French Hill Residents Feel Abandoned, Terrorized by Arab Thugs

Arab youth hurls a firebomb during

 anti-Israel riot (file)Flash 90

Residents of the French Hill neighborhood in Israel's capital are increasingly threatened by their Arab neighbors in the neighborhood of Issawiya, and have experienced a slew of firebomb attacks – the most recent of which occurred Saturday night.

Although initial reports said that the firebombs targeted a nightclub or dance hall, it now turns out that they were actually thrown outside a Conservative synagogue. A section of the synagogue is rented out on Saturday nights and serves as a dance hall for senior citizens.

There have been four firebomb attacks in the neighborhood since January, and all are seen as nationalist terror acts.

Jerusalem Municipal Councillor Dov Kalmanovich visited the neighborhood Sunday and met with the residents. Kalmanovich was severely wounded in a firebomb attack at the outset of the first Intifada, in 1987.

"What starts with rocks goes on to fire bombs and ends up with gunfire,” he said. “If we do not stop it here, we will discover terror on a daily basis. In meetings with the neighborhood residents I have encountered a worrisome phenomenon of insecurity and we must do everything to make them feel safe again. There is no doubt that there is a spike in terror in Jerusalem and that we must defeat it.”
A resident told Kalmanovich that the attacks have concentrated on a part of the neighborhood that includes the kindergarden, the synagogue and the school. “Our children have become targets,” he exclaimed. “I am worried every time my daughter stands at the bus station.”

Another resident, Merav Elbaz-Rapoport, told Kalmanovich that when residents ask for help from the authorities, they are told to volunteer for the Civilian Guard. “What kind of answer is that? We need a police solution,” she said. “We are in a real problem. The neighbors from Issawiya harass the female students from the university and our girls... The state must bring back security to our neighborhood.”
Arabs from the neighborhood of Issawiya, on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, carry out daily attacks on students studying at the adjacent Hebrew University campus and on Jews in general, a student has told Arutz Sheva.

Arutz Sheva has been reporting for years that the Arabs of Issawiya routinely harass female students at the university as they make their way from the dormitories to the campus, and that the authorities and university have been ineffective in their attempts to stop the phenomenon. Other news channels are loath to report the phenomenon out of obedience to “political correctness.”

Attempts to get the numerous feminist MKs in the Knesset to discuss the female students' plight failed miserably, when the only female MK to show up for the discussion chastised the students for failing to solve the problem through dialogue.

Hindu mom wins custody of converted children - Malaysiakini

The Seremban High Court today granted custody of two children to their Hindu mother after they had been converted to Islam by their father without her consent.

Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof delivered her decision in chambers in favour of S Deepa, 30, who had filed for divorce and custody of her children last December.

However, Deepa will have to pursue a separate case to revoke the conversion of her son and daughter, aged six and nine respectively.

The High Court decision overrides a Syariah Court order early last year that granted custody of the children to N Viran @ Izwan Abdullah, who became a Muslim in April last year.

Justice Zabariah ruled in favour of the mother under Section 51 of the Law Reform Act, as Deepa and Viran's marriage in 2004 had been solemnised based on civil law.

Deepa had previously highlighted her situation at a dialogue with Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia chairperson P Waythamoorthy (left), while he was still a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

She had said that when she sought a revocation certificate following her children's conversion, the Islamic authorities in Negri Sembilan had asked her to convert as well.

A teary-eyed Deepa expressed happiness today and made it clear that she needs her children’s conversion to be revoked.

Women's Aid Organisation advocacy officer Sally Wangsawijaya, who accompanied Deepa, said the decision "must be applauded".

Deepa was represented by R Jayamalar, who refrained from speaking to the media except for "applauding" the court’s decision.

The children were kept in chambers because the judge did not want them exposed to the media.

Decision ‘makes no sense’

Viran, 30, who works for Islamic NGO Kasih Sayang, was visibly angry after the decision was delivered.

He said the court’s decision "makes no sense" and that the Syariah Court delivers better judgments.

"If this is how it will be, do they want me to go back and drink arak haram (liquor)?" he shouted.

His lawyer Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said the decision would be challenged at the Court of Appeal.

Viran was granted visitation rights to the children, , with supervision, although details were not immediately available.

Karpal slams Umno for hudud support

The DAP leader accuses Kelantan Umno of trying to gain political mileage by supporting the implementation of hudud in PAS-led Kelantan.

PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Karpal Singh today slammed Kelantan Umno for attempting to jump on the hudud bandwagon for political mileage.

“It is obvious both PAS and Umno are seeking to derive political mileage from the implementation of hudud in Kelantan, despite knowing full well that under the law, the legislation of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II is unconstitutional.

“The Kelantan State Assembly does not have the power to pass the enactment,” he said, in a statement.

Yesterday, Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob insisted that he would direct a PAS MP to move private member’s bill at the Parliament to implement hudud law in the state.

In response, Kelantan Umno liaison committee chairman Mustapa Mohamad announced that Umno MPs would support the bill if was brought to the August house.

Karpal, who is also Bukit Gelugor MP, said that the parliament could not approve the implementation by way of a private member’s bill of a state law, which is unconstitutional.

“It would be incongruous to accept hudud, which is Islamic law, in a secular country such as Malaysia,” he said.

“Even if parliament passes hudud as criminal law applicable to the whole country or to a specified stated like Kelantan, it would mean the House has acted unconstitutionally.”

Hisham keeps hope on ‘most promising lead’

The Acting Transport Minister hopes to hear favourable news in the next few days, if not hours.

KUALA LUMPUR: Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today hoped that the new lead in the form of acoustic signals detected in the Indian Ocean will be the much needed breakthrough to find Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, missing since March 8.

“We are cautiously hopeful that there could a positive development in the next few days, if not hours,” he told reporters here in his daily press briefing.

“The pinger locator signals are consistent with the aircraft black boxes…this is a step closer towards finding the plane.

“There are still many steps to be taken before we can positively verify that these signals are from MH370,” he warned.

He added that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has been briefed this morning on this development by his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott.

Earlier today, an Australian navy ship detected new underwater signals consistent with aircraft “black boxes”.

The chief of the MH370 search, retired Australian defence force chief Angus Houston, said this was the “most promising lead” yet in the month-old hunt for the missing plane.

He said the acoustics emanating from deep down in the Indian Ocean showed that the multinational search by ships and planes seemed to be “very close to where we need to be”.

The apparent breakthrough comes as the clock ticks past the 30-day lifespan of the emergency beacons of the two data recorders from the Malaysia Airlines jet, which vanished with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

“The towed pinger locator deployed from the Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield has detected signals consistent with those emitted from aircraft black boxes,” Houston told a press conference in Perth.

He said more information is needed but called the findings of the past 24 hours “very encouraging”.

One signal lasted for two hours and 20 minutes, the second for 13 minutes.

“On this (second) occasion two distinct ping returns were audible,” Houston said, adding that was consistent with transmissions from both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, which have separate beacons.

“This is a most promising lead and probably in the search so far it’s probably the best information that we have had,” Houston said.

Houston said the latest developments must be treated cautiously, adding it could take a long time before the pings can be confirmed as from MH370.

“In very deep oceanic water, nothing happens fast,” he said.

‘Miracles do happen’

Back in Kuala Lumpur, Hishammuddin was asked if there was a possibility for survivors to be found in the loneliest places on earth.

Without giving a direct answer, Hishammuddin, also the defence minister, said it was always the priority for the search and rescue team to locate any survivors, but added there has been no sighting of survivors from satellite signals.

“As far as survivors are concerned, that is always our priority. I have said it over and over again.

“What we receive from satellite signals and other sightings do not indicate any survivors but miracles do happen,” he explained.

Hishammuddin also disclosed that the government has established three ministerial committees on MH370. Their findings would be made public once they are done, he added.

“The next of kin committee is led by Hamzah Zainuddin, the deputy foreign minister, while Abdul Aziz Kaprawi is leading the technical committee. My defence deputy Abdul Rahim Bakri will lead the deployment of assets committee,” he said.

“These group have been established to look at issues such as maintenance records structures and systems.

“They will also examine things such as flight recorders operations and meteorology, and issues such as psychology, pathology and survival factors,” Hishammuddin said.

He further said the government was currently in the process of appointing an independent investigator to lead the investigation based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

Malaysian investigations into the aircraft’s disappearance have centred on hijacking, sabotage or psychological problems among passengers or crew, but no supporting evidence has turned up.

In the absence of confirmed wreckage, the data recorders or other evidence, relatives of those aboard — most were Chinese — have endured an agonising wait for information.

Houston’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said that in total up to nine military aircraft, three civilian planes and 14 ships continued scanning the area 2,000 kilometres northwest of Perth for any floating debris.

The latest acoustics were picked up after the Chinese vessel Haixun 01 had twice picked up a signal — on Friday and Saturday — about 300 nautical miles away on a frequency used for aircraft recorders.

Houston said the ocean can range up to five kilometres deep in the area, meaning “any recovery operation is going to be incredibly challenging and very demanding and will take a long period of time”.

God hates Democrats

Are you all idiots or what? Why would I want to go back to Malaysia when I can remain here in the UK and watch movies about God committing genocide and killing more people in 40 days than the Vatican, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Khomeini, Saddam, etc., combined in 700 years?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I find that most people would just read the heading or title of an article or news item and then move on. Then, based on the heading or title, they would form an opinion. Sometimes the heading/title and the body of the article/news item may be different. In other words, the heading/title has nothing to do with the story. But since most people just read the heading/title it is the heading/title that sticks in their mind although the story may be about something totally different.

The sensationalising of the heading/title would decide whether you just read the heading/title or you continue to read the story as well. So, a heading/title such as ‘Dog bites man’ would not interest you to read further as ‘Man bites dog’ would. Definitely the former is ‘normal’ while the latter is sensational. So you would read the latter although the story may not be about a dog biting a man at all.

I met up with Hishamuddin Rais recently in Manchester and he asked me why I had said that First Lady Rosmah Mansor is not guilty. Of course, he was referring to the Altantuya Shaariibuu issue although Altantuya’s name was never mentioned in our discussion.

I asked Hisham from where he got that idea. Did he see the video of my interview or did he read that in Utusan Malaysia? He admitted that he read that in Utusan Malaysia. Well, if he had read that in Utusan Malaysia then he probably just read the heading/title of that news report because the body of the report said no such thing.

Hence even enlightened and progressive people like Hishamuddin Rais just read headings/titles of news reports and not the body of the story.

And that is why I titled my article of today, God hate Democrats. You will never know what I mean unless you continue reading till the end, which is what I want you to do. Actually, God also hates Republicans, gays, Christians, religionists, and so on. But maybe we can talk about all that in another article, especially about God hates Christians, which is going to get a lot of very unhappy Christian readers commenting with vigour.

But, hey, making you unhappy is the mission of my life! It is what I do! It is what makes Raja Petra Kamarudin into what he is. God put me here on earth to rub you the wrong way, to make you unhappy, and to make you think because if you do not think then you can never respond to what I write or rebut what I say (which is what most of you cannot do anyway — that is rebut what I say without going into meaningless theological rhetoric).

So, as I said, God hates Democrats. Hence, if you are a Democrat, then God hates you because democracy goes against what God wants. God does not want democracy. Democracy is about the rule of the people. The people rule themselves. The people decide what they want. The people choose the system of government. The people choose based on majority rule. The people decide their laws. The people implement these laws that they have decided themselves. And so on.

God hates this. This goes against the wishes of God. This is what God wants eradicated. And this is exactly what you are doing, the very thing that God hates.

The only thing that God can accept is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of man is not in God’s game plan. And the only system that God can accept is God’s system. Every other system is a deviation and defiance of God’s system. And the only laws that God can accept are God’s laws. All other laws are despicable and an affront to God.

Democracy or a democratic system of government or democratic laws is a slap in God’s face, figure of speech, of course, because God does not have a face like what most people believe.

I mean, God is infinite, is He not? Infinite means there is no boundary or limits. There is no beginning and no end. It is immeasurable. It is beyond or greater than any arbitrarily value. It is absolute. It is total. It is all embracing and everywhere at the same time.

Is that not what God is? So, if that is what God is, then God is infinite. Simple! So God would not have a face (to slap), or any type of human form for that matter. God is…well…God is infinite. Infinite is infinite. There is no other description or definition of infinite.

Democracy is man-made. Democracy has its limits. A democratic system of government has its limits. Democratic laws have their limits. Democracy is about humankind deciding how it would like to be governed. Democracy is about the rule of the majority. Democracy is about the majority having say over the minority. So God cannot accept this. Hence God hates Democrats.

So, if you are a Democrat, then you are an enemy of God. And, according to the ‘Holy Books’ of the Abrahamic faiths or the Semitic religions, a.k.a. Judeo-Christianity-Islam, God declares war on His enemies. Those who decide to go their own way and set up their own system contradictory to God’s wishes must be exterminated.

Back in Noah’s days this is what happened. Humankind thought it knew better than God as to what is good for them. So they broke away from God and set up their own system. So God exterminated entire humankind except for Noah and his immediate family.

This is the first recorded case of genocide in history. Thereafter, humans followed God’s example and committed many more acts of genocide on fellow humans over thousands of years.

Anyway, the film Noah has been banned in Malaysia. Later today, about 1.00am tomorrow (Malaysian time), my wife, Marina, and I will be going to the Odeon to watch the movie Noah. That is one of the perks of living here in the UK. And we still have many silly Malaysians asking me to go back to Malaysia or saying that I am now pro-government because I am trying to go home to Malaysia.

Are you all idiots or what? Why would I want to go back to Malaysia when I can remain here in the UK and watch movies about God committing genocide and killing more people in 40 days than the Vatican, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Khomeini, Saddam, etc., combined in 700 years?

Timeline of Flight MH370

Getty Images

Commanders look out the cockpit windows during search operations for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Southern Indian Ocean, near Australia.

 

The search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has entered its fourth week, with the plane believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from its original flight path.
Just as the batteries on the locator beacons on the aircraft's "black boxes" are nearing their limits, the searchers have detected signals they believe are "consistent" with the flight recorders.

Australian authorities said the signals may represent the best lead yet after the international investigation into the ill-fated carrier was initially stymied by several false leads.

Many questions about the fate of MH370, which left Kuala Lumpur en route to Beiing on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew, remain unanswered, including why the flight diverted from its planned route and what exactly caused it to crash.


The lack of information has taken a toll on the families of those on board the flight who until the announcement had been clinging on to hope their relatives may still be alive.

Here is a chronology of the latest developments:

April 7

Signals picked up by a black-box detector attached to an Australian ship were consistent with aircraft flight recorders, Australian officials said.
Two signals have been detected off the northwest coast of Australia, with the first held for 2.5 hours before contact was lost and the second for around 13 minutes. Confirmation of whether the signals are related to the missing flight could take several days, said Angus Houston, who is heading the Australian agency coordinating the search.
While the signals are about 300 nautical miles away from the location where a Chinese patrol ship detected a signal earlier in the week, but authorities noted that sound can travel great distances in deep water.

April 5
A Chinese patrol ship detected a pulse signal in the south Indian Ocean, according to a report from state-owned news agency Xinhua. Both Xinhua and Australian search authorities said the signal was "consistent" with a black box, but noted there was no conclusive evidence linking the signal to Flight MH370.

April 1

Malaysia released the full transcript of communications between MH370 and air traffic control before the flight dropped off of civilian radar. The last words were "good night, Malaysian three seven zero," Malaysian authorities said. Previously, authorities had said the last communication was "all right, good night."

"There is no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript," Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's acting transport minister, said.

March 30
The search area was shifted closer to Australia after further analysis of satellite data suggested the plan may have been traveling faster than earlier estimates, possibly running out of fuel sooner than previously believed.

Chinese relatives of passengers stage a protest in Kuala Lumpur to demand the Malaysian government apologize for its handling of the search and for the prime minister's statement claiming the flight ended in the Indian Ocean.

Read more:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/101559060

Kelantan Umno MPs to support hudud bill

The New Straits Times 

JELI: Umno members of parliament from Kelantan will support a private bill to be tabled at Parliament by the Kelantan government to seek a declaration so that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II, or hudud, can be implemented, said state Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

The international trade and industry minister said it was their duty as Muslims to support the implementation of syariah in the state.

"However, we have to bring it to the Umno supreme council for discussions.

"We must have a joint agreement so that the bill can be supported by all," he said after opening the annual general meeting of the Kelantan Education Department welfare unit at SMK Jeli here yesterday.

Mustapa was commenting on a statement by Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob that Kelantan would table a private bill in Parliament this year to seek a declaration so that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II can be implemented in the state.

Ahmad had said the state government would select a suitable session to table the bill.

Mustapa said Umno had expected the move by the Pas-led state government and there was no reason for it not to support the bill.

"The important thing is the facilities for the implementation of the law should be ready so that it runs well when it is implemented. There is also a need to educate the people so that they will understand it.

"Education and dakwah (preaching) is important as even some MPs are not well-versed about it."

Anwar, Karpal convictions are attacks on parliament – Suaram and Global Bersih

The Malaysian Insider

The message from law advocates the world over is clear - the prosecutions of Anwar Ibrahim and Karpal Singh under archaic and rarely used laws are legally unwarranted and the convictions a travesty of justice.

It is the view of Suaram and Global Bersih that these statements depict selective persecutions that seek to mask assaults on democracy, Malaysia's system of parliamentary representation and opposition MPs.

Statements criticising or questioning the convictions have been made by the US State Department, United Nations, Malaysian Bar, Law Society of England and Wales, Haldane Society, Australian Bar, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights, Lawyers for Liberty, Commonwealth Lawyers Association, LAWASIA, Law Society of NZ, Lawyers Rights Watch of Canada, retired Malaysian Court of Appeal and High Court judge NH Chan and Human Rights Watch.

Suaram and Global Bersih jointly call on Prime Minister Najib Razak, Home Affairs Minister Zahid Hamidi, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail and elected members of the Dewan Rakyat to urgently move to repeal the outdated legislations that led to their convictions and allow the duly elected members of Parliament to return to their electoral duties.

Suaram and Global Bersih hope that Karpal's 24 March appeal against his fine will eventually see truth and justice prevail to allow the MP for Bukit Gelugor to resume representing his constituents in parliament.

We hope that justice for Karpal will also pave the way for Anwar to fulfill his parliamentary duties.

In Karpal's case, the 166,000-strong Law Society of England and Wales has already written to Prime Minister Najib Razak to point out it is not seditious to "show any ruler has been misled or mistaken in any of his measures" under Malaysia's Sedition Act.

Suaram and Global Bersih believe Anwar's conviction for sodomy is just as shocking for the speed at which the three judges overturned the previous acquittal, found for a guilty verdict and handed down sentence - all in 90 minutes.

It behoves Suaram and Global Bersih to point out that while an "alternative PM" has been summarily and efficiently stripped of his ability to lead Parliament and country, the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, a case that allegedly implicates a serving prime minister, Najib, remains unresolved after several years.

These convictions must be seen worldwide as going beyond mere attacks on Anwar Ibrahim and Karpal Singh as individuals.

These are attacks on the respective offices of the leader of the opposition and the leader of the biggest component party in the opposition alliance.

Suaram and Global Bersih therefore see these convictions as blatant attacks on fundamental principles of democracy that underlie the parliamentary process.

Suaram and Global Bersih can only look upon the two convictions as early steps in the first Operation Lalang of the millennium, and we harbour no doubt that opposition figures, human rights defenders and student and youth leaders such as Tian Chua, Suhaimi Shafie, Tamrin Ghafar Baba, Hishamuddin Rais, Haris Ibrahim, Adam Adli, Muhamad Safwan, who also face similar convictions for sedition, will suffer the same fate.

Suaram and Global Bersih will work as an alliance on behalf of democracy-loving Malaysians, and collaborate to bring further attention to these cases.

We pre-emptively reject any statement that our joint action will undermine Malaysia's aspirations as a developing nation, or that Suaram or Global Bersih are unpatriotic, or traitorous.

Suaram and Global Bersih are, in fact, exposing Malaysian politicians and groups that seem intent on dragging the country into an abyss where all pretence at rule of law, democracy and equality will be abandoned.

We are grateful for the public stance of the US State Department and the United Nations, who have joined esteemed and impartial law associations and rights advocacy groups to question the convictions and their motivation.

We note the comment of the US State Department on Anwar's conviction:

"The decision to prosecute Mr Anwar, and his trial, have raised a number of concerns regarding the rule of law and the independence of the court."

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has held that the judicial processes appeared directed at sidelining Anwar from politics. "The timing of the case obviously and the speed with which they moved through the conviction and sentencing and not hearing the mitigation case at all...All this suggests very strongly that there is a political motive to this."

LAWASIA said it could not freely accept that the prime motivator in the prosecutions was the pursuit of justice.

The law association added that the circumstances of the cases appear to show that outmoded provisions in the legal system may be used to hinder the democratic processes to which the Malaysian people have a right.

"This decision certainly casts doubts on the independence and impartiality of the Malaysian judiciary and tarnishes the reputation of the country’s legal system."

The International Federation of Human Rights said, “the conviction of Anwar Ibrahim is the latest chapter of the ruling coalition’s political vendatta against him, which has been going on for more than 15 years” and Karpal Singh has been persecuted under the Sedition Act for merely expressing a legal opinion that a decision of monarch can be scrutinized in a judicial process in accordance to the rule of law.

From the Australian Bar statement:

"This further undermines the rule of law in Malaysia."

Human Rights Watch:

"This really is...trying to knock out the opposition using the courts and weaken them further so that they cannot cause problems."

" The politically motivated prosecutions of Karpal Singh and Anwar Ibrahim appear to be nothing more than cudgels wielded by the government to make up for losses at the polling booth."

Speaking on Voice of America, HRW deputy director Phil Robertson said the verdicts appear to undermine judicial independence. Mr Robertson said: "You've taken down the head of the opposition in Anwar and you've taken down the president of the Democratic Action Party which is the second largest party in the opposition."

The Malaysian Bar:

"Karpal’s conviction under the 'archaic and draconian' Sedition Act 1948 has raised the spectre of selective government prosecution."

Lawyers Rights Watch Canada:

"By seeking to impose criminal punishment and professional restrictions on Mr Singh for peacefully exercising his right as a citizen and his duty as a lawyer and a parliamentarian, Malaysia is contravening the international law obligations it has assumed as a member of the United Nations, of the Commonwealth and of Asean."

The former Malaysian Court of Appeal and High Court judge, NH Chan, also questioned the basis of the Anwar judgement in a blistering blog-attack on the three judges who ruled against the opposition leader. He said "citizens...are stunned by the ignorance of our judges".

Below are links to various statements that have criticised Karpal's and Anwar's convictions, as well as reports on the statements.

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The US State Department

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The International Commission of Jurists

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The Malaysian Bar

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Human Rights Watch

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Lawyers for Liberty

 

International Federation of Human Rights

Commonwealth Lawyers Association

LAWASIA

Australian Bar

Law Society of NZ

Lawyers Rights Watch of Canada (LRWC).

United Nations

Retired Malaysian Court of Appeal and High Court judge NH Chan

Anwar, the charismatic leader of the opposition coalition, was convicted for sodomy on 7 March, and Karpal's conviction followed four days later, on 11 March.

Karpal, 73 and wheelchair-bound, was National Chairman of Malaysia's largest opposition party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP),a multi-racial lynchpin in Anwar Ibrahim's tri-partite coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR). He resigned his position on 29 March 2014 as a result of his conviction. – April 3, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

MH370: Malaysia Hopes Pulse Signals Lead To Positive Development

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Bernama) -- Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein is hopeful that the detection of pulse signals in the southern Indian Ocean would lead to a positive development in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370.

Hishammuddin however urged all parties to give the authorities some time to verify the signals detected, while being optimistic that the investigation team would find concrete evidence on what actually happened to the plane.

"In line with Malaysia's consistent stand on verifying and corroborating evidence from day one of the search operation, I would strongly urge all parties concerned to treat this information responsibly and give time for the authorities to conduct further verification.

"Malaysia also concurred with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot that all parties must be cautious about unconfirmed findings and making conclusion," he said during a press conference on the updates of the missing flight MH370 here, Monday.

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) chief co-ordinator Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Angus Houston said this morning that an Australian vessel, Ocean Shield detected pulse signals twice Sunday night.

According to JACC in Perth, two separate signal detections had occurred 1,650 kilometres northwest of Perth within the northern part of the defined search area. The first detection was held for approximately two hours and 20 minutes, while the second was held approximately 13 minutes.