at a news conference after making a surprise check on prices of goods at Section 16, Bandar Baru Bangi, Monday.

Also present was Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister, Datuk Hasan Malek.

Muhyiddin suggested that the ministry relaunch the labelling and price tagging campaign, besides giving traders a grace period of two months to label and put price tags on their goods for sale.

"Perhaps previously we had taken action but not comprehensively. This time after we've given them the grace period, they won't be able to find anymore excuses not to follow the order. I leave this effort to the ministry," he said.

He said various measures had been and were being taken by the government in tackling price increases and in reducing the people's burden, including preparing a detailed report on the rising cost of living by Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit).

"This report will be tabled at a meeting this Feb 5. Some areas have been focused on, including energy and fuel, food and beverage and services, transportation and toll.

"We will look at these and other areas holistically," he said.

Muhyiddin said the government always looked at and implement measures that could benefit consumers, besides ensuring that the economy remains strong.