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Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Indian women's lonely battle against illegal sand mining

Simbah cat: Polis bawa balik itik untuk siasatan

Bekasi Islamic Teacher Arrested on Student Rape Charges

Bekasi. An Islamic studies teacher accused of raping a 17-year-old during a ritual to counteract the effects of “black magic,” was arrested by police on Monday in this West Java city.

Bekasi Police detained 44-year-old Islamic studies teacher Mulyadi on Monday after the teenage girl reported the incident to police. According to investigators, the teenaged girl, a student of Mulyadi, approached her teacher for help on Sunday morning. The student believed she was suffering the ill-effects of black magic and sought treatment from Mulyadi, who also professed to be a traditional healer with magical abilities.

The two had known each other for some two years, police said.

“The victim claimed that she was suffering from black magic,” Bekasi Police spokesman Adj. Comr. Siswo said. “Then [Mulyadi], who is also her Islamic studies teacher, asked her to come for treatment.”

He invited the girl to his house, which doubled as the Yayasan Anwarul Istiqomah Islamic School, at 11 a.m. on Sunday. When she arrived, Mulyadi allegedly sexually assaulted her in his living room, raping the girl while his wife and three children were out of the house.

“[He assaulted] the victim by covering her mouth with his hand and [forced her] to have an intimate relationship,” Siswo said.

He then sent the girl home. She immediately reported the incident to local police, prompting an investigation.

Mulyadi was charged under the 2002 Law on Child Protection and faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail if convicted.

Nigerian Islamists kill 59 pupils in boarding school attack

(Reuters) - Gunmen from Islamist group Boko Haram shot or burned to death 59 pupils in a boarding school in northeast Nigeria overnight, a hospital official and security forces said on Tuesday.

"Some of the students' bodies were burned to ashes," Police Commissioner Sanusi Rufai said of the attack on the Federal Government college of Buni Yadi, a secondary school in Yobe state, near the state's capital city of Damaturu.

Bala Ajiya, an official at the Specialist Hospital Damaturu, told Reuters by phone the death toll had risen to 59.

"Fresh bodies have been brought in. More bodies were discovered in the bush after the students who had escaped with bullet wounds died from their injuries," he said.

Rafai, who had given an earlier estimate of 29 killed, said all those killed were boys. He said the school's 24 buildings, including staff quarters, were completely burned to the ground.

President Goodluck Jonathan called the attack "callous and senseless murder ... by deranged terrorists and fanatics who have clearly lost all human morality and descended to bestiality".

The Islamists, whose struggle for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria has killed thousands and made them the biggest threat to security in Africa's top oil producer, are increasingly preying on the civilian population.

Militants from Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful" in the northern Hausa language, have frequently attacked schools in the past. A similar attack in June in the nearby village of Mamudo left 22 students dead.

They have killed more than 300 people this month, mostly civilians, including in two attacks last week that killed around 100 each, one in which militants razed a whole village and shot panicked residents as they tried to flee.

That attack prompted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to condemn Boko Haram for "unspeakable ... acts of terror".

The failure of the military to protect civilians is fuelling anger in the northeast, the region worst affected by the four-and-a-half-year insurgency. An offensive ordered by Jonathan in May has not succeeded in crushing the rebels and has triggered reprisals against civilians.

A military spokesman for Yobe state, Captain Lazarus Eli, said "our men are down there in pursuit of the killers", but gave no further details.

Addressing a news conference on Monday, Jonathan defended the military's record, saying it had had some successes against Boko Haram. He said Nigeria was working with the Cameroon authorities to try to prevent militants from mounting attacks in Nigeria and then fleeing over the border.

The military shut the northern part of the border with Cameroon on the weekend.

The insurgents mostly occupy the remote, hilly Gwoza area bordering Cameroon, from where they attack civilians they accuse of being pro-government. They have started abducting girls, a new tactic reminiscent of Uganda's cult-like Lord's Resistance Army in decades past.

(Additional reporting by Ibrahim Mshelizza in Maiduguri; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Andrew Roche and Alison Williams)

Time for Waytha to accept political realities - Malaysiakini

Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia leader P Wathymoorthy, who took everyone by surprise with his sudden resignation announcement from all government positions, is indeed a disappointment. Those who had high hopes of Waytha are now wondering whether they should ever trust him again.

Within a short stint in the PM’s Department Waytha expected the government to fulfil the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the association. Waytha has indeed betrayed the Indian Malaysian community with his abrupt resignation from the deputy minister and senator posts.

It is obvious Waytha seems to be lacking the patience and the stamina to work with the PM and his officers to make the association’s blueprint a reality for the benefit of the marginalised Indian Malaysian community.

There is a saying that says when the going gets tough, the tough get going. In the case of Waytha, when the going gets tough he decides to quit with a hundred and one reasons. Can the Indian Malaysian community depend on such “softies” to represent and champion their cause?

At the height of the Hindraf demonstration in 2008 he bolted to Britain, leaving his comrades to face the full weight of the law for the illegal gathering. Later he sneaks into the country, striking a deal with the authorities, and takes the community for a ride.

I knew from day one that Waytha will not last long when he arrogantly brushed off the noble invitation by MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam to Waytha to cooperate and to work as a team for a common good - in uplifting the Indian Malaysian community. The snobbish and egoist stance of Waytha did not go down well with the community then.

Waytha should realise that MIC has been representing the Indian community in the BN coalition government for more than 55 years and despite their shortcomings, the MIC with their many years of experience in politics has delivered whatever it could under the difficult political circumstances of the Indian Malaysian community.

Trying to downplay the MIC will not get Waytha anywhere. It is time Waytha accepts that his short stint in the BN government was a failure and come to terms with the political realities, rather going around the country “crying out loud ” for sympathy.

In the meanwhile, the jostling has started for the vacated position of deputy minister and senator in the PM’s Department which was once held by Waytha. According to local Tamil newspaper reports, several Indian Malaysian-based political party leaders are said to be busy issuing statements trying to capture the attention of the PM for the vacant post .

If the PM is prepared to fill up Waytha’s vacant position with another Indian rep, perhaps the PM should consider giving the opportunity to the Indian Progressive Front (IPF) which has been an ardent supporter of the BN government for the last 25 years. Kimma, the Indian Muslim political party, too, deserves due consideration.

MP: Stop defending Najib over Hindraf MOU - Malaysiakini

DAP’s Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming today urged cabinet ministers Khairy Jamaluddin and Abdul Rahman Dahlan to stop defending Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over the alleged non-implementation of the BN-Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last year before the general election.

Ong pointed out in a statement today that a separate budget allocation, which Khairy and Abdul Rahman said was being demanded by former deputy minister and the association’s chair P Waythamoorthy, was exactly what Najib had promised if the duo had read the MOU.

“Both ministers are disingenuous in their defence of the prime minister in that they make no mention of the contents of the Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia MOU and to what extent the prime minister has failed or succeeded in implementing the promises outlined in this MOU,” Ong said.

After referring to the demands made in the association’s blueprint, Ong said that Najib had already signalled his intention not to honour the agreement when he appointed Waythamoorthy as a deputy minister and not a minister taking charge of his own ministry.

“Without a Minority Affairs Ministry and without a Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia minister, needless to say, the promise of a dedicated budget also failed to materialise,” Ong said.

Ong said it is wrong for Khairy, who is the Youth and Sports Minister, to criticise Waythamoorthy over the latter wanting to control his own budget, as that was “explicitly spelt out” in the MOU.

“If Khairy, having been in cabinet for less than a year, can say that ‘this is not how the government operates’, then Prime Minister Najib, having been in cabinet for much longer, should never have signed the MOU with Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia if he had no intention of giving the association’s appointed leader any budgetary control,” Ong said.

BN will lose GE14, says Waythamoorthy

'The coalition's betrayal will not go down well even with the Malays.'

WAYTHAMOORTHY BNPRAI: Hindraf chief P Waythamoorthy is certain that Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose the 14th general election.

He said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s failure to honour his agreement with the Hindu-based movement would cause BN to lose votes not only among Indians, but other Malaysian communities as well, including the Malays.

“BN has deceived the Indians,” he said in an interview with FMT. “The coalition has failed to fulfil a promise made publicly. It’s a serious human rights violation. Everyone sees that.”

In the run-up to last May’s general election, BN and Hindraf signed a memorandum of understanding based on the civil rights movement demand for policies to benefit Malaysian Indians.

The contents of the memorandum will always be available in the Hindraf website and other social media networks.

After the May election, Waythamoorthy was appointed a senator and given a deputy minister’s post in the Prime Minister’s Department. He recently quit the position, citing a lack of political will on Najib’s part to honour the agreement.

Waythamoorthy told FMT that BN’s failure to implement the blueprint meant that the coalition had lost its Indian vote bank for good.

“BN has already lost the Chinese votes; now it will lose Indian votes,” he said.

“The natives of the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak will not trust BN any more.

“BN’s betrayal and violation of human rights will not go down well even with the Malay community.

“Being a Kelantanese, I know the Malays are a community who keep their word. I lived among Malays in my home state. For them, fulfilling a promise is more precious than their life.”

He praised former Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat as a model Malay leader. “He always keeps his promises to the people, especially to the poor.”

He said Hindraf made sure that the agreement with BN was signed in full public view last April because it wanted to avoid the fate suffered by Suqiu, a Chinese lobby group set up in the late 1990s to advocate broad institutional and policy reforms.

Suqiu officials have said the group’s proposals were accepted and endorsed in principle by Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s cabinet in a closed door session prior to the 1999 general election only to be rejected after the polls.

Waythamoorthy said BN had yet again proved that it never wanted to implement permanent solutions to problems faced by poor Indians in the country.

“By not honouring its promise made publicly before millions to implement the Indian blueprint, BN has showed it is a maestro in breaking promises,” he said.

“With that, BN has lost the Indian votes forever.”

What is the Hindraf problem? - Malaysiakini

Did the prime minister fully understand what he was dealing with, when he invited P Waythamoorthy, the leader of Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia, to join the cabinet?

Or, was it simply a ploy, to co-opt the movement’s leader for the thirteenth general election and then to ignore the man and his issues and concerns, when it was not convenient any more?

Regardless of the PM’s pure intentions, it is now obvious that he could not keep some kind of promise, whereas it is claimed that Waythamoorthy (left) had tried his best. That was obviously why he resigned in protest, after having given the PM a few months to respond to the issues and concerns raised.

Therefore, I do not understand why the cousin or other barking dogs choose to speak for the PM who is quite capable of speaking up for himself? I have now also noticed that the PM often does not speak up whenever he is caught between a rock and a hard place.

That may be wise too; except it also makes one look like a lame-duck PM. It also smacks of lack of moral maturity and integrity.

I do not know if either Umno, or Umno-linked think tanks like Isis or Mier or any of the ones in public universities, have ever tried to study and understand the real Hindraf problems and issues.

I once first asked a notable Tan Sri who heads a think tank if my NGO think tank could collaborate with it to study the Hindraf problem. It seemed like my question motivated an angry and emotive response which sounded like: ‘Why do we need to study an artificially created problem?’

So what is the Hindraf problem and the related issues?My limited and not comprehensive study of has informed me as follows:

1. The Hindraf issues and concerns are largely related to migration of indentured labour for rubber plantations in Malaya from two South Indian communities, namely the Tamils and Telugus.

2. These migrant labourers and their families came to Malaya more than 100 years ago and were hosted in British-owned rubber plantations within clusters which included a temple, a toddy shop and Tamil school organised around some barrack-type housing lines.

3. They were recruited from the public square or marketplace in India and verbally promised not just jobs but also accommodation and a lifestyle. Most were single and only travelled back to get married and start a family once settled in the job.

4. Throughout Malaya, there were many small settlements of ‘Indian colonies’ which were almost identical in structure and form. They were visible to anyone with eyes to see.

5. The real problems began when the rubber plantations were fragmented because of sale of the principal ownership, either by self-selection or by forced sale as in the now famous ‘London Raid’.

6. With fragmentation, smaller lots were taken up by housing developers, whether called PKNS or Sime Darby or Guthrie. While these ‘developers’ made plans to comprehensively develop their acquisitions, they did not take care to understand the residual problem of the ‘squatters’ they inherited.

7. The resultant issues and problems became known as Hindraf issues or concerns. What are these?

- Many of these ‘squatter residents’ did not have proper documents to establish their citizenship, even if they were third- and fourth-generation Malaysians. Even the birth certificate, the defining document of one’s identity, was not available to them. Moreover, as the Tamil school was privately run by the estate owner, the requirements in registering pupils may not have included a birth certificate.

- Most of these schools remained primary schools with a focus on language and culture; there was less emphasis on the teaching of Malay or English, math and science.

- The toddy shop and the culture of drinking became part and parcel of life on the rubber estates. Movies shown were also part of the system of ‘forgetting one’s predicaments in life’.

- The temple priests (all brought in from India) and their rituals became the defining hierarchy of culture and life, with the rise of absentee fathers another common feature.

- Then, one day, the residents of the ‘rubber plantation village’ were told they were squatters because some developer had gained the right to develop the land into a new township and they had to leave because they were ‘squatters’.

8. At the height of the Hindraf crisis, it was estimated that there were about 50,000 Malaysian third- and fourth-generation Tamils and Telugus whose grandparents had migrated to British Malaya rubber plantations. They did not have birth certificates. Whose problem was this? Who created this problem?

9. At the height of this crisis in Selangor, the debate centred upon the state authorities seeking to demolish a 100-year-old temple which was declared to be “situated in the wrong place”.

How could this be? The Federation of Malaya and Malaysia is less than 100 years old! So, what was the real problem?

Seeking solutions

We, the Merdeka generation of Malayans, are part of the Hindraf problem. We never took time to understand and appreciate the real issues and concerns of these rubber plantation workers, especially those who only studied in Tamil with little or no Malay and English.

Of course, as a young man, I had assumed that the so-called Indian Party would address the problem. Obviously, it did not!

My father is a founder member of the Kedah portion of that party and therefore I too have to assume some blame for its failure. I have never been and never will be a member of the party but that is not the point here. The point is our negligence of the issue.

The Merdeka Malayans must now ask the Hindraf-type victims of colonisation a la the British divide-and-rule system that we be forgiven for our neglect of the issues and concerns of these groups of Tamils and Telugus. Is that too difficult to do? Why so?

And is this problem too difficult to quantify and resolve, Mr Prime Minister?

May God bless Malaysia!

_______________________________________________________
KJ JOHN was in public service for 29 years. The views expressed here are his personal views and not those of any institution he is involved with. Write to him at kjjohn@ohmsi.net with any feedback or views.

Waytha’s forecast way off, say Indian parties

They are confident that Indians will support BN in GE14

Waytha MoorthyPETALING JAYA: MIC and two other Indian-based parties have rejected a Hindraf prediction that Barisan Nasional’s alleged marginalisation of Indians will result in its losing the 14th general election.

Reacting to a statement by Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy, representatives of the three parties told FMT they believed the Indian community would continue to support BN.

MIC treasurer-general S Murugesan said Waythamoorthy was speaking as a man who had become bitter because the Indians had lost faith in him and deepened their trust in BN. “He’s eaten sour grapes,” he said.

He recalled that the Hindraf chief, in a statement issued prior to last May’s general election, had told the community their best chances were with BN.

He said Waythamoorthy should stop issuing press statements and concentrate his energies on finding ways to be of better service to the community.

S Nallakaruppan, who leads the BN-friendly Malaysian Indian United Party, said he was confident that BN would increase its majority in the next general election.

He said the Indians would increase their support for BN because they were aware that it had been addressing most of their problems.

In an interview with FMT yesterday, Waythamoorthy said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s failure to honour his agreement with Hindraf would cause BN to lose votes not only among Indians, but other Malaysian communities as well, including the Malays.

Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party, another BN-friendly organisation, said Waythamoorthy was being presumptuous. “He is not the kingmaker to decide on Indian vote distribution,” said the party’s president, RS Thanenthiran.

He said Indians could no longer be deceived by “old Hindraf tricks”.

He also said Najib had done more for Indians than Waythamoorthy had.

MIC risking de-registration?

The party is risking de-registration for not acting against allegations of election misappropriation

MIC ROSPETAING JAYA: While constant internal bickering is common in all political parties, the problems in MIC, touted to be the largest Indian based political party in the country, is not only tearing the party apart but also bringing it to the brink of de-registration

FMT learnt that the party is being investigated by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) after a spate of reports by disgruntled leaders to the authority on the running of the party’s internal polls, including divisional elections, late last year

A source revealed that over 50 reports had been lodged against the party election to the ROS and “in the last three weeks ROS had investigated more than 20 party leaders and members”

“Taking the ongoing investigations into account, we cannot discount de-registration of the MIC. The ROS is expected to direct the party to hold re-election and if the current leadership is adamant not wanting a re-election, then we are looking at de-registration of the MIC,” said the source close to the party leadership

The MIC national election, held in Malacca on Nov 30, witnessed various election offences. While protests mounted on the running of the polls, the MIC central working committee earlier this month endorsed results of the polls.

The party disciplinary committee meanwhile is looking to punish disgruntled leaders who aired their dissatisfaction in the media soon after the polls.

Now, these leaders are saying that they are being victimised for asking a free and fair elections. They also want a re-election to set things right.

The November polls saw the election of three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members.

MIC violated its constitution

The source said MIC chief G Palanivel cannot dispute that fact that the MIC election committee had run foul of the MIC constitution in conducting the polls.

“Firstly, not allowing the Putera and Puteri wings to vote in the election is a violation of the constitution. Secondly, the total number of voters exceed the number of ballots cast. Thirdly, more than 1,500 delegates voted and this is against the constitution which only allows 1,500 delegates to cast their ballots.

“The fourth point is that a non-delegate was able to cast his ballot with the consent of the president. Then you have some people who were not even authorised by the election committee counting and overseeing the tabling of votes.

“All these must be addressed by the party. Saying that the election went without a glitch and was fair is ridiculous. All the leaders, winners or losers, saw what transpired. They all know who is in the wrong,” said the source.

He further said Articles 74.1 and 74.2 of the MIC constitution states that the total number of delegates entitled to attend the General Assembly shall not exceed 1,500 at any one time.

“But, it was proven that the total delegates during the election was 1,523, which is more than that allowed under the party’s constitution.

“Article 70.3, on the other hand, clearly mentions that both Putera and Puteri wings must be given the right to attend and vote at annual general assemblies. But this was not the case last year. These two wings were barred from voting,” he added.

The case of a non-delegate voting he said, MIC’s central working committee member V Subramaniam has admitted that the person did indeed vote after a special request by deputy president Dr S Subramaniam, which Palanivel approved.

“Basically, it is ‘catch 22′ for Palanivel. Being a party president it is the time for him to decide whether to hold a re-election or allow the party to be de-registered,” said the MIC insider.

Don’t just label me, come debate with me, Kassim Ahmad tells Muslim critics

Kassim says he is ready for a debate with his critics. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, February 25, 2014. 
Kassim says he is ready for a debate with his critics. – 
The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, February 25, 2014.

“They disregard the views and opinions of others. That is how they have come to this conclusion. In other words, they are not honest. God is all-knowing. I do not fear them. They (Jakim) are small fries.”

Looi Sue-Chern, The Malaysian Insider

Dr Kassim Ahmad is no stranger to controversy, and only recently he has been accused of another wrongdoing, encouraging apostasy.

The only prominent person who has openly defended him so far is former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his junior during their years at University of Malaya in Singapore.

Kassim, who once headed Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia (PSRM), was repeatedly slammed for his views on the hadith, or the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, at a seminar in Putrajaya last weekend.

But Dr Mahathir said Kassim was labeled “anti-hadith” because detractors failed to debate with him on religious issues.

“Tun (Dr Mahathir) is a thinker,” Kassim said. “He gives his views on what is happening and many people respect him for it,” Kassim told The Malaysian Insider at his home in Kulim, Kedah, recently.

Kassim, who joined Umno in 1986, praised Dr Mahathir, saying he “has great drive to correct what he deems as mistakes”.

He recalled telling Dr Mahathir upon the latter’s retirement that they both belong to the old generation, lamenting they could not do anything if the younger generation did not want to listen to them.

He said Dr Mahathir had then answered that he would continue to give his views.

He and Dr Mahathir go a long way back. Kassim’s childhood home was in Bukit Pinang, Jitra, some four miles from Titi Gajah, where Dr Mahathir used to live.

“After he was expelled from Umno in September 1969, I called on him at his house there. When he saw me at his doorstep, he told me that I did not look like a communist,” said Kassim, who said they used to write to each other on contemporary Malaysian problems.

“I was heading PSRM at the time,” he said, adding that it was Dr Mahathir who had him released from Internal Security Act detention in 1981 shortly after becoming the prime minister.

Kassim was PSRM president from 1968 to 1984, and was detained for almost five years for his views. Now 80, he is again in the spotlight for his non-mainstream views about Islam, namely the hadith.

He is being investigated by the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) over some controversial statements he made at “The Thoughts of Kassim Ahmad: A Review”, a seminar organised by the Perdana Leadership Foundation, of which Dr Mahathir is the patron.

Among others, Kassim had accused some ulama (religious scholars) in Malaysia of imitating the “priesthood caste” system.

He riled up Muslims on both sides of the divide when he questioned the use of hadith to interpret the Quran, and described the Prophet as “just a messenger of Allah”.

In his lecture titled “The Nation’s Direction in the Next Thirty Years”, Kassim also questioned the hijab (Islamic headscarf) worn by Muslim women, saying that “the hair is not part of the aurat” (parts of the body which need to be covered according to Islamic teachings).

Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said they would question Kassim on his controversial views.

In its latest Friday sermon text, Jakim reminded Muslims of the obligation to believe, accept and obey the hadith, saying the words of the Prophet’ were divinely inspired and the source of the Islamic law.

Kassim, who said he had anticipated such a reaction from Jakim, challenged it to prove the accusation that he insulted the Prophet.

“They disregard the views and opinions of others. That is how they have come to this conclusion. In other words, they are not honest. God is all-knowing. I do not fear them. They (Jakim) are small fries,” said Kassim.

Kassim said the reactions to his lecture were mixed, with some challenging him to debate and while there were others who congratulated him.

He said his views on the hadith were not new, recalling that his work “Hadis: Satu Penilaian Semula” (Hadith: A Re-evaluation), which was banned in 1986. He urged the Home Ministry to lift the ban, but the matter was referred to Jakim, which meant he was back in square one.

On his view on the ulama “caste”, Kassim said he used the term “priesthood” because the ulama have become “dictators” of the Muslim’s understanding of his Islam.

“This class of priests control the interpretation of religion to the masses. They are dictators. There is no freedom,” he said.

ABU hanya jerat untuk rakyat

ABUEmpire Strikes Back

Asalkan Bukan Umno, gerakan rakyat untuk membebaskan Malaysia daripada cengkaman Umno. Bunyinya seperti satu perjuangan yang sangat murni, tetapi persoalannya, adakah matlamat yang cuba dicapai oleh ABU menghalalkan caranya?

Ini bermakna mereka sanggup bekerjasama dan bersekongkol bersama musuh Umno, Pakatan Rakyat demi menjatuhkan apa yang menurut mereka adalah rejim yang telah banyak merompak kekayaan negara.

Persoalannya, mengapa hanya Umno atau BN yang dilabel sebagai penyebab dan penyumbang kepada korupsi, penyalahgunaan kuasa serta masalah perkauman di negara ini? Dalam Pakatan Rakyat sendiri ada mengamalkan korupsi – walau dalam skala kecil, korupsi tetap korupsi. Lihat sahaja di Pulau Pinang dan Selangor. Pemberian tender yang tidak telus, kronisme yang berleluasa, penyelewengan dana, semuanya cukup. Jika bercakap mengenai sikap perkauman, lihat saja bagaimana DAP dengan lantangnya memperjuangkan ketuanan Cina.

Sedar atau tidak, budaya Umno, ya, budaya Umno yang sering dikritik dan dijadikan bahan berpolitik Pakatan Rakyat, hidup segar dalam pakatan pembangkang terutama sekali PKR. Rata-rata ahli PKR adalah serpihan dari Umno dan budaya ini kekal dalam jiwa mereka. Contoh paling nyata adalah cara kerja Anwar dan konco-konconya di Selangor. Bukankah apa yang berlaku di dalam PKNS mempunyai modus operandi yang sama? Sebab yang sama? Merompak kekayaan negeri Selangor!

Adakah Haris Ibrahim dan ABU memilih untuk membutakan mata dan memekakkan telinga bila masalah yang datang adalah dari pihak pembangkang? Menggambarkan Umno umpama kanser yang harus dibuang, adakah ABU sedar virus yang kian menular dan menebal di dalam Pakatan Rakyat?

Sampai bila ABU mahu terus menjerit meyakinkan umum bahawa ianya betul untuk berdiri menyokong ‘perompak’, ‘penyamun’, peliwat, penipu, pembohong, individu lalang, talam dua muka dan sebagainya, dan seterusnya, asal saja mereka ini bukan dari Umno?

Adakah ABU juga cuba menyampaikan mesej bahawa sekiranya seseorang itu melakukan sebarang kesalahan seperti korupsi dan menyeleweng duit rakyat seperti Muhammad Muhammad Taib ketika bersama Umno satu ketika dulu, kesilapan mereka telah tertebus dan layak berdiri sebagai hero bagi ‘menyelamatkan’ rakyat asalkan mereka meninggalkan Umno dan bekerja bersama pembangkang.

Jika yang demikian perjuangan ABU, maka akhirnya hanya akan wujud ‘Umno Baru’ (yang lebih) Baru. Penjenamaan semula dengan isi kandungan yang lebih menjijikkan dari yang asal.

Mengapa ABU membiarkan rakyat terus ditipu dan dipersendakan oleh pembangkang yang sudah terang tidak serius memperjuangkan nasib rakyat malah sibuk menaikkan diri, harta dan kekuasaan mereka? Adakah ABU hanya mahu mendorong rakyat melepaskan diri mereka dari mulut harimau dan masuk ke mulut buaya?

Adakah wajar menggantikan syaitan besar dengan syaitan yang lebih kecil? Apa akan jadi bila mana syaitan kecil itu membesar? Adakah Haris Ibrahim dan ABU akan berani memikul tanggungjawab sepenuhnya atas apa yang mereka perjuangkan?

Waytha betrayed Indians, says Makkal Sakti - FMT

makkal sakthi'He didn't understand his job and refused to work with the system.'

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) has accused Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy of betraying Malaysian Indians by refusing to work within the Barisan Nasional system to improve the socio-economic status of the community.

Speaking at a press conference at PWTC today, MMSP president RS Thanenthiran said the former deputy minister had wasted a “golden opportunity” given by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for him to pursue the Hindraf cause.

He said Waythamoorthy’s short stint in the Prime Minister’s Department was marked by his failure to understand his responsibilities and his adamant refusal to work with the system.

“He failed to understand his portfolio capacity and should have found ways to use the existing internal mechanism within the government system to solve Indian issues,” Thanenthiran said.

“His adamant character not to work along with the system has resulted in his exit.”
He said Waythamoorthy was not proactive in pursuing the interests of Indians. “He never once called other Indian political parties for discussion.”

He also questioned the rationale behind the Hindraf leader’s request for a budget of RM750 million for his department.

Thanethiran ticked off Waythamoorthy for asking Najib to resign, saying the statement was uncalled for.

He heaped praise on Najib, calling him a saviour of the Indian community. “There’s no better prime minister than him,” he said.

“Najib appointing Waythamoorthy into his administration was not a popular choice and he received much criticism for for doing so.

“This shows that Najib was caring for the Indians and had faith in him, but Waythamoorthy has failed.”

MMSP was formed in May 2009. According to Thanenthiran, it has nearly 100,000 members.

Najib’s NRP is a recipe to abdicate his responsibility as Prime Minister in a plural society but still clinging to the perks of office

By Lim Kit Siang,

I was excited when I learned that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has today a blog post entitled “A national reconciliation update”, as I thought it would signal an end to the nine-month hiatus of government after the 13th general elections, with a Prime Minister who seems to be rudderless, leadershipless and directionless especially on the important agenda of nation-building and national unity.

I could not believe my eyes when I read Najib’s blog-post, because it does not inspire hope that there is going to be a new purposeful leadership to end the government drift in the past nine months with an inclusive vision of nation-building, but a recipe for Najib to abdicate his responsibility as Prime Minsiter in a plural society but still clinging to the perks of office!

What was Najib’s answer to the worst racial and religious polarisation in post-13GE compared to any other time in the nation’s 56-year history and which led the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) to warn only last week that the Najib administration’s failure to act swiftly when dealing with racial and religiously sensitive incidents could lead to “serious consequences”?

The NUCC said in a statement that Putrajaya must move quickly as rising religious tensions could eventually hamper efforts to promote national unity.

It urged the Najib government “to uphold the rule of law and to actively promote national unity by taking prompt action against incendiary statements and actions which are provocative and can lead to conflict and tension with serious consequences affecting peace, harmony and national unity”.

What is Najib’s response to the NUCC call and the general expectation of the Malaysian citizenry that the government would be pro-active and even pre-emptive in taking measures to slap down and halt the increasing incidents of the incitement of racial and religious hatred and tensions through the spread of lies and falsehoods, to pit race against race and religion and religion, even if it would set the multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation in flames?

Instead of the promise of pro-active and pre-emptive action to save the country by giving no room or space for the evil and nefarious designs of the merchants and vendors of hate and violence, all that Najib is suggesting is that Malaysians should just ignore the demands of the instigators and extremists, i.e. “Don’t give them the air time or the publicity”.

I could not think of a more inane, useless or irresponsible plan to save the country from the sinister and nefarious forces out to pit race against race and religion against religion and to create racial chaos and religious conflagration, especially when it is the UMNO and BN-controlled printed, electronic and social media which gave precious oxygen to such instigators by sensationalising their extremist demands– in particular Utusan Malaysia and the UMNO/BN controlled electronic media of radio and television.

Will Najib immediately issue a directive to Utusan Malaysia and all Umno/BN-controlled printed, electronic and social media to stop giving oxygen to these instigators and extremists by denying them the “publicity they crave”?

If Najib is not prepared to issue such a directive, is he not condoning the instigators and extremists in their dastardly act of trying to pit race against race and religion against religion through the incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred and tensions with lies and falsehoods?

The least I had expected is an announcement by the Prime Minister serving a final warning to all and sundry that the government and all the forces at its command, including the police and the Attorney-General’s chambers, would be deployed to ensure that peace, harmony, progress and prosperity of all Malaysians would not be jeopardised or destroyed by the evil designs of a treacherous few who want to create racial chaos and religious conflagration through incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred and tensions with lies and falsehoods.

But Najib lacks such political will, commitment, leadership and vision to save Malaysia from the instigators and extremists set on creating racial chaos and religious conflagration through the ceaseless incitement of racial and religious hatred and tensions with lies and falsehoods.

All he is asking Malaysians is to “destroy” the instigators and extremists “by having faith in yourself and your fellow Malaysians”.

No talk that the full weight of the law would be brought to bear on anyone who preaches hate seeking to pit race against race and religion against religion to cause racial chaos and religious conflagration!

If this is all Najib could prescribe to ensure peace, harmony, progress and prosperity for all Malaysians, then he should not be Prime Minister as his proper vocation would be a Good Samaritan preaching from street to street and village to village to all mankind to do good and avoid harm to others!

Why the sudden compassion by Najib for the instigators and extremists who are out to set the plural Malaysian nation aflame?

And what is the use of the police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and other national institutions if these instigators and extremists are suddenly to be given the powers of “immunity and impunity” to break the laws of the country and tear the country asunder?

Najib also blogs about the mysterious National Reconciliation Plan (NRP), which apparently, had been conceived in the greatest secrecy “after months of quiet work…now almost ready to implement our plan of action”.

Najib said: “The NRP will aim to encourage an environment that is conducive and promotes national reconciliation through unity and consensus across the country. What we want to do is to help inspire the rakyat to respect and reconnect with one another so as to make Malaysia a better home for all of us.”

It is certainly presumptuous on the part of a government elected on a minority vote of 47% of the electorate to work quietly and in secrecy to conceive a National Reconciliation Plan without consultation and input from the Pakatan Rakyat, which has secured a majority of 51% of the national vote.

Up to now, Pakatan Rakyat had never been consulted on the NRP and our olive branch of a Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Summit on National Reconciliation and National Unity still await an official response from the Prime Minister and the BN leadership.

Furthermore, is this NRP which seems to be in the advanced stage of completion if not already completed, a totally different animal from the National Unity Blueprint (NUB) which is being prepared by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) which has given itself a two-year deadline!

If the NRP is a different creature from the NUB, it raises questions firstly, what is the purpose of NUCC preparing a NUB when the government has almost a NRP in place; and secondly, whether it would cost taxpayers RM10 million or RM20 million like the Malaysian National Education Blueprint which the government paid RM20 million to foreign consultants to draft.

It is sad and shocking that after five years as Prime Minister, Najib does not seem the know that the deadly challenge posed by those who want to destroy the very fabric of Malaysian society through incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred and tensions is not “Don’t give extremists publicity”, but “Don’t give extremists any quarter” so as to stamp out all those who ceaselessly incite racial and religious hatred with lies and falsehoods to create racial chaos and religious conflagration.

When will Najib perform his duty and responsibility to the Malaysian nation and people as the sixth Prime Minister of the country?

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 25th February 2014)